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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 2007)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 11,2007 - THREE Benefit planned for HHS graduate in need of bone marrow transplant -Continued front page one FA patient is still at high risk for o th e r c an cers, particularly head and neck. Dave Frohnmeyer, president of the University of Oregon, and his wife, Lynn, are the o fficia l spokespersons for FA. Their family has coped with the disease for years since three of their five children were diagnosed with it. Sadly, two daughters passed away due to c o m p lic a tio n s o f the disease. The Frohnmeyers and their supporters formed the F anconi A nem ia Research Foundation based in E ugene. FARF coordinates fundraising and research for FA worldwide. Since FA is an extremely rare disease, funds for research are scarce. Fanconi Anemia is DNA lin k ed , thus research ers believe that when a cure is found for FA, other cancers will be cured, inclu d in g b reast can cer which shares genes with FA. The P ro cto rs have all participated in FA research. Funds are raised privately for FARF and used worldwide for FA research grants. Since FA is an orphan d isease w ith no m ajor affiliation and funding, FARF counts on FA fam ilies to raise m oney. The F ro h n m ey er fam ily has raised the majority of funds over the years, but many other FA families work hard year round to help. In 2002 Roy was granted a wish through the Make A Wish Foundation. R oy’s wish was to meet M ichael Jo rd an . Since Jordan was playing for the W ashington W izards, the entire family was sent by Make A Wish to Washington DC for an entire week. W ith the developm ent this fall of further illnesses due to his immune system failing. Dr. K urre, R o y ’s d o cto r at D oern b ech er, and Roy decided that now was the time for his bone marrow/ stem cell tra n sp lan t. A marrow donor search took place including tapping into w orldw ide registries. An unrelated donor with 8 out of 10 matching markers was recently found for Roy. Timing for a bone marrow transplant for FA p a tie n ts is tricky. If a transplant is held off too long and leukem ia d ev elo p s, survival is rare. Roy was diagnosed seven years ago as p releu k em ic and was showing signs of a failing immune system. Doctors and specialists monitored him with monthly blood tests and re g u la r bone m arrow biopsies (he has had 17 bone marrow biopsies). In 2004 and 2005, Roy was quite ill and h o sp ita liz e d for unknown viral infections. In April 2006 he developed p neum onia and was hospitalized at Doernbecher for five weeks. Surgeons were forced to remove part o f one o f R o y ’s lungs. Serious complications set in w ith p o st-o p , in tern al bleeding and tachycardia. However, Roy accomplished his goal of walking at his high school g rad u atio n cerem ony in H eppner in June. Marrow transplants for Fanconi Anemia are done only at a handful of hospitals acro ss the co u n try and u n re la ted , u nm atched tra n sp la n ts to h ig h -risk p a tie n ts are even m ore specialized. The Proctor’s chose Dr. Farid Boulad at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City for the procedure. The success rate for transplanting bone m arrow from an u n re la ted donor and imperfect match to a high- risk patient with FA has im proved over the last 7 years from a 25% success rate to 50%. Dr. Boulad’s has an even higher rate of about 75%. R o y ’s in su ran ce companies have approved coverage for MSKCC and the transplant process will begin around the First part of May. Accompanied by his sister, Julie, Roy made his second trip to the hospital in New York the first week of April for testing. He will return to Oregon for a while and then he and his mother will travel to New York the first part of May to begin the transplant process. The goal of 100 days is set for the marrow transplant although the hospital would like the patient to live in the area for a total of six months. The Proctors will be stay in g at the R onald M acD onald H ouse in M an h attan . The R onald MacDonald House asks for financial help from their guests of $35 per night. Parents M ike and Kay Proctor o f H eppner have worked hard to be sure th eir fam ily alw ays had health insurance coverage. Even so, since 2000 they have paid over $89,000 out of pocket for health related expenses. MSKCC requires a family member to be with the tra n sp la n t p atien t th ro u g h o u t the e n tire process. Kay will be with Roy in New York for at least three months. During that tim e, h ealth in su ran ce premiums and other living expenses will need to be met with a reduced income while their financial resources are already stretched. Any branch of the Bank of Eastern Oregon will accept donations to the Roy Proctor M edical Savings account. For online updates of Roy’s medical progress, go to caringbridge.com and enter royproctor. Keeping informed about Fanconi Anemia Fanconi Anemia is a rare genetic disease where the b o d y ’s DNA cannot repair itself. Fanconi anemia (FA) is one of the inherited anemias that leads to bone m arrow failure (aplastic anemia). It is a recessive disorder: if both parents carry a defect (mutation) in the same FA gene, each of their children has a 25% chance o f inheriting the defective gene from both parents. When this happens, the child will have FA. There are at least thirteen FA genes (A, B, C, D1 (BRCA2), D2, E, F, G I, J, L, M and N). These genes account for almost all o f the cases o f Fanconi anemia. Mutations in FA-A, FA-C, and FA-G are the most common and account for approximately 85% of the FA patients worldwide. FA-DI, FA-D2, FA-E, FA- F, and FA-L account for 10%. FA-B, FA-I, FA-J. FA- M, and FA-N represent less than 5% o f FA p atients. Tw elve o f the Fanconi anem ia genes have been cloned. FA occurs equally in m ales and fem ales. It is found in all ethnic groups. Heritage Land Co. 278 N. Main, Heppner / We sell Residences, Ranches, and Recreation (541) 676-5049, (541) 980-3465 www.heritageland.net,www.farmseller.com www.eastoregonrealestate.com South Morrow County's Number One Real Estate Company Though considered primarily a blood disease, it can affect all system s o f the body. Many patients eventually develop acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and at a very early age. For a young child diagnosed with FA, achieving adulthood is rare. FA patients are extremely likely to develop head and neck, gynecological, and/or gastrointestinal squamous cell carcinomas, again at a much earlier age than in squam ous cell carcinom a p a tie n ts in the general population. Patients who have had a successful bone marrow transplant and, thus, are cu red o f the blood problem associated w ith FA still m ust have reg u lar examinations to watch for signs of cancer. For m ore information about Fanconi A nem ia v isit www.fanconi.org. JluH cji& i a t MuWiGUf'A'... We have p&nini sandwiches and salad for lunch! / J u s t n e e d a s n a c k ? T ry o u r c r o is s a n ts , b a g e ls , to a s te r m u f f in s o r m u ffin to p s! We w ill accept lunch call-in orders from 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. (676-9188) New Mustang spirit Gearl Hats • T Shirts • Sweafshirts Yankee Candle of th e M onth.. SPRING BOUQUET 25% OFF y (April Espresso Special: White Rabbit Mocha - 25< off any sizeT) ^ MlQMUj'i DflUJ 3M9M9MM9 Q . m . 217 North Main • Heppner Phone 676-9158 • Floral 676-9426 Servtng Heppner. Lexington & Ione £9 99 999 9 8 99 0 0 9 9 9 0 V fi 0 0 V 9MJ)J ~ Letters to the Editor ~ The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following criteria met letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that sou provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The address and phone number w ill only be used for verification and will not be printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the right to edit The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks w ill be placed in the classifieds under "Card of Thanks" at a cost of $ 10. Morrow County loses another “pioneer” To the Editor, With the passing of Floyd Jones, the last of the Jones boys. Morrow County has lost another of a splen did age of pioneers who have enriched our common heri tage in a land that is rightly to u ted as the “ R ugged Country” of Oregon. Floyd’s heritage will long be felt in 4H, rodeo and fair, and es pecially his passion for quar ter horses and the art of training cutting horses. He and Lorena were wonderful friends to our family. In an hour when fee hunting has closed the general public out of hunting, Floyd always al lowed the common folk to hunt on his lands. I appreciated the tes timony of George Koffler on behalf of another pioneer of Floyd’s era. Gene Pierce. Men like Gene Pierce, Floyd Jones, Paul Jones, O scar Peterson, Vic Groshens, Doc Tibbies, Glen Ward, Sheriff Clarence Bauman, Gordon P ratt, Lois W inchester, Delpha Jones, Orville and Barbara Cutsforth, and my father, Ed Dick just to name a few, had an indelible im pact on my life and the heri tage o f all in M orrow C ounty. L ike G eorge Koffler, I miss these people. With the passing of these pioneers it is important to sustain the values they all represented. There are too many examples of the char acter and integrity these pio neers brought to the table that continue to bless our common heritage to be in cluded in this letter. Never theless, George has inspired me to include a couple of examples of this integrity. L arry M uessig cam e to Heppner unbeknown to al most all as a teenage orphan, with no friends or family in the county. Judge O scar Peterson not only oversaw his nurturing as a teenage boy, but also was his most faithful letter writer when Larry served in Vietnam. When Dan M cBride told Judge Paul Jones he couldn't enlist in the Navy during the same war because o f his court record. Paul told Dan “ W hat record? Go serve your country.” The closing of the Kinzua Mill has proved the stro n g e st eco n o m y o f Heppner is the integrity and grit of the people. That great industry has been built upon the integrity of our pioneer fathers. Heppner continues to thrive because the next generation has sustained the integrity of our fathers. The story of the Bank of Eastern Oregon under the leadership of George K offler is one shining example. The qual ity of journalistic excellence and integrity under David and April Sykes equals or exceeds the excellent work of earlier Gazette publishers Wes Sherm an and Bob Penland. H eppner sports programs continue to pros per because of the integrity and commitment of the le gions of volunteers that sup port the program s at the grass root level. How many young men have been changed because of the love and co m m itm en t Rick Johnston has given to base ball in Morrow County? It is no surprise that the roots in tegrity of Morrow County and Heppner has produced two athletic directors at Or egon and Oregon State. Pat Kilkenny and Jim Barrett. Thanks George for inspiring me to write this let ter to give thanks to the great men and women that came before us. Floyd Jones was one of those great men and hell be sorely missed. (s) Stuart Dick Pendleton Community colleges getting shortchanged To the Editor: For the past 45 years Blue Mountain Community C o lleg es has su p p o rted Eastern Oregon communi ties, now we need to support them. I need your help in the State Legislature. Send let ters and make phone calls to the legislative budget com mittee; an important part of our econom ic future d e pends on your support. O regon's 17 Com munity Colleges are getting shortchanged in the state budget process. Legislative leaders have cut $70 million from the amount proposed by Community Colleges just to maintain programs for the next two years. The impact could be especially devastating for rural institutions such as Blue Mountain Community College where students al ready drive long distances to attend class. Since 2000, BM CC en ro llm en t has dropped from 15,400 to 12,300 and tuition increased from $40 to $61.80 per cred it hour. As one BMCC ex ecutive recently wrote me, “there’s a dark cloud on the horizon.” Community Colleg es shouldn't have to compete against K -12 for funding. In fact Community Colleges do a lot to help our high school graduates who aren’t ready for college. We also know Com munity Colleges are the best source of workforce training Old-Time Fiddlers to hold performance I wish for chocolate The Blue Mountain Old-Time Fiddlers will hold a concert on Saturday, April 28 at 6 p.m. at the Stokes Landing Senior Center in Irrigon. Cost is $5 for adults; $2 for children 6-12; and five and under are free. T here w ill be sandwiches, pie, soda and coffee available at 5:30 p.m. for family wage jobs in Ore gon. They provide essential services and workers to help our agriculture industry and small businesses sector. Budget deliberations for Community Colleges are underway in the Joint Ways and Means Education Sub committee. Please contact my office if you want to sub mit letters or other testimo ny in support of Community Colleges. After all - there’s a reason they have that name - they are truly part of your Community. Sincerely, Greg Smith. State Representative. House District 57 Justice Court Report Judge C h arlo tte G ray, H eppner Ju stice C o u rt, has released the following report: -Rita Jean Glover, 24, Heppner, no operator’s license, $244 fine. -William Maddern. Heppner, DUII 180 days in jail with 165 days suspended, three years probation, must complete alcohol education program. $2312 fine with $500 suspended. Birth announcements Bridget Doherty, 3. daughter of Chad Doherty, checks out her prizes after the annual Heppner Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 7. This event is sponsored by the Heppner Elks Lodge. Luke Emery Sarich - Nick and Lori (formerly Moeller) Sarich of Nampa, ID welcomed a new baby boy. Luke Emery Sarich, on Thursday, March 15, at 8:14 p.m. At birth he weighed six pounds, 15 ounces and was 20 Vi inches long. Grandparents are Chuck and Douna Moeller of Hermiston, and Gerry and Guy Sarich of Boise, ID. A N A M E R IC A N A ll o u r vehicles are clearly m a rke d w ith a N o Hassle Sale Price R E V O L U T IO N 2007 TAHOE 4x4 6-way Power Seal, 3rd Row Seal. Power Locks. Invoices are available for your inspection OnStar, Heated Mirrors. Outside Temp, R Defog The Simple Way • The Honest Way Customer Price S 33.832 MSRP $ 38.585 Discount $ 2,753 • Rebate S 2.000 3HERRELL CHEVROLET The Most Trusted Sam e In The Car Business NEW CARS - 567-6487 • HERMISTON. OR - 800-567-6488 • USED CARS - 567-3919
