Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 2013)
è Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 24,2013 CHURCH LENDS A HAND -Continuedfrom PAGE ONE adding that the men cut as close to the ground as they could but that the stumps were “huge.” Though Mecham says she was grateful for the aid, the disaster still took a toll on her yard. The grass was dead and the stumps remained in place. That was when Mecham found out her homeowner’s insurance wouldn’t cover the damage. That left her in a bind, she said, with no money to take fu rth er action. 'T h at was because, ju st the month before, she had reached out with financial assistance to struggling family members. Mecham’s daughter, Heather Wyatt, was in nursing school. That was enough o f a burden for Wyatt, husband Travis and their three children, ages nine, six and four. When Wyatt also had health concerns last November, M echam p rom ised the family a portion of her own monthly income to help them through the rough patch. “ 1 d id n ’t leave any margin for error at all,” Mecham says. When disaster hit in Decem ber, she w orried about cleaning up the mess but says her commitment to her family was her first priority. Relief came when she returned home from a walk and found a note on her door from former city m anager Dave DeMayo saying the Nazarene church had volunteered to take care of it if she was interested. County leaders, ambassadors garner support for fair “Harvesting 100 Years o f Memories at the Morrow County Fair! is centennial theme ” Crew* work to clear debris last December. The two felled trees damaged Mecham’s fence, as well as a neighbor's fence and some phone lines, and blocked part of the street. -File photo “ I called them right away,” says Mecham. The volunteer crew showed up last Friday, July 19, tools in hand. They worked about six hours, Wanda Lee said. First, they attacked the stumps with picks, digging out as much o f the dirt as they could from the stumps and roots. They then used a pickup to pull out the stumps, cutting them up once they got them out o f the ground. That afternoon, Ryan Miller of Miller and Sons arrived with a backhoe to remove the last stubborn bits and haul it all away. Meanwhile, volunteers Lisa Cutsforth and Eve Ironhawk worked on the Gilmore Street side of the property, chopping down thistles and digging up puncturvine. T h e c re w w a s n ’t f in is h e d , th o u g h . On S a tu rd a y , W il W h ite arrived with another piece of equipment to fill in the holes and level the yard. They then put water on it to settle the dust; Nazarene Pastor Norman Lee says he plans to go back later in the fall to help replant the yard. H elp in g n eig h b o rs this way is part o f what they want their church’s outreach to be, he explains. “ We’re out to help around the com m unity and w e’re going to keep our eyes open for more community projects we can Heather and Travis Wyatt and their children. -Contrib help people with,” says Lee. “ We ju s t w anted to uted photo hopefully prom pt other churches to reach out and help us do some things around town and just keep growing,” adds Wanda Lee. Other volunteers that helped with the cleanup were Don Tindall, Bret Thompson, Maralee Turley, Echo Chess and Lori White. “With two days’ work it was a just a miracle, as far as I'm conce’med, what they were able to do,” says Mecham. “The big thing is how depressed it made her,” shares Wanda Lee. “ She didn't even want to look out her window, and now she has her curtains open.” Yes, Mecham says she feels blessed, but she adds that the blessing extends beyond h e rs e lf to five other people. Her daughter completed her associate’s degree in n u rsin g and recently passed her state b o a rd s; she is now a licensed nurse in the state of Oregon. “She said she couldn’t have gotten there without the money,” Mecham says, adding that the young couple has thanked her several times but that the aid from the church made it possible for her to send the money to her daughter rather than spending it on cleanup. “A p o rtio n o f th at thanks goes to each person who helped,” she says. “It was just an incredible blessing.” Local boys play in final season baseball tournament Heppner, Ore.— Jacob Lindsay, Patrick Collins and Weston Putman gave it their all playing a tough round of baseball. C o l l i n s , L in d s a y and P u tm a n p la y fo r the Stanfield Thunder, a traveling baseball team for boys 14 years old and under. The Thunder has played in tournam ents throughout Oregon and Washington during the summer. The w eek en d o f July 12-14, the Thunder team traveled to Happy Valley, OR to com pete in th e N W N a tio n s Summer C ham pionship games. During the three- day tournament, Collins, L indsay and P u tm a n ’s contributions on offense led to runs scored and runs batted in. Collin’s stellar pitching on the mound, L indsay’s assurance on second base and Putman's com petence behind the plate helped secure a win on Friday. As part o f the NW Nations baseball program, the boys are com peting against talented players from a variety o f areas, On Thursday, July 11, and Friday, July 12, a team of leaders from the Morrow County Fair headed out on a business and industry tour across Morrow and Umatilla counties. K ane Sw eeney, an upcom ing freshm an at Heppner High School and current 4-H Ambassador for Morrow County; Sydney Q u a lls , an u p co m in g freshm an at lone High School and current 4-H Ambassador for Morrow County; Timothy Gould, an upcom ing freshm an at Heppner High School and the current Heppner FFA Sentinel; and Krysten Powell, the 2013 Morrow County Fair and Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo Queen, traveled to 12 different businesses during their tour. From H eppner, Lexington and lone all the way up to Hermiston and Boardman, these young leaders were on a mission. Their goals? First, to spread the w ord ab o u t the 2013 Morrow County Fair, the 100,h celebration o f this event. The second was to inform our com m unity about how the M orrow (L-R): John Swaggart of Swaggart Brothers Construction in Hermiston with Morrow County Fair and OTPR Queen K rysten Powell, 4-H am bassador Sydney Q ualls, 4-H ambassador Kane Sweeney, FFA Sentinel Timothy Gould and fair manager Zech Hintz. -Contributedphoto County Fair impacts multiple organizations and community members each year, and how much it needs support. Among other things, the Morrow County Fair provides opportunities for 4-H and FFA members. 4-H ambassadors Kane and Sydney both work with 4-H year round. Sydney shows lambs and enters exhibits at the fair, while Kane is really into the leadership portion of 4-H and says he is ready to help make the 100th fair a success. Tim is involved with FFA year round and not only has hogs that he shows at the fair, but also has chi ckens and geese he brings to fair for show as part o f his FFA yearlong project. The goal of the Morrow Count y Fair is to get students and community members involved with the fair and create a secure financial future so Morrow County may have another 100 years of the Morrow County Fair. A nyone who woul d like to help support the Morrow County Fair, call Zech Hintz at 541-676- 9474. BICYCLE TOURS -Continuedfrom PAGE ONE mechanics he trained in after high school. “But in the end it’s all about hospitality. You give the people a good experience and take care of them, whether it’s bikes or birds,” says Carlson. To get the business o ff the ground he has hired people in Portland to g e n e ra te b u sin e ss, put up a new web site at treobiketours.com, and tried other innovative advertising to attract customers and get the new venture going. His bike tours offer various routes and accommodation packages complete with a support van, food, water and nights at the lodge with or without meals provided. Carlson says catering to the needs of his biking guests is similar to the bird hunters; however, they are a different type o f guest. He goes as far as to replace photos of bird hunting with biking groups on the walls of the lodge during bike season. A bike riding “cowgirl" gets a cheer from a fellow bike rider atT R E O . -Contributedphoto “Each group likes to see photos of what they do.” He says some o f the b ik ers can have bikes that easily cost more than $5,000, and some o f the riders actually want to ride on gravel roads. In both the bird hunting and the bike riding he also offers corporate packages, which have proven a good way for a com pany to foster team building and cam araderie within the business. They now offer multi-sports for bike riders including target shooting, hiking, rafting and calf roping (actually roping a bale of hay). “Get your photo taken being a cowgirl,” he advertises on his website. Carlson says he enjoys running the business and especially m eeting new people. “Not only am I teaching them about our lifestyle, but they are teaching us about them,” he says. Boardman appoints Arthur Kegler to city council The Stanfield Thunder competing in the Nations NW Summer Championship July 12-14 in Happy Valley. Back Row (L-R) Coach Dusty Grogan, Brody Woods, Dylan Grogan, Weston Putman, Jacob Justesen, Tony Flores, Patrick Collins and At its July 16 meeting, is currently a Boardman Coach Kent Barnes. Front Row (L-R) Tim Roa, Hunter Barnes, the Boardman City Council Planning Commissioner, Jake Lindsay, Tyler Monkus, Maverick Winslow and Ryan appointed Arthur Kegler a position he will have to Bailey. -Contributed photo the teams they were faced with play year-round, and this is their only sport. The Thunder didn’t bring home a trophy, but the team comprised of 12 young men who represent Umatilla, M o rro w , G illia m and Sherman counties let the valley know that Eastern Oregon boys know how to play ball and gave them a competition worth playing. The boys also say they made lasting friendships that will never be forgotten. Community lunch menu Willow Creek Baptist and Elohim Covenant church members will serve lunch on Wednesday, July 31, at St. Patrick’s Senior Center. The meal will include chicken enchiladas, Mexican rice, green salad with tomatoes, tortillas and flan. Milk is served at each meal. Suggested donation js $ 3.50 per meal. Menu is subject to change. to the city council. Arthur Kegler and Zack Lantis each expressed an interest in the vacant council seat left by Tony Navarro in February. Each candidate was asked questions by the council and, with a vote of four to one, Kegler was appointed to fill the vacancy. Kegler has a long history of serving in the Boardman community, dating back 30 years. He has served on both the Boardm an Pl anni ng Co mmi s s i o n and the city council. He was B oardm an's mayor from 1988 to 1989. Kegler resign in order to serve on the city council. Mayor Sandy Toms will swear in Kegler at the Aug. 7 city council meeting. His term will end Dec. 31,2016. In other city business, the counci l passed an ordinance changing 4.5 acres o f property at Frontier Trailer Park zoned Tourist Commercial to a Manufactured Home Park Subdistrict. The council approved sponsoring the Puncturevine Eradication Program again this summer, and approved a 20-dollar fee for fingerprinting non residents. Also, the council approved an agreem ent with the Columbia River Enterprise Zone for the City of Boardman to act as fiscal agent for the zone. The next m eeting of the Boardman City Council will be Wednesday, Aug. 7, at 7 p.m. K inzua lunch group There were 22 at the Kinzua lunch at Service Creek on July 19. Present were Pat Hyatt; Shirley DOG BITE HARRIS I ALBUM RELEASE PARTY! FRIDAY, AUGUST 9 - BUCKNUM S B IL L Y c o o k D A N IN F E C T O DOG B IT E H A R R IS ' I t -FIV E and Tom Gregson; Dixie and Bruch Ho l l omon; Jean Ann and OL Adams; MaryLee and Bob Britt; Montell McDonald; Mi dge and John G eer with grandson Jonathan; Bonnie Campbell; Windy Liptak; Jackie and Pete Hester; Melba and Frank C ecil; Maril yn G arcia; Ernie Schell; Bob Stinkard; Sheridan Ledford; and Bill Potter. The group will meet again at Service Creek on Aug. 20 at 11:30 a.m. * 1
