New teachers come to Heppner and lone high schools
B es a i o S e t z e i l
U o f J N siâ p a? « * * L 1 4 r& fy
Eusana# OR
VOL. 121
NO. 38
8 Pages
By Katie W all
974J3
Wednesday, September 18, 2002
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Grade school honors Patriot Day
Students and teachers at Heppner elem entary join
hands and observe a moment o f silence last VVednes-
day. Sept. II in honor of Patriot Day. The anniversary
o f the terrorist attack on New York w as declared Pa
triot Day by President George Bush. Schools were
asked to observe the day in a special w ay. Heppner stu
dents gathered outside in the morning and in addition to
the moment of silence heard from Principal Dick Allen
and also listened to the national anthem as played by some
of the students.
WC Terrace Assisted Living open house sported a large crowd
Suzanne Jepsen, Willow Creek \ alley Assisted Living Chair, speaks at ribbon cutting
A crowd o f over 200
people attended the open house
o f the newly built Willow Creek
Terrace Assisted Living Facility
on Sunday afternoon. Sept. 15.
Located above Heppner on Frank
Gilliam Drive, residents will have
a view of the town, the Willow
Creek Lake and the surrounding
countryside.
Guests to this open house
were treated to refreshments and
m usical entertainm ent while
visiting, as they viewed the results
of a community-w ide effort that
helped establish this facility.
Willow Creek Terrace is now a
reality that brings a new
retirement lifestyle to Heppner.
Residents, who need assistance
with daily chores or no long wish
to maintain a home, can now
remain in the community.
Pending final certification
and assessment of levels o f care
needed by prospective residents.
16 private apartments are now
ready for occupancy. Facility
A dm inistrator Tonya Adam s
currently heads an eight person
staff to provide 24 hour a day
resident care. S ta ff will be
increased as needed according to
number of residents. The Willow
Creek Terrace has a management
contract with the Morrow County
Medical District.
Residents have their own
kitchenettes in their apartments.
However three meals per day,
catering to special dietary needs,
will be served in the dining room.
A common living room with a
fireplace adds to the homelike
setting. A circular driveway, patios
and w alkw ays enhance the
facility. For several weeks, a large
number of community volunteers
have worked to landscape the
continued page two
The towns o f Heppner
and lone received five new high
school teachers this year. They
have come from all over, with
many diverse backgrounds.
Dr. Fred Monaco, 62, has
joined the Heppner High School
team as a math teacher. He is
teaching ninth grade through
advanced mathematics.
Dr. M onaco lived in
Salem before coming to Heppner
two years ago. He received his
m a s t e r ’s
degree
at
C a lifo rn ia
State at Long
Beach, CA.
He received
his doctorate
degree
in
e d u c a tio n
from Walden
University in Dr. Fred Monaco
Minneapolis/
St. Paul, Minn.
He taught for 21 years at
Linnfield College. He also has five
college math textbooks in print;
two are in active print, and three
are available on a print as
requested basis.
Before teaching, he was
in the aerospace industry for 30
years. Dr. Monaco said that one
day while sitting in his office
looking at em pty tab les he
thought, “Do I want to be here or
in a room like it 20 years from
now?” Realizing he did not, he
decided to go into the teaching
field.
Dr. M onaco has two
children, a son and a daughter, and
three granddaughters. He is also
preparing to get married in about
two weeks to “a splendid person,
and great friend,” Melissa. They
w ill be gettin g m arried in
Heppner.
W hen asked what his
hobbies w here, Dr. M onaco
sm iled and said that he did
“calculus problems at home for
fun.” He is a true blue math lover.
He also enjoys w elding, and
working on cars and his house.
Dr. Monaco is also an
avid cat lover. He has six in house
cats, and there are many strays
around his house that he feeds as
well.
Donna Scott, 45, has
also joined the math team at
Heppner High School. She is
teaching junior high math.
Scott has a bachelor of
science degree in elem entary
education.
She
attended
Chemekata Community College
in
Salem ,
Western
Oregon State
C ollege in
M onm outh,
and graduated
from Western
Ba pt i s t
C ollege in
Salem.
When
her
son,
Adam , now Donna Scott
23, was in
kindergarten, his teacher asked
her students’ parents, “when, not
if, are you going to volunteer?”
After being a volunteer, and at the
prompting of her friends, Scott,
decided to go back to college and
get her degree. She has taught at
private schools and is enjoying
now teaching at a public school.
“It is new and exciting,” says
Scott.
Scott, has lived both in
San Francisco and Salem, and has
just moved to Heppner a month
ago. She has had to adjust to living
in a town with no traffic lights, but
is happy to be in this area. One
of her hobbies is to travel and she
is looking forward to exploring
what is here in Eastern Oregon.
As a way “to give back
to the com m unity” , Scott is
opening her classroom on most
Friday s to give extra help to her
students. She will be sending a
schedule out to the parents of her
students as soon as possible.
Bringing the excitement
o f a first year teacher, Eva
Randolph, 32, has joined Heppner
High School’s team to teach
language arts to the eighth, 10th
and 12th graders.
Randolph received her
bachelor’s in
liberal arts
and
her
m a ste r’s in
e d u c a tio n
from Eastern
O r e g o n
University in
L a G ra n d e .
She began
s c h o o l
«*• WÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ
thinking o f
Eva Randolph
becom ing a
civil engineer, but while at school
at Blue Mountain Community
College in Pendleton, she began
tutoring fellow students in a
variety of areas. Finding that she
enjoyed helping others learn, and
finding the confidence in her
abilities, “the teaching bug" got
hold of her.
In the study of language
arts, R andolph prefers to
emphasize writing and speaking,
rather than literature. She says
she feels that the skills of writing
and speaking are more useful for
her students than sitting over a
literature book.
Randolph is excited about
teaching in Heppner. Heppner is
like the small town she has wanted
to teach in and geared her
education towards, as well as a
place close enough to visit her
family living in the John Day area.
She is proud to be the auntie to
four nieces and nephews and is
glad she can keep that
connection.
Q uilting, ceram ics,
horses, ranching, and Star Trek
keep Randolph well rounded in
hobbies. She also enjoys spending
time with her two dogs and her
horse, which now lives at her
brother-in-law’s.
Cynthia Kuchenbecker
com pletes H ep p n e r’s new
teaching staff as the junior and
senior high business teacher.
Kuchenbecker received
her bachelor of science degree in
business and economics with an
emphasis in accounting, as well
as her m a ste r’s degree in
education, from Eastern Oregon
University in
L a G ra n d e .
She enjoys
teaching
business to
kids because
she feels it is
a skill they
can use no
m atter what
area o f life
they
find Cynthia
th e m s e lv e s Kuchenbecker
in.
Eastern Oregon is not
new to Kuchenbecker; she lived
on a ranch at Im naha, near
Joseph, and graduated from high
school in Enterprise. Embarking
on her third year of teaching in
Heppner, she has also taught in
M itchell
and
N yssa.
Kuchenbecker said, “The school
here is a perfect size and there is
a wonderful bunch of kids here."
Kuchenbecker's
husband works in Baker for the
Forest Service. She also has two
children. Kurt. 22, is going to
school at University of Idaho, and
Katrina. 19. is going to school at
Oregon State University. Zoey, a
miniature dachshund is also an
important part of the family.
W hen not teaching,
Kuchenbecker enjoys reading
fiction, co llectin g antique
glassware, and yard sales.
I - i
Joining the lone High
School team is science teacher
Beccy Porter. 40.
Porter received her
bachelor o f science degree in
wildlife biology from Kansas State
U niversity and her m aste r’s
degree in biology from Boston
University. She received her
original teaching certificate from
University of Kansas. She taught
at a science museum for eight
years and this is her third year of
classroom teaching.
D eciding not to be a
research
scientist, and
remembering
“the people
that changed
her life the
m ost were
te a c h e r s ,”
Porter went
into teaching.
Porter
also teaches
theater during
the summer in Beccy Porter
A n ch o rag e,
Alaska, with a program called
Alaska Theater of Youth held at
the U niversity o f A laska
Anchorage campus.
lo n e’s size and wheat
fields remind Porter of part of her
life back in Kansas. Many of her
relatives lived in towns resembling
lone. However, she grew up in
Wichita.
Porter has a wide variety
of hobbies to keep her busy. She
is a dive master and loves to
scuba dive whenever she can get
a chance. She also enjoys bird
watching and hiking. To “exercise
the other side of her brain” Porter
enjoys writing. She has written a
novel, which one day she would
like to see published, and she has
written a short story that was just
published in the “ C ascade
R eader” . She also enjoys
spending time with her two dogs,
Lisa and Mose.
New editor joins
Gazette-Times team
The Heppner Gazette-
Times hired Katie Wall, 22, to take
the place of Sarah Coller as editor.
Coller moved
to Pendleton
w ith
her
family.
W all
was born in
Lebanon, OR,
and lived on
the west side
o f O regon
until she was
13 and moved
w ith
her
Katie Wall
fam ily
to
Southeast
Alaska. She has lived in Heppner
for the past three years, with her
mother, Kathy Marick.
Wall has completed two
years o f college at Eastern
Oregon University in LaGrande.
She has studied accounting, but
has always had a love for writing
and took many writing classes in
college.
“I have always wanted to
get into the writing field,” says
Wall, “but never thought I would
have the opportunity . I am excited
about the new things I am learning
and am enjoying the journalism
avenue of writing.”
lone Booster Club
plans barbecue
The lone Booster Club
will be selling barbecued
hamburgers during the Dufur
volleyball and football games
Friday night. Sept. 20. For $3 fans
can buy a cheeseburger or
hamburger and toppings with a
bag of chips. The barbecue will
be set up near the scoreboard and
will run from 5:30 p.m. through
the football game.
Heppner library has
new hours
The Oregon Trail Library
D istrict-H eppner branch has
changed
its
hours
to
accommodate their early morning
patrons.
Effective Oct. 1. hours
will be: Tuesday and Wednesday,
11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Thursday and
Friday. 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and
Saturday. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The library is closed on
Sundays and Mondays.
HUNTER’S SPECIAL!
DANNER BOOT SALE » 20% OFF
Boots In Stock & Orders Welcome • Sale Ends Saturday! SAVE $$$ NOW!
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 98 9 -8 2 2 1 • 1 -8 0 0 -4 5 2 -7 3 9 6
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