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Jane Rawlins tells of visit to Poland
V0L. 114_______ NO. 43
8 Pages Wednesday, October 25, 1995,_______ Morrow County Heppner, Oregon
Merchants' Moonlight sale Oct. 30
"Doikopala Polski (Poland is
great)," says Jane Rawlins,
Heppner, who memorized over
60 Polish phrases in prepara­
tion for her recent visit to
Poland. Although she was the
only east Oregonian, there
were 14 Oregon Lutherans who
traveled together for a pre­
arranged tour of Poland. Their
successful mission gave these
Americans an insight into types
of Polish worship, a chance to
become acquainted with the
Polish people and to form com­
panion synods between Polish
and Oregon congregations.
In a nine hour flight from
Seattle to Copenhagen, Den­
mark and on to Warsaw, Po­
land, Rawlins became acquain­
ted with her traveling compa­
nions, ranging in age from 17
to 74, who are from all walks of
life. Having done her home­
work, Rawlins' studious nature
came in handy when she help­
ed Bishop Swanson, Portland,
to learn how to say "G od Bless
Y ou" in Polish.
The group visited about 20
church congregations from the
northern part of Poland near
the Baltic Sea to the southern,
more populous area. Although
the group had excellent inter­
preters, Rawlins says that to be
able to say simple phrases in
Polish brought smiles to many
faces.
"It was inspirational to meet
these people who have suf­
fered so much but have great
lesilience and abundant faith in
their hearts," Rawlins says.
Poland is trying to make a tran­
sition from a communist gov­
ernm ent to a cap italistic
system. For Rawlins, it ap­
peared that the country's grave
economic situation seemed to
be reflected in the strained look
on many people's faces.
Poland was once a major
European country between the
I4th and 17th centuries. Por­
tions of Poland were seized by
Austria, Prussia and Russia bet­
ween 1785 and 1919. What was
left remained an independent
country until it was occupied
by Nazi Germany and Russia
Jane Rawlins
during World War II. Following
the Solidarity Movement and
the collapse of communism,
Poland is once again struggling
to rebuild an independent
republic, although unemploy­
ment there has affected about
30 percent of its people.
Poland is a beautiful country,
with well-kept woodlands
where shrines are found in the
countrysides. Timber is a
valued resource, so most
buildings there are of stone and
concrete. People in cities live in
high-rise apartment buildings,
as very few can afford houses.
For lack of a purification
system, drinking water is car­
ried from wells in big cities like
Warsaw.
Northern Poland is much like
our rural areas, Rawlins says.
However there are currently
many fields that are idle due to
lack of machinery and capital.
Dairy cows were seen tethered
in fields as there did not seem
to be any fences. In contrast,
the southern part of Poland is
an industrial area where iron,
steel and coal are produced.
But even there, she says, it was
apparent that some factories
were closed.
"It's simply miraculous how
Warsaw was rebuilt to appear
as though the buildings have
been there for centu ries,"
Rawlins remarked. Warsaw
was
alm ost
com pletely
destroyed by bombing during
World War II. Buildings and
many beautiful churches were
rebuilt to capture the original
styling of Poland’s earlier
years.
During the four days that the
group spent in Warsaw, Raw-
lins says they were entertained
in style. They visited Lutheran
schools, facilities for the elder­
ly, museums, the opera and
places of interest, including at­
tending a city council meeting.
A reknown publishing com­
pany known as a Bible Center
was rebuilt on the same spot
where it was destroyed, except
for a portion of one wall. Under
com m unism , w orship and
Bibles were banned. But a
Biblical phrase, "T hy word
shall not p ass" continued to
live in the hearts of Polish peo­
ple, said Rawlins.
Poland is predom inately
Roman Catholic where 80 per­
cen t of the people are
members. Some 350,000 are
Polish Orthodox and about
80,000 are Lutherans, plus
other religious faiths. Churches
there participate in the Polish
Ecumenical Council, and since
1974 they have become a
motivating force in the Catholic
Episcopal Com m ission for
Ecumenism to deepen the
bonds of Christian partnership.
Accommodations for lodging
for this group were arranged.
In Warsaw, they stayed in a
dormitory of the Christian
Theological Academy, an inter­
confessional theological univer­
sity. At other places, they
stayed in church-owned guest
houses built to accommodate
tourists.
"T h e food was excellent,"
Rawlins says. "In fact, we were
expected to eat five times a day.
Hearty breakfasts featured
wonderful breads and the
meat, vegetable and salad din­
ners followed fabulous soups.
Our hosts did everything possi­
ble to make us com fortable."
While Rawlins previously
never found time to be stricken
with the traveling bug, she says
her first trip to this country was
a valuable experience. The on­
ly downside to her Polish visit
was a tour of the concentration
camp at Auschwitz where so
many Jewish people were put
to death. But on the positive
side, she says that Americans
could take a lesson from Polish
people who have survived
because they continue to put
religion first in their lives.
Parents, school officials to meet
W hich is which? Forrie Burkenbine, owner of Central M arket Red Apple poses with twin look-alike
pumpkin created by store em ployees.
The Heppner m erchants'
Moonlight Madness Sale has
been scheduled for Monday,
October 30, from 5 to 7 p.m.
In addition to specials on
m erchandise, participating
stores will offer a treat to
goblins coming into their store
in Halloween costumes. Stores
include Central Market, Peter­
so n 's Jew elers, G ard n er's
Men's Wear, Coast to Coast,
Shoe Box, Country Rose and
Murray Drugs.
Results of the "B o ss Pum­
pkin Look Alike C ontest" will
also be tallied that evening. In
the look alike contest, store
em ployees have decorated
pumpkins to look like their
bosses. Customers may stop in
the stores to vote on the pum­
pkin that most resembles the
boss. Pumpkins for bosses who
are not on Main Street will be
on display at Heppner TV.
Winning entries will accom­
pany their look alike boss to the
Chamber of Commerce meet­
ing on Halloween, Oct. 31, for
the finalist competition.
Speaker scheduled, report cards released
A motivational speaker has
been scheduled at Heppner
Junior/Senior High School
Thursday, Nov. 2, in conjunc­
tion with grade reports and
parent-teacher conferences.
For the first time, parents are
being asked to stop by the
HHS/HJHS office from 5 to 7
p.m. to pick up their child's
report card. Principal Steve
Dickenson said that teachers
will be available during that
time for conferencing. Dicken­
son said that parents do not
have to make an appointment
for conferences. Teachers will
also be available and report
cards may be picked up the
following day, Friday, Nov. 3
from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Immediately following the
Thursday conference time, at 7
p.m., parents are invited to at­
tend a program by motivational
speaker Dan Clark in the high
school cafetorium.
As a teenager Clark was a
television actor, and became a
champion moto-cross racer,
alpine ski racer an amateur box­
er. He also was a highly
recruited eight-time letterman
in football, basketball, baseball
and track before he was
paralyzed one day in practice.
After hitting bottom, Clark's
life reached a turning point and
he was finally able " to let go
and make room for a new life
to em erge", according to a
news release.
Clark has been a full-time
professional speaker since 1980,
speaking to over two million
p eople in all 50 states,
throughout Canada and other
countries, including Russia.
An alumnus of the University
of Utah, Clark has written six
books, including "W eathering
th e S to r m " , w ritten and
recorded three album s of
songs, authored and produced
over 25 audio and video tape
programs and has established
an educational foundation to
bring together young people
from all nations. He is one of
fewer than 250 speakers world­
wide to hold the Ceritified
Speaking Professional designa­
tion bestowed by the National
Speakers Association.
Kathy Cash named to commission
The Morrow County Court
has appointed Kathy Cash of
Boardman to the Morrow
County Commission on Chil­
dren and Families (MCCCF).
Cash is currently the office
manager for the Boardman
Healthcare Center. She has had
experience working with youth
as a 4-H leader, and as a parent
of a teenage son, has first-hand
knowledge of the problems fac­
ing today's youth, said Dar
M errill, MCCCF executive
director.
"Ia m very interested in sup­
port groups for parents and
teen s," said Cash. "W e have a
growing problem of drugs,
alcohol and gangs among our
youth for which we as parents
and the youth have no support
system ." Cash is also a strong
advocate for providing more
meaningful activities and op­
portunities for youth involve­
ment in Morrow County, said
Merrill.
By April H ilton-Sykes
After meeting with Morrow
County School Board member
Russ Morgan Monday night, a
group of parents, concerned
about crowding in the Heppner
Elementary School first grade
classroom , has agreed to
schedule another meeting with
school officials.
The parents became upset
about crowded conditions after
they learned 33 children, 25 of
them boys, had enrolled in the
first grade classroom taught by
Cherry Webber. Several par-
ents said they had visited the
classroom and found it crowd­
ed, noisy and not conducive to
learning.
The parents plan to schedule
a meeting with Webber, Hepp­
ner Elementary School Prin­
cipal Bill Karwacki, Morrow
County School District Super­
intendent Chuck Starr, class­
room aide Carol Goodyear and
Morgan to find a solution to the
problem.
The parents have asked that
another teacher be hired. An
Pickups, tools stolen from M C G G
Two pickups, tools and tool
boxes were discovered stolen
from the Morrow County Grain
Growers shop in Lexington
around 7 a.m. Friday, Oct. 20.
MCGG manager Larry Mills
said that it appeared that the
burglars cut the bolt from the
gate, walked in the area and
knocked a window out of an
overhead door. After gaining
entry the intruders probably
loaded up the pickups and
drove off with the tools, accor­
ding to Mills.
Mills said that the cost to
replace the two pickups, one a
1988 Ford half ton and the
other a 1994 custom steel flatb­
ed, would be around $40,000.
The other items, including two
mechanics' tool boxes, air con­
ditioning tools, a portable
welder, a plasma cutter and
other shop tools are estimated
around $55,000.
Mills said that the older
pickup had been sighted at
Rufus on Saturday and in the
T ri-C ities Su nd ay.
Both
pickups had the Morrow Coun­
ty Grain Growers painted on
them.
additional classroom aide was
hired to assist in the class.
Morgan told the assembly
Monday night that no money
had been budgeted to hire
another teacher, since estimates
this summer indicated a class
room of around 22 students.
He said that if a teacher were
to be hired, the funds, esti­
mated around $50,000 for sal­
ary and benefits, would have to
come from the district's con­
tingency fund. Of the district's
$200,000 contingency fund,
Morgan said that $75,000 has
already been spent for the
1995-96 school year to hire four
educational assistants. The
parents urged the board to use
the contingency funds because,
"T his is an em ergency."
While Morgan stressed that
he was not speaking for the
whole school board, he felt
they were "not that opposed”
to hiring an additional first
grade teacher if the present
teacher indicated the necessity.
The parents stressed the
need for immediate action
because they feel that the first
grade students have already
been shortchanged because of
their two-day a week kinder­
garten schedule last year. "A ll
we want to do is get a good
education for our six-year
old s," said first grade parent,
Dr. Jeanne Berretta.
FENCING SALE
Continues Thru Oct. 28th
Great Savings on your Fencing needs
Morrow County Grain Growers
__________ Lexington 989-8221
1-800-452-7396__________