Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 29, 2013)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 29,2013 M CEW EN AUTHORS SNIPER NOVEL Rain doesn’t dampen “I find it more chal and I’m pretty happy with the involvement o f none helicopter pilot being held lenging in that you are it, and so is the publisher.” other than living legend free spray day by Taliban insurgents in responsible for your char In light of all this writ Steven Spielberg. -Continuedfrom PAGE ONE Afghanistan.” T he tria l a tto rn e y teamed up with fel low writer Thomas Koloniar in the cre ation o f the 400- page book. Kolo niar is the author of the post-apocalyp tic novel “Cannibal Reign”; he holds a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from the University of Akron. Though the novel is obviously McEwen’s brain child, he said Koloniar’s input was invaluable. “I ’m still practicing law, so when it comes to dialogue and a lot of things that need to get done in finishing a novel...it was really important to me to have other people 1 can work with.” McEwen described the process as a team effort. “We both have ideas; we toss them back and forth to each other. 1 have greater access to those who create the story line because I live in San Diego, where a lot of SEAL teams are based. In a novel where you’re using a lot of real ops to base your characters and scenes, it’s important that you have that reality-based information,” McEwen said, adding that Koloniar’s background in literature brings a special aspect to their working relationship. “He is definitely a much more proficient editor of our work. He’s very strict as far as his use of prose, so it’s been good for me to work with him in that regard,” said McEwen. He said the pair knocked out the writing relatively quickly.. .for a novel “Once the ideas were formed, we knocked it out in about nine months,” he said, adding that the entire process of writing and sell ing the book took about a year. He said the process of writing a fiction book was both easier and more dif ficult than nonfiction. acters’ development and knowing where the story is going to go with th em ,” M cEwen said. “With nonfic tion, it is what it is, and you just make it as interesting as you can in the tell ing. Your latitude is wider with fiction but you also have the responsibility for character devel opment and to stay consis tent with it.” He said he enjoyed fic tion writing because he was able to choose the ways in which the character would express his views. “The character that is in ‘Sniper Elite’ is extremely patriotic, extremely pro- U.S., extremely pro-U.S. military, an amalgamation, very efficient in what he does. That was more enter taining for me in the final stages o f the book,” said McEwen, “to give you the exact ending you want to have.” And what is that end ing, that vision? “The book essentially envisions a United States that is hesitant but ulti mately uses the full force of its power to save the life of one soldier who had been taken hostage in Afghani stan,” he said. “In essence, the message of the book is that I would like to United States to take that attitude in every conflict. Either we give it our all or we make it our decision not to be there.” The book will officially be released June 4 but is already available for pre order through some sites. It will be available in hard cover, ebook and audiobook from retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a- Million, iBooks, Walmart, iTunes, audible.com and others. McEwen said re sponse to the book has been good so far. “There’s been some re ally good reaction on both hardcover and Kindle,” he said. “It’s doing pretty well ing, the Gazette asked McE wen about a statement he once made about never wanting to be a writer. “I guess I’m getting to like it more,” he quipped, then clarified, saying he'd never envisioned it as a career. “It wasn’t as if I didn’t like to write to tell stories or share a vision, but it’s a dif ficult thing to break into,” he said. “For most people, it doesn’t, if you will, pay the bills. For most writers, it’s a difficult way to make a living.” M cEwen obviously likes the process of writing. With his second book about to be released, he’s already looking forward. “ I ’m already in the middle of doing a sequel to ‘Sniper Elite,’ and I’m excited about that as well,” he said. Meanwhile, on the big screen... Although “Sniper Elite: One Way Trip” will not be officially released until next month, the novel has already been picked up by director Ridley Scott and Scott Free Productions, which has turned out mod em classic action films like Alien, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down. Plans are in the works to make the novel into a feature film. It may have been this final piece of success that put McEwen at a near loss for words. “It’s pretty amazing,” he said. Then again, there is more to tell. A lso on the m ovie front, the “American Snip er” movie is moving for ward, with more big news and big names. The project, based on SEAL sniper Chris Kyle’s autobiography, al ready packed clout due to the involvement o f Hol lywood heavy-hitter Brad ley Cooper—Cooper has been developing the project as producer and will also star in the film. Now, the “American Sniper” movie has taken another leap with “It was kind o f like affirmation of what was al ready an amazing project,” said McEwen of Spielberg’s involvement. McEwen is serving as a consultant to the movie. “That Spielberg actually picked it up and made a decision to invest his time and efforts in it, was a great honor to Chris and Chris’s memory.” Word o f Spielberg’s involvement hit the press at the beginning of the month. The film mogul has appar ently been on the hunt for a project to follow up the award-winning Lincoln. Spielberg will also pro duce, along with Andrew Lazar, via Mad Chance Pro ductions, and Peter Morgan. Jason Hall wrote the script and will executive produce. The movie will be a Warner Brothers/DreamWorks co production. A first-quarter 2014 start date is planned at this time, with no word on when the project will wrap. F o r M cE w en , th e “American Sniper” book- to-m ovie deal has been “an amazing run.” From 18 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list— 13 weeks at number one—to Spielberg at the helm of the movie, he says h e’s not making any guesses on where it could go next. “ It’s hard to see the future. It’s already had such an amazing success,” McE wen said. “To expect where it went to this stage is outra geous in itself.” “Spike,” the mascot for Weed Awareness Week, waves to passing cars during the Free Spray Day sponsored by the Morrow Soil and Water Conservation District and the Natu ral Resources Conservation Service. Undeterred by the rain, area homeowners were given up to two gallons of free spray to help eradicate problem weeds and promote weed awareness locally. This is the third year for the free spray day, which is growing in popularity. “People love this; we always have a good response,” said Morrow SWCD Manager Janet Greenup. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo Rich in history, low in numbers By Caitlynn Bailey The Heppner Garden Club has been disbanded due to its lack of members. They are now known as the Heppner Volunteers, a group of people who pro vide services to the commu nity and, more specifically, the community garden. The garden has relocated from its previous residence on Riverside Street to its cur rent one near the Heppner High School Greenhouse 4MÍRICÁN SHIPIR on the Agricultural Land Lab. The H eppner C om munity Garden has been around since 1995 and has been open for the public’s free use. It continues to provide an opportunity to those who choose to put forth their time and effort to gardening. The only things needed are the seeds for planting, an able back and pair of hands, and the time to care for a plot. Sadly, Sniper Elite: One Way Trip only very few individuals will be released June 4 but is and even fewer younger available for pre-order now. kids have taken advantage h *»<•’« i r .M ite iiit i.tf SCOTT McEWEN of this great opportunity. Some people find a garden too time-consuming and wonder, “ Why go to all the trouble to grow a garden, when I could buy produce from the grocery store?” The benefits of a com munity garden are vast. In a sense, a community garden beautifies an area and gives a calm, cultural feeling to a town. It provides a stop ping point for conversation and is an easy way to meet new people. A community garden can also be for all ages. It helps children bet ter understand where food come$/rom. When given a spaee of their own, children can develop a sense o f ac complishment while watch ing their seedlings grow. A community garden can be a powerful thing. If you don’t use it to your and everyone else’s advantage, you could lose it. So make your way to the Heppner Community Garden and get a plot of your own. Funding available for county cultural groups Harvesting 100 years of Each year, the Morrow County C ultural C oali tion receives funding from O regon’s Cultural Trust to support culture and the arts in Morrow County. It is time for qualifying orga nization to start preparing a Funding Proposal Request Form to take advantage of available funds. Qualifying groups or projects might fall under any o f these categories: literary, historical preserva tion, visual and performing arts, or humanities and cul tural organizations. Organizations are in vited to submit completed Funding Proposal Request Forms to Morrow County Cultural Coalition by Au gust 1. Proposed projects must include a timeline and be completed by July 30, 2014. Organizations need not have IRS tax-exempt status to apply. Project proposals must meet criteria noted on the Morrow County ap plication. Funding awarded will vary in amount ac cording to the needs of the proposed project and the amount o f county funds awarded by the Oregon Cultural Trust. Grants are awarded for no more than 50 percent of the total project cost. Proposals funded in 2012 included: North Morrow Community Foundation, Windy River Elementary School Writing Festival, Boardman Park and Rec reation D istrict Funtas- tic Kids, and the Morrow County Chronicles. To receive a Funding Proposal Request Form, contact Susan Russell, Mor row County Cultural Coali tion, 69247 Kunze Lane, B oardm an, OR 97818, 541-481-4277. Funding for Morrow County Cul tural Coalition proposals originates from contribu tions and donations to the Oregon Cultural Trust. To learn more.about support ing culture in Oregon, or individual and business tax credits for donations to the trust, visit www.cultural- trust.org. memories at the Morrow County Fair The Morrow County 4-H program is looking for any 4-H memorabilia (Morrow County and non- Morrow County alike) to share in a display at this year’s Centennial o f the Morrow County Fair, held August 14-17, 2013. Local 4-H organizers say photos, ribbons, tro phies, pins, exhibits citizens made or their grandparents J * * * f '‘ Fishing P e t T. Free Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Morrow County Parks OREGON r are sponsoring a F R E E YOUTH FISHING DERBY, Fish 4 W ildlife, W h ere : Cutsforth Park W h en : Saturday, June 1,2013 S ta rt T im e : 8:30 am E n d T im e : 11:00 am For c h ild re n 14 y e a rs old an d y o u n g er A ddress: 58430 W illow C re e k R d .f H eppner, O reg o n For more information contact Betty Gray at the Morrow County Public Works Office (541) 989-8214 made when they were in 4-H, or any other memora bilia would be a great ad dition to this year’s display recognizing the hard work and memories from 4-H throughout the years. They also say they are happy to make copies or take photos of items people don’t feel comfortable to have out on display. Contact the Morrow County 4-H office or 4-H leader Doashea Qualls at 541-676-9642 for more information. M embers can check out the 4-H section of the Morrow County Fair Book (can be found on our web site) for entry details at the 2013 fair. “We hope to have a great showing of exhibits and their exhibitors this year,” says a county coor dinator. “Let’s make it a great Centennial Celebra tion Morrow County!” Anyone interested in volunteering either before or during the fair, call the 4-H office for complete de tails: 541-676-9642. They say they can always use help with various things, from cleanup and decorat ing, to sorting and assisting with exhibits. For m ore in fo rm a tion about 4-H in Morrow County, check out http:// extension .oregonstate edu/ morrow/, and follow them on Facebook.
