Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2004)
SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 5, 2004 Oregon wines featured lone Cardinals track team competes at meet K elly T h o m p so n w in n in g th e 400 m e te r d a sh a t U m a tilla By Toni C arter T he lone C ardinals track team, despite being short o f members, faired well at the U m atilla Icebreaker meet on M arch 19, the first meet of the season. For the boys, Kelly Thom pson placed first in the 400 m eter dash and second in the 200 meter dash. Dan Long, w ith h is f ir s t a tte m p t at throw ing the javelin, placed eighth. O n the g irls’ side, Abby Key placed seventh in the discus while Ashley Grams grabbed fourth in the 300 low hurdles and fifth in the 100 m eter hurdles. A m ber Patton and Kim Morris placed fourth and fifth respectively in the high jum p. The g irls’ long relay team , consisting o f A shley G r a m s , A b b y K ey, K im M orris and A m ber Patton, placed seventh. O ut o f 16 team s, the boys placed 13th and the girls, 12th. O ne o f the five boys and three o f the 11 girls were on a trip to Italy, m issing the meet. Wahtonka weather holds for track meet By Toni C arter show from a num ber o f them. The lone track team Natalie McElligott placed first traveled to The Dalles for the in the long jum p and second in W ahtonka Cherry Festival to the triple ju m p . Eva C hitty com pete with 22 other team s took fourth in the 400 m eter on April 2. The weather, which dash. A shley G ram s placed norm ally is w indy and cold, fourth in the 3(X) meter hurdles, w as actually pleasant for the with Amber Patton taking fifth and Stephanie Holland eighth, meet. T h e g ir ls p la c e d respectively, in the high jump. seventh overall and had a good The 4x400 long relay team of Local Head Start to receive federal funds U n ite d S ta te s S enators G ordon Sm ith and Ron W yden have announced that U m atilla M orrow Head Start program will receive $ 4 ,0 1 6 ,6 3 0 from the U .S. D ep artm en t o f H ealth and H um an Services to continue providing Head Start services to children aged three to five years. “ H e a d S ta r t is a w o n d e rfu l re so u rc e fo r children and parents alike,” said Smith. “Umatilla-Morrow Head Start will now have even m ore resources to continue p ro v id in g k id s an d th e ir parents the early tools needed to reach their full potential in life.” “Through Head Start's comprehensive program, kids n o t o n ly g e t a c c e s s to educational basics, but also to health care serv ices - tw o essential building blocks for a brighter future,” said Wyden. “ I am p le a s e d to see the Um atilla-M orrow Head Start receive these funds.” T h e H e a d S ta rt Program , created in 1965, is a fe d e ra l p ro g ra m in the A dm inistration o f C hildren, Youth and F am ilies in the D epartm ent o f H ealth and H u m a n S e r v ic e s w h ic h p r o v id e s c h il d c a r e to u n d e rp riv ile g e d c h ild re n . U m a tilla -M o rro w C o u n ty Head Start, Inc. is a non-profit organization which provides se rv ic e s fo r c h ild re n and fam ilies in seven E astern Oregon counties. mm&m V Eva Chitty, Abby Key, Ashley G ram s and Sara Peck placed eighth. W ith only five boys taking track this year and each improving in their events, they show promise for the season. Kelly Thom pson placed fifth in the high ju m p and sixth in the 200 meter dash, while Dan Long cam e in seventh in both the shot put and the javelin. O ver th i* UYCI 11 Tpp P u n 1C C L ad ies g a th e re d at W illow C reek C ountry Club on A pril 27 for their w eekly playday. Corol M itchell took low gross of the field. Bernice Lott took low net of the field. Jackie A llstott, K andy Boyd and Cam Wishart tied for least putts o f the field. In f lig h t A , P a t E dm undson took low gross and Betty Christman took low net. In flight B, Lorrene M ontgom ery took low gross; Luvilla Sonstegard took low net; and Lois Hunt took least putts. In flig h t C , J o y c e Dinkins took low gross; Betty C arlson took low net; and Dorris Graves took least putts. The K P went to Corol M itchell on Hole # ! - third shot. The 1 8 -H o le Invitational will be held June 1. The Jo Pettyjohn Memorial L adies’ T ournam ent will be held June 11-13. O re g o n w ines w ill play on a world stage over the next few w eeks as separate tasting events take place in such m a rk e ts as S w ed e n , Japan and China. The efforts- coordinated, in part, by the O r e g o n D e p a r tm e n t o f A griculture- underscore the w in e in d u s tr y ’s d e s ire to expand exports despite stiff global competition. “O ur w ine industry has d a b b le d in the e x p o rt marketplace for at least the last 10 years, but there seem s to have been no concerted effort to sell O regon w ines outside o f C an ad a and the U nited K in g d o m ,” s a y s P a tr ic k M ayer, in te rn atio n a l trade m anager with OD A . “W ithin the last year, th ro u g h our participation with the Oregon W in e B o a r d ’s E x p o r t Committee, we have been able to help give the industry some perspective on our prim ary m arkets o f Japan and C hina as w e ll as o th e r m a rk e ts around the world that might be of interest.” A c c o r d in g to th e Oregon Agricultural Statistics Service, about 42,000 cases o f O re g o n w in e w e re exported in 2003- only about three percent o f all wine sold out o f the state last year. O f th a t a m o u n t, m o re th a n 1 6 ,0 0 0 c a s e s w e n t to C a n a d a , th e U .K ., a n d France. N early 14,000 cases w ere sh ip p e d to Ja p a n in 2003, about a 400 percent increase over 2002. Still, ODA officials believe Japan can im prove on those num bers while China and other parts of E urope are pursued. T h a t’s why the upcom ing events are so important. F o r 2 0 04, the first planned ro llout o f O regon w ine took place last w eek in Stockholm Stockholm, whert116 where 16 wineries w e re represented at a tasting held at the U.S. am bassador’s residence. Serendipity m ay have led to Sw eden’s interest as food and w ine w riters and p h o to g r a p h e r s fro m th e S candinavian country cam e through O regon a year ago. T he pictures and the w ords that follow ed that fateful trip h e lp e d g ra b a tte n tio n fo r Oregon wine. “We were fortunate to have the folks from Sw eden com e and visit us last year,” says M ayer. “N ow we w ant to build on the m omentum .” The next international Oregon wine event takes place on M ay 18, a h alf a w orld aw ay from Sweden. Tastings will take place in Tokyo with 12 p a r tic ip a tin g O re g o n w ineries. A “tasteoff” w ith French w ines will be part o f the strategy for highlighting the quality o f O regon w ine. In addition, various Japanese restau ran ts w ill feature an O reg o n w ine b y -th e -g la ss Give A Gift To Mom M She Will Treasure Births G ra c e S o p h ia O g d e n -a d au g h ter, G race * Sophia, w as bom February 2 0 ,2 0 0 4 . at Kadlec Hospital in R ichland, W ashington, to A lison and Jarrod O gden o f lone. The baby w eighed 8 lbs., 8 oz. and was 21 inches long. G randparents are Brian and Lorie Sullivan o f lone. .. G a v y n n R ose A s c h e n b re n e r-a daughter, Gavynn Rose, was bom April 2 3 , 2 0 0 4 , in T e m p le to n , California to Mollie (Bothum) and Sean Aschenbrener. She jo in s siblings, A shton and L a u ren , at hom e. Grandparents are Jan Bothum of Pendleton and Jim Bothum of P r in e v ille . G r e a t- * grandm other is Mary Beamer o f Heppner. , K e a la R ose E ld rid g e -a daughter, K eala R ose, w as born A pril 26, 2 0 0 4 , at G o o d S h e p h e rd M edical Center in Hermiston to Vanessa and Adam Eldridge ofBoardm an. Babe Ruth signups slated The deadline for Babe Ruth signups for boys and girls 1 3 -1 5 y e a rs o f a g e is Saturday, M ay 15. For more information o r to sig n u p , c a ll R i c k Johnson, 676-5562, or Rick Paullus, 676-8779. R ealize Your Dream Home With The Bank o f E astern Oregon! - N EW H O M E P U R C H A S E - First Time Home Buyers • Low and No Down Payment Options Customized Plans and Programs • Second Homes or Vacation Homes Rental Properties / Investments f. - R E F IN A N C IN G Y O U R H O M E - j T Debt Consolidation • Home Equity Loans • Lines of Credit Interest Rate Reduction • Lower Monthly Payments “We are delighted with the whole experience! M elissa and her staff were great to work w ith!“ V.» - C O N S T R U C T IO N LO A N S - Custom Stick Built Homes • Cabins and Vacation Homes Modular and Kit Homes • Owner Builder Participation Manufactured Home Set Ups • Remodel Projects V ern on and C'hrystal G rey, Condon o f Amar r • Inc Peterson’s ^ sh e lv e s o f g ro c e ry sto re s worldwide. “ A s an e x a m p le , Japan has traditionally been a market that demands premium products and is willing to pay for them,” says Mayer. "Even though its econom y has been w eak the past several years, Japan has the second highest G N P in the w orld after the U.S., and consum er spending is still high on a pier capita basis.” T h e O re g o n W ine B o a rd has show n a c o m m itm e n t f o r m o re overseas sales by creating an export com m ittee. M em bers o f the com m ittee are excited about the upcoming events. "W e are the m arines hitting the beach for O regon and trying to position our wines in a world marketplace,” says Doyle Hinman, sales manager with Henry Estate, located in Southern O regon’s U m pqua Valley, who is m ost intrigued with China. "People have told us C h in a h a s u n lim ite d potential. As a group, w e’re trying to understand how to do business in that market. These tastings will help us get the lay o f the land.” Hopefully, the tasting o f O regon wine the next few w eeks w ill w h e t an international appetite for more. For more information, c o n ta c t P a tric k M a y er o r Brian Liu at (503) 872-6600. Purchase - Refinance - New Construction Loans W I prom otion that week. “ In T o k y o , w in e consum ption is now on a par w ith consum ption o f sake,” says Mayer. Later in May, a dozen O regon w ineries- m any o f th e m p a rtic ip a tin g in the Japanese events- will travel to B e ijin g fo r tw o s e p a ra te tastings involving 100 invitees. A separate event will follow in the southern C hinese city o f Guongzhou. “T he w ine m arket o f mainland China is in its infancy, but w in e c o n s u m p tio n is increasing at an annual rate of ab o u t 25 p e rc e n t the past couple o f years,” says Brian Liu, ODA’s trade m anager for China. “This will be the first event O regon’s wine industry has had in C hina We will invite m edia, distributors, food and beverage managers from local fo u r-star hotels as w ell as m anagers o f other high-end restaurants. We want to reach a b o u t o n e p e rc e n t o f the m ark e t. T h a t’s e n o u g h to make a difference.” Like so m any other Oregon agricultural products, wine is looking for its niche in the export market. In Sweden and o ther parts o f Europe, Oregon wine Ls competing with centuries-old w ineries from France, Italy, and Spain. The A sian m arket also receives E uropean w ine as w ell as production from A ustralia. U .S. w ine e x p o rts are, o f c o u r s e , d o m in a te d by C a lifo rn ia . B ut O re g o n ’s strong reputation for growing high quality Pinot grapes is well know n am ong w in e aficionados. Prom otion and education through wine tasting events can help broaden the aw aren ess and ex p o se the consum er to what Oregon has {0 offer .1 A'A O regon w ines are not going to offer the lowest p r ic e , so w e h a v e to be ta r g e te d w ith w h e re th e product is being prom oted,” says M ayer. “ S w eden and Japan have fairly developed wine m arkets already. To our advantage, perhaps, Pinot noir and some of the other Oregon- grown varieties are not as well know n as C abernet, M erlot, and o ther red w ines. A s the w ine c o n su m e r gets m ore sophisticated, they are always hungry for something new and different. T hat goes for all custom ers o f O regon wine, hom e and abroad.” The focus for m ost Oregon wineries looking at the export m arket is to reach the high-end retail wine shop or the white tablecloth restaurant of a fancy hotel. The average consum er in a country like Japan can go to a retail store to buy lower cost wine just as A m erican c o n su m e rs can. G enerally, O regon will not c o m p e te w ith o th e r w ine p ro d u c e rs w h o s to c k the rn Je w ele rs/ Heppner f T J Bank o f M e m b e r F D IC 676-9200 (541 ) 676-9884 mmm- * Melissa Lindsay, Mortgage Mgr. J
