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TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, December 20, 2000 The Official Newspaper , of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow Letters to the Editor Evaluate books before allowing children to read t Heppner G A ZETTE-TIM ES U S P S 240-420 Fantasy, magic and faith go together Morrow County's Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper Published weekly and entered as periodical matter at the Post Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act o f 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 gtiujheppner net or gt .it 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 April Hillon-Sykes ........................................................................................... Publisher .......................................... .......................................................... Editor On the HEPPNER WEBSITE: www.heppner.net • Start or Change a Subscription • Place a Classified Ad • Submit a News Story • View Real Estate for Sale • City Council & Planning Minutes • Local Businesses • County Park • Willow Creek Park Reservations • Free Digital Postcards • Senior Housing • and more! Court discusses traffic at processing facility By Doris Brosnan At the December 13 meeting of the Morrow County Court, County Planning Director Tamra Mabbott reported that a question has arisen over the traffic impact of the processing facility Columbia River Processing. After.the addition of two more buildings and subsequent consultation with an engineer, Mabbott's present calculations suggest a higher use than the originally reported "less-than- 400" daily trips. She will draft a letter to Tillamook requesting that they demonstrate that usage will be under the 400 trips. Mabbott reported having received an award from the Department of Land Conservation and Development. The purpose of the grant is the hiring of a consultant to get all plan amendments since 1985 codified into the comprehensive plan. The court approved acceptance of the grant. Though this project will not be affected by Measure 7, a brief discussion did focus on how the Measure 7 change from RR1 to RR2 zones might affect the county. County Counsel Bill Hanlon reported that a "wait and see" posture is required until the question of the constitutionality of Measure 7 is resolved. Hanlon also reported, in response to a past question from Judge Terry Tallman, his interpretation of the Oregon statutes that prohibit reduction of a judge's salary during his/her term in office. In another matter, Hanlon noted that he would have to study a map of existing easements before advising the court on a request from a property owner for a revocable easement to a property off Columbia Avenue. Public Works Director Burke O'Brien discussed with the court difficulty in getting a property owner to comply with the conditions of a land use permit that requires, for development of the property, a road brought up to acceptable standards. O'Brien suggested some changes in the permitting process: permit language, inspections and documentation for the planning department. O'Brien and the commissioners discussed a request for the snowplowing of the USFS parking lot, used by some county employees instead of the county lot, and decided against the plowing. O'Bnen also reported recurring problems with the museum furnace. If installation of a used unit from the courthouse basement does not work, a new pump and burner unit will be needed. O'Brien reported on a discussion at a Morrow County School District Board meeting about the county’s position on snowplowing. He said he assured the board that the county crew will be out with snowplows for serious snow events and he recommended that the board adopt snow routes. O'Bnen shared his concern over a section of Columbia Avenue that was paved with cold mix and is starting to show stress. He is considering the options, which will involve removing a section and paving back with hot mix. The commissioners discussed the need for a single policy on the after-hours use of county buildings by non-county entities. Issues discussed and to be further considered include the differences among the buildings and matters of security. Other activities of the court included the following: -acceptance of the Noland Door bid for the Wilkinson Arena doors; -approval of a quitclaim deed for the disposal of some property; -approval of a stipulated judgment in the department of revenue vs. county clerks case; -reappointment of Shirley Adams and Jim Swanson to the Morrow County Fair Board for four year terms. Ü éé PÜ ss M erry C hristm as and we w ish you a Blessed N ew Year j We will be closed at 2 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 24th, closed Monday, Dec. 25th & Tuesday, Dec. 26th Beecher’s Restaurant 350 Highway 74 • lone, OR 97843 • (541) 422-7038 • 1 1 » \ E d ito rs 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 all letters for use by the G-T office. The G-T reserves the right to edit The C-T is not responsible for accuracy o f statements made in letters. (Any letters expressing thanks w ill be placed in the classifieds under "Card o f T ha n ks'at a co st o f $5.) an 1 ( !& ) 1 J y To the Editor: As an ordained Christian minister and a teacher of literature, I cannot resist joining the debate over Harry Potter begun in these pages by Ten Lynch and Jannie Allen. I agree with Lynch that evil exists and needs to be fought by all who believe in a God of love and light. I disagree, however, with her contention that imagination and magic are in themselves evil. On the contrary, 1 know that creativity and communion with the world beyond this one are gifts from God. Wnters of fantasy and science fiction often employ magic to portray the ultimate victory of good over evil in ways that cannot be explained by materialist science. I believe that every such witness of the power of good is Godly, whether explicitly so or not. As for witches, as Glinda asks Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" Evil in so-called witches isn't caused by magic per se, but by the same sins that inspire evil, in humans: greed, hate and ignorance. Those are the things we need to be fighting against. And as for Harry, I've read the first book and found its story entertaining and its hero very likeable; I'd say he's a good wizard. In this genre, however, I prefer C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia or Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time series - classics that prove fantasy, magic and faith can go together brilliantly. (s) Lea Mathieu lone Florida has ban on leghold traps To the Editor: use of steel leghold traps is Greetings from Florida. We banned in the State of Florida by might not push our chads through the Florida Game and Fresh the ballot properly, but we Water Fish Commission. The Floridians have sense enough to only exception is that farmers are restrict the use of torturous permitted to set out five traps, leghold traps in our state. under permit, for the purpose of I was disappointed to leam that protecting domestic animals on Oregon's Measure 97, the their premises. No legislation is "Trapping Ban," failed at the necessary to put this ban into polls. Maybe it's not too late to effect." right this wrong. Oregon Fish This ban hasn't harmed us in and Wildlife could make a ruling the 24 years it's been in effect. similar to Florida's, which reads: (s) Joan Jenrich "Effective January 1, 1973, the St. Petersburg, FL Traps, poisons equally indiscriminant, dangerous To the Editor: If the Heppner Chamber of Commerce joined their president Sharon Harrison's "humaneness theory" that "the most humane traps are currently used in Oregon," people would question, what has become of their apathy? The steel-jawed leg hold traps were declared "inhumane" by the American Veterinary Medical Association and the World Veterinary Association. They have been banned in 89 countries. Studies demonstrate that for every target animal caught in a trap, there are one-to- 10 non-target animals that fall victim to these devices. Poisons are equally indiscriminate and highly dangerous. (s) Glo Wright Heppner Margaret Rogers named PMNH resident of month Margaret Rogers Margaret Rogers has been selected as the Pioneer Memorial Nursing Home Resident of the Month. Margaret Rogers was bom Oct. 5, 1912, to Lilly Mae and Walter Livermore in Williamsport, PA., the oldest of three children. Peggs, as she prefers to be called, was raised and went to school in Erie, PA. At 19 she married Ralph Rogers in Ripley, NY. on Nov. 1, 1931. Ralph was an industrial engineer and Peggs was a homemaker, raising a daughter and a son. They lived in Erie until Ralph retired in 1978. They then moved to Port Richie, FL. Ralph passed away in 1979. Peggs continued to live in Port Richie until 1996 when she moved to Heppner to be closer to her granddaughter Delia Robinson. She lived in the St. Patrick's Apartments until she moved to Pioneer Memorial Nursing Home in 2000, due to health problems. Peggs enjoys gardening, knitting, sewing and all crafts. She also enjoys TV, reading and visiting. "We are truly blessed to have Peggy as part of our family," said Pennie Miller at Pioneer Memorial Nursing Home. To the Editor: . It is amazing to me how easily people can be deceived. Some of us believe that something is either good or bad based on limited information that may not be reliable. This tendency is flabbergasting. Science teaches us to be objective and base conclusions on facts gained through research. Through seeking the facts, we gam a more accurate perspective. Evaluating the quality, ethics, moral rightness and benefits of literature falls under this dynamic. We all have heard things about the Harry Potter books, some good and some controversial and disturbing. To those of you who hold that these books are bad, have you done your research or dug into the background of the author and read at least one book in the series? I have. Does this mean that I am trying to tell you what to believe or do? No. It does mean that my opinion is not reactionary and has credence. Harry Potter books are fantasy, just like the Tolkien series or the C. S. Lewis series. Fantasy books are not the issue I wish to bring up today. I believe that to judge the Harry Potter books because they are fantasy is wrong. Many great books and movies would be in the "bad" category. If Harry Potter is a "bad" series it must be based on something other than a fantasy issue. Let's explore this idea. The following are facts about Harry Potter books that I have uncovered: 1) The author has been quoted by the London Times saying that her books expose the truth about Christ. Her "truth" is that Christ is a fake and that Satan is the real "savior" of the world. Does this mean that her books are bad? Not necessarily. 2) The leader of the Satanist church of America reported an extreme rise in his "church" enrollment from 200,000 young children and young adults to 15 million in the last five years. He attributes this rise in part to the Harry Potter books. Even though this may be an indirect connection, it is something to consider. 3) It is reported that the more advanced Harry Potter books give references to other "spell" books that a reader can go to and leam real spells. You may not believe that such a thing exists, but there groups of people that believe spells "cast" on people can bring about physical harm or effect. 4) What about the books themselves? They revolve around the main character, Harry Potter. Harry is a boy whose parents died when he was young. A "muggle" family that never gave him the time of day raises him. Muggle means they are outsiders to the magic community. Muggles are ignorant, stupid and most of them are mean. Harry's family treats him very poorly. In return, Harry torments his "brother" with "pretend” spells as a way to get back at him. Harry enjoys seeing his little brother frightened. To Harry's brother the spells are real. Harry is vengeful. It may be great that our kids are reading, but what message are they getting? It is part of our nature as humans to be selfish and vengeful, but do want our kids to leam that these attributes are acceptable? 5) Children's comments about these books range from, "It's cool, you leam how to cast spells," to "I now know the truth that Jesus deserved to die because he was weak," to "I want to leam the spell so I can get back at my science teacher for giving me a 'D'." Lo and behold we now can see the true danger behind these books. Children are being influenced in ways that, I am sure, most parents don't want. When a book or any other form of communication adversely affects our children, the time to speak out is apparent. I'm not saying that all children will come away from reading these books with the above ideas. They may even benefit from the act of reading, but the danger behind these books is too much to take a chance. As a parent I vehemently oppose my children reading these books. It is a choice that I make as the spiritual leader of my family. My children can leam to read and enjoy reading from other sources; we don't need to sacrifice our moral values to get children to read. If a child wanted to read a Playboy article instead of going out to recess, would that be acceptable because it encourages them to read? We see the bad in Playboy, why can we not see the bad in a book series that advocates revenge and the use of spells to settle differences between people? Teachers, librarians and parents all have"a responsibility to protect children. If we knowingly expose them to anything that may adversely affect them, even if we believe it has some benefit, we are deceiving ourselves. Whether you think Harry Potter is good or bad is not the issue. What is at stake here is our children's perspective on what is right. God says to love each other as you love yourself. Is that a message from Harry? No. He teaches to extract revenge on others by the use of spells. This is not godly or morally acceptable. I implore any teacher or parent to fully reevaluate this series of books before allowing your children or students to read them. (s) Jason Just Heppner From Gayle, Judy, Jerri, Ellen, Marlene and Randall We w ill b e o p e n Sunday, Dec. 2 4 tb f r o m 1 2 -4 p .m . J o in u s f o r p u n ch , c o ffe e a n d c o o k ie s Join the JamiCy o f D O R R IS G R A V E S fo r a ceCehration o f her 9 0 th B irth d a y OPEN HOUSE t t í a p p y ít í > a U d a y& from tñe Ifeppncr ÇazetlerTimeA là IU U l ymw ««■ 1k* D avid. A p ril. Bonnie, tan a. D an w fc. W hitney. Stephanie Saturday, December 30th Hermiston Eagles Lodge 160 NW 2nd St., Hermiston 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. The party will begin with a light lunch buffet Cards - Pictures - Stories are welcome! (No gifts, please) EVERYONE IS INVITED TO ATTEND! Peterson's p f e ^ T fc ô iiîr lew el en f j j l 7 M 7 (ie f
