Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2010)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 27, 2010 Heppner students are Outstanding ~ 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 you provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The address and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. TheGT 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. Please support Measure 30-86 Pictured are students and staff of Heppner Elementary and High Schools, and a few community members, on October 21 at the Mustang football field in Heppner. The cause for the celebration was the “Outstanding" rating both Heppner Elementary and Heppner High received from the Oregon De partment of Education. The pink shirts worn by most people in the photo were a tribute to Breast Cancer Awareness Month. - Photo by Sandy Matthews Hope Lutheran/All Saints to celebrate Reformation Day The shared ministry of Hope Lutheran Church and All Saints Episcopal Church w ill celebrate Reforma tion Day on Sunday, October 31, with a service at Hope beginning at 10 a.m. The Ecumenical Youth Group that meets weekly at All Saints will participate in the serv ice, and Natalie Rauch will be confirmed. Following wor ship, there will be a German potluck to celebrate the German heritage of the local Lutheran congregation. All are welcome. October 31 is not just Halloween. It is also the anniversary of the day the Protestant Reformation began. On October 31, 1517, a Catholic monk named Martin Luther nailed a notice to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, inviting a debate about certain church practices that his study of the Bible had called into question. He hoped to reform the church, not cause division. The con versation he started ultimately did lead to a division of the Christian Church into Catholics and Protestants, and the creation of many different Protestant Churches, including the denomination that bears his name: Lutheran. The next session of “First Fridays - Friends of Jesus” will be held at All Saints on Friday, November 5th, from 8 am to noon. Lunch will be served. All children age four through 6th grade are invited to attend this free event, which includes Bible stories, crafts, music, and activities. For more information, call the church office at 541-676-9970. Trick or Treat suggestions The staff at Hep pner Elem entary would like to make some sugges tions for our students and our community to make Halloween safe and also to make Monday morning a great learning experience. Please remember to wear clothes that will be safe to walk in, and take a flashlight with you if it is dark. It is always a good idea to have an adult with you. Keep in mind to al ways be safe and have good manners at each house. Since Monday is a school day, we would like our HES students to “Trick or Treat” early and then come home, eat some good food along with that candy and get to bed so you will ready for Monday morning. Heppner residents should expect younger chil dren between 4:30 and 6:30 on Sunday. We realize that older students will be out and abqut later than our suggested time. However, we would like them to be considerate and when lights are off at a house, those people must be out of candy or asleep. College Night in Oregon to be held College Night in Oregon will be held Monday, November 8, from 6:30-9 p.m., in two locations: BMCC Pendleton in Pioneer Hall and in the Hermiston High School Commons. Three topics will be discussed: choosing a col lege, how to get financial aid, and how to apply for scholarships. College Night in Oregon is for anyone interest ing in going to college, regardless of their age or prior educational background. For more information call Anne Livingston 541 - 278-5963. To the editor: I started my public safety career 30 years ago. I have worked as a communications officer, volunteer firefighter, volunteer EMT and in law enforcement. In the past 10 years, 1 have been honored to work at the sites of some of our nation’s greatest disasters including the World Trade Center and Hurricane Katrina as well as many other national level incidents. The one common problem at each incident has been “poor” communications. Nearly every major incident has been plagued with communications problems that rank from minor inconveniences to major personnel safety issues. During the past five to six years, I have been proud is to be able to talk about the excellent commu nications system that we have here in Umatilla/Morrow Counties. The federal government via the CSEPP program spent millions of dollars creating a bi-county trunked radio communications system that we have been enjoying for many years. As CSEPP approaches the last year or two of operation, this system will lose federal funding support. We will then have two choices, fund the maintenance and upkeep of the current system ourselves, or, in the case of most agencies, revert to the antiquated systems we had previously. Why is this a problem? When I first came to this area in 1989, com munications from a vehicle mounted radio were around 40-60% reliable and with a handheld radio it was worse. There were a number of places where radios did not work at all. It was a safety issue for the responders and at times a contributing factor to delayed responses to the citizens that we have all sworn to serve. When the current system came to be, we on the user end of the system were in awe that we could actually pick up a handheld radio in Heppner and speak to someone else on a handheld radio in Pendleton. Soon we learned that the system had a number of additional features that enhanced safety and security for the end users. It has been a tremendous benefit to us and our ability to serve. Occasionally, you will hear the term “Interoper ability” when talking about communications systems. What this means in a nut-shell is the ability for one agency to be able to reliably talk to a neighboring agency. With our current system, all of the subscribers currently have virtually the same channels in all of the radios. No one wants to pay more taxes, especially in these tough economic times. But I truly feel that if we do not step up and fund this communications district, we will be taking a giant step backwards and likely making a serious mistake that could potentially cost us in other ways in the future. Please, join me in supporting Measure 30-86 and vote YES! Steven L. Myren Boardman A direct reflection on today’s parents To the editor: What a thoughtful project Eric Chick and his crew did for the community. The painting of the grandstand was much needed and such a nice surprise to see. They should be commended for a job well done. What I am not proud of are the visitors that had no regard or appreciation for their hard work. They didn’t even attempt to carry out their trash or clean up after themselves. Their careless regard for other’s property is a direct reflection on today’s parents as kids today have no consideration or respect for other’s property. Pat Gentry Heppner Morrow County Arts and Crafts Club receive funds The Morrow Coun ty Arts and Crafts Club was recently awarded $500 by the Morrow County Culture Trust. These funds were used to purchase paints and supplies to be used by T h e U .S . N a v y a n d Na tio na l G u a rd IN V ITE Y O U T O P A R TIC IP A TE in t h e N a v a l W e a p o n s S y s t e m s T r a in in g F a c ility B o a rd m a n E IS The U.S. Navy, in cooperation with the National Guard Bureau and the Oregon National Guard (ORNG), is in the early stages of preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for proposed military training activities associated with Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility (NWSTF) Boardman. The EIS will analyze potential environmental effects from the proposed training of U.S. forces in military airspace above and land training areas within the boundaries of NWSTF Boardman Public input is requested on the scope, content and issues to be addressed in the EIS. S ubmit w r itten c o m m en ts t o : Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Northwest Attn: Mrs Amy Burt - N W STF Boardman EIS Project Manager 1101 Tautog Circle, Suite 203 Silverdale. W A 98315-1101 Submit comments online at www.NWSTFBoardmanEIS.com Comments must be postmarked or received by N ovem ber 15, 2010 > rcy n m •' é tÊ k P U B L IC SC O P IN G M E E TIN G S B o a rd m a n : O c to b e r 27, 2 0 1 0 T h e N a v y a n d th e N a tio n a l G u a rd r e q u e s t y o u r in pu tt You can participate in a variety of ways: ..Visit the project website at w w w .N W STFB oardm anEIS.com to leam more about the project and provide comments. .From the project website, link to more information on Navy and ORNG training and testing activities. Mail wntten comments to the address below Attend open house scoping meetings in Oregon Let the Navy know w hat factors you want considered in the _______________________ preparation of the EIS._______________________ ( Natiortfi Guard j j i 5-8 p m. Port of Morrow Conference Center Riverfront Room 2 Marine Drive Boardman, OR 97818 H e rm isto n : O c to b e r 2 8 , 2 0 1 0 ! 5-8 p m Hermiston Conference Center Rotary Room 415 S Highway 395 Hermiston. OR 97838 Individuals requiring reasonable accom m odations, plea se contact Sheila M urray. N a vy R egion Pubtn Affairs Officer, a t 36 0-3 9 6 -4 9 8 1 or sheila m u rra y@ n a vy m il P roposed A ction The Navy and the National Guard propose to implement actions to maintain baseline training activities at current levels: increase certain training activities from current levels to support Navy and ORNG requirements, develop appropnate ranges and facilities to support training activities: accommodate mission requirements associated with force structure hanges and the introduction of new weapons systems: and implement range enhancements_______________________ The Navy and National Guard appreciate your input If you are unable to attend a scoping meeting, there will be more opportunities to participate during the EIS development process Visit www NWSTFBoardmanEIS.com to leam more. members and prospective members. This will enable students to try different me- dias of art without the initial cost. Then, they can decide which medium they prefer before purchasing their own supplies. For inform ation about the Morrow Arts and Crafts you can call Betty Mills, president, or mem bers Sharon Harrison and Trish Sweeney. ^ "F r e e d o m is n e v e r m o r e THAN ONE GENERATION AWAY FROM EXTINCTION. W E DIDN’T PASS IT TO OUR CHILDREN IN THE BLOODSTREAM, f t MUST BE FOUGHT FOR, PROTECTED, AN0 HANDED ON FOR THEM TO DO THE SAM E." R o nald R eag an This quote brought to you by the Willow Creek Tea Party Patriots What a group of wonderful kids we have To the editor: 1 know that we here in Heppner realize that we have pretty special kids, but I want you, the Heppner community, to realize just how special and awesome our kids really are. A few weeks ago my Heppner FBLA Club de cided to sell bracelets for Breast Cancer Awareness and give the proceeds to charity. They decided what to order and when and how they should go about selling them. The bracelets were such a hit and the students were so supportive of it the senior class along with the FBLA club wanted to host a pink night. After getting the approval and support of our principal and thanks to the overwhelming support of the volleyball coaches, Pink night was to be during the girl’s last home volleyball game. The kids wanted to invite not just all of the students, but the com munity members as well to wear pink, come to the game and not only support the girls as they played Pilot Rock, but also support our own breast cancer survivors and victims. Posters were made and put up all around town in anticipation to see if people would wear pink. The FBLA bought extra bracelets and pens to sell, footballs to throw into the crowd, and seniors and FBLA members went into the stands for donations. When I walked into the school Thursday I was shocked to tears. Almost every student was wearing some sort of pink. Those who did not have pink were meeting me at the door wanting to buy bracelets so that they too could wear pink. Even the kids who don’t like pink, put their differences aside and for one day the entire Heppner student body united for a special cause that wasn’t about them, or the school. They didn’t do this for themselves or for what they thought they could get out of it, they did this because it was important to themselves, family, and/or friends. This was something that they felt they could do to show their support for their community and for others out there who needed it. Because of these wonderful kids, $366 was raised and will be donated to the Susan G. Ko- men Breast Cancer Awareness fund. Our volleyball girls not only invited and recognized breast cancer survivors/ victims and their families with flowers and balloons, they too are donating $100 from their soup feed. We will be sending a total of $466. What a group of wonderful kids we have. When the world is looking bleak, all we have to do is look at our little community and realize how precious our kids are. A million thank you’s to everyone who wore pink Thursday in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. We not only raised money, we also gave the students pride in themselves and their accomplishments. Jeannie Collins Heppner Plagued by offensive odors To the editor: You may be aware that the City of Irrigon has responded to complaints from citizens regarding odors coming from the west of town. We are aware of two sources of the odor. One is from the Port of Morrow’s irrigation of industrial process wastewater and the other is from manure that has been applied to crops as organic fertilizer. To some, it may be difficult to tell the difference. Really though, most people don’t care which source it is coming from, they just want it to stop. The city has been in contact with the Port of Morrow, the Department of Environmental Quality, and the Department of Agriculture. Odors are a tough enforce ment issue for regulators. There are things that can be done to keep odors to a minimum, but regulators don’t have a lot of enforcement tools. Mayor David Bums has been working on this issue and has made some progress. The Port of Morrow management is aware of the odor problem and they have indicated that they will be working on the problem. Like anything else, the more it is a local issue, the more attention it will get. The Port of Morrow has offered to provide a phone number for people to call and complain about the odors that may be coming from the Port. The number to call first is (541) 481-7467. Ask to speak with Rolf Prag, Port supervisor, or Dave Lovin, operations coordinator. If there is no response to that number, there is a 24 hour on-call number available at (541) 571-1690. Another point o f contact would be Cheryll Hutchens-Woods, interim WQ manager, Department of Environmental Quality in Pendleton. Her phone number is (541) 278-4619. The city will continue to work with the Port of Morrow and environmental regulators to limit or elimi nate the odors. However, it would be helpful for those experiencing offensive odors to call the Port of Morrow directly so that they are aware of the problem while it is occurring. They may be able to make adjustments that will help eliminate the problem. Also the calls will let them know that the odors are not acceptable for people living downwind. Please let us know if you continue to be plagued by offensive odors. We will do what we can to help get the problem resolved. Jerry Breazeale Irrigon City Manager "L ove , F rom H ome " C ampaign SEEKS NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF AREA SOLDIERS DEPLOYED OVERSEAS The lo n e A m erican Legion Post 95 Ladies A uxiliary is is co m p ilin g a list of nam es and addresses o f area soldiers d e p lo ye d overseas. Item s will be g a th ere d and packages will be prep ared and shipped to th e m S ubmit names A addresses to a rly n d a g ate s@ h o tm ail.co m or Ire n e H o ltz at lire n e h o ltz@ a o l.c o m . Once the list has been compiled the Auxiliary will begin collecting items for shipping. Items that are welcomed include: •100% cotton TUBE socks •Jerky •Hard candies •Phone cards •Stamps •Homemade cookies •Books •Newspapers •Anything that you would like to give!
