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Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon
Wednesday, July 10,2013
- FIVE
InterMountain ESD hires new July yard of the month
special education director
announced
PENDLETON, O R -
The InterM ountain Ed
ucation Service District
has hired a new special
education director. Leigh
Nolte started as the Special
Education Director for the
Far West Zone on July 1.
She replaces Sarah C’rane-
Simpson, who announced
in April she would resign
from IMESD to become
the lone School District
superintendent.
N olte, who is from
Cove, will serve,the Mor
row County, lone, and
Umatilla School Districts
in her capacity as Special
Education Director of the
Far West Zone. Her primary
department responsibilities with kids, but I know how
lie within school psychol- important a sense of support
ogy/behavioral sciences, can be to those working in
long-term care and
the classrooms and
treatment, and nurs
with the kids.”
N o lte has a
ing.
She comes to
bachelor’s degree
in p s y c h o lo g y
IMESD from the
from Eastern Or
Union School Dis
trict, w here she was
egon State College
a special education Leigh Nolte
(La Grande), and a
Special Education
teacher. Nolte has
L icen su re from
primarily taught in
small, K-12 rural school Southern Oregon State Col
districts throughout her lege (Ashland). In addition,
education career.
Nolte also possesses an
“ I ’m really excited Initial Administrator’s Li
about supporting adults cense and master’s degree
who work in special edu in educational leadership
cation,” Nolte said. “I’ve from Lewis & Clark Col
alw ays worked directly lege (Portland).
NEW PASTOR
-Continuedfrom PAGE ONE
mento in 1999.
W hat m ost p eo p le
wouldn’t realize right away
is that Sharma has been
partly deaf since age five.
She is considered “post-lin-
gually” deaf, which means
she lost her hearing after
she learned to speak her
first language (English). It
was during college that she
felt drawn to ministry with
the deaf community and
others who are disabled.
She says that, while great
strides have been made in
education, those disabili
ties, like the deaf, are often
underserved in the area of
their faith.
“I saw a great need for
the church to open it’s doors
a little wider,” says Sharma,
adding that that has been
the theme of her ministry
ever since—opening the
doors of the church to the
whole community, not just
a segment.
She went on to live out
that call, and received her
master’s degree in divinity
from Wesley Theological
Seminary in 2003.
That led first to service
at Christ United Methodist
Church of the Deaf in Bal
timore, MD in 2003.
She stayed there for a
year before taking a three-
point call to Gooding, Sho
shone and Richfield United
Methodist churches in Ida
ho in 2004.
In 2006, she received
a call to Brooklyn United
Methodist Church and Jack
sonville United Methodist
D eaf Faith C om m unity
Church, in Jacksonville, IL,
where she remained until
her call to Heppner.
With her on this journey
are her husband, Aditya,
and son, eight-year-old
Ashwin. It was while in
college in D.C. that her
then-rommate introduced
her to Aditya Sharma, a
native of New Delhi, India,
who was in the country on
a student visa.
They “hit it off really
well,” she says, and started
dating. They later became
engaged but hit a hurdle
when Aditya’s family asked
him to return to India after
9/11, fearing for his safety
in the U.S. Though the
logistics of planning a wed
ding internationally were
difficult, they did eventu
ally get married in India in
2004, with festivities that
went until 5 a.m.
“They have long wed
dings in India,” she says.
“It was unusual for me but
normal for them.”
Aditya is also deaf, but
is an avid sportsman despite
that. He especially enjoys
table tennis, in which he
was the national deaf cham
pion in India in 1999. He
currently teaches math and
driver’s education, as well
as coaches, at the School for
the Deaf in Gooding, ID.
Sharma says she loves
reading and creative writ
ing. She also loves camp
ing, hiking, bicycling, cross
country skiing, ice skating
and inline skating. She says
she has walked three 5k
runs in the past year and is
looking for her next one.
She and Aditya enjoy
motorcycling, hosting small
By Kay Proctor
H eppner Volunteers
presented July’s Yard of
the Month honors to Joan
Dieter and the late Mel Di
eter at 215 N. Gale.
The Dieters purchased
the property in 2010 and
started right away putting
their personal im prove
ments to the yard and the
home. Sadly, Mel was only
able to enjoy their place
until September, 2012.
Joan and Mel began
their married life in the
Salem country side and later
lived outside of Stanfield.
They moved to Heppner
for Joan’s work as staff ac
countant at Columbia Basin
Electric Co-operative.
W h ile th e c o u p le
worked together on proj
ects, Mel was able to devote
lots of time to their home,
since he was retired from
work as a welder/fabricator.
With a blended family of 10
children, 26 grandchildren
and 15 great-grandchildren,
family would pitch in, too.
Originally from Texas,
Mel did things big and did
things well. Posts in the
horseshoe pits he built were
anchored in five-gallon
buckets of cement, and have
wooden baekboards and
framed screens to protect
the sand. The shoes hang
nearby on the solid-wood
fence he built. A wood
shelf covers the shoes and
provides a handy place to
set drinks while pitching
shoes.
Rows o f long-estab
lished hedges had to be
pulled out with a pick-up
and the lawn reseeded. An
old fence was removed.
Three pickup loads of river
rock were hauled off, than
compost and mulch were
hauled in for flower beds.
Mel edged the beds with
a miniature white picket
fence he designed and cre
ated. The front porch and
sidewalk were spruced up
din n er p a rtie s— A ditya
cooks gourmet Indian and
Asian-style food—and trav
eling both in the U.S. and
internationally for mission
projects and for leisure.
Sharma says she has
been to Mexico, N icara
gua, K enya, Zim babw e
and India, and has traveled
through many other coun
tries en route to these. She
travels regularly to India to
visit with her in-laws, and
she has dreams of returning
for further mission work
in Kenya and Zimbabwe
someday soon.
The family has only
been in Heppner since Sat
urday, but Sharma says it
has been great so far.
“So far everybody has
been friendly, welcoming
and helpful,” she says, add
ing that there were around
a dozen people on hand to
help them move in when
they arrived last weekend.
She says a man who hap
pened to be jogging by—-
not even a member of the
Methodist church—stopped
and offered to carry a few
boxes into the house.
The town also gets a
thumbs-up from son, Ash
win, who is excited about
the pool, the park, the li
brary, and the new friends
he has already made.
A com m unity meet-
and-greet ice-cream so
cial is planned for Sunday,
July 21, at 12:30 p.m. at Horseshoes hang on the solid-
Hager Park in Heppner for wood fence M el Dieter built,
Heppner Methodist church ready for a game in the care
members and the greater fu lly-c ra fte d horseshoe pits.
Heppner community to get -Photo by Kav Proctor
to know Pastor Elke. All are
invited.
Joan Dieter with a picture o f her late husband M e l D ieter
(inset). Photo by Kay Proctor
and Mel added an iron rail
ing he made. The house’s
exterior had gutters in
stalled and older windows
replaced.
Mel’s favorite part of
the yard was the generous
back patio they put in, where
he enjoyed his coffee every
morning. Custom built with
no steps, a canopy was
added so they could both
use their grill and barbecue
year round. Mel specialized
in brisket, beef ribs and
beef bacon; no pork. When
smoking beef, he used an
apple/pecan wood-chip mix
or, more often, mesquijte
chips. No surprise for a man
w ho farmed and ranched in
Texas. And, of course, the
Lone Star state flag still
flies along with Old Glory
by the front porch. An iron
welcome sign by Mel hangs
on the front gate while an
iron Lone Star is on the side
gate. A Texas license plate
is on the door of his shop.
Calling it a “work-in
progress," Joan who is orig
inally from central Wash
ington, “enjoys getting her
hands dirty” working in the
yard. She especially likes
the pear tree and snow
ball shrub they planted. A
healthy, but trimmed back,
Marionberry that started on
their Salem farm produces
enough fruit to remind her
o f w estern O regon. A l
though her home is in town
now, Joan states that Hep
pner “is peaceful” and “is
like living in the country."
Preparing for an up
coming family wedding,
selling Mary Kay products,
working full-time and doing
yard work (with help from
a couple of neighbors) have
kept Joan busy since last
September. Over Memorial
Day weekend, a gathering
of 63 friends and family
members met in her yard to
honor Mel. She has remind
ers o f his woodworking
skills with furniture and
gunstocks, and mentions
how her husband liked to
“keep moving." Joan shares
that few people knew Mel
did not have the use of his
left hand, the results of a
neck and back injury. She
says she feels their Yard of
the Month recognition is
a tribute to her husband's
hard work. That seems ap
propriate; hard work is ap
preciated by all those who
recognize it.
Yard of the Month is
co-sponsored by MCGG-
Green Feed, the City of
Heppner and the Heppner
Volunteers.
CREZ MAKES A LIST
Zone s list o f county s charitable organizations is growing , says Zone manager
-Continuedfrom PAGE ONE
When businesses locate
in the CREZ, they negotiate
deals with the board and
pay fees in lieu of property
taxes, which will be lower
than property taxes would
be if they had not located
in the enterprise zone. The
zone consists mainly of a
12-square-mile area at the
Port of Morrow in Board-
man.
Companies will pay
these negotiated fees over
three to 15 years to the
CREZ, which will in turn
distribute the funds to tax
districts affected by the
location o f the businesses
there. If they choose, how
ever, businesses may donate
part of those fees to chari
table organizations that
may include anything from
chambers of commerce to
museums, and any other
organization not politically
or religiously oriented, the
board has said.
As an example, Pioneer
Memorial Hospital Foun
dation, M orrow County
Museum, OHV Park, 4-H,
ICABO, Heppner Chamber
of Commerce and the South
M orrow N eighborhood
Center are ju st some of
the organizations that have
contacted McLane to be
included on the list.
CREZ board members
said Monday they want the
list to be as inclusive as
PROPANE appliance and tank sets
July 10% DISCOUNT on installs
Call for quotes. Restrictions apply
M o rro w County G rain Growers««
Phone;
K U 541-989-8221
possible and it will be lim
ited only to organizations
located in Morrow County.
Anyone who wants their
organization included can
email McLane at cmclane@
co.morrow.or.us, or call her
office at 541-922-4624.
“I think we are going
to end up with a nice long
list,” McLane said.
“Just because you are
on the list doesn’t mean
you are going to get some
thing,” said acting CREZ
Board Chairman Don Rus
sell. “We want to make it as
all-inclusive as possible but
it’s up to the businesses who
they give their money to.”
So far the CREZ has
deals lined up over the next
15 years that will bring in
over $21 million, with more
businesses and money to
come. Distribution of the
majority of the funds will
be decided by the CREZ
board and given to taxing
districts deemed by the
board to be most affected
by the businesses locating
in the Boardman area...for
example, fire and police
services.
In Qther business, the
board discussed fees o f
$45,000 that have been
received by the CREZ but
were deposited in Morrow
County governm ent ac
counts. The board learned
that it may lose this money
as it did not get the money
transferred to its new fiscal
agent, the City of Boardman,
before the end of the county
fiscal year. The money may
roll over into the county’s
new budget year and there
fore not be transferrable to
CREZ. Some on the board
suggested that the money
could be counted as reim
bursement for time McLane
spent as CREZ manager;
McLane is an employee of
Morrow County as county
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem,
help is available and that help Is FREE of charge.
If Y O U h a v e a fa m ily m e m b e r w h o su ffers fro m
g a m b lin g ad d ic tio n , Y O U c a n a ls o re c e iv e F R E E tre a t
m e n t e v e n if th e g a m b le r is not re c e iv in g tre a tm e n t.
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B o b b y H a rris @ 5 4 1 - 6 7 6 - 9 9 2 5 or 5 4 1 - 2 5 6 - 0 1 7 5
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O R 1 - 8 7 7 - 6 9 5 - 4 6 4 8 ( 1 -8 8 8 - M Y L IM IT )
planner.
The board also brief
ly discussed a m eeting
planned on July 25 at 7
p.m. at the Port of Mor
row Wells Springs room.
The recreation district has
invited all the taxing dis
tricts in the Columbia River
Enterprise Zone II to “ ...
begin a conversation re
garding Enterprise Zone
negotiations,” according to
a meeting notice from the
recreation district.
The CREZ board is
made up two members each
from Morrow County, City
of Boardman and the Port
of Morrow. These members
will decide how the money
will be spent, and at least
one tax district has asked
for more input into the pro
cess of how the funds will
be disbursed.
A new board m em
ber will be named soon,
as county assessor Greg
Sweek has announced his
resignation. Since he is also
a board member o f CREZ,
his resignation will cause
a vacancy on the board. At
this time. Morrow County
Commissioner Leann Rea
and Sweek represent Mor
row County on the CREZ
board. County Judge Terry
Tallman and Ken Grieb are
alternates on the board and
the county court will name
a new board member. Mike
Gorman has been named
the replacement for Sweek
as county assessor, and he
will be giving technical
taxing advice to the CREZ
board during future nego
tiations with businesses.
The board set its next
meeting for July 15 at 10
a.m. at the Port of Morrow.
McLane said anyone wish
ing to be notified of future
meetings should contact her
and they would be added to
the email notification list.
County parks
meeting postponed
The Morrow County Parks quarterly meeting set for
July 16 will be postponed until Tuesday, October 22, at
I p.m., location to be determined. Anyone w ith questions
or concerns, notify Betty Gray, Morrow County Parks
Chairman, at 541-989-8214 or bgray@co.morrow.or.us.
Meetings are open to the public; anyone with suggestions
or concerns regarding county parks is invited to attend.