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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 23, 2001)
TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 23, 2001 Letters to the Editor The Official Newspaper o f the City o f Heppner and the County o f Morrow Editor's note Letters to the Editor m ust be signed The Gazette-Times will not publish unsigned letters. Please include your address and phone number on all letters lor use by th eC -T o ffice The G-T reserves the right to edit The G - T is not responsible lor accuracy of statements m ade in letters. (Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES under "C a rd o f T h a n k s'a t a cost o f $5.) Express your support at board meeting 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 gltojheppner net or gt(a<rapidscrve net Web site www heppner net Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times, P.O Box 337. Heppner, Oregon 97836 Subscriptions. S22 in Morrow County, $16 senior rate (in Morrow County only; 62 years or older); $29 else where David Sykes..........................................- ..................................................................Publisher April Hilton-Sykes ....................................................................................................... Editor N e w s d e a d lin e is M o n d a y at S For A dvertising p.m. adve rtisin g dead lin e is T u e sd ay at noon C o st for a d isp lay ad a $4 50 per oolum n inch C o st tor classifie d ad is 408 per w ord C o st tor C ard of T h an ks is $5 up w ords C o st tor a classifie d d isp lay ad is $5 10 per to 100 colum n inch For P u b iic/le ga l N otices pubkc/legal notices deadline is M on day at 5 p.m D a le s for publication m ust be specified Affidavits m ust be required at foe lim e of su b m ission A ffidavits require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date m ust be specified If required). On the HEPPNER WEBSITE: www.heppHer.net • Start or C hange 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! Obituaries Chuck Henry Vertz Monument resident Chuck Henry Vertz, 73, passed away on Saturday, May 12,2001, at Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Pnneville. Memorial services were held Saturday, May 26, 2001, in the "Heritage Chapel" o f the Pnneville Funeral Home. Pastor W jllard Fenderson officiated. Mr. Vertz was bom December 11, 1920 in Little Bear, Wyoming the son of Samuel and Ava (Tucker) Vertz. He was raised in Canby, later moving to Brooks, Oregon. He married Dolores L. Ramey in February 1948 in Vancouver, Washington. The couple moved to Salem where Mr. Vertz owned and operated two Richfield Service stations. He also worked for several auto .dealers in the Willamette Valley and in Hermiston. The couple later moved to Terrebonne where Mr. Vertz worked as a mechanic for Central Oregon Irrigation District until he retired in 1989. The couple then moved to Monument. ' Mr. Vertz was a member o f the Service Employees International Union #503. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping and rockhounding. Mr. Vertz is survived by his wife, Dolores Vertz o f Salem; son, Dennis Vertz o f Stayton; daughter, Sharon Combs o f Vale; sister. Hazel Gilbert o f Portland, M arian Davidson o f San Pablo, California and Dorothy Skyoon o f W hale Cove; two grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Mr. Vertz was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, one grandson and one great-grandson. Memorial contributions in Mr. Vertz’s memory may be made to the American Cancer Society. Pnneville Funeral Home was in charge o f arrangements. Howard William Chance Howard W illiam Chance, 84, o f Boardman, died Thursday, May 17, 2001, at his home. A celebration o f life service was held Monday, May 21,2001 in the chapel at Bum s M ortuary o f Hermiston. Private burial followed at the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland. He was bom May 24, 1916, in Portland, to Jam es and Annabell W ade Chance. He was raised in Portland and attended schools there. He joined the Army, serving as a medic in England during WWII. He married Janice Luchak. The couple lived in the Portland area. Mr. Chance designed and built custom homes throughout the Colum bia Gorge, all the way to Pendleton. The couple moved to Boardman in 1982. Mrs. Chance died in 1989. On June 8, 1990, he married Priscilla G am er in Im gon. He was a m em ber o f the Hermiston Seventh-day Adventist Church, Veterans o f Foreign Wars and the American Legion. He helped to build the Im gon Seventh-day Adventist Church, enjoyed gardening, studying history and aviation. Survivors include his wife, Pnscilla Chance of Boardman; sons, Michael Chance, Bill Chance and Tim Gamer, all in Oregon; sister, Jean R. Shibley o f Vancouver, Washington; and four grandsons. He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Janice Chance; and brother. Dr. Russell Chance. Memorial contributions may be made to 3 ABN, Voice o f Prophecy or ADRA in care o f Bums Mortuary o f Hermiston, P.O. Box 289, Hermiston, Oregon 97838. Sign up now for soccer league Anyone 4-1/2 to 14 years old interested in playing soccer this fall is urged to call Tina Edwards or Darrell Raver, 676- 8710, as soon as possible. Those interested should leave a m essage on their answering machine with their nam e and phone number. Although the signup deadline is past, Edwards said that if there was enough interest a league is still possible. However, she added that as o f now, not enough children have signed up. Practice would begin around the first o f August, with the first game som etim e after August 25 and the last game around the end o f November. Edwards said that money will be refunded i f not enough children sign up. In the event that the league is not started up, those with enough interest m ay join the Hermiston or Boardman leagues, she said. HHS sports dessert postponed The H eppner High School sports dessert has been postponed to M onday, June 4, at 7 p.m. at the High School. The dessert was originally scheduled for Monday, May 21. To the Editor; The superintendent of the Morrow County School District proclaimed to the East Oregonian newspaper that board member Keith Lewis does not reside in the school zone which he represents. He made this statement even though the district's board had decided to hold a special m eeting on June 6 in order to determine the facts o f this matter. Who is nght? Is the special board meeting on June 6 a session in which a serious consideration o f this matter is to be m ade? Or, does the superintendent know something that we, the public do not know? Perhaps this is to be another sham m eeting o f the directors like that held in February 2000 when the board pretended to listen to our comments then immediately voted to cut 17 teaching positions. Perhaps this too is a fait accompli. I question both the moral and the legal authority o f the board to invalidate the election o f this board m em ber and also that o f Bamey Lindsay. The board has certified the election o f Keith Lewis and his eligibility to serve. The board certified Bamey Lindsay's election and eligibility, not once but twice. These two people have received thousands o f votes between them. I would hope that the remaining board m em bers have learned something from our former Vice President's vain attem pt in Florida to overturn an election. I hope that they understand the priceless nature o f our right to vote and honor the results o f these elections. W e will see if the board is sincerely interested in decency when making a decision in this matter. I fully expect there to be a complete and fair hearing o f fact and law with regard to these matters. Please attend the meeting at the district office in Lexington on June 6 at 7 p.m. and express your support. (s) M ike Armato Heppner Boardmembers' treatment unfair To the Editor: At last week's Morrow County School Board meeting, something happened that I believe the residents o f Morrow County should know. Two individual board members. Bamey Lindsay and Keith Lewis were intentionally singled out and were not aware o f a situation that involved them directly. The superintendent and other board members were not only aware but handled the situation purposely to surprise, and, I believe, to embarrass them. The situation arose when the school district received a complaint that board members were not living in the correct zone. (Morrow County School District is divided up into seven zones with board members representing each zone.) The district investigated the complaint and found Bamey Lindsay and Keith Lewis were not residing in the correct zone. The chairm an o f the board announced at the beginning o f the meeting that a complaint had been received. The lawyer representing the district explained their votes may come under scrutiny. Neither board member was notified about the possible zone violation before the meeting and both were stunned that the superintendent, board members and lawyer were prepared with the information to share with everyone. Both Mr. Lindsay and Mr. Lewis filed for their respective school zone position, both won the election, the county clerk's office certified their winning and the school district accepted the results. The school district is responsible to the voters to make sure the candidates for school board positions are in their correct zones. The whole county votes on school board members and both Mr. Lindsay and Mr. Lewis were elected by an overwhelming majority. At a special meeting scheduled on June 6, the five school board members will now decided if the two elected board members will remain. I served on the Morrow County School Board for eight years, was chairman for two years, worked with three different superintendents and worked alongside three o f the current school board members. During this time, there was never a situation involving a board member that was handled like the present situation. It is unprofessional and unethical in my book to treat elected officials in this matter. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect; isn’t that what we teach our children? Most people may not be aware that the current board members don’t always agree on issues, but this is not the way to treat or get rid of board members. It is simply unfair. (s) Marcia Kemp Lexington Support "virtual" bucket brigade To the Editor: I appreciate you giving your support to the farmers and ranchers in Northern California and Southern Oregon. Your response has been absolutely phenomenal. We have received m ore than 10,000 nam es o f individuals and businesses. But, we need more... This week we published our first list o f the Virtual Bucket Brigade and will be publishing a second list in next week's edition o f the Pioneer Press. This m essage needs to be heard m Washington, D.C. and every start capitol, where we intend to deliver thousands. If you haven't already, please consider sending out a request to everyone in your e-mail address list and ask them to send their name and city to mailto:pioneerp@ sisqtel.net if they support the ranchers and farmers in their fight for water. I would love to see this list grow to 100,000 nam es. Every name counts. Daniel W ebster Pioneer Press Fort Jones, Calif. W e would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the wonderful people who helped with the Blatant attempt to silence board members To the Editor: The latest attempt by the Morrow County School Board and its administration to silence the views o f voters o f Morrow County should not be tolerated. At the last school board meeting, an attack was made on board members Bamey Lindsay and Keith Lewis, alleging they do not comply with residence requirements to serve in their respective zones. This attack was listed on the agenda under the title o f "chairm an's inquiry" and had obviously been previously discussed by the remaining board members (agenda packets mailed out five days previously) and gave no notice to Bamey and Keith that these charges would be made. This unethical treatment o f our duly elected board m em bers is clearly, obviously and blatantly an attem pt to silence the two board members who have dared to oppose the administration in the past. After the charge was m ade at the beginning o f the meeting, it was suggested that those members should immediately be prevented from voting that night and should be removed from the board. Bamey Lindsay was elected four years ago and his residency issue explored and legal opinions written and sent to the board. It was accepted and he was certified. He was recently re-elected from atl areas o f the county, but before doing so had the same issue checked out again, was advised, re-elected and again certified. Keith Lewis who lives in and represents Heppner, asked the district office before the election and was told he was eligible to run from Zone 4, which he did, was duly elected and his election certified. Bam ey and Keith have since represented our interests and have spoken up on issues when the other members continued to rubber-stamp the superintendent's proposals. They have stood up against cutting teachers and long-standing programs such as vo-ag. (Recall num erous articles in papers last year regarding infamous February 2000 meeting when the beard voted 5 to 2 to cut 17 teachers against the wishes o f hundreds o f parents.) They have devoted countless hours at these lengthy meetings to represent the views and interests o f the whole county. We have elected them to represent us and want to see them continue to do so in the future. Does the board and administration want them o ff so they may appoint the members they want to replace them until the next school board election in M arch 2003? For two years we would lose elected representation to m embers chosen by the current board. Is that what you want? They have called a special m eeting on June 6 at 7 p.m. to resolve this issue. Let them know how you feel. (s) Ann Murray (s) John Murray Heppner Nursing home workers give seniors a special day To the Editor: I recently attended a Mother's Day tea given for the Pioneer Memorial Hospital nursing home women at the Heppner Elks Lodge. The women had been pampered all day with new hairdo's, painting of nails and generally getting ready for their evening out. Tea was served with a large variety o f desserts to chose from. Wonderful music was provided by Nancy and Amy Jepsen and Julie Howard. Victor Vanderdoes made an excellent waiter. Pennie M iller and her crew did a wonderful jo b o f m aking the arrangements and putting on this exciting event. My m other and I am sure all o f the residents greatly enjoyed their 'evening out'. One woman expressed some regret that the men were being left out o f the festivities, but Pennie assured her that "their day was coming." The care these people at the hospital give the nursing home residents is unmistakable and they do a great job. Keep up the good work. (s) Diana Balt Heppner Salii McElligott selected as Girls State rep Salli M cE lligott Salli McElligott, a junior at lone High School has been selected by The lone American Legion Auxiliary Unit # 95 to be a delegate to Girls State. Salli is the daughter o f Paul and Chanty McElligott of lone. Salli is an honor student and is active in all sports at lone High School. She is also active in FBLA. the lone Youth Group and St. W illiams Church in lone. G irls State will be held at Willamette University on June 17- 23. This is the 41th annual session o f Girls State. Holding Girls State at Willamette University will allow them to utilize the state capitol and surrounding state offices for a fun and educational. Sponsors for this year are: M orrow County Grain Growers, Les Schwab and Columbia Basin Electric Coop. lone Legion Auxiliary is the organization that selects the girls and prepares them for G irls State. Salli, the 16-year-old daughter o f Paul and Chanty McElligott of lone, attends lone High School where she is a junior. She is a member o f National Honor Society and is on the A-honorroll. The past three years she has been a member o f the varsity volleyball team, the varsity tennis team and basketball. , Her volleyball team was the 1998 t and 1999 Oregon State 1A champion. She has been a m em ber o f the school annual staff in the past, as well as FBLA. She was freshman and junior class president and is a student representative to the Morrow County Parks District. She has also been active in the lone Youth Group for the past three years. Salli has been in 4-H since her fourth grade year and was the 2000 All-Around Cham pion swine showman. She represented her county as a M orrow County Fair and Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo Princess in 2000. In addition to school and extracurricular activities, Salli has a summer job babysitting for Bink and Lynn Dee Ramos o f lone. Although Salli is only 16, she is considering taking courses in politics in college. Salli's family includes her brother Jeremiah. 18. a senior at IHS, and sister, Diana, 15, a sophom ore at IHS. Juan G. Elguezabal Memorial Dedication IT’S TIME ¿ 5 FOR THE IONE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 3 9 t h ANNUAL A U C TIO N A B A R B E C U E DRIVE TO WILLOWS GRANGE HALL IONE, OREGON, on SATURDAY, JUNE 2nd COUNTRY STORE OPENS AT 10:00 a .n . AUCTION BEGINS AT 10:30 «.m. BY TRIAD AUCTIONEERING SILENT AUCTION BEGINS 10:15 a.m. - BIDS OPEN 12:20 p.m. A N T IQ IJ E S - CRAFTS - H A N D M A D E IT E M S - H O M E - B A K E D F O O D IT E M S N E W TO Y O U - F IS H P O N D - BOOKS - SN AC K SH A C K TOYS PIT BARBECUED BEEF DINNER AT 1 2:30 p.m. ADULTS $ 6 .0 0 * 6 - 1 2 YEARS $ 3 .0 0 • PRE-SCHOOL FREE Receiving donations and for pickup, phone: Laurel Cannon at 422-7165 * Bill Rietmann at 422-7296 *» at the Bob Kilkenny Field. First of all. we would Hke to thank Dave Fow ler and Darcy Robinson for their talents and organizational skills; w ithout their dedication, this B IG project w ould not have come together. A big thank you to the Heppner Little League for authorizing the site. Thanks to Mr. Allen and Mr. Anthony fo r their opening w ords of wisdom at the dedication. Thanks to Kyie Robinson, Larry Mills. A n drew Johnson and John W ight for their advice and expertise on where and how to dig and where and how to place the drip lines. Thanks to Virginia Grant. Coech Lindsay Harie and her softball team for donating one tree and supplies and their hard w ork in planting the trees and landscaping the site. T o Dale Adlard of D $ L A u to Parts and Repair for donat ing the metal for the bench. Thanks to Dave Fow ler and his family for all their w ork ^nd for donating the w ood for the bench. Thanks to Brandon Young who built the frame for the bench. Thanks to Heppner High School StafT and Student Body for donating one tree, supplies and pitching in to help dig and plant! Thanks to H H S Technology Education Departm ent and Manufacturing Construction Class taught by Dave Fowler for their w ork on the concrete and bench. Thanks to Valery Campbell and Jean Strange for the arranging, organ izin g and printing on the wood. Thanks to Adam D oherty for his hard w ork in burning the letters into the wood. W ith everyone's special talents, time and hard w ork, the trees, bench and landscaping have not only left our tow n m ore beautiful, but it has once again left us with a real feeling of what it means to be part of a wonderful community. T rien & th ip it the o n ly cem ent th a t en ti ever h o d the w o rd together. " Fam illa Elguezabal Now you C A N have a new home in beautiful Heppner, Oregon. Heppner’s newest home OPEN HOUSE Saturday through Monday May 26-28, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 8 7 5 Lakeview Drive, overlooking W illo w Creek Lake.
