Heppner Gazette-Times. Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, December 4, 1996 • THREE
The Official Newspaper of the
City of Heppner and the
County of Morrow
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Morrow County s Hoipe-Owned Weekly Newspaper
Published weekly and entered as periodical matter at the Post Office at Heppner.
Oregon under the Act of March 3. 1879. Periodical postage paid at Heppner.
Oregon Office at 147 West Willow Street. Telephone (541) 876-9228 Postmaster
send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times. P.O. Bo* 337, Heppner
Oregon 97836 Subscriptions: »18 in Morrow, Wheeler, Gilliam and Grant Coun
ties; $25 elsewhere
April Hilton-Sykes............................................................................................pew s Editor
Stephanie Jensen
.............................................Typesetting
Monique Devin .
Advertising Layout it Graphics
Bonnie Bennett
.......................................... Distribution
Penni Keersemaker
................................
Printer
David Sykes, Publisher
Letters to the Editor
Editor’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.
Taxpayers fed up with waste
Echo turnoffs have remained
dark and silent. I drive this
route three-five times per week
even in the worst of weather
and have never seen these
boards operational. They are of
no use.
At the county level, percep
tion is everything. There are
many, many hard-working
people who never forget that
they are there to serve the citi
zens that pay their salaries.
There are others who don't
seem to care and hang around
like parasites, infecting even
the better public servants.
I haven't supported a coun
ty bond issue for six years. This
is because of the perception of
county government which I
developed at that time. I had
business at the courthouse and
went up around 2 p.m., a time
of day when most people are
working and these offices are
open. When I entered the de
partment of this elected official
and approached the counter, I
saw three people at desks, one
reading a magazine, one pain
ting her fingernails and the
third reading a newspaper.
None of them rose from their
desks to wait on me. The one
reading the magazine looked
up and apathetically said,
"W hat ya want?"
It was at this same time the
county was begging for more
operating money just to keep
these offices open. The bond
finally passed and the county
bought new cars. What hap
pened to cutting waste? I saw
three salaries that could be cut
at very little loss of services. I
was sorry to interrupt their
work. If they were on a break,
they should not be at their
desks. Perception is every
thing. We desperately need a
county jail, but as long as tax-
paying voters perceive this
kind of waste, there will be no
increase in funds.
Why isn't it clear to our state
and county servants that the
taxpaying voter isn't stupid?
We see the waste, the self-
serving lack of priorities and in
efficiency. We remember the
inconsistencies and take all of
this to the voting booth with
us. They must work harder to
make government work for the
people.
(s) Lori Straley
Heppner
To the Editor:
One hears repeated that our
students learn as much in four
days as they did in five. But our
elementary students need re
petition to learn, and direct in
struction. Additionally, they
need to learn good work habits,
such as going to school and
work daily.
I was visiting with Ron
Daniels quite some time ago
and he said the Blue Mountain
Community College diesel
mechanics program was threat
ened because the incoming
Health Dept«
The Morrow County Health
Dept, lists the following mon
thly schedule for blood pres
sures and immunizations:
Thursd ay, Dec. 5-blood
pressures and immunizations,
Heppner office, 8:30 a.m .-4:30
p.m.
Monday, Dec. 9-blood pres
sures and immunizations, Irri-
gon annex, 1-4 p.m .;
Tuesday, Dec. 10-blood
pressures and immunizations,
Boardman office, 9:30 a.m.-4
p.m.;
Thursday, Dec. 12-blood
pressures and immunizations,
Heppner office, 8:30 a.m .-4:30
p.m.
Monday, Dec. 16-blood pres
sures and immunizations, lone
City Hall, 2-4 p.m.;
Tuesday, Dec. 17-blood
pressures and immunizations,
Boardman office, 9:30 a.m.-4:30
p.m.;
Thursday, Dec. 19-blood
pressures and immunizations,
Heppner office, 8:30 a m .-4:30
p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 31-blood
pressures and immunizations,
Boardman office, 9:30 a.m.-4
p.m.
To contact the public health
nurse on call (for public health
em ergencies) during Dec.
23-27, call 676-5317 or
1-800-460-8027 (Morrow Coun
ty Sheriff's office).
We Print
Business Cards
Gazette-Times
676-9228
students could not read the in
struction book. Surely we can
not wish this upon any of our
children.
If you feel our schools need
five day teaching time, please
mail a postcard to the follow
ing school board members:
Scon Banska
318 Willow Fork Drive
Boardman, OR 97318
481-7047
Dwa/ne Carroll
Ri. I^Box 1816
Hermislon, OR 97838
567-5757
Bill Doherty
P. O. Box 4125
Lexington, OR 97839
989-8113
Gary Frederickson
Ri I, Box 73-D
3oardman, OR 97818
481-6225
Scon Johnson
Rt. 2. Box 72
Irrigon, OR 97844
922-5131
Russell Morgan
P.O. Box 628
Heppner. OR 97836
676-5S82
John Rietmann
P. 0 . Box 313
lone, OR 97843
422-7123
Reverend Grace Drake, retired,
and her family. Receiving the
gift will be Rita Hedman, who
is the chair of the Board of
Trustees.
The message for this Sunday
will be presented by the Re
verend A1 Trachsel, pastor of
the church. His message is titl
ed, "W hat Do We Need For
Christmas." All are welcome to
attend the dedication ceremony
and service.
The U nited M ethodist
Church in Heppner will dedi
cate its new stained glass win
dow beginning at 10:30 a.m.,
Sunday, Dec. 8 during its re
gular second Sunday of Advent
worship. The dedication cere
mony will be led by the Rever
end Sue Owen-Bofferding, dis
trict superintendant.
The stained glass window is
a gift given to the church by the
Dec. 5: Memorial Services. It will also
be Ladies Night. No bingo.
Dec. 12: Decorate the Lodge Night,
starting at 6 p.m . Lodge to follow.
Dec. 13: Dinner for a Toy Night. Bring
in a toy for the Giving Tree and
nd receive
receivi
a free dinner.
A
Dec. 14: Condon Annual.
Dec. 19: Lodge Night.
Dec. 25: Christmas Day. Lori and I and
(s) Meg Murray
lone
our children wish you a happy and
safe holiday.
-Exalted Ruler
Weather Report
_________ By City of Heppner__________
Dec. 31: New Y e a r’s Eve. Food and
For the month of October
Precip.
Low
High
music at the Lodge.
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11/12
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11/13
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11/17
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S au D aus D ecember 1-21 1996
Cash In On Cenex Values
d u r in g O u r J io lid a y Sale!
G e t through the w in te r w ith
lubricants a n d fluids from C enex!
$ B .7 9
1ST
pw gallon in
I ^J^geHonjuM
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$3
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w e re ?
O a iio m
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$ £ .7 9
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per quart
Platinum D Synthetic M otor O il
Outperforms conventional oik for engines
in cars and light true Its
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mam
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kerosene
to w e n Y
• Lowers Pour Point to 35* F
• Lowers cold filte r plugging point
to 18* F
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$8
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5 galon 4’ 648*i
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• Stabilizes stored fuel (262414)
1.19
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holiday activities
•
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Keeps stored gas fresh indefinitely
N o need to dram
For easy starting next season
Protects engines in storage
Far gasoline ond diesel
i on bit
• C o n ta in s T jb o ^ a dditive
* C leans fuel R ectors
► Prevents fuel-filter icing
► Prevents fuel gelling
G a llo n s (2624061 M O **
YOUR CHOICE
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7 2oz. (»674*1 or
10 5 o r 1206'721
Quom (262393)
$ 1.19
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or propon, gas in your hom.
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Becouse of location u re of facilities or other factors, some items and services odver
hsed m this ad may not be available a t a ll participating cooperatives Merchandise
may be ordered but pricing may be somewhat higher on these special orders
C enex/lond O lakes is not responsible for any typographical or pictorial errors
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LUNCH
WITH
SANTA
Arts Council plans
The Morrow County Arts
Council has planned several
upcoming weekend events.
On Friday, Dec. 6, a dance
class recital by the students o f
Cheri Westphal will be held at
the Heppner Middle School
gym (not the high school) at
6:30 p.m.
On Saturday, Dec. 7, the bus
traveling to the yuletide
"consort” by Sabella Consort
will
load
at
Heppner
Elementary School at 5 p.m.
and will leave promptly at
5:15. The bus will stop at
Lexington at the Morrow
County School District office,
with loading at 5:30 p.m. The
bus will leave Lexington at
5:45. The concert will begin at
7 p.m. at A.C. Houghton
Elementary School in Imgon.
The events are free to the
public and everyone is invited
Methodist Church plans dedication
J
To the Editor:
The newspapers lately have
contained a great deal of com
ment by government officials
lamenting the passage of Mea
sure 47 and the failure of other
tax bonds. There are many
beneficial services currently be
ing supported and others that
are needed. However, the tax-
paying voter is fed up. Fed up
with the waste and the percep
tion that elected officials are in
terested only in their pocket-
books and doing as little work
as possible.
At the state level, we see
wasteful spending everywhere,
from the transportation depart
ment to school funding. Do
they really think we're blind to
the fact that in every depart
ment there is wasteful spen
ding? Is it any wonder that the
voters would like these em
ployees to pay for some of their
retirement like the rest of us?
Aren't they servants of the
people?
Education must be the priori
ty. Our state and county school
adm inistrators continue to
make cuts that affect our
children but they wouldn't
dream of working a little harder
and getting a lower pay in
crease. Our schools are being
run at the convenience of the
administrators and the Oregon
Education Association. We con
tinue to see cuts at every level
of education, including time.
We put up with a four-day
school week, time is wasted
teaching Spanish, students are
excused for sports and other ex
tracurricular activities, and they
wonder why the students'
scores in math, reading and
writing continue to drop. The
taxpaying voters won't forget
these things when it comes to
electing a new. school board
and deciding on school bond
issues.
The state must begin to fund
schools in a fair and more effi
cient manner. The American
system calls for education be
ing the right of every citizen,
not the responsibility of a few
to support. Education should
be funded in a manner that
makes every citizen responsible
and not just the landowner.
There is nothing worse than
standing in the grocery line
behind a mother with four
school-age children, paying for
her steak with food stamps.
She pulls out a $50 bill and
buys lottery scratch tickets.
Meanwhile, I'm behind her
with my hotdogs. I don't dare
waste money on scratch tickets
because my property taxes are
due next week. She also rents
a home twice the size of the one
1 own and never pays proper
ty taxes, never supports
schools funds an always votes
" y e s " on the property tax
hikes. This is fair? The taxpay
ing voters have said " n o ."
Fund schools with income
taxes, a sales tax, and/or lottery
funds. But make it fair.
The transportation depart
ments want more money for
train services and road im
provements. All worthy of con
sideration. But what about the
thousands of dollars spent on
traffic warning boards along
1-84 and Highway 207? Even in
the worst ice storms, the boards
on 207 at the Boardman and
Students need five day week
Morrow County Grain Growers
1-800-452-7396
Lexington, Oregon
350 Main
989-8221