Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 3,2006 - FIVE
Chamber Chatter
By Claudia Hughes, Exec. Dir.
May. How could that
p o ssib ly be? T h e re ’s a
website that lets you know
how m any days until
Christmas and St. Patrick’s
Day. 1 won't be visiting it;
time would go even faster
and 1 might hyperventilate in
the process.
It’s beautiful in the
Willow Creek Valley and
everyw here in O re g o n ’s
Rugged Country with wild
flowers popping up, streams
running, green budding out
and the retu rn o f w arm
su n sh in e. V isitors have
begun to take spring drives.
T hey com e through the
Chamber door praising our
tow n, w anting to return,
some want to move here
from E lgin, P rin e v ille ,
Vancouver, WA and Pasco,
WA. If we could just get
them to open a business.
Change is happening
and we need to have some
Town Hall meetings to think
c re a tiv e ly
about
opportunities for Heppner
and what we can do to keep
it vital and alive. W here
there's a will, there’s a way.
Share your thoughts with us
on this. Are you flexible, are
you c re a tiv e , are you
forward thinking, are you
w illin g to see H eppner
change, are you spending
dollars at home, are you
th in k in g
of
future
g e n e ra tio n s?
Som e
businesses are expanding;
this change is good. New
ideas are being tossed
around from a them e
community to the pros and
cons o f a bedroom
community. O f course jobs
are needed and many are
w orking on th is, as are
people in hundreds of other
small towns around the state.
We don’t just sit and wait,
we diversify. We are tough
enough.
A frien d
from
Phoenix visited last week.
When she was here three
years ago, we gave three
women on a bird watching
excursion the bunkhouse to
spend the night in. They
were total strangers in need
o f beds. She still h a d n ’t
gotten over the shock of that
story, when this time we sent
our car to Prineville with a
couple whose vehicle had
quit on H ighw ay 74 last
Sunday. It's eastern Oregon
after all. It’s been a week and
they keep touching bases as
they wait for it to be fixed.
My frien d , being from
Phoenix and maybe paying
too much attention to the
media fear factor, thought
we had lost our minds. It’s
no fun to live in fear, one
needs to trust and think
positive thoughts. Whatever
will be will be, as we do our
best to live by the Golden
Rule: “Do unto others as you
would have them do unto
you.” The three women sent
us a wonderful bird book and
an invitation to stay with any
o f them in Spokane,
Edm onds or Gig H arbor
anytime. We trust our car
will be back in our driveway
one day soon. In the
m eantim e, H eppner is a
great place to call home.
T hou g h t for the
Week: "What you put in your
mind stays there, fill it with
good thoughts.”
St. Patrick’s Senior Center news
St. P atrick’s Senior Center
resident, “Chance.”
Pork roast, baked
potato, green beans with
bacon and onion, w hole
wheat rolls, cake and ice
cream is the menu for the
May 10 noon meal at St.
P a tric k 's S enior C enter.
W illow C reek B aptist
Church volunteers are hosts
of the day.
Marge Spangler is a
new volunteer at the center
o ffice ,
on
T uesday
afternoon. She replaces Eve
Ironhawk who has become
a m em ber o f the re lie f
p erso n n el.
R ita
Van
Schoiack has moved from
the community.
R egard in g
last
w e ek ’s
re sid en t
introduction: Did you guess
who 1 am?
My
nam e
is
“C h a n c e .” My m om m y,
K athy T urner, c a lls me
“Pound Puppy,” because I
was ad o p ted from the
Humane Society. We have
traveled many miles to come
to Heppner. I enjoy meeting
new people. I am a cocker
spaniel.
My mommy walks
me and my sister, Sam, every
day (twice) and she always
carries a doggie bag so we
don’t leave a mess behind.
No one likes to step in that-
not even us.
T han k s
for
w elcom ing us. Do say,
“Hello.” Give me a chance.
Oxarc and Norco provide FFA
student support
Students receive awards for
poster contest
Smokey Bear Poster Contest winners: l Back Row): Teacher Cara
(I.-R): Jason Thomas, Norco (Pendleton), Harold Mattox, Oxarc Osmin and Heppner Carden Club president JoAnne Burleson:
(Hermiston), Jay Tracy, Oxarc (Pendleton), Sam Ramey, Norco )Fr()nt Row L_R>. j,._ Joe Schmidt. 2"d- Jason Kendrick, 3rd- Ross
(Pendleton) and Stacey Feik, Norco (LaGrande).
Cutsforth and Honorable Mention- Makenzi Hughes.
Two local area
com panies have provided
numerous dollars and man
hours to assist the FFA
pro g ram in the Blue
Mountain FFA District for
m any years. O xarc and
Norco, two welding supply
companies that service much
of eastern Oregon were on
hand during the district FFA
shop sk ills co n test in
Pendleton last week. The
FFA district is comprised of
FFA chapters from Condon,
H erm isto n , P en d leto n ,
M ilton-Freewater, Athena
Weston, Irrigon. Stanfield
and Pilot Rock. Both of
these companies have been
long time supporters and
proponents o f agriculture
e d u catio n
and
have
v o lu n ta rily
in v o lv ed
th em selv es in the ag
m ech an ics area o f the
program. Both companies
bring sales representatives to
help ju d g e qnd host the
c o n te s t(s ), su p p lie s for
particular areas like plasma
cutting and oxy-acetylene
welding in addition to prizes
awarded to top individual
students in each events.
“The am ount o f
dollars donated by Norco
and Oxarc is tremendous and
the support is remarkable,”
said FFA advisor, Erin
H eidem an from Condon.
"We couldn’t provide these
opportunities for students
without their help.”
FFA is the largest
youth organization in the
world w ho’s mission is to
p ro v id e stu d en ts w ith
premier leadership, personal
growth and career success
th ro u g h
a g ric u ltu ra l
education If you would like
more information about FFA
and the o p p o rtu n itie s it
provides students log onto
www.oregonffa.com.
Woodsy Owl Poster Contest winners: (Back Row): Teacher Cara
Osmin and Heppner Garden Club president JoAnne Burleson;
(Front Row L-R): l sl- Allie Allen. 2nd- Maty Gibbs, 3rd- Maddie
Lindsay and Honorable Mention- Kelley Wilson.
The O regon State
Federation of Garden Clubs,
Inc., gave certificates of cash
aw ards for the yearly
Smokey Bear and Woodsy
Owl poster competition. The
fo llow ing th ird grad ers
received $15 for first place,
$10 for second, $5 for third
and a c e rtific a te for
honorable mention.
The winners were:
Sm
okey
B ear- I s'- Joe
“T his ev en t is
specifically for the kids," said
ODFW
D istrict
Fish
Biologist Tim Bailey. “We
want to encourage children
Terry McElligott, a
as they learn to fish, and
1976
graduate
of lone High
hope they enjoy an activity
that can provide lifelong School, was recently named
Teacher of the Year by the
recreation.”
Anglers 13 years of members of the Classroom
age and under can fish for Law Project and awarded a
free. A juvenile l.cense is check for $1000. The
required for anglers 14-17 P ro ject is a n o n p ro fit
years of age. All state fishing program in O regon that
re g u la tio n s co n tin u e to w orks with teachers and
students in kindergarten
apply.
The pond is located through 12th grade to teach
at Cutsforth County Park, 22 civics, government and law
miles southeast of Heppner through partnerships with
on Willow Creek Road (Blue the legal, b u sin ess and
com m unity.
Mountain Scenic By-Way). ed u catio n
For
m ore McElligott was honored for
information contact Betty her d ed icatio n to her
Gray with Morrow County students and democracy.
Public Works at 989-9500 or Marilyn Cover, the director
Bailey at ODFW’s Pendleton o f the C lassroom Law
P ro ject,
in tro d u ced
office at (541 >276-2344.
McElligott at a Legal Citizen
dinner April 11.
M c E l l i g o t t ’s
accom plishm ents include
involvement with the We the
People curriculum the past
10 years; We the People
h earin g s she started at
C hehalem Valley that
became a model for middle
Youth fishing event scheduled
for Cutsforth Pond
Oregon Department
of Fish and W ildlife and
Morrow County Parks today
announced a youth fishing
event May 6 at Cutsforth
Park F ishing Pond near
Heppner.
ODFW will stock
650 trout in the pond for the
e v en t, in clu d in g som e
trophy-sized fish as part of
the
Youth
A ngling
Enhancement Program now
in its third year.
The event will take
place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Prizes will be awarded to the
angler catching the biggest
fish in age groups six and
under, 7 to 9, 10 to 12 and
13 to 14. Volunteers from
the Elks Lodge of Heppner
will be serving the kids hot
dogs and h am burgers.
ODFW will provide young
anglers with loaner rods and
reels, bait and tackle, and
volunteers will be available
to help the kids clean and
care for their catch.
Schm idt,
2 nd-
Jason
K endrick,
3rd-
R oss
Cutsforth and H onorable
Mention- Makenzi Hughes;
and Woodsy Owl- l sl- Allie
Allen, 2nd- Macy Gibbs, 3rd-
M addie
L indsay
and
Honorable Mention- Kelley
Wilson.
Allie Allen was sent
on to regional for further
awards.
Terry McElligott honored as
Teacher of the Year
Leadership...
For A Change!
schools across the nation:
her students’ success in the
Project Citizen portfolios at
state
and
n atio n al
competitions; and her state
and national mentoring for
the Project Citizen and We
the People Institutes in the
summer. M cElligott is an
eighth grade social students
and language arts teacher at
Chehalem Valley M iddle
School in Newberg.
M c E l l i g o t t ’s
classro o m p ro je c ts are
featured in the recen tly
published Holt. Rinehart and
Winston textbooks “Civics in
P ractice: P rin cip les of
G overnm ent
and
E co n o m ics.” The text
d escrib es tw o P roject
Citizens projects done by
students in M cE llig o tt's
class.
M cE llig o tt.
the
daughter of L.J. and the late
M aryan M cE lligott. will
travel to Russia this fall for
the Eisenhower People to
People
A m b assad o r
program.
Join Us for a Mexican Buffet
on Chco de Mayo (May 5th]
from 5 8 p.m.
ALL YOU CAN EAT!
‘Mattier* D a y
Sunday, ‘May 14tfi
- JOHN’S PLACE - m
f 1:
am running for Governor to
provide leadership for Oregon's
future - to change the way state
government operates,"
-Ron Saxton
M.iin Street. Heppner
“/
Peterson's
Heppner
Jewelers.
676-9200
votcsaxton.com
SAXTON
GOVERNOR
SEW WHAT
F o r III Your Sow ing .\o rd s
:
L
- P r o fe s s io n a l Ena b r o id e r y -
245 NW Main, Suite 200, lone
(541) 422-9000
Hour*.: Monday - Kridax U-.l