Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (June 9, 1999)
TWO Heppner Gazette-Tim es, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, June 9, 1999 The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow H ep p n e r G A Z E T T E -T IM E S US P S. 240-420 Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper Published weekly and entered as periodical matter at the Post Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3,1879. Penodical postage paid at Heppner, Oregon Office at 147 W Willow Street Telephone (541>676-9228. Fax(541)676-9211 E-mail: gt@heppner.net or gt@rapidserve net. Web site: www heppner.net. Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times, P.O Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $22 in Morrow County, $16 senior rate (in Morrow County only, 62 yean or older), $29 else- where David Sykes ...........................................................................................................Publisher April Hilton-Sykes......................................................................................................... Editor ______ 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: For the last four weeks Dr. Burnham's letters have been negative about everyone from the Morrow County Health District Board of Directors down to the community level. His supporters have even attacked the job of our state required paramedic who works at both ends of the county. If my sixth sense is accurate, this is all about power and control. He obviously feels that one person, himself, has the answers to every problem that five long-time residents of this county are unaware of and unable to resolve intelligently. At the first public meeting for the closure of Pioneer Memorial Hospital he began his power struggle with the board and the then administrator, Susan Brock. Thank God the hospital survived that one, but here we go again. I personally know several employees of Pioneer Memorial Hospital and, though times have been hard on many of them, they seem to project a hopeful outlook and keep a professional manner about speaking out on sensitive issues. Dr. Burnham is correct in saying, "All doctors make mistakes." But, how you deal with these mistakes and accept responsibility for them is what makes the man. My purpose for this letter is not to mudsling, but to encourage our citizens to keep an open mind. I am sure there are divided feelings in the community about losing several physicians recently. However, if we are going to be progressive and look to the future, let's stop the negativity NOW. New equipment such as CatScan and Ultrasound should bring physicians to our area that would be better able to diagnose problems, which are now being referred out of our county. It stands to reason that if our beds are full, so is the cash register. I hope we recruit new doctors that have the foresight to move the Morrow County Health District into the twenty-first century as a modem health care facility. Their country of origin is not an issue to me. Nor is the fact that they may choose to leave somewhere down the line. If they leave behind a community of happy, healthy, united people and a progressively growing medical practice, there shouldn't be a problem finding competent replacements. Let us look forward to a prosperous health district and a renewed faith in the board of directors, Mrs. Dahlman, who has brought numerous resources with her to get the district this far, and the future of Heppner. And as for Dr. Burnham, this is not a military coup. He has not been tarred, feathered and run out of town. As I see it, the choice is his, honorable or dishonorable discharge. (s) Rick-Smith Heppner Pendleton Field Day The Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center will have its Pendleton Field Day Tuesday, June 15, and the Sherman Station Field Day, Wednesday, June 16. The programs will feature tours ol experimental plots and presentations by staff scientists at both locations. The Pendleton Field Day will begin with registration at 8:15 a.m. Welcome and introductions will begin at 8:45 a.m. Tours of experimental plots will begin at 9 a.m. and will feature no-till seeding of winter wheat by Dale Wilkins, USDA-ARS research leader and supervisory ag engineer; tool design for moving crop residue from the seed row by Mark Siemens, USDA-ARS ag engineer; earthworm activity in different cropping systems by Stewart Wuest, USDA-ARS soil scientist; plant back response to a potential new herbicide for downy brome control in winter wheat by Curtis Rambolt, University of Idaho graduate student; barley variety development by Patrick Hayes, OSU barley breeder; and new directions for plant pathology research by Richard Smiley, OSU plant pathologist. A lunch hosted by local agribusiness will be served at 12 p.m. Afternoon field tours will commence at 1 p.m. and will feature an update on club wheat breeding and diseases by Scott McDonald, OSU research assistant, and Chris Mundt, OSU plant pathologist; sulfur and phosphorus fertilization on annual spring wheat by Don Wysocki, OSU extension soil scientist; new people and new varieties in cereal variety testing by Russ Karow, OSU extension cereal specialist and Jim Peterson, OSU wheat breeder; potential for jointed goatgrass infestations in spring wheat by Darrin Walenta, WSU graduate student; and quantifying the effects of rainfall, nitrogen and soil depth on wheat yields by Kelli Camara, OSU graduate student and Bill Payne, OSU agronomist. An ice cream social hosted by the Umatilla County Wheat Growers League will begin at 3:30 p.m. A wheat variety tour at the Rugg Site by Jim Peterson and Kanm Ammar, OSU wheat breeders, will begin at 4 p.m. In the Service Army Pvt. Robert L. Ratchford II has graduated from the tracked vehicle recovery specialist course at Fort Knox, KY. The student was provided with the necessary training and knowledge to perform recovery operations with an M88A1/A2 tracked recovery vehicle. The soldier received field and classroom training in the proper use of tools, equipment, I technical data, and applicable references needed to determine recovery methods, locate recovery sites, operate tactical communications equipment, and maintain recovery vehicle armament systems. The trainee also learned to drive, maintain, and perform preventive maintenance on recovery vehicles; received operating instructions in recovery vehicle component equipment, auxiliary power units, and use of proper recovery safety procedures. Ratchford is assigned to the Stained glass window in honor of Marilyn Rietmann was saved from the 81st Armor Regiment at Fort United Church of Christ fire and will be installed in the new United Knox. Church of Christ to be built in lone. He is the son of Joanna Ratchford and Wayne Tison of Boardman. The private is a 1998 graduate Pioneer Memorial Hospital of Riverside High School, Boardman. Nursing Home Auxiliary YARD SALE Saturday, June 12th at Tonya Jones' residence (Heppner-Condon Highway) For donation pickup, call 6 7 6 -9 6 1 6 or 6 7 6 -5 1 2 8 This ad sponsored by Murray Drugs FAX • Send or Receive Gazette-Times 676-9211 Lc Violin students perform for nursing home Violin students of Peg Lewis gather at the Pioneer Memorial Nursing Home May 28 to play for the nursing home residents at an end-of-the-year concert. Lewis comes to Heppner every year to teach violin. Morrow County Field Day planned June 18 The Morrow County field day, a tour of the Bill and Nancy Jepsen farm, the 1999 Morrow County Wheat Growers Conservation Farm of the Year, will begin from the Jepsen farm on Friday, June 18, beginning at 4 p.m. Tour participants will view the Monsanto test plots - "Fields of Excellence"; and observe and compare annual no till barley and wheat against nearby conventional summer fallow fields. A potluck barbecue will be held immediately following the tour. Potluck participants with last names beginning with A - L are asked to bring a salad and last names beginning with M-Z, dessert. For more information, contact the OWGL office at (541) 276- 7330, or Ken Grieb at (541) 989- 8353. The Jepsen family has a strong tradition of stewardship to the land. In 1991, Bill and Nancy returned to the farm where Bill was raised to become the new operators of the 3,500 acre farm "lovingly and wisely cultivated by Bill's parents, Bob and Suzanne Jepsen." Bob had established conservation practices that had protected the soil and it was on that foundation that Bill began to try some new methods. With the annual rainfall at an average of 12.4 inches and with highly erodible soil, Bill began to look into no-till farming as a nontraditional solution to an annual problem. "No-till farming has been successful and is becoming the predominant form of agriculture in many parts of the world," Bill said. "It's too early to tell if no till will work in this part of Morrow County, especially with our limited rainfall but the tremendous conservation benefits that come from this system make it worth the effort." What makes this system so innovative are three key elements: the ground isn't worked up, except for the small amount done by the drill at planting time; spring crops are planted rather than the traditional winter wheat; and crops are grown every year on a piece of land, rather than every other year. The Jepsens grow wheat barley and mustard. Recently, they have also begun to try their hand at spring canola, flax, lentils and garbanzo beans. Approximately 600 acres are in the Conservation Reserve Program. Colorful place names topic of museum program "Gouge Eye, Lemiti, and Noti: The Colorful Stories Behind Oregon Landmarks," a talk by Tom Nash, will be presented Saturday, June 19, at 7 p.m. at the Morrow County Museum. The program is sponsored by the museum and is made possible by funding from the Oregon Council for the Humanties, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. OCH is dedicated to providing opportunities for life-long learning in communities around the state. "Gouge Eye, Lemiti, and Noti: The Colorful Stories Behind Oregon Landmarks" examines the stories behind the names of many Oregon landmarks. Stories about place name origins often reveal the human value and prejudices of both indigenous people and settlers. Combining history with folk lore, linguistics and an occasional song, Nash uses landmarks such as Sweet Home, Burnt Ranch and the Three Sisters to point out the rich sub text of Oregon's history and engages the audience in a discussion about place-names as keys to understanding how humans interact with place, and confer meaning on place through the process of naming. Tom Nash is a professor of English and honors at Southern Oregon University. The public is invited to attend the program and admission is free. For further information about the program, contact the Morrow County Museum, 676-5524, 1-5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Rocky Steagall takes home rodeo cash Rocky Steagall celebrated his versatility over the holiday weekend. Steagall, a championship- caliber bareback rider from Sanger, Calif, took home paychecks totaling $1,143 from two California rodeos. The 36-year old cowboy pocketed $437 at the Marysville (California) Stampede by placing in the bareback and saddle bronc riding events. Steagall topped Rosser Rodeo Company's bareback horse No. 657 for 73 points, which was good for fourth place and $102. In the saddle bronc riding event, he rode Flying U Rodeo Company's No. 84 to 75 points and a second-place tie with hometown cowboy Jeff Shearer of Maiysville. Steagall and Shearer earned $335 each. And the 5' 7", 160-pound cowboy wasn't done yet. Steagall won the bareback riding competition at the Temecula (California) Frontier Days Rodeo with a 79-point effort aboard Honeycutt Rodeo Company's Chinook for $706. The homestate paychecks boost Steagall to 25th place in S u r p r is e D A D Horse club playday set A family Horse Club Playday is planned for Sunday, June 13, at 1 p.m. at the Morrow County Fairgrounds for all 4-H Horse Club members and their families. Those attending are asked to "Bring your own horse and a smile." Everyone is welcome to attend. Michelle Darn Alldritt and Brian David Holtz Invite friends and the community to a reception celebrating their marriage at 7 p.m., Saturday, June 19th at the Morrow County F airgrounds ___ the Crown Royal world bareback riding standings with $9,762. Pete Hawkins of Weatherford, Texas, leads the standings with $32,230. Only the top 15 contestants in each event at season's end qualify to compete for world titles and shares of $4.4 million at the Dec. 3-12 National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nev. Steagall has qualified for the NFR four times. th is y e a r w ith a Ì v * . B e la ir (o' \iVk P o c k e tw a tc h H it it t i n g Case w ith C h a in a n il Q u a r tz m ovem ent Ä ^ - V - — ---- 11 \ / P e te rso n 's Tpr ¡2 >•••'«/ C ) * ” 4 7 4 -9 1 0 0
