TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, September 3, 1997
New teachers
Elguezabal, believes in the total
immersion theory of learning a
foreign language. Elguezabal
says he will give a few
instructions in English on the
first day of school, but after that
it’s all Spanish. "They’re going
to think that this doesn’t work,"
said Elguezabal, who was bom in
Musquiz, Mexico, south o f Del
Rio, Texas, "but it does come."
Elguezabal, 45, knows a little
about teaching, having spent 19
years as an educator in Nyssa,
which is near the Oregon-Idaho
border. At Nyssa, Elguezabal
taught global studies, Spanish
and U.S. history and coached
three sports a year for 18 years.
At Heppner he will teach
introductory Spanish (seventh
and eighth grade Spanish), all the
way up to Spanish IV. He also
plans to coach junior high
football and perhaps freshman
basketball. "I've coached since
day one," said Elguezabal. "I
always coached three sports-
football, basketball and baseball.
I never got tired of doing that."
Elguezabal says he had
known HHS principal Ron
Anthony prior to coming to
Heppner since Anthony taught 10
years in Nyssa. The two also
worked together during the
summer
months.
Anthony
worked for the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) in the
summer and Elguezabal worked
with the BLM. He owns buses
and had a business bussing fire
fighters on forest fires.
Elguezabal, who comes from a
family of 10 children, also has a
large family himself. He and his
wife, Mary Ann, who teaches
third grade at St. Peter's
Elementary in Ontario, have six
children. The older three, Petra,
17, a senior, Bias, 16, a junior,
and Juanita, 14, a freshman, all
accompanied their dad and are
enrolled in classes and sports at
HHS. The younger three, Jesus,
11, a sixth grader, Ignacio, seven,
a second grader, and Tomas, five,
a kindergartner, are still with
their mom, who remained in
Nyssa for the time being to stay
near her elderly, widowed
mother.
Elguezabal said that he came to
Heppner because he felt he
needed a change and the older
kids wanted a change too.
He said he first became
impressed with the Heppner High
School work ethic during the
Heppner-Nyssa football playoff
game in 199S. Nyssa, "man for
man, talent-wise" should have
beaten Heppner fairly easy, said
Elguezabal. "But Heppner just
stayed with us and almost beat
us."
"The kids here are very nice.
They seem very polite," he
added. "They have just been
super to me and my kids."
Elguezabal grew up in Nyssa
and graduated from Nyssa High
School. He received a bachelor
o f science degree in social
science from Eastern Oregon
State University at LaGrande.
fifth and sixth grade social
studies and spelling teacher at
Heppner Elementary School.
"I like kids, and wanted to get
more into the teaching aspect of
education," says Smith Griffith,
who has been special ed teacher
at Heppner and lone for the past
10 years.
Before coming to Heppner she
taught third and fourth grade
combined at Spray.
Smith Griffith, 40, is originally
from Hood River, where she was
raised and where her father had a
sporting goods store. She
graduated from Hood River
Valley High School and then
enrolled at Western Oregon State
College at Monmouth, where she
received a bachelor of science
degree in elementary education
in 1979. She returned to college
in 1986 and received her special
education endorsement and a
master's degree from the
University of Oregon.
Smith-Griffith and her
husband, John, have a son,
Aaron, who is a sixth-grader at
HES. Her husband, who comes
from a ranching family, is a self-
employed log truck driver. She
has a sister who is employed as a
registered nurse in Hood River.
Melissa Cvarak
Melissa Cvarak, 31, is a long
way from her home town.
Originally from Maryland, she
attended
high
school
at
Damascus High School there
and graduated from St. Mary's
College at Orchard Lake,
Maryland, with a bachelor of
arts
degree
in
human
development. Her husband,
whom she met while he was in
the miliary, was originally from
Portland, so the couple moved
back to Oregon seven years ago.
Cvarak then returned to college
at Portland State University,
where she earned a master's
degree in education.
About a year ago her husband
got a job with the Geographic
Information Systems, doing
computerized
mapping
for
Morrow County, a new position,
and the family moved to
Heppner.
Prior to her move to Heppner,
Cvarak was a substitute teacher
in the Portland schools and since
coming to Morrow County, she
subbed in Heppner and lone.
"It's small," said Cvarak of the
Heppner community," but I like
it a lot. It's a safe place for kids."
Cvarak and her husband have
two children, a son, Drake, eight,
and a daughter, Rose, three.
Cvarak's father is a retired
police officer. Her mother, a
homemaker while she was
growing up, now is a child care
giver. Cvarak has one brother.
Water color
class planned
Karan Smith-Griffith
Karen Smith-Griffith is no
newcomer to Heppner, but she
has moved from her position as
special ed teacher at Heppner
High School and lone schools to
Anderson-Perry &
Assoc, adds to staff
continued from page 1
Anyone interested in attending
a watercolor class by Tina Tharp
is asked to contact Sharon
Harrison, 676-9164, or Trish
Sweeney, 676-9426.
The class is sponsored by Mor­
row County Creative Arts and
Crafts.
Dale Johnson
Dale Johnson, who retired this
year after 33 years of teaching,
decided this fall that he just
wasn't quite ready to retire and
accepted a position as Heppner
High School math teacher.
"I enjoy mathematics," said
Johnson. "I like to see my
students come back and say, 'I
remembered that stuff like crazy
when I went to college. I didn't
realize how much I learned.'"
Not entirely unfamiliar with
the Heppner area, Johnson
accepted a teaching position in
Fossil in 1962, after graduation
from
Eastern
Washington
University at Cheney, WA,
where he received a bachelor o f
science degree.
After Fossil,
Johnson taught at Warden, WA,
and then did a stint as owner o f a
drive-in restaurant in Seattle
before returning to teaching. He
then got a job at Tonasket, WA,
where he has taught the last 27
years.
Ironically, while in
Tonasket, Johnson taught several
years with Les Payne, who is a
long-time teacher and coach at
Heppner High School. Another
teacher at Tonasket at the same
time was Rick Jaggers, who is
now a teacher at Weston-Athena.
"I like a small school," says
Johnson of his.move to Heppner.
The town of Tonasket, which is
around
120
miles
from
Wenatchee, is smaller than
Heppner, but the school is a little
bigger. The region is apple
country and many students come
into school from the farms in the
outlying areas.
During the summers for six or
seven years Johnson also worked
as a carpenter for the school
district.
Johnson and his wife, Ann,
who recently retired after 25
years in the banking business,
have three grown children, one in
Walla Walla, one in Tonasket
and one in Stockholm, Sweden,
and five grandchildren, one in
Sweden.
Johnson enjoys fishing and
carpentry and says that he and his
wife "might travel a bit".
He will teach calculus, pre­
calculus and integrated math I, II
and III.
Jones celebrate
60th
anniversary
Charlene, Kenneth and Connie
Jones were hosts to a family pot-
luck dinner recently to celebrate
Cecil and Delpha Jones’ 60th
w edding anniversary. Those
present were a sister, Jo Irving,
and husband George, of Irrigon;
Jim and Vicky Bowen and Kate
from Goldendale, WA; Stuart and
Valda Smith of Hermiston; Mr.
and Mrs. Harry Groshens and
family from Pendleton; Mike and
Chris Jones; Jill Barber; Royce
Fulleton and friends from Hepp­
ner; and Charlene’s granddaugh­
ter, Becky Whitney, from Aloha.
Cecil and Delpha Jones were
married August 12, 1937 in La
Grande.
Anderson-Perry & Associates,
Inc.,
a
consulting
civil
engineering firm with offices
located in La Grande, Walla
Walla, and Baker City, recently
added an engineer and a surveyor
to its La Grande staff.
Troy Baker is a University of
Idaho graduate with an ME
degree in civil engineering. He
previously worked for Gray and
Osborne, Consulting Engineers
in Yakima, Washington. As a
staff engineer with the firm,
Baker's primary responsibilities
will include writing water and
waste water system plans, as well
as assisting in the design of
waste water and water facility
improvement projects. Baker, his
wife, Michelle, and daughter,
Shelby, moved to the area in
April.
Mike Posada holds an associates
degree in surveying technology
from the University of Alaska in
Anchorage. He is a licensed
professional land surveyor (in
Alaska) with 12 years of
surveying experience for various
employers. As a land surveyor
with the firm, Posada's primary
responsibilities will include
various
office
and
field
surveying
assignments
on
projects designed by the firm,
including
site
mapping,
construction
layout
and
surveying, and legal surveys.
Posada and his wife, Valorie,
moved to the area in July.
Anderson-Perry & Associates,
Inc. is now in its 24th year of
p ro v id in g
en g in eerin g ,
surveying, and testing services in
the region. The firm provides a
broad range of general civil
engineering services to cities,
counties, port districts, state and
federal agencies, and other public
and private clients throughout the
Eastern Oregon and Southeastern
Washington region.
Projects of local interest include
a water system planning study
being completed for the city of
lone, a waste water planning
study for the city of Boardman,
and the engineering of a waste
water improvement project for
the city of Condon.
Farm Credit
Services elects
director
Bryan Wolfe of Hermiston has
been
re-elected by
local
stockholders to serve on the
Farm Credit Services local board
of directors. He will represent
stockholders who do business at
the Farm Credit Services office
in Pendleton.
Wolfe has been a local director
since 1994. He and his wife,
LouAnn, own and operate an
irrigated farm and backgrounding
feedlot in the Hermiston area.
They raise sweet com and grain
com, potatoes and other row
crops.
According to branch manager
Andy VanderPlaat, stockholders
also elected the following
nominating committee members:
Tim
Hawkins,
Pendleton;
Shannon Rust, Echo; Tim
Weinke,
Pendleton;
Tony
Raymond, Helix; and Kelly
Tubbs, Athena; and alternates
Nancy Ward, Ukiah, and Marsha
Anderson, Heppner.
The committee will nominate
candidates for next year's local
director elections.
Farm Credit Services provides
$2.7 billion in loans to
approximately 19,500 farmers,
ranchers, aquatic harvesters,
timber producers and rural home
owners in Montana, Idaho,
Oregon, Washington and Alaska,
said VanderPlaat.
The Official Newspaper of the
City of Heppner and the
County of Morrow
i
Heppner
*
G A Z E TT E -T IM E S
U.S.P S. 240-420
Morrow County's Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
Published weekly and entered as periodical matter at the Post Office at Heppner.
Oregon under the Act of March 3. 1879. Periodical postage paid at Heppner.
Oregon Office at 147 West Willow Street Telephone (541) 676-9228. Postmaster
send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times, P O Bo* 337, Heppner,
Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $18 in Morrow, Wheeler, Gilliam and Grant Coun­
ties; $25 elsewhere.
April Hilton-Sykes , ............................................................................ NewJ E^ ° r
Stephanie Jensen ......................................................................................
Monique D evin.....................................................Advertising Layout & Graphics
Bonnie Bennett .................................................................................... Distribution
Penni Keersemaker .....................................................................................Printer
David Sykes, Publisher
Letters to the Editor
Editor’s note; Letters to the editor must be signed. The Gazette-Times u>HI not publish
unsigned letters. Please include your address and phone number on all letters for use
by the
GT office.
The G T reserves the right to edit.
Play today, pay tomorrow?
To the Editor:
The August 31st Sunday Ore­
gonian front page article on
schools in Oregon should be re­
quired reading for every parent or
student in Morrow County. It con­
cerns what will be expected of all
Oregon students for them to se­
cure future living wage jobs.
It is blatantly impossible that
we can accomplish what the situ­
ation calls for with the four day
“business as usual” approach ad­
vocated by Superintendent Starr
and promoted by some school
board members and teachers.
To not meet this challenge is
courting failure to provide living
wages for a large percentage of
our students’ future families, plus
providing the country with a lot
o f non-thinking voters.
Parents and students need to be
made aware of the drastic changes
coming to our schools. If our
school board does not head up an
effort towards awareness, con­
cerned parents should do so. Only
knowledgeable young people in
Morrow County can change the
future for their children, and for
themselves, too.
Increasing numbers of grand­
parents are raising their grand­
children because of a failure, for
one reason or another, of the par­
ents tQ do so. How many really
want to play today and pay tomor­
row?
(s) Meg Murray
lone
BM CC beginning golf class slated
Blue Mountain Community
College will once again offer a
beginning golf class at Willow
Creek Country Club (WCCC), in
Heppner, beginning Thursday,
Sept. 11. Interested students are
urged to preregister now by con­
tacting Anne Morter, Morrow
County coordinator, at 422-7040.
The six week class will be held
on Thursdays, from 5-6:30 p.m.
John Edmundson is the instruc­
tor. The class is limited to 12 stu­
dents.
The class in intended for
people with little or no prior golf­
ing experience, or those wishing
to review the fundamentals of the
game. School-aged students in
grade five and up may enroll in
the class with the instructor’s per­
mission on a space available ba­
sis and if an adult takes the class
with them.
Tuition for the course is $20
pier person. A temporary member­
ship fee of $20 must be paid to
WCCC by all non-members.
OORRDMRN
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