TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 16,2003
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of the City o f Heppner and the County o f Morrow
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U S P S. 240-420
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Irrigon’s doing its part
[Editor’s Note: This letter was
read at the M orrow C ounty
School District board meeting,
July 14,2003.]
To the Editor:
Being w e have heard
the B oard say that the new
Board does not have to agree
with the previous decisions or
can over turn decisions already
m ade. 1 feel I need to go back
and bring the new board and
Supt. C rippen up to date on
prior meetings and comments.
O n Nov. 22, 1999,
w hen w e started this last and
continued cam paign for the
return o f Irrigon High School,
w e w ere told there w a sn ’t
enough interest by the people
o f Irrigon. Well we proved that
w rong by people attending
S c h o o l B o a rd m e e tin g s ,
having a Town Hall m eeting
and lastly getting a petition with
about 1200 signatures. Then
w e w ere to ld the students
d id n ’t w a n t th e re tu rn o f
Irrigon fligh. Weij, kids signed
tHe petition also.
We certainly couldn't
have the high school because
o f the sew er system . Irrigon
took care o f that. We even had
one old B oard m em ber say
Irrigon d o e sn ’t even have a
police dept. That was not even
relevant. Just another o f many
excuses.
N e x t th e S c h o o l
District didn’t have the money
but w ith the passing o f the
bond [with stipulations] Irrigon
would have their High School,
at the O ct. 9, 2000 School
Board meeting.
At
th a t
tim e
stip ulation #2 w as the big
issue. W hich later all but one
failed, and we were told you’ 11
have your high school.
Stipulation #3 is not
and has not been a big issue.
S tip u latio n #4- Dr.
C rippen said at the M ay 12
S chool B oard m eeting the
Port o f M orrow has enough
g o in g on and g ro w th w ill
continue. Well, I’m here to say
grow th will not only be in
Boardman. O ur sewer system
is scheduled to be finished in
February 2004 and after that
the building moratorium will be
lifted. A w rite up in the East
Oregonian Nov. 27,1999 said
Irrigon was the fastest growing
city in the state o f Oregon. We
will grow.
S t ip u l a ti o n #5 is
supposed to be being done.
My question is, for how long?
S tip u la tio n
#1-
Funding problems are all over
th e s ta te . O th e r to w n s
surrounding us are building
new schools and staffing them.
It has been proved at the May
and June Board meetings that
m oney is available and state
funding will be up. W hat’s the
holdup w ith our High School?
W h e n w e w e re
having the M atrix m eetings,
every group, when it was put
on the wall, said Irrigon should
have their High School. Mike
Patano, at his presentation,
said every body w ould have
to have a piece o f the pie. So
far every b o d y ’s got th e re ’s
except Irrigon. A nd I d o n ’t
mean the new G rade School.
Both the Matrix group
and the Nelson report were in
favor o f returning students in
N orth M o rro w C o u n ty to
their own communities. 1 might
add that both these studies
w e re m a n d a te d by t h e
M o rro w C o u n ty S c h o o l
B o a rd a n d p a id fo r by
taxpayers.
The work that went in
to passing the bond w as a
great effort for everybody.
U pon p a ssin g the b o n d a
group and the board and Supt.
Bruce Anderson met at G reg’s
Tavern in Irrigon, to celebrate
and have pizza. The comment
w as m ade y o u ’ll have your
High School.
I think everyone that
attended the M atrix m eetings
and voted on the bond did so
w ith the understanding that
Irrigon w ould have a High
School.
Even if the bond had
only passed by one vote the
whole district is obligated.
S tip u la tio n #6 is
yours. When the fifth and sixth
grades m ove in to the new
school this fall will you stick to
your part o f the stipulation.
That in the fall o f 2005 Irrigon
will have a full-blow n High
School.
(s) Sarnie Griffin
Irrigon
Irrigon needs to show support for its
kids
To the Editor:
T h e n e x t M o rro w
County School Board meeting
is going to be held in the
District office in Lexington. July
14th at 7:30 PM. This will be
the first m eeting o f the new
Board. It is im perative that
e v e ry p e rs o n in M o rro w
C ounty, w h o u n d e rsta n d s
e q u ality and b e lie v es that
Irrigon deserv es a High School
returned to our city, attends this
meeting.
None o f the promises
m ade by the form er Board
members w ere sincere. Those
prom ises w ere only m ade to
g e t u s to v o te fo r th e
construction bond. Now that
the bond has been passed and
the new schools built we are
back to convincing yet another
Board that Irrigon needs a high
school. That is why the return
o f a H igh School to Irrigon
w as not spelled out in the
bond. That would have made
th o s e p r o m is e s b in d in g .
Instead, the only reference
m ade referred to upgrading
sport facilities at CM S to high
school quality. The new Board
does not have to honor any
prom ises the old board made
to the citizens o f Irrigon. Folks,
we have been duped.
N ow we m ust show
up at M C S D m ee tin g s in
f o rc e . O u r n e w B o a rd
m em bers are being told that
the people o f Irrigon have no
real interest in our High School
being returned. We are being
judged by how' m any Irrigon
citizens attend Board meetings!
We, have been too easy to
please. We need to remind this
Board that the night the bond
passed we w ere told that the
stipulations had been met and
as soon as the sixth grade
could be m oved out o f CM S
our high school w ould be
restored. Mr. Bruce Anderson,
after extensive research, stated
th a t w e w o u ld lo se no
programs and it would not cost
anym ore to operate a 7-12
facility than it cost to operate
a middle school. The only extra
cost o f having a high school in
Irrigon would be upgrading the
sports facilities. That was taken
c a re o f in th e b o n d . T he
stipulations w ere an insurance
policy for the Board. They
knew that they could be used
to deny Irrigon a High School
forever.
W e n e e d to s ta r t
going to m ore m eetings and
demanding that our children no
longer be put in danger by
being dum ped along a m ain
highw ay in the m iddle o f the
night. We need to demand that
M C SD provide our children
w ith activity buses so that
regardless o f the income o f the
parents all our children have
the same access to their school.
W e n e e d to d e m a n d th a t
M C S D m a k e w h a te v e r
c h a n g e s a re n e e d e d to
guarantee that attending school
at R iv e rsid e be the sam e
caliber experience for Irrigon
kids as it is for Boardman kids.
We need to m ake forcing our
children to go to school in
Boardm an so expensive that
M CSD w ill beg us to educate
our kids in Irrigon. We m ust
tell this B oard that w e are
through subsidizing this district.
A re you aw are that w hile we
w ere tolerating this kind o f
discrimination, federal money
ea rn e d by th e c h ild ren o f
Irrig o n w as bein g sent to
H eppner and lone Schools?
That m oney w as used in part
to provide enough teachers to
m aintain one o f the sm allest
student/teacher ratios in the
state in these tw o cities. This
practice was stopped last year
but the fact rem ains that over
the years m illions o f dollars
e a rn e d by N o rth C o u n ty
Schools w as sent South. A
very small percentage o f that
amount would have reinstated
a high school in Irrigon. In
short, it is tim e the parents o f
Irrigon sta n d up for th eir
children’s rights and stop this
flagrant discrimination.
M C S D ’s Board has
been very acco m m o d atin g
w h en large g ro u p s a tte n d
m eetings. D iscussions that
include a large num ber o f
c itiz e n s are m oved to the
b e g in n in g o f the m ee tin g
enabling people to get hom e
early. See you in Lexington on
July 14.
(s) Jennifer Smith
Irrigon
Junior Golf program to be
at WCCC
Junior G o lf will be
held at Willow Creek Country
Club, sponsored by the Bank
o f E a s te r n O r e g o n , fo r
children 6-15.
T he classes will be
held W ednesday, Ju ly 16,
Friday, July 18, W ednesday,
July 23 and Friday, July 25.
C lasses for 6- to 9-year-olds
will be from 10 a.m .-12 p.m.;
and for 10- to 15-year-olds
will be 8-10 a.m.
For more information
contact C raig at 422-7455.
__ ____ -,_____,, ____ _________________j«#-(ÿ
m zw m
pWWWWV*
B
K
FRESH PRIME RIB
Include! soup and talad bar
O rder
M agn etic
D o o r Signs
HERE
“tftuw ic in M e (faxA 5 ”
8
MAIN STREET, HEPPNER
IK
( / t c c tfu tclo o t (ftu h ic (fe s tiv a l
All concerts begin at 7 p.m.
Monday, July 21
"Smilin' Scandinavians" - Irrigon Marina
Park
■
Monday, July 28
2
"Shenaniganst”, "Mulligan Stew" A "The
C hicks" - Boardman Marina Park
Monday, Aug. 4
"Sidewalk Sto m p e rs"-Irrigon Manna Park
Monday, Aug. 11
Kinzel A Hyde - Boardman Marina Park
Monday, Aug. 18
"Skweez the Weezle” A “Bade G la s" -
Irrigon Marina Park
,
$14.95 - $85.00 couple
JOHN'S PIACC
House and Senate. Very much
like the vote saved Clinton;
alm ost strictly dow n party
lines. Q uite sim ilar in tw o
aspects o f Fascism. (A single
party governm ent that uses
force to have its way.) Look it
up in a dictionary if you don’t
believe it.
O ne
of
th o s e
“ scientific” opinion poles that
B litzer raved so m uch about
w as taken a w eek or so ago.
G enerally, it wanted to know
w h o a g r e e d w ith th is
adm inistration. The results:
over 6 5 ,2 3 percent; over 40,
35 p e rc e n t; u n d e r 30, 51
p e r c e n t. T h e o b v io u s
conclusion is an old one: “With
age, co m es w isd o m ." For
most, it does anyway. Age and
education; that is, a more open
ended type o f education that
covers both sides ot the story,
and promotes “understanding”
r a th e r th a n a c c e n tu a tin g
d i f f e r e n c e s . T a k e B illy
Graham for example. His goal
is to h e lp fe e d th o s e
devastated by war, certainly an
honorable goal. Yet he will
criticize their life styles: not one
o f the m ost A m erican ized
th in g s to d o c o n s id e rin g
f re e d o m
o f r e lig io u s
e x p re s s io n . It s e e m s th e
p h r a s e “ G r e a t A m e ric a n
M elting Pot” has fallen out o f
favor. Will it too be picked up
again at some future date? Or
w ill the phrase “ Love it or
L eave it” com e back into
practice?
A n a r t i c l e in th e
C a p ita l P r e s s , J u n e 2 0 ,
includes “ally bashing” and
accusations that Australia paid
k ic k b a c k s to the H ussein
fam ily in order to m aintain
wheat exports. W hether these
accusations are true or not, it
isn ’t proper to slam a country
w hen it’s not proven. Take it
to th e in te rn a tio n a l co u rt
system, that’s w hy the U.N. is
there.
The environment. The
environm entalists have given
an “F ’ to this administration for
r e d u c in g th e c le a n a ir
sta n d a rd s set by p rev io u s
adm inistrations, along with
charging the tax payer to clean
up those businesses pollutants.
This letter has gone on
e n o u g h . J u s t o n e m o re
com m ent. It d o e sn 't m atter
what kind o f social or religious
or political life anybody leads.
“ We the People o f the World”
have one thing in comm on. If
not for us w orking our lives
away, there w ould be no way
for any government to survive.
W hat do w e get out o f it?
M ore law s, th a t we d o n ’t
m a k e , so a ll th e v a rio u s
governments can survive.
John Q uincy A dam s
(P resident 1825-1829) had
the roots o f a good idea. He
called him se lf “a m an o f my
w h o le co u n try .” H e n ev er
considered h im se lf a “party
m an.” Should we be thinking
any less for the whole world ?
Enough is enough.
(s) Phillip Kight
Heppner
T h e lo n e S c h o o l be held at the ,one U nited
District will be holding a work ^ hurch o f C hrist.
session,T hursday,July 17,at
U n th e a g e n d a is
6 p.m. The work session will discussion o f staff schedules.
Menu Special
Friday, July 18 and Saturday, July I ,
!»
To the Editor:
A little m ore history.
O ckham ’s Razor, a principle
popularized by W illiam ot
O ckham , 1285-1349(7), that
states: “ entities are not to be
m u ltip lie d
beyond
n e c e s s i ty ...” O r in m ore
common English, “don’t get to
big for y our britches." Two
examples: The Commander in
Chief with his insistence on war
and the bilking this county got
from the school board.
I w as asked recently
where 1 got my Ph.D. In actual
fact, there isn ’t one. W hat 1
did have w as a tutor for three
years betw een the ages o f 13
and 16. An amazing gentleman
that taught m e that there are
tw o aspects o f learning that
should never, ever be denied.
Those are, logic and honesty.
Logic in the realm o f“common
sense” and “ d o n ’t ev er stop
asking questions." Exam ple:
O n at least four occasions a
government official (Powell in
p a rtic u la r) w as a sk ed a
question. His reply w as some
d e v is e d j o k e to a v o id
answ ering at all. H onesty for
its obvious attributes is the
opposite o f lies and halt-truths.
Just how deep does “devious”
affect all o f us?
A
q u ic k
congratulations to the principal
for his added curriculum and
“ challenge” to “ look a little
deeper into governm ent."
O n w ith h is to r y .
M a n if e s t D e s tin y : “ th e
fulfillm ent o f our m anifest
d e stin y to o v e rsp re a d the
c o n tin e n t a ll o tt e d
by
p ro v id e n c e ...” W h at does
that say in plain English? “God
w ants us to m ove here and
take over.” The C om m ander
in C hief said virtually the same
thing w ith the “ spread" o f
dem ocracy. Even though the
Iraqis, at least som e factions
o f them , d o n ’t seem to w ant
dem ocracy or Bush. It seem s
m ore a fear o f losing their
lifelong religion.
“Manifest Destiny” is
an A m erican invented term ,
first used by John L. O ’Sullivan
in the “United States Magazine
an d D e m o c ra tic R e v ie w "
(July-Aug 1845). For the most
part a Dem ocratic concept, it
fell out o f favor during the
186 0 s to 188 0 s a n d w a s
picked up again in the 1890s
as a Republican policy. Is it any
w o n d e r w hy p e o p le d o n ’t
w ant to talk about politics?
M em ories last m uch longer
than 30 or 40 years.
O n the new s over the
last few weeks: The statement
w as m ade that the planning
stages o f the Hussein regime
take over w as started tw elve
years ago, but the Dem ocrats
v o ted not to s ta rt p u ttin g
t o g e t h e r a r e p la c e m e n t
leadership that soon. A caller
to CNN made the point: Is this
circumstance pre-emptive and
an impeachable offense'?
A s im a g in a tiv e as
some attorneys are, I suppose
it c o u ld be. Yet, it w o n ’t
happen, the Republicans have
the m ajority o f seats in the
ISD to hold work session
JOHN'S PIIK€
■
Heppner
Gazet te-Ti mes
676-9228
The flow of history, logic and honesty
Letters to the Editor
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M»GE y
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