Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2000)
TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 1, 2000 The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow Heppner U S 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 Periodical 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(a>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 years or older), $29 else where David Sykes ............................................................... Publisher April Hilton-Sykes .................................................................... Editor 0 /i the H E P P .\E R W EBSITE: www.heppner.net • Start or Change a Subscription • Place a C lassified Ad • Subm it a News Story • V iew Real Estate for Sale • City Council & Planning Minutes • Local Businesses • County Park • Willow Creek Park Reservations • Free Digital Postcards • Senior Housing • and more! Charles D. Hendricks Charles D. Hendricks, 50, of lone, died Wednesday February 23, 2000 at Oregon Health Sci ences University Hospital. Graveside services were held Tuesday, February "’9, 2000 at High View Cemetery in lone. He was bom October 20,1949, at Coos Bay, to Richard and Mildred Wing Hendricks. He was raised at St. Helens and attended school there. He graduated from Scappoose High School. On April 1, 1980, he married Edith R. McLain at Reno, Nevada. He lived in the Scappoose/St. Helens area until 1997 when he moved to lone. He loved his children, raising them and spending time with them; he enjoyed fishing, the out doors and playing cards. Survivors include his wife, Edith, of lone; daughters, Kim berly Schawth and Patricia Freeze, both of St. Helens, Missy Lou Hendricks in New Mexico; stepsons, Ray Van Derwall and Troy Fisk, both of St. Hele ns; his mother, Mildred Hendricks of lone; and brother, Dick Hendricks of Scappoose. He was preceded in death by a son, Erin Ray Hendricks, and his father, Rich ard S. Hendricks. Memorial contributions may be made to the lone City Library, P.O. Box 125, lone, Oregon 97843. Sweeney Mortuary of Hepp ner was in charge o f arrange ments. Rodney Britt "Rod” Dean Former area resident, Rodney "Rod" Dean Britt, 61, a Redmond restauranteur, died Monday, Feb. 21, 2000, at Central Oregon District Hospital in Redmond. The funeral was Friday, February 25, at the Dayspring Christian Center in Terrebonne with a gathering of family and friends that followed at the Redmond Senior Citizen Center. Gravesii’e services were be held Saturday, February 26, at the cemetery in Spray, with a gathering held at the senior center there. Mr. Britt was bom Oct. 8, 1938, at fossil, to Roy H. and Selma Anderson Britt. He graduated from Spray High School. On Oct. 24, 1959, he married Theda Croissant at Fossil. Mr. Britt worked in heavy construction and at one time owned and operated Roy Britt Construction Inc. He had been proprietor of a hardware store at Pilot Rock. During his earlier years, he drove log truck and freight truck at Heppner. In 1988, the Britts purchased The Brand Dinnerhouse at Redmond and had operated the restaurant since then. He and his wife had been able to find time to enjoy a tour of Europe; ho also thoroughly enjoyed taking in some of the sights of the continental United States and Canada traveling in ‘Dr. 'Dormiti J. their motorhome. Mr. Bntt really enjoyed golf and the Juniper Country Club became his second home. Survivors include his wife, Theda, of Redmond; daughter, Kimberly Ann Britt of Redmond; sons, Rodney "Rocky" Allen Bntt of Pendleton and Benjamin Fred Britt of Summerville; his mother and stepfather; Selma and Roy James Adams of Spray; a brother, Sidney Ray Bntt of Echo; a sister, Ruth Pietila of Floodwood, Min.; and nine grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father, Roy H. Britt, and - brother, Leroy Allen Britt. Autumn Funerals, Redmond, was in charge of arrangements. Alice Fletcher Alice Fletcher, 64, of Imgon, died Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2000, at Good Shepherd Community Hospital in Hermiston. The funeral was held at 1 Monday, February 28, at the Molalla Funeral Chapel with burial at Adams Cemetery near Molalla. Mrs. Fletcher was bom Feb. 17, 1936, in Lake County, Ind., to Harry and Henrietta Geib. She graduated from Hamilton High ¿ctiool in West Los Angeles, Calif. On Sept, 18 1959, she maimed George Edward Fletcher. They moved to Molalla in 1969 and lived on the Fletcher family farm on Ellis Road, raising livestock. They later had their own farm on Herman Road in the Molalla area where they raised horses. Mrs. Fletcher worked in the banking business for many years. She worked at Bank of America in California, at First Interstate Bank in Mt. Angel and Molalla, and retired from Wells Fargo Bank in Irrigon. She worked part-time for Farmers Insurance after her retirement. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher moved to Imgon in 1993. The loved to hunt and fish together and travel throughout the year. Mrs. Fletcher had been a Molalla Moose Lodge member since 1972. She and her husband were instrumental in instituting the Irrigon Moose Lodge. Survivors include her husband, Eddie Fletcher of Imgon; daughters, Cathy Tolliver of Boise, Idaho, and Patricia Ross of Clarkes; sons, George Edward Fletcher, Jr., and Patrick "Chuck" Fletcher of Boring; a sister, Arlene Clark of Cedar Lake, Ind.; a brother, Lewis Geib of Minneapolis, Minn.; her mother, Henrietta Geib of Cedar Lake, Ind., and eight grandchildren. Correction Heppner Junior/Senior High School released its second quar ter honor roll, not first semester honor roll, as stated in last week’s G-T. Markon Joot Spedatisi will be at the Pioneer Memorial Clinic on March 8th for the diagnosis and treatment of all foot problems Heppner Ed itor's note: Letters to the Editor m ust be signed The Gazette-Times w ill not publish unsigned letters Please include your address and phone num ber on a ll letters fo r use by the G -T office The G-7 reserves the rig ht to edit The C -T is not GAZETTE-TIMES Obituaries Letters to the Editor_______ Hermiston 6 7 6 - 5 5 0 4 ________________ 5 6 7 - 8 7 5 0 responsible fo r accuracy o f statements made in letters. Board seeks help from those it refused to listen to kids live with them every day. To the Editor: It seems that the Morrow We know further cuts must be County School District Board has made now and that they won't be backed itself into a comer and ts painless. However, there are seeking help from the very more ways than one to balance a people it refused to listen to at a budget. You were asked before and Feb. 14 meeting. Many people spoke at that were asked again at Monday meeting and asked the board to night's meeting to cut more consider other cost cutting administrative expenses. If fewer measures before cutting teaching teachers have to pick up the slack positions. The board had the of those who are cut it is only opportunity to show some good fair that administration do the faith and grant their request, same. Yes, you must present a holding off on a decision until other options were more fully balanced budget to the state. however, your explored. But with the exception Remember, of Barney Lindsey and Keith fiduciary responsibility lies to the Lewis, the board chose instead to taxpayers of this county who make those teacher cuts without elected you to represent them. Many very good ideas came further consideration. At last night's meeting the board out of Monday night's meeting. reiterated their reason for cutting Of course not everyone can have those teaching positions: that it is everything they want. Board their "fiduciary responsibility to President Frederickson said there create a balanced budget." The is a good chance the proposed key word here is create, not local option won’t pass. I think merely accept what was the ball is back in the board's suggested by the superintendent. court. They have the opportunity Do members of the board and to make some requested cuts in the superintendent honestly administration. If you want the believe that of all the people in local option to pass, first go back attendance at both meetings that to the table. Listen to your none have ever served as a board budget and advisory committee or budget committee member members, not just your and understand the necessity of superintendent. Show some good balancing a budget? This air of faith to those who put you where arrogance must stop. We know you are. that cuts have already been made (s) Patti Allstott in many other areas; we and our Heppner McCain's proposals only ones that make sense To the Editor: Twelve to 15 years ago, I received a newsletter originating in Washington, D.C., that advised me if I were an executive, I should immediately ask for a high salary because my worth as an executive was based on the salary I was being paid. Shortly thereafter, there was an explosion in executive salaries followed by an explosion in union wages. Left out of all this largesse were family farmers, family small businesses and minimum- wage earners, most of which were in rural areas. One can easily understand why the newsletter originated in Washington because politicians are now happily engaged in using the resultant increase in taxes collected to pay on the national debt. I would suggest to any voter willing to listen that we must learn to live within our means and pay down the national debt. Continued inflation of wages for only 50 percent of the people should not be viewed as an option. However, if we give priority to giving a large tax cut, as George Bush wants, or spend the surplus, as A1 Gore wishes, the disparity in income between the haves and the have-nots will only increase. And this additional burden will fall heavily upon the shoulders of our children. John McCain’s conservative spending proposals are the only ones that make sense. (s) Meg Murray lone Local Angus breeder recognized Kathryn Healy of Heppner, owns one bull listed in the 2000 Spring Sire Evaluation Report published by the American Angus Association which is headquartered in St. Joseph, Mo. Issued in both the spring and fall, the new report features the latest performance information available on 4,720 sires. "The American Angus Association has the most complete and comprehensive beef cattle database in the world," says John Crouch, American Angus Association director of performance programs. "Of the sires listed in the main report, 62 percent have expected progeny differences (EPDs) for carcass traits, which should assist cattlemen in choosing genetics that will produce a more consistent, higher quality beef product." EPDs are generated from performance data submitted by breeders through the Angus Herd Improvement Records (AHIR) program. Traits in which EPDs are available include birth weight, weaning weight, milk, yearling weight and height, mature daughter weight and height, and scrotal circumference, as well as carcass traits including carcass weight, marbling, rib eye area, external fat thickness and percent retail product. The analysis for the sire evaluation report is done in cooperation with Iowa State University by Doyle E. Wilson and Dr. Abebe Hassen. fir JACKPOT DOUBLE HEADER SATURDAY, M ARCH 18TH BARRELS 4-D Format: $5 office fee included Entries: $20 8 and under: $10 • Juniors: $15 «Time Only: $5 25 and up: $15 • 16-24: $13 • 9-15: $11* 8 and under $9 Entries open Thursday prior, 8-10 p.m. Entries close 9:30 a.m., start at 10 a.m. * & A PAINTS, IONS Ruby (541)488-7090 • E-mailshcar4shear9yahoo.com Support annexation into BMCC district To the Editor: As the former regional development officer for the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department serving Northeast Oregon, I saw first-hand the value of Blue Mountain Community College to Umatilla and Morrow counties. The community college was, and continues to be, a key player on the community and economic development front. Today, voters in Umatilla, Morrow and Baker counties have an opportunity to advance the strength of BMCC and provide more opportunities for jobs and growth in Eastern Oregon. Community colleges rely on increased enrollment for financial and programming growth, and Baker County represents a largely untapped resource for BMCC. It is my understanding that approval of this measure will not impact property taxes for Umatilla and Morrow County residents and will simply strengthen the existing community college. I urge voters in the three counties to support the annexation of Baker County into the Blue Mountain Community College district, as I believe it will prove to be a win/win for all involved. Please vote yes on the Blue Mountain Community College measure. (s) Brian Cole Baker County Commissioner Baker City Appeal endangered species listing To the Editor: On Jan. 21, 2000 the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission listed the Washington ground squirrel as an endangered species under the Oregon Endangered Species Act. This occurred without the requisite notice of hearing being sent to affected local governing bodies. These governing bodies include, but are not limited to, Morrow County and The Port of Morrow. These concerned local governing bodies were, in effect, denied their right to participate in the listing process as representatives of their constituency - the citizens of Morrow County. It is now the responsibility of these bodies to appeal this mistreatment of Morrow County. Whether one believes that the Washington (not Oregon) ground squirrel is indeed endangered, our rights have been unconscionably trampled by an obviously determined effort of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission. On Feb. 25, 2000, the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, Defenders of Wildlife and the Oregon Natural Desert Association filed for emergency listing of the squirrel under the Federal Endangered Species Act with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. This proposed listing could adversely impact the management of any private property in the county which is determined to be a squirrel habitat. We do not need the flawed decision of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to list the ground squirrel under the state Endangered Species Act to be used as a precedent for this proposed federal listing. Furthermore, we genuinely do not need to have inaction by the County of Morrow or the Port of Morrow to be cited as our tacit approval of any endangered listing of the Washington ground squirrel. Both the county commissioners and the port commissioners are elected to represent the people of Morrow County. Many citizens are demanding that both the County of Morrow and the Port of Morrow meet their responsibilities to the citizens of their county. They are calling upon these commissions to appeal the state listing in order that we may fully participate in this process. They demand that these commissions protect our rights. I would like to add my voice to this chorus. (s) Michael Armato Heppner Board members show fiscal responsibility To the Editor: I just read with considerable amazement, the editorial page in the Feb. 16 issue of the Gazette. There was not a single article in favor of the recent action taken by the school board. Well, I for one, would like to congratulate each member of the board who had the courage to show enough fiscal responsibility to make hard choices that are good for the whole community and not just good for a select few. I applaud each of you whose shoulders are broad enough to take the heat, complaints and criticisms of special interest groups that probably pay little if anything of the property taxes that support our school system. Agriculture is the basis of our local economy. Wheat prices are in the toilet. Cattle prices are down. We've raped our forests. The mill is gone. Times are tough and as a community, we need to come to grips with the fact that we don't necessarily need everything we want. Our school system must operate within its available budgetjust like everyone else has to. If that means cutting certain programs such as sports and vo- ag then so be it. In reality, we probably should have made these cuts long ago or maybe not even started some of these programs at all. We have a limited amount of money to spend and, in my view, reading is more important than football. I wonder how many of those individuals complaining so loudly would be willing to dip into their own pockets to help support their pet programs? All of this stuff is great as long as someone else is paying the bill. Finally, I would like to address one more issue. My son came home last night practically in tears because a teacher told his class that, "Although he wasn't supposed to tell them, he felt that they had the right to know." He then proceeded to expound upon all the "terrible things" that are going on in the school system— from his point of view of course. I spent probably half an hour calming him down and explaining to him that this same thing (budget crisis) happened when I was a kid in the lone school 35 years ago. Same song just different singers. And, it didn't affect my education in the slightest. His teacher is right about one thing, however. He shouldn't be talking to his students about these matters. He should stick to the subject he is being paid to teach and leave his political views at the classroom door. (s) Sidney Zinter lone HOME FOR SALE IN IONE Extrem ely nice 1996 three bedroom , tw o bath Valley manufactured hom e on 1.72 acres in Emert Estates, lon e. Great floor plan, patio in back, outside shed, 24x36x12 shop, nicely landscaped. This borne is in immaculate condition. For more information or to see this lovely home, call Janet Fouse at Scbrotb Realty, 1-800-726-4603 or (541) 567-4663 or come by the office at 110 NE 4th Street, Hermiston.