EIGHT- Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 20, 2004
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reasonable and is much less
than the rates o f health
districts in John Day, Bums
and Enterprise (See voter
fact sheet m ailed to
residents) This equates to a
$39 per year for a house
valued at $100,000
The Health District
serves residents in many
ways such as am bulance
services and EMTs, Pioneer
Memorial Home Health and
Hospice, Irrigon Medical
Clinic, Boardman Health
C are C en ter Subsidy,
Pioneer Memorial Clinic and
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
R ecru itin g
and
retain in g health care
providers has always been a
significant challenge in the
past and we are currently
very fo rtu n ate to have
d ed icated , caring and
excellent providers working
for the M orrow C ounty
Health District.
In
rural
com m unities,
th ese
p ro v id ers go above and
beyond the call to provide
the level and quality o f health
care services that we are
used to We have often heard
visitors remark to us how
impressed they were with the
local medical services. The
Health District Board has
made many cuts in the past
and needs our support on
this levy to be able to
continue to serve us. Our
communities need access to
health care for our citizens
and for the ability to attract
residents to live here Please
don’t take these services for
granted The next person to
need our facilities may be
yourself or your loved ones.
Please v o te yes on the
M orrow C ounty H ealth
District levy to assure that
th ese vital serv ices are
continued
and duty as a citizen.) My
husband and I have been
residents o f the community
for 28 years. We are
homeowners, tax payers and
have volunteered many times
for a c tiv itie s in the
To the Editor:
community. We pay our bills
Dear Fellow Citizens
on time and take pride in our
W hat an ex citin g home and property
time for Heppner, We have
1 have been a
had the honor o f being member o f the Lexington
served by Mayor Bob Jepsen Stakeholders group, which
for many years and we now formulated and developed
have an e x tra o rd in a ry Lexington’s strategic plan I
candidate for mayor that has have represented the city on
the ability to ste e r our the
M orrow
C ounty
community into the future
Economic Group and the
Last year, my eldest Morrow County Needs and
son was coached by Tim Issues Priority Board I was
V anCleave As I quietly involved in the ranking o f
observed Tim’s ability as a four o f Lexington’s needs
coach, 1 became aware o f his into a common group that is
ability to lead people Now currently ranked at the top
more than ever, we need o f Morrow County’s Top 10
leaders that will clearly needs As a member o f the
define our co m m u n ity ’s council, I have been on the
needs and strive to achieve Budget Com m ittee every
the goals associated with year and am familiar with all
those needs. I believe that asp ects o f the budget
Tim is the best choice for process.
bringing people together on
On a personal level,
the vital issues (no matter I am a m em ber o f the
their background, household American Legion and VFW
income, ethnicity, etc.) to auxiliaries, Holly Rebekah
w ork to w ard s viable, L odge, O regon N urses
sustainable solutions
Association and have served
As you may know, on the board o f directors of
one o f the issues that I work W illow C reek V alley
on in Salem is our rural Assisted Living Facility. I
hospitals. While keeping our joined the Methodist Church
local hospitals open is not many years ago.
directly related to city
As to where I stand
government, it is refreshing on the issues facing the
to see that Tim VanCleave is town:
aware o f this critical issue
-I
su p p o rt the
and willing to w ork with development o f an additional
State officials on keeping water source, but I am not
those doors open That is in fav o r o f c re atin g an
clearly leadership in action. additional loan to do so. Thfe (sUehn, qqd Aw Murray .
We have been community already has two Heppner
fortunate to have had the outstanding loans and at
strength, dedication and least one should and could VanCleave has
leadership o f Mayor Jepsen be paid dow n before optimistic view
How many times did you indebting the community to To the Editor:
drive by the entrance to additional liabilities. There
As a member o f the
Heppner and see our mayor are many residents on the H eppner City Council, I
v o lu n te e rin g his tim e, fixed income and they simply work closely with fellow
energy, resources and tireless cannot stretch their money council m em ber Tim
efforts on that outstanding much furth er T here are V anCleave. He has an
beautification project? I am grants available and these attitude o f making Heppner
confident that Tim will show should be pursued before a better place to live for
that same enthusiasm and taking out any additional everyone He listens and tries
loyalty to the citizens o f loan.
to make the best decision on
Heppner He has already
-O f utmost priority, the facts, not his own
done so by remaining an the city should operate and
personal feelings
active m em ber o f the manage within the budget,
Tim is currently the
Heppner City Council for 10 not incur unexpected and
president o f the council,
years,
including
the unnecessary expense (like
m em ber o f the police
presidency o f that council. those that have occurred in
commission and has been on
His community activities are the last two years).
the council for 10 years. Ti m
too many to list in one letter
-An
a ttra c tiv e sees
the
econom ic
I hope that you will community would promote
development as the biggest
take the time to contact Tim a positive a ttitu d e and
challenge to Heppner In
VanCleave and ask him his impression o f the town The
addition, Tim is dedicated to
goals and visions for our right-aways and alleys need
the city’s implementation o f
community. I think you will to be cleaned up The people
the new water system and
be pleased with his answers would take more pride in
insuring the future o f the
Please jo in me in their tow n if this would sew er
and
street
voting for Tim VanCleave happen
maintenance Tim has an
for mayor this November
I am on the ballot, o p tim istic view ab o u t
(s) Greg Smith
P osition #2, and w ould Heppner’s future
Heppner
appreciate your vote Re
Please join me in
elect Lexington City Council voting for Tim VanCleave
Re-elect
Position #2.
for M ayor o f the City o f
(s)
Luella Taylor
candidate that
Heppner
Lexington
(s) Cindi Doherty
VanCleave shows
enthusiasm and
loyalty to
Heppner
To the Editor
To the voters o f Lexington
Currently there are
three elective offices on the
city council to be filled this
year and one in limbo due to
a legality. I have been a
member o f the council for
the last fo u r plus years
(having been elected to serve
out an unexpired term and
re-elected to the current
te rm ) I am inform ed,
experienced and not afraid to
speak out if I do not agree
with an issue (I have been
criticized by some for this,
but I believe this is my right
\
Don't take local
services for
granted
To the Editor:
In the upcom ing
electio n we have the
opportunity to help maintain
the current services provided
by our M orrow C ounty
Health District It is often
easy to tak e things for
granted that we have had
access to in the past.
Som etim es serv ices or
businesses are not fully
appreciated until they are
lost or no longer available
We are currently very lucky
to have the level o f care
available to us here
The three-year local
o p tio n levy is very
v
Heppner
Garbage service
has some
problems, but
good overall
To the Editor:
K eep b u sin esses
alive in Heppner So the city
can take them over9 Maybe
Dave Green needs to keep a
better schedule, etc., but he’s
a o n e-p erso n o p eratio n
doing his best to make a
living in Heppner
Anyone can leave a
m essage
on
D a v e ’s
answering machine He or
his w ife have alw ays
returned our calls
(s) Buck and Judy Handbury
Heppner
There is so much excitement
in o ur com m unity over
having o u r high school
restored, we wish everyone
could share with us in our
elation (and I believe the
majority o f Morrow County
residents are happy for us)
Interestingly, at the Morrow
C ounty School Board
m eeting held at A C
Houghton School on Oct
11, the School Board did
discuss the possibility o f a
School Resource Officer at
great length, so it would
appear that Matlack was not
at all out of line in suggesting
the position
In closing, I want to
say I appreciate the fact that
our deputies sometimes put
themselves in harm’s way
when answering calls. To
show our appreciation in a
tangible way, we let the
deputies operate their dunk
tank
at
this
y e a r’s
watermelon festival, with all
the profit going to their
organization We are not
against the Morrow County
deputies, but I felt the errors
in J e ff L a m b ie r’s letter
needed to be addressed
(s) LaVelle Partlow
Irrigon
To the Editor:
D eputy
Je ff
L am bier’s ‘Letter to the
Editor” in the Oct 13 issue
o f the H eppner G azette
needs a bit o f clarification
For starters, he
commented on attending a
public forum hosted by Ken
Matlack who is running for
the office o f S h e riff in
M orrow C ounty. Two
co rre ctio n s here- the
meeting was never intended
to be a “Public Debate,” but
rather an informal meeting
for friends and supporters of
Ken Matlack for Sheriff to
get to know him better and
hear him discuss his views on
the office Secondly, Sarnie
and Billy Griffin hosted and
financed the meeting of their
own volition As far as I
know, they did not ask
anyone to help pay for rental
o f the building It was meant
to be like the C offee
Klatches that people hold in
their homes to support a
particular candidate and
have friends in to become
better acquainted In fact,
Sarnie wanted to hold the
meeting in her home, but was Irrigon pastor
afraid she would not have speaks out for
enough space Had she
known the evening would Matlack
evolve into a heated debate,
she could have advertised it To the Editor:
I am w ritin g in
as a Public Forum meeting
for two candidates and used response to some statements
the Senior Center free o f in your Wednesday, Oct 13,
charge The Senior Center 2004 issue placed by Deputy
avoids political favoritism, JeffLambier
I am the local Irrigon
but did offer their building
for the C andidates Fair, pastor that Deputy Lambier
where any candidate running referred to in his comments
for office was free to speak about Mr Matlack asking
me, to ask people, to give
and take questions.
I want to interject m oney to su p p o rt his
1
another thought here: I have campaign '
of
attended nCntifetoUS'p'ol'iViedt' ,U0111
“Coffees” in p'ebplefshótnés all, b efo re we Make'
throughout the years and statements o f any kind, we
although som e o f the should be sure o f our facts.
Fact: At no time did
can d id ates w ere noted
millionaires, still there was or has Ken Matlack ever
no hesitation on the part of asked me to ask anyone to
the hosts to offer an give to his campaign. Under
opportunity to contribute to state law candidates running
the campaign I was late to for office are allowed to take
the meeting hosted by Sarnie contributions up to a certain
and Billy Griffin and did not dollar amount, which is tax
hear any comments made deductible. And I did invite
toward contributing to Ken’s any o f those who would like
cam paign, so I cannot to do that, to feel free to
comment on that; however, support their candidate
Next: I was not the
I w ould not find that
first
person
to speak that
unusual
night
nor
was
I the first to
I did attend the
Candidates Fair and heard ask people to give to Ken’s
several candidates speak; I campaign.
Those would be the
did not detect any rancor in
any o f their voices- they all facts about my part in the
behaved p ro fessio n ally , meeting that night, but I will
simply stating their views also take this time to say a
without any mudslinging at few more things.
1 personally know a
their opponents and then
took questions. This would number o f our deputies in
have been the appropriate Morrow County and I can
time and place for anyone honestly say that I hold them
who wished to go on the in very high regard when it
attack against Ken Matlack comes to their commitment
to have appeared and to service and duty, their
professionalism I have been
spoken
D eputy L am bier involved in outreaches to our
reiterated he was speaking community with them and
for all o f the Morrow County have found them to be top
deputies; I sincerely hope he notch professionals who
was not speaking for all of deserve our respect and
them when he made his slur appreciation for all they do
I know that elections
against Irrigon High School
When Matlack said he hoped can and often become very
to have a School Resource personal and at tim es
Officer who would rotate emotional I would like to
am ong all th e schools, ask all o f you to think about
Lam bier instantly asked what you would like to see
M atlack who he thought happen in o ur s h e riff’s
would pay for that Matlack department and then vote for
responded he hoped the the man you think would do
school district would fund the job you would like done
(s) Pastor Rick Yardley
the position Lambier then
Irrigon
commented that the school
d istric t w ould not have
Measure 36
money to fund the position
and went on to say, “Ever protects marriage
since Irrigon got that High To the Editor
School, every other school
The basic purpose of
in the district has had to cut Measure 36 is not to oppose
back ” I guess it wasn’t so “gay marriage ” The basic
much the words, but the tone purpose is to p ro tect
he used, that saddened us m arriage itse lf Opening
,
has experience
and roots in
Lexington .
Errors in
Lambier’s letter
need addressing
marriage to persons o f the
same sex happens to be the
im m ediate
th re a t
to
marriage
Every argument for
sam e sex “ m a rria g e ” is
flawed Marriage between
persons o f the same gender
is not a basic human or civil
right All rights come with at
least some restrictions- some
rights and their benefits are
not open to universal access
Fathers cannot marry their
daughters Adults cannot
m arry children Placing
rational, natural restrictions
on
m arriage
is not
unconstitutional
discrimination
Sexual “orientation”
is not the same kind o f
difference as race. That is
why A frican A m erican
lead ers agree th a t “gay
marriage” is not a civil rights
issue
Restricting marriage
to only one man and one
woman is not intolerance or
“homophobia.” Civilization
has rejected same-sex unions
for th o u san d s o f years.
Civilized society has learned
that true sexual fulfillment is
ex p erien ced
only
in
monogamous, heterosexual
marriage. The modern “gay
marriage” movement is only
a few decades old Its
spu rio u s argum ents and
shallow slogans fly in the
face o f the experience and
wisdom o f the ages.
Society has not
alw ays been tru e to
marriage. Many people have
made a mess o f it. But that
is not the fault o f marriage.
On the contrary, the fact that
the violation of “traditional”
marriage has resulted in so
much harm is a clear
demonstration o f its validity.
M arriage is not a
hum an
inv en tio n
or
development. God created
tfiarriage We cannot do
whatever we want with it
because it does not belong
to us; it belongs to God; it is
His property.
No, God is not “still
speaking” about marriage
G od
d efin itely
and
p erm an en tly
defined
marriage as a life-long unity
between one man and one
woman. Jesus reaffirm ed
that definition. What God
ordained still stands. Every
historical deviation from that
edict was due to ignorance
or disobedience and resulted
in serious problems. Every
violation o f the natural,
biblical
b o u n d a rie s
p ro tectin g m arriage still
results in harm and pain.
Since
sam e-sex
“ m arriag e”
cam e
to
Scandinavia, serious social
problem s have increased
there and marriage itself is
disappearing If marriage
becomes just anything, it will
become nothing
The very survival o f
marriage itself is at stake So,
let’s join the people in other
states who have acted
decisively to p ro te c t
m arriage Vote Yes on
Measure 36
Dr J.W Jepson, Pastor
Life in Christ Center
The Dalles
Consider the
need and vote yes
for levy
To the Editor:
I would like to ask all
my friends and relatives to
think about when you may
need the hospital You never
know when there will be an
emergency Please consider
this and vote to support the
h o sp ital and the health
district by voting yes for the
M orrow C ounty H ealth
District levy.
(s) Edda Mae Lovgren
Heppner