Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 22, 2010)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, September 22,2010 Letters to the Editor ~ ~ I he Heppner Gazette limes Mill print all letters to the Kditor with the following criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that you provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The address and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the right to edit. The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10. To our Indian friends, we do appreciate Let the OWGL board know that you all your contributions to our culture expect results, not just controversy To the editor: According to an article in the Heppner Gazette about the City Council, it seems that Tamastslikt Cultural Institute of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Pendleton was invited by our city government to place an Indian monument or remembrance on an empty cement pad at Heritage Plaza Park in Heppner. The article states that Susan Sheoships of Tamastslikt replied in an email that they did “intend to take action on your kind offer, as Heppner area continues to be an important cultural area to our tribes.” When I was a little girl I loved the Indian culture and all it could teach us. My maternal grandparents. Robert E. and Mary Wardwell Allstott followed his father, John Allstott, to this area in the latter part of the 19th century'. They settled in the Rhea Creek Valley and raised 11 children. My mother, Betty, was third oldest. Each summer when the Indian food gatherers came to the Rhea Creek area they were welcomed. All of us grandchildren (and there were a lot of us) spent sev eral days watching for them. 1 have a few pictures showing my brother, Fred Painter, and me with one of our Indian friends on the steps of the big square, two-story house grandma and grandpa owned. The fact that they and we had language difficulties didn’t seem to matter a bit. Our grandfather, who claimed Indian blood, could understand and interpret a lot of it and that proved to us that these people were friends. A citizen’s letter to the City Council in last week’s article amazed me that a friendship gesture by both Indians and white people could be construed as a “theme and marketing agenda.” Is that what we have been doing with the long and deep Irish culture and sheep influence? The letter writer says “let Pendleton have the blessings and influences of the Indians.” I take exception also to the statement in the letter to the council that the Native American Culture was “very rare and had little influence on Heppner’s development.” And he went on to say “we don’t need to promote those issues here in Heppner.” If you know anything about gift giving among the natives and with others you would understand that their gift giving is wondrous, loving and respectful and would never, ever offer a gift and then ask for it back. That is apparently an issue that we do need to promote in Heppner. To our Indian friends and people, please accept the apology of many of us in Heppner. We do appreciate all your contributions to our culture. Aloha DeSpain Heppner To the editor: As former Oregon Wheat Growers’ League Farm Program chairmen who served on the OWGL’s board o f directors for most of the years Tammy Dennee served as the executive director, we were surprised to hear that the executive committee of the OWGL chose to terminate Tammy’s employment. We hope the executive committee has a plan, but early indications are not good for us growers or our industry. We know that those in the environmental lobby must have danced with glee that one of the champions for the growers was benched. Their dreams of sending ag riculture in Oregon into the abyss that is now the timber industry must seem closer. The enforcement division at ODOT must now be working overtime to prepare to stop many more trucks next grain harvest and a lot of folks in several US government agen cies must be relieved that they won’t be sitting across from Tammy when one of “her growers” has run afoul of some bureaucracy. The issue that we wish to bring to wheat growers in Oregon is that your best last hope of being able to collect a 2009 SURE payment may have been terminated along with Tammy. A technical reporting error, related to the 2009 crop season, was made by the FSA in some Oregon counties. That error, related to the 2009 crop season, was made by the FSA in some Oregon counties. That error has resulted in none of the counties in Oregon being declared “Disaster Counties” for 2009 and has placed SURE payments to all Oregon growers in jeopardy. SURE payments of other state will be made, but in Oregon the error may have cost farmers million of dollars in disaster as sistance they would have otherwise qualified for. Oregon farmers received a total of $28 million in 2008 SURE payments. As we would all expect, Tammy was leading the charge to convince USDA and Congressional leaders to see their way past the error and make sure “her growers” got their payments, just like growers in other states. As we write this letter a team from the OWGL, with Tammy leading the charge, should be packing their bags and heading for Washington DC this week. At the top Tammy’s list would be those 2009 SURE payments for her Oregon growers. Not only is Tammy not going to Washington DC this week, we hear the trip was cancelled. Executive committee do you have a plan? Who’s in charge? Who’s getting the growers their SURE payments? Why aren’t you in Washington DC doing the League’s work? How does the executive committee justify the harsh and disrespectful termina tion o f someone who has served the OWGL for 17 years with so much energy and accomplishment? The board of directors will be holding a closed executive board meeting in Boardman on September 30. We encourage you to contact your county presidents or any other board member you know. Ask if they have a plan and if they can justify the treatment Tammy has received? The executive committee is made up of: Darren Padget, president; Craig Reeder, vice president; Tyson Raymond, secretary/treasurer; and Jeff Newtson, past president. The Oregon Wheat phone number is (541) 276-7330. They will be able to tell you who your current county president and other board members are and how to contact them. We encourage you to let the OWGL board know that you expect results, not just controversy. Tammy’s shoes are going to be very big to fill and many of “her growers” are going to miss her. We hope the executive committee’s reason for letting Tammy go is worth the cost for all of us growers. If you don’t see your SURE payment, or are waiting for your grain truck to get back to the harvest field next summer that $0.05 wheat tax paid on every bushel of grain is going to be hard to put up with. The good news is that you will be able to name the fellows responsible ^or your foul mood. We, like most everyone else in the wheat industry, appreciate Tammy Dennee for her years of dedicated service and for always fighting the good fight. It was always an honor for us to have Tammy as the executive director during our time of service to the wheat industry. We know Tammy will be a treasure wherever she chooses to serve next. Jerry Rietmann & Tim Holtz A trade team of Japanese millers visited Starvation Farms last week. Chris Rauch and Steve lone Japanese trade team tours Starvation Farms Hill were on hand to show them their farming operation and answer any questions they had. Their purpose in coming was to sec how Americans raise wheat. The group consisted of owners of small to medium sized mills in Japan. In a few years, the Japanese government is looking to get out of buying wheat for their millers' needs. The millers will deal directly with exporters to buy their w heat. Larry l.utcher, an agronomist with the OSU Extension Agency, and Shan non Rust, Morrow County Wheat president were also in attendance. The group was headed to Walla Walla after leaving Morrow County. -ContributedPhoto Say Goodbye to Cable and HELLO TO SAVINGS! DISH Network gives you the best deal in TV. Over 120 Top Channels 24 for 12 months mo " Morrow County Historical Society annual meeting brings Kam Wah Chung Story to Boardman C h ris ty S w eet, curator o f the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site in John Day, will bring Kam Wah Chung Co. artifacts, displays and stories to the Morrow County Historical Society annual meeting, Sunday, October 3, from 1:30 p.m. - 4 p.m. The meet ing will be at the Boardman Senior Center, 100 Tatone Street in Boardman. The meeting will begin with the traditional potluck lunch at 1:30 pm. Bring a favorite dish, or just come. The free program, featuring Christina Sweet, begins at 2:30 p.m. A century ago, as many as 30,000 Chinese la bored in gold mines, helped build railroads, contributed to commerce, and played a significant role in the devel opment of Eastern Oregon. The center for the Chinese community in Eastern Or egon was a stone building in John Day constructed as a trading post on The Dalles Military Road in 1866. This building, the only reminder o f Chinese presence in Eastern Oregon, contains thousands of artifacts and relics which illustrate the many former uses of the site - as a general store, pharmacy, doctor’s office, Chinese temple, opium den, and home. Sweet will bring artifacts from the museum plus give a lively portrayal of the colorful lives of Doc Hay and Lung On, the two Chinese men who lived at Kam Wah Chung. Doc Hay practiced Chinese medicine for the Chinese community and early settlers through out Eastern Oregon, includ ing Morrow Count. He pre scribed complex mixtures o f herbs, animal extracts and minerals for healing. He diagnosed ailments by feeling one’s pulse. Report edly a gambler and ladies’ man, Lung On was an am bitious man of commerce, owning the first car dealer ship in Eastern Oregon. For more informa tion contact Donna Eppen- bach at 541-922-3197. First Fridays - Friends of Jesus to begin Oct. 1 Offer requires Agreement and AutoPay with Paperless Billing. HD DVR * .^ w ra INSTALLATION DVR is <*avrd FOR 3 M ON TH S N> Q ¡3 * lf ~ [H.'.iiflU GJP MHO j «0 .-5 T .-H D V v- mm I '. m FOR 6 MONTHS $ ] « VALUE ife tf m BOB i-;MD ERVICE PLAN & P T * LLXI.. flfcm B I ho I <£"»> CALL YOUR LOCAL RETAILER FOR INSTALLATION AND SERVICE. Blue Tide - Heppner TV 541-701-9660 162 N Main St Heppner, OR 97836 8-5 M-F d ls i? NETWORK. 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The event will begin at 8 a.m. and conclude at noon. A free lunch will be served. Children age four through sixth grade are invited to join in on a fun-filled morning of Bible stories, crafts, music, and activities. The idea for this program grew out o f a brainstorming session to find creative alternatives to Sunday School while also reaching out to the commu nity by offering a children's activity when school is not in session. To register, call the church office at 541- 676-9970.
