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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.
*
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