Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 12, 1995 - FIVE
Cub Scouts race pinewood derbys
The Cub Scout Pack 661 held
their annual pinewood derby
race Sunday, April 9 at the Elks
club in Heppner. Overall win
ner was Riley Wight from the
Tiger Cubs. Wight earned the
top spot by downing Brian
Haguewood in two heats at the
end of the races and earns a
chance to go to the district race
in Pendleton April 22.
Tiger Cub winners l-r: first Riley Wight, second Jam es Van Liew,
third Sloan Keithley.
Wolves l-r: first Ryan Campbell, second Aaron DeWeaux, third
Tyler Boyer.
l-r: first Brian Haguewood, second Kiel Nairns, third Matt
BMCC lists honor students
Former Heppner girl featured
The follow ing article was
reprinted from the Tri-City
Herald, Feb. 14. Melissa Petty
john was a former Heppner
resident. She is the daughter of
Larry and Kerry Pettyjohn of
Burbank, WA. and the gran-
daughter of the late Howard
and Jo Pettyjohn, Heppner.
Accomplishment, ihe great
feeling of achievement ex
perienced when hard work has
paid off.
Melissa Pettyjohn enjoys that
feeling every time she takes a
step.
You see, it was a year ago
Sunday that the Burbank
senior suffered a major knee in
jury during the last regular
season basketball game of her
junior season. Pettyjohn, 18,
knew the road to recovery
would be long and hard, but
she never expected to go
through what she did.
"I began to tell myself, 1 can't
do this anymore," Pettyjohn
said as she recalled spending
three hours a day for months
at a physical therapist trying to
straighten her reconstructed
knee. "M y knee went to a cer
tain spot and then wouldn't
budge. I began to hyperven
tilate because of the pain. It was
mentally and physically drain
ing."
In between six knee opera
tions and a staph infection that
kept her in the hospital for six
days, Pettyjohn spent months
with a physical therapist last
summer trying to regain full
motion in her right knee.
Three of the surgeries were
performed for the sole purpose
of trying to straighten her leg.
Twice she underwent arthro
scopic surgery to clean out scar
tissue.
But through all the pain and
long hours at the hospital, Pet
tyjohn stayed focused on play
ing basketball her senior year.
"Driving me the whole time
was the idea of playing basket
ball again," she said. " I knew
I wouldn't be ready for volley
ball in the fall, but I started
hanging out at the volleyball
practices, just walking around
setting the ball. I couldn't stay
away completely."
Most importantly, Pettyjohn
kept her grades up. Since the
injury, she has earned nothing
but straight A's and is valedic
torian of her class.
On Oct. 11,1994, she under
went her sixth and final surgery
to remove more scar tissue and
one of the two screws in her
knee.
Three weeks later, around
the first of November, Petty
john and her father, Larry,
went over to the Burbank mid
dle school gym. When her dad
wasn't watching, Pettyjohn
took off running down the
court.
" I felt like a kid taking his
first step," Pettyjohn said. "It
was the first time I had run in
almost a year."
Her father was amazed.
"W e were thinking maybe
she could start playing (basket
ball) by mid-season," he said.
"Sh e played a little on it there
and after that said it felt great."
Equally in awe was Petty
john's coach, Jerry Washburn.
"It was looking pretty slim
that she'd play this year,"
Washburn said. But she never
gave up. She loves to play
basketball no matter what, so
she stuck with it. She made up
her mind she was going to
play."
When basketball practice be
gan, Pettyjohn participated in
every drill.
"Sh e came home the first
night and said, 'every part of
my body hurts except my
k n e e ," ' said her father,
laughing.
Pettyjohn's parents purchas
ed an $800 custom-fit knee
brace, and even though her
doctor said she didn't need to
wear it because of the strength
of the scar tissue, just knowing
something was there to hold
her knee together was neces
sary.
Playing with the brace, jPet-
tyjohn went on to lead the
league in scoring for the first
couple of weeks. She used it
through half of the season, un
til the day it was stolen.
Pettyjohn finished the season
with a cheaper neoprene brace,
and finished third in league
with a 15.1 scoring average as
well as shooting 84 percent
from the free-throw line. She
turned in 17 and 19 point per
formances in her last two
games this past weekend.
"It turned out to be my best
season ever," Pettyjohn said
with a smile. "I remember dur
ing the year I'd make a move
and then I'd say to myself, 'I
can't believe I just did that on
my knee."'
Unfortunately, the Coyotes
didn't qualify for the district
tournament, but Pettyjohn is 1
looking ahead to softball
season.
And after softball, Pettyjohn
said she will have one more
operation to try and straighten
her leg out completely.
"Right now, I can't straight
en it all the way or bend it back
all the way," she said. " I can't
sit Indian style and I can't
squat."
The Pettyjohns also had to
cancel their trip to Disneyland,
the vacation they were plann
ing for spring break, because
Pettyjohn can't stand in line for
hours on legs that aren't the
same length.
But Pettyjohn insists it's all
worth it.
"It would've crushed me if I
couldn't have played again,"
said Pettyjohn, who is plann
ing on attending Eastern
Washington University next
fall.
"To have six knee surgeries,
and to accomplish all this after
the tortures, I know now that
I can make it through
anything."
Apply early for controlled hunt
Weblos l-r: first Robert Whalen, second Samuel VanLiew, third
Frankie Ledford.
Brian Haguewood (front) gets set to race Kiel Nairns with the help
of Hal Bergstrom and Bruce Young (back).
As of April 1, only about
58,000 of an expected 275,000
hunters had applied for
antelope, bighorn sheep, deer
and elk controlled hunt tags
under the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife's new
"Point of Sale" (POS) licensing
system.
' 'The new system is working
well and we are reminding
hunters that applying early is
the best way to avoid long lines
and potential last minute pro
blem s," said ODFW license
lases coordinator Pat Jemberg.
The new system logs con
trolled hunt applications direct
ly on to computer, speeding the
application
process up.
Because of the speed of the
new system, ODFW was able
to move the controlled hunt
deadline from early April to
May 15 this year, giving
hunters an extra month to
apply.
Hunters and anglers can still
purchase licenses and general
season tags at all license agents
in the state, but to apply for big
game controlled hunts, the ap
plicant must go to a POS
license vendor. Hunters apply
ing out-of-state or from areas
not having a POS machine
close by may apply through the
mail. Full instrutions are on
page six of the ODFW 1995 Big
Game Hunting Regulations
which are available at all license
vendors.
Local POS agents are Coast
to Coast in Heppner, Bi Mart
and Payless in Pendleton,
Fossil Hardware in Fossil, M Si
A Auto Parts in Condon, Coast
to Coast and Payless in Her-
miston, and The Sportster in
Milton-Freewater.
Fifty-four students received a
perfect 4. grade point average
during winter term at Blue
Mountain Community College.
This reflects a straight A report
in all courses taken by the
student.
Fifty-six students qualified for
the President's list by attaining
a GPA of 3.85 or higher. One
hundred forty-nine students
qualified for the Dean's list by
receiving a GPA of 3.4 to 3.85
and 157 students qualified for
the honor roll by receiving a
GPA of 3.0 to 3.39.
To earn a position on any of
the three lists, a student must
have carried a fulltime load of
classes, which translates to 12
graded credit hours. Students
may not have received an F in
any class to be so honored. A
pass grade does not count
toward the 12 graded hours
necessary to be included on the
lists.
Following are students who
qualified:
President's list: Heppner-
Chris Cookston, James Gavin,
Lori Straley; Lexington-Daniel
Lindsay; Ione-Crystal Minster;
Irrigon-Teresa Sandlin.
Dean's list: Boardman-Jason
Sheadel, Stacie Bates, Lizabeth
Palmer, Mary Sayles, Naomi
Swann; Heppner-Nola Bins-
chus, Dwayne Dunaway, Erin
Fishbum; Lexington-Joe Lind
say; Ione-Chisana Warren,
Aaron Heideman, Heidi Orem;
Irrigon-Wendy Brown, Kimber
ly Burke, James Lunders.
Honor roll: Boardman-
Roberta Cochell, Amanda Gil
bertson, Ty Lappen, Carolyn
Skoubo;
Heppner-Terry
Chinen, Austin Coiner;
Lexington-Ryan Munkers; lone
-Lance Marvin, Bryan Basford,
Kristine Bedortha, April Taylor;
Irrigon-Susan McDonald, Joe
Stanger, Brandon Suchy.
BMCC classes still available
Blue Mountain Community
College spring term classes are
underway with several selec
tions still available.
A limited number of spaces
are available in the quilting
class taught by Pam Worden.
Classes began April 3. students
have a choice of three patterns,
Monkey Wrench, Ohio Star
and Bear Paw, each with a
varying degree of difficulty.
The class meets Monday from
6-9 p.m. at the Heppner High
School home ec room. Tuition
is $35.
Microsoft Works Overview
will be on the agenda for begin
ning computer buffs. Class will
be Saturday, April 22 from 8
WCCC Golf
Ladies Day
April 11
Low gross of the field: Anita
Boyer 39.
Flight A: low gross-Pat Ed-
mundson 42; low net-Luvilla
Sonstegard 30; least putts-
Neoma Bailey 15; Chip in-
Luvilla Sonstegard 11.
Flight B: low gross-Bernice
Lott and Karen Wildman 49;
low net-Suzanne Jepsen 34;
least putts-Karen Thompson
20; K.P.-Bernice Lott #13.
Flight C: low gross-Joyce
Dinkins 53; low net-Lorene
Montgomery 40.
Men's 27 Hole Shootout
Nine hole chapman winners:
low gross Sonstegard-Pearson
32; low net Paustian-Bailey 23.
Nine hole scramble: low
gross Munkers-Bowman 28;
low net Harer-Jones 23.
Nine hole scotch: low gross
Edmundson-Edmundson 33;
low net Reid-Sturgeon 21.
Overall standings: low gross-
first Bowman-Munkers 96, se
cond Fishbum-Green 99, third
McCabe-Grant and Edmund
son-Edmundson 100.
Low net: first N airns-
Bedortha 73, second Paustian-
Bailey 74, third Sonstegard-
Pearson 76.
Long drive: John McCabe;
K.P.-Earl Fishbum.
a.m. to 5 p.m. and will cover
the "w orks" package of soft
ware which includes word pro
cessing, database, spreadsheet
and communications package.
Pre-registration is required
since minimum enrollment
must be met to hold the class.
Tuition is $42.
Several employment skills
workshops will be offered in
May including business eti
quette, interviewing, nego
tiating 101 and managing con
flict. Call Anne Morter, Mor
row County coordinator,
422-7040, for a brochure on
times and dates. To register or
for more information on any
classes call Morter.
Norris not
seeking
re-election
Representative Chuck Norris
(R-Hermiston) has announced
he will not seek re-election for
a sixth term in the Oregon
House of Representatives. Nor
ris said that it's simply time for
a change for both District 57
and for him and his wife, Bet
ty Lou.
Norris said that his decision
was made some time ago and
that he will continue to give his
full attention and best effort to
his responsibilities to serve
District 57 and the state of
Oregon.
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Joy Krein's second grade class at Heppner Elementary School
presented a doll they made by hand to their helper/volunteer
Barbara Struthers. The kids wanted to show their appreciation
to Struthers who has worked in the classroom for many years.
I