FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 20, 2004
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Need real facts
on garbage issues
To the Editor:
Real Garbage: City
o f Heppner wants to take
over garbage collection Or,
is this just another hopeful
money making scheme for
the City? Let’s look at some
real facts in light o f that
possibility
It’s been said that
two city employees could
each work one-half day for
two days and get the job
done Perhaps However,
this is bad for our pocket
book and local economy.
This computes out to having
two half-time unemployed
people This saves the City
m oney on w ages and
benefits but increases
expenses
for
public
assistan ce such as food
stamps and Oregon Health
Care
In
addition,
government will shut down
another small business and
one more person will be
added to the unemployment
list
E xisting g arbage
trucks belong to Heppner
Garbage Disposal, not to the
City o f Heppner The City
will have to purchase and
maintain their own garbage
truck Oh, make that two
trucks, it is good to have a
spare truck when the other
one needs maintenance or
repairs. Basic “manual fill”
garbage tru ck s costs
upwards of $80,000.
Ju st like skunks,
garbage trucks stink No
am ount o f w ashing will
make a garbage truck not
smell like a garbage truck
Some people complain about
the stink coming from their
dumpsters or garbage cans.
If your container stinks, it’s
your responsibility to un
stink it not Heppner Garage
Disposal.
The City will learn
too, that you cannot afford
to empty the garbage truck
at the end o f each workday.
A quarter or half-fill garbage
truck still requires the same
amount of time and dumping
expenses as a fill truck This
requires going to Finley
Butte Land Fill, a 90 minute
round trip, either daily or
better yet, when the truck
needs to be emptied Finley
Butte dumping fees are by
the ton, therefore, make each
round trip count We don’t
want half-time unemployed
people going over their
hourly time limits
City o f H eppner
does not own or operate
Heppner Garbage Disposal
The Cities responsibility is
approving a franchise to a
private c o n tra c to r for a
specific period o f time, i.e.
10 years The current
franchise requires pick-up
once a week, Monday thru
Friday, for subscribing
customers. There is no quote
“garbage day.”
If the M orrow
County Schools, M orrow
C ounty 4-H Fair, or any
o th e r su b scrib er desire
additional garbage pick-up
service then they m ust
contract for it and pay for it
Complaining to City Hall
about your garbage service
is like “wetting” your dark
colored pants; you might feel
b e tte r for aw hile, but
eventually you will get a rash
and start stinking Instead,
call H eppner G arbage
Disposal about concerns, or
even an occasional thank-
you would be in order.
Take a moment and
consider some of the benefits
we enjoy from our current
garbage service provider
compared to what the City
proposal would provide
-C urrently,
off-
curbside pick-up is normal
This means that the garbage
man walks up your driveway,
around the corner, up some
stairs and carries your
garbage back to his truck,
then returns your can to its
location Don’t expect this
from anyone else.
-You can carry your
own garbage can out to the
curb yourself and return it
-Currently we pay
for one 32-gallon garbage
can (60 pound maximum)
pick-up weekly For some it
is a 45-gallon garbage can
mounted on wheels (cost
more), same weight
-Rain or shine, snow
or freezing weather, your
garbage man gets there No
extra charge for basic
service Yet there are no
holidays, perks, sick leave,
vacation time or overtime
pay.
W hy will y o u r
garbage rates increase in the
future9 Because future new
fran ch ised
serv ice
requirements by the city will
necessitate it
-First by mandatory
“garbage day” pick-ups.
R equiring
ad d itio n al
manpower, garbage trucks
and disposal fees
-Mandatory $20,000
insurance bonding o f the
garbage pick-up provider
Insurance premium will be
passed on to the customer
-Demanding
additional daily garbage
pick-ups will require paying
more for services Whether
it is with Heppner Garbage
Disposal, City o f Heppner
Garbage Service, or another
private contractor.
In all likelihood the
City would rather provide us
w ith
the
big
city
accommodations, using new
hydraulic side lo ad er
$100,000 garbage trucks
that require (demand) that
you p u rch ase special
g arb ag e cans th at are
adapted to the particular
style o f a hydraulic side
loader truck.
C u rre n tly every
home or business is not
required to participate in
contracting with Heppner
Garbage Disposal You can
haul your own garbage if you
desire W hat about the
Heppner Garbage Disposal
customers who are outside
o f the city limits; oops,
maybe we should not go
there, yet...?
Now the City says
they are placing a 90-day
p ro b atio n on H eppner
Garbage Disposal Probation
for w hat9 Probation is a
follow up procedure for
go v ern in g v io la to rs for
proven errors, blunders and/
or m isdeeds. W hat has
Heppner Booster Club would like to thank the following
individuals and organizations for their generous donations
to the 2004 Steak Feed and Auction. Without their support,
this annual event would not have been such a success!
Allstott Construction LL.C
Alpine Meadows Golf Course
Angie Hanson
Artisan Village
Bank of Eastern Oregon
Barbara Bloodsworth
Bev Howe
Bob DeSpain
Bobbi Childers
BPOE Elks 358
Brian & Susan Thompson
Buffalo Peaks Golf Course
Campbell Motors. Inc
Cascade Athletic
Celita Strouse
Central Red Apple Market
Charlie and Marcia Anderson
China Creek Golf Course
Chuck Matteson
Columbia River Processing
Costco
Cottage Flowers
Country Shears
Coyote Springs PGE
Craig & Deb Gutierrez
Crown Paper & Mark Huddleston
Dale Conklin
Darlene Lovgren
Dave Fowler
Dave. Patty. Shane
& Stefan Matheny
Deena Reid
Dennis & Babbette Wall
Dennis & Penny Miller
8 Frances Freel
Devin Oil
Dick Temple DVM
Dobyn's Pest Control
DorityAuto Sales. Inc
Dr Dennis Turner DMD
Echo Hills Golf Course
Ernie & Mary Jean McCabe
Frederickson Farms
Gardner ’s Men 's Wear
Ginger Keithley
Gordon Robertson & Cliff Ellis
Gordon s Electric
Graybeal Distributing
Green Feed & Seed
Greg's Custom Clubs
Gwen Healy
Hair Expressions
Hale's Restaurant
Heppner Auto Parts
Heppner Day Care
Heppner Elementary 5th/6th Graders
Heppner Garden Club
Heppner Hardware
Heppner High School
Heppner High School Alumni Assoc
Hermiston Glass
Holloman's
Howe s About Pizza
Ida Farra
J & G Services
Jannie Allen
Jean Marie Healy
Jeff Cutsforth
Jerry & lone Martin
John & Diane Kilkenny
John Boyer/Gar Aviation
John & Nancy Gochnauer
John Nickey
Judy & Sandy Photography
Kelwayne & Mary Haguewood
Ken & Jean Ann Turner
KIE Irrigation
Kim & Gayle Gutierrez
Kimmel Athletic
Larry & Betty Mills
Les & Kevin Payne
Les Schwab Tire Center
Lott's Electric
Louis & Betty Carlson
Marcia Kemp
Mark & Tami Rietmann
Mary Ann Elguezabal
Mary Ella Johnson
Mike& KimArmato
Molly Day
Morrow County Grain Growers
Murray's Drug
Neff
Oregon Zoo
Ostler Orthodontics
Panda Inn Chinese Restaurant
Papa Murphy's
Patriot Auto Glass
Pendleton Bottling - Pepsi
Peterson's Jewelers
Pizza Hut
Portland Trail Blazers
Red Robin
Rhonda Helfrecht
Riddell & Mark Elmblade
Rolling Hills Hunting Preserve
Rusty & Cyde Estes
Seitz Aviation
Shirley George
Spout Springs Resort
Styling Arena
Tim Hedman
USA Subs
Virginia Grant
\Atode & Marrianne Smith
Wal-Mart
Wheatland Insurance
Wdmer Brothers Brewing Company
Wilcox Furniture
Wild Horse Resort & Casino
Willow Creek Bakery & Diner
Willow Creek Country Club
Wright Chevrolet
Wyna Woodford
Many others also contributed to the success
of the Steak Feed and Auction:
Heppner Junior/Senior High School Students. Faculty, and Staff
Auction Committee -Dinner Committee • Decorating Committee
Ken Grieb. Auctioneer • And everyone who assisted during the night of the dinner and auction
Their hard work and dedication made it all possible!
Thank you, everyone!
Heppner Booster CCirf
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Heppner Garbage Disposal
done or been convicted o f to
w arrant being placed on
probation9
No matter how this
turns out, your garbage rates
will increase; the question is
by how much?
(s) Duane Jones
Matlack
Heppner
understands
public service
To the Editor:
Ken Matlack wasThe
O regon
S tate
Police
Sergeant at the Arlington
office for several years while
I was the Ju stice C ourt
Judge there Sgt Matlack’s
approach
to
law
en forcem en t m ade it a
pleasure to work with him
He was interested in the
livability o f the community
and believed that part o f his
resp o n sib ility , as a law
enforcement officer, was to
do what he could to improve
the
com m unity.
He
d em o n strated that he
believed it w as m ore
im portant to deal with
problems before they came
to the attention of the law
rather than after. He was
active in community affairs
both at the city level and the
county level
I also appreciated
Sgt Matlack’s approach to
problem solving When he
perceived a problem he
contacted all the parties that
were involved and talked to
and listened tb everyone
before making decisions He
was willing to cooperate
w ith
all
o th e r
law
enforcement agencies, the
courts and the governing
bodies of both the towns and
the county in G illiam
County.
Sgt Matlack was an
asset to the Oregon State
Police, the town of Arlington
and Gilliam C ounty. He
understood what it meant to
be a public servant.
(s) S. “Chris” Nix
Retired Justice o f the Peace
Condon
Tim is a proven
leader in our community and
has had years o f experience
in working with people with
differing views He is a man
o f good c h arac te r and
judgment and is willing to
listen to all sides o f the
issues He is very serious
about listening to everyone’s
co n cern s and brining
consensus to the challenges
that face our town
Tim has given much
o f his time to make our
community a better place to
live. He has served for many
years as a volunteer and
community leader Here are
just a few o f his areas o f
service: completed the Rural
D evelopm ent In itiativ e
train in g
co u rse
in
com m unity lead ersh ip ;
served on city council for 10
years, currently as president
o f the council; member of the
C ham ber o f C om m erce;
chair o f the Police
C om m ission;
M o rro w
C ounty
S h e riff’s
D ep artm en t C haplaincy
program, Hospice; Welcome
Wagon; Junior High girls and
boys basketball coach; and
the Columbia Bain Electric
C o-O p H elping H earts
program
P lease jo in us in
voting for Tim VanCleave.
Tim is the right man for the
job o f mayor.
(s) Mayor Bob and
Suzanne Jepsen
Heppner
Irrigon residents
dispute
Lambier’s letter
To the Editor:
I am w ritin g in
regards to Jeff Lam bier’s
letter in the Heppner Gazette
dated Oct. 13. I wanted to
express my appreciation for
your time o f service to our
communities, myself and my
husband were among the
many who prayed for you
and Office Snyder But I
would like to set you straight
on a couple o f things.
The meeting on
Sept.
9
at A C Houghton,
VanCleave is the myself and
husband
right man for the pjanned, financed and paid
for the building, not Mr.
job
Matlack. Four different
To the Editor:
ladies made cookies. My
We are w riting in
husband and myself put the
support o f Tim VanCleave
announcements in the
for mayor of Heppner
papers, made flyers and put
them up. This was not a
debate about Mr Denton
(we have been friends with
Andrea and Verlin for many
years and will continue to
be) Our meeting was an
informational meeting to
allow people to meet Ken
and ask questions Not to
try to make a big issue like
you did Mr Matlack did
graciously answer all your
questions When you stood
to talk you said you spoke
for the whole Deputies
Association
I have a question for
you; you said w ith the
opening o f the Irrigon High
School, everyone has had to
cut back What does that
have to do w ith the
informational meeting and
the electio n fo r county
sheriff7 As for asking the
audience to su p p o rt the
campaign, by being on a
phone committee, putting up
yard signs, going door to
d o o r and fo r financial
support, that was our idea,
not Mr Matlack’s.
The meeting did not
start with a local pastor. Jeff,
you threw a few stones, so I
guess I could throw one. I
hope you’re factual skills as
a deputy are better than your
facts in your letter to the
editor. As you said, this was
not a race for governor, so
let’s watch the mud slinging
(s) Billy and Sarnie Griffin
Irrigon
Burns is
professional
To the Editor:
My choice for
Morrow County Justice of
the Peace is Betty Burns.
For the past six years, I have
served with Betty on the
Board o f Directors for the
U nited Way o f M orrow
County and then the United
Way o f U m atilla and
Morrow Counties.
I have known her to
be both professional and
efficient in w hatever she
does. B etty has the
knowledge and ability to
achieve her goals She is
very well organized and has
e x ce lle n t b u sin ess and
computer skills.
I am m arking my
ballot for Betty Burns for
Morrow County Justice of
the Peace
(s) Nancy McKay
lone
BURNS
FOR
MORROW C O U N TY
JUSTICE of the PEACE
“Life Experience”
“Business Experience”
“People Person”
“Professional”
“Efficient”
Mark your ballot for:
Bettv A. Burns
CHANGE IS GOOD!
PAID AND AUTHORIZED BY BETTY A. BURNS
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