Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 24, 1996)
-éh*~ Clean Stream Initiative targets ag producers By Meriyn Robinson A proposed measure for the November ballot, labeled the "Clean Stream Initiative", is really a target agamst agricul ture, according to Pete Test and Lindsay Slater, who explained the details of this measure before a large group of pro ducers at the Heppner Elks Lodge on Monday, April 22. Test, who is assistant direc tor of governmental affairs for the Oregon Farm Bureau, said the measure should be called the "livestock exclusion act". If the initiative qualifies, the ballot title will read, "Prohibits live stock in Certain Polluted Waters or On Adjacent Lands". According to Test, the defini tion of "polluted" is distorted in that it also refers to any body of water where water tempera tures exceed 50 degrees for seven consecutive days even during the hottest weather. Over 900 streams, including a majority of those in Eastern Oregon, are already listed as failing to meet that standard by the Department of Environ mental Quality. B E S S I E WE T Z E L L ORE NE WS P A P E R L I B E U G E N E CR & 7 4 0 3 U VOL. 115 NO. 17 OF 6 Pages Wednesday, April 24, 1996, Morrow County Heppner, Oregon D r earn boat "It doesn't take a brain surgeon to see how stupid this is," Test said. "Any water source with a water right will be affected, in cluding streams, ponds, mar shes and sub-irrigated riparian areas. That doesn't leave much except rainwater," Test said. "Ranch sales are already fall ing through because people are wary of the impact of this in itiative," he continued. Test ex plained the expense and impact to agriculture through fencing and streambank management could be devastating. If the petition gathers enough signatures through paid peti tioners in urban areas to place it on the ballot, any property owner could be in violation. Even someone who doesn't own livestock could be charg- Lindsay Slater (I), Pete Test ed if someone else's horse, pig or sheep was seen in a restrict ed stream area. The property owner could be out a con siderable expense in lawyer fees. Slater, director of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association legal foundation, and Test are tour ing the state representing an alliance of Oregon agricultural groups who are working together to protect livestock owners, ranch families, com munities and private property owners' interests. "W e must work together to educate urban people on the importance of agriculture and how this initiative could impact food c o s ts ," Slater said. Millions of dollars would have to be spent in fencing, which normally costs $5,000 per mile. Key sponsors of this measure are environmental groups, in cluding the Oregon Natural Desert Association, Oregon Natural Resources Council, Oregon Trout, Oregon Ang lers, Sierra Club of Oregon, Oregon Wildlife Federation, Portland Audubon Society and others. Lack of adequate livestock water sources would effective ly remove livestock from any public grazing allotments. "D on't beat up on your state agencies," Test said. "Their hands are tied because by law they can't take sides." Many ranchers are already par ticipating in programs to im prove fish and wildlife habitiat in cooperation with those agen cies. Funding for those pro grams could dry up if the money were siphoned off to cover the cost of fencing. "This is a lawyers' retirement initiative," Test said, referring to the clause in the act that would allow any person to bring civil action for violations. "It will only build more con flicts," he added. Property owners will be more wary of allowing access to their land for fear of lawsuits. Ultimately it could impact fishing and hun ting through restrictions. "W e can't afford to lose," Test said, "even if it means knocking on doors in urban areas. Millions of dollars will be spent by both sides on this issue. How much better it would be to put that money in to the land." Old Time Fiddlers to I Bike-a-thon scheduled for April 28 perform The annual St. Jude Bike-a- thon is scheduled for this Sun day, April 28, with registration beginning at noon near the lone Fire Hall. All riders are welcome to gather pledges and participate in this event, with all proceeds going to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Two routes are used. A one- mile circuit route within lone is available for young riders, roller-bladers, baby strollers and walkers. Riders with more stamina may ride in from Ruggs, which is approximate ly 22 miles. Participants may register at either site. Transpor- tation to Ruggs will be available for bikes and riders, and will leave lone at 12:30 p.m. All riders will finish at the lone City Park, where refresh ments will be served and photographs taken. Collection envelopes may be picked up at the conclusion of the ride. Riders collecting $35 or more in pledges will receive a t-shirt. Those with $75 or more will receive a t-shirt and tote bag. Additional volunteer moni tors are needed for both courses. Anyone interested in helping should contact either ride coordinator, Anne Morter, 422-7429, or Janet Thompson, 422-7549. The Blue Mountain Old Time Fiddlers will perform in Irrigon at the Stokes Landing Senior Center, Saturday, April 27 at 6:30 p.m. The performance will feature a variety of old time acoustic music and songs. Admission is $2; refresh ments will be available. For more inform ation, call 922-4399. A uthor to speak at M C Museum Team to help recruit businesses Joe Wilhelm of Heppner puts keel on his “dreamboat” with the help of neighbor Adam Perez, Jim Roy, in Columbia Basin truck, and Mike VanArsdale By April Hilton-Syko- It may look a little like an ark, especially with all of the rain we've been getting in Hepp ner, but to Joe Wilhelm it's a dream. Wilhelm has been working on his 30 foot San Juan sailing sloop for the past year and, last week, enlisted the help of a few friends and Columbia Basin Electric to put the 3,700-pound keel on the 6,000 pound boat, which is sitting across the street from his home on Gale Street in Heppner. Setting the boat on its keel put Wilhelm a bit closer to his dream of retiring on the boat in the Gulf of Mexico in four years with his wife, Marina. And, says Joe, Marina is even "coming around" to the idea. Wilhelm, 46, grew up in Heppner and returned only five years ago after spending the past five years in Sacramen to with Marina and sons, Stacy, 19, Shaun, 17, and Travis, 16. With him also came a love of boats. He had worked on boats in the Navy and while working in Los Angeles. He has delivered boats up and down the Columbia and is an ex perienced sailor. "I'v e always dreamed of builing my own boat," says Wilhelm. "It's nice to have a dream that's coming together." Wilhelm says he plans to put the boat in the water in Board- man, motor down to Portland to get its mast and then back to Boardman to moor it. This fall he plans to go to Mexico to level their property for an RV spot and put in a camp trailer. Ironically, Marina won the pro perty, which is in San Felipe on the Baja Penninsula on the Sea of Cortez, in a national pin giveaway contest around seven years ago. After the last son is out of the nest and Wilhelm will be vested for retirement, he plans to sail the boat to Mexico, and then "sail the Sea of Cor tez and enjoy life." Wilhelm said he bought the boat for $3,000, but estimates that it will be worth around $50,000 when he is finished. He has raised the deck to provide headroom downstairs and has installed a two-cycle, extreme ly efficient, Volvo diesel engine. He is putting in a 45 gallon fuel tank and a 35 gallon water tank with a water maker. The water maker will make 35 gallons of fresh water out of sea water. He also plans to install solar panels. "It will be pretty self-sufficient," he says, put ting a touch of reality into that dream. Correction Genny Sneddon, a sopho more at Heppner High School, was mistakenly omitted from the Heppner High School honor roll. Sneddon received a 4. I The Heppner Economic De velopment Corporation has recently named a sub-commit- tee of this group called the Heppner Business Recruitment Team. Committee members will act as a first-line contact source for any potential busi- ness/industry considering locating in Heppner. They will also act as a solicitor of business and industry that is deemed missing from the local area. A third function of the commitee will be to react to potential business closing in the area. During the month of May, the team will do an inventory of commercial and industrial sites in south Morrow County and will perform a needs analysis for the area. They will also be offering their services to the medical district on the community side of doctor recruitment. Any community members who would like to be involved in any of the activities of the recruitment team, contact Gary Marks, George Koffler, Jerry Healy, John Murray or Qaudia Hughes regarding your inter est. Park D istrict m eeting changed The regularly scheduled meeting of the Willow Creek Park District has been changed to Thursday, May 2, at 7 p.m. at Heppner City Hall. The public is invited to attend. Award-winning Oregon au thor Molly Gloss will appear at the Morrow County Museum (MCM) in Heppner on Friday, May 3, at 7 p.m. Her talk, "Pro ving Up: Homesteading Wo men in the Literature of the American West,” will explore images of women in western fiction. Gloss is the author of the novel, "The Jump-Off Creek," which portrays the life of an 1890s widow who takes up a homestead in a remote comer of northeastern Oregon. The book was a nominee for the PEN/Faulkner award, and a winner of both the H.L. Davis Oregon Book Award and the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award. For further information about the program, contact the mu seum Saturday through Wed nesday, 1-5 p.m., 676-5524. The program is sponsored by the MCM and is made possible by the Oregon Council for the Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Don’t miss our Early Sum m er Sale Thru April 27 Morrow County Grain Growers Lexington 989-8221 * t 1-800-452-7396
