Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 1996)
Community comes through in time of need c* ^ n 4. • £ s r o 0 r S P A HEPPNER 50 < Cindy and M ike Doherty on new porch addition of their hom e. imes VOL 115______ NO 37 8 Pages Wednesday, September 11, 1996,______ Morrow County Heppner, Oregon Four new teachers hired in Heppner schools B y A p ril H ilto n -S y k e s The Morrow County School District has hired four new teach ers in the H eppner Schools. Elizabeth "Beth” Slot- tee will teach music at Heppner Elementary (HES) and Hepp ner High School (HHS), as well as in the lone Schools (story in the Aug. 28 G-T, page 1); Glenn Zollner will teach vo-ag and will also be the new FFA advisor at HHS; Chuck Mat- teson will teach alternative education at HHS, a newly- created position; and Sherry Matteson will teach a combin ed first and second grade classroom at HES. Beth S lottee, m usic teacher at H H S , H E S and lone G lenn Zollner Glenn Zollner, 45, is original ly from Mt. Angel and a member of a fifth-generation pioneer family there. He comes to Heppner most recently from Roseburg, where he has lived the past seven years. After graduating from high school in Salem, Zollner en listed in the Navy and did two tours of duty in Vietnam. After his discharge he did a stint as a UPS driver. He then went back to school and received a bachelor of science degree in agricultural education from Oregon State University. After college he was picked up by private industry and worked in developing wood treatment equipment and agricultural ap plication equipment, was a pro ject engineer with a chemical company, sold farm equipment and worked in on-the-road sales as a marketing manager for a com pany that sold harvestors and a broad line of other agricultural equipment. Through his long and varied career, Zollner discovered that what he really enjoyed was teaching. " I have always taught in one form or another, ” he said. He then became a su b stitu te teacher in the Roseburg school district, most ly in business, vo-ag and welding. He was also an in structor at Umpqua Communi ty College in Roseburg, where he taught GED classes, and taught alternative education at a high school. This past sum mer, Zollner taught students in computers and language arts in an Upward Bound Program. "I'm really excited about liv ing in this area. I like the small town ethics and I like the pace of life here better,” commented Zollner about his move to Heppner. "I'm looking for ward to meeting a lot of the farmers and becoming a part of the community.” G ary W atkins and Sim on W inters prepare cem ent w alkw ay and ram p for the Doherty hom e. B y A p ril H ilto n -S y k e s Courthouse employees donat ed their leave pool to Cindi and Lorrie Fox, Bill and Jim 's mother, (both Cindi and Lorrie work for the county) so that they could still have a paycheck while they were away from work. Kinzua em ployees also donated money to help with Mike and Cindi Doherty of Heppner know exactly how they survived a devastating family crisis last month--with the help of their friends and neighbors. On July-41, the Dohertys received a call in the middle of the night that their 16-year-old son, Adam, had been severely injured in an automobile acci dent, along with four other Heppner boys, Brian Knowles, Shaun Hisler and Bill and Jim Schlaich. Adam sustained severe spinal injuries; Brian, critical head injures; Bill, severe in juries to his arm; Jim, bruises and lacerations; and Shaun, a knee injury. Cindi and Mike say that as soon as the community heard about the accident people step ped in with, money, food, cooking, house cleaning and moral support. The Bank of Eastern Oregon set up an ac count for donations for the families and people organized an auction-fund raiser. "It's such a great communi Dr. Bill Bitsas ty. You just can't do anything B y A p ril H ilto n -S y k e s to repay these people," said Dr. William "B ill” Bitsas, Mike, "except be there when newly-hired physician at the they need it.” "A nd you pray Pioneer Memorial Clinic and that they will never need it," Hospital in Heppner, has lived added Cindi. all around the U.S. and in The Dohertys say that help Europe, but has always intend started to arrive while they ed to have a rural practice. were still at the hospital with " I have been interested in Adam. "A t one time in the rural family practice since 1 was hospital there were over 50 in high school," said Dr. Bitsas. people in the waiting room ," " I have always wanted to live said Mike. "H e was never in the country." without company any week Bitsas began working for the e n d ." Morrow County Health District Over $6,000 was raised for Sept. 3. He has purchased a the boys' families in a lamb auc home in Heppner and he and tion held at the Morrow Coun his fiancee, Katherine Dale, ty Fair, organized by Ken and have six horses-two thorough Kaedene Bailey and Sherry breds, three appalousas and a Matteson. All Cindi’s lodging quarterhorse. Dale teaches rid-' while she stayed at Good ing and trains horses. Samaritan Hospital and the Dr. Bitsas, 40, was born in Ronald McDonald House to be Chicago where he lived until he near Adam while he recuper was seven, when the family ated in Portland was paid by moved to Missouri. When he Kinzua Resources, M ike's was 15 his family moved to Ita employer. Morrow County ly where his father had busi expenses and Kinzua manage ment matched that amount. In addition Kinzua has donated materials for a remodeling job to make the Doherty house wheelchair accessible. And now, Kinzua employees and others have been donating labor for the remodeling. C ontinued P age 4 Physician begins work at PM H/PM C C huck M atteson ty. "W e decided we wanted to live here," added Chuck, "and som etim es it's w orth the sacrifices to get what you want.” So, they took a chance, pack ed up their four children, Justin, now 17, Lexi, 16, Ryan, 13, and Lacey, 11, and moved to Heppner in June of 1994, at that point without jobs. But, the Mattesons had a lot of experience to fall back on. Sherry, 43, who graduated from Redmond High School, has a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Eastern Oregon State College. She and Chuck were married while both were still in college and were both hired right out of college to teach in the Fern- dale District outside Milton- Freewater. She taught first grade there for four years before their first child was bom. She then substituted 17 years, first in the Ferndale District, then for eight years in Red mond and finally in Heppner, while raising their children. She also tytored students in math last year. She will be teaching a combined first and second grade classroom at Heppner Elementary School. Chuck Matteson, 44, was bom and raised in Benton Ci ty, WA, graduating from Kiona-Benton High School. He attended Columbia Basin S herry M atteson Community College (CBCC) at Pasco and then enrolled at Although Chuck and Sherry Walla Walla Community Col Matteson are new teachers in lege (WWCC) for one year the Heppner schools, they are before transferring to Eastern. not new to the community. He and Sherry had both been Sherry, originally from Con in junior rodeo and rodeoed in don, was actually bom at the college and, later, professional hospital in Heppner. Her ly. Chuck received rodeo grandparents, Lawrence and scholarsh ip s to all three Alice Jones, homesteaded on a schools. He also played basket ranch between Condon and ball for CBCC and WWCC. lone. The Matteson family had He taught ju n ior high also come to the Heppner area science, social studies and PE before to cut poles. at the Ferndale district for 12 "W e liked the Heppner years, in addition to coaching area,” said Sherry of their deci sion to move to the communi- C ontinued P ag e 2 ness. He says that the move brought the family closer to relatives in Greece. Both his father and mother are of Greek heritage. Dr. Bitsas attended Reed Col lege and received a B.A. in biology in 1978. He attended medical school at Oregon Health Sciences University and received his medical degree in 1984. He also completed a fami ly practice residency at OHSU. Following his residency, he worked at the VA nursing home in Vancouver, WA, and established a private practice at St. John's Clinic in Portland. From there, he moved to II- waco, WA, where he worked for Pacific County Health at a hospital and clinic. He was then employed at Milton- Freew ater for around six months in a temporary job, before moving to Spokane three years ago. Dr. Bitsas has a nine-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Rose, who lives in Portland and will be visiting Heppner often. Besides riding, Dr. Bitsas en joys music, playing the banjo, guitar and mandolin, garden ing, bicycling and fishing. A reception will be held to welcome Dr. Bitsas and to give appreciation to Dr. Ernie Atkins on Thursday, Sept. 19, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Home H ealth office at Pioneer Memorial Clinic. Dr. Atkins has been the sole physician at the clinic since the departure of Drs. Ed and Jeanne Berretta, who are esta blishing a practice in Walla Walla. Hunters Special 15% OFF Danner Boots Sale Thru September 21, 1996 Morrow County Grain Growers Lexington 989-8221 1-800-452-7396_________ - •••*.; - * ty ■- I V .- .; « » • « ' 1 „ . ■ - » .. . ■ I t ! -V ■ ■ >*>* : r . *> .- ,
