County Korean War
vets honored
Bessie Wetzeil v,M.
L"livmityofOres„ „ PaPerl-ibrs :ir\
Eugene, O R 97403
Morrow County Korean War veterans were recognized during a town hall meeting held by
Senator Ron Wvden on Feb. 17 at the Port of Morrow in Boardman. Pictured (L-R) are: Sam
Scott, David Zachary, Senator Wyden, Grace Baker, Gene Doherty, Ed Baker, Billy Adams,
Jerry McElligott and John Jepsen. - Photo by David Svkes
Mustang girls head to
state
VOL. 132
NO. 8
10 Pages
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
lone student earns
2012 fireman of year
By Andrea Di Salvo
One lone senior is out
to prove that, no matter the
obstacle, a passion can be
come a dream fulfilled.
Stewert Syverson, 18,
recently earned 2012 Fire
man of the Year from the
lone Rural Fire Protection
District. Despite his age,
and a potentially debilitat
ing disability, Syverson is
no cadet...the lone High
School senior is a full-
fledged firefighter.
When asked why he
thought he received the
award, Syverson said it
was because “.. .1 have been
going through all my train
ings, attending all my meet
ings and attending every
single call I can go to.”
lone District Fire Chief
Virgil Morgan agreed, but
summed it up in one word...
dedication.
“He is taking the Fire
fighter I training at the
academy, doing that since
last September,” says Mor
gan. “He’s been very good
at doing that; he’s very
dedicated to graduate from
the academy. He’s just re
ally dedicated. Every time
we have a call he’s always
there. He’s just a good one
to have.”
Firefighting doesn’t
appear to have been a boy
hood dream of Syverson’s.
Rather, he says, one of his
mother’s coworkers asked
if he would like to become a
firefighter, because the lone
fire district needed cadets.
That was about two years
ago, when Syverson was a
sophomore in high school.
“I was pretty nervous
about joining but, once I
joined, I fell in love with it,”
says Syverson. “Without
the support of my fellow
firefighters...! would not
have received the award
and wouldn’t still be a fire
fighter today.”
Firefighting wasn’t just
love at first sight; it has
turned out to be a long
standing commitment. Not
only does Syverson work
as a firefighter with the
lone fire department, he
has also been taking Fire
fighter I training through
Oregon Trail Fire Train
ing Association, an acad
emy based in Pendleton.
lone senior Stewert Syverson with his 2012 Fireman of the Year
award from the lone Rural Fire Protection District. -Photo by
Paula Emmel
He has been spending his
spare time in the physically
and mentally demanding
training, which, he says,
requires online schooling
every Tuesday night and
a trip to either Hermiston
or Pendleton once a month
for hands-on training. The
hands-on portion of the
training ended just last
month, but Syverson still
has two online classes to go
before graduating from the
academy in April. Appar
ently, the training has been
going well.
“I was talking to one
of the instructors the other
day and he said they're re
ally impressed with him,”
Morgan says. “I think he’s
one of the top students in
the class.”
Add to that a full-time
senior class load, football,
and being manager for the
Cardinal boys’ basketball
team, and you might think
Syverson has enough on
his plate.
“I really like spending
time with my friends. I re
ally did like football. My
schedule is pretty hectic
sometimes,” he admits.
The final and most dif
ficult hurdle, though, comes
in the form ° f the condition
cerebral palsy.
According to the U.S.
National Library of Medi
cine, cerebral palsy is “a
group of disorders that can
involve brain and nervous
system functions, such as
movement, learning, hear
ing, seeing, and thinking.”
In Syverson’s case, the dis
order affects the movement
on one side of his body,
something he is determined
not to let slow him down.
“It did (affect my train
ing) in the beginning,” says
Syverson. “I was very frus
trated and blamed every
thing on my disability. I
just pushed myself through
it and now I’m in the top 10
percent of the class, getting
my gear on, and doing it
with a disability that affects
the whole right side of my
body.”
Morgan agrees that the
disorder doesn’t seem to
hold back the teenager.
“He’s always been there
and does everything we’ve
asked of him,” says Mor-
Trample TigerScots for final state spot
In the Blue Mountain
Conference basketball tour
nament at the Pendleton
Convention Center last
weekend, the Lady Mus
tangs from Heppner faced
a potentially season-ending
game against the Weston-
McEwen TigerScots on
Friday.
The girls responded
with an 8-0 run in the be
ginning of the game to set
the tone for the Mustangs.
Heppner ended the first
half with a 25-21 lead as
the TigerScots attempted
to work their way back into
the contest.
In the second half, the
third quarter went to the
TigerScots, who outscored
the Mustangs 15-8 to take
the lead 36-33. Into the
fourth quarter, though, the
Mustangs’ pressure-man
defense stepped up, holding
Weston to three points in
the fourth quarter to regain
the lead and take the win
47-39.
The win clinched a
state playoff game for the
Mustangs and ended the
TigerScots’ season.
Coach Jeromy Wilson (center) huddles with the team to talk
strategy during the Heppner game versus Weston-McEwen last
Friday night in Pendleton. -Photo by Sandy Matthews
Bennett led scoring
with 21, A. Wilson had
nine. Greenup and Lindsay
each added six, and K.
Wilson scored five points
for the Mustangs.
Saturday’s game pitted
the Mustangs against the
Union Bobcats for third
place in the BMC league.
Looking worn out from the
previous day’s game, the
Mustangs struggled offen
sively in the first quarter of
play, down 13-5.
The seco n d q u a r
ter showed the Mustangs
fighting back, not losing
ground but not gaining, for
a halftime score of 23-15
to Union.
In the third quarter,
the Mustangs used all their
remaining energy, playing
solid defense to stop the
Bobcats in their tracks. A
run by the Mustangs, with
some outside shooting by
the guards and rebounding
efforts inside, tied the game
at 27 halfway through the
third.
Finally, in the fourth.
Union’s offense took over,
-See MUSTANGS TO STATE/
PAGE THREE
Wrestlers win four
district championships
£px Mustangs to compete at state this weekend
The Heppner wrestlers
competed in Crane Satur
day in the 12-team Special
District 4 championship.
Even though the Mustangs
only took nine wrestlers to
fill 14 weight classes, they
finished third as a team,
one point behind second
place Imbler. Imbler had
no champions and two state
qualifiers.
All nine Heppner wres
tlers won matches at the
tournament and all scored
bonus points with pins.
Every Mustang stood on
the podium for their weight
class and received a medal
for placing in the top six.
Ryan Sm ith (106
pounds) started the team
off with a win in the very
first match of the tourna
ment, pinning his Wallowa
opponent in the third round.
Smith went on to claim
third place by winning a
tight 3-2 decision in the
consolation championship
over an opponent he had
lost to three times over the
regular season.
Will L utcher (120
pounds) also placed third
for the Mustangs, winning
the consolation champion
ship in a high-scoring 19-13
match.
Jesse Boyd Placed sixth
at 138 pounds.
Six M ustang w res
tlers, Jared Lemmon (126
pounds), Alex Smith (132
pounds), Treston Ma-
ben (145 pounds), Earl
Propheter (160 pounds),
Tim Nelson (195 pounds)
and John Propheter (285
pounds) qualified for the
district championship bout
in their weight classes. It
-See IONE STUDENT FIRE-
FIGHTER/PA GE TWO
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
f
was Lemmon’s third trip to
the district finals and Nel
son’s second, while it was
a first-time experience for
the other four.
The 126-pound cham
pionship match pitted two
returning district cham
pions and state finalists,
Jared Lemmon and Austin
Roath from Crane. Lem
mon bled from a facial cut
and Roath from his nose
as both wrestlers used a
substantial amount of allot
ted blood time throughout
the match. The battle was
tied at 7-7 after regulation
and went into sudden vic
tory overtime. Lemmon
ultimately won his third
district championship with
a takedown.
Smith won in a domi-
-See WRESTLING CHAMPS/
PAGE FIVE