Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 1999)
Heppner couple apprehend suspect £ ES 3 1 E U OF ORE w f w s p a p e r L I 3 0 7 4 Lana Orr (Not pictured is Merry Brannon, who was out of town and unavailable for a photograph.) It was clearly a case of "The early bird gets the worm." However, the bird doesn't usually have to give chase and wrestle him to the ground as was the situation in Heppner last week. It all started around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, June 9. A pair of early morning walkers, Lana Orr and Merry Brannon, spotted a man who was going through a pickup owned by Ron and Maryanne Anthony of Heppner. Orr and Brannon left the area briefly so as not to arouse the man's suspicion, but shortly thereafter went to the Anthonys' house and woke them up. Country club plans barbecue Big ’Red, W hite and Blues' Festival planned in lone The big "Red, White and Blues" Fourth of July celebration will feature two days of music, food and fun in the park at lone Saturday and Sunday, July 3-4. Saturday's activities get off to an early start with the annual Fourth of July Golf Tournament at the Willow Creek Country Club in Heppner getting underway at 10 a.m. Proceeds from the tournament will go toward the Jason Halvorsen Memorial Fund. The cost is $25. To sign up or for more information call Jim Swanson, 422-7410. The music starts at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Ior.e park with the Blues group "Fat Boy." Food vendors and a beer and wine garden will be available that evening. Camping is available on the lone football field and RV spots Sunday's activities will kick off with a 7 a.m. fun run. Pre- registration forms are available at the Post Office and the Bank of Eastern Oregon. Registration begins at 6:30 a.m. at the lone school. The lone United Church of Christ has planned a church service in the park Sunday beginning at 9:30 a.m. Food vendors will set up early on Sunday with coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Registration for the horseshoe tournament will begin at 9 a.m. at the horseshoe pit with the tournament getting underway at 10 a.m. Earl Papineau is in charge of the tournament. The information booth will open at 10 a.m. with a button sale sponsored by the Fourth of July Committee. The parade, featuring the Blues Cruise Classic Car Show, will begin on Main Street at a later time than usual this year-1 p.m. "We will have lots of cars this year," said organizer Shelly Rietmann. "We have gotten a good response and should have a good show for people who like classic cars." The money straw pile for kids will follow the parade. The frog jump, organized by Joe McEUigott will begin at 2 p.m. Bingo, sponsored by the Lions Club will be held from 2-5 p.m. and 7-8:30 p.m. All-day activities, besides the kids games, include new events-a dunk tank, with all the favorite local celebrities, sponsored by ICABO, and go-carts in the school parking lot. Those who need a chance to cool off can take advantage of swimming from 2-4 p.m. at the lone Pool. The celebration will feature "food galore" with pie and coffee I served by the Catholic church ladies; Polish sausage by ICABO/Mike Matthews Fund; sno-cones by the lone fifth grade class for outdoor school; and hot dogs and lemonade by the lone Youth Group, along with other food vendors. The lone Booster Club has planned a T-shirt sale and the preschool will have a carnival at the preschool. Photos of lone’s past will also be on display. Music in the park begins Sunday at 3 p.m. with Ellen White and the Reflux Blues starting off from 3-5:30 p.m.; The Willow Creek Country Club will have a family barbecue on Sunday, June 20 at 4 p.m. Each family will bring their own meat. Those whose last names begin with “I” through “Z” bring dessert, and “A” through “K”, salad. Hosts will be Bob and Lorene M ontgomery, Les and Jan Paustian, Earl and Carol Norris and Betty Christman. Too Slim and the Tail Draggers' will perform from 5:30-7:30 p.m.; and the headliners, Strat Daddies, will be on the stage from 7:30-10 p.m. The Strat Daddies is one of the hottest blues bands out of Portland, says Thursday, June 17, is the last Rietmann. All of the members of day for entries in the contest to the band had their own bands find Heppner a twin city in before they joined together. Ireland and a prize of $75 awaits Music is sponsored by the the winning entry. Morrow County Unified Time remains, so interested Recreation District people will want to name the Fireworks, with a promise of a Irish towns they select and list bigger and better display than all their reasons for their ever, begin at dusk. choices. Entries should be taken General chairman is Loyal to city hall or next door to the Bums. book store, Twice upon a time. Thursday twin city deadline School district, teachers sign contract The Morrow County School Board Monday night ratified a teachers' contract which provides for a four percent retroactive raise for 1998-99; a three-percent raise for the next two years, 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 (with the exception of a five percent raise for the teachers with the most experience and education for 1999-2000); and a two to four percent raise 2001 -2002, depending on the Portland consumer price index. As usual, teachers will also receive an additional 2.9 percent salary increase for experience step increases. Base or step salaries and extra duty salary raises will be retroactive to July 1, 1998. The total increase in salaries and benefits for 1998-99 will cost the district an additional $399,000, a 5.74 increase in district costs. Salaries for 1998- 99 will range from a low of $24,931 for teachers with the least experience and education to a high of $44,384 for teachers with the most experience and education. The total increase for salaries and benefits for 1999-2000 will amount to $416,000 in additional costs for the district, a 6.1 percent increase. Part of the increase is due to a 2.3 percent increase in employers' PERS costs. Teachers' salaries will range from $25,679 to $46,603. The total increase for salaries and benefits for the year 2000- 2001 will be $245,000, a 3.05 percent increase in costs to the district. Teachers salaries will range from $26,449 to $48,001. The increase in costs to the district for 2001-2002 will depend on the Portland CPI, an increase of two to four percent. The contract also includes an increase in the number of years of prior teaching experience that the district will recognize at face value when a teacher is hired. Employees hired by the district beginning in August 1998 will be placed on a step consistent with their current year of employment recognized by the district (up to 16 years experience prior to being hired by the district). Previously the teachers were placed on a step consistent with their prior experience (up to eight years). Employees hired before August 1998 will still be placed on the step consistent with previous experience. In other business, the board voted not to renew the extra duty contract for Robin Graff as Heppner High School head baseball coach. Graffs teaching contract and his extra duty contract as lone football coach will not be affected. The board also conducted the following business: -adopted a revision in the interscholastic activities program which would: *add "work ethics and goal setting" to the district's philosophy; •add boys and girls' cross country varsity and junior varsity to the fall sports with a maximum limit of 14 meets and stipulate one coach for each separate team; •add boys' and girls' varsity and junior varsity soccer to the fall sports with a maximum limit of 14 meets for varsity and stipulate one coach for each separate team; •add junior varsity golf to the spring sports; •add softball varsity, junior varsity and C-team to the spring sports with a maximum limit of 26 games for varsity and stipulate one coach for each separate team; •eliminate the section concerning C-team wrestling for "any junior or senior high with enrollment of 150 or more"; •eliminate junior high baseball; •revise the eligibility section to include that a student must demonstrate "appropriate school behavior"; •change student body to "ASB" (associated student body); •revise the attendance requirement to stipulate that students participating in athletic contests must be in attendance on the "day before, the day of and the day after" the particular activity and adding the stipulation that exceptions will be approved by the principal or designee; •add that the pay-to-participate fee must be paid before the first contest; •add to transportation section that student participants may make pnor arrangement to ride home from an athletic contest by "direct contact with the coach. Previous transportation arrangements were required to be cleared by the principal or his representative; •add that athletes can be cut from teams at the high school level with the administrator's approval. •add to the coaches' requirements that they have an "American Sport Education Program Certificate” or equivalent, be finger printed, be Type 20 or van trained if required by principal, be licensed teachers in full-time employment of the district as a teacher, unless the administration recommends and the board approves a waiver of this policy in each specific instance. continued page 2 Maryanne and Ron Anthony While Maryanne Anthony called the. police, Orr and Brannon decided to drive around looking for the culprit. When they returned, they and the Anthonys saw a man going through a car behind Heppner City Manager Jerry Breazeale's house across the street. "That's him," said Orr and Brannon. Ron Anthony yelled at the man to stop. The man, however did not stop, making one mistake in a senes of many, hiding in the bushes and then trying to run away. The man first ran toward Maryanne, another mistake. As he started to step over a backyard fence, she pushed him and he went back over the fence. The guy then headed in Ron's direction. The suspect clearly picked the wrong guy to go up against. Ron, a former Vale High School and college wrestling champion who went to state and national competition, did what came naturally. He wrestled the man to the ground. According to the Anthonys, the guy, who appeared to be quite intoxicated, said he was Breazeale's nephew and that's why he was in Breazeale's vehicle. However, that story fell through after Breazeale was awakened and told them that he did not have a nephew. Ron advised the man to stay right w here he was because the police would want to talk to him, but the man decided to get up and try to flee the scene once again. Once again Ron took him down. Ron was finally able to subdue the man, sat him down on the sidewalk, took his driver's license and awaited the police. According to the Anthonys, the man, who had numerous charges against him before this incident, had allegedly taken stuff out of cars all the way down the block and piled it in the yard of a house nearby where he had been staying. The woman who owned the house where the suspect said he had been staying denied that she knew him, said the Anthonys. However, they said, the two knew each other on a first name basis. "Looking back on it, we probably shouldn't have done it," said Ron. "He could have had a knife or something." "Merry and Lana deserve the credit," added Maryanne. "If they hadn't seen him. .." Ron Anthony is the principal at Heppner High School. Maryanne Anthony is also employed with the Morrow County School District, at Heppner Elementary School. The Anthonys, both in their early 40s, have three children. The alleged perpetrator, David Robert LaSalle, 20, was arrested by Heppner Police on charges of Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, seven counts of Unauthorized Entry of a Motor Vehicle and two counts of Theft II. He was lodged at Urtiatilli County Sheriffs Office Jail on $61,500 bail. Duane Neiffer named IHS teacher of the year Jim Swanson (left) and lone High School Student Body President Niki Sullivan present the Grant Rigby Teacher of the Year Award to science teacher Duane Neiffer. Swanson is the brother of Dennis Swanson who sponsors and finances the award every year. Bareback rider paralyzed Professional rodeo cowboy Sheldon Ayres of Tempe, AZ., broke his neck June 5 during the second performance of the Eliza beth (CO.) Stampede when the bronc he was riding fell on him while coming out of the chute. The accident reportedly crushed Ayres’ spinal chord and his C7 vertebra. Ayres was airlifted by helicop ter from Elizabeth to Swedish Medical Center in Denver, CO., where he remains. Although his spinal chord w asn’t severed, Ayres was paralyzed from the chest down and doctors say it’s unlikely that he will ever walk again, according to his sister Nicole Antonelli, as reported by the PRCA news. Ayres is the son of Phil Ayres and Debbie Richelderfer, both former residents o f Heppner. Cards and letters may be sent to him in care of Swedish Medical Center, 501 E Hampton Ave., Englewood, CO. 80110. NEWS DEADLINE 5 p.m. M onday Season Ending M OW ER SALE Snapper and M TD L im ited to S to ck on H a n d ~ Sale th ro u g h J u n e 3 0 th M orrow C ounty G rain G rowers Lexington 989-8221 • 1 -800-452 -73 96 For farm equipment visit our web site at www mcgj.net
