Heppner gazette-times., July 24, 2002, Image 1

German bicyclist finds America “very hospitable”
Bessie ï.et*e 11
U of J ¡.¿»sps -sr Library
Eugene, OR 9/4J3
VOL. 121_______ NO. 30______ 10 Pages
Wednesday, July 24,2002
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
New police officers on the job in Heppner
The Morrow County Sheriff’s Department is now patrolling Heppner and the surrounding area and the
department has hired two new deputies for the duties. Pictured above are left to right Justin Slinger, 26,
who came from the Aumsville, Oregon police department near Salem, Randy Rabum who is not new
and has worked for the department for some time, and Jamie Rietmann,27, who came from the
Deschutes County Sheriff Department. Neither of the new deputies is married.
Heppner City Council tours rehabilitated sewer facility
The Heppner city council re­
cently got a tour of the city sewer
plant, which has seen some ma­
jor rehadilitation work.
Public Works Director Craig
Canham showed councilmembers
all the work that has been done
on the plant.
Some of the repairs to the
plant inlcuded replacement of a
large worm gear that scapes the
bottom of the clarifier had broken.
New gears rings and some fabri­
cating had to be done to repair it.
The grear alone cost $ 18,000 city
officials said.
Also done was rebuilding of a
sludge pump and replacement of
the trickling filter and effluent
pumps.
In order to accomplish the work
crews had to pump out all sludge
from the system and drain the
chlorine contact basin. In addition
they drained and cleaned the wa­
ter stoage tank at the golf course
which had over three feet of
sludge in the bottom.
The entire project was cost the
city over $45,000 said city Man­
ager Jerry Breazeale. “We are
now making excellent quality wa­
ter (output from the system) that
meets all Department of Environ­
mental Standards". Bra/eale said.
Public Works Director Craig Canham describes work done at sewer plant
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
A German man’s bicycle
trek across the heartland of
America has brought him into the
homes and hearts of many of the
Americans he has met.
Adolf Hoermann, from
Munich, Germany, has vowed to
span not just the U.S., but the
continent, on his bicycle and is
close to achieving his goal.
Hoermann started out at St.
John’s, Newfoundland, in June
2000 and has dedicated each
summer since to his travels. He
chose St. John's because it was
the most easterly point on the
continent and because of a legend.
“That’s where they say you can
see Ireland on a clear day," laughs
Hoermann, "but there’s never a
clear day.”
The first summer
Hoermann made it to Hudson,
New York, and left his gear at a
farm there. In 2001, he returned
to Hudson and traveled to Grand
Forks, Minnesota, which is where
he picked up his travels this year.
"There’s no answer to picking the
route. I wanted to cross the
continent," says Hoermann, who
adds that he has traveled pretty
much along a straight line and
averages 25-50 miles a day
depending on the difficulty of the
terrain and weather. While he has
been through a few large cities,
the largest being Toronto,
Hoermann has traveled mainly
back roads, which has given him
a better taste of Americana than
many
Americans
have
experienced. “It's easier in the
U .S.,” says Hoermann. “It’s
more uncomplicated and very
hospitable. It reminds me a little
of Italy.
Italy. . .som etim es it’s just
confused. I was in the Chicago
bus station and it was very
confusing. I wondered if I would
ever get out of there, but a couple
hours later I was on the right bus
and got out okay.” Hoermann
says that Americans seem much
less uptight than their German
counterparts.
The upbeat Hoermann
has been invited into numerous
homes across America, including
the Rev. Tim and Myrna Van
Cleave home in Heppner, and
says he makes it a habit to stop in
at local churches for Sunday
services. “The hospitality has
been wonderful. The interest in
what I'm doing has been great,”
he says. “I’ve been invited to
many homes and the food was
excellent, not fancy, but very
good." He is not too impressed
with fast food, but says it will
suffice, if necessary. “I enjoy
whatever is put in front of me,”
he says, adding that the food he
has had in restaurants is
“excellent.” Hoermann says that
he doesn't eat much meat, instead
relying on "good bread” which he
can find occasionally, peanut
butter, honey and nuts, “sort of a
trail mix" and water or juice. He
also offered an explanation as to
why Germans don’t eat American
beef—“hormones."
Hoermann says that the
Eastern Oregon countryside is
“absolutely different from what I
saw (in Germany). We just
cannot imagine how it is—
unlimited space." Hoermann says
that he grew up on a dairy farm.
But the German definition of a
farm is a little different than ours.
His parents’ farm had three
cows. “At that time, it was done
all by hand," he says. "So if you
had six cows, you had a big farm.
We had chickens, sheep and a
horse."
The wide-open spaces
here also afford another luxury—
hunting. “If you want to go
hunting in Germany, you have to
pass an examination and it’s very
tough," says Hoermann. "Then
you get a paper and then you're
entitled to buy a gun. Then you
have to have an area to go hunting
and usually it's private. We can’t
own guns other than hunting guns,
although you may if you belong
to a gun club. The restrictions are
much tougher than here."
Adolf Hoermann with his bike in Heppner
Hoermann says that each
evening he reflects on the day’s
happenings, focusing on the
highlight of the day. In Heppner,
he says, the day’s highlight was
running into Tim Van Cleave.
“The low was pushing up the hill
for six hours," says Hoermann.
"But it’s all forgotten. I ended up
Long-time nurse
takes admin
position
By Sarah Coller
Sheree
Smith
of
Lexington has recently been
promoted to the position of
adm inistrator at the Morrow
County Health Department.
Smith, who has been with the
public health department for the
last 11 years, took the position on
July 1. Smith was bom and raised
in Morrow County and attended
nursing school at Good Samaritan
School of Nursing in Portland.
She is married to Bob and has
three children, Mindy 19; Tammy,
17; and Robbie, 13. She was
employed as a nurse at Pioneer
Memorial Hospital prior to taking
the job at the
h e a l t h
department.
Smith says
that things are
running
smoothly
since
the
clinic opened
back up at the
first o f July
Sheree Smith
and credits
her
staff:
“We are very blessed to have the
staff we have. If it weren't for
the staff, we wouldn’t have the
program that we have. They are
a really awesome, cohesive and
supportive group.”
Smith has handled
various aspects of all programs
within the department in the past
and says that the community at
large w on’t notice a huge
difference in the way the
department is ran. “The clinics
are pretty much the same,” she
says, "but the home visit program
will be structured differently.”
The Morrow County
Health Department is open in
Heppner from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday. The
clinic is open on Thursdays from
8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
with a beautiful place to stay. You
sleep much better if you sort out
all the negative things and fall
asleep with the highlight."
While he says he has had
“only good experiences so far,"
Hoermann does admit to a rather
continued page two
New BMCC
president meets
with Chamber
By Sarah Coller
Travis Kirkland, the
newly hired president of Blue
Mountain Community College,
was the guest speaker at the
Chamber of Commerce luncheon
on Tuesday,
July
16.
Kirkland has
been traveling
around the
region getting
inform ation
and making
plans before
the school
year begins
this fall. He
says that one
of his reasons Travis Kirkland
for visiting
with Heppner community
members was to find out “how we,
can better serve this whole
district.” He says, “we can
always do more things better and
be more responsive to the
d istrict’s needs and w ants.”
Kirkland is interested in finding
out how BMCC can do a better
job of providing education and
training to students.
Kirkland comes to
Eastern Oregon from Roswell,
NM where he was provost of
Eastern New Mexico University
and later the executive director of
the Chaves County Development
Foundation. He and his wife
Linda have a daughter, Meredith,
who lives in Denver with her
husband, Tony.
“ We
have
had
trem endous support,” says
Kirkland, "the people here have
a good know ledge of the college.
The college has a great history
and relationship with the district
and we are just really happy to
be here. This is beautiful country
and the folks here are very
receptive of me personally and of
the college.”
Celebrate Historic Heppner 2002
The "Celebrate Historic Heppner 2002” celebration will take place
Friday, July 26 in Heppner. Following is a list of events:
-Sidewalk sale by Heppner Merchants beginning at 9 a.m.
-"Quilts in the Park" sponsored by Artisan Village all day.
-Turn-of-the-century mini-parade and kid's games. Parade
begins at 10:30 a.m. from Bank of E.O. to Klamath First Bank
-Visit the Morrow County Museum and Ag Exhibit 11 a.m. to
4 p.m.
-Tour the Morrow County Courthouse, which is celebrating
its 100,h anniversary
-Dunk tank by HHS Cheerleaders and Heppner Chamber
-Free hotdogs at Heppner Hardware
-Drawings for gift certificates to be spent at Chamber
businesses
-View tum-of-the-century display s in Heppner businesses
-Community appreciation barbecue at the park from 5:15 p.m.-
6:15 p.m. sponsored by Bank of E.O.
-Homemade pie baking contest and auction at 6:15 at the park
sponsored by Sherrell Insurance
-Music in the Park at 7 p.m. sponsored by Willow Creek Valley
Serv ice Club
PROTECT YOUR GRAIN WITH
R ELD AIM 4E
One Gallon J u g s Available A t
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 9 8 9-82 21 • 1 -8 0 0 -4 5 2 -7 3 9 6
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