Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 2002)
Original one-act drama to come to life 3e33Ìe .Vitalii U o î J it e # 3 ^ i v 2 r j i - . C t . 'y S u d a n i , 0 3 9 7 ‘U J Playwright Fr. Gerry Condon directs cast of his original one-act drama, ‘St. Patrick. Apostle of Ireland’. By Doris Brosnan V0L. 121 NO. 10 10 Pages Wednesday, March 6,2002 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Heppner merchants plan April Fool ‘Tom Foolery’ By Doris Brosnan “Lots of Tom Foolery!” is one person's description o f the basketball event planned for April Fool’s Day in Heppner. The Heppner merchants will entertain on court at Heppner High School that evening, and some o f them m ight even dem onstrate some basketball prowess. Complete team rosters will be published at a later date, as firm commitments are still coming in. Megan Orr claim s Elks “Hoop Shoot” regional championship Megan O rr with her trophies Having already tasted glory in local, district and state com petitions, Megan Orr o f Heppner captured another first- place finish on Saturday, March 2, when she wowed the crowds at the Elks “ Hoop S hoot” Northwest Region Championship. Megan, the 12-year-old daughter o f Jeffrey and Lana Orr, demonstrated an accuracy from the penalty line well beyond her years and brought honors to her hometown of Heppner. Megan, a sixth-grader in Mrs. Dowdy's class at Heppner Elementary School, says that she w asn’t scared during the competition, but was pretty excited when she won. Representing Heppner Elks Lodge No. 358. Megan, a sixth grader in Heppner Elementary School, sank 21 out of 25 free throws in the 12 to 13-year-old girls division, making her a “true standout in the field" of more than three million boys and girls, ages eight-13, who have participated in the contest since last fall. Now. M egan will travel with her parents, courtesy o f the Benevolent and Protective Order o f Elks, to Springfield, Massachusetts-“the birthplace of basketball” - to be among the 72 top youngsters vying it the chance to claim one o f six national trophies awarded at the Elks “ Hoop Shoot” National Free Throw Contest on April 18-21. A great showing in the national championship will not only call Megan a. place in Elks “Hoop Shoot” history, but also land her name on a plaque in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Now in its 30th year, the Elks “ Hoop Shoot” Free Throw Contest has seen more than 91 million participants since its inception, making it the largest coeducational youth sports program in the nation, according to a news release. Funded entirely by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Elks “Hoop Shoot” Free Throw Contest has served as a testing ground for sports legends C leveland C av aliers’ Trajan Langdon, WNBA 2041 Rookie of the Year Jackie Stiles of the Portland Fire, Iowa Haw keyes head coach Steve Al Alford. Olympic gold medallist and former Golden State Warriors Chris Mullin, former North Carolina State star Jennifer Howard, and former Chicago White Sox third baseman Chris Silopek. The Benevolent and Protective Order o f Elks is a patriotic and philanthropic fraternal organization w ith nearly 1.2 million members in more than 2.000 com m unities, said the release. Word on the street is that the Main Street Westside “Blue Bruisers” (or is that going to be “Bruises”?) has 21 team members to draw from, including In-the- Key Koffler, Hustlin’ Harrison, M ake-M y-D ay Murray, Hollomon the H ow itzer and Proctor the Pro. Rumor has it that Main Street E astside, the “Goldtrotters” (or will that be the “Goldwalkers”?), has only 18 team members but think that the expertise of their players will be more than enough to “beat the bruises!” Some of those players will be Free-Throw Fowler, the G reen M achine, Howling Houweling, Over-the-Top (and- Through-the-Net) Orr and High- Speed Helfrecht. O f course, the teams will have cheerleaders, rooting them on to victory. Names of those energetic accomplices will be included in the forthcom ing detailed rosters. The official officials will be experts at catching prohibited maneuvers and maintaining less than mayhem on the court. The announcer will closely follow the skillful handling of the ball by the blue and the gold teams. The snack shack will provide healthful noshes, and the EMTs and a local doctor will be courtside. for emergency use only. Determined to entertain and offer something for everyone, the merchants also plan halftime entertainment that will offer a twist or two to tradition: of course, the cake raffle; a 331/3/331/3/331/ 3 (rather than 50/50) raffle; and parent/child hoop shoot. The game itself will offer a twist or two to traditional rules of play, but the merchants report that the changes will be easy for spectators and maybe players, to follow. The changes guarantee “tom foolery” and entertainment on April Fool’s Day. The revenues generated from the $3 adult tickets ($1 for elementary students, $2 for high school students) will help w ith the continued efforts by the m erchants to beautify and improve Main Street. More information on the April Fool’s event, which will begin at 7 p.m.. will appear in the Gazette after the St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Celebration. Class member identified Another member of the class of 1924 has been identified from a photo that appeared in the Feb. 27 Gazette-Times. Leita Barlow, pictured eighth from left, back row, was a sister to Charlie Barlow and m arried Truman Messenger. “Saint Patrick. Apostle of Ireland”, the original one-act drama authored by Father Gerry Condon of Heppner’s St. Patrick parish, will come to life next week, a fitting precursor to the St. Patrick's Weekend Celebration in Heppner. “Apostle” results from Father Condon’s desire to contribute to the yearly event named for Saint Patrick and to provide factual information on the spiritualism of this bishop o f Ireland. Pat Sweeney, one of the actors, said that he is especially “impressed with the hard work Father Condon has accomplished to bring this entertainm ent” into the local celebration. “ He is filling an im portant niche,” Sweeney added. The play is the culmination of Condon’s interest in drama, his futile search for an already- w ritten drama based on fact rather than on myth, and his research into the man who evangelized the Emerald Island in the 400’s A.D. Condon hopes “ A postle” will entertain and inform as it takes the audience to four locations significant to Patrick's evangelism. Two perform ances of “Apostle” are planned for next week. On Sunday, March 10, the 16 actors will appear on stage at the lone Grange building. On Thursday, March 14, they will perform on the stage of the St. Patrick Parish Hall in Heppner. Billed as “dessert theatre,” the lone event will begin at 4 p.m. and the Heppner evening will begin at 7 p.m.. Both occasions will begin with desserts, followed by the voices of a local singing group, “The Sentimentalists.” Cast and production staff members come from St. William Parish in lone and St. Patrick Parish in Heppner. Most of the cast members will be on stage for the first time or for the first time since some high school productions. Heading the cast w ill be Joe Lindsay as Patrick. Bringing the other historical figures to life will be Barney Lindsay, Pat Sweeney, Tom Wolff, Brian Kollm an, Dan Lindsay, Ken Turner. Luke Murray, Dan Van Schoiack, Tom M cElligott, Ashley McCabe. Gayle Arbogast. Larry Lutcher, Debbie G utierrez, and Jim McElligott and Kathy McCabe. Joe Lindsay, who might be considered the veteran actor in the cast, sounded confident as he discussed his lead role in Apostle. He has performed in several musicals while attending college, though never as the lead. Another actor, G ayle A rbogast, complimented Lindsay on his portrayal and especially his presentation of the prayer of St. Patrick’. Lindsay explained that working on the dram a has allowed him to see St. Patrick as “a real person. And now 1 better understand how much courage he had to have.” Arbogast added that she, too, has gained “more understanding of what Patrick had to overcome - the Druids, the paganism - in order to bring Christianity to Ireland.” The production, publicity, and hospitality crews for the two showings o f Apostle include Nelson Connor, Kim Armato, M artha Munkers, Mary Ann Elguezabal, Ashley Ropp, Leann Lindsay, Pat Dougherty, Marj Kenny, Karen Wolff, Evelyn Sweek, Doris Brosnan, Jessica Connor, Ashley Wolff, Kelsey Wolff, Mary Arbogast, Winnie Flynn, Pat Gentry, Angela Moore. Judie Laughlin, Janet Greenup, Eileen M cElligott, Conrad Tworek, Joe McElligott, Kathy Morter and June Crowell. The “Sentimentalists” will provide the prelude to the drama as they sing “ G lorious St. Patrick," a musical tribute with a distinctive Irish rhythm and sound. Members of this local group are Luvilla Sonstegard, Lynnea Sargeant, Cam Wishart, Norma French, Janet Greenup. Barbara Pettyjohn, Darlene Marquardt, Gayle A rbogast, Bonna Rae Miller, Cara Osmin and June Jones. On March 3, as the actors prepared for a first dress rehearsal o f Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland. Father Condon worked with some production details and declared his confidence in the cast that will perform his first dramatic work. He adm itted hopes that the audiences will be large and his contribution to the March celebration deemed worthwhile. Admission will be a free-will donation. Michele Hams solves puzzle, wins gold coin Darrell Raver of the Bank of Eastern Oregon presents a commemorative Oregon coin to Michele Hams, winner of the “Find the Hidden Shamrock” contest. A veteran puzzle-solver, Michele Hams of Heppner, found the hidden shamrock and won a gold Oregon commemorative coin donated by the Bank of Eastern Oregon. Hams followed the clues in the Gazette-Times and found the hidden Shamrock w ith a flashlight Thursday night in a tree at Heppner High School “I was just frantic,” said Hams, who said she just barely beat out another participant. This is the second time she has solved the puzzle. She also claimed the prize in 1993. The contest is sponsored by the bank and the Gazette-Times. Sign up for Cruz-In The Second Annual St. Paddy's Cruz-In has received 24 entries so far for the various categories o f vehicles. Participants may register until Saturday, March 16. at 10 a m. Judging will take place between 2-3 p.m. with the awards presented at 3:30 p.m. Categories include vintage, foreign, classic and modified - cars and pickups. Additional awards w ill be given for Leprechaun's Choice, People's Choice, County Judges' Choice. Period Dress awards for men and women, and also an award honoring a Car Club group. Main Street closed for shamrock painting Main Street in Heppner will be closed this Thursday. March 7. and Friday. March 8, if necessary, for painting of the downtown shamrock, announced city public works director Craig Canham Parking will also be interrupted on Main Street Monday, March 11, through Friday. March 15, for painting of parking lines. Canham said.
