FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, December 2, 2009
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Letters to the Editor -
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Wright receives Wendy’s
Heismnn Award
Vote “No” on Measures 66 & 67 Please put our country first
To the Editor:
Five generations of our family have worked at
our Tillamook dairy. It’s our life and our business. Milk
prices are plunging and it’s harder than ever to keep our
business afloat. We’re worried that the new, permanent
tax increases legislators passed in June w ill hurt our farm
and the families it supports. Please join me in voting
“No” on Measures 66 and 67, which permanently raise
business and personal income taxes in the middle of the
worst recession since the Great Depression.
Economists estimate these tax increases will cost
70,000 Oregonians their jobs. With entire families out
of work, we can’t afford taxes that will cost more jobs. 1
can’t vote to send more pink slips to Oregonians.
Legislators say their plan only taxes the rich.
They’re wrong. We’ll all end up paying more for grocer
ies, gas, and other serv ices, and that will impact all Or
egonians, especially the poor. Facing higher taxes, small
businesses like ours would be forced to lay off workers,
reduce wages and benefits, or close their doors.
Worse yet, the higher taxes would be retroactive
to January 1, 2009. No money to cover this increase has
been w ithheld from Oregonian’s paychecks in all of2009.
Retroactive tax bills will hurt business too.
Despite the bleak economy, Measure 67 would
tax businesses up to $100,000 a year, even if they didn’t
make a profit. This tax increase will make Oregon’s cor
porate minimum (the tax on the sales of businesses that
don’t make profits) 20 times higher than New York - the
nation’s highest. The personal income tax increase also
adds to business taxes - 66% of Oregonians w ho will be
impacted by the Measure 66 tax increase are small busi
ness owners that report their business income on their
personal tax returns.
State government has not tightened its belt like
the rest of us. We should not send more money to Salem
until the state can get its spending under control. It both
ers me that the $733 million in new taxes will help fund
the $258 million budgeted for state employee salary
increases. Instead of pinching pennies like the rest of
us, legislators increased overall state spending by $4.7
billion - 9% higher than the previous budget, and raised
taxes and fees by almost $2 billion.
Public employee unions say the sky will fall if
the new taxes do not pass. I’m here to tell you that the
sky is already falling on Oregon small businesses like
mine. Even President Obama said in an NBC interview
this August, “The last thing we want to do is raise taxes
during the middle of a recession.”
Help me send legislators a message that voters
already have rejected job-killing income tax increases
twice before. No means no. Please vote “No” on Mea
sures 66 and 67.
Carol Marie Leuthold
Leuthold Dairy Farm
Tillamook
Red Hat luncheon to be held
A Red Hat no-host luncheon will be held at Sweet
Productions on Thursday, December 17, at noon. You do
not have to be a member of Red Hats to attend.
To the editor:
This letter is for all senators and representatives
in the US congress, regardless of party affiliation:
1 am adamantly opposed to the direction this ad
ministration is taking our country, and 1 w ill work to see
that the people responsible for these outrageous takings
of our constitutional rights are voted out of office by any
legal means possible. You have brought our God given
country to the brink of bankruptcy that we may never
recover from, and 1 believe this is a deliberate power grab
by this president and his unelected and unconstitutional
czars and appointees, w ith the consent of many in the
congress, in most cases.
We know who you are and we will not give up the
fight to have you removed ASAP, our freedom depends on
it. I believe that the so called "Health Care” reform bill is
nothing more than a government smoke screen to mask
the real agenda of this radical president and his cohorts,
which is to destroy our constitutional form of government
and replace it. Let’s be right up front and call it what it
really is, communism, which has failed miserably in
every country that is or has been under the totalitarian
system. We must not let that happen here. Stand up and
be heard, citizens. We have too much to lose not to. Our
grandchildren and great-grandchildren will thank us for
our patriotic efforts.
Please remember that you work for us. Please
put our country first.
These are the things I believe we are about to lose if we
stay silent on these issues:
-Constitutional rights
-the right to bear arms
-religious freedoms
-freedom to assembly
-the right to own property
-freedom of the press
We are already seeing this in:
-environmental takings of all kinds of property
and property rights
-outrageously high taxes
-taxation of anything and everything, including
Medicare benefits
-excessive tax on capital gains
-taxation on small and large business to the point
of breaking up business ownership and loss of jobs
-government takeovers of the auto industry
-high taxes causing manufacturing to go to other
countries, leaving us w ithout jobs
-excessive union labor demands causing loss of
jobs
-no accountability in government spending
-huge fraudulent loss of tax payers’ money at all
levels of government
-outright lies and cover-ups on all fronts
We need term limits and wholesale clean up of
congress.
William E. West
Heppner
Lane Wright of Heppner High School »as recently named the
recipient of the 2001) Wendy’s High School Heisnian Award.
Contributed Photo
USDA urges voters to participate
in county committee elections
Darcy Vial, Execu
tive Director of USDA’s
Farm Service Agency in
Morrow County urges Mor
row County farmers, ranch
ers and other agricultural
producers to vote in FSA
county committee elections
by December 7 the deadline
for casting ballots.
“FSA county com
mittees provide producers
with the opportunity to help
im plem ent federal farm
programs in their communi
ties,” said Vial. “It is vital
that all farmers and ranch
ers, especially women and
minorities, participate in the
elections process to ensure
the opinions expressed in
committee meetings reflect
an area’s agricultural sec
tor.”
Producers must re
turn ballots to their local
FSA offices by the close of
business on December 7.
Newly elected committee
members and alternates take
office January 1.2010.
FSA county com
m ittees help adm inister
federal farm programs at
the local level. Committee
members make decisions
on conservation programs;
commodity price support
loans and payments; disas
ter assistance payments; and
other agricultural issues.
County committees con
sist of three to five elected
members who serve three-
year terms.
Committees may
also have one or more fe
male or minority advisors
to further represent the lo
cal interests of women and
minority farmers and ranch
ers. Each year, one-third of
all committee members are
elected across the country.
More than 8,000 county
committee members serve
in more than 2,300 local
FSA offices nationw ide.
For more informa
tion about FSA county com
mittee elections, visit http://
www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/we
bapp?area=new sroom$subj
ect=landing&topic=cce.
Desert Rats Classic Car club shares the Christmas spirit
Accepting toys through December 19th
For the
Les Schwab
toy drive
Toys will be donated to the
Heppner Neighborhood Center!
December 3rd
Marinated Steaks
elieesy Potatoes
i Salad ft
Cooks Tim & Beth
HEPPNER ELKS 358
676-9181
"Whore Friends M eet"
142 North Main
The Desert Rats
Classic Car Club shared
their Christmas spirit by
donating to the Boardman
community this holiday
season. Club President,
George Price presented
$100 checks to Banner
Bank for their Giving Tree,
the Bank of Eastern Oregon
for their Giving Tree, and
the Columbia River Har
vesters food bank. Club
members voted unanimous
ly to distribute the funds to
these worthy causes as a
way of supporting the com
munity during the holiday
season.
The Desert Rats
Classic Car Club is a Board-
man non-profit organization
whose purpose is to pro
mote interest in the sport
of Classic Cars, Street Rod-
ding, and M uscle Cars,
with an emphasis on family
and community service.
The Club membership is
made up o f Classic Car
enthusiasts who own pre-
1975, American made cars
or trucks. They meet the
second Thursday o f each
month at 7 p.m. Anyone
interested in membership
can contact George Price at
481-3217.
Top Left Photo: Bank of Eastern Oregon - Branch Manger
Julie Gisi with CarCluh Pres. George Price: Top Right Photo:
Banner Bank - Branch Manager Kate Close with Car Club
Pres. George Price: Bottom Photo: Columbia River Harvestors
- Center Manager Julia Cardenas with Car Club Pres. George
Price Contributed Photos
Hoops of Hope shoot to be held
Real
Estate Sealed Bid Auction ■ during lone Basketball Bonanza
The Elks Scholarship Committee will auction the Clarence
Buchanan Home by Silent Auction.
D uring the lone this year’s events will go that date the team will be
collecting donations. The
proceeds from both the
hoop shoot and the Janu
ary event will go to Hoops
of Hope 3-point shoot as The shoot w ill take place in of Hope. For any questions
part of Brianna Peterson's, the lone School's gymnasi or information on donating
Tyree Svetich’s, Sarah Still ums during the half-times to the cause, contact Bri
anna Peterson at ( 541 ) 422-
man's and Stefanie Archer’s of the basketball games.
In Jan u ary , the 7304, or Sarah Stillman at
senior projects.
Hoops of Hope is team will be hosting a “Full (5 4 1>989-8406, or check
a non-profit organization Court Press Event” where out the team 's donation
that raises money for AIDS- they have pledged to shoot website at w w w.firstgiv ing.
impoverished children in 6,000 free throws. Until com/ionebaskeballteam.
Zambia. The proceeds from
B asketball Bonanza on towards purchasing school
1 Bedroom, 1 bath house with a large shop Vt concrete floor enclosed and
December 4th and 5th, the supplies for children in a
Vi open bay gravel located at 270 East St. in Lexington, OR. Approx 800 sq ft
with partial basement. Minimum reserve bid is $8,000 with option to accept I lone Girls Basketball team community where educa
will be hosting a Hoops tion used to be non-existent.
any bid. Property being sold “AS IS”
All inquiries and bids can be mailed or dropped off to:
Tim Dickenson
Dickenson Chiropractic Clinic
Heppner Elks Scholarship Chairman
P.O. Box 1002
Heppner, OR 97836
Office: 541-676-8990
Cell: 541-980-8201
dickensonchiro@ centurytel.net
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