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Mural unveiling, dedication planned, Sept. 8
HEPPNER
Shad Hisler
imes
VOL. 117_______NO. 34
8 Pages
Wednesday, August 26,1998______ Morrow County. Heppner, Oregon
Grants fund Heppner road realignment
Street realigned at intersection of Gale, Riverside streets and Highway 207
A new road configuration in
Heppner will make the streets a
little less confusing and
definitely a lot safer.
Construction is underway at to
realign the intersection where
Gale and Riverside streets come
together in front of the new
agriculture museum.
The road will now form a T,
rather than a sort of branch
which previously came together
at the intersection of those
streets and Highway 207.
In addition to a new street, the
project will also include new
sidewalks and bike lanes.
Sidewalks are expected to be
completed in one-two weeks and
thenihe street will be paved.
Oregon
Department of
Transportation Bicycle and
Pedestrian
program
grants
provided $64,500 for the
G a l e / Ri v e r s i d e
st r eet
realignment and $35,00 for
sidewalks from the Hinton Creek
Bridge to the intersection.
A separate grant, the
Petroleum Anti-Trust Grant
program through the Department
of Justice, has funded a project
continued page two
Youth group
to be formed
A youth group is in the process
of forming at the Heppner
United Methodist Church.
All teens, 13-19, are invited to
come to the church on Sunday,
Sept. 13, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. to
enjoy pizza and share thoughts
and
ideas
for
a
drug/alcohol/violence free youth
group.
For more information or
comments, call Monika Hunter,
676-9224, Justin Nelson, 989-
8148, or Abby Kahl, 676-5422.
Sidewalk and handicap ramp on Court St. near Heppner
Elementary School
Heppner pool clean up party, Aug. 29th
ol clean up party will be
:urday, Aug. 29. from 1-3
it the Willow Creek
w • >
Anyone who helps can swim
for free from 3-5 p.m. the same
day.
Everyone is encouraged to help
cleanup the pool.
The dedication and unveiling
of a mural in memory of Shad
Hisler has been planned for
Tuesday, September 8, at 6:30
p.m. at the Heppner High School
gym. The Hisler family extends
an invitation to the community
and to the many individuals and
organizations who contributed to
the memorial to join them and
be a part of the dedication and
unveiling.
Shad, the 15-year-old son of
Paul and Susan Healy Hisler,
died on December 29, 1997,
from injuries sustained in an
automobile accident on Little
Butter Creek Road, between the
two ranches that he grew up on.
He also leaves a brother Shaun,
20. and a sister, Annie, 18.
In choosing a mural, Shad's
mother said that in the weeks
following Shad's accident, the
family knew they wanted to give
something back to the Heppner
community. "We wanted to
choose something special that
tied Shad’s life in w'ith
something that our community
could also enjoy. Ranch life on
the Hisler Ranch, working
alongside his dad, and sports
w ere the love of Shad's life. He
couldn't wait to play in the
games with his teammates. Since
a small child. Shad had a great
love for basketball, football and
baseball, and once said he 'just
didn’t know what kids that don't
play sports do.'" Sports were
also the incentive for Shad to
keep his grades up and stay
organized and focused on his
goals in life.
In Heppner, as in many small
towns, high school gymnasiums
take center stage, hosting many
activities that all ages enjoy,
whether it be basketball or
volleyball
games,
pep
assemblies,
student
body
meetings, graduation ceremonies
or Colt basketball games. And
all visiting teams, at one time
through the year, pass through
the school gym. The gym was
where Shad loved to be and
often spent time waiting there
for his mom, who was the HHS
junior varsity volleyball coach,
to finish her coaching duties.
Heppner's beautiful gym, with
its open wall space, seemed like
the ideal place for a memorial
and the Mustangs, the high
school mascot, depicted Shad's
life in a ranching and farming
community. A mural which
integrated those two aspects
seemed to be perfect for his
memorial.
The family, struggling each
day with the loss of their son,
needed help to get the mural
program off the ground. Much
needed ground work and
research had to be done to bring
the "Mustang Thunder" mural
into realization. Susan's sister,
Mary Knowles, her husband.
Butch Knowles, cousin, Judy
Eckman, and her husband, Ken
Eckman. and family friends,
Patty and Dave Matheny,
spearheaded the project. Their
children also knew Shad well
and were able to take their
family's wishes through a tough
emotional time and bring their
ideas and expectations to life in
memory of Shad.
The family agreed on the main
goals of the 12'x 17' mural~to be
majestic, breathtaking, lifelike
and to include the scenery of the
surrounding
Heppner
community, while at the same
time, promote the school's
Mustang mascot. Magazines,
calendars, photos and books on
horses all had to be researched
until
everything
met
expectations.
"Michael Booth, art professor
at Blue Mountain Community
College, turned all of our dreams
and goals into reality with his
professionalism
and
his
willingness to take on this
project," said Susan. "He had
patience and understanding in
working with our grieving
family while taking our ideas
and bringing them to life with
his style of painting." Until they
found Booth, at one point they
almost decided the project was
beyond the scope of any local
artists and thought maybe they
should choose something else.
"Art work is very controversial,"
she added, "and so is the subject
of horses. Everyone has their
own opinion on how things
should look. The horses in the
mural are not all perfect to
everyone's eye."
"When they came in they had
already decided what they
wanted and had chosen the
colors," said Booth. "Then, when
I went to the gym, I saw that the
colors they had chosen were just
superb in relation to the
gymnasium and the subject
matter. I became the technician
and they supplied the creativity.
They were a delight to work
with. It was all very appropnate-
-the freedom of the horses and
their excitement. There is a lot
of action and sound is almost
coming from the painting."
Of particular significance, says
Susan, is the "dark blue stormy
sky, which is such a typical
theme for the Heppner area,
where a thunderstorm can erupt
at any time."
"In my opinion, added Booth,
"the memorial to Shad couldn't
be a better contribution to the
community and to the school. It
was neat for me to be a part of
something so important and
personal to the family and I
think it will be important to the
community as well."
Once the family decided on the
theme, they wanted to take the
proper steps. The gift of the
mural was brought to the
attention of Ron Anthony, the
HHS principal, and then sent on
to the school district advisory
board.
With the
board's
approval, a large bronze plaque
in memory of Shad Hisler,
"friend, teammate and classmate
2001" will be placed under the
mural.
"Many, many people made this
mural possible," said Paul and
Susan." There would not be a
memorial for Shad without the
generosity
of those that
contributed to Shad's memorial
fund. Our community has many
parents that have lost a child. A
child is the root of the heart and
no one can take your pain away
when you lose. one. But they c?n
help you try to endure each day
after. Through this mural, it is
our way of saying thank you to
all those that have been there in
support of our family. When you
see the mural, it's not just a
painting of horse running across
some land. There's so much
more that went into it and it's in
memory of a young boy growing
up that loved living in this
community and playing sports
and attending P.E. classes in the
gym. The gym was always a
special place for Shad and we
know he'd loved to have seen
this painting when he was
grow ing up."
"Our community rallied
along with many people in
Eastern Oregon to give us much
needed support during the tragic
loss of Shad," Susan added
"Family friends, past classmates,
neighbors, and even people that
we didn't know, generously
contributed to the memorial
fund, trying to help us bear the
pam of losing Shad.
Michael Booth was assisted in
painting the mural by his son.
Shane, and two art students from
BMCC's art program. Ken
Eckman
of
Eckman
Construction
(Shad's
Colt
basketball coach at one time).
was general contractor, along
with Jared Eckman. Jason Hanna
and David Matheny, who did all
the wall preparation of the
painting with the installation of
the sheet rock and muddtng
Scaffolding was donated for use
by
Allstott
and
Gentry
Construction. Pettyjohn's Farm
Builders Supply donated sheet
rock and materials. Mike
Huddleston, a family friend, and
Power Rents Co., made their
power lift available. Upon
completion of the painting,
David Bothum of Bothum
Construction will finish the
wooden frame with bronze
lettering for the "Mustang
Thunder" painting
Local hosts needed
for foreign students
Foreign high school students
are scheduled to arrive soon for
academic semester and year
home-stays, and the sponsoring
organization needs a few more
local host families.
According
to
Pacific
Intercultural Exchange (PIE)
executive director, John Doty,
the students are all between the
ages of 15 and 18 years, are
English-speaking, have their
own spending money, carry
accident and health insurance,
and are anxious to share their
cultural experiences with their
new American families.
PIE currently has programs to
match almost every family's
needs, ranging in length from a
semester to a full academic year,
where the students attend local
high schools, said a news
release.
PIE area representatives match
students with host families by
finding common interests and
lifestyles through an informal m-
home meeting. Prospective host
families are able to review
student applications and select
the perfect match. As there are
no "typical" host families, PIE
can fit a student into just about
any situation, whether it be a
single parent, a childless couple,
a retired couple or a large
family, said the release.
Families who host for PIE are
also eligible to claim a 850 per
month charitable contribution
deduction on their itemized tax
returns for each month they host
a sponsored student.
For the upcoming programs,
PIE has students from Spain,
Germany,
Poland.
Russia.
Finland. Argentina. Brazil.
Colombia, Paraguay, Australia.
Sweden, Yugoslavia, Belgium,
China, Ghana and many other
countries. PIE has also been
invited to participate in a special
government-funded program to
bring scholarship students from
the Newly Independent States of
the former Soviet Union to the
United States.
PIE is a non-profit educational
organization that has sponsored
more than 18,000 students from
40 countries since its founding
in 1975. The organization is
designated by the United States
Information Agency and ts listed
by the Council on Standards for
International Educational Travel
(CSIET), certifying that the
organization complies with the
standards set forth in CSIET's
Standards for International
Educational Travel Programs.
Doty encourages families to
contact
the
program
immediately, as it will allow the
proper time for the students and
hosts to get to. know one another
before they actually meet for the
first time.
Heppner area families
interested in learning more about
student exchange or arranging
for a meeting with a community
representative may call PIE, toll-
free, at 1-800-631-1818 or via
th e
Internet
at
http://www. pieusa.org.
The agency
also has
tr a v e l/s tu d y
p ro g ram
opportunities available
for
American high school students
as well as possibilities for
community volunteers to assist
and work with area host
families, students and schools.
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