TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, June 18, 2003
The Official Newspaper
o f the City o f Heppner and the County o f Morrow
Heppner
G A Z E T T E -T IM E S
U S P S. 240-420
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
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D avid S y k e s .............................................................................................................. Publisher
K atie W a l l....................................................................................................................... Editor
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Obituaries
Vashti Geneva
“Jean” Didier
Vashti Geneva “Jean”
D id ie r, 8 3 , a lo n g tim e
H e rm is to n a n d Irrig o n
resident, died Friday, June 6,
2 0 0 3 , a t O re g o n H e a lth
Sciences University Hospital in
Portland.
A funeral was held
J u n e 11, w ith b u r ia l at
Hermiston Cemetery.
Didier was bom April
13, 1920, at R olla, KS, to
C o n ra d and B e rth a G ann
Sullivan. She m oved with her
fam ily to Fay, OK, when she
was 10 and completed school
at Fay.
O n M ay 25, 1939,
she married Hinson W. Didier
at Watonga, OK. They moved
to H erm iston in 1950. There
she worked in agriculture for
a tim e, as a cook at M cCabes
Restaurant in Herm iston and
at what is now the Crossroads
Restaurant in Um atilla. She
and h er h u sb an d had a
produce stand in Hermiston on
the comer o f Highland Avenue
and Hwy. 395 from 1958-
1969. Then they m oved to
Irrigon where they owned and
operated Riverview fruit stand
on Hwy. 730 from 1969 until
retirement in 1996. They were
w e ll k n o w n fo r D id ie r
tomatoes.
Didier’s husband died
in 1998 and in 2002 she
m oved to Portland to be near
family.
She was a member o f
the Trinity Lutheran Church in
H e rm isto n and a 51-y ea r
m em ber o f Hermiston Eagles
Lodge 2909.
She enjoyed cooking,
s e w in g , r e a d in g , fa m ily
g a th e r in g s a n d p la y in g
pinochle and loved dancing.
S u rv iv o rs in c lu d e
sons, Bill Didier ofVancouver,
WA, Tony D idier o f Sedalia,
M O, and Conley D idier o f
Fallon, NV; daughter, Lucille
H aynes o f Portland; sister,
Jennie Van Slyck o f N orth
Bend; 14 grandchildren and
14 g r e a t- g r a n d c h ild r e n .
Besides her husband, she was
p rec e d e d in d eath by her
parents, a daughter, Pat Didier
R eece, a grandson, D avid
D a rre ll B ra se l, b ro th e rs,
Ernest, Carl, Earl, George and
Wayne; a sister, Mae, and an
infant sister.
M e m o r i a l
contributions may be made to
the American Cancer Society
through B um s M ortuary o f
H erm iston, P.O. Box 289,
Hermiston, OR 97838.
Joshua Charles
Daniel Jenson
Joshua Charles Daniel
Jenson, 16, o f Pendleton, died
Thursday, June 5,2003, as the
resu lt o f a m o to r v eh icle
accident near Helix while he
was on his w ay to sum m er
league basketball practice.
A funeral was held for
him on June 12 in Pendleton,
with burial following at Olney
Cemetery.
He w as b o m Sept.
20, 1986, at P endleton to
C harles D. and Patricia A.
Devine-Jenson.
He
had
ju st
completed his sophomore year
at Helix High School where he
w as in v o lv e d in s tu d e n t
government, publications and
was a m em ber o f the Helix
basketball team.
In addition to school
activities, he had a voracious
interest in film, editing and
com puters. His goal was to
attend University o f Southern
C alifornia Film School. He
enjoyed travels with his family
throughout Europe and the
United States and it inspired
much ofhis creativity.
Survivors include his parents,
Chuck and Patti Jenson; sister,
Jessica Jenson; grandparents,
R ep. R o b e rt and E v e ly n
Jenson and Pete and Betty
K eating, all o f Pendleton,
B a rb a ra B lo o d s w o rth o f
Heppner and Vickie Gibson-
Devine o f Culver; and m any
o th e r r e la tiv e s . H e w a s
p r e c e d e d in d e a th by
grandfathers, Jim Devine o f
Culver and Jim Bloodsworth
ofHeppner.
M e m o r i a l
contributions may be made to
the Joshua Jenson M emorial
Scholarship Fund through
Bishop Funeral Chapel, P.O.
B ox 325, 131 S.E. B yers,
Pendleton, O R 97801.
BURNING BAN
Effective
June 23, 2003
T h e F ire C h ie f o f th e C ity of
H eppner is im posing a CLOSED
SEASON for open b u rn in g based
on local fire safety concerns. This
b u m b an is for the City ofHeppner.
Remeber: O pen b u rn in g also in
cludes b u m barrels. The closed
seaso n will rem ain in effect until
fu rth e r notice th is fall as per ORS
4 7 8 .9 6 0
t
Letten to the Editor
Editor's note: Letters to the Editor must be signed. The Gazette-Times w ill not
publish unsigned letters Please include your address and phone number on all
letters for use by the G-T office. The G-T reserves the right to edit. The G-T is not
responsible for accuracy o f statements made in letters. (Any letters expressing
thanks w ill be placed in the classifieds under "Card of Thanks’ at a cost of 1 7.)
lone Schools9 excellence more
dependent on teachers, community,
rather than unified district
To the Editor:
T he lone S c h o o l’s
fight to regain its independence
has attracted , th rough the
A s s o c ia te d P ress a rtic le ,
interest in papers throughput
our country. We have had calls
from friends and relatives in
Roseburg, Red Bluff and New
York that they had read the
story o f their old hometown.
Unfortunately the tenor o f the
s to ry s e e m s to be th e
e c o n o m ic lo ss o f o u r
businesses which one version
listed as only a bank and
restaurant. O f course we do
not want to lose our eight small
businesses, but most o f all we
do not want to lose one o f the
prem ier small schools in our
state.
The lone school has
been in existence for over 120
years. For the first 60 years it
was the town district then the
o n e -ro o m d is tr ic ts w ere
in co rp o rate d , th en as the
school for southwest Morrow
C o u n ty a n d s e rv e d th e
students from the town plus a
thinly populated rural area
about 16 m iles w ide by 26
m iles long. Until the m id
twenties some o f the families
with high school-aged children
living in the more remote areas
m oved to town or boarded
them there during the school
year. With the advent o f better
roads it was feasible to run
buses north and south and up
and down the creeks and serve
its present boundaries.
E ven in its ea rlie r
years the school has claimed
many distinguished graduates,
am ong them the en g in eer
designer o f the G olden Gate
bridge, a the long time Oregon
chancellor ofhigher education
a n d a h o s t o f r e s p e c te d
professionals and successful
farmers. Almost 50 years ago
the district set some goals, the
first being that every graduate
o f the high school would have
the opportunity to take all the
required courses for admission
to S ta n fo r d . W ith th e
consolidation o f the sixties,
goals were changed but the
com m unity’s dedication and
support for better education
h a s n e v e r d im in is h e d .
H o w e v e r th e
p re s e n t
re p u ta tio n for e x c elle n c e
depends m ore on the labors
o f its dedicated teachers rather
than the support o f the unified
district.
Twice prior to this last
attempt to abolish this school
a similar effort was proposed,
the plans were dropped when
it was discovered that the
possible savings in instruction
were offset by increased cost
o f transportation. Where now
som e o f our children were
transported as m uch as 40
m iles a day, the new plan
w ould require as m uch as 80
miles a day for a few. Then o f
course, if only the middle and
high school w ere m oved we
w o u ld have h a d tw o bus
systems. Last o f all, about half
th e s tu d e n ts w o u ld be
excluded from participation in
extra curricular activities at the
combined school.
An
a d d itio n a l
com plaint is that when local
administrators were no longer
responsible to a local board
som e n ever had enough
interest in the children to even
attend school activities. For
e x a m p le
one
recen t
adm inistrator had so little
interest that he never bothered
to a tte n d th e s e n io r s ’
baccalaureate services. But
probably the m ain feeling o f
the patrons is that a local board
will hire an administrator who
will teach some classes. And
while they will always support
an education that will prepare
th e ir stu d en ts for careers
beyond the hills o f M orrow
C o u n ty , th e y w ill n e v e r
to le ra te w a ste fu ln e ss nor
policies that will hurt children
from other districts.
(s) Donald C. McElligott
lone
Turner Tops in Elks
horseshoe tournament
K en T u rn er o f
H eppner took top honors in
the Elks Lodge H orseshoe
P itching T ournam ent held
recently in conjunction with
their annual F a th e r’s Day
Picnic at Cutsforth County
Park. Sim on W inters earned
the second place award, with
Joe K enny capturing third
place.
In th e d o u b le s
c o m p e titio n , the team o f
K elw ayne H aguew ood and
Joe K enny took first place,
Brian H aguew ood and Matt
K enny took seco n d , w ith
C u rtis C u tsfo rth an d J e ff
C u ts fo rth n a b b in g th ird .
Twenty-two players took part
in the tournament.
In other activities at
th e a n n u a l p ic n ic , T o d d
Lindsay recaptured his title in
th e c o v e te d fo o tb a ll-to s s
accuracy competition. Families
e n jo y ed so ftb a ll, a three-
legged race, sack race, egg
toss and coins-in-the-straw
events. The potluck dinner
was well attended and visiting
was done by all. The various
adult events raised $94, which
w ill be d o n a te d to th e
M eadowwood Speech Camp
maintenance fund.
Little things create identity
To the Editor:
Last week, A1 Beck
took issue w ith statem ents
attributed to me in a recent AP
article in a rather lengthy letter
to the editor. R ather than
apologize to everyone and
their brother, I will instead
attempt to put my com m ents
in the proper context. As I am
rather quickly learning, the
problem w ith talking to a
reporter is, w ell, talking to a
r e p o rte r. A n h o u r o f
conversation is boiled down
to a q u o te or tw o. To be
perfectly frank, in the big
scheme o f life I care not much
about hom ecom ing queens
a n d o th e r su c h m a tte rs .
H ow ever, the point I was
m aking w as that there are a
million little things including
traditions that our kids would
give up if they did not have a
school in lone. They would be
asked to put them all away and
ad o p t th o se o f th e ir new
school. All those little things
add up to give lone its identity,
and that is som ething the
community has said over and
over again that they do not
care to lose.
As for the com m ent
pertaining to athletics, I have
no w o rrie s th at the lo n e
athletes could find their way on
to just about any team. It was
not the stars I was thinking
about; rather the kids at the
other end o f the spectrum
(hence the use o f the term
“benchwarmers.”) I spent my
fair share o f tim e riding the
bench at a small high school.
Had I been eliminated from a
JV team in my early years, I
may never have discovered the
athletic aptitude waiting to be
d e v e lo p e d . D e s p ite M r.
Beck’s attempt to make it so,
that com m ent had nothing to
do with coaches or rivalries or
put-downs. It had everything
to do with opportunity.
S elf-determ ination,
local control and preserving
the school and community are
the driving forces behind this
secession effort. It has not
been easy or pleasant. It has
required an inordinate amount
o f time and energy on the parts
o f many. The past six months
have been devoted to doing
w hat m any experts said was
impossible. So flog me if you
m u st M r. B e c k , b u t th e
apologies are going to have to
wait until I do som ething to
warrant them.
(s)A nne Morter
lone
Weary of competition
To the Editor:
T h e re a re fo u r
elem entary schools in the
M o rro w C o u n ty S c h o o l
District. In the recent district
wide math competition five of
the 10 top students were from
Heppner.
Why then do we keep
reading in print that another
school in the district is simply
the best?
Competition between
students keeps them interested
and w orking hard, but I am
w e a ry b e y o n d b e li e f o f
competition between towns,
(s) M eg Murray
lone
CHAMBER CHATTER
By Claudia Hughes, Exec. Dir.
T his past w eekend
the w eather cooperated. No
thunder, no lightening, no rain
or hail. Sun shone on visitors
fo r
th e
1 0 0 -y e a r
com m em oration o f the 1903
F lo o d . T h e y c a m e fro m
M o n ta n a ,
C a lif o r n ia ,
W ashington, and W estern
O regon to rem em ber their
ancestors who perished in the
historic flood o f 1903. For
m any it w as great or great-
great grandparents who were
lost. There w ere tears, there
was laughter and there were
new friendships made. Some
were in period costume, some
were old, som e were young,
and some traveled in collectors
cars.
The commemoration
started June 13, with around
200 experiencing “The Flood:
We
R e m e m b e r” .
On
Saturday, June 13,100 years
la te r, so m e a tte n d e d th e
dedication o f the weekend at
the park; others trooped to the
cemetery to see the unveiling
o f the m em orial and hear the
congressional record sent by
Representative Greg Walden.
Som e attended the Cascadia
Folk Q uartet and heard the
historic Heppner Flood song
while tapping their feet to a
variety o f period music; others
w a lk e d th e V o lk sw a lk ,
Hardman Hall
Com m unity Sale
following the Flood Guide and
stopping to view the flood
room at the museum.
The grand finale o f the
day included “D inner at the
C em etery” w ith lam b and
p o ta to e s , a s ta p le o f the
1900’s “Ghosts o f the past”
came from their gravesites to
share memories and letters o f
that historic day w hen 247
people lost their lives 100
years ago. “ Les M atlock and
Bruce Kelly” even rode past
on their horses as those old
Heppner hills turned all shades
o f pink and the sun set on a
m em orable day. People left
with history to carry forward
into future generations.
Historic Heppner, the
place we are lucky enough to
call hom e; the place where
people come together to cause
events to happen in order to
carry on history and leave
lasting m em ories. We are
about the same size we were
in 1903. Some things change,
some things remain much the
same and we keep caring. Life
goes on.
Births
Christian Anthony
DuBry-A so n , C h ristia n
Anthony DuBry, was bom to
Star la Fay A nn K erns and
Chet Alen DuBry o f lone on
M ay 2 6 , 2 0 0 3 , a t G ood
S h e p h e rd H e a lth C a re
System in Hermiston.
Kyle
Reed
Wheeler-A son, K yle Reed
W h e e le r, w a s b o rn to
Elizabeth and Philip Wheeler
o f Irrigon on M ay 29,2003,
at G ood Shepherd H ealth
Care System in Hermiston.
Marco Antonio
Barrera-A s o n , M a rc o
Saturday, June 28
8 a.m .-3 p .m .
V3
Refreshments: Hot Dogs, Polish Dogs,
Soda Pop, Coffee and Potato Chips
Antonio Barrera, was bom to
M a ria E m m a a n d S ix to
Alvaro Barrera o f Boardman
on June 5, 2003, at Good
S h e p h e rd H e a lth C a re
System in Hermiston.
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