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Local dairy provides main ingredient
in award-winning cheese
I I ( I , , , 11
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
By Andrea I)i Salvo
Move over, Ver
mont and Wisconsin. South
Morrow has a woolly new
contender in the dairy con
test.
That challenger is
Terry Felda, ow ner and op
erator of local sheep dairy
Tin Willows. On April 5,
5(K
imes
VOL. 130
NO. 17
8 Pages
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Morrow County deputy
receives award
John B ow les, a
Morrow County Sheriff’s
deputy, received the pres
tigious Victor G. Atiyeh
Award at a recent training
in Salem. The award from
the Department o f Public
Safety Standards and Train
ing is the highest given in
the academy, and is based
on academics and leader
ship skills. This is the first
time an officer from Mor
row County has received
the award.
“To bring it back
to M orrow County was
pretty cool,” said 38-year-
old Bowles.
Bowles was raised
in Banks, OR and moved
to Beaverton after high
school. He worked there
for a construction company
before he and his family
moved to Morrow County
in 2001. Bowles started
with the Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office in Febru
ary o f 2002, and Sheriff
Ken M atlack now calls
him a “seasoned officer.”
Bowles has 1400 hours of
law enforcement training,
including 160 hours of spe
cial parole and probation
training.
Bowles’ wife, Kris
ten, works as a dispatcher
for the sheriff’s office. The
couple has three children,
two of whom attend Hep
pner High School and one
Deputy John Bowles poses with the Victor G. Atiyeh award,
which he received during a recent parole and probation
training in Salem. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo
HHS graduate who now
lives in Arizona.
Bowles received
the Atiyeh award during a
five-week training to be
come a Morrow County
parole and probations of
ficer. His completion of the
training makes Bow les one
of the few officers in the
state dual-certified as both
a deputy and a parole and
probations officer.
Bowles’ certifica
tion also enabled Morrow
County to begin its own
parole and probations pro
gram in September of 2010.
The program was previ
ously handled by Umatilla
County, which meant that
See DEPUTY WINS
AWARD/PAGE THREE
Rebecca Jepsen crowned
outstanding teen
S even teen -y ear-
old Rebecca Jepsen, a ju
nior at lone High School,
was crowned as the new
Miss Three Rivers O ut
standing Teen in Oregon
City on Saturday, April
16. The Outstanding Teen
Competition, for girls ages
13-17, is the “little sister”
o f the Miss Oregon/Miss
America Competition. The
Three Rivers contest is an
open competition for girls
who don’t have a pageant in
their own city or county.
The te en s w ere
scored based on their tal
ent (35%), interview skills
(30%), evening gown/on
stage question (20%), a
fitness routine (10%) and
scholastic achievem ent
(5%). Rebecca played harp
for her talent, perform
ing her own pop/classical
arrangem ent o f
“ Can You Feel
the Love Tonight”
and “Piece Sym
phonique.” Her
com m unity ser
vice platform is
“4-H - Empow
ering Youth to
Reach Their Full
Potential."
Rebecca
will now advance
to the state level
o f com petition,
which will cu l
minate in a Miss
Oregon Outstand
ing Teen being
selected on July
1 at the Seaside
Convention Cen
ter. She earned
$750 in funding/
scholarships from
the Three Rivers
See JEPSEN CROWNED/PAGE FOUR
Saveur Magazine included
Tin Willows Tomme from
Black Sheep Creamery in
Adna, WA as one o f the
eight best cheeses on the
west coast. As the name im
plies, Tin Willows Tomme
is made exclusively from
the sheep Felda milks right
here in Morrow County.
Born and raised in
Oshkosh. Wl, Felda didn’t
begin life intending to herd
sheep in eastern Oregon.
Instead, the 48-year-old
obtained a master’s degree
in government from the
University of Pennsylva
nia. She then spent several
years living and working in
Philadelphia. It was there
that she formed the idea of
starting her own dairy.
"When 1 was back
in Pennsylvania, 1 became
more interested in agricul
ture,” says Felda. “I was
surrounded by farmland be
ing taken over for develop
ment, watching the'demise
of thousands o f acres of
agricultural land.
“I read about the
Am erican farmer going
Tin Willows Dairy owner Terry Felda supervises the milking
process at her daily on Fuller C anyon Road. -Photo by Andrea
Di Salvo
extinct. 1 decided I could
either send a check to Far-
mAid or become a farmer.
In retrospect, it would have
been cheaper to send a
check,” she jokes.
Felda m oved to
Montana, intending to start
a sheep dairy there. Instead,
she came to the lone area
with Pachy Bums in 2006,
intending to help out with
B urns’ sheep operation
for a while. It was here,
along Willow Creek, that
the pieces started coming
together for her.
“1 found sheep for
sale in the Capital Press.
Next I found a place to keep
my sheep, and then the op
portunity to buy a house,”
says Felda. "Everything just
fell into place.”
She also found a
communit) that was open to
what she was trying to do.
“What I found here
See LOCAL DA1RY/PAGE
EIGHT
Heppner civics club makes
memories in Salem
Twenty-four stu
dents in the Heppner High
School civics club took
a memorable trip to the
State Capitol recently. The
purpose of the trip, which
was led by teacher John Fla
herty, was to better under
stand the government and
take a closer look at how
the legislative and judicial
systems work together.
Attending the trip
were H eppner students
Joe Armato, Donald Mat
thews, Jordan Wright, Ja
cob Moore, Bryce Fowler,
Earl Propheter, Alex Smith,
Conner Pappas, Justin Bai
ley, Haley Struckm eier,
Lacey D avidson, K elsi
Putnam, Hanna Koekler,
Gabby Sanchez and Daisy
Victorio. Also on the trip
were exchange students
Joakim Moen, Axel Lof-
gren, Simen Rostad, Louise
Torell, Marie Broeckling,
Frida Larsson, Bente Chris
ten, Karoline Sundklakk
and Anne Gokesch. Fla
herty and Tracy Bunch
chaperoned.
The students and
their chaperones started out
with a trip to the Oregon
Museum of Science and In
dustry in Portland on April
20, which the kids said
was "just for fun.” The real
business of the trip started
on April 21 when the club
members met up with Rep.
Greg Smith at the Capitol
Building in Salem
Smith joined the
kids in the House Chamber
and explained the process
that occurs during floor
sessions. He then took them
on a tour of the State Su
preme Court, where they
met Chief Justice Paul De
Muniz. They also had a
chance to meet co-speak
ers o f the House, Hanna
and Roblan, and A ttor
ney General John Kroger.
They then went back to the
House Chamber to attend a
floor session. The day was
capped off with a tour of the
Capitol and a brief meeting
with Senator David Nelson
before heading back to
Heppner.
HHS student Haley
Struckmeier, who is inter
ested in a career in political
science, said her favorite
part was talking with Chief
Justice Muniz, though the
whole experience was in
spiring.
Jordan Wright said
he was impressed when he
watched Representative
Smith present a bill dealing
with self defense against
wolves. The bill, like most
o f the other bills on the
floor during that session,
passed.
O ther highlights
included their visit with At
torney General Kroger, who
talked about presenting a
case in front of the U.S.
Supreme Court. Though
they didn't get to visit with
the governor, the kids did
say they caught a glimpse of
Kitzhaber in cowboy boots
and jeans.
The nine foreign
exchange students were all
interested in seeing Ameri
can politics in action.
“It was really in
teresting to see how your
government works,” said
exchange student Louise
Torell, who is from Swe
den.
Though not all of
the civics club members
want to go into politics,
they all share a desire to
know more about gov
ernment processes. They
agreed that the experience
in Salem was both infor
mative and fun, thanks to
Rep. Smith. They were also
unanimous that it gave them
a much better grasp of their
state government.
“ It was a really
good experience to get
kids to better understand the
The 24 members of the HHS civics club wave from in front of
government,” said Struck
the Capitol Building in Salem. -Contributedphoto
meier.
Fulleton selected as 2011 Grand Marshal
Roice R. Fulleton
of Heppner has been chosen
as the Grand Marshal for
the 2011 Oregon Trail Pro
Rodeo.
Fulleton and his
wife, Betty, moved to Hep
pner in 1952, when they
bought the Chevrolet deal
ership from Gene Fergu
son. They later bought a
ranch south of Heppner,
where they raised their
three daughters, registered
quarter horses and wheat.
F u lle to n was a
member and officer of the
Wrangler’s Riding Club for
many years. He participated
in calf roping and team
roping in Heppner and the
surrounding area, and won
the Morrow County Calf
Roping saddle in 1959. He
also spent countless hours
helping with the Morrow
See GRAND MARSHAL/ Roice Fulleton -Contributed
PAGE FIVE photo
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Rebecca Jepsen -Contributedphoto
Montana
Silver
Jewelry
20% off
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