Widow tells of journey
to Heppner
T W O - l b e H r p p n r r G a i r l t r T im e *
H rp p n rr
Sen Vinh and infant son
Nha Boo
Sen Vinh. 24, arrived in the United
Stale« July 24, I960
Her former
home \aaa Vmh l-ong. a city about
the «ire of Hermitton located in
South Vietnam
She recall« that when «he wai
three year* old. her family moved to
LongKanh where her parent« had a
printing buaine«« which they ran
until 1975 when the government
changed and everything was taken
from the family
After losing everything to the new
government, they returned to Vinh
l» n g where the family acquired one
acre to farm sugar cane and rice
They »old »ome of the sugar cane,
but did not make much money The
rice was used for fond
She graduated from high school in
l>ong Khanh where she went to
school six days each week instead of
five as in the United Stales
She
studied Knglish among her other
studies
She recalls that she wanted to
come to the United States because it
wax a land with more freedom and
opportunities She and her cousin,
l.ai Dang, who is now in California,
left South Vietnam together
The government in power.she said
could not know that they were going
to escape They contacted the owner
of a boat who had promised to
smuggle them out of the country
Cost of the passage was 30 or of
gold, which Sen's mother gave her
One hundred ten people were
crowded below the deck of the
wooden boat The trip from Vietnam
to Thailand, which she said would
normally lake two to three days look
them about six days because they
were lost at sea There was no fond
on the boat, but because she was sea
sick, she was not hungry during the
voyage
Before they could land in Th a i
land. pirates boarded their boat and
threatened to throw those who did
not turn over all of their money
overboard Sen says that she was so
scared at this point that she gave
them all of the money and jewelry
she had brought with her to sell in
order to have money in Thailand and
to buy her passage to the United
States
In Thailand, she and cousin 141
Dang stayed with some other cous
ins in bamboo huts and tents at a
refugee camp Everybody shared,
she said Those who did not have
money stayed with relatives or
others who did While at the refugee
camp, she learned that her cousins
who 'had been smarter' had hidden
their money from the pirates When
she left Vietnam, she did not expect
pirates or "no house" in Thailand
She stayed in Thailand for six
months before arranging for a cous
in who had immigrated to Seattle in
1978 to sponsor her passage to the
United Slates and getting clearance
from the U S Government for im
migration After arrival in Seattle,
Sen ami l-ai Dang stayed with their
cousin for a couple of days before
renting their own apartment They
paid their rent with money from a
welfare program that also allowed
them to attend school Sen attended
Central Community College where
whe studied Knglish as a second
language and typing and other sec
retarial skills
Not until after her arrival in
Seattle was Sen able to write to her
mother and let her know that she
had arrived safely in the United
States Her father died two months
after she left Vietnam She said that
she hopes that her mother will one
day he able to join her and her
brother in the United States
While in Seattle. Sen wrote to Son
Vmh w hom she had seen at her home
village in Vietnam and who was on
the same boat from Vietnam to
Thailand
He remained at the
refugee camp because it took longer
for him to arrange sponsorship and
passage to the United States He had
no relatives here, but found a
sponsor in Minnesota and arrived
there in October. 1980 He made hi«
way to Seattle where they were
married in a Vietnamese ceremony
The couple was later married again
in a civil ceremony in Hcpf-ner
Kighteen months after arriving at
Seattle. Sen left with her husband for
Houston. Texas, where Son, who was
looking for a job, had a friend He
got a job as a cashier at a conven
lence food store and later became
the maintenance manager
Sen
worked in the inventory department
of the same company
The couple then moved to Hermis
ion where Sen's brother had a Job at
O rrg e e
W r d n r .d s y .
M a rc h
12. I «Mt
Lexington woman learns office skills while working at Courthouse
Simpiot
Sen had arrived in the
United States before her brother left
Vietnam
Son Vinh found a job at Simpiot
company and when he was laid off.
was hired at Lamb-Weston She also
was hired at Lamb Weston
After
Son was called back to work at
Simpiot. she said he worked both
jobs for awhile until they bought the
Chevron station in Heppner, Novem
ber 27. 1964 She continued to work
for la m b Weston and Son drove
bark and forth until they moved to
Heppner in December Sen said that
she had decided to continue working
for la m b Weston until they were
established "We knew that if we
worked hard enough we could make
our money by ourselves and support
our family "
Sen Vinh. pregnant with the coup
le's first child, was on medical leave
from LambWeston when Son was
shot while working in the service
bay of the Heppner service station
Novrmbcr 30, 1965 Larry H ou r
Westerling. 24, Heppner has been
arrested and arraigned tor the ailed
ged murder
The couple's son. Nha Hao was
bom December 14 at Good Shepherd
Hospital in Hermiston He weighed
6 lbs 13 oi
A long lime ago Son's ancestors
were kings in Vietnam One of the
monarch» made a list of the last
names that each descendant of the
family would have for many genera
tions to come. Sen explained The
first child of each generation has the
same last name and the second
children of the generation have the
same last name, but different from
the name of the first child
For
example, if Son had had a brother
though his last name would not have
been Vinh, the brother's first son
would share the last name Bao with
Son Vinh's son, Nha
Sen stayed with her brother in
Umatilla for a couple of months
after her husband's alledged murder
and now she and her son have their
own apartment in Hermiston She
receives social security now and
said that she will stay in Hermiston
for awhile and next month plans to
go to Stockton. California, where her
cousin tail Dang, lives with her
husband
After Nha is six months old. Sen
said that she plans to return to
school to learn some more skills so
that she will be able to get another
job
as a stacker. or "sticker person'' she
was unable to return to her job or the
other types of manual labor which
she had worked at previously As a
result, workman's compensation is
paying her salary as she goes
through a re training program at tJie
Morrow County Courthouse She has
not had any office training or done
any office type work before
The skills training program is
under the direction of Eastern (Jre
gon State College and is set up in
three month terms the same as the
At first state tournament game
Mustangs square off vs. Spartans
Shirley McCorl
After Shirley MeCarl suffered an
injury as a result of her former |ob
Widow thanks
community
for support
by J tS T IN K W EA TH E R FO R D
Sen Vinh. the widow of Son Vinh.
came back to Heppner on March 4
and March 6 to express her sincere
thanks and appreciation to the
people of this community who gener
ously gave money and other gifts to
her during the difficult weeks after
her husband's death Vinh operated
the Chevron Station here during
much of 1965
On Tuesday noon. March 4. Mrs
Vmh and her infant son attended the
Chamber of Commerce meeting to
thank that group for its helpful gift
She came from Hermiston with
Anne Doherty and they were accom
panied at the chamber luncheon by
Kitty Bredemeier
On Thursday evening. March C.
Shanna t'aullus. Janet Greenup and
Kitty Bredemeier arranged a gath
ermg of Sen's friends and supporters
in the Itecrention Hall of St I’at
rick's Church Sen came from Her
miston with her small son and with
her niece and grandniece to again
express her gratitude and apprec
iation to the helpful people here
To show further support for the
petite Vietnamese widow, some of
her Heppner friends plan to attend
the March IB trial at the Morrow
County Courthouse of L a rry West
erling who allegedly murdered Son
Vinh
By Ashley < onklln
Heppner s boy s basketball team
opens the OSAA U S. Bank Class
" A " state tournament at 8 45 p m
Thursday. March 13 against the
Sheridan Spartans The tournament
runs from Wednesday. March 12 to
Saturday March IS
The Mustangs compete in the
Columbia Basin Conference and
sport a 14-7 record after wins in the
district and regional tournaments
Heppner from the Eastern D iv i
sion of the CBC, defeated Western
Division regular season champion
Riverside 70-61 in the district cham
pionship game
The following week the Mustangs
beat the Grant Union Prospectors
55 54 in the championship game of
the Region D tournament
The Spartans, who compete in the
West Valley Conference in District 2,
faced a rocky road to reach the state
tournament
Sheridan finished third in its res
pective division with a 9-3 league
record But the Spartans finished
second at their district tournament
to advance to the regional tourn
ament
In the Regional A tournament last
weekend. Sheridan topped highly-
regarded Portland Christian 58-52
and then squeaked by Lutheran 38 36
to advance to the slate tournament
in the Pendleton Armory
Fourth year coach Brent Eggers
leads the Mustangs to the state
tournament for the first time since
1971 An assistant coach now. John
Boyer was a freshman guard on the
1971 team that lost two straight
games and made an early exit
This will t>e the fourth time since
1962 that lairry Samples will lead the
Spartans into the Armory Sheridan
captured the state crow n in 1962 w ith
a 91 71 bombing of laiPinr
Heppner is led by the outside
artillery of 6'3" senior Todd Lindsay
and 6 0 " junior Wayne Wilgers
Each was a first team all league
choice as well as being in the
league's top five in scoring
Lindsay has come alive as of late
and has been on fire, averaging 25
points per game over the last four
games
A pair of 6'2" seniors. Tony
Clement and Keith Kenison give the
Mustangs added muscle under the
boards Ju n io r Tre n t Harrison
Come On In!
S c h e c k o u r s u p p ly o f
W e o d e r P a rts & C u ltiv a to r P oin ts.
lon e H ardware
M a in
of being cut, and “ these needs
iproduction1 will be taken care of
before Home economics. 4 H. etc
he said
Oregon Extension has a total
budget of $16 million, and under the
proposed budgrt would lose about $2
million
About 25 percent of the Oregon
extension budget is federal, said
Lunden. and the rest is state and
county funding
The president's budget is not final
however, and will need to be passed
by the Congress, said Lundin
You’re invited to the
Open House/Retirement Party
for
Pat Brindle
Thurs., March 20
2-6 p.m.
Neighborhood Center
We admire and appreciate your commitment
to your work and home.
Thank You!
Trisha and Shanny
E ve n B ead
S ilic o n e G asket M a k e r
L o w e r P rice
Automatic Dispensing System
100% cured in 24 hours
Dispense* an even bead of Silicone every time.
Heppner Auto Parts
CoytêJ
R ig h t H e r e fo r S t s P a t r i c k ’s D a y
Green C a b b a g e » ^
_______
19
Shenson Corn Beef
99
f roien
«e «#
Banquet Fried Chicken
*2"
lb
Sove $ l
Whd* Supply lasts
Bes* Food
Sove 30*
Mayonaise
32
Western Fomity
OJ
Gold n Soft
Save 29*
Margarine
,
Western Family
lb Tob
Sove 30'
Frozen Orange Juice
Shot Flavor
Save 69"
Vanilla Ice Cream
Banquet
u
*
Save 46'
Frozen C ru m P it
u
<*
Western Family
Cottage Cheese
^ ° *
°>
89-
79*
$r
99*
98*
Sour C rum B « .
Fresh Asparagus
10 lb
Bog
No. 1 Potatoes
lu n Ground B u t
Beef Rib S tu k
Diet Peps- Mi Dew
Pepsi«
pk. 1 2 g* a r t
45*
99*u
69*-
$2»-
$1?.
-
Prices Good March 1 3 - 1 7
Open 7 (toys a week, 7 am to 6 p.m.
Court S treet M arket
Refreshments will be served
I UK MCI
I VAN MABTfR
422-7211
WHERE S THE BEEF ?
178 W Willow
Heppner, Oregon
Ad Sponsored By
Street, lo ne
Dad—
Congratulations - 40 years in business!
watched them play the preceding
"Th e y're a good solid team They
night As a dream built on grit and
don't make many mistakes and they
hustle came to an end. the Fillies
went on to play Corbett for a > a v e some players who are very-
third place finish, bringing home
capable. said Royer
Heppner s first-ever state trophy
The Fillies don't play to change
In 1986, the Heppner Fillies ended
their game a bit against Amity
the season with a 191 record, only-
They are just going to play their
being beaten by a AA Mac Hi school
normal hassling defense and run the
The Fillies headed to the district
game
tournament as the Columbia Basin
Heppner has a good chance at the
District 7A first place team After
state championship
shutting down the Sherman County
If we play like we can and if the
Huskies. Heppner moved on to the
ball bounces our way, our chances
regional tournament
By beating
are good." concluded coach Royer
the Pine Eagle Spartans 54 46 in the
As the Fillies prepare themselves
(lass A Regional basketball tourna
for the state tournament, they know
ment. March 7. the Fillies earned a
that their dream is within reach
chance to prove themselves and to
With the continuous outstanding
make that dream become reality
support of the Filly fans, the goal
Just under a year ago, the Hepp
will soon be achieved
ner Fillies were also facing the
Amity Warriors in the state tourna
ment
The Fillies stomped the Warriors
45 29 to advance to the semi finals
Amity returns all but three play
era including five seniors, two
juniors and two sophomores
The Fillies and the Warriors will
tie pretty evenly matched as far as
height is concerned
Both teams
average 5'S" players
Out of the nine Warriors returning
some are very capable according to
Rover
Extension would suffer under
proposed ‘87 budget
Under uresident Reagen's pro
posed 1987 budget, funds for rxten
sion service would be cut by 59
percent, according to figures from
the Oregon State University in Cor
vallis
Local impact of the cuts is un
clear, but the extension service
would lose 30 profession positions
stale wide, according to Fred Lun
din, M orrow County Extension
Agent
l.undin said extension services
that are not related to agriculture
production are in the most jeopardy
assists this season Freshman Bry an
Padberg has also given Heppner
sturdy play off the bench
Sheridan is led by 8'2" junior Mike
Wise and 6 0" senior Jay Cook, who
were both West Valley Conference
all-stars Wise plays underneath the
basket while Cook is the team s
outside threat Another fine play er is
junior point guard Jon Martinet.
who Eggers describes as an excel
lent floor leader
Other starters for the Spartans are
Jon Linscheid, a 6'5" senior and
Kevin Hutchins, a S'9" senior
Coming off the bench is 6’0" junior
Rob schmidt. who is also capable of
lighting up the scoreboard
comes off the bench to back up the
big men
Sophomore Duane Ball runs the
team and broke the school record in
Fillies again face Amity Warriors
By D A N A R E ID
Only three basketball games stand
in the way of the dream that s been
dancing in the Heppner Fillies
heads for three years, the class A
state championship
In 1964. the Fillies advanced to the
district tournament, but their season
ended there after being defeated
first by the Sherman County Huskies
and then by the Wahtonka Eagles
In 1985, the Fillies made history at
Heppner Once again they advanced
to the district tournament, only this
time the tables were turned around
The Fillies won their first-ever
district championship by defeating
the Sherman County Huskies. 40 36
The win over the Huskies wasn't just
any win. it was the first time in six
years that Heppner beat Sherman
County
The Fillies weren't expected to
heal the Huskies and they weren't
given much of a chance against the
much taller Imbler team at the class
A regional tournament but they did
win. 47-42
The win over the Panthers led to
Heppner'» first appearance ever in
the state tournament
The Fillies
knocked down the Amity Warriors,
to be able to play the semi finals
against the Regis Rams
Regis was a much better team
against the Fillies than when they
EOSC for administering the pro
gram
MeCarl receives no grade
report for the work, but the county
files a report of her progress each
month
MeCarl and her husband Morris
who works for Kimua Corp have
three grown children She says that
office work is much raster physical
>y and is an interesting changr At
the end of the one-year program.
MeCarl will be on her own. but will
have gained necessary skills to
work
university's schedule says a court
house spokesperson McCarl's cur
rent supervisor is Morrow County
(Terk Barbara Bloodsworth while
MeCarl is answering phones and
learning the private board exchange
and typing
At the end of three
months, she will be transferred to
other departments where she will
also learn receptionist duties Some
non police dispatching, how to doc
ket justice court cases, some micro
filming and word processing The
countv receives 1100 oer month from
O r . m il y.—' . U»**.
111 N
TAUT
-------------- i i n u i
I
Court
hieppner 676-9643
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