lone track team takes 13 to state
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,rack ,eam sta,e qualifiers left to right: Back-Assistant Coach Ryan Rudolf, Mike
Andrew Rietmann, Dan Scott, Brad Burright, Nikki McElligott, Camie Burright, Korev Morgan
McEWsM
VOL. 119
NO. 20
16 Pages
Wednesday, May 17,2000
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Cunha estate leaves big legacies
for rodeo and hospital
y“dl HCa8y’ N° nnee Wa'terS’ ° liVia Th0mpS'°n’ Ame,lia Peck' Diana
A lucky 13 members of the
lone Track Team have qualified
for the state competition this
Saturday at Western Oregon
University at Monmouth and
seven of them qualified in four
events.
Senior Nikki McElligott will
compete in the triple jump, the
high jump, 300 hurdles and 100
hurdles. Senior Camie Burright
will complete in the long jump,
high jump, pole vault and the
4x400 relay. Senior Dan Scott
qualified for pole vault, 100
meters, 200 meters and the 4x100
relay.
Sophomore Brad Burright
qualified in the triple jump, long
jump, 300 hurdles and the 110
hurdles. Amellia Peck will
compete in the 4x100, discus,
high jump and 300 hurdles.
Two freshmen will also see
action in four state events-Olivia
Thompson, who qualified in the
long jump, triple jump, 4x100
and
4x400;
and
Diana
McElligott, who qualified in the
4x400,200,100 and 4x400.
Juniors Nonee Walters will
compete in the long jump, 100
hurdles and the 4x100 relay and
Korey Morgan qualified in the
triple jump and the 400 relay.
Freshmen Mike Radie and
Andrew Rietmann will finish out
the 4x400 boys' relay team and
Dejah Haskett will complete in
the pole vault.
Sophomore
Cyndi Heagy will compete in the
1600 meter relay.
The lone girls took first place
in
the
Big
Sky
Conference/Distnct 3-1A meet
on May 13 at Wahtonka High
School. The Cardinal girls racked
up 168 points, compared to
runner-up Dufur with 123. South
Wasco County took third with 95
and Condon was fourth with 64.
Nikki McElligott tied the
district meet record of 5 feet, 2
inches in the high jump, set by
Mindy Davis of Echo in 1986.
She, Camie Bumght and Amellia
Peck took the top three spots in
the high jump. McElligott's 100
hurdle time of 15.2 surpassed her
school record of 15.23 and her
meet record of 15.7 set last year.
Her win in the 300 hurdles with a
45.9 was her fourth district title
in that event. She also took first
place in the triple jump with a
36.0.
The 400 relay team of Peck,
Thompson, Walters and Diana
McElligott broke their school
record of 51.5, the meet record of
52.1 set by Culver in 1988 and
set an all-time 1A record with a
time of 50.88.
Bumght, Thompson and
Walters took the first three spots
in the long jump, with Bumght
winning her third district title in
four years. She also won the pole
vault with a meet record of 8-0.
Heagy, Diana McElligott,
Camie Bumght and Thompson
captured the district title in the
1600 relay, breaking their school
record of 4:21.5 and the meet
record of 4:21.9 set in 1988 by
Culver. Thompson took second
in the triple jump with a 34-7.
Diana McElligott finished second
in the 100 with a 12.78 and the
200 with a 26.9. Haskett was
second in the pole vault with a 7-
0. Peck took second in the discus
with 91-11.
Brad Burright took first in the
triple jump (42-3 this year) and
the 110 hurdles (15.29 this year)
the last two years and won the
300 hurdles (41.58) and the long
jump this year.
Morgan finished third in the
triple jump with a 39 11-1/2.
Morgan, Radie, Rietmann and
Scott finished third in the 400
relay with 46.1. Scott was second
in the 100 with 11.41 and in the
200 with 23.61.
Heppner track team takes second at district
Left to right: Morrow County Health District Board Chairman Larry Mills, MCHD administrator
Victor Vander Does, Bill Boyd, Rodeo Committee Co-Chairman Ken Eckman.
Barbara Cunha, an extremely
shy woman, and her husband Joe,
a good man under a gruff
exterior, didn't say much and
definitely didn't brag about what
they had. After their deaths,
however, the Cunhas' legacy
speaks loud and clear. The
Cunhas left two generous
bequests that demonstrated their
love of the Heppner community
and the rodeo lifestyle. Their will
bequeathed Pioneer Memorial
Hospital $50,000 and the Oregon
Trail Pro Rodeo Committee,
$30,000.
Joe Cunha was originally from
Salinas, California. He started
rodeoing in 1927, when he was
just 16 years old, and rodeoed
full-time until 1941, riding rough
stock and bull dogging. He came
through the Heppner area for a
rodeo and fell in love with it. So,
when his family sold the family
farm in Salinas, he took part of
the proceeds and bought land
here. He and Barbara lived 27
years on 4,000 acres out Willow
Creek, before she passed away at
79 years old last August and he
followed at 88 in November.
"I don't think people realize just
how much Barb and Joe felt
about the community," said
Larry Mills, Morrow County
Health District Board chairman.
Mills
said
the
$50,000
bequeathed to the hospital will be
used for the CAT scan included
in the proposed hospital
remodeling project.
"Both Barb and Joe got
wonderful care here at the end,
but this bequest was made before
this," said Bill Boyd, Chunhas'
neighbor, friend and executor of
their will. "They really treasured
this community, but it's a shame
they couldn't let anyone know
while they were still alive."
"Rodeo is all he wanted to do,"
added Boyd. "He loved the
companionship
and
the
competition."
Ken Eckman, Rodeo
Committee co-chairman, said
that the money donated to the
committee will be used toward
the loan for the rodeo grounds
bleachers and the committee has
plans to honor the Cunhas.
"The Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo
Committee is very grateful for
the gift and will apply the
proceeds directly to their loan for
the rodeo grandstands," said
OTPR
Secretary/Treasurer
Marlene Currin.
"The Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo
Committee took a sizable loan
out to purchase the all-metal
grandstand nearly five years ago.
The payments on the grandstands
are made annually following the
OTPR and VIP seating has, for
the most part, been able to
finance the grandstand. However,
with the generous gift from Joe
and Barbara Cunha, OTPR
continued page 2
School levy
goes down
The Morrow County School
District's $1 million local option
ievy went down by a two to one
margin on election day, Tuesday
May 16.
Voters turned down the levy
1227 'no' to 564 'yes'.
However, even if the 'yes' votes
outnumbered the 'no' votes, the
levy could not have passed,
because only 38 percent of
registered voters in the county
voted in the election.
The law requires a "double
majority" in that a majority of
registered voters, not just those
voting, must approve a measure.
If approved, the school district
local option levy would have
funded 10 teaching positions-
seven for Boardman-Irrigon
schools, two for Heppner
Elementary School and one for
lone Schools-that were cut to
balance the district's budget.
A more detailed report will be
published in next week's G-T.
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Heppner High School track team qualifying for state left to right: Back-Brian Rust. Craig Scott, Levi
Geer. Michael Schonbachler. David Piper: Front-Coach Dale Conklin, Trisha Adams, Abby Kahl. Paula
Spicerkuhn, Assistant Coach Steve Brownfield. Not pictured is Brett Barber.
Down by three points entering
the final event of the District 7
2A track and field meet, the
Heppner High School boys 1600-
meter relay team ran to a first-
place finish and the second-place
trophy at The Dalles last
Saturday.
The relay team of Craig Scott,
David
Piper,
Michael
Schonbachler and Levi Geer
qualified for the state 2A meet
with the win in a time of 3:41.7 a
season’s best time.
High-point performer for the
Mustangs was Piper who
qualified to the state meet in four
events. In addition to the relay,
Piper won the high jump, long
jump and triple jump. All marks
were personal bests. He high
jumped 6' 4", jumped 19-11 Vi in
the long jump and soared 40' 62"
in the triple.
Scott qualified in both of the
hurdle races, placing second in
the 110-meter high hurdles and
racing to a 42.5 clocking in the
300-meter intermediate hurdles.
The 400-meter relay team of
Scott. Brian Rust, Schonbachler
and Geer also qualified for state.
Trisha Adams led the local
girls at district, winning two
events. She won the high jump
and 300-hurdle race to qualify
for state. Her :48.9 clocking in
the hurdles was a personal
record. Adams also placed third
in the 400-meter dash. She led
off the 1600-meter relay team
that also qualified for state with a
time of 4:23.1. The other team
members were Paula Spicerkuhn,
Brett Barber and Abby Kahl.
Their time was a season's best.
Kahl turned in one of the top
performances for the Heppner
athletes, clocking a 11:28.0 in the
3,000 meters. It was her personal
record and the second fastest
time ever run at HHS.
Barber placed in two other
events at district, finishing fifth
in the 100 and 200 meter dashes.
Spicerkuhn placed fourth in the
800.
One of the big disappointments
in the meet came in the boys'
discus throw. Schonbachler
threw 129' 9" in the discus, the
eighth best throw at HHS, for a
third place.
Also placing were Jake Roy,
fourth, and Chris Peck, sixth, in
the shot put. Geer was third in
the javelin and third in the 400-
meter dash. Sam Van Liew
collected a fifth-place result in
the 110-meter hurdles and was
sixth in the longer hurdle race.
Qualifying for the finals of the
100-meter dash but not placing
was Dawn DeBoer. Matt Jepsen
competed in the 400-meter dash
and 300-hurdles. Justin Nelson
threw the shot put and Isiah
Stillman ran both distance races.
"On paper, at least, our
qualifiers should score some
points at state," said coach Dale
Conklin. "Piper is seeded in the
top eight in all three jumping
events, earning the second top
seed in the high jump. Kahl has
the fourth top seed in the 3,000-
meters, Adams is sixth seed in
the long hurdles and Scott the
fifth seed. I also like our chances
in the long relays. If the kids run
like they are capable, they can
make the finals in both relays."
The two-day state meet begins
Friday, May 19, at Western
Oregon University in Monmouth
at 12 noon with the girls' pole
vault. The boys high jump starts
at 1 p.m. with running events at 2
p.m The 1A athletes join in the
competition on Saturday, May
20 .
»