FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 17,2005
National monument celebrates grand Former exchange student
opening of paleontology center
returns for a visit
Brothers bring in the summer catch
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Nation Park Service Director Fran M ainella (left) and National
Park Service Regional Director Jon Jarvis cut the ribbon on the
new Thomas Condon Paleontology Center.
N ational
Park
S erv ice D irector, Fran
M ain ella, and over 500
v isito rs and scie n tists
celebrated the opening of the
T hom as
C ondon
Paleontology C enter in a
ribbon cutting cerem ony
Aug. 13 at John Day Fossil
Beds National Monument.
D irecto r M ainella was
accompanied by National
Park S ervice R egional
D irecto r Jon Ja rv is and
monument superintendent
Jim Hammett.
The
Thom as
C ondon
P aleo n to lo g y
C en ter was d esig n ed to
break the barrier between the
g en eral public and the
science of paleontology. It
a cco m p lish es th is by
allo w in g the pub lic to
observe through a glass
w indow
w hile
the
paleontologists prepare the
fossils they found. Each of
the microscopes in the lab
has a digital video camera
attached to it so visitors can
watch a television screen
located in the lobby and
a ctu a lly see w hat the
paleontologist sees and does.
V isitors eagerly
awaited the opening of this
center and seemed fascinated
as they w alked into the
exhibit room. The exhibits
contain eight murals, which
correspond to the more than
400 fossils on display and the
various ages of the deposits.
The fossils rest on actual
casts of the rock localities
from w hich they were
ex cav ated . T he e x h ib its
d e m o n strate
how
p a le o n to lo g ists use the
fossils they find as pieces to
a puzzle. Each piece gets
them a little closer to finding
out exactly what the plants,
animals and even ecosystems
looked like over 40 million
years ago. The center is not
only visually stimulating, but
it also contains a sound
system , w hich produces
audio of what the animals
may have sounded like.
T he
Thom as
C ondon
P aleo n to lo g y
C e n te r is not only a
masterpiece in itself; it is
surrounded by hundreds of
miles of hills of all shapes,
sizes and even colors. The
different layers of the hills
vary in color depending on
their mineral composition
and the type of weathering
they experienced.
D irector M ainella
displayed her enthusiasm for
the new c e n te r in her
remarks, “Visitors are able
to see fossils representing
the most complete sequence
o f plant and anim al
populations from the Age of
Mammals in the entire world
here at John Day Fossil Beds
N ational M onum ent. We
know
the
sc ie n tific
community also shares our
excitem ent that the new
paleontology center will
serve as a catalyst for their
w ork — and that m ore
researchers are likely to be
drawn here.”
P aleontologists at
the center are working daily
to better understand these
ancient plant, animals and
ecosystems, but recognize
they will never solve all the
mysteries. Accordingly, this
new center was designed
w ith the in ten tio n o f
updating the exhibits as new
d isc o v e rie s are m ade.
Paleontologist Ted Fremd
reminds himself to “see and
then
th in k .”
The
paleontologists at the center
look at what the evidence is
telling them and revise their
theories accordingly. So, for
years to com e this new
T hom as
C ondon
Paleontology C enter will
help the paleontologists and
the public better understand
what took place here over
40 million years ago.
DON’T MISS OUR
9th ANNUAL
M ICROBREW
BEER & WINE
TASTING!
THURSDAY, AUG. 18th
6:30 - 9:30 p.m.
MORROW COUNTY
FAIRGROUNDS
A il W in e s A r e From Ita ly
(Back Row): Willy Gentry; (Front Row L-R): Jerry Gentry,Tate
Gentry and Vera Pawlowsky.
A German exchange
student who spent the 2003-
04 school year w ith the
Gentry family in Heppner
came back this past week for
a visit.
Vera P aw low sky,
who is now 18 years old,
spent some time in California
and then came up to visit
Terri and Jerry Gentry and
Baker County horse tests positive
for West Nile virus
The
O regon
Department of Agriculture
announced Aug. 10 that a
horse from the Richland area
in Baker County has tested
positive for West Nile virus
(W N V ).
T he
horse
demonstrated symptoms of
in c o o rd in a tio n and had
stopped eating. The Baker
County horse had not been
immunized against WNV,
but is still alive. In 2004, half
o f the 32 Oregon horses
diagnosed with West Nile
virus
died
or w ere
euthanized.
A cco rd in g
to
Oregon State Veterinarian
Don Hansen, it is important
to note that the virus is
passed by mosquitoes, not by
horse-to-horse, or horse-to-
human contact.
“Mosquitoes,
however, can pass the virus
to hum ans,” says Em ilio
D eB ess, p u b lic h ealth
veterinarian for the Oregon
D ep artm en t o f H um an
Services.
The virus has also
been reported in birds from
Jack so n and M alh eu r
counties, demonstrating the
statewide presence of this
disease-causing virus. Drs.
Hansen and DeBess urge the
following actions to help
prevent the spread o f the
disease.
V accinate h o rses.
For the best p ro te c tio n ,
horses need to be given two
doses: an initial dose and a
booster dose 21 days later.
If your horse has already
been vaccinated with both
d o ses,
co n su lt
your
veterinarian about the need
for a booster at this time. If
your horse has not been
v a cc in a ted
you
are
encouraged to vaccinate
now.
C ontrol m osquito
An open house tour
of the St. Patrick’s Senior
Center apartments will be
held Saturday. Aug. 20 from
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will
be d o o r p rizes and
The Victorian Rose, refreshments.
located on May Street in
H eppner, w ill reopen its
doors Wednesday, Aug. 17
at 10 a.m., after the business
was flooded with 2-‘/2 inches
The m em bers o f
of water Monday night, Aug.
Heppner
Methodist Church
8, said owner Marti Luther.
are
holding
a reception on
The store’s inventory had to
Sunday,
Aug.
21 in honor of
be rem o v ed from the
b u ild in g and sto red for Jim and Cam W ishart.
several days while the pipes church members who are
were fixed and the floors moving to Hood River. The
reception will be held after
repainted.
church at approxim ately
11:30 a.m.
w ill o ffe r tw o ran g er-
conducted hikes into the
spectacular Blue Basin fossil
beds. Each two-hour hike
will feature the geologic
landscape and fossil history
of the basin.
The hikes will begin
at 10 a.m., both Saturday
and Sunday, Aug. 20 and 21.
They will start at the Blue
Basin trailhead. located three
miles north o f the Sheep
Rock Unit visitor center,
along State Route 19.
Participants should
bring good hiking shoes, a
sun hat, jacket, water bottle
and camera.
For
fu rth e r
information, call (541) 987-
2333.
Open House to Blue Basin hike
be held at senior offered
John Day F o ssil
apartments
Beds National Monument
Victorian Rose.
reopens after
flood
Han tut fm m
s jä r
St. Patrick’s to offer Light
Weigh program
video. The program draws
on the te ac h in g s o f St.
Ignatius of Loyola and St.
Therese of Lisieux, and, of
course, the example Jesus
gave
by o v erco m in g
temptation in the desert.
E v ery o n e
is
w elcom e to atten d this
program.
Farewell
reception to be
held for Wisharts
BACK TO SCHOOL!
DRIVERS NEEDED
Enrich yimr family with
another culture Now you
can him a high school
exchange \im knt (girl or
hoy) from France, (icrmtim.
Vambnavia. Spain.
I ngUntl Japan. Brazil Hah
or other countries
Becoming a host to a young
intcmationaJ vteti* t* an
cx prrtm cc of a hfcrime'
///n C C Û Ü
Ubn «tow*
Heppner Fire Department extinguishes a grass fire below the high
school last Thursday. The fire was reportedly started by work
men installing a fire hydrant in the area. It took firemen a little
over an hour to completely extinguish the blaze. No damage was
reported.
For those who are
concerned with their weight,
or are struggling with diets
there will be an orientation
presentation of the “Light
W eigh” pro g ram at St.
P atrick p arish hall on
Monday, Aug. 22 at 7 p.m.
T his p resen tatio n
w ill in clu d e the “ Light
Weigh” bible study and a
Make a lifelong
friend from abroad.
Barbecue by John Gochnauer:
Serving Italian Lamb
& Fried Oysters
217 North Main • Heppner • 676-9158
breeding sites. Help reduce
the number of mosquitoes in
outdoor areas by draining
sources of standing water. In
this way, you reduce the
number of places mosquitoes
can lay their eggs and breed.
Protect yourself. The
hours from dusk to dawn are
peak mosquito biting times.
Consider avoiding outdoor
activities during these times
or take extra care to use an
E P A -reg istered
in sect
repellent such as those with
DEET, picaridin, or oil of
lem on eu caly p tu s. W ear
protective clothing.
Observe and report.
The virus can infect the
central nervous system of
horses and cause symptoms
of encephalitis. Clinical signs
o f encephalitis in horses
in clu d e
w eak n ess or
paralysis of hind limbs, hyper
e x c ita b ility ,
atax ia
(in c o o rd in a tio n )
and
convulsions.
It is im portant to
note that not all horses with
clinical signs of encephalitis
have West Nice encephalitis.
C all y o u r v e terin arian
immediately if you witness
any of the above symptoms
in your horses.
H o st an E xch an ge
Student Today!
P I u s, J e t T e a s lo r th e k id s!
^ MtWlUJ'i tku)
their two boys Willie and
Tate. She spent 10 days in
H eppner and then has to
head back to Germany in
time for school to start. She
will be in the 13lh grade this
Enjoying the great summer weather, brothers Luke and Kevin
year.
M urray caught an 18-inch rainbow trout Aug. 15 in Willow
H er hom etow n is
Creek.
Ibbenbueren, which has a
p o p u la tio n o f around
60,000.
Kkms fm m Grrmanx. I ? yr%
Um% r — pm% m*
w m
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: -----------
Emma at 1 -800-733-2773 (Toll Free)
Sandie Steele (541) 922-0*2» & Cathy Halvorsen (541 ) 422-7107
O p e n in g s fo r self-m o tiva ted ,
team -o rien ted p eop le.
Train in g provided.
A p p ly in p e rso n
or c o n ta c t us at:
M id C o lu m b ia B u s Co.
20 H w y 74 E a s t
H eppner, O R 97836
541-676-5861 / 1-800-348-8241
An eq u a l o p p o rtu n ity e m p lo y e r
W f tm cmathmal l u t im i f.xchanpr P m p u H a (w N k h n u fk . nnn-pmth »uganhaOnn
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