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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 2022)
TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 23, 2022 The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES U.S.P.S. 240-420 Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE: http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/ Published weekly by Sykes Publishing and entered as periodical matter 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@rapidserve.net or david@rapidserve.net. Web site: www.heppner.net. Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $31 in Morrow County; $25 senior rate (in Morrow County only; 65 years or older); $37 elsewhere; $31 student subscriptions. David Sykes ..............................................................................................Publisher Bobbi Gordon................................................................................................ Editor Giselle Moses.........................................................................................Advertising All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. For Advertising: advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Cost for a display ad is $5.25 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 $6.05 per column inch. For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for publi- cation must be specified. Affidavits must be requested 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 Obituaries: Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to 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 MUST be signed by the author. The Heppner GT will not publish unsigned letters. All letters MUST include the author’s address and phone number for use by the GT office. The GT reserves the right to edit letters. 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. A country worth fighting for I recently saw a poll about whether one would stay and fight if someone (violently) invaded our country. About 40 percent of Democrats said they would stay and fight; about 60 percent of Republicans said they would stay and fight. This was interpreted to mean that more Repub- licans thought our country was worth fighting and dy- ing for. To paraphrase former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Re- publicans are more likely to believe that America isn't what's wrong with the world, it's what's right. When I first began to fear we were seriously at risk of losing the country I'd lived in and loved for over 60 years, I worried that perhaps America had become my idol. I final- ly realized that while that was not appropriate, ap- preciating America as a precious gift from God is very appropriate. I be- lieve God participated in the founding of our nation, just as the Founding Fa- thers themselves did. That does not mean I believe he made a perfect nation, but rather that He helped es- tablish, or perhaps directed the establishment of, an in- frastructure (e.g., the Con- stitution) which not only made some- thing good, but something upon which improvement could and would be made. Kind of like me. I'm not a perfect person be- cause I'm a child of God. I'm a work in progress. So is America. We don't need a reset. We just need to keep building on the foundation and checking the plumbline to make sure we're lined up straight and centered, ready to adjust if we need to (and we always will, since this is an imper- fect world.) Let's not throw out the baby with the bath water. Sandra Johnson Heppner WWW.HEPPNER.NET Submit News, Advertising & Announcements Letters To The Editor Send Us Photos Start A New Subscription ~ Letters to the Editor ~ 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 will be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10. Email to editor@rapidserve.net or upload to Heppner.net. The stewardship of our forefathers To the Editor: Dick Wilkinson was born in a tent alongside of Willow Creek on land that he would develop into one of the finest cattle oper- ations in Oregon. He be- gan his education in a one room schoolhouse at the mouth of Skinner Creek, the watershed for Sum- merfield, the crown jewel of the Wilkinson Ranch. In 1994 Dick was honored as the first “Landowner of the year" in Oregon in rec- ognition of his outstanding contribution to Fish and Wildlife Resources in Or- egon. While all the other landowners of the foothills of the Blue Mountains had locked their lands to the public and locals, at great profit for fee hunting, Dick Wilkinson provided Sum- merfield, the finest elk hunting property in the Heppner Unit, open to the public. Before legislation was introduced to establish fee hunting and lock up previ- ously open to hunt private land in 1990, the foothills of the Heppner unit pro- vided the best deer hunting resource in Oregon. Hunt- ing and recreation dollars flooded into Heppner and Morrow County for half a century. During that time recreation, hunting and logging helped Heppner support five gas stations, five grocery stores and three new car dealerships. Shirley Rugg, Jack Glavey, Dick Wilkinson and other land owners worked coop- eratively with the ODFW to provide hunting, fishing and recreational opportu- nities that pumped millions of dollars into the county coffers. The Blue Moun- tains provided cover and sanctuary for elk, deer and unlimited game and habitat under the stewardship of beloved ODFW biologist Glen Ward. Today Glen Ward and Dick Wilkinson would not recognize the present state of the Blue Mountains, nor would they recognize Summerfield now locked down for fee hunting. To- day the elk, the public's hunting greatest resource, are managed for the benefit of the fee hunting industry. In like manner the ODFW manages the wolves and cougars to benefit the en- vironmental/animal rights industry. The buffalo were le- gally slaughtered, a prac- tice we now condemn. Unlimited over the count- er cow tags and LOP fee hunting tags allow our elk to be legally slaughtered as well (often with rifle silencers so they will not run). If Dick Wilkinson called fee hunting unethi- cal, how would he respond to slaughtering elk like sit- ting ducks? The Left Coast of the Cascades control the ODFW which contin- ues to over-sell big game tags for elk and deer that mostly no longer inhabit the public hunting lands. Hunts are sold in our Na- tional Forest and Colum- bia Basin beginning in the summer and some do not end until the end of March when a cow elk is close to birthing. Four wheelers, side by sides, shed hunters, mushroom hunters, archery hunters (some with permanent tree stands), and special tag hunts for virtually ev- erything, including trophy defenseless bucks during the rut, now define ODFW money hungry game man- agement, leaving precious little sanctuary for elk or deer. The big game are leaving the National For- est for the solitude of the private fee hunting prop- erty. When the wolves, cougars, and bears take the last of the elk and deer out of the mountain habitat, cattle will be next. When the cattle are forced out of the mountains, the cougars and wolves will move out of the mountains as well. When the fee hunters shoot all the elk (and that is the ODFW plan) the cattle on the fee hunting property will be next in line for the wolves, cats and bears. If I was appointed the emperor of the new state of Eastern Oregon, called Ward Wilkinson, I would initiate a novel plan. I would require legislation to manage our National Forest to restore habitat sanctuary for our elk and deer: a) severely limiting the number of rifle, muzzle loader and archery hunts, number of tags sold, and only restoring big game tags when the elk and deer herds are restored (a heri- tage for our children), b) limit the number of cougars (with government hunters) and eliminate cross bred wolves that never inhab- ited our National Forests, c) restore select cut log- ging practices that enhance the forest habitat, d) close the forest from Dec. 1 to March 30 for winter sports only, e) limit land owner preference tags, f) prohib- it selling LOP tags, g) tax fee hunting property as recreational (as it should have been from the get go) and designate the funds for Forest Restoration, h) raise the price of over the counter cow tags to $1,000 with 90% allocated to a local Forest Restoration. This board would have the funding and authority to ensure all stakeholders honored the plan to restore our National Forest (hunt- ers, 4-wheelers, mush- roomers, shed hunters, fishermen, sightseers, bird watchers, hikers, snow mo- biles, cross country skiers, etc). Their first act: cancel the ill-conceived and big game sanctuary destroying Ellis Integrated Vegetation Project. Our forefathers were the first and only pioneers to live in these Blue Moun- tains. Glen Ward and Dick Wilkinson illustrated the stewardship of our fore- fathers for our greatest re- source, our most precious heritage. It is our responsi- bility to pass this heritage to our posterity. Stuart Dick Christine Drazan for governor To the Editor: I recently became a supporter of Christine Dra- zan after meeting her at a meet and greet sponsored by Bobby Levy. Christine impressed me by her com- mitment to service, her willingness to stand up for Oregonians, and her natu- ral leadership abilities. Christine is a fighter. As the House Republi- can Leader, she stood up to Kate Brown and Tina Kotek and won. She led a unified caucus to oppose tax increases, stop cap- and-trade in its tracks, and protect our rights and free- doms. Christine understands the challenges we face and how to fix them. She is the only candidate in this race with the experience to start putting our state back on the right track on Day One. As governor: -Christine will end Kate Brown’s state of emergency and repeal her mask and vaccine man- dates on her first day in office. -She will repeal Kate Brown’s unconstitutional cap-and-trade program. -Christine will support our police officers and hold criminals fully accountable for their crimes. -She will keep our schools open full time and in person, get back to the basics in the classroom, give parents a forum to be heard, and leave the pol- itics at home where it be- longs. -She will lead efforts to cut taxes, get the gov- ernment off the backs of our small businesses, and make Oregon a more af- fordable place to live and raise a family. Here’s the good news: We have a unique opportu- nity in this election to bring real change to our state and to finally put Oregon back on the right track. Christine Drazan is the best candidate for the job. She has the experience, the track record and the vision for restoring our state. And with your support, she will be the next Governor of Oregon. Please support Chris- tine as I am by contribut- ing to her campaign http:// www.christineforgovernor. com Your vote and your in- terest in the leadership of our state is so important. Debbie Radie Morrow County resi- dent DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT Come learn how the Destination Development Interactive Studios for Morrow County will help communities cultivate regional vision, identify strategies to harness the power of tourism and develop unique experiences in culinary and agritourism, outdoor recreation, bicycle tourism, cultural heritage tourism and more. MARCH 31ST 7PM Gilliam & Bisbee Building Desserts and refreshments provided by AJ's Baked Goodies ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
