Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oreoon Wednesday, April 17, 1996 - THREE The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow Missionaries speak at Nazarene Heppner G A Z E T T E -T IM E S U.S.P.S 240-420 Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper Published weekly and entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at Hepp- ner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Second class postage paid at llepp- ner. Oregon. Office at 147 West Willow Street. Telephone (503) 676-9228 Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $18 in Morrow, Wheeler, Cilliam and Crant Counties; $25 elsewhere. April Hilton-Sykes................ ........................................News Editor Stephanie Jensen................... Typesetting, Layout, Distribution Monique Devin ................... . . Advertising layout & Graphics Penni K eersem aker............ ................................................. Printer David Sykes, Publisher Engagement McElligott — Tevault Martha McElligott of Portland and Scott Tevault of Seattle an nounce their engagement to be married. Martha is the daughter of C.R. and Loa McElligot of lone. She will graduate from the University of Portland this spring. Scott is the son of Dick and Ida Mae Tevault of Poulsbo, Washington. He is a graduate of the University of Washington. The couple plan a May wedding in Portland, and will make their home in Seattle. Letters to the Editor W ork together to improve schools To the Editor: For two years now the four- day week has kept sharp sand in my shoes. For lack of fund ing, drastic cuts had to be made. We had to accept that. To retain extra-curricular acti vities, a recreation district was formed and we voted taxes to support mainly sports ($380,000 of a total of around $416,000). When news came of state support of over $800,000,1 was delighted, knowing that we could now return to a five-day week and restore art, music and living skills courses to the curriculum. But, no; I read in the GT that the board had voted four to three to keep the four-day week. At the April meeting, a group of us went, hoping to change the mind of just one board member who had opposed the five-day week. We were told to be brief. I pled there for kin dergarten through third grad ers, that crucial time that deter mines success in school at the higher levels. The statement that a kindergartner or first grader who boards a bus at 6:30 a.m. and doesn't get home un til almost 5 p.m. is doing "ju st fine" seems to me wishful thinking. The stress that child is subjected to may damage health, learning behavior and attitude toward learning, not to mention attaining initial basic skills. Surely finance couldn't be the reason because changing to the four-day had saved only $150,000, no colossal amount. Also in this time of unstable family life, don't teachers need time for parenting for some children to prepare them for readiness to learn? Others reported an increase in homework, an increase in shoplifting and that a serious ramification of the four-day week without music and art classes has been the possible loss of two doctors who have done so much for health care here. Would other doctors or educated people with children want to come here? Those in favor of four days most often mention time for athletics on Friday, time for recreation with the family or more time for teachers to do their homework. Parents say they can't always help their child with the increased home work and need teachers' help. So it goes. Parents fault teachers; teachers fault parents; some fault administrators or the board. It seems that everyone wants to blame some one else. They are both right and wrong. True responsibility rests with everyone in the district working together. I say all be cause all children are our children. The purpose of edu cation is to teach the concepts of the culture to our young. This means we must focus on children, on every individual child. Our schools will be as good as we want them to be. Let's get real. We must give more time and attention to our schools, become informed, at tend board and budget meet ings, communicate and listen to each other and seek answers to questions such as: 1. What happens to our children on Fridays? We know two churches have sponsored "Friday School" from 9-3, with Dr. Jeanne Berretta assisting with music and singing, but they can serve only a fraction of the children. 2. On Mondays, is more reviewing and reteaching needed? 3. Exactly what was in the survey that favored the four days, to whom was it circulated and how was it evaluated? 4. What are the basic skills re quirements for high school graduation? 5. Is our academic program damaged by over-balanced em phasis on sports? 6. Why do we need three more administrators? In short, we must cooperate in setting standards of expecta tion and in requiring them. If we do this and do it well, our children will have the oppor tunity to reach their potential. Apathy, ignorance and blam ing others will not do it. (s) Jane Rawlins Heppner So it's the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rat. Surely this doesn't have any connection to this presidental election year. Yet from now through November, we'll continue to see politi cians shoot themselves and others in the foot. Presently the ratty issue is the on-and-off again spring weather. Cold nights don't encourage early garden produce unless you have a greenhouse. And speaking of cold, like some other folks, for over two weeks I suspected that what little gray matter I had upstairs was surely leaking out through my nose. It's difficult to accomplish anything when one hand is busy wiping the nozzle. Better late than never, a new farm bill has finally been signed into law which seems to have some gray areas also. But the new legislation does provide production flexibility and a declining scale of contract payments to grain growers. Wheat will be subsidiz ed at approximately 92 cents in 19%, declining on a sliding basis to around 46 cents in the year 2002. Right now with a worldwide shortage of wheat, prices are high. Some people predict that should wheat prices once again drop due to a worldwide glut, the lack of a viable safety net would put some farmers out of business. Yes, everyone would like to have a guaranteed livable wage, good benefits and pursue the occupation of their choice. Risk takers in food production seldom have such guarantees. Fruit crops, particularly cherries, have been hit by hard freezes and vegetable growers are experiencing a loss of contracts due to a backlog of frozen veggies. Although as a nation, we enjoy a cheap food policy, meat at the supermarket hasn't taken a nose dive in accordance with the price of live cattle. Some blame overproduction. Yet the meat packers have a stranglehold on the market through pricing by contract and formula selling, and are making big profits. Mean while, the producer and feedlot operators are holding on by their teeth. Now preservationists are roaming the halls of Congress tell ing our representatives that grazing on federal land jeopardizes wildlife conservation and habitat development. There's no men tion that many wild animals survive each winter because of food they get off private land. It's been proven that wildlife habitat is enhanced through livestock grazing because big game avoids stagnant, old-growth grasses. Then there's the clean water issue that will impact everyone. Managing our natural resources through the ballot box is a distur bing trend. Urbanites are hardly in a knowledgeable position to cast a 'best-interest' vote. And the population centers have the ability to out-vote rural areas. There's also research concentrating on where windblown dust originates due to the 1990 Clean Air Act that regulates allowable concentration of pollutants. So don't throw that shovelful of dirt in the air or stir up the mud in the creeks, the air and water quality cops are sure to impose fines. Perhaps we need to pass legisla tion that requires everyone to wear dust masks. Zastrow appointed to committee Anda Kay Zastrow Anda Kay Zastrow of BEO Financial Services, a division of the Bank of Eastern Oregon, has been appointed to the Gil liam County Investment Ad visory Committee, announced Leanne Durfey, court manage ment assistant. The appointment to the three-member committee took place at a regular court meeting held April 3. The other members of the committee are Doug Wilson and Dennis Bruneau, both of Condon. "By state statute, each coun ty must appoint a committee to T he P erfect W ay T o S how A ppreciation From 1981-91, Dr. Swanson served as a pastor of the Col lege Church and later as visit ing lecturer in Old Testament at Nazarene Theological Col lege. In January 1991, the Swan sons were assigned to Euro pean Nazarene Bible College, in Busingen, Switzerland, where Dr. Swanson was the academic dean and lecturer in Bible and Mrs. Swanson was the college librarian. Last August, the Swansons transferred to Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Semi nary, where Dr. Swanson is an associate professor of Old Testament. The Swansons have three children: Nicholas, Allison and Rachel. Everyone is welcome to at tend the program. Math contest winners announced The 19% Morrow County School District Elementary Math C ontest was held Wednesday, April 10 at Sam Boardman Elementary School, with many county participants. Fourth grade winner was Johnny Collins, from lone Ele mentary School. Fifth grade winner was Doug Orwick, from Heppner Elementary School. Sixth grade winner was Shelley Rietmann, also from Heppner. Following are the winners from each grade: Fourth grade-first Johnny Collins, lone Elementary (IES); second Lyndon Hirai, Sam Boardman Elementary (SBE); third Tony Hallock, A.C Houghton Elementary (ACH); fourth Zach Baker and fifth Landi Busey, both SBE; sixth Jeff Grigsby, ACH; seventh Luke Murray, Heppner Ele mentary (HES); eighth Natalie McElligott, IES; ninth Paul Neiffer, SBE; 10th, a tie bet ween Erica Hancock, SBE, and Billy Gates, IES. Fifth grade-first Doug Orwick and second Daniel Jepsen, both HES; third Nick Armstrong, fourth Sarah Miller and fifth Allyson Bums, all ACH; sixth David Harris and seventh Thomas Bauska, both SBE; eighth Sally Calvert, HES; ninth Tracy Griffith, IES; 10th Marcy Miller, HES. Sixth grade-first Shelley Riet mann, second Jesse Gutierrez and third Jodi Carlson, all HES; fourth Colin McElligott, IES; fifth Olivia Sagely, sixth Julie Proctor and seventh Jon Ben nett, all HES; eighth Salli McElligott, IES; ninth Meghan Bailey, HES; 10th Adam Mc Cabe, IES. Come Share With Us at Willow Creek Baptist Church Bible Study for all ages 2 p.m. Worship Service 3 p.m. Meeting in the 7th Day Adventist Church 560 North Minor "Did you hear the one about the big bank that offered " free" checking?" National Sacratarlaa’ Weak April 21-27, 1996 Th ou gh often unsung, the secretary is frequently the one who saves the day around the office. Show your appreciation for your secretary with this arrangement o f beautiful, contrasting colors. A F S 96-SW1 A F S “Secretines Week" Bouquet • Spring Vase Arrangements recommend how county funds should be invested," explain ed Cenia Byrd, Gilliam Coun ty treasurer. The committee will also be responsible for de veloping an investment policy for the county, Byrd said. A native of Arlington, Zas trow has been employed as financial advisor for BEO Financial Services since June 1994. Dr. Dwight Swanson, and his wife Katherine, Nazarene missionaries in the Philippines, will speak at the Heppner Church of the Nazarene on Monday, April 22, at 7 p.m. Dr. Swanson, the son of a Nazarene pastor, calls Col orado his home. He earned B.A. and M. Div. degrees from Nazarene institutions and a Ph.D from Manchester Univer sity, England, in Dead Sea Schools studies. Katherine Swanson, a native of Colorado, became a register ed nurse in Manchester and worked in acute leukemia care. The Swansons, who are on furlough this spring, pastored churches in Colorado and Kan sas (the latter while in Semi nary in Kansas City, Missouri) before moving to Manchester. > • Coffee Mug Arrangements • Coffee Mug Balloons & Candy Gifts • Secretary Balloons • G ift Baskets • Espresso Bar Gift Certificates Enjoy our Espresso Bar • Coffees • T eas Our young friends are right to be amused. There is no such thing as a fr e e checking account. Furthermore, if you were unlucky enough to have one of those accounts and wanted to wire money to a friend, get traveler's checks for your vacation, stop payment on a check, or just use your ATM card to get some cash—you'd be in for an expensive shock. Their fees for these and most of their other services are among the highest in Oregon. At Bank of Eastern Oregon we operate under a completely different philosophy. For 51 years we have been quietly providing the people and businesses in Eastern Oregon with honest and caring banking services. What makes us different is that Bank of Eastern Oregon is locally-owned. Oh, by the way, if you stop in and open up a checking account with Bank of Eastern Oregon, you'll find that our service fees are among the low est in Oregon. And with a $10 annual fee, you won’t be charged another penny for the unlimited use of your Bank of Eastern Oregon Cash Car<P! Any time, anywhere. But isn't that what you'd expect from your own local bank? • Sodas Bank of Eastern Oregon • F resh Pastries • Fruit Juice "Around the corner, not around the state.” ^ Country Rose 676-442« 233 N Mam Htppoft We Deliver Arlington Condon Heppner lone 454-2636 384-3501 676-9125 422-7466 UemberFOK