Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 7,2012 - FIVE
CAPITOL TRIP
-Continuedfrom PAGE ONE
annual flow o f the Colum
bia River,” the bag said.
Inside was one fruit loop
which represented Oregon’s
share o f that water. “ So
the question is, how many
salmon does that one Fruit
Loop withdrawal harm? ...
What would the take be in
salmon if we took 2/3 o f
one percent o f the flow?”
it asked.
After the group ar
rived in Salem and checked
into the motel, they took a
tour o f the Capitol then met
with Senator David Nelson
in his Senate Cham bers.
Nelson said he thought a
favorable w olf control bill
that passed the house was
going to die in the senate,
and that a favorable water
bill had a chance to pass
the senate. Nelson pointed
out the difficulty in getting
som e leg islatio n passed
because, out o f 30 Oregon
senators, only four o f them
are from east o f the Cas
cades.
L ater, the group
had dinner at the Newport
Fish Grill in Salem and,
at that tim e, heard from
A m ericans for P ro sp er
ity’s Oregon State Director
K arla Edw ards and also
from citizen volunteer Tom
Stuzman. Stuzman urged
members o f the group to
become involved in the is
sues by asking their legisla
tors w hy they vote the way
they do.
“If you have some
thing that interests you,
talk to someone about it,”
he urged.
The next day, on
Feb. 22, the group started
their day at 9a.m. in the
Capitol “War Room,” which
is where people can meet to
follow and discuss issues
and legislation. Edwards,
Representative Greg Smith
and Senator Doug Whit-
sett addressed the group
there. A group o f volunteers
m onitors the legislation
going through the capitol
and will send out emails to
St. Patrick's Pil Ham Dinner
Where finicky Leprechauns eat!
GRAND MARSHAL
-Continuedfrom PAGE ONE
A local group visits the “war room” at the Capitol in Salem
where volunteers monitor the legislation going through the
legislature. -Contributedphoto
citizens who wish to keep
up on what is going on in
Salem. Stuzman was one o f
those volunteers.
Senator W hitsett,
who described him self as
“the most conservative fos
sil in the senate,” said gov
ernment is growing, with
150 new programs and 180
new agencies, spending $ 10
billion more than in 2007.
He told the group the state
needs to create more jobs
to provide more revenue
to the government. He also
told the group that there are
currently 23 million people
across the U nited States
who identify them selves
as Tea Party members, and
that the true unemployment
rate in Oregon is currently
15 percent. W hitsett also
urged the group to stay
involved.
“If we aren’t look
ing out for rural Oregon,
who is?” he asked.
Dick Sargent, who
organized the trip to Salem,
said he was very impressed
with reception the group
received, both from the rep
resentatives and their staff.
Sargent said the relation
ships made, and the face
to face meetings, are very
important in future citizen
involvement on important
state-wide issues affecting
rural Oregon.
Sargent also said
that, during the whole trip,
there was very little silent
time on the bus, as peo
ple were discussing water,
wind, w olf and other issues
the whole time. Fie added
that meeting and talking to
people from other counties
on the trip also show ed
that “we all have the same
issues.”
Pennies for Patients
successful
By Justin Pranger
Saturday, Marc h I ft from 4 - 7 p.m.
Serving: Pit Ham, Irish Potato Casserole,
Green Salad, Veggie, Roll & Homemade Pie!
Adults - $9 / Children under 12 - $5
Wee ones - free
St. Patrick's Chinc h Parish Hall
525 Gale Street (one bloc k »If Main Street)
The Heppner High
School chapter o f the Na
tional H onor Society re
cently put on a Pennies for
patients fundraiser.
Pennies for Patients
is a national fundraiser and
awareness project that sup
ports leukem ia patients.
Many schools choose to
do a w eek-long donation
drive in which they start
with pennies on the first
day and go up in currency
value each day. This was the
way Heppner High School
participated.
This past F ebru
ary’s Pennies for Patients
drive was a great success,
with multiple classes bring
ing in more than one hun
dred dollars each. H ep-
pner’s school raised more
than $600 to give toward
leu k em ia p a tie n ts . The
money generously given
by students and community
m em bers w ent tow ard a
great cause.
life living in the Columbia
River Gorge. Since 1986,
he and his wife, Mylene,
have owned a small busi
ness in Oregon.
“We understand the
challenges that O regon’s
economy and small busi
nesses face today,” Walden
says.
He and M y len e
live in Hood River where
their son. Anthony, attended
public school before start
ing college in fall 2008.
The Waldens are an active
family that enjoys taking
advantage o f Oregon's vast
outdoor recreational oppor
tunities including skiing,
kayaking and hiking.
One o f the w ays
Walden shows his connec
tion to his Eastern Oregon
district, including Morrow
County, is the way he con
tinues to push back on the
wave o f regulations com
ing from federal agencies,
including the attem pt to
regulate dust on farms.
“ Hey, if we had
enough rain, we w ouldn’t
call it dryland wheat farm
ing,” Walden says.
M o th e r N a tu r e
aside, Walden and his wife
will be attending the St.
Patrick’s Day Celebration
on Saturday, M arch 17.
The Great Green Parade,
o f which Walden is grand
marshal, will take place at
1 p.m.
Heppner vocalists
perform in contest
lone Community School music teacher, Jordan Bemrose, poses
with voca'I students Shannon Metcalf and Larissa Jones just
before their performances at the annual Solo and Ensemble
Contest at Eastern Oregon University this past Saturday. Both
girls performed solo pieces in the contest’s soprano category;
they were accompanied by Erin Heideman. -Photo by Erin
Heideman
Wranglers play
days scheduled
The Wranglers riding club will hold play days
April 15 and 22 at the Morrow County Fairgrounds. A
potluck will be held at noon each day, with play to follow
at 1 p.m. Both days are double-headers.
C ongratulations & G ood L uck to
Patrick
Collins
(1st Place - Eastern Oregon
Regional Qualifier)
and
Ryan
Smith
(3rd Place - Eastern
Oregon Regional Qualifier)
AS THEY HEAD TO THE
2012 O regon M iddle S chool S tate
W restling T ournament
on M arch
10 th .
We ’re behind you all the way!
A special “thank you” to Coaches Larry Palmer, Brian Harmon,
Larry Lutcher & Steve Cherry. We appreciate all of your hard work
& countless volunteer hours spent with the team this season!
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