Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 23, 2001)
German student experiences life in small-town Eoaale t f e t s e l l U of 0 t i e - r a p a ^ r L i b r a r y Eu j i n c , Oil 9 i » > Christian Moller V O L 120_______ NO. 21_______ 16 Pages Wednesday, May 23,2001 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Ground breaking ceremony held for assisted living center He could be any all- American kid in your hometown, with his baseball cap, t-shirt, athletic shoes and a love of baseball and American slang. This "all-American kid", however, speaks with an accent vaguely reminiscent of Arnold Schwarzenegger and is definitely not from your hometown-unless you grew up near the Black Forest in Germany. Sixteen-year-old Christian Moller, from Ettlmgen in southwestern Germany (about 100 kilometers from Frankfurt and Heidelberg), spent the 2000- 2001 school year as an exchange student in the Mike and Kari Keown home and attended Heppner High School as a junior. This past year has been a whirlwind of school activities- sports. dances and newly-made friends. Christian turned out for football, basketball and golf at HHS. "Football is great," said Christian. "I like that you can play with contact. It’s a great team sport, but for yourself-golf. I have friends on the golf team. The golf team is a pretty cool team. I would have liked to pick baseball too. Since I am here I like baseball so much. I hope we can go to a (Seattle Mariners) baseball game. They rule." Christian says kids in Germany participate in sports through clubs, not the schools. "In clubs, many people are interested to get in bigger clubs- to be professional. You're more on your own. Here you fight for your team." In Germany Christian belonged to soccer and rowing clubs. Another highlight of the year was the school prom. "Prom town and its distance to any big city. His home town, Ettlingen, has around 34,000 people and the large cities of Frankfurt (pop. 1,880,000) and Heidelberg (pop. 128,773) are only about as far away as Hermiston or Pendleton are to us. "What I saw in Germany was always the big towns-New York. Las Vegas, skyscrapers," says Christian. "It’s a long way from everything." Christian says that his family back home has vacationed in Italy, France and Norway, as well as Germany. But, he adds, "Here you can do everything, especially here in Heppner, where you have free space. You could go hunt i ng, snowmobiling." During his stay in Heppner he has accompanied the Elguezabal family to Nyssa, the VanWinkle family to Salem/Corvallis to attend the state golf tournament and the Murray family on a snowboarding trip, and has traveled with the various school athletic teams. He also got to try his hand at being a cowboy at the Rietmann ranch, where he helped brand cow s during the Centennial exchange program. Christian says that he has had a "great year" and has especially enjoyed the people. "People here are more open and friendly," says Christian. "Not like all Germans are grumpy, but it's especially friendly here. Everyone knows each other.” Christian said that his parents plan to arrive in Portland on June 3. From there they will travel to Heppner and then to Seattle, where they hope to take in a Mariners’ game. From there was great. We rented a limosine.' said Christian, who said he had never been in a limo before. In Germany, he says that they don't have school dances, but rather, kids get together at clubs and discos. Another difference between the two countries is the drinking age and kids' attitude about drinking. In Germany the drinking age is 16 for beer and 18 for hard liquor. "But actually no one cares." says Christian. "Here people drink to get drunk. There you're sitting in a bar. talking to your friends." There is also a big difference in the school system between the two countries. In Germany, says Christian, students attend first through fourth grades together. From there, the program and school depends on students’ achievement. For example, students with a lower academic level may attend school from fifth to ninth grade and then enroll in an apprentice program, go to work or continue their education; middle range students can attend fifth through 10th and then opt for apprenticeship, work or additional education; the most advanced students attend fifth through 13th grades for the highest degree. After the 13th grade they can then enroll in an apprenticeship program, go to work or attend a university. While school is shorter in Germany-students attend from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.-the subject matter is more difficult. "You can’t make your own schedule." * says Christian. "There are no electives. So, if the government says we have physics, then we have physics." S t u d e n t s ' afternoons are spent with homework and sports clubs. When Christian returns to school in Germany, he will repeat his junior year, because of the difference in requirements between the two countries. He plans to attend through the 13th grade and then enroll in a golf management program. After completing the program he could go into management or become a pro and teach. "In Germany golf is a very' expensive sport," says Christian. "I w'ant to bring it to everyone." Christian says that when he arrived in Heppner he was a little shocked at the size o f the the tamity plans io unvc uumi the coast for a little sightseeing. Christian's mother. Gabrielle. is a homemaker, and had trained to become a doctor. His father, Karl-Dieter. is a television journalist. He also has two older sisters. Andrea, 19. who is attending school and Ulnke, 23, who is a university student studying journalism. What's the first thing he's going to do when he returns home to Germany? "Drink a beer." laughed Christian, who quickly added, "No, see all my friends." Cub Scouts help with conservation effort A ground-breaking ceremony for the Willow Creek Terrace Assisted Living Facility was held last week at the housing project overlooking W illow Creek Lake near Heppner. Pictured are (left to right): W illow Creek Valley Assisted Living Board members, front-Renee Devin, Gail Hughes, Luella Taylor, Suzanne Jepsen, Pioneer Memorial Hospital Administrator Victor V’ander Does, board member Diana Ball, Darrell Raver with the Bank of Eastern Oregon, Heppner City Administrator Gerry Breazeale. contractor Roger Britt; back-board members, Don Bristow and Doris Brosnan, Heppner City Mayor Bob Jepsen, contactors Ken Bailey and Bill Green of Shobe Enterprises. Board Chair Suzanne Jepsen said that after site preparation, construction is expected to take seven to eight months. Mural underway on ag building Cub Scouts and their helpers after a hard day of planting trees (left to right): front-Drew Johnson. Colter Raver, Devin Robinson. Justin Gutierrez. Spencer Palmer. Eddie Collins. Jodan Shepherd. I aylor Disque and Chris Hickerson; center-Curtis Harper, Skylar Palmer: back-Larry Palmer. K\le Robinson. Dan Dunnett. Terry Harper John Shepherd, Joyce Shepherd. By D ebbie H arper Ten Cub Scouts and their helpers planted over 80 trees on Corps of Engineers' property Friday, May 18, as part of a soil anti-erosion and conservation effort John Shepherd taught the boys proper tree planting techniques. They learned how to scrape off the top layer of soil without destroying the mycorrhiza, which contained helpful microorganisms. Next was planting depth and how to tap down and water the soil after planting. Artist Bob Thomas of Kooskie. Idaho, and his assistants, daughters Brenda Thomas. Seattle, and Dehbi Lunz, Camano, Idaho, have begun work on the farm mural on the Ag Museum building in Heppner. The mural depicts farming in the area *>0-100 years ago. Thomas said that they hope to complete the mural the first part of June. Part of the mural process includes projecting the image on the wall with an opaque projector and then chalking the outline in prior to the final painting. The artists use a cherry picker to reach the upper portion of the mural. Thomas, who attended the Academy of Art at Chicago, has been an artist for over 50 years. He said he has completed around 30 murals and is also contemplating doing a series on Lewis and Clark at The Dalles. After the trees were planted, the boys staked them and covered them with tubing to help keep them from being eaten The Forest Service donated the Douglas fir. ponderosa pine and western larch used in the planting. Ranger Dan Dunnett wanted the trees planted to increase habitat diversity, prevent soil erosion and for esthetics. "This is the gateway to the Blue Mountains and I want to do my part to beautify it," he said. The Cub Scouts participating were: Wolves-Devin Robinson and Justin Gutierrez; Bears-Curtis Harper. Drew Johnson and Colter Raven: and Webclos-Eddie C ollins. Spencer Palmer. Jordan Shepherd. (Tins Hickerson and Taylor Disque. The scouts w ere helped by Skylar Palmer. Larry Palmer, W olf den leader. Terry Harper. Cubmaster, Joyce Shepherd. Webclos den leader. John Shepherd. USFS. and Dan Dunnett. Park Ranger. Army Corps of Engineers. $ 6 ° ° (/>ical f r r f v >irlatKmy. u i a l l A . o m jc L l a t t i A ra fila g . f M orrow C ounty Grain G ro w ers _____ Lsxington 989-8221 * 1-800-452-7396 i* i«rm nu'pwii »mi »«■ «*> m» >i «»»megmt »
