Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 1990)
Mike Currin dies in plane crash The Heppner imes azette VOL 108 NO. 27 Wednesday, July 5, 1990 Heppner 25c 8 Pages Mike Currin of Hermiston, son of Ron and Judy Currin of Heppner, died in a plane crash on Mount Rainier Monday, July 2. Mike, bom and raised in the Heppner area and a professional en/route from Portland to the Ponok stampede, one of the largest rodeos in Canada, when the light plane in which he was travel ing crashed into Mount Rainier. The crash occured about 1 p.m. at the 12, 500-foot level of the mountain. Pilot of the plane. Bob Card, and cowboys Dave P. Smith of College Place, Wash., David Bowen of Yoakum, Texas, and Randy Dierlam of Seadrift, Texas, also died in the crash. Mike, 25, was a 1983 graduate of Heppner High School. He graduated from Blue Mountain Community College in 1985 and Boise State University in 1989. He was self employed on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit. He won the 1988 All-Around title at the Pendleton Round-Up antf the l^wiston Round-Up. He rodeo’d for Blue Mountain Community College and in 1984 was the national steer wrestling champion. He married the former Judy Walchli of Hermiston on Nov. 4, 1989. The four cowboys had made the Monday night finals of the Ponoka Stampede in Ponoka, Alberta, about 100 miles north of Calgary, but fail ed to show up, rodeo officials said. The Cessna 210 disappeared from Wheat harvest underway Mike Currin radar screens while flying about two miles southwest of the 14,410-foot Cascade Mountain peak, state aeronautics director Bill Hamilton told AP Monday. The plane was owned by Card through his company. Aero West Aviation, a small charter outfit with three planes based at the Pendleton airport. Card, who had been flying for more than 25 years left Pendleton alone and picked up the four passengers Monday afternoon in Portland, Doug Ankney Jr., a flight instructor and charter pilot for Aero West Aviation, said. The plane was to fly from Portland to Penticton. B.C., to go through customs, Ankney said. A search plane from the 304th Air Force Reserve’s Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron from Portland located the crash site around 5:c p in. on the south-southwest side of the mountain on Kautze Glacier, Cy Hentges, a Mount Rainier National Park spokesman, said Rescue workers planned on bring ing the bodies down from the moun tain on Tuesday, weadier permitting, Hentges said. John Wilcox, a Mount Rainier Park ranger in charge of rescue operations, told AP the plane lost its wings and flipped over. Hentges said a high-altitude helicopter from the Fort Lewis Ar my Base near Tacoma was expected to fly a recovery team to the site on Tuesday morning. Dave P. Smith, 31, was a fulltime cowboy who was a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association na tional finalist in 1988. Smith won the $50,000 calf roping at Calgary Stampede that year as well. Friends said Smith had planned to meet fellow cowboy Sam Keyser and travel by car to Calgary, but learn ed he made the Ponoka finals and jumped on the plane. Smith and Brent Palmer of Walla Walla were stock contractors who furnished steers for the Pendleton Round-Up the last few years. Smith and his twin brother, Dale, grew up in Brewster. Wash. He and his wife, Teresa, recently had a baby girl. H R. •’Bob" Card, 50. had been living in Pendleton for about six years, after moving here from Portland to establish Aero West Aviation in the fall of 1984. Still time to sign up for swim lessons Heppner Pool manager, Sarah Carlson, says that there are still openings in some session I swimm ing lessons, including: Water Safety Aide Class- July 9-July 20. 5:30-6:30 p.m. $17.20. Ooen to anyone 11 years or older who has a desire to volunteer his time to aid swim instructors in teaching swim lessons. It is good training to become a water safety in structor at 17 years old. Swimmers-July 9-July 20, 9 9:45 a.m. This is for the advanced swim mer who wants the opportunity to work on perfecting the breast stroke, side stroke, and back crawl. Basic rescue procedure will also be taught. Parent/Infant Class-11:30-noon, 6-18 months. Parents expose their infants to water through adjustment activities. The infant will experience supported movement and other basic water skills. Both parent and child will be introduced to appropriate water safety skills. The class is limited to six. Session II classes. July 23-Aug. 3, are all open except for Beginner II, Beginner I, and preschool. Session III classes, Aug. 6-17, are all still open. All lessons are $10.00. Those in terested must come to the pool to sign up and pay the registration fee. There is no registration over the phone. Cycle Oregon advance team meets with Heppner reps Photo by Joyce Hughes Pat Cutsforth, a Lexington wheat farmer, dumps a load of Stephens wheat as harvest gets underway in Morrow County. Pat reported that his field on Cutsforth Corner was averaging 50 bushels. Morrow County Grain Growers Manager Larry Mills says that with the wheat harvest just getting started the quality of the wheat “ looks Mills said the first areas to begin harvesting are north of Lexington on the Stan Kemp ranch and north of lone on the Joe Rietmann ranch. He good.” “ We think yields will be better than anticipated.” said Mills. " It’s not a bumper crop but better than an ticipated.” added that estimates are around 40 bushels an acre. In the earlier pan of the year the wheat outlook was not good because of the lack of rain, said Mills. Market Report Compliments o< It» Morrow County Gram Growers Fun on the 4th July Aug. Sept. Oct. Jan. July Aug. Sept. Pik Tuesday, July 3 Soft White *3.59/*3.57 *3.57 *3.59/*3.61 *3.63/*3.65 *3.75/*3.77 Bariev *106 T »107 T *109 T 100% Thirteen representatives from Cy cle Oregon met with Heppner of ficials June 27 at the Morrow County Fairgrounds. Cycle Oregon is planning a bicy cle tour through Heppner Sept. 9. Heppner will be the first overnight stay on the cyclists’ 420 mile trip across Oregon. The community ex pects to feed 2,000 cyclists box lun ches, dinner and breakfast. Local coordinators are Heppner Chamber of Commerce Manager Claudia Hughes and Mayor Cara Costa. Meeting with Hughes and Costa and other local coordinators were Susan Bladholm. Cycle Oregon ride director and public relations and special events coordinator with Oregon Tourism; Andrienne Van Bemmel. assistant director of Cycle Oregon; Randy Stimson, amateur radio (ham operator KZT7) com munications coordinator for Cycle Oregon and Cheryl Funkhouser his assistant both from Portland; Brian Harney. Cycle Oregon office assis tant in publications and volunteer coordinator; David Rittenhouse, Cy cle Oregon office assistant coordina tion public relations and entertain ment; Bill Upson and David Fuller of Buck Medical Services in Portland, who will handle medical care en/route; Ryan McGinnis of the Bike Gallery in Portland, who will handle bike repair; Cliff Coleman of Fred Meyer, transportation and trucking coordinator; Mike Collet, Oregon Coast Sanitation, Coos Bay, who will be handling restroom facilities; Ann VonderAhe. Klamath Falls, food coordinator; and Patti Reuter, Cycle Oregon assistant. Weather Report by City o! Heppner June 26 - July 2, 1990 High Low Prêt .0 82 SO Tues. .0 55 Weds. 83 Thurs. .0 82 53 89 .0 55 Fri. .0 83 50 Sat. 48 .0 81 Sun. 49 66 .05 Mon. Cara Costa visits with Cycle Oregon office assistant David Rittenhouse. LOANS FOR NEW CARS LOWEST RATES AROUND Fair weather blessed the large crowd that gathered Wednesday for lone's annual 4th of July Celebration. More pictures next week. nABK O F ----------- U J Z a ó te m Oreqon on • Heooner Arlington Heppner • loo« ** •y,mr h i l f pendent Home Owned Bank F.O.I.C. i.
