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An evening with Bill Walton
By David Sykes
A p a c k ed h ouse
greeted basketball legend
Bill Walton Monday night,
as the big redhead came to
town to help with a fund
raiser for the Heppner Day
Care.
As locals enjoyed
a beef tri-tip dinner served
HEPPNER
ette
VOL. 130
NO. 47 8 Pages
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Greenup celebrates 30 years
with MSWCD
On D ecem ber 6,
the board and staff o f Mor
row Soil and Water Conser
vation District (MSWCD),
N atural R esources C on
servation Service (NRCS)
employees, Janet and Greg
Greenup, and their families
c e le b ra te d and honored
Janet G reenup’s 30 years
o f dedicated service to the
MSWCD.
Janet was hired as a
half-time clerk for the dis
trict in 1980. She assisted
the manager in setting up
the bookkeeping system
and organizing the opera
tions o f the district office.
She w as p ro m o te d to a
half-time office manager in
1985; in 1994, she became a
full-time district manager.
G re e n u p has
w o rk e d su c c e ssfu lly to
get conservation o ff the tegic plan; she has worked
ground in the county. She with many programs such
worked with the board to as OWEB, BPA, CRP, CSP,
identify local con
EQIP, CCRP, WHIP
s e rv a tio n n e e d s ,
and additional soil
set co rresponding
and water conser
goals and develop
v a tio n p ro g ra m s
plans to reach those
from other partner
goals. Greenup also
ships and agencies.
has been instrumen
She is know n as
tal in d e v e lo p in g Janet
the “Puncture Vine
strong relationship Greenup
Queen” in her fight
b e tw e en M orrow
to eradicate noxious
County residents, the dis weeds in Morrow County.
trict and NRCS.
“On m any o c c a
Greenup provided sions you will find Janet
assistance, technical guid volu n teerin g or heading
ance and support for USDA up events to help the mem
program s such as EQIP, bers o f the com m unity”
CRP and CSP. Her capa says Morrow SWCD Office
ble leadership assists the Manager Merilee McDow
John Day/Umatilla Basin in ell. “She is a vital part of
Kimberly George,
successfully meeting their the MSWCD and Morrow
Heppner native and Sedg
planning goals while imple County.”
wick senior vice president
menting the JDU Basin stra
o f managed care practice
and c lie n t serv ices, has
been selected by Business
Insurance as one of its 2011
Women to Watch. George
was honored by Business
the recent kills as a “signifi ed the ranch twice over two Insurance at its December
cant” change in the pack’s days. The cattle involved 6 leadership workshop and
behavior. Previously the had recently been gathered awards luncheon in New
pack killed mostly smaller and placed into a holding York City.
G e o r g e is th e
calves, but now it has shift pasture near the main ranch
daughter
o f Kit and Shirley
ed to larger-sized yearling house, as they were sched
George
o
f Heppner, who
and adult cows. The timing uled to be hauled on Mon
say
they
are
“very proud
is also new, as depreda day. On Sunday morning,
o
f
her
accom
plishments.”
tion by this pack has not the landowner discovered
been previously confirmed that the cattle had been run She began her career as a
during the period October through the fence and the certified nursing assistant
through December.
yearling heifer was found at Pioneer Memorial Hos
“The latest incident dead a half mile away. The pital, w here she gained
reaffirms that the pack is in cattle were returned to the experience in long-term
a pattern o f chronic dep pasture, only to be scattered care, general medicine and
redation, which we expect again by M onday m orn em ergency room o p e ra
to continue,” said Morgan. ing. GPS radio-collar data tions. She went on to earn
“While we believe the ap shows that the alpha male a degree in nursing from
propriate response is lethal o f the Imnaha w olf pack the Mt. Hood School o f
removal o f these problem was present at the site o f the Nursing. Through her work
wolves under the chronic depredation and was also as a neuro-traum a nurse,
depredation rule, that op in the area when the cows George realized her desire
tion is off the table due to were scattered the next day. to improve the quality and
timely care o f patients by
litigation.”
-See COW KILLED BY
WOLVES/PAGE FIVE implementing better health
The wolves target-
care delivery models.
“Kimberly George
is certainly deserving of this
national honor and recogni-
Fundraiser to be held for
Lexington man
A raffle will be held
to help offset medical ex
penses for Garrett Wilhelm,
a Lexington man recently
diagnosed with brain can
cer. Raffle items have been
donated by several local
Top: Posting up. Missy Lindsay (R) and Carri Grieb (L) show
just how tall the 6 foot, II inch Bill Walton is. Bottom: Micha
Hintz has basketball legend Bill Walton sign her Heppner Mus
tang shirt at the day care fundraising dinner Monday night at
the Elks Lodge in Heppner. -Photos by David Sykes
With a slide show
o f pictures from his life and
career, Walton told stories
o f his basketball days and
later career as a television
basketball analyst and com
mentator, his love o f bike
rid in g and o f the m any
injuries he has had over his
active life.
P re v io u s to the
fundraiser at the Elks, Wal
ton went to Heppner High
School and spoke to the
student body. An auction
was also held after his Elks
presentation, with the pro
ceeds also going to the day
care.
All in all, it was
an e n te rta in in g and fun
evening with a basketball
legend, and all for a good
cause.
Heppner native recognized
among 2011 women to watch
Another cow killed by the
Imnaha wolf pack
ODFW confirmed
that another cow was killed
by wolves from the Imnaha
pack over the weekend. The
yearling heifer was found
dead on private land in Wal
lowa County.
This brings the to
tal num ber o f confirm ed
livestock losses by Imnaha
pack w olves to 19 since
spring 2010. It is the fifth
confirmed livestock loss to
wolves since an October 5
court-ordered stay ended
ODFW plans to kill two
w olves from the Imnaha
pack in an attempt to stop
further livestock losses.
While the pack is
c o n tin u in g a p a tte rn o f
chronic livestock depreda
tion begun in spring 2010,
ODFW w o lf coordinator
Russ Morgan characterizes
up at the Elks Lodge, the
former UCLA and Blazer
basketball great entertained
the crowd with a streaming
rendition o f his life and his
interesting experiences in
and out o f basketball.
Prior to the main
program, Walton spent time
signing shirts, jackets, hats
and other memorabilia and
visiting w ith all com ers.
The fundraising event was
arranged by local man Pat
Sw eeney and hom etow n
guy Pat K ilkenny. K ilk
enny, a retired insurance ex
ecutive and past University
o f Oregon athletic director,
is a neighbor o f Walton in
San Diego.
Having graduated
from high school in 1970,
W alton’s roots are in the
60s and 70s, so much o f his
program referenced his life
during those times.
He won two high
s c h o o l c h a m p io n s h ip s
(1 9 6 9 a n d 1 9 7 0 ), tw o
NCAA crow ns at UCLA
(1972 and 1973) and two
NBA titles (with the 1977
Portland Trail Blazers and
1986 Boston Celtics). Many
o f his stories and memories
were about those days in
basketball. He especially
liked talking about his re
lationship with legendary
UCLA coach John Wood
en.
“ I gave that man
fits,” Walton said Monday
night, sporting a huge grin
as he related his youthful
exuberance with the deter
mined older coach.
A lso a dedicated
Grateful Dead fan (an ad
m itted “ D eadhead” who
traveled to many o f the leg
endary 60s and 70s band’s
concerts) Walton would of
ten say “riding that train,” in
reference to a line from the
Dead’s song, Casey Jones,
during his near stream-of-
consciousness presentation
Monday.
tion,” said David A. North, me from 20-plus years ago
president and CEO o f Sedg and it was, ‘Focus on the
wick. “Her background as a custom er and everything
nurse, combined with more else will fall in p lace,” ’
than 20 years experience said George. “And I must
in the risk m anagem ent say that thro u g h o u t my
and insurance industry, entire career, focusing on
has enabled her to make the custom er is what has
invaluable contributions mattered most.”
T h ro u g h
at S ed g w ick and
o u t h e r c a re e r,
reshape our view
G eorge has been
o f leading managed
a le a d e r in th e
care practices.”
advancem ent of
B a s e d in
women. She was a
C h ic a g o , G eorge
founding m em ber
oversees the team
that sets best prac K i m b e r l y o f Women in Work
ers' Compensation,
tices for more than George
which evolved into
1,0 0 0 S e d g w ic k
P ro fe s s io n a ls in
nurses and managed
care experts who have re W orkers’ Com pensation.
sponsibility for the clinical K im b erly is a freq u en t
consultation, care manage guest speaker at sororities,
ment and medical networks nursing schools and pro
that service the injured grams for nurses, where she
workers o f Sedgwick's cli addresses young women
ents. She also spearheaded about future career oppor
a medical provider bench tunities.
“ K im b e r ly h a s
marking program that has
been implemented across m ade a p o sitiv e im pact
S e d g w ic k ’s p ro g ra m s , on countless lives,” said
improving quality, timely Don F. Sloan. Sedgwick
executive vice president of
care.
George said a big managed care. “She under
contributor to her success stands the technical aspects
o f this business, but it is
is focus on the client.
-See WOMAN TO WATL 7/
“ T h e r e ’s s o m e
PAGE SIX
thing that a manager told
G-T closed for Christmas
businesses. Tickets cost $1 be held New Year’s Day;
each or six for $5, and can winners will be notified by
The Gazette-Times will be closed Monday. December 26 for the Christmas
be purchased by contacting phone. All proceeds will holiday. The news and ad deadline for the December 28 edition will be Friday, December
Shari Ober at 541 -377-2243 be deposited into a medical 23 at five O ’clock. Normal business hours will resume Tuesday, December 27.
or Ivy Zimmerman at 907- fund established for Wil
978-2726.
helm at the Bank o f Eastern
The draw ing will Oregon.
Area pastors invited to
submit Christmas messages
The Heppner Ga- the December 21 edition,
zette-T im es invites area The deadline is Friday, De-
pastors to submit Christmas cember 16, at 5 p.m.
messages to be published in
M essages can be
dropped off at the Gazette
office, emailed to editor@
rapidserve.net, or faxed to
541-676-9211.
I