Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 28, 1993)
ï T Z E L L r r s S ' r- U o F - Exchange student enjoying U.S. visit • o h ■ » n < P R L l ” 9 7 4 -3 tion.” All the sports in Holland are run on a club basis and he had never played club tennis, so he may have his work cut out for him. Rob, who turned 18 in March, comes from a densely populated area of Holland His home town is Koog a/d Zaan, with a popula tion of a “ couple thousand” . It is a suburb of Amsterdam, population 800,000, and in an area roughly the size of Morrow County, the population is about LU J Rob van't Ent By Anne Morter Budget com m ittee passes $14.5 million school budget The Morrow County School District Budget Committee ap proved a $14,549,402 school district budget at a hearing Mon day, April 26.' The budget will now come before the school board for ap proval on June 21. Before approval of the budget the district cut another $74.456 from the budget. The most recent cuts were added to over $379,000 in cuts made at the April 19 meeting, for a total of $453,573. The reductions were necessitated by reductions in tajies and state aid resulting from Ballot Measure 5. Eight special education aides were reduced to six at a savings of $31,000 for the district budget; -planned computer room ven ting at Heppner High School was cut at a savings of $8,000. The computer room will be moved to another room with air conditioning; -a migrant instructional aide was cut from Riverside High School at a savings of $11.045; -a lawnmower was cut from the district office budget at a savings of $6.000; $529 was cut from the Hepp ner Elementary budget for com munity service. The money, ear marked for community service had not been used the past two years; -stage curtains at $2,500 were cut from the lone High School^ budget; and -a special education aide was cut from the Riverside High School at $15.382. The student who required the aide will graduate this year. ‘Staying Alive’ health fair theme “ Staying Alive” is the theme of the 1993 Heppner Health Fair to be held Thursday. April 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Saint Patrick’s Senior Center. Exhibitors include Air Life of O regon, Pioneer Memorial Hospital, Northwest Parish Nurses, Haven House Retirement Center in Fossil, Summit Springs Village Corporation in Condon, American C ancer Society, Oregon Together Project, Mur ray Drugs Inc., the Neighbor hood Center of South Morrow County. Elderhostel program and many others. These exhibits will be in the dining hall of the senior center. There will also be vision screening and eye pressure test at Dr. Rolen’s office on West Willow Street, as his equipment is too heavy to move. A video on “ Birds of America” can be seen at 12 noon in the lounge or senior sitting room. “ That ought to interest bird watchers and would-be bird watchers,” said a spokesperson. Other videos compliments of OSU Extension Service, which may interest people include: “ Eating Defensively” , “ Chef M artin Y en’s Chinese F a v o rite s", techniques for preparing high fiber, low fat meals; “ 260 Primrose Lane” , exam ines some living a r rangements and their impacton older persons; “ Sun Dried Beans from California” , learn how in soluble fiber in beans can lower your cholesteral level; “ Univer sal Design Kitchen” and “ It’s all in the Planning” , a design for kit chens that will enable various levels of disabled persons to live longer on their own. These videos will be seen in the morning before the bird watchers’ special. Afternoon videos include “ Sexuality and Aging: an Inter view with George and Juliet” , il lustrates the impact of health changes, medications, fear and other influences on sexual func tioning; “ The Dollmaker” , leant the importance of taking care of “ caregivers” ; and “ Best Wishes Edith and Henry” , a program to help adult children understand some of the age-related concerns and decisions facing families. Healthy snacks will be offered. Everyone is encouraged and welcome to attend. Preparations still underway for ballfield It will be easy for Rob van’t Ent to recall his most vivid memory of his year as an ex change student at lone High School. It would have to do with a trip to the end zone in a very foreign game called football for the rookie punter from Holland. Rob turned out for football last season for the Cardinals, and bas ed on a lifetime of playing soc cer at home, he got the job of kicker for the team. In the game against Wasco County, one of the first of the year, Rob was feeling a bit disillusioned by the game in general. “ I was terribly sore from running the hill,” said Rob, referring to the hill behind the school that lone football players know well, and he seemed to be developing a keen dislike for the game. But it was late in the game and Rob was sent out to punt from the 41 yard line. He fumbl ed the snap, and although he was quite unsure of the rules, he knew that he should run for the end zone, like he had seen on TV. Once he got there, he followed his NFL example and spiked the ball. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize that his showboating spike in the end zone might have been OK in the NFL, it was definitely not so acceptable in high school football. According to Rob’s host father, George Miller. Rob's tale of football glory continues to grow. At an exchange student picnic at Wallowa Lake shortly after the game, George heard a slightly different version of the story involving a very long los ing streak, a very close game, and some incredibly last-second heroics by an inexperienced ex change student that saved the day for the home team. Rob is currently the boy’s number one singles seed on the lone tennis team. Just last weekend, he won the boy’s singles title at the Helix Tourna ment. Before he realized that there are no size classifications at the state tennis tournament, he proclaimed that he planned to win it all. “ I am determined to win state,” he says with a grin. “ Eve got a really big mouth and if I don't, it will cost me my reputa 10 million. Holland is six times smaller than Oregon but is home to 15 million people. Rob says that the eastern half of Holland is quite sparse while most of the population is in the western half. Their “ sparce” may not quite be the same as our “ sparce” however. Rob was just a little shocked when he found out that he would be going to a school with 60 kids. His host brother, Justin Miller, wrote to tell him this news, and Rob was just sure that a zero was missing. “ I thought I would end up in Beverly Hills, in a school with 2000 kids,” says Rob. Rob was even more worried about the fact that his host family were farmers because the self-proclaimed “ laziest man alive” thought he might be forced onto a tractor. George Miller reports that Rob studied the exchange student rules carefully until he found what he thought was a clause prohibiting work of any kind. So far, it sounds like he has managed to avoid any undue labor on the farm or otherwise. Rob has already graduated from high school in Holland and is now looking forward to col lege, possibly in the United States. He’s hoping that with the help of football coach, Gregg Rietmann, he can find a school that can put his kicking talents to good use. He intends to study business on his way to being a “ really rich guy.” To be a millionaire, and to be one soon, is his goal. After college, he must serve a “ good year” or 13 months in the military Rob’s family includes two brothers, ages 19 and 15 and his parents. His father is a hairstylist and owns his own shop. His mother works for the postal ser vice and also does some hairstyl ing out of her home. Since being separated from his haircutting parents, his host mother, Nancy Miller has taken over the duty. She says that she was a little ap prehensive about it. “ It was a tough act to follow, but he seems satisfied with it,” she says. Rob’s father, Riekus and 15 year old brother Fred, visited Rob in March and were treated to many of the local sights. They hit the Heppner St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, which Nancy said she had a hard time explaining. Riekus is an antique car buff, though, and was thrilled with all the old cars in the parade. Nan cy was even able to arrange a ride for him in Bob Harrison's Model T Ford pickup, which was quite a high-light for him. Fred and Riekus also visited school and met Rob’s teachers. They were especially impressed with the shop and Rob’s shop projects since they have nothing like that in Holland. One of Rob’s biggest motiva tions for coming to the U.S. was to get a driver’s license, and while his father was visiting he did just that. Unfortunately due to a recent law change, he will not be able to exchange it for a license when he returns to Holland as was previously allow ed. At home, Rob says that it costs about $1,000 to log the necessary hours with a private driving instructor. With a smile, Rob says that he figures the government changed the law simply because they knew he was in the states to get a license. Rob has tried many new things during his stay here, some good and some not so good. He has en joyed snowmobiling, football, basketball, driving cars and dirt bikes and hunting. He thought hunting or just walking around with a gun was really wild. He says that if you were caught walk ing around with a gun in Holland, there’s a good chance “ you would spend your whole life in prison.” He has also enjoyed the different school system and although he knows “ it is really uncool to say this,” he likes school food. Getting the thumbs- down for a new adventure was horseback riding. On his first day in lone, he was introduced to a horse which promptly ran off with him. It appears that this will be the last time he gets near a horse. He has experienced many new things on the Miller’s farm. Although he has shied away from getting too involved in field wor, he has ridden in the big Stieger tractor. He helped out with the lambing. On days when Nancy was late getting home from work, she could count on Rob having the new babies penned up with their moms. She said he doesn't know it yet, he will be helping at a branding soon. Says Nancy, “ he has really changed his mind about the sparceness. small towna nd farm life,” noting that Rob has come to enjoy life here. She said that Rob and his visiting family have all been quite surprised by the openness of this country. Recently, Rob went on the annual biology trip to the Malheur Refuge, which was very im pressive because of its wide open spaces. Nancy says Rob has fit in well with their family, which also in cludes daughter Kara. “ He has a lot of the same interests and a great sense of humor.” Rob’s trip was organized by the ASSE stu dent exchange program. Kathy Halvorsen. lone is the area representative. St. Jude Bike-a-thon set for May 6 By Anne Morter Sunday May 16 is the date chosen for the annual St. Jude Bike-a-thon in lone. The course, which includes a 22-mile scenic ride from Ruggs to lone for those old enough to undertake it and an in-town route for small children, will be the same as last year. Times and exact course details will oe released later. The Wheels for Life Bike-a- thon is for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennesee. Coordinator, Loa McElligott. reports that past year’s turnouts have been im pressive and she hopes to con tinue that trend. She notes that the hospital has always been most ap preciative of the efforts and, in fact, they were very suprised that such a small community raised such a generous amount. Founded by Danny Thomas in 1962, St. Jude Research Hospital is the largest childhood cancer reasearch treatment education center in America. It is non sectarian. interracial and provides medical care for over 3,200 ac tive patients. Currently, an average of $215,000 per day is needed each day to keep the doors open. These hinds come primari ly from public contributions. This year’s bike-a-thon is dedicated to Brian Martin, a six- year-old who is being treated for a malignant growth on his kidneys. He had a solid tumor, called a Wilm’s tumor, on his left kidney. It was removed in June of 1986 and he did well. His right kidney became involved several years later and was treated with chemotherapy. He is now in remission and returns to St. Jnde for regular check-ups. Brian’s fight is representative of all of the St. Jude patients. Pledge sheets will be available at businesses in lone, Lexington and Heppner. Participants collec ting $30 or more will receive a special St. Jude T-shirt. Those collecting $75 or more will receive a sports bag in addition to the T-shirt. “ The real prize, though is the pride everyone can take in giving children a chance to live a normal life,” McElligott said. Refreshments and supervision will be provided for the riders. For more information, contact Loa McElligott at 422-7228. REAL ESTATE LOANS John Britt and Danny Wilson move dirt in preparation for the new baseball field at Heppner High School. HHS principal Steve Dickenson said that Britt and Wilson encountered some rock, but that may be able to be taken out with a ripper., Dickenson said that the field should be seeded and ready to play on by next year. The fill was hauled to the high school site from Kinzua Member F D I C t . , « long term fixed rate ! Arlington Arimoton • • HeoDner Heppner • • lone )*•/</ *? h h h /H iiJ t n i H t ntic (h i-n ctl Ht ink
