Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 23, 2003 - THREE Local Elks Lodge members recognized F.xalter Ruler Marty Brannon (right) presents trustee, Ralph Walker with Elk ofthe Year certificate. Heppner Jr/Sr High School track renovation update By Wade A. Smith, Principal As many parents and community m em bers are aware, w e have been w orking hard over the last couple o f m onths securing grant monies and in-kind support necessary to upgrade our track facility at the high school. O ur plans include the com plete renovation o f our existing facility to include a professionally surfaced six-lane track, event approaches, site upgrades and a spectator view ing area. Not only will this new facility grant us the opportunity to host our own track meets, it will be a worthwhile addition for comm unity and public use. Over a month ago we mailed out an informational flyer and donor sheet asking w illing individuals and businesses to pledge in-kind support. At best, we were hoping to com e up w ith $50,000 w orth o f in-kind assistance. M uch to our excitem ent, we have received over $80,000 in support. From 500 gallons o f donated diesel from Lee Padberg, to a M exican dinner prov ided for our laborers from Mary Anne Elguezabal, I appreciate everyone’s generosity. The grants w e are applying for are m atching grants that will prov ide us with the liquid assets necessary to pay for the asphalting and surfacing o f our new facility. Although we will not learn o f our grant writing success until late June, we are confident that at least one o f our attem pts will turn out successful. Let’s keep our fingers crossed until then. If you haven’t done so and would like to pledge your support to this project, please contact the high school at 676- 9138. O nce again, I w ould like to express my appreciation to the over one hundred families, individuals, and businesses that have helped bring us one step closer to our new facility. Jordan Shepherd holds chessboard cake his mother, Joyce made for the party. scholarship board. In 1997, W alker w as recognized as O fficer o f the Year. Also recognized from the local lodge, were Brannon as O fficer o f the Year; and R oger M ortim ore and Tony Clement, for their Outstanding Service. E ach m em ber The lone Site Council recognized has put in m any m eet A pril 9 to discuss the years o f dedication and service completion ofthe SOS reading to th e E lk s a n d a ll w e re program training, high school instrumental with the elevator math benchmarks, along with project. num erous other topics. The fin a l SO S R eading P rogram tra in in g session was held Friday, April 4, with Jennifer Pambrun and Colin Anderson, local Ruler- fourth; Burke O ’Brien, Ju d y C h e s n u t an d all the Elks Lodge Esquire, brought L e a d in g K n ig h t- fo u rth ; m aterial covered is available hom e the first place plaque L indsay K incaid, L ecturing online. The w ebsite, created from the O regon Elks N.E. K night- fourth; and C raig by D a rle n e M a rq u a rd t is a c c e s s ib l e at District annual Ritual Contest Canham , Inner Guard- fourth. c u r r e n t w w w . g e o c i t i e s . c o m / T he Ritual C ontest, held recently in Baker City. “ There are 10 lodges held each spring, requires strict m orrow coteacher. T he site in th e N .E . D is tr ic t a n d m em orization o f the various w as se le c te d by th e state H eppner O fficers perform ed O ffic e r’s scrip ts. W inning S .O .S . T ra in e rs to be the very' well,” a local spokesman team s continue on through official S.O .S. w ebpage and and N a tio n a l the files w ill eventually be saitf. Local officers piacing S ta te relo c ate d to fhe S o u th e rn included to m Wolff’, Exalted competitions. O regon ESD w eb server. Council members also discussed high school level m ath b e n c h m a rk s. It w as discussed that those students w h o a re n o t m e e tin g th e b en ch m ark s a fter the 10th grade should be encouraged to attend m ath classes in their ju n io r and or se n io r year. C urrently the school district requires tw o years o f m ath, how ever, council m em bers would like to see math classes encouraged to continue past th is r e q u ir e m e n t f o r a ll students. M em bers felt that this should be discussed with parents at school conferences. It was also agreed upon by the council that on all future letters to p a r e n ts r e g a r d in g conference scheduling a hand Kathy Tellechea (left) and Pam Renfro (right) pictured with American w r itte n n o te to p a r e n ts Rabbit Breeders Association judge Don Mathews (center) at Yakima. regarding their c h ild ’s m ath benchm ark status should be Washington on April 12. included. Kathy Tellechea and Pam Renfro o f K T ’s Bunny Bam M e m b e rs o f th e in Lexington won Best o f Breed with a Broken Blue Mini Rex council received copies ofthe doe and Best O pposite o f Breed with a Blue Mini Rex buck. M o rro w C o u n ty S c h o o l These rabbits were bom and raised at K T ’S Bunny Bam . District and lone report cards. T here w ere 125 M ini R exes and over 800 rabbits at O n lo n e ’s card a box was the Yakima Valley Rabbit Breeder Show. The next show they av ailable for adding “any local will attend will be in M onroe, WA, M ay 10. information would you like to see on the b a c k ” . D ebbie R a lp h W a lk e r o f H eppner w as nam ed by the G rand Lodge o f th e Elks as Elk o f the Year. W alker, w ho has been a trustee for 12 years was nom inated for this award by M arty Brannon. W alker has put m any hours into helping the Elks a c c o m p lis h n u m ero u s projects; most notably, helping bring about the installation o f the new Elks elevator. Walker has also been a part o f the Site council discusses reading and math Heppner Elks perform well in district competition Local bunny breeders win awards at Yakima show R a d ie s u g g e s te d th a t th e O S A A C up and the D airy F arm ers aw ards should be mentioned in that box, as well as, lone School being the home o f W endy H eism an winners, geography bee participants, Elks scholarship recipients, a th le te s o f the year, m ath contest w inners, etc. M ost o f the marks were explained and d is c u s s e d a n d it w a s recognized that attendance, as w ell as m any o th er areas, continues to be above the state averages. It was announced that a retirem ent party is planned for Marlene Pointer and Betty Rietmann in conjunction with the elementary program on the A p r il 30. M e m b e rs encouraged everyone to send c a rd s and le tte r s o f appreciation to both teachers. Billy Ross and Missy B aker w ere recognized for ta k in g f ir s t a n d s e c o n d respectively in the Am erican Legion essay contest. Tiana C a m a r illo a n d K a y le e n Vosberg received first place in the OLCC poster contest and Ashley Roberts received third place in the essay contest. The C ardinal boys and girls took first place in C herry Festival at W ahtonka. It w as also noted at the m eeting that C hristina Pow ell w as nam ed to the D ean’s H onor List at Eastern O regon U niversity. D uane N eiffer w as nam ed as m ost influential teacher in her high school career and received a letter from the President o f the University. Parents and students enjoy cake after a year of hard work. This y e a rs’ C hessm ates group concluded w ith a pot- luck party on A pril 14. The group spent the year sharpen­ ing their Chess skills, becom ­ ing better sportsmen, com pet­ ing in regional com petitions, learning from others, and mak­ ing new friends. S tudies show that playing chess sharpens critical-think­ ing skills and problem-solving skills, said one o f the group’s leaders. M any volunteers donated their time and expertise to help the group. Those volunteers include: M ike A rm ato, Joy K rein, W ayne Seitz, A dam Doherty, Lindsay Harle, James GREAT RATES FOR GREAT PEOPLE A Special 25-Month Certificate of Deposit INTEREST RATE: 3.00% ANNUAL PERCENTAGE YIELD: 3.03% Stop by your nearest Bank o f Eastern Oregon Branch today! Pappas, Larry Palm er, D ave Kendrick and the Rollis fam ­ ily. We also really appreciate the donations from the local orga­ nizations and individuals so that the ch ild ren could have a healthy snack before they be­ gin using their brains, stated a group leader. Chessmates had a total o f 102 members. Jannie A llen, Sherry M atteson and Mary Ann Elguezabal, the ad­ visors, hope that the members will learn som e new m oves over the summer and look for­ w ard to starting up the club again next year. Chamber Chatter By C la u d ia H u g h e s, Executive Director O pen your eyes and pause a m inute. T hink about people w ho put lights on the trees, make the reminder calls, lead 4-H c lu b s, w e lc o m e people to tow n with baskets, serve coffee after church, pull o ff the St. Pat’s weekend, fair and rodeo, parades, coach Little League, keep the flowers W e Print looking good, clean up the Business Cards highways, maintain welcome Heppner G a z e tte -T im e s signs, cook the dinners at the Elks or churches or the Senior 6 7 6 -9 2 2 8 Center, sit on Boards, repair graves at the cemetery, help out at the hospital or nursing home, w o rk at th e g o lf c o u rs e , Member FDIC volunteer at the Chamber, put in dirt bike parks for kids, m ade the A ssisted Living a reality, put on auctions and do num erous fund raisers, help Arlington, Board man, Condon, Heppner, Irrigon, lone children learn to read, keep the m u s e u m o p e n , m a in ta in grounds... the list goes on and on and on. It could easily fill an e n tir e p a g e o f th is newspaper. W ho a re th e s e people? Som e are m em bers limited time (May I, 2003 to July 15, 2003) fo r People who want Great Rates... of H e p p n e r ’s m any organizations; while others are quietly w orking behind the scenes, but they all have one thing in common. They are the Minimum deposit - $500.00 - Penalty for early withdrawal mighty volunteers who cause p o sitive th in g s to happen, m ake a difference, and keep Bank of Eastern Oregon For a Chessmates hold final meeting of the year H eppner from becom ing a stagnant, selfish, boring place to live. They are the engines, the energy, the laughter, the ca n -d o folks w ho h a v e n 't learned to say “ N o” . They care, they hope, they m ake a difference. They is you. N atio n al V olunteer W eek is A pril 27 to M ay 3. C ham ber m em bers are asked to in v ite o n e c o m m u n ity volunteer to lunch on Tuesday, A pril 29. (Please call 676- 5536 to reserve a spot.) Many will be m issed because there is no facility in Heppner large enough to hold one and all. Therefore, we ask each o f you readers to say thanks to a volunteer that week. You too can in v ite th e m to lu n ch anytim e all w eek, or ju st a verbal “thank you" can make so m eo n e’s day. R em em ber, the childhood game where you w h is p e re d a m e s s a g e in som eone’s ear and said “ Pass It O n ” . S p e n d th e w e e k passing it on... “Thank you for v o lu n te e rin g , you m ake a difference.” R em em ber to attend the School Board Candidates Forum on Tuesday, April 29, at 6:30 p.m . at the H eppner High School cafeteria. C om e m eet the 15 candidates and leam how they feel about the is s u e s . S c h o o ls a re th e backbone o f the community.