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 ° °
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