TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 21, 2001
Letters to the Editor
Editor s note tetters to the Editor m ust be signed The Gazette-T im es w ill n o t p u b lish
unsigned letters Please include your address a n d p h on e num b er o n all letters lor use by
theC -Toifice The G -T reserves the right to edit T heC -T is not responsible for accuracy
of statements made in letters (A n y letters expressing thanks will tie p laced in the classifieds
under "C a rd of T hanks "a t a cost o f $ 5.)
Hopes Cupid shoots race track
proposal straight through the heart
To the Editor,
After attending the town hall
meeting last night in Boardman,
I came home with a sickened feeling.
I could see all the reasons I live in
rural America being ripped away,
driven out by the smell of money.
I saw the fear in my neighbors' eyes
when they talked about 160,000
people exiting the speedway for
12 hours after a race, the skies being
filled with commercial airliners
landing on the new airstrip, the
thunder of revving engines and the
exhaust blowing in the Columbia
wind.
We love our quaint lifestyle. Our
days are filled with Little League,
4-H, fishing, school and community
activities. My son rides his bike to
practice and friends' houses. We
see five people we know at the post
office and there’s no line. The
grocery store owners actually live
in town and we know them.
I have to wonder, what on earth
could our community leaders be
thinking. They talked about our
property values increasing, which
is good if you want to sell, but
maybe you like it here; besides
someone has to live here. Our own
mayor commented on his experience
with race tracks. He said," We could
rent our houses out for $2000 a
weekend and leave town." And our
community leaders call this
progress? Very few answers were
given to how 160,000 drunken
people were going to be
accommodated in a town where you
can't buy a pair o f socks.
Maybe ruining our family's
Valentine's Day with a town hall
meeting wasn't so bad after all.
Standing up for our values and loved
ones on this day was kind of fitting.
We can hope Cupid will shoot this
preposterous proposal straight
through the heart.
(s) Kelly Doherty
Boardman
Letter a hoax
Editor's note :
The Gazette-Times has
learned that a letter to the editor
in the February 7 newspaper
signed
"The
Rev.
Don
McElligott" and postmarked St.
Paul, Minnesota, was a hoax.
The letter was not written by
Don McElligott o f lone.
The Gazette screens its
letters to the editor to prevent
such
an
occurance,
but
occasionally a fraudulent letter is
overlooked. We regret the
oversight.
Vote for John Renfro
To the Editor:
This letter is an endorsement
o f John Renfro for a position on
the M orrow C ounty S chool
Boaixl. His qualifications:
- Former elected member of the
Oregon City School Board.
- Former elected Clackamas
County Sheriff.
- Possesses a m aster’s degree
in education and served part-time
as an instructor at Clackam as
Community College.
After serving in the Army, John
w orked fu ll-tim e for the
Clackamas County S heriff s Of
fice while also attending Portland
State University full-time. After
graduation, he worked for the
Clackamas Juvenile Court system
until elected sheriff. During his
years as a counselor for the court,
he had extensive experience with
teenagers.
He would bring understanding
o f adm inistrative policies to a
school board position. He realizes
the differing procedures govern
ing public and private entities. He
also understands the viewpoints of
both students and teachers.
I believe he would bring ac
countability to out school system.
Please vote for John Renfro.
(s) Jahe Rawlins
'Heppner
Stop the special deals
To the Editor:
To The Honorable Congressman
Greg Walden, US House of
Representatives
Dear Congressman Walden:
As I am sure you are aware,
Oregon electric cooperatives (co
ops) purchase the majority of their
power from the Bonneville Power
Administration (BPA) as public
preference customers. BPA has
proposed rate increases for some
o f our members as high as 250
percent or more, beginning October
1 , 2001 .
These rate increases would
adversely impact 250,000 consumers
- many o f whom are your
constituents - served by our 17
member systems throughout rural
Oregon. There is a way you can help
increase power supply and help
stabilize rates.
This rate increase can be directly
attributed to BPA over-subscribing
by 3500 megawatts to other non
preference customers, such as direct
service industries (DSIs). This has
forced BPA to augment its supply
for preference customers, like
electric co-ops, by purchasing power
on the open market at exorbitant
rates. To add insult to injury, the
DSIs remarketed this power back
to BPA at a profit of $1 .8 billion
this past year.
It is totally unconscionable to
think that electric co-op customers
would be subjected to enormous
increases in their electricity bill so
that DSIs can resell this federal
power at a profit. The original
purpose of public preference is to
ensure the output o f the federal
Columbia River Hydro System is
for customers o f not-for-profit
utilities. Federal power was never
intended to be used as a "get rich
quick" scheme.
We strongly encourage you to
stop the "special deals" for the DSIs
by not allowing remarketing rights.
This action will at least eliminate
one contributing factor to this
unacceptable rate increase.
(s) Sandy Flicker,
Executive Director
Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative
Wheat Commission plans meeting
A regular meeting of the Oregon
Wheat Commission will be held
on Monday, Feb. 26, at the Best
Western, 112 West 2nd Street, The
Dalles, at 1 p.m.
The Oregon Wheat Commission
will hold a research review meeting
on Tuesday, Feb. 27, at the
Columbia Gorge Discovery Center,
5000 Discovery Drive, The Dalles,
at 8:30 a.m.
The commission meetings are
open to the public.
Are we moving toward fascism
To the Editor:
The 2000 elections have led some
to see that our democracy may be
moving in the direction of fascism.
The fascist philosophy o f
government comes "typically
through the merging of state and
business leadership". American
voters have been aware for at least
20 years that our political campaigns
have been increasingly financed
by big business and other special
interests to elect legislators and other
top officials who will protect their
interests. This is one reason why
many voters are "turned o ff' (we
have the lowest percentage of voters
of the other democracies). We've
heard people say,"Why vote? Big
business controls Congress. They're
all corrupt."
In the 2000 election, campaign
funding rose to three billion dollars,
with 71 million on the New York
senator race alone. Thus, we already
have a merging of business and state
leadership. Our president and vice-
president come from CEOs in the
oil business, and immediately after
the Supreme Court stopped the
ballot-counting in Florida, they
called a huddle behind closed doors
in Texas of the CEOs of the largest
corporations in the U.S.
At the same time, we see the
merging of large corporations,
increasing their power and profit
while
limiting
competition
(example: Wal-mart vs. small
business in our area) which may
lead later to higher prices for
consumers.
The large communications
corporations are also merging (CNN
with TimeWamer, and then Time-
Wamer and AOL). Those spending
night and day with CNN during the
campaign could easily recognize
their preference for Bush, Jr. The
pharmaceuticals openly sponsored
their segment "Campaign 2000".
This was accompanied with a
plethora of ads for tobacco (showing
the compassionate philanthropy of
Phillip Morris) and pharmaceutical
corporations claiming their research
to be on the edge of cures for major
dread diseases (when in reality, most
breakthroughs have come from
individual scientists and medical
schools).
The question to ponder: what
happens to democracy if the media
is increasingly controlled by big
business and special interests? In
fascism the media is controlled by
the government party. Are we
moving in that direction?
Alarming is the fact that both
Democrat and Republican parties
are equally guilty. Even more
alarming is that they may both be
merging into one party (an essential
to fascism).
Two senators became aware of
the growing danger of the merging
o f state and business. Senators
McCain (Republican) and Feingold
(Democrat) co-sponsored a bill that
would curb campaign financing by
special interests. For five years
Leader Lott, a far-right conservative,
has prevented that bill from coming
to the senate floor.
Believing in his cause so deeply,
McCain then ran for president in
the primaries. Saying, "The
Republican Party has lost its way,"
he prophesied that nothing can be
more important to America's future
than getting the money of special
interests out o f politics. Far
outspending him, Bush, Jr. defeated
McCain with dirty tricks and lies
in South Carolina and went on to
the presidency with overwhelming
special interest funding.
Now, the election past, McCain
and Feingold have the strength of
character, vision and courage to
pursue their effort to bring their bill
to a vote. Lott again blocked it in
the first two weeks even though
there was not other legislation
requested for that period. But these
two prophets are not giving up and
are gaining some recognition,
promising to take this issue to town
meetings throughout the country.
Thus, Eisenhower is joined by
two prophets today, seeking to warn
against the lost of our precious
democracy. What as the people can
we do?
(s) Jane Rawlins
Heppner
Renfro for school board position
To the Editor:
Are you worried that the Morrow
County School Board and
administration has stopped listening
to parent's concerns? Does it bother
you that the educational needs of
Morrow County students are not
being addressed and met by the
policies of the current school board
and administration?
In February of 2000 one o f the
largest crowds to ever assemble at
a school board meeting pleaded with
the school board at Boardman not
to implement the program developed
by the superintendent which cut
17 teachers and stopped vocational
education programs. The majority
o f the board turned a deaf ear to
the crowd. Instead, over the course
o f the past year, the board has
adopted policies o f advancing
administrative spending over that
of
educational
programs.
Administrators drive to work in
district cars and have these cars at
their disposal while educational
opportunities diminish for our
students. Another direct and
devastating result o f recent school
district policies is the various
communities in Morrow County
have stopped working together for
the betterment of all Morrow county
students.
If you have had enough and want
a positive change, vote for John
Renfro for the Morrow County
School Board. John has extensive
experience in education and
education administration. He knows
students and teachers come first.
He will listen and work with parents.
He understands that by recognizing
the educational needs o f students
first, you can get all of the parents
or Morrow County to unite behind
common goals. Rubber stamping
the policies of the administration
is not the answer. John has the
courage and ability to ask the right
questions and take the right action
to make the administration
accountable to the people they were
appointed to serve, the parents and
students o f Morrow County.
Vote for a change for the better.
Vote to make the school board and
administration accountable to the
people they serve. Vote for meeting
the educational needs o f all our
students by increasing curriculum
and teaching resources. Vote for
John Renfro for the Morrow County
School Board.
(s) William Kuhn
and Annetta Spicer,
Heppner
The Official Newspaper
o f the City of Heppner and the County o f Morrow
H eppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
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 (5 41 >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 years or older); $29 else
where
David S y k e s ................................................................................. Publisher
April Hillon-Sykes
....................................................................... Editor
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must be specified Affidavits must be required at the time of submission Affidavits require three
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lone Site Council discusses
school improvement plan
The lone Site Council, at their
February 14 meeting, discussed the
lone School Improvement Plan.
Principal Mike Stuart advised
that staff members will submit
reports detailing their activities in
order to meet the goals developed.
Stuart reviewed reports from several
teachers.
Stuart
commented
on
improvements to the gym. The
Booster Club is still accepting
donations for the gym mats. The
students in shop class have been
working on repairs to frames for
bracket boards. John Marick and
Monica Swanson were recognized
for their efforts towards the project.
State testing for third, fifth,
eighth and 10 th graders took place
Feb. 5-7. Steve Schaber reported
that the students took the testing
very seriously and worked very hard,
with some taking up to 2 - 1/2 hours
to complete the test.
Counselor Mona Hardman
reported that 24 students are
members o f OSSOM (Oregon
Student Safety on the Move). They
will elect officers at their- next
meeting. An all-night conference
will be held April 7-8 in Hood River.
Parents interested in helping with
this overnight trip are welcome.
OSSOM has in the past been
funded by licensing fees, however,
due to a "constitutional technicality",
the funding will no longer be
available. The state OSSOM
organization will be looking for
alternate funding after June 30.
Parents who would like to help with
this program can reach Hardman
by
e-mail
at
hardman@
morrow.kl2.or.us. The group plans
to meet with middle school students
and instruct them on prevention of
alcohol and drug use as well as other
safety issues.
The site council was pleased with
lone's rating of exceptional in the
school report cards issued by the
state.. lone received the highest
rating in the district and is one of
only a few in the entire state to rate
exceptional. These rates are based
on school improvement, attendance,
dropout rates and test scores.
A presentation was made on
"Action Research Plans."
The National Honor Society has
academic pins that will be
distributed to those who earned
them. To receive an academic letter,
a student must take a minimum of
five graded classes and achieve a
grade-point average o f 3.80 or
higher for the semester. If a student
has already earned a letter, then a
pin will be awarded.
Stuart noted that 73 percent of
lone middle schoolers achieved
between a 3.0- 4.0 grade point
average and 76 percent of the 73
percent had a gpa over 3.5. In the
high school, 85 percent of all high
schoolers were between 3.0 - 4.0
grade point average and 79 percent
of the 85 percent had between 3.5 -
4.0 and 40 percent o f those had a
4.0. One hundred percent of the 11
graders were between 3.0-4.0 point.
It was reported that Allison
Halverson, Cory Bennetto and
Shelby Krebs won Elks Club
scholarships. Ashley Carmack is
one of three finalists in the Wal-Mart
scholarship competition.
The boys' basketball team won
second place in the Big Sky District
Tournament.
Dean Robinson was recognized
for being named the educator of
the year at the Town and Country
Awards banquet. Duane Neiffer's
wife, Linda, was also named
an educator o f the year.
Billy Gates and Nick Christman
were profiled in "Who's Who in
Youth League Baseball" 2000 Babe
Ruth League All-Star Edition.
Fair & Rodeo
court tryouts
slated
Try-outs for the 2001 Morrow
County Fair and Oregon Trail Pro
Rodeo Court will be held this
Sunday, Feb. 25, starting at 1 p.m.
at the Morrow County Fairgrounds.
The public is invited to attend.
All applications are due in the
Fair Office by Thursday, Feb. 22,
at 11 a.m.
M arriage Licenses
The Morrow County Clerk's
office reports issuing the following
marriage licenses:
Jan. 29: Jorge Luis Lopez, 23,
Boardman; and
Maria H. Zuvala, 20, Boardman.
Jan. 30: Antonio Ricardo-Rivera,
29, Irrigon; and
M ana Leon, 23, Irrigon.
Oscar Amador Navarro-Brito,
31, Boardman; and
Eusebia
Hernandez,
29,
Boardman.
Feb. 2: Jose Melchor Gamboa,
III, 36, Hermiston; and
Santa Martha Perez, 23,
Hermiston.
Feb. 7: Octavio Estrella, 23,
Boardman; and
Ma. Guadalupe Lezama, 31,
Boardman.
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