Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, December 30, 1998 - THREE
Letters to the Editor
Editor's note: Letters to the Editor must be signed The Gazette- Times w ill 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.
To the Editor:
"Sedan Values"
T'was a week before Christmas
and all through the town,
Not a creature was stirring
except a sedan;
It cruised the streets looking for
something to do;
It had no conscience; scruples
and values were few.
As it drove down Main it spotted
the perfect crime;
Destroy St. Nick and his elves ...
turn them to slime!
No one was looking, so it drove
through the park;
No one witnessed the mayhem ...
it was quite dark.
The elves were not so lucky,
though Santa was spared,
The scene o f Christmas spirit
was suddenly not there.
The soldiers of wood were
unable to defend
Such cruel destruction that had
befallen all of them.
The scene had been bom of
loving hands.
Creativity and time had been the
only demands.
Volunteers that had made these
elves and toys
To bring smiles of happiness to
all our girls and boys.
Now certain souls were looking
down at this scene...
Henry said to Jack, "What have
we here?
Someone not nice, bringing our
town fear.
Sheriff McDuffee would bring a
halt to this.
His bravery has never been
amiss."
"Get JW Reddington, he'll let the
citizens know
What happened this night to
bring our town so low."
But little they could do this
night;
They were only spirits, though
they tried with all their might.
Their only hope is the city would
recover;
Sharing the loss and supporting
each other.
The pride of the citizens of
Heppner is strong
Even when they have been given
a great wrong.
Now the very next day the pitiful
scene was found;
The elves and the toys scattered
across the ground.
The evidence included the tracks
from a sedan;
The police said that they would
do what they can.
The staff of the museum were
quite upset and didn't know
That something like a sedan
could have its priorities so low;
To take away from the
community the Christmas spirit
they had shared;
Destroyed by a reckless sedan
that had not cared.
There were tears from children
for the elves gone from the site.
The parents were thankful that it
was only elves destroyed that
night.
The teens hid their tears but they
knew,
That life wasn't always perfect
from their point o f view.
"We really enjoyed them, we
really did care.
We hope that next time no one
will dare
Destroy our Christmas spirit of
Santa's Workshop;
This mayhem and destruction, it
really must stop!"
We hope that we've learned
something from this event;
The
museum
staff
and
volunteers and all the time that
was spent
Bringing the citizens some
holiday cheer;
We hope to replace it by
December next year.
...Now our city founders Henry
Heppner and Jackson Morrow'
were talking again,
With the early editor of the
Heppner
Gazette,
Mr.
Reddington:
They came up with a statement
that they would like to share;
Because they knew the citizens
of Heppner really must care.
"We ask that you remember the
responsibility of owning a sedan;
To nurture it and love it as part
of your plan;
Teach it morals and pride, to do
what is right;
We wouldn't want to have
happened again, what happened
that night."
Tami Sneddon
Heppner
Wind causes
power outage
Much of Heppner experienced
a fiower outage on Sunday, Dec.
27. The outage lasted only
around 20 minutes, from 11:46
p.m. to 12:05 a.m.
According to Columbia Basin
Electric Coop general manager
Jerry Healy, the outage, which
affected 80-90 percent of the
downtown area, was caused by
high winds.
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Sheriff's Report
The Morrow County Sheriffs
office (MCSO) reports handling
the following business:
Dec. 21-Heppner Police Dept,
received a report of drug para
phernalia discovered at a Hepp
ner residence.
MCSO received a report of
two kids out on frozen ponds along
1-84, milepost 161. An officer was
unable to locate anyone.
MCSO deputy removed a dead
deer from the roadway on High
way 207, milepost six;
MCSO received a report of a
person hitting their grandparents'
dog at a Lexington residence.
MCSO dispatched to the Hepp
ner Police Dept, a report of a white
Chevy extended cab passing on
Riverside and traveling at a high
rate of speed.
MCSO, Heppner Police Dept,
received a report of a man at a
H eppner residence who was
drunk, had a gun and was refus
ing to leave. He reportedly threat
ened several subjects.
Heppner Police Dept, received
a report of a fight at Bucknum’s
Tavern. Gordon Walker, 40, was
arrested for four counts of Men
acing, Criminal Trespass I, and
Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.
Walker was lodged at the UCSO
jail.
Dec. 22-Heppner Police Dept,
received a report of a verbal ar
gument on a neighbor’s front
porch.
Heppner Police Dept, received
a report of an 18 year old making
an obscene threat. Complainant
threatened to take action if some
thing wasn’t done about it.
MCSO dispatched to the
Boardman Police Dept, a report
of a vehicle hitting a trash can and
the Boardman BP building. It was
believed that a pickup was in gear
and jumped.
MCSO received a report of a
broken waterline on a ranch.
MCSO deputy cited two juve
niles, 13 and 14, for Criminal Mis
chief III.
MCSO received a report of
harassment at the Washboard
Laundromat in Imgon. The sub
ject waited for a woman’s hus
band to leave and then went into
the laundromat and harassed her.
MCSO and ODFW received a
report of four men hunting in a
Port of Morrow field that was
posted closed to hunting.
MCSO received a report from
ODFW that some people have
special permits to hunt on no-hunt
ing days.
MCSO received a report of a
six month old Labrador puppy sit
ting in the westbound lane in Lex
ington. The dog was returned to
its owner.
Heppner Police Dept, received
a report from a man who said two
subjects called him names, used
foul language and tried to run over
him. The man said he beat the
pickup with a baseball bat.
MCSO received a request for
an extra patrol at an Irrigon resi-
Playing with our lives
To the Editor:
My name is Chelsea Brede-
meier and I’m a seventh grader
at Columbia Middle School in
Irrigon, OR. My language arts
class is writing letters to editors
around the country in hopes of
getting published.
I am wnting about Hanford and
the Umatilla Army Depot. I know
that you probably don’t care or
even know that you might be in
danger or that we are in danger.
Imgon is located two miles from
the army depot and 50 miles from
Hanford. If either of those places
were to leak, it would not take long
for the chemicals to reach us.
There is also a PCB dump out
side of Arlington that not very
many people know about. If you
don’t know what PCBs are, they
are low radioactive wastes.
So as you can see, Irrigon,
Boardman and Umatilla are kind
of in a triangle of chemical dumps.
We have Hanford to the north, the
army depot to the southeast and
the PCB dump to the southwest.
Remember, it’s your lives that the
Dept, of Energy, the Army and
the Portland dumps are playing
with.
(s) Chelsea Bredemeier
Irrigon
Inaccurate reporting
To the Editor:
In response to an article pub
lished in the Heppner Gazette-
Times on Dec. 23, 1998 entitled
“Heppner man turns vigilante,” I
would like to make it public that
Mr. Verrall is not a member of the
Heppner Crime Prevention Com
mittee. He attended the first meet
ing of the committee as a volun
teer and participated in the first
meeting o f the Neighborhood
Watch group but quit shortly there
after because of “personal rea
sons.” He has not been a partici
pant in either group since August,
1998. The inference in the Ga
zette-Times that the Committee
now supports vigilantism is totally
false and an offense to those of
us who are working hard with law
enforcement officials and local
citizens to eradicate the crime in
Heppner in a peaceful, but lasting
way. The action of Mr. Verrall,
whether true or not, have no re
flection whatsoever on the phi
losophy o f the Heppner Crime
Prevention Committee as the in
appropriate and inaccurate accu
sations of one reporter do not re
flect on the otherwise professional
journalism normally seen in the
Heppner Gazette-Times.
(s) Darwin Merrill
Chair, Morrow County Crime
Prevention Committee
Heppner
dence.
Heppner Police Dept, received
a report of a man missing in Hepp
ner. The man showed up and was
okay.
MCSO received a report o f the
flood computer jumping to a Level
3. The fire chief checked the sta
tus of the creek and advised the
creek was frozen solid.
MCSO deputy arrested
Roberto Rodriguez, 22, on a cir
cuit court warrant for Delivery of
a Controlled Substance and Pos
session of a Controlled Substance.
Rodriguez was lodged at the
UCSOjaii.
Boardman Police Dept, re
ceived a report of a dog attacking
another dog in Boardman.
Oregon State Police received
a report of a woman in lone com
ing home and finding her ceiling
fan on. When she left home, it
wasn’t on.
MCSO, Oregon State Police
and the Boardman Police Dept,
received a report of a domestic
dispute at the Outback Apts, in
Boardman.
Boardm an Police D ept.,
Boardman ambulance received a
request for an ambulance for a 50
year old female having a severe
anxiety attack. The patient was
transported to Good Shepherd
Community Hospital in Hermiston.
Dec. 23: MCSO and Oregon
State Police received a request for
a welfare check in Irrigon. All was
okay.
MCSO deputy cited a 14 year
old for Criminal Mischief II.
MCSO received a report of a
possible car fire or overheating on
1-84 westbound. It turned out not
to be a fire.
MCSO received a report of a
broken window on a vehicle
parked behind the North Lexing
ton Grain Elevator.
MCSO received a report of a
; small fire at Three Mile Canyon.
| The fire was put out.
! MCSO received a report of a
fire alarm at Finley Buttes Land
fill. It was a false alarm, but also
out of the district.
MCSO, Boardman ambulance
received a report of a man having
a heart attack in Boardman. The
patient was transported to Good
Shepherd Community Hospital in
Hermiston.
MCSO deputy cited Brian
Burnside, 18, with Failure to Per
form the Duties of a Driver with
Property Damage.
MCSO deputy arrested Joseph
Kindle, 18, for Burglary II, Theft
b
A
!
|Av
p
p
y
m
0 and Criminal Mischief n. Kindle
was lodged at the UCSOjaii.
MCSO received a report of a
woman locked out of her resi
dence. There were no deputies in
the area.
MCSO received a report of a
lost chocolate lab at the Irrigon
Marina.
MCSO, Heppner Fire Dept.,
Heppner ambulance received a
report o f a one vehicle accident
with one person injured and still in
1 the vehicle approximately three
: miles south of Hardman on High-
I way 207. The patient was trans
ported to Pioneer Memorial Hos
pital in Heppner.
Heppner Police Dept, received
a report o f a car alarm sounding
on Morgan Street.
MCSO received a report of a
possible drunk driver who was all
over the road on Highway 730
westbound. An officer was unable
to locate anyone.
Heppner Police Dept, received
a report of an alarm on Riverside
Street in Heppner.
Boardman Police Dept, re
ceived a report of an intrusion
alarm at the Boardman Chevron.
MCSO received a report of
gates open and lights on inside
MCGG in Lexington at 2:15 a.m.
It turned out to be the cleaning
service.
MCSO received a request for
a welfare check at an Irrigon resi
dence with a previous history of
domestic violence. An officer was
unable to locate anyone it the resi
dence.
MCSO received a request for
assistance for a woman wanting
help in getting her kids from her
husband for visitation.
MCSO, Boardman Fire Dept
received a report of a Toyota on
fire on 1-84 between Highway 730
junction and Patterson Ferry. Two
men were trying to put out die fire.
MCSO received a report of a
burglar alarm at Cascade Speci
alities on Bombing Range Road.
An officer was unable to locate
anything.
MCSO received a report of a
puppy found at Coast to Coast in
Heppner.
MCSO received a report of a
Rottweiler killing a duck at a
Boardman residence. The caller
said they had previous problems
with the dog and wanted to know
if they could kill the dog. MCSO
advised not to and said they would
send a deputy over.
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D e c e m b e r 3 1 st - T hu rsd ay
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NEW Y1^ A R ,a EVE p a r t y
Crab Feed, B aron of Beef
|r - t f |||
D inner from 6-8:30 p.m.
V
' l * Live m usic from 9-?? P arty Favors 1
B I N G O I S B A C K l W e d n e s d a y * a t 7 : 5 0 p .m .
(HEPPNER ELKS 358
676-9181
"Where Friends Meet"
142 N orth M ala
G T FOOTBALL PICKS CONTEST
Each w eek through football season, the below football “e x p e rts” will test their
gridiron knowledge by picking winners o f games in both the p ros and college.
PICK THE WINNER!
Bold-Pro Italics-College
Buffalo
@ Miami
Arizona
@ Dallas
New England
@ Jacksonville
Green Bay
@ San Francisco
1) Southern Cal
vs Texas Christian
2) Virginia
vs Georgia
3) Penn State
vs Kentucky
4) Georgia Tech
vs Notre Dame
5) Michigan
vs. Arkansas
6) Mississippi State
vs. Texas
7 ) Texas AAM
vs Ohio State
8) Wisconsin
vs UCLA
LAST WEEK'S
SCOflF
RIGHT
WRONG
TOTAL
SCORE
RIGHT
WRONG
Chris
Sykes
□
0
0
□
0
□
□
0
0
□
0
Greg
Grant
□
0
□
0
□
□
0
□
0
0
□
0
□
11
3
109
63
11
3
104
56
Butch
Laughlin
□
0
□
0
□
0
□
0
0
□
□
0
0
□
□
0
0
□
0
□
□
0
0
Larry
Mills
0
□
□
0
0
□
□
0
0
□
0
George
Koffler
□
0
□
0
□
0
0
□
0
□
Molly
Rhea
□
0
□
0
□
0
□
0
0
□
□
□
0
□
□
0
0
□
□
0
0
0
□
0
□
0
□
□
0
□
0
0
□
□
1
1 ^ 2
102 ^ 122
58 t^ 5 0
I) Sun Bowl • 2) Peach Bowl • 3) Outback Bowl •
Dennis
Stefani
Les
Payne
Kitn
Gutierrez
□
0
□
0
□
0
Rick
Paullus
0
□ *
□
0
□
0
□
0
0
□
0
□
0
□
□
□
0
0
□
0
□
0
□
0
□
0
0
□
0
□
□
0
0
□
□
□
0
□
0
9
5
116
56
4) Gator Bowl
Stef
Jensen
0
□
□
0
□
0
0
□
0
0
0
□
0
□
□
□
0
□
□
0
□
□
□
0
□
0
0
□
□
0
0
0
□
0
□
0
□
0
0
0
0
□
0
□
0
□
□
□
□
□
□
0
0
0
0
0
□
□
□
0
7
7
90
70
9
5
111
61
11
3
121
51
11
3
117
55
□
0
8
6
106
66
• 5) Citnu Bowl • 6) Cotton Bowl • 7) Sugar Bowl •
0
□
0
11
3
113
59
□
0
□
0
10
4
115
57
8) Rose Bowl
* Last week I score includes the Motor City Bowl A Oahu BowI The remaining college games will be counted as the games are played
( ^ ) Hr. Really Bight jd -Larry's atone m lint place*
■ffMmftsr
Hr. Bighcad-Top S cot * for the Week! Larry’s fk trghead again**