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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 1996)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 30, 1996 - NINE Letters to the Editor [ditor's note: Letters to the editor must be signed The Gazette-Times will not publish unsigned letters Please include your address and phone number on all letters for use by the G-T office The G-T reserves the right to edit. Reynolds for judge To the Editor: We are writing to urge you to vote for Garry Reynolds for M orrow -U m atilla C ircuit Judge. Having practiced law in the two-county area for nearly 20 years each, we are familiar with the experience and abili ty of both judicial candidates. Both are fine, experienced at torneys, but Garry Reynolds has that special integrity and ability that makes him the bet ter candidate for this very im portant position. A circuit court judge makes decisions that have serious and sometimes lifelong impacts on the parties that appear before him. The judge must unders tand the condition of the par ties, understand the law and apply it in an impartial manner. Garry Reynolds has an even temperament and a keen un derstanding of the law. These qualities make him a superior candidate for circuit judge. Robert Ridgway wrote a let- ter which appeared as a political advertisement in the Oct. 17, 19%, edition of the East Oregonian. The letter claims that Mr. Reynolds acted improperly by soliciting con tributions from local attorneys. We are local attorneys and our help was not solicited from Garry Reynolds, we volunteer ed. We are sure the situation is the same with many other local attorneys who have over whelming supported Garry Reynolds as the best judge choice in a recent Oregon State Barr Poll of local attorneys. Participating in the demo cratic process is both a right and obligation of a citizen. We are confident that our support of Garry Reynolds will in no way affect his objectivity or im partiality towards any case or party in which we are involv ed if he is elected judge. Were it otherwise, we would not be supporting him. (s) William J. Kuhn (s) Annetta L. Spicer Write in Lindsay To the Editor: When you vote on Nov. 5, I would like to encourage you to write-in Barney Lindsay for at- large director for the Morrow Soil and Water Conservation District Board. Also, I encour age you to vote for Ken Grieb, James McElligott and Vernon Frederickson, whose names are printed on the ballot. Directors for the SWCD are elected by all votes of the coun ty and have the responsibility to conserve, protect and pro vide for the sustained use of the natural resources of the county. (s) Chris Rauch Lexington John Wenholz straightforward To the Editor: I have lived in Boardman for 16 years and for the last eight years I've had the pleasure of know ing John W enholz through my job. John has always given me his honest answer on any position, not just what he things I want to hear. He hasn't tried to butter me up just to get me to vote for him, or to change my opinion of the other candidates. John also asks questions so that he gets as many opinions on different views that he is concerned about. The one thing • 1 know is that John is honest about his views and that type of honesty is something that we need right now. Not someone who is telling everyone "y e s ” no matter which side of the fence they are standing on. With John Wenholz, he'll tell you white is white and not try to convince you that it's black. If've also learned that John is as concerned about our com munities, and if we need some thing, John will step up and do his best to get it. John is a straightforward, community- minded person that will be a nice change to see in a public office. Sincerely, (s) Bill Ellis Boardman 38 fooling voters To the Editor: Ballot Measure 38 is not about clean stream s and riparian improvements. It is about fooling Oregon voters to believe it is, so extremists and their lawyers can take control of thousands of acres of stream- side property. Many acres of land wil be locked up; income cannot be drived from those acres and property taxes will still be assessed. Not a good way for family farms to stay in business, but of course these extremists know this. Let us share an example with you. On a 640 acre piece of private property that has a water quality limited stream (because of water temperature) running through it, only 240 acres would be eligible for graz ing after three miles of fence were constructed. A meadow is on this property and the fence would have to be a 100 feet from the edge of the meadow. Even after the use of the land is taken and the money is spent on fencing and alternative water sources, Oregon has no guarantee that the stream's temperature will never exceed DEQ water quality standards. Land and money could be lost for nothing. Under this measure, anyone can sue property owners who may have an animal within 100 feet of a water quality limited stream. A lawsuit could be fil ed against you because your kid's horse, 4-H lamb, or your neighbor's llama hopped the fence. Only the person bring ing the lawsuit can recover court costs and legal fees, ex cept in rare cases. Farmers and ranchers now work cooperatively with other groups and agencies to im prove land and water condi tions. Potential lawsuits and costs of regulation will interfere with these successful efforts. Last week, one of the chief petitioners of Measure 38 was arrested and jailed for alleged ly killing 11 of his neighbor's cattle. Do we want a possible felon writing our laws for Ore gon? Don't follow his lead, support cooperation, not con frontation. Vote " n o " on Mea sure 38. (s) Mark Rietmann (s) Tami Rietmann Heppner Wenholz has sense To the Editor: John Wenholz lives in Mor row County, he makes his liv ing in Morrow County and he pays property taxes in Morrow County. John is the only one of the candidates running for the position of Morrow County Commissioner that can make these three claims. John has the ability to do a great job as our next commissioner. John does not want to be a career politi cian, but instead wants to give something back to Morrow County. I have known John since 1982 and believe that he can bring a common sense ap proach to county government. Please join me in supporting John Wenholz for Morrow County Commissioner. Sincerely, (s) Don Russell Boardman McLaughlin supports Gordon Smith To the Editor: As a conservative Democrat and former Pendleton mayor, I am supporting and will vote for Gordon Smith. Gordon has always been involved in com munity affairs and one way 1 came to know him well was when he served on the city budget committee. While he was Oregon Senate President, he worked with Governor Kitzhaber and other democrats and many times brought the two parties together to work on many pro blems in a non-partisan man ner. I often work with many senior citizens with their Medicare problems and agree with Gordon's support of and intention to protect Medicare and the Oregon Health Plan. Varene, my wife, and I also agree with Gordon's view of public education. We are lucky to live in Eastern Oregon where crime and violence are still not as prevalent as in metropolitan areas; however, Gordon has a 10-point anti-crime action plan, and, as Senate President, knows the other problems and con cern s of O regon ians throughout the state. Senator Mark Hatfield has endorsed and is actively sup porting Gordon Smith, and I believe Gordon will be a senator in the mold of Senator Hatfield. We are fortunate to have a man from Eastern Oregon who is a responsible, honest and caring individual, who honors fam ily, runs a successful business, providing employ ment to hundreds, and is will ing to stand up and serve his state. We often complain that good people are not running for elected office. We have an op portunity to vote for someone who has stated his position, his beliefs, has experience and is willing to serve. We need an especially strong turnout of voters outside the metropolitan area, and I solicit your vote on behalf of Gordon Smith. (s) Joe C. McLaughlin Pendleton Peck most qualified To the Editor: First I would like to say that I support Jerry Peck for com missioner. He is the most qualified person for the job, having been a commissioner for eight years, past member of the school board and mayor of Boardman. He knows the job and will be fair for all parts of the county. But I am puzzled by some of the negative comments from past supporters that now sup port John Wenholz. Do we real ly need this type of campaign ing and negative attitude? No. We need a person like Jerry that can help bring north and south together. A vote for Jerry is a vote for the future of Morrow County. (s) Chris Rauch Lexington Support Wenholz To the Editor: Sin ce we are long-tim e residents and supporters of Morrow County, we feel the need to voice our opinion on the selection of our county commissioners. It has been our desire to see the leadership unite and focus on a balance of prosperity for the entire county. John Wenholz will be the candidate to consider what issues concern the county as a whole, reason out a balanced conclusion and stand firm on his reasoning. Support John Wenholz for Morrow County Commission er. (s) Dan and Jeannie Creamer Irrigon Wenholz only real candidate To the Editor: John Wenholz is the only real candidate for Morrow County Commissioner. John has lived and owned his own business in Morrow County since moving to Morrow County 23 years ago. He has always been will ing to help others in any way he could. When something needs to be done, he gets it done. John has a very open mind and will always listen to all sides of an issue. Vote for John Wenholz. You will not be sorry. Sincerely, (s) Bud Wilson Lexington Gutierrez reasons clear To the Editor: When we go to the polls this November, we will cast our votes for Morrow County Treasurer for Gayle Gutierrez. Our reasons are clear. 1) Gayle does have the ex perience for the office. She has been involved with county governm ent in the Public Works Dept., the Tax Collec tor's office, the Assessor's of fice and the Accounting office. She has seen how and why our tax dollars are spent. 2) Gayle has been involved with employee public relations Yes on term limits To the Editor: Rotation of office was a cor nerstone of our framers' inten tion for government. At the time, it was not necessary to in clude a provision in the Con stitution for term limits because each party refused to renomin ate incumbents because of their b elief in rotation . They thought-and rightfully so-that the longer one spent in office, the less responsive one would be to the people. This under standing led Jefferson to write, "T he second feature I dislike, (in regards to the Constitution) and greatly dislike, is the aban donment in every instance of the necessity of rotation in of fice, and most particularly in the case of the President." Our founding fathers simply I Money can't buy vote To the Editor: The Oregon Education Asso- ciation/People for Improve ment of Education's (OEA/PIE) "in your face" attitude toward the new campaign finance laws is unacceptable. They are put ting hundreds of thousands of dollars into independent ex penditures in order to "b u y ” the Oregon legislature. It is a sad day in Oregon politics when OEA/PIE is able to spend more money on a race than the candidates themselves. I protest. Join me in the protest-invest in stamps and envelopes. Put the indepen dent expenditure direct mail pieces in envelopes marked "m y vote is not for sale" and send them back to OEA/PIE at the address on the mailer. Se cond, send a letter of complaint to the Secretary of State, Elec tions Division asking that this "loophole" in Ballot Measure 9 be investigated and closed. Talk about special interests buying politicians... Sincerely, (s) Camille Hukari Hood River Wenholz chose Morrow County located his businesses in a To the Editor: I have known John Wenholz larger metropolitan area, or at since 1973. During this time, I least closer to his customers, have found John to be a very but he chose to locate in Irri gon, because, like many of us, resourceful person. John lives in Morrow Coun he wanted to raise his family in ty because that is where he Morrow County. wants to live, not because it is John deserves a chance to be where he makes his living. our next Morrow County Com Since I have known John, he missioner. Please join me in has been self-employed as a supporting John Wenholz for hay broker and as a truck sales commissioner. man. John could probably have (s) Vernon L. Russell done better financially if he Boardman Campbell has respect, experience To the Editor: The need for rural Eastern Oregon to have actively quali fied, skilled representation in the legislature is critical. Many people run for the legislature. Term limits will deny the successful candidate the time to serve an appren ticeship and really learn the job. Having experience in governance at the local and state level is an asset. It gives the successful candidate a head start on our behalf in Salem. Knowing who to talk to and how the process works can mean the difference between representing a region well and leaving the problems still on the table at the end of a term. Kevin Campbell is the can didate that meets the criteria. He has the experience and has demonstrated his ability to work advantageously with state and federal agencies. Kevin Campbell will hit the ground running. He is the can didate for our communities that already has name recognition and respect in Salem. I encourage your support for Kevin Campbell. Sincerely, (s) Laura M. Pryor Gilliam County Judge Condon Agriculture not to blame To the Editor: I feel compelled to write you in this election year, as I see a great deal of unfairness and un just criticism being waged at one section of our Oregon com munity, agriculture. M easure 38 sup porters would argue that cows are the only blame for poor salmon runs. But cows didn't build all the dams along the Columbia River. And cows didn't affect silt runoff from the high moun tains into spawning beds. Cows didn't cause the devasta ting floods we saw earlier this year, w reaking havoc on streams and banks. And cows are not the cause of Portland's sewer systems overflowing in- as an officer in the Workers' Union. She has the integrity to work alongside other officials and employees to assure a smoothly-run county govern To the Editor: John is a long-time resident ment. of 3) Gayle has the commitment the county and has a proven to our county government, its economic track record as a small business owner. He has citizen s and its business associates to fulfull the office of been very active in communi Morrow County Treasurer in a ty and school activities and has productive manner. Join us in voting for Gayle Gutierrez for Morrow County Treasurer. (s) Tom Gates To the Editor: (s) Arlynda Gates The Predator Defense In lone stitute (PDI) recently released a comprehensive investigative re port on the cougar controver sy in Oregon. Here are its ma could not imagine a govern jor findings: ment full of career politicians. More than 93 percent of all Unfortunately, their worst fears cougar "incidents" recorded by have come true. Congress is the Oregon Department of fish full of professional politicians and Wildlife (ODFW) from intent on lining their pockets at January 1994 to May 19% were taxpayer expense. Goverment unconfirmed. The majority of money is viewed as free money the reports were based on for them to distribute at whim. nothing more than phone calls We need politicians who will to district offices of the ODFW. return to live under the regula Of the 832 cougar incident tions and taxes which they rep orts provided by the enact. The only way to do this ODFW, 644 were recorded as is through term limits. Voting sightings and 188 as damage " y e s ” op Measure 48 for term complaints, but only 3.25 per limits on Congress is a step cent of the sightings and only towards an ethical and respon 10.10 percent of the damage sive Congress. Vote " y e s " on complaints were confirmed. Measure 48 and return the These percentages represent government to the people. only 21 confirmed sightings Sincerely, and 19 confirmed damage pro (s) Charlie Donoti blems statewide in well over Cottage Grove to the Willamette River during high water. But what Measure 38 will ac complish is to drive a wedge in- between agriculture and sup porters of the measure, so that confrontation rather than cooperation results. The gover nor's office did not support listing coho salmon as endan gered; they feel a "voluntary approach can be more effective than the heavy hand of federal regulation," as Paula Burgess, governor's assistant for natural resources, states. I agree; cooperation rather than con frontation will accom plish more. Please vote no on 38. (s) John Herkner Bend Wenholz has integrity a well deserved reputation for being very fair-minded with outstanding integrity. Please join us in voting for John W enholz for county commissioner. (s) Larry and Betty Mills Heppner Oppose 34 \ two years. There has never been a do cumented attack by a cougar on a person in Oregon history. The PDI report invalidates the trophy hunter's claim that cougar incidents are rampant. It also demonstrates that a trophy hunting season does nothing to reduce the remote risk of an encounter between people and cougars. Existing law allows private landowners and state and federal damage control agents to eliminate individual nui sance cougars. It simply bars trophy hunters from harassing and killing cougars in the wild erness with the aid of packs of radio-collared hounds. Voters should oppose Measure 34 and prevent cruel and unsports manlike m eans of cougar hunting. (s) Brooks Fahy Executive Director, PDI Eugene I
