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.
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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