Walden says debt is unsustainable
and it’s time to face fiscal reality
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Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Librarv
University of Oregon
ary
Eugene, OR 97403
Congressman makes swing through Heppner
By David Sykes
50 <
VOL. 130
NO. 32
8 Pages
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
It’s Fair & Rodeo time
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C.J. Johnson gets an entry ready for display in the 2011 Morrow County Fair.
Johnson is the superintendent for Super Kids. The Fair & Rodeo runs this
Wednesday through Sunday at the fairgrounds in Heppner. Look for a schedule
of events around town or visit the Fair web site at: morrowcountyoregon.com/
fair, photo t^- David Sykes
Local man works to bolster
pheasant population
By David Sykes
Awhile back Sam
Hornbeck got an idea. And
for those who know Sam,
when he gets an idea, things
generally start to happen.
Hornbeck, who
lives in Heppner, noticed
there seemed to be fewer
pheasants around South
Morrow County than there
used to be. So he set out to
do something about it.
With $300 in seed
money from the Willow
Creek Economic Develop
ment Group (WCVEDG)
and a matching amount from
county tippage funds he
constructed, with volunteer
help from the Boy Scouts,
three protective pheasant
shelters to be placed on lo
cal farms around the area.
“We want to try and build
the population back up
and maybe get some more
pheasant hunters coming
back into this area. It would
be good for our economy,”
Hornbeck had told WC
VEDG when requesting
the money. The shelters
would be used to place
young pheasants chicks and
protect them from predators
while growing up.
Along the way
Hornbeck enlisted the help
of local Fish and Wildlife
man Steve Cherry, who one
day last week placed the
final 100 birds in a shelter
in the middle of some CRP
The
unsustainable borrowing
and spending by the
United States government
is
“unacceptable
and
immoral,”
US
Congressman Greg Walden
told a gathered crowd of
about 30 at a town hall
meeting in Heppner last
week. “And this cannot go
on,” he said of the country's
economic situation.
Walden said
the recent legislation to
raise the debt limit, which
was also tied to spending
cuts, was a start to get
our fiscal house in order.
“We didn’t get into it
overnight, and we can’t
get out of it overnight,”
the congressman, who
voted in favor of the debt
limit increase/spending cut
package, added.
Walden was
encouraged
by
the
debt limit debate and
legislation, saying that
although there have been
many, many votes over the
years to increase the debt
limit, “never has it been
tied to a cut in spending.
If you did what we just did
(passing the legislation)
you could cut the deficit
in 10 years,” he said.
Walden also said he voted
on a budget (commonly
known as cut, cap and
balance) that would have
paid off the national debt
by 2040, however it died
in the Democrat-controlled
Senate when they refused
to vote on it. “The Senate
for over 180 days has
failed to pass the budget,”
he said, adding that it
received 46 Democrat
votes in the house but 0
votes in the Senate or from
the President.
In explaining
how far the United States
has gone into debt, Walden
pointed out that currently
foreign countries, mostly
Russia, China and Japan,
own 47 percent of our
debt, or about $8.4 trillion.
In 1990, only 11 years ago,
that figure was $2.4 trillion
or 19 percent. “Russia is
apparently in better shape
Congressman Greg Walden uses a chart to point out
how the nation's borrowing is unrealistic and cannot be
sustained for the future. He was in Heppner for a town hall
meeting last Thursday. Photo by David Sykes
Walden visits with Heppner resident Shirley Rugg at a
town hall meeting last week.
that the United State,” he
said. “That is unacceptable
and immoral and we cannot
let it go on,” Walden
emphasized.
Walden also
pointed to the 2010
election which changed
the house from Democrat
to Republican control,
commenting
that
the
people had spoken. “This
is the checks and balances
working in Washington.
And some people don’t
like it,” he said.
When asked
about
the
proposed
balanced
budget
amendment which require
the federal government to
only spend what it takes
in, and if it wanted more
money it would have to
raise taxes, Walden said he
voted for it last time and
would vote for it again. He
added that if either house
passes a balanced budget
amendment, the other
house has to consider it.
When asked what
See WALDEN PAGE
THREE
MCGG, BEO donate rodeo saddles
Kay Rene Qualls, Amber Fritz, Sandra Van Liew,
Debbie Young, Cindy Kennedy, Lynne Uitto, Bev
Crum and Tricia Rollins
Jamie Helfrecht
Steve Cherry (left) of the local Fish and Wildlife office, along
with Jake Belineau.also of Fish A Game, Troy Dunsmier, in
tern with F&W, and Sam Hornbeckof Heppner place birds
into protective structures on property near Heppner.
is going to happen when
government spending is
cut back, Walden said it
would be time to make
necessary choices. “What
are we as a people going
to do without, because the
government does not have
the money to give us?” he
asked. He said everything
is on the table, however,
they would not be going
after Medicare or Social
Security, and that everyone
over 55 would see no
change in these programs.
There would, however,
be “structural changes” in
these two programs going
forward, he said.
In response
to a question about
foreign companies and
governments
buying
natural resources from the
United States, Walden said
Morrow County
Grain Growers is donating
the Morrow County Rodeo
Amateur Calf Roping sad
dle and the Bank of Eastern
Oregon is donating the Or
egon Trail Pro Rodeo All
Around saddle this year.
The
Morrow
County Rodeo will begin
at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday,
August 21, at the rodeo
arena at the Morrow Coun
ty Fairgrounds in Heppner.
Oregon
NPRA
set for
August
August
arena.
Trail Pro Rodeo
performances are
7 p.m. on Friday,
19, and Saturday,
20, at the rodeo
& SEER IN HEPPNER:
EVERYTHING
Buy 2 pieces of
Wrangler apparel and
get a $10 rebate
GREEN FEED
A total of 300 six-week old pheasant chicks have now been
released into protective structures around South Morrow
County in the past several weeks. The project is part of an
effort to increase pheasants for hunting initiated by Hep
pner resident Sam Hornbeck. Photos by David Sykes
ground on a farm near Hep
pner.
A crew of Cherry,
Belineau, also o f F&W
and NRCS, a young intern,
Troy Dunsmier, and Horn-
beck took the cages out
and placed the birds into
and around the protective
See PHEASANT POPU
LATION PAGE SEVEN
Buy 2 pieces of any Wrangler Jeans or shirts (minimum
purchase of $14 95 per piece) and get a $10 rebate by mail
ALL MONTANA SILVER 20% OFF
Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed
242 W. Lind»n Way. Heppnar « 676-9422 ♦ M9-R221 (MCOO main office)
SEE MORROW COUNTY FAIR
SCHEDULE - PAGE SEVEN
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