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Local bovs
safe after Willow Ground breaking ceremony held for lone IC C
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Lake boating accident
Brandon (left) and Matt Young
\ Heppner area family has
much to be thankful about this
t hristmas-their cmidren are safe
and sound after a frightening
incident at Willow Creek Lake.
Sunday.
December 12.
Brandon Young. !6. and Matt
Young. 14. the two older sons of
Bruce and Debbie Young,
decided to go duck hunting in
their boat on the lake. Around 11
a m., the wind started to come
up. so the boys decided to pick
up their decoys and go home,
when a flock of ducks flew
overhead. 1 he boys knew that it
wasn't legal to shoot out of a boat
with its engine running, so they
turned off their motor to take a
shot. Just as they had done so. a
wave and a gust of wind blew up
at the same time.
The boat had a duck blind built
up on one side which acted like a
sail and the boat overturned,
throwing the boys in the water
and trapping their 1-12 year old
golden
retriever.
Max.
underneath. The dog was able to
escape w hen the boys climbed on
the overturned boat, but then the
boat sank and the boys silwVg-tb-
*”■ '■ lo o o o ie vaH I
"At first'I thought.''Oh! shoot,
my shotgun."' said Brandon, "but
then I realized it was more
senous than that. 1 wasn't really
that scared at the time. I just
figured we needed to get to
shore."
Luckily, the Jim Geer family
from Hermiston watched the
scene from the shore and
immediately
called
911.
Brandon, who had chest waders
on. was afraid the waders would
weigh him down, so he tried to
remove them, but as he loosened
the belt, the waders began to fill
up with water. Miraculously,
they didn't completely fill up till
Brandon was near shore and both
boys made it in safely, as did
Max. Once they got to shore,
they wrung out their clothes, put
them Daek on for a little
protection and put the dog on top
of them to keep warm.
The EMT crew arrived on the
scene by the time the boys
started swimming, but the rescue
took a little longer. Because there
is no rescue boat in south
Morrow County, the rescue
workers had to break into the
Corps of Engineers' shed at the
lake to get a boat. They also had
to cut a cable to be able to get to
the south side of the lake where
the boys were.
In the meantime, the boys'
parents were rushing to the lake
from their home up Willow
Creek about 30 minutes away.
They had learned of the accident
from Debbie’s parents. Les and
Jan Paustian. Heppner. who
listened to the report on their
scanner and called them in a
panic. When the Youngs arrived
at the lake, they were told the
boys were okay, but had already
been taken to the Pioneer
Memorial Hospital where they
were treated for hypothermia The
, water at the lake was around 38
?rfJegroe<nm; ■¿ hk C
>boya'
terhperatures had dropped la the
mid-80s, said Debbie.
Debbie says that the family is
grateful that all they lost out of
the ordeal was a shotgun and a
work coat.
The incident didn't sour the
boys on hunting on the lake. In
fact. Brandon, who is a junior at
Heppner High School, says that
he and Matt, an eighth grader at
Heppner Junior High,
will
definitely go duck hunting again.
But, he added, in the future,
"We'll make sure it's a calm day
and put on our life jackets as
soon as we get into the water."
The Youngs are the first ones
to donate to a fund to buy a
rescue boat for Willow Creek
Lake.
° P en house set
at Hermiston
circuit court
Judge Jeff Wallace, on behalf
of the Sixth Judicial District of
Umatilla and Morrow counties,
invites the public to an open
house at Hermiston Circuit Court
on Thursday. December 30.
between 3-5 p.m.
"Judge Wallace voices the Sixth
Judicial District's commitment to
offering the citizens of Umatilla
and Morrow counties suitable
court facilities." said a new?,
release. "As a result of the steady
'West End' growth, the judges,
county commissioners and the
trial court administrator have
answered the need for courtroom
enhancements at the Hermiston
Circuit Court.”
"He would like to commend ail
those that have serv ed as jurors,
as well as the attorneys that
appear in his courtroom, as they
have been very patient with the
remodeling project that began
last May. coupled with the fact
that the Hermiston Circuit Court
is a smail facility that the West
End is quickly outgrowing '
Though there has not been any
addition to the square rootage of
the building, the changes nave
resulted in the ability to conduct
12-person jury trials for felony
and civil trials without having to
schedule hearings assigned to the
West End's circuit court to be
heard in one of the Pendleton
circuit courtrooms. The prev ious
courtroom layout would only
accommodate six-person jury
panels."
"He states that the West End
County
Facilities
Study
Committee and the Umatilla
County Commissioners are hard
at work on developing a
comprehensive plan in the hope
that in the early years of the new-
millennium
the
Hermiston
Circuit Court will relocate to a
larger facility that will better
serve the West End needs. Until
that goal is realized, the Sixth
Judicial District will dontinue its
commitment of doing the very
best to prov ide a partnership with
the community for justice and
public safety."
Hermiston Circuit Court is
located at 243-B East Main
Street. For more information,
contact Judge Wallace's office at
541-567-5225. ext. 225.
Dot Halvorsen and Brenna Kietmann break ground lor the new l nited Church o f Christ building in lone
w hile the Rev. Paul Clav looks on.
D ian» and Lindsiiv Kincaid cut ihe rihbori'lo the lot where tHe new1' Tone l nited Church o f Christ will be
built/ in
tiol narb ...... ' loo
n I,
•' tb iib v
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St. Patrick’s holds dinner,
children’s pageant
St. Patrick's Catholic Church
held its annual Christmas dinner
and children's pageant on
December 19.
The attendance was the "best
seen in many years." said a
church spokesperson.
The St. Patrick's CCD classes
kindergarten through eighth
grade performed the Christmas
play. "The Greatest Gift of All."
Ml children participated and
there were special speaking
parts by Laurie Murray. Jackie
Meyer. Meg Armato. Naeho
Elguezabal and Kelly Straley.
Gospel readings during the play
were done by fanner Britt. Luke
Murrav. Kvle Huddleston, and
MORROW COUNTY
TRANSFER STATION
Chewy Flguezabal.
Christmas carols were sung
during the play and guitar
accompaniment was provided
by Faith Healy The play
reminded the audience that the
greatest gift of Christmas was
the life and death of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. The
program ended with a special
visit between the children and
Santa Claus.
I he family of Jack and Gwen
Healy. three generations worth,
and many others assisted in
making the potiuck dinner a big
success.
Kay and Mike
Proctor and family donated the
decorations
and
beautiful
Christmas tree.
will be CLOSED for Christmas
W e Print
Business Cards
Gazette-Times
Qazette-'Times 676-3228 y
M E R R Y C H R IS T M A S
far H A P P Y N E W V E A R !
December 3 1 s t - Friday
NEW YEAR’S EVE CRAB FEED. Also serving Earon
of Eeef. Dinner will start at 6:00 p.m. Music starts
at 9:00 p.m. with Full Tilt Audio. Party favors and
special commemorative champagne glasses will be
handed out. Elks members and out of town guests
only, piease.
BINGO ON WEDNESDAYS! NOW STARTING AT 7:30 p.m
Saturday, December 25th
HEPPNER ELKS 358
It will be open Sunday, December 26th
Where Friends Meet"
142 N o r t h M a i n
Mmrcf, Ckrtstmae to Atd oft tfou
and Tkani tfou fton Riapcii*g,
I
I
In fond nopes of
o warm and
w onaerfui Noel.
Thank you for
your support!
T h i s i s t h e t r u e m e a n i n g of C h r i s t m a s
L e t us be t h a n k f u l for t h i s d a y of Jo y .
Peace, and L ight. M erry C h ristm a s'
^
M ERRY CHRISTM AS!
and thank you t o r 'your support
this p a st year!
From all o f us at Peterson's Jewelers
R a n d a ll • M a r le n e - ( l i n g e r
G a y l e - J u d y - J e r r i - M illie
Ses^w
1At Country Rom
C olumbia B asin E lectric
i C ooperativi , I nc .
233 North Mam
“•eopner • 676-9426
Pttmon'j
Jewelers
» 7 » »70#
217 North Mam • Heopnar • 878-9158