Heppner celebrates
Homecoming
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library
University o f Oregon
Eugene, O R 9 7 4 0 3
Heppner High School celebrated homecoming last week with a variety of activities, including
theme days and special events, which culminated with the football game versus the Irrigon
Knights and the Homecoming dance on Friday. Pictured is the 2013 Homecoming Court.
Front (L-R): Cade Arbogast, Jaden Orr, Jackson Coiner, King J.C. Putman, Sierra Greenup,
Treston Maben and Ross Cutsforth. Back (L-R): Kevin and Kenzie Hughes, Travis and Blake
Greenup, Jim and Queen MeKayla Kindle, ClifTand Ryan Dougherty, and Todd and Maddie
Lindsay. - Photo by Sandy Matthews
VOL. 132
N O . 38 10 Pages Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Gorman sworn in as
new county assessor
Morrow County Clerk Bobbi Childers (right) swearing in Mike Gorman as the new Morrow
County Assessor on Sept. 4. Gorman replaced retiring assessor Greg Sweek. -Contributedphoto
Second scenic bike ride
hailed a success
Twenty-five riders participated in the second annual Blue Mountain Century Scenic Bikeway
ride last weekend. Back row: Lynn Roby, Bryan Scholz, Sandra Henning, Tom Mafera, Matt
Browning, Alex Phillips, Paul Cuddy, Katrin Fink, Bill Miles, Chuck Hedges, Steve Watts, Barb
Watts, Bonnie Hayslett, Will Brendecke, Craig Gutierrez, Deb Gutierrez, Jay Gibbs, Scott
Kreider, Ric Hancock and Bill Mackenzie. Front Row: Evan Mackenzie, Gwen Strepek and
Sharon Dunham. Not pictured are Jim and Colin McElligott. - Photo by David Sykes
The second annual
Blue Mountain Century
Scenic Bikeway ride took
place this past weekend,
Sept. 21-22, and was a
huge success according
to Heppner Chamber o f
C o m m erce E x e c u tiv e
Director Sheryll Bates.
Altogether, there were
25 riders who participated
in this year’s event. The
riders started in Ukiah
on Saturday and rode to
H eppner via Hwy. 395
north and Hwy 74 west,
and rode from Heppner
to Ukiah on Sunday via
Forest Service Rd. 53.
Breakfast was provided
by A & M’s Kitchen on
both Saturday and Sunday,
lunch was provided by
Heppner Family Foods,
and a barbecue dinner was
provided by Cornerstone
Gallery, aka Alvin Liu, on
Saturday. The riders were
fortunate that the weather,
although cool and breezy
in the mornings, stayed dry.
For some o f the riders,
this was their second time
riding the 111 -mile, difficult
BMC Scenic Bikeway loop,
but for many others, this
was a first trip to Heppner
and Ukiah and participation
in the event. Visitors came
from Pendleton, Prineville,
La Grande, Newberg, Lake
Oswego, Aurora, Salem,
Terrebonne and Oregon
City. Everyone said they
are planning on being part
of the third annual BMC
Scenic Bikeway event again
next year. “The visitors
all commented on what
great customer service they
received from the Heppner
businesses, how friendly
the Heppner community
was and how clean and neat
Heppner is,” said Bates.
L ocal p a rtic ip a n ts
included Will Brendecke,
M att B row ning, C raig
Gutierrez, Deb Gutierrez,
Jay Gibbs, Colin McElligott
and Jim M cElligott. O f
-See BIKEWAY SUCCESS/
PAGE TWO
Local pharmacy
tech garners state
recognition
Wicklund named Oregon Pharmacy
Technician o f the Year
By Andrea Di Salvo
Excellence seems to
be in the water at Murray’s
Drug, as another member
of the pharmacy team at has
garnered state recognition
for outstanding service.
The honors this year
go to Shannon Wicklund,
60, pharmacy technician at
Murray’s Drug in Heppner.
Wicklund has been named
Pharmacy Technician of the
Year by the Oregon State
Pharmacist Association.
She will be honored for
her achievem ent at the
a s s o c i a t i o n ’s a n n u a l
c o n v e n tio n S atu rd ay ,
Oct. 19, at the Pendleton
Convention Center.
Wicklund says she was
shocked when she got the
call.
“I was very honored,”
says W icklund. “ It was
quite a surprise for me. 1
had no idea that award even
existed.”
It wasn’t a surprise to
employer Ann Murray, who
nominated Wicklund for the
award earlier this year.
Murray said she had
to com plete a detailed
nomination, which asked
a lot o f questions about
why she thought Wicklund
deserved the award, and
a lot about com m unity
service.
Murray thought
Wicklund deserved
recognition on both counts.
“Sometimes pharmacy
is really stressful but we
have to stay calm,” Murray
says. “ Shannon does a
great job as a pharmacy
technician because she’s
very’accurate and diligent
in her work and always
stays focused and calm.”
Murray also mentioned
that, among other things,
Wicklund was instrumental
in bringing Relay for Life
to Heppner; the program
was held in Heppner for
the second time last month.
Wickiund didn’t set out
to become a pharmacy tech.
She and h e r l at e
husband, Tom, moved to
Heppner in 1979 to help
M urray’s Drug pharmacy technician Shannon Wicklund will
be honored as the Oregon State Pharmacist Association’s
Pharmacy Technician of the Year at the organization’s annual
convention in Pendleton next month -Photo by Megan Futter
her parents, Jack and Ruth
Maben, operate Court Street
M arket. The W icklunds
took over the small grocery
store next to the courthouse
after the Mabens retired.
Then, as Wi ckl und
says, K inzua Mill shut
down, Walmart went in, and
a lot of things in Heppner
changed. They were forced
to shut down Court Street
Market late in 2000.
Ann Murray says that
she saw a chance to gain
a valuable employee, and
asked Wicklund to work
for them at Murray’s Drug.
“I just thought she was
really nice and good with
people,” says Murray.
Wicklund started at
M urray’s in January o f
2001, she recalls, working
first as a clerk for a couple
of years before beginning
to study for pharmacy tech
certification.
A ll
pharmacy
tech n ician s in O regon
have to pass a national
certification exam, which
Wicklund says was a little
nerve-wracking.
“ T h a t was ve r y
frightening for me, because
it had been years since I had
to do anything like that,”
Wicklund says, adding that
pharmacy techs like herself
also have to do continuing
education to maintain their
certification.
After completing her
certification, W icklund
was thrown into the fire,
so to speak, during her
first months behind the
pharmacy counter.
“ John and Ann
(Murray) went on a trip
to Italy, Jennifer (Palmer)
was out with a baby, and
that was my first year there,
working with a visiting
p h arm acist,” W icklund
recalls.
Despite her trial by fire,
W icklund didn’t buckle
under the pressure; a decade
later, she seems happy in
her place and is considered
a valuable asset by the
Murray’s Drug team.
“She’s very caring of
people, very empathetic.
We have to be careful and
accurate and calm and
focused, and she’s all of
those things,” says Murray.
“(This award) is a big honor
because there are a lot of
pharmacy technicians in
Oregon, more technicians
than there are pharmacists,
so for her to win is very cool
and we're very proud of her.
“ We’re very proud
o f our entire pharm acy
technician staff, and we
r eal l y t hi nk Sh a n n o n
deserves this honor.”
“ I have very good
employees to work for. I
couldn't do it without them
all,” says Wicklund. “A lot
of support; we all just work
together.”
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