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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2000)
TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, November 1, 2000 The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES U S P S 240-420 M orrow C o u n ty 's H om e-O w ned W eekly N ew spaper Published weekly and entered as penodical 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(uiheppner net or gttwrapidserve 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-Sykcs......................................................................................................... Editor On the HEPPNER WEBSITE: wyvw.heppner.net • Start or Change a Subscription • Place a Classified Ad • Submit a N ew s 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! HEDC recommends ’yes* on road levy To the Editor: The Willow Creek Valley Economic Development Group (HEDC) is recommending a "Yes" vote on the County Road Levy. Future job creation and economic development depends on continued maintenance and improvements to our county road system. If this levy does not pass, roads will deteriorate, existing jobs will be cut, and there will be reduced possibility for recruiting manufacturing and/or value- added companies. There have been, and continue to be, inquiries by companies into locating at the South Morrow Industrial site, some with merit, some without. Now is not the time to pull in our homs. Economic development is essential to create additional family wage jobs, which result in young families coming to the area, more advantages for our youth, and for business retention in our small towns. Join the Willow Creek Valley Economic Development Group in voting "Yes" to enhance economic development and keeping our county roads in good shape. (s) Tom Wolff President, Willow Creek Valley Economic Development Group Myren will make good sheriff Letter to the Editor: Steve Myren would make a good Sheriff for Morrow County. He is a people-person who always has a big smile and takes time to greet you. Steve would be a manager that would spend part o f his tipie in the field with his fellow officers as well as time in the office. He has taken management and leadership schooling. Steve is the most emergency-prepared person in Morrow County. His training and schooling in this field has been done over the last few years. He has worked with many government agencies in this field. Steve spent a few years as a county deputy and (was) highly liked, by the people and fellow deputies. I feel one of his greatest assets is one often overlooked by law enforcement agencies: he likes young people and they like him. Doing the DARE program for years won him great respect from our young people population, the ones too young to vote and have a say in who their Sheriff should be. Please join me and let's make Steve Myren our next Morrow County Sheriff. (s) Jane Dean Boardman EO practices censorship To the Editor: Measure 87 woidd amend the free expression clause of the Oregon Constitution to allow local governments, through zoning authority, to regulate sexually oriented businesses. The Oregon Bill of Rights states "No law shall be passed restraining the free expression of opinion, of restraining the right to speak, write, or print freely on any subject whatever, but every person shall be responsible for the abuse of this right." The East Oregonian editors, Heasley and Gruber, oppose this measure that regulates sexually oriented businesses because "the free expression clause of the Oregon Constitution should be viewed as sacred ground. This clause protects all of our rights to free speech and expression." (E.O Oct. 15, 2000) Why would the E.O. editors stand behind the sacred ground of free expression of speech to protect sexually explicit businesses that rob our youth and society of virtue and moral values, yet deny any citizen the free expression of speech by refusing to print letters to the editor that challenge their liberal bias? The E.O. editors need to look up the definition of hypocrisy. Perhaps this letter will force to E.O. to revise their policy of censorship and print this response. The E.O. practices censorship of Christian conservative writers in the Open Forum in an attempt to ensure the liberal values of the editors are sustained and encoded into law. Their Oct. 15, 2000 voter's guide promotes a big and inclusive government of Clinton liberal values: employee-coerced politically active unions (no 92, no 98, yes 99), pro-govemment control of citizens' rights and property (no 96, no 7, no 2, no 87), pro-gun control (yes 5) pro homosexual sanction in our schools (no 9). I exhort the opposite vote. Do not be deceived. Freedom of the press to the E.O. is only sacred ground as long as it promotes the liberal bias of the E.O. (s) Stuart Dick Meacham Smith will stand up for education To the Editor: As a former teacher in our public schools, I can think of no issue more important than the education of our kids. I believe that it is paramount that we teach our children the fundamentals, of a solid education. This includes reading, writing and basic arithmetic. In addition, they must learn how to succeed in today's workforce. I know a candidate that will stand up for education and for our children, his name is Greg Smith and he is running for Oregon State Representative I admire that Greg has taken the time to research the issues facing our children. Greg has been to over 20 public schools in District 59 and has seen how important it is that our children receive a quality education. I know that I can count on Greg to support our schools as local school districts see fit. He will work hard to support teachers, parents and the needs of all children. Greg Smith has been endorsed by the Oregon Education Association, the Oregon School Boards Association and the O regon A d m in istrato rs Association. Each of these organizations work toward a common goal - putting children first. Vote Greg Smith for Oregon State Representative, District 59. (s) George Koffler Heppner Chamber valuable to community 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 lor use by the G-T office The G-T reserves the right to edit The G-T is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Democrat disturbed by Democrat leadership To the Editor: This is a very confusing year for a senior citizen who is quite happy to stay at home in Eastern Oregon and get his information from the TV networks or the Oregonian. Both sources are insistent that we are in an unparalleled prosperity and of course our vice president is willing to take complete credit for that. Then I can go to Heppner, Condon, Fossil or John Day or any of the smaller towns and they appear to be dying. In fact every one of them had a busier Main Street any week day during the eighties. And every farmer knows that if he hadn't received his government welfare checks this fall his banker would not be in any rush to discuss refinancing. And we are getting a constant stream of news stories about corporate downsizing, i.e., Freightliner discharging 40 percent of Its workforce, the increasing imbalance in our export-import ratio or our trillion dollar credit card debt. All this is somewhat reminiscent of the economic conditions of our childhood days up in the late 1920s before the great awakening. Do you suppose that anyone in the government or Wall Street stock salesmen would lie to us about the economy? Which brings us up to the current election. We have a choice between a rather ordinary man, not an accomplished orator, who has done a passable job as governor of our largest state, and who seems to be of good moral character and apparently shares the religious and citizenship convictions of three quarters of our people on the one hand and on the other a person of at least doubtful qualifications. We have had Mr. Gore in office as Vice President for eight years and his chief accomplishment seems to have been his steadfast support of an immoral, dishonest, demagogue and the ability to lie about anything. And of course he has the excuse of a weak bladder to avoid incriminating decisions. How will we be able to trust anything he says if he were to be elected? And if you have any doubts about where he might lead our country be sure to read his book and then study the decisions which he endorsed at the Koyoto Treaty. Incidentally, we have a daughter, a former teacher, who lives in McAllen, Texas and has two sons in McAllen public schools. You have probably heard or read of Texas school deficiencies in some partisan articles. Joan thinks that they are superior to Medford schools even though the Anglo kids are a minority in south Texas. And can Houston fog really be worse than Los Angeles? Please do not think that I’m saying these things because I'm an old hardshell Republican. In fact I've been a registered Democrat since 1940 and once during the Nixon administration was active in an organization on his "enemy” list. However I am profoundly disturbed by the leadership of the Democratic party and their political philosophies of the last eight years. We need some voices of change. (s) Don McElligott lone Harrington considers rural Oregon's issue . To the Editor: The performance of the state legislature in the next biennium is going to be crucial to the future of rural Oregon. We will need to elect legislators to serve us who have a grasp of the current circumstances of our area and who have ideas which will address our needs. I have read letters of endorsement for Greg Smith in which the writers were obviously misled or mistaken as to the authority of the state legislature. The state legislature cannot provide low-cost prescription medicines to you. Nor can it ensure that you will have a free choice of your personal physician. Laudable though these sentiments may be, it is misleading to promise their delivery. I have neither read nor heard any specific proposal from Greg Smith related to the health care issues facing us all. Also missing is any specific recommendation for improving our access to education in eastern Oregon. I know one reason why this is true. Rather than conduct a dialogue in the district he wishes to represent (59), he has been in the Willamette Valley campaigning for a candidate in an urban district. Does this seem like the action of someone who is sincere in his continual promises to "listen to you?" I don't think so. I can contrast this with the actions of his opponent. Linda Harrington has been out meeting the people of District 59. She has been knocking on our doors and explaining her positions to us. The Oregonian contrasted both candidates in the October 20 edition. In that piece, Linda Hamngton stated that she supported national teacher certifications and reduced class II .. i . • j . i .. (Me l i l l i O v ' i l size. She stated her support for the Frontier Learning Network which is helping deliver expanded study opportunities to students in Condon. She stated that she supports the allocation of additional funding resources for music, art, advanced math, science and vocational programs in our rural districts. In the October 23 edition of the same paper, Senator Ted Femoli advocates "...extending the safety net funding from two to five years for schools experiencing rapid changes in enrollment" and increasing funding for community colleges and skills centers, among other ideas. What did Greg Smith say? Greg Smith said that he will "...have an obligation to work with teachers, administrators and parents to find workable solutions." What does this mean? This statement does not even show an understanding of the public education challenges facing rural Oregon. I am a Republican joining many others of my party who are voting for someone who has proven to us that she has considered the issues facing rural Oregon. We are voting for someone who has specific proposals to address these issues. We are voting for a candidate who supports positive changes for rural schools. We are voting for a person who supports our right to gun ownersftip. We are voting for someone who understands the importance of the Columbia River Dam system and all that it does for us in Eastern Oregon. We need positive changes in rural Oregon. We cannot vote for an enigma. We can count on Linda Hamngton in District 59. (s) Michael Armato Heppner Make Myren next sheriff To the Editor: As the former Morrow County Public Works Director I have worked with Steve Myren in the past. I have found him to be dedicated and sincere and feel he will be a good sheriff for Morrow County. I hope you will join me in voting for Steve Myren for Sheriff. (s) Guy VanArsdale Heppner To the Editor: The Oct. 18 "Candidates Fair" sponsored by the Heppner Chamber of Commerce was such a worthwhile event. I appreciate the Chamber's work to provide this opportunity to hear the candidates and to ask them questions. This activity is just one more example of what the Heppner Chamber does to enrich the lives of people in our Willow Creek Valley. Members of Chamber know - because they attend the weekly noontime meetings - that the organization is far more than one that merely focuses on "commerce" but is one that includes members not only from commercial enterprises but from many and varied circumstances. The Heppner Chamber of Commerce is an organization critical to Heppner and I encourage individuals and business owners who are not already members to join the organization. The yearly dues are reasonable and help this important group to meet its purpose and many goals throughout the year. The Chamber is a link to so many organizations and individuals beyond our region. It is the "funnel," so to speak, to our persons with the right answers as a myriad of inquiries about our town and area come into its office. The Chamber sponsors the packets of information mailed upon request to so many people in places far and near. The Chamber focuses on communication among local groups, so important if the right hand is to know what the left hand is doing, so important if our area is to put forth a united effort on any project. So much of what the Chamber does happens "behind the scenes," so to speak Members of Chamber also work on the more noticeable "Town and Country” annual event, members work with the St. Patrick's Day Weekend committee and on "Celebrate Heppner." The Chamber sponsors the signs distributed periodically to the businesses as a welcome to various groups that come to our community - hikers and hunters, bikers and ball players, to name a few. Though business owners are a minority in our community, we who depend upon and/or appreciate their businesses are a majority. Our retailers, our school and medical districts, the state, county, and federal agencies, our agricultural businesses are important to Heppner's future. And all of us are important to that future. I cannot think of an organization more concerned about all of the above. I applaud the Chamber as an outstanding organization and encourage readers to get involved with it. (s) Doris Brosnan Heppner Road levy passage crucial To the Editor: The Morrow County Road Department is currently seeking the passage of a levy to continue funding at its current level. The importance of this levy cannot be overstated. Currently, the road department is responsible for approximately 1200 miles of road: 400-plus paved miles and 800 graveled miles. This is being done with a 19-person crew, after a cutback of three people last year. Of these 19 people, there are two mechanics, one parts and tire person, one weed department person and two-three people at the crusher when it is operating. This leaves a work force of only 12-13 people. These people are responsible for more than just patching potholes or paving. They are also the same people who plow the snow and sand the roads so the school busses can travel safely, so the mail is able to be delivered, so the people with medical disabilities can get the services they require, and so everyone has a safe, well- maintained road to travel in tht^r everyday business. They maintain the stop signs, the guardrails, the cattleguards and the bridges throughout our county. If in fact, we are forced to face a 30-40 percent cutback in personnel, it becomes quite apparent the road department capabilities to perform these functions will become extremely limited and services will inevitably suffer. The road crew has set a standard of excellence and they will continue to give you the outstanding service they have set as their standard for the future. The road department is probably the best investment your tax dollars make. Please vote yes for the Morrow County Road Levy* (s) Burke O'Brien Heppner Unsportsman-like conduct To the Editor: Re: sports story "Mustangs Blank Huskies" Sports writer Rick Paullus did a good recap of Friday's football game between Heppner High School Mustangs and the Sherman County Huskies. However, I believe that the "Unsportsmanlike Conduct Penalty" was glossed over. A player did not commit it; rather the Mustangs' coach committed it. Coaches are well known for voicing their opinions to the officials during the course of a game. Especially in close scoring games emotions can run high, and participants may do or say things that are inappropriate. Mustangs were ahead 32 to zero late in the game. Nevertheless, the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was deliberate and provocative and absolutely uncalled for. Ill-mannered, ill-tempered outbursts are extremely poor examples of training up our young people. In this event, two officials simultaneously threw flags while the coach walked away from them, toward his team in the middle of the field; he even walked off the extra penalty yardage in the process. Deliberate and provocative aggression like this by someone who has been entrusted with leadership of our young people should not tolerated. What has happened to teaching sportsmanship with integrity? (s) Duane Jones Heppner Humane alternative to cruel traps To the Editor: I do not think government trappers are cruel, but the strong, powerful, bone-crunching, steel jump traps are. In the thirties, I had two government trappers as friends. They explained to me that jobs were scarce and they needed the money (if they didn't take the work, somebody else would). Times have changed. Many states and countries have outlawed the insidious despicable traps. Traps are nonselective and many times catch peoples' pets and other living creatures useless to the trapper "Tricky Dick" deserves credit for one good deed while in office. He signed the bill that outlawed 1080, the most powerful poison known with no antidote. My daughter, Ema, reads meters in this part of the country. She has let fawns out of traps, too late for one that was dead. Close to Arlington, a dog was in a trap that was so strong Ema could not release it. She got a man from town to go out an4 save the dog. Local people use, with great success, large guard dogs to protect their stock. This humane method is used in many other states and countries. This system would save many tax dollars that have been paying government trappers for years. (s) Lois Winchester v Heppner P.S. Guard dogs are cheaper for taxpayers and safer for all living creatures.
