Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 2009)
Norene makes final trip to Europe for D-Day commemoration, President Obama calls family to express condolences By Autumn Morgan On M ay 27 Jim N orene o f H eppner flew to Normandy, France, for the commemoration o f the 65th anniversary o f D-Day. Jim, a member o f the 101s' Airborne Division during World War 11, visited the graves o f his fallen com rades and died that night in his sleep, before the com- 97403 ............. Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library University o f Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 Top photo: Jim Norene with his daugh ter, Trade Bunch, at the dedication of the World War I I Memorial in Wash ington, D.C. in 2004. Right photo: Jim Norene (right) with his brother Bill. -Contributed photos VOL. 128 NO. 23 12 Pages Wednesday, June 10,2009 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Health district hires new administrator By April Sykes M orrow C ounty Health District CEO Victor Vander Does has announced that the health district has hired a new administrator, Michael Blauer. Vander Does, who previously announced his re tirement, said that Blauer, who is currently an administrative resident at the Poudre Valley Health System at Fort Col lins, CO, is anticipated to be on the job by the end of June. Blauer graduated from Idaho State University at Pocatello, Magna Cum Laude, and re ceived a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a BA in Spanish. He earned a master of health services administration degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. “I think this is a highly qualified individual and he and his wife are a re ally nice couple,” said Vander Does. “I think they will really fit in this community.” Vander Does says that he expects to stay on the job at least through July 1-2 and perhaps through July 6-7, depending on the overlap. Vander Does said that the administrator’s salary is $105,000 per year. Vander Does says that he and his wife, Nancy, have definite plans to travel after his retirement. She is currently a board member on the Morrow County School Board. Deceased newborn found in toilet On Sunday, June 7,2009, the body o f a new born infant was discovered in the tank o f a portable toilet by a sanitation worker in Hermiston. The toilet had been placed in the Board- man area for use by farm workers, but had been re turned to H erm iston for cleaning. As a result of Uma tilla Morrow County Major Crimes Team investigation. Araceli Velasquez Espain, 23, o f Hermiston was ar rested and lodged in the U m atilla County Jail on charges o f aggravated Mur der, Murder, Manslaughter I, A buse o f a C orpse II, Crim inal M istreatm ent I, and Concealing the birth of an infant. Investigation into this incident remains open. Major Crimes Team mem b ers in clu d e p e rso n n e l form the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, Boardman P olice D epartm ent, O r egon State Police, Umatilla County S h eriff’s O ffice, Pendleton Police D epart m ent, M ilton F reew ater Police Department, M or row County District Attor ney’s Office, and Umatilla County District Attorney’s Office. memoration ceremony the next day. Jim j o i n e d th e Army in 1942. He originally planned to be a ski trooper because of all the skiing he had done on Mount Hood. But Jim and a few o f his friends decided to switch gears when they learned they could make $50 more per month as paratroopers. So Jim made the switch and went to jum p school in Ft. Benning, GA. Jim and his brother, Bill, were in the Army at the same time. However, Bill was stationed in Arkansas during World War II. "Bill was a little jealous because Jim was involved with the war,” said Tracie Bunch, Jim ’s daughter. During the time Jim was overseas, the two had been w riting letters back and forth and were planning to meet in Chi cago. Just after receiving the last letter from Bill, Jim found out that Bill had been a c c id e n ta lly shot w hile training soldiers to use ba zookas. He later died in the hospital after contracting pneumonia. During World War II, Jim was based in Eng land and was shot twice during the time he was with the Army. The first time he was shot was while fighting in Holland and was airlifted back to England where he recuperated before return ing to fight in the war. After returning to Holland, during the Battle at Bastogne his unit was surrounded and cut off from supplies and ammunition until General Patton’s army was able to break through. It was dur ing this time that he was shot the second tim e, a bullet shattering bones near his knee and ending his military career. S ince his retu rn from W orld War II, Jim never said much about his tim e fighting during the war. But over the last few years he had been meeting with several other veterans and soldiers at barbecues and reunions and had finally begun to open up and share his experiences, at first with his fellow soldiers and then with his family. It was after he had begun to tell his stories to his family that his daughter, Tracie, learned about her uncle. Bill. The trip to N or mandy for the D-Day com memoration was the third trip Jim had made to Europe since he was a soldier fight ing during World War II, but his first trip to Normandy. Jim and his wife, Corabelle (Corky) visited Europe for 15 days in 1992 and decided they needed more time to travel and went again in 1993 for a month, visiting England and Holland. Jim was a “ devoted husband and father," said Tracie. Jim and Corky were mar ried 55 years before Corky passed away in 2005. Tracie was the only child o f Jim and Corky. Tracie and her husband, Mike, have one daughter, Audra Hunting- ton, who lives in Portland with her husband, Sam. Jim had been diag nosed with non-Hodgkins ly m p h o m a and w as re ceiving blood and platelet tra n sfu sio n s at a cancer center in Washington. Jim had been planning the trip to Norm andy for quite a w hile and it became a joint effort by his doctors and family to make sure he was able to make the trip. On May 30, after arriving in France, Jim had dinner with a couple from Holland and their one year old daughter. Jim and the couple had been convers ing over the internet for the past 7-8 years, with phone calls at Christmas. Tracie says that in some European countries, specifically Eng land and Belgium, people raise their children to spe cifically recognize, respect and thank A m erican GIs who fought for them during World War II. President Obama, who was in France for the c o m m e m o ra tio n , h e a rd about N orene’s death and had one o f his aides call T ra cie on Friday a fte r noon to ask permission to mention Jim in his speech that day. Tracie was also inform ed that president would be calling her at a later time. That time hap pened to be Monday while she was in a class at Hepp ner High School where she is a special education aide. President Obama expressed his condolences to Tracie and then they spent a few minutes talking about spe cial education funding for school. Tracie thanked the president for the money that he had budgeted for special education program s. She said the president told her it was important to him to help schools with special education programs. T racie says th at throughout this tim e the French Embassy has been very helpful. She says that Jim ’s body is expected to be brought back in 8-10 weeks. Jim was very proud to have fought with the 101s' Airborne Division. He always wore a jacket with 101s' Airborne Division em blems and his car had 101s' Airborne Division bumper stickers. “He was a silent hero because he has never talked about this stuff," said Tracie. “But he has always been my hero.” Residents to see increase in city water rates HHS principal reports that President By David Sykes Beginning with their July billing, residents of Heppner will see a $2 per month increase in their water bills, the city council voted Monday night. The two dollar increase, along w ith a “re-directed” monthly sewer bond pay ment of $8.90, will be used to make yearly payments o f $130,701 necessary to pay off city the water system overhaul completed several years ago. See page SEVEN to read the complete resolution. ODOT considers toil roads In other business the council re viewed a letter from the Oregon Department o f Transportation (ODOT) which is consid ering placing tolls on some Oregon roads. An email invited representatives from the city to attend forums to discuss implementing toll roads in Oregon. Seven “white papers” about toll roads, listed below have been developed by the state and will be discussed at the forums. 1. Can tolling reduce greenhouse gas emissions? 2. Where, geographically, could toll ing work and under what circum stances? 3. Forecasting change - how do we incorporate tolling and pricing into our regional transportation models? 4. What are the economics of trans portation system reliability? 5. How does “pricing" urban high way networks affect transporta tion, people and businesses? 6. How do you determine if tolling a project is a better alternative than other non-tolled options and how would you choose between a number o f tolled alternatives? 7. Are truck only toll lanes a viable option for Oregon? City M anager David DeM ayo said Tuesday he did not know if anyone from the city w ould be attending the forums, all o f which are being held in Portland, Eugene, Wilsonville and Salem. A link to the ODOT web site discussing placing toll roads in Oregon can be found on the Heppner web site at www.heppner. net. Strategic plans to be developed In other business at M onday’s meeting, the council heard from Willow Creek Valley Economic Development Group (W CVEDG) executive director Sheryll Bates who explained an upcom ing strategic plan update planned for Heppner. Bates said WCVEDG has con tracted w ith Greater Eastern Oregon De velopment Corporation to help complete strategic plans for Heppner, Lexington and lone. The plans are important, she said, to help cities and other groups focus on the future needs of communities, and to receive funding on those needs. Bates said five to six people from each community will be approached to help put together the strategic plans. “It is important when going after gran ts," said M ayor Les Paustian. The city council also heard a report from Morrow County S heriff’s -Continued on Page SEVEN ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. Obama calls HHS teacher’s aide By April Sykes H e p p n e r H ig h S ch o o l P rin c ip a l D aye S tone to ld the M orrow County School Board Tues day night that Tracie Bunch o f H eppner, the d au g h ter o f World War II hero Jim N orene, receiv ed a call from President Obama at the school M onday to express his condolences to her. Tracie is a special education aide at Heppner High. T r a c i ’s f a t h e r , who had been ill with non- Hodgkin’s lymphoma, had traveled to France for the c o m m e m o ra tio n o f the 65'h anniversary of D-Day. He was a m em ber o f the 101s' Airborne Division as a paratrooper on D-Day and fought in Holland and B astogne during W W II. Norene visited the graves o f his fallen comrades and died that night in his sleep, before the commemoration cerem ony the next day. President Obama, who w as in France for the commem oration mentioned Norene in his speech that day. A c c o r d i n g to Stone, Tracie and Presi dent Obama visited for a while on the phone. Stone chuckled w hen he said that Tracie brought up the issue o f education funding to the president and spoke with him three-four minutes on the topic. He also noted with chagrin that they had to put the W hite House secretary on hold w hile they located Tracie. Also at the meet ing, Morrow County School Superintendent Mark Bur rows congratulated lrrigon High School Principal Craig Bensen for his school’s soft- ball team’s state champion ship win. Bensen told the Gazette that they scheduled a pep rally and a surprise graduation cerem ony on Thursday, June 4, complete with “ Pomp and Circum stance" for tw o senior girls, Kim Campos and Breena Tolar, w ho w ere faced w ith the dilemma o f either miss ing the state tournament or their graduation ceremony. The state tournament was scheduled for Friday, June 5 at 1 p.m. at the Oregon State University softball field in Corvallis. Irrigon’s gradua tion ceremony was planned for the same day at 7 p.m. The girls went on to be a part of the lrrigon Knights -Continued on Page SEVEN Celebrate Heppner Schedule can be found on Page EIGHT At the MCGG GREEN FEED STORE in H eppn er: Celebrate Heppner Sale F a th e r's D ay Sp ecial WRANGLER 13 MWZ C0WR0Y CUT ALL Nursery JEANS $19.95. All other men’s su p p lie s 25% OFF Wrangler clothing 20% OFF M o rro w C ou n ty G rain G row ers G reen F eed & S e e d ________ 242 W . 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