Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2004)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 13,2004 - FIVE Letten 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 num ber on all letters (or use by the G-T office. The G-T reserves the right to edit. The G-T is not responsible for accuracy o f statements made in letters. (Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks" at a cost o f $7.) lone community member voices support for Burns To the Editor I am w riting in support o f Betty Burns for Morrow County Justice of the Peace As a member o f the lone C om m unity A gri- Business O rganization, I have worked with Betty on many community events, such as the lone 4th of July Celebration B etty is very com m unity oriented and works hard to get things done. She is very well organized and carries out her p ro je c ts in the tim ely manner. Her experience in business, along with her attitude, will make her an excellent Ju stice o f the Peace My recommendation for Morrow County Justice o f the Peace is Betty Burns (s) Stacie J Miller ICABO Treasurer lone Fellow council member supports VanCleave for mayor To the Editor: 1 am w riting in support o f Tim VanCleave for mayor o f Heppner 1 have known Tim for several years and as a fellow council m em ber have w orked closely with him on the city council We are also both members o f the City Police Com m ission. The Police C om m ission voted him ch airp erso n of the Commission and the council m em bers v o ted him President o f the Council Tim has alw ays proved that he cares for the people o f H eppner and wants to preserve the quality of life o f our town He is very approachable and willing to listen to all viewpoints and work with them As a ten- year member o f the city council he has a broad know ledge o f how city government works He is at present actively working with meeting the long and short-range goals for the city as set by the city council The quality 1 most appreciate about Tim is his p e rsev e ra n ce in asking questions until everyone understands exactly what the facts are Please join me in voting for Tim VanCleave for mayor o f the City o f Heppner (s) Merle Cowett Heppner Deputy shares concerns about Matlack To the Editor: In Septem ber, I attended a public forum hosted by Ken Matlack who is running for the office o f Sheriff in Morrow County Verlin Denton is the current Morrow County Sheriff and running for re-election As a working deputy in Morrow C ounty I had several questions and concerns to ask Mr Matlack about, but by the end o f the evening I had none o f my questions answered and several new ones I commented during the meeting that Mr Matlack has never approached the Sheriff’s Association to ask us about our feelings and what we had to say about law en fo rcem en t issues concerning the community. He asked me why I had taken so long to approach him I pointed out to Mr Matlack that I was not the one running for office, hence, I am not the one campaigning I guess Mr Matlack does not care about what the people who would be representing him have to say. The meeting started with a local Irrigon church pastor asking the people in attendance for money to support Mr M a tla c k ’s campaign I was disturbed by this seeing how Mr Matlack is a 25-year retired Oregon State Trooper and probably m akes m ore in m onthly retirement than I do in salary Mr Matlack also told the group that he has been employed by the state as well as being a p riv ate in v e stig a to r since his retirement Why then is he asking a hard w orking, prim arily m iddle class community for money to finance a political campaign? This is not a campaign for Governor Mr Matlack says that he has ex p erien ce managing small budgets and limited resources, however, he can not run for a rural p o litical office w ithout incurring what I can only im agine to be several thousand dollars in expenses and then ask M orrow County citizens to pay for it The fact that Mr Matlack him self never asked for financial support, instead having a local pastor do it for him, added to my concern I shudder to think what he will do to our Office’s budget Sheriff Denton has paid for his campaign costs from his own pocket, asking for only your vote, not your hard- earned money. Mr Matlack stated that he intended to make the deputies available to the public at our homes and during our off hours. Not only is the listing o f residence and phone numbers a potential officer safety issue but also it is illegal per Oregon Revised S tatute 192 445 and 192.502. This is one in a series o f false promises that Mr Matlack has made to the people o f Morrow County He has prom ised daily patrols to the most remote p arts o f the C ounty, a logistical impossibility given our call load and number of personnel, neither o f which Mr Matlack would have the power to change as Sheriff Mr Matlack even promised a woman who lives near C utsforth Park that we w ould deliver her mail Again, a legal impossibility Mr M atlack has promised to go on patrol and take calls as Sheriff Again, he fails to understand that time and work that it takes to run a department o f this size and responsibility When asked during a recen t c a n d id a te ’s forum in Heppner what he thought w ere the d u ties o f the S h e riff’s O ffice, Mr M atlack’s only comment was that we collected taxes A nyone w ho know s anything about county law enforcement knows that we do not collect taxes Even this surprised me, assuming that all those years working in law enforcem ent, Mr Matlack would have a good u n derstanding o f the position he is running for I believe that if you desire to run for political office, you should know what that office is all about Mr Matlack does not know what it means to be Sheriff and that lack of understanding will result in a destabilization o f agency personnel, finances and programs that will cost the people o f Morrow County dearly. Mr M atlack says that there is a “gap’’ between the Sheriff s Office and the people of Morrow County I strongly disagree In April o f this year, I was seriously injured along with a co w orker, D eputy Brian Snyder, in a sho o tin g incident in Irrigon I was on m edical leave for th ree months and during that time I received hundreds of cards, letters and phone calls filled w ith love, support and prayers I did not personally know a lot of the senders but I was m oved by the community’s strong show of support for Deputy Snyder and I They know us, they know what we do and the struggles and dangers that we face and I am grateful for the strength that they provided. I fail to see that “g a p ” Mr M atlack is a pure politician; promising and saying anything that people want to hear to get votes. I love my job and I am proud o f the people that I work with and the Sheriff that I work for I believe that community support is still there and I ask that you vote fo r Verlin D enton to continue on as your Sheriff (s) Jeff Lambier Heppner Choose leaders that will meet challenges To the Editor: Our fo rg o tten America has our poor, our homeless and jobless and is grow ing fast I recently found out in a survey that 43 percent o f the people in California have no medical coverage I can’t imagine what it is like in many other states Farmers are losing their land to c o rp o rate stru ctu res. In the U S , m oneyed in terests are gradually superseding the will o f the people, leaving pow er in the hands o f c o rp o ra tio n s instead o f voters M any o f to d a y ’s global problems- such as the d estru ctio n of the e n v i r o n m e n t , unemployment, the growing gap between the rich and poor and overpopulation- are consequences o f our co m p etitiv e econom ic system It would be naive to believe that we can create a secure future or build a stable society based on unfettered market forces, which take for granted that one small segm ent o f humanity lives in abundance while the majority live in abject poverty If we in the developed world continue our economic dominance over the developing world, conflicts, chaos and war will be the inevitable result H um anity’s most serious problems are global, and therefore demand global solutions Justice, sharing and cooperation must be the keynotes of the political and econom ic system s o f tomorrow, and it’s obvious that achieving these will require a ‘regime change’ in this country Vote for leaders this coming election that will meet the challenges o f these most difficult times (s) Nova Fuentes San Rafael, CA Estes shares qualifications for clerk position To The Editor: It is my pleasure and honor to run for the position o f Morrow County Clerk My slogan is "A History of Service" because it speaks to who I am as an individual I am currently the chairman for the Morrow County Unified Recreation D istrict, the v o lu n teer coordinator and a trainer for Pioneer Memorial Hospice and a vestry member for my church Formerly, I served on the BMCC Foundation Board, the City o f Heppner Planning Commission, and other civic organizations In my professional and my private life, it is important for me to have m eaning, purpose and integrity. I believe service to others is how I achieve those goals. As Morrow County Clerk I will represent you efficiently, effectively and cheerfully, providing the accountability that is critical to sustain trust in our local governm ent O ur vo ter records must be accessible and accurate to guarantee confidence in our elections I look forward to meeting the challenges o f the Help America Vote Act, which ensures that the right to vote will be p reserv ed for everyone I will provide quality service and im plem entation o f the Oregon Revised Statutes I respect the intent of our laws and their purpose to preserve and protect our rights. I would also like to develop program s to engage our children in our election process I have acquired a broad spectrum of skills and knowledge that will help me make these goals a reality I have been in public service for 18 years as an em ployee w ith M orrow County Assessment and Tax, serving 14 years as lead appraiser I have worked at a statewide level with the O regon D epartm ent o f Revenue on special teams for appraisal standards and valuation projects, as well as on computer program design fo r leg islativ e im p lem en tatio n I have ex p erien ce w ith deed records, legal descriptions. maps, district boundaries and extensive experience in u n d e rstan d in g and implementing the Oregon Revised Statutes All of these skills and experiences will help me represent you both locally and on a statewide level I hope you will allow me the opportunity to serve you (s) Cyde Marie Estes Heppner Sheriff shares thoughts on his position To the Editor: As electio n tim e draws near, I want to take this opportunity to share with the voters a couple of my thoughts about what it means to be the Sheriff of Morrow County. First o f all, I personally do not believe that we can afford to have elected officials who are merely “figure heads.” We must be productive, working members o f the department Realizing there may be people who do not understand what that entails, I w anted to offer some examples of what the Sheriff does. I administer a budget o f over $2 million; supervise a s ta ff o f alm ost 30 employees (plus around 15 volunteer reserves and a few seasonal w o rk ers); and manage a wide variety o f contracts for special services such as marine patrol, 9-1-1 com m unication, fo rest patrol, OHV Park patrol and Heppner City policing, as well as many in te r governmental agreements with surrounding agencies, such as the Oregon State Police and Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office Being dedicated to professionalism, I oversee a wide variety o f training and educational program s for s ta ff from firearm s qualification to civil service M orrow County does not have a jail, but it legally responsible for lodging all p riso n ers, so I must negotiate and maintain a jail contract I am responsible for any new programs this department may participate in, whether it is for bicycle safety, domestic violence or neighborhood watch, as well as program s that reach beyond the boundaries o f our county, such as the Law Enforcement Torch Run and the Special O lym pics fundraisers I participate on a num ber o f b o ard s and com m ittees in o rd er to represent Morrow County’s public safety needs, including: the Local Public Safety C o o rd in atin g Council; Law Enforcement Administrators Council; the Blue Mountain Narcotics Task Force (which I was a founder of and am still active in as president of the board) Additionally, I am an officer in the Oregon State Sheriff's Association where I served on five committees last year in order to represent the public safety interests o f Morrow County and Eastern Oregon On a personal level, I believe in the principle o f service and have served many years on the Citizen Review Board (and been honored as their volunteer of the year) as well as serving as deacon in my local church I encourage this kind o f volunteerism for service in my staff and am very proud that m ost o f them are activ ely involved in community service o f their own. Furthermore, as the head o f the Sheriff’s Office, it is my responsibility to represent this agency to citizens, civic groups and the communities at large and I have a long history o f being responsive to the questions and concerns of every one of th o se I have alw ays maintained an open-door policy and no citizen has ever been turned away. As you might imagine, these and other duties demand all o f my time, as well as some staff time, particularly the Undersheriff The suggestion that our time would be better spent performing the duties o f a p atro l deputy demonstrates a fundamental lack o f understanding what it takes to m anage the M orrow County Sheriff’s Office It has been my privilege to serve Morrow County for 21 years, the last six as its Sheriff. I hope to continue in that service (s) Sheriff Verlin R Denton Heppner New mayor needs vision to lead Heppner To the Editor: W ith the election close at hand, there is a deafening silence on the Heppner City Mayoral race Thank goodness there are tw o excellent candidates running for the position- K eith L ew is and Tim VanCleave. Both are long term m em bers o f our community. In my judgment, it comes down to which man has the greatest vision to lead the City o f Heppner through tough economic times I believe that our city council needs to take a pro active role in making sure that our city provides the co rrect environm ent for small and large business to locate here VanCleave has filled the position o f city councilman for 10 years. W ith this ex p erien ce, I believe that he has earned his stripes to become our next m ayor His many civic activities bring him very close to a large segment of fellow H eppnerites and I believe gives him an edge over his opponent VanCleave has had tra in in g in com m unity leadership, problem solving and city government. His vision is apparent Kick the end out of the “box.” These qualities entitle him to take on the job o f the mayor. (s) Louis Carlson, R etired M orrow C ounty Judge Heppner WindWave Communication w in P rtsM ts... H ig h -S p e e d W ireless In te rn e t $ 2 9 .9 5 / Month* or $ 3 6 .9 5 / M onth** y o o r ch o icm Up to 27 times faster than dial-up! 1.5 Mbps upload / dow nload 5 Email Addresses, Anti-Virus, Anti-Spam, Firew all Billed on your lo c a l Electric BUI Portable access in Heppner and board man C a ll 1-800-860-850$ Today for a free Site Survey w w w .w in d w a v e .o rg p lu a $ 7 5 . 0 0 t . l u p fmm, 6 m o n t h c o n t r o d *, I
