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
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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.