TW O - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon
Wednesday, October 17,2012
~ Letters to the Editor ~
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
U.S.P.S. 240-420
M orrow C ounty’s Hom e-Owned Weekly N ew spaper
Published weekly by Sykes Publishing, LLC and entered as periodical maner at the
Post Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3,1879 Periodical postage
paid at Heppner, Oregon Office at 188 W. Willow Street Telephone (541) 676-
9228. Fax (541) 676-9211. E-mail: editor urapidserve net or david(g!rapidserve.
net Web site: www heppner net Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner
Gazette-Times, PO. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscnptions: $29 in
Morrow County; $23 senior rate (in Morrow County only; 65 years or older), $35
elsewhere; $29 student subscriptions
David Sykes...............................................................................................Publisher
Andrea Di Salvo.............................................................................................Editor
All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p m
For Advertising advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p m Cost lor a display ad is $5 per
column inch Cost for classified ad is 50$ per word Cost for Card of Thanks is $10 up to
100 words Cost for a classified display ad is $5 75 per column inch
For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for pub
lication must be specified Affidavits must be required at the time of submission Affidavits
require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be
specified if required)
For Obituanes. Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited lo
meet news guidelines. Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines
or who wish to have the obituary written in a certain way must purchase advertising space
for the obituary
For Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor M UST be signed by the author The Heppner
GT will not publish unsigned letters All letters M UST include the author s address and phone
number for use by the GT office The GT reserves the right to edit letters. The G T 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.
Retain Hampton as
judge
Dear editor:
In the race for circuit court judge, there does seem
to be a clear “winner”—Judge Lynn Hampton, who cur
rently serves in this position. She has been serving as our
circuit judge for the past two years, and is doing a great
job. I see no reason to change.
Lynn knows the law and this community. She has
practiced law in the courts of Umatilla and Morrow
County for many years, in private practice, as a prosecu
tor and as a tribal attorney. She has represented average
citizens in our courts, and she knows the law from many
different perspectives. As a prosecutor, she has also
represented the people of the State of Oregon and the
Confederated Tribes.
Judge Hampton does not have an “agenda” as a
judge. She interprets the law as it is written, fairly and
effectively. She is calm and patient in her approach to
cases, and treats all who come before her in a fair and
respectful manner.
That is why I am voting to retain Judge Lynn Hampton
as our circuit court judge.
Pam Monger, Hermiston, OR
Been
there, done that
To the Editor:
1 don’t write letters to the editor very often, but I
like to compliment people when I see their dedication
and commitment to a task or a job in the community
and county. This brings up my “Hats O ff’ to Leann Rea,
incumbent Morrow County Commissioner. Here we
have a hard-working lady who wasn't bom with a silver
spoon in her mouth. She and her husband Gerald lived in
Condon, where Gerald managed the Condon branch of
a John Deere company. Later, they owned and operated
an irrigation farm on Bombing Range Road, until recent
years, when Gerald became ill. The hard knocks of cor
porate business and the competitive nature of corporate
irrigation brought out the business talents and grit that
Leann displays in her current job as county commissioner,
tough but fair.
To the unsuspecting citizen in Morrow County, the job
o f commissioner requires knowledge in budget prepara
tion and making sure that taxpayer dollars are well spent.
It requires travel time for county-related issues in Salem,
as well as other places where our county is affected. Leann
has been instrumental in labor negotiation and wage-scale
negotiations. This is a difficult task. A commissioner must
represent the citizens of this county but must also treat
county employees in a fair and respectable manner. Leann
has been able to do this balancing act with great skill.
I am very comfortable when I cast my ballot for Lean
Rea, Morrow County Commissioner. When you have a
good thing going in the Morrow County Court, take my
advice, and vote yes for Leann Rea.
Louis Carlson, Heppner
Morrow County Judge, retired
The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor 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 w ill be placed in the classifieds under "Card of
Thanks" at a cost of $ 10.
Hampton intelligent,
determined
To the Editor:
I am writing to endorse Judge Lynn Hampton for
election to the position in which she is currently serv
ing - Circuit Judge, Position 1, for Umatilla and Morrow
Counties.
As you may already know, Judge Hampton has been
serving as a judge for the Sixth Judicial Circuit since her
appointment to the bench almost two years ago. She was
appointed to her present position because of her broad
range of legal experience, her knowledge of the commu
nity and her ability to be fair and impartial. In her time
on the bench, she has shown that she is able to manage a
heavy docket and resolve a large number of cases fairly
and effectively.
I had the honor of serving the Sixth Judicial District as
a district and circuit court judge for 18 years. When Judge
Gariy Reynolds and 1 retired in 2010, two judicial vacan
cies needed to be filled by gubernatorial appointment. At
least 10 local attorneys applied for the appointment, and a
three-person local bar committee then interviewed five of
the most qualified candidates. That committee ultimately
recommended three attorneys to the governor for his
consideration. Governor Kulongoski then interviewed
those three candidates, and selected Judge Hampton and
Judge Eva Temple to fill the two vacant positions. It was
a wide-open process, open to any attorney, otherwise
qualified, who wished to apply. The final decision was
made by Governor Kulongoski, who had also served as
a Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court before becoming
governor.
1 have known Judge Hampton since 1978, when she
came to Pendleton to begin her practice. In the mid-1980s,
we served together as deputy district attorneys under Dis
trict Attorney Dave Gallaher. In addition to prosecuting
criminals, Lynn was also the legal adviser to the Umatilla
County Board of Commissioners. Later, when I was the
Morrow County District Attorney, I utilized her expertise
as a special prosecutor in several complicated cases.
Lynn also served as prosecutor for the Umatilla Tribal
Court for a number of years, and helped establish the
tribe’s first child support enforcement program. She has
also been in private practice.
In the interest of full disclosure, Lynn also happens
to be my sister-in-law. Knowing her life story well, I can
vouch for the fact that she has had to work hard for every
thing she has achieved, and has done so with intelligence,
good humor and determination. She has not been handed
anything. In addition to her legal training, she has the life
experience which is so important for a judge.
Please join me in electing and retaining Judge Lynn
Hampton.
Jeff Wallace, Hermiston, OR
Senior Judge
Re-elect Rea for
commissioner
Lynnea and I have known and worked with Leann Rea
since the early 1970s as we came to together in helping to
promote the Morrow County Fair and the 4-H programs
in Morrow County. •
Her credentials for serving as a Morrow County Com
missioner are numerous and speak well of her heartfelt,
professional commitment to serve her family, her con
stituents, and her county’s well-being.
Her eagerness to stay abreast of what’s happening in
our county and state issues bodes well with her represent
ing us all, whether it’s studying a gravel fee proposal,
county budget issues, state-wide legislature actions, city
concerns about county revenue sharing, land and water
use, wolf depredation issues, etc. The list is long and
worthy to be represented by Commissioner Rea.
Her history and values in Morrow County run deep...
and are not likely to change anytime soon. We appreciate
Commissioner Leann Rea because she speaks from her
values and supports her decisions with concrete convic
tion of who she is and who she represents.
We hope you’ll join fellow Morrow County voters
in voting to retain Leann Rea as Morrow County Com
missioner.
Dick and Lynnea Sargent, Hermiston, OR
Jon
M edicare Part D
Open Enrollm ent is
O ctober 15th - D ecem ber 7th
Morrow County Health District
will conduct free Medicare Part D
Workshops from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
at the following locations:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Oct. 18th
Oct. 23rd
Oct. 25th
Oct. 30th
Nov. 1*
Nov. e*
Nov. 8th
- Hospital, Heppner
- lone Market
- Hospital, Heppner
- Hospital, Heppner
- Hospital, Heppner
- lone Market
- Hospital, Heppner
Additional dates will be announced soon.
Pleas« call 541-676-9133 or
1-800-737-4113 to make an appointment
• f
MORROW COUNTY
HEALTH DISTRICT
E x c e lle n c e In H e a lt h c a r e
I
LIEUALLEN
EXPERIENCED:
-Worked on over 1700 cases in criminal and civil law
-Pro Tem Judge in Milton Freewater Municipal Court
since 2007
BALANCED:
-Prosecuted and defended Criminal cases
-Represents clients on both sides in a variety of civil
cases
FAMILY AND COMMUNITY:
-Grew up in Eastern Oregon, and returned after
college, and after Law school with his wife Lynn to
raise his four children
-Rotarian
-Youth Wrestling volunteer
YOUR VOTE IN NOVEMBER IS APPRECIATED
Paid For by the Committee to Elect Jon Lieuallen Judge
ALL ADVERTISING DEADLINE:
Mondays at 5 p.m.
Caught in a dilemma
(or a gillnet)
“Prohibits commercial non-tribal fishing with gillnets
on Lower Columbia River” is the title of Ballot Measure
81.
The title itself is somewhat misleading as it does
not ban all of the gillnets on the Lower Columbia, only
gillnets on the Oregon side of the river. Washington State
gill-netters would not be affected by this law, as it only
applies to Oregon commercial fishers. This measure
prohibits commercial non-tribal fishing with gillnets in
Oregon “inland waters” but allows the use of seine nets.
That sounds easy enough; the gill-netters can just change
over to seine nets and life goes on. Problem is, it will cost
around $150,000 for a commercial fisher fo make that
change. This would result in many Oregon commercial
fishers going out of business. Whoops, there goes another
Oregon business that we can ill afford to lose. But for a
good cause. It will save the wild salmon from extinction.
Really? Is a ballot measure the proper tool to employ in
conservation efforts?
But hold on here; close analysis of this measure
reveals it is not primarily about conservation but more
about reallocation of salmon. The measure would allow
more salmon to be taken by sport fishers while banning the
Oregon commercial gill-netter. Good news for the sport
fisher, which constitutes a total of 6 percent of Oregonians
and who, incidentally, already harvest 80 percent of the
salmon to the gill-netters 20 percent. Really good news for
the Washington gill-netters, who are currently allowed to
fish on both sides of the river, as are Oregon gill-netters.
This measure does not thoroughly address this issue, if
at all. Will the Washington fishers now have the whole
river to themselves? Sure looks that way.
Also, under this measure, it will be illegal for any
salmon taken with gillnets to be sold in Oregon. Whoops,
there goes that fresh salmon dinner you look forward
to once in a while at your favorite fish restaurant. And,
whoops, here comes another hit, this one on Oregon res
taurants, seafood wholesalers, and retailers and local fish
markets that sell fresh salmon. This is getting real fishy.
Hmmm, you may hate gill nets. But how about live
lihoods in Oregon? If you vote yes on this one, it will
affect more than salmon. It will affect a lot of people
who depend on fishing for a living. This is another com
plicated issue with no easy answers. For some very good
insights on this subject, check out the voters pamphlet
that arrived in your mailbox recently. It brings out some
very interesting points. For example, it mentions the rich
Washingtonian who put up a half a million dollars to help
sponsor this initiative, thereby underwriting 89 percent
of the cost of collecting signatures. (See page 72 in the
pamphlet). Susan Hanna, PhD, and professor Emeritus
of Marine Economics, Oregon State University, had this
to say on page 71; “We should all be working togethe. .
through existing public processes that are committed to
recovery, science based decision and balance. This is a
stronger basis for fish recovery than slogans and images
of a ballot measure campaign.” Hanna is advocating a
no vote on Measure 81. A no vote will continue current
commercial fishing practices.
It really does not have to be a dilemma, after all.
Jack Meligan, Heppner
For the Willow Creek Tea Party Patriots
Fusion voting
To the editor;
This may be of grave consequence to the Oregon
voter.
A precedent has been set.
“The Working Families Party,” or “Working Fami
lies,” has been printed on our voting ballot alongside the
established political parties such as Democrat, Republi
can, Libertarian and others.
This puts the “Working Families” on par, of equal
stature, to those old and venerated political parties, at
least as far as the voting is concerned.
But the Working Families Party is in no way equal.
The Working families Party was first organized in
1998 by a coalition of labor unions then known as the
Association of Community Organizations for Reform
Now, or commonly known as “ACORN.”
Using Oregon State Bill 326, signed into law by
Governor Ted Kulongoski in 2009, our secretary of state
has initiated fusion voting, and caused the Working Fami
lies, (a.k.a. ACORN) to appear as co-equal nominees of
certain candidates.
Check it out, then decide.
And please vote.
Floyd White, Heppner, OR
Community lunch
menu
Hope Lutheran, Valby Lutheran and All Saints
Episcopal church members will be serving lunch on
Wednesday, Oct. 24, at St. Patrick’s Senior Center. The
meal will include taco casserole, coleslaw, tortillas and
spiced pears. Milk is served at each meal.
Suggested donation is $3.50 per meal. Menu is
subject to change.
Join us for our
1st Annual
Halloween Party
,
- la . m. Sat Oct 17th*
Karaoke & Prizes Forj
Best costumes
Route 7 4 Restau ra n t j tone