Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 2013)
V SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 24,2013 ~ Letters to the Editor ~ The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor w ith the follow uig 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, fhe 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. Act, or do nothing? Dear Editor: Recently my friend, Jane, asked me why I had stopped writing letters to the editor. I told her that things were too disheartening. Or some other lame excuse. Then I recalled the words of the Irish statesman, Edmund Burke: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Maybe if I voice my opinion, I hoped, others will begin to react. Such an avalanche of scandals we’ve witnessed: Fast and Furious. The debacle at Benghazi. The mass killings at Sandyhook. The James Rosen investigation; including his parents. The IRS targeting various political groups and contributors. The NSA collecting data on citizens. fhe latest is most serious, the revelation that the NSA has been involved in data-mining the activities of individuals and groups by collecting records of their telephone and Internet communications and erecting a gigantic structure in Utah to house the information. The response of NSA officials has been that no privacy rights have been violated in this collection of data. Coincidentally, I have read rumors that mosques, themselves potential jihadist training centers, have been excluded from such data-mining. This collection of spy data, if it hasn’t already, can be used to deprive U.S. citizens of the liberty guaranteed by our Constitution. Wake up Americans. None of these scandals seems to have much importance as a single entity, but when you look at the aggregate, something should cause a light to go on. -Fast and Furious: unfettered legal system. -Department of State: accountable to whom? -Sandyhook: laws restricting individuals’ Second Amendment rights. -James Rosen case: violations of privacy and freedom of the press? -IRS targeting: failure to abide by standards of impartiality. -NSA data-mining: violation of Fourth Amendment rights of citizens. The combination could mean that creeping socialism is gaining traction and is beginning to walk. Write to or call your congresspersons. Tell them that you are concerned, if you are, about the deterioration of your rights and freedoms; your very liberty. Or . . . do nothing and lose. (s) Robert L. Heriza, Baker City, OR 4-H members plan to ‘bring home the bacon’ ~ Op/Ed ~ GM wheat update B y Blake Rowe, Oregon Wheat CEO. Previously published in the Oregon W h e a t Newsletter, a publication o f th e Blake Rowe Oregon Wheat Growers League. The g e n e t i c a l l y modified (GM) wheat issue continues to be one of the most critical issues that our industry has faced for many years. While there have been countless articles on the subject in nearly every possible form of media, I thought it might be useful to provide a brief overview of the status of the efforts in several key areas. Please keep in mind that the status can change at a moment’s notice, so some elements in this report may have progressed before you get a chance to read this article. -Markets - USDA, US Wheat Associates (USW), and our key export grain co m p an ies have m ade sig n ifican t progress in getting our customers to return to the market for soft white wheat from the PNW. Many countries expressed concern about our wheat in the days following the initial announcement from USDA on May 29 that GM wheat had been found in an Oregon field. Only two countries, Japan and South Korea, decided to temporarily stop additional purchases of SW wheat, while Taiwan indicated that they didn’t want to source SW from Oregon. After additional review, Taiwan announced in m id-June that they would return to the m arket w ithout any conditions on origin. South Korea announced that they would return to the general SW market on July 4. As of today, only Japan hasn’t yet decided to return to the SW market, but we think they may be close to a d ecision. Leaders from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) are meeting this week with USDA, USW, NAWG, and other industry groups in Washington, DC, to get the latest information on the USDA investigation, testing procedures, insurance issues, and other trade related details. Wheat grow er rep resen tativ es from the PNW will have a chance to meet with the MAFF officials when they pass through Portland on their return trip home. -Investigation - We are continuing to wait for additional details on the progress o f the USDA investigation. There has been no indication as to when their final report will be completed. Everything we have learned continues to point to the GM plants being an isolated event on a single field on a single farm. All the testing of wheat in the supply chain by USDA, exporters, and customers, has been negative for GM wheat. Nothing has been found in the seed supply or on other fields in the area of the GM plants. Over 250 wheat farmers have been visited and interviewed by USDA with no evidence that any other GM wheat plants exist outside the single field. We should be encouraged by these findings while we wait for USDA to hopefully answer the question about how the plants got into the field in the first place. -Litigation - Both the League and Commission have decided to remain neutral on the question of litigation against Monsanto. This remains an individual grower decision. Our priority for the next few days is on the meeting with the MAFF representatives. We will emphasize again that we have put our customers first through this whole event and that we continue to be committed to our long-term relationship with customers in Japan. Like all the rest of you, I look forward to the day when this is finally behind us. Chamber lunch meeting Brother/sisterduo MaLinda and Austin Morter work with one of their pigs, “Breakfast," in preparation for the 100,k Morrow County Fair. Austin will be an eighth-grader and MaLinda will be a fifth-grader at lone Community School; they are the children of Keith and Yvonne Morter of lone. - Photo by Erin Heideman Over the Tee Cup Fourteen ladies turned out for a “ p erfect” day o f g o lf at Willow Creek Country Club last Tuesday, July 16. Corol Mitchell and Sara Rucker tied for low gross o f the field, while Pat Dougherty got low net and Jacki Allstott had least putts. For flight A, Karen Thompson held low gross and Corol Mitchell had KP. On flight B, Lorrene Montgomery had low gross, Betty Bums low net and Pat Dougherty had KP. In flig h t C, Laura Rogers had low gross, B ev erly S te a g a ll and Shirley Martin tied for low net, and Jennifer Jaca had least putts. L au ra R ogers and Jen n ifer Jaca both had chip-ins. In other events, Sara Rucker had longest putt on #8. The club also announced the Ladies Club Championship, which was held last w eekend (see rela ted story, “ WCCC holds m en’s, w o m en ’s championships”). Stephen Jensen, reintegration specialist for the Joint Transition Assistance Program, and Kathryn Chaney from Domestic Violence will be talking about the services they offer at this week’s Heppner Chamber of Commerce lunch meeting. The meeting will take place Thursday, July 25, at noon in the St. Patrick’s Senior Center dining room. Lunch expense is $10; Howe’s About Pizza will cater. Lunch attendees are asked to RS VP no later than the Wednesday morning before. MoCo youth attend 4-H conference Morrow County 4-H sent II youth and two chaperones to Oregon State University in Corvallis for the annual OSU Summer Conference June 26-29. During this four-day event, youth participate in community-service activities, take part in classes ranging from healthy breakfast choices to rock climbing, participate in tours of the athletic facilities and local logging operations, have fun-filled nights of bowling and a dance, and make lifelong friends from across the state of Oregon. Pictured front left to right: Back row: Katelyn Taylor, Emily Taylor. Kirsten Taylor, Vizta Sifford, Austin Carter, Kane Sweeney, Miranda Taylor and Riley Gorham. Front row: Rileigh McClure, Sydney Qualls and Morgan Orem. Not pictured: Chaperones Cheryl Taylor and Ashley Jones. -Contributedphoto Fundraiser dinner planned for Coe A spaghetti dinner, silent auction and raffle fundraiser for Willa Coe of lone will be held on Friday, July 26, at 6 p.m. at the lone Legion Hall. Proceeds from the fundraiser will help offset medical expenses for Willa, who is undergoing cancer treatment. The dinner will include spaghetti, salad, bread, dessert and drink. Cost of the dinner is by donation only. Articles for the silent auction are also being accepted. To donate to the auction or for more information, contact Lynn-Dee Ramos, 541-561-5356, or Dawn Eynetich, 541-561-8507. An account has also been set up at the Bank of Eastern Oregon. Heppner 4-H club blends smoothies to beat the heat The Stir It Up/Heppner Foods & Fun 4-H Cooking club gathered recently to conduct their weekly meeting, w here they made three different types of fruit smoothies. Members agreed that during the recent heat wave cool smoothies were a good idea to prepare instead of cooking in hot ovens. During this meeting, members learned about different nutritional values of each smoothie recipe and they discussed what other types of ingredients they could use to make new smoothie recipes. Pictured (L-R) are: Annabelle McDaniel, Jaiden Mahoney, Cami VanArsdale and Cara Arbogast with their Popcye Power Smoothie, Berry Explosion Smoothie and Tropical Paradise Smoothie. Not pictured: Roy Collins. -Contributedphoto OSU hotline opens for food preservation questions CO R V A LLIS, Ore. - As interest grow s in preserving produce, the Oregon State University E x te n s io n S e r v ic e is offering its summer food preservation and safety hotline. The hotline at 1-800- 354-7319 runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from July 15 to Oct. 11. E x te n sio n -c e r tifie d M aster Food Preserver volunteers from Lane and Douglas counties take the calls. N e llie O eh ler, the m aster food preserver coordinator in Lane County, em phasized that proper techniques must be used to ensure canned foods are high quality and safe to eat. The hotline is one of several resources, including publications and classes, w hich OSU E xtension offers on food safety. For more information about the M aster Food Preserver Program, go t o h t t p : / / b i t . l y / O S U F o o d P re se rv a tio n and h t t p : / / e x t e n s i o n . oregonstate.edu/fch/food- safety. OSU Extension’s Ask an Expert service also takes online questions about food preservation at http:// bit.ly/OSUAskAnExpert. Additionally, Master Food Preservers run a holiday food safety hotline every November. V A t As interest is growing in food preservation , the Oregon State University Extension Service is offering its food safetv hotline for the summer at 1-800-354-7319. -Photo by Lynn Ketchum, OSU CRCHS to help uninsured gain health coverage H ealth and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently announced $150 million in grant awards to 1,159 health centers across the nation to enroll uninsured Americans in new health coverage options made available by the Affordable Care Act. With these funds, health centers are expected to hire an additional 2,900 outreach and elig ib ility a ssista n c e w ork ers to assist m illions o f people nationwide with enrollment into health coverage. Sebelius said, “Investing in health centers m ean s that p e o p le in neighborhoods and towns across the country have one more resource to help them understand their insurance o p tio n s and e n r o ll in affordable coverage.” Health centers have a h istory o f providing eli gibil it y assistance to p atients along with delivering primary health care services. Today, health centers serve more than 21 million patients annually. With these awards, which health centers in all 50 states have received, consumers will get help u n d er s ta nd i ng their coverage options through the new Health Insurance M arketplace, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program; determine their eligibility and what financial help they can get; and enroll in new health coverage options. C o l u m b i a Ri ve r Community Health Services (CRCHS) in Boardman is a recipient o f one o f these awards. “We are exci t ed to help individuals in Morrow County take advantage of the benefits o f the new health insurance coverage options that start January 2 0 1 4 , ” s t at ed Mi n d y Binder, Executive Director o f CRCHS. C R C H S has hi red J a n n e t t e D i a z as an application assister who will be contacting individuals and businesses in Morrow County to let them know their options, answer their questions and assist them with their applications to the Cover Oregon Insurance Exchange program. For more information or to set up an appointment with Diaz, contact the clinic at 541-481-7212. I
