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Bessie Wet/el I Newspaper I ihrarv
l 'Diversity o f Oregon
l ugene. < )R Q7403
Warm spring still low
on moisture
Good 2014 moisture still leaves water-year
levels lacking
F
VOL. 133
NO. 19
10 Pages
imes
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
According
to
preliminary data received
by N O A A ’s N a tio n a l
W e a th e r S e r v ic e in
Pendleton, temperatures at
Heppner averaged slightly
warmer than normal during
the month of April.
The
average
te m p e ra tu re w as 49.6
degrees, which was 0.6
degrees above normal. High
temperatures averaged 60.7
degrees, which was 0.2
degrees below normal. The
highest was 73 degrees on
April 8. Low temperatures
averaged 38.6 degrees,
w hich was 1.4 degrees
above normal. The lowest
was 33 degrees on the 26Ul.
Precipitation totaled
1.22 inches during April,
which was 0.29 inches
below normal. Measurable
precipitation of at least .01
inch was received on 12
days with the heaviest, 0.38
inches, reported on the 22nd.
Precipitation this year
has reached 5.69 inches,
which is 0.07 inches above
normal. Since October, the
water year precipitation
at Heppner has been 8.06
inches, which is 1.62 inches
below normal.
The outlook for May
from N O A A 's C lim ate
P rediction C enter calls
for near- to above-normal
temperatures and near- to
above-normal precipitation.
N o rm a l h ig h s fo r
H eppner rise from 64
degrees at the start of
May to 73 degrees at the
end of May. Normal lows
rise from 40 degrees to
47 degrees. The 30-year
normal precipitation is 1.66
inches.
The
National
W eather S ervice is an
o ffice o f the N ational
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
Three Morrow County
School have been named
to the U.S. News & World
Report's Best High Schools
list for 2014.
Morrow County School
D istrict’s Riverside and
Heppner junior-senior high
schools, as well as lone
Com m unity School, all
received bronze medals.
This is the fifth year in a
row that Riverside has made
the list and has received
a bronze medal. Heppner
also received recognition
and a bronze medal from
2010-2012. while lone has
received the award for the
last three years.
Bronze rankings are
awarded to high-performing
schools based on state exam
performance.
There are 287 high
schools in Oregon, and
just 51 received bronze
medals for 2014 from U.S.
News & World Report. Four
received gold medals and
22 received silver.
A to tal o f 77 high
schools in Oregon made
the list for 2014. Each year,
U.S. News & World Report
evaluates nearly 21,000
public high schools in 49
states and the District of
Columbia.
Schools are awarded
gold, silver or bronze medals
based on state proficiency
standards, how well they
prepare students for college,
and other factors.
U.S. News & World
Report has published the
Best High Schools rankings
since 2007.
M ore in fo rm a tio n :
http://www.usnews.com/
e d u c a tio n / b e s t- h ig h -
schools/oregon.
Dickenson to retire from
school district
Local high schools among
best in nation
By Andrea Di Salvo
Heppner High School
students, teachers and staff
will bid farewell to Special
Education Assistant Kathi
D ickenson next month.
Dickenson, whose last day
is June 6, has worked with
the Morrow County School
District since 1992, serving
as Special Ed. Assistant
continuously for the last
13 years.
Dickenson, who just
turned 62, was born and
raised in Grants Pass, OR.
She graduated from Grants
Pass High School in 1970;
in 1971 she went on to
attend one year of business
school in Portland.
“And 1 hated it,” she
confides.
S he m a r r ie d h e r
husband, Steve, in 1972
while he was a student
at L infield C olleg e in
M cM innville, OR. He
becam e a high school
teacher, and the couple
moved several times for
his work in the first years
of their marriage, spending
a year in Lakeview, OR.
two in Roseburg, three in
Bandon, six in Myrtle Creek
and two in Newburg before
they moved to Heppner in
1989.
D ick en so n w orked
for US Bank during their
time in McMinnville and
Lakeview, 1972 to 1976.
She then had their first
child, Chris, and became a
stay-at-home mom to Chris
and his siblings, Traci and
Tim, for the next several
years.
It was after the family
moved to H eppner that
Kathi Dickenson sits at the desk in the classroom where she
spends many of her afternoons at HHS working with Special
Ed. students. Dickenson retires this year after spending the
last 13 years working as Special Ed. Assistant in the Heppner
schools. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo
Dickenson first took a job
as Special Ed. Assistant in
1992.
“I enjoy special ed.,”
she says. “I love to see the
light bulb go off; when you
see their accomplishments
and how far someone has
come.”
Despite her love for
her work, she quit after
one year...not for herself,
but because she felt she
could serve the local school
better in another capacity.
HHS em ployees Darcy
Robinson and Terri Gentry
both had children that year,
and Dickenson left her job
as education assistant to
serve as childcare provider.
“There w eren’t a lot
o f childcare options in
Heppner back then,” she
says. “My schedule worked
with their school schedule,
so 1 said, ‘Sure.’”
Dickenson looked after
the two young boys, as well
as the two younger siblings
who came along later, in
addition to her own three
teenagers.
lone celebrates prom
lone High School held its prom April 19; pictured above
are lone Prom Queen Jacqueline Juarez and King Bailey
Haguewood. -Contributedphoto
“I told everybody I was
a short-order cook from
1990 to 1999,” she jokes.
C hange cam e again
when she and her husband
divorced after 30 years
o f marriage. In 2001 she
again took a job as Special
Ed. A ssistant, spending
five years at H eppner
Elementary before moving
to the high school.
“I went back to what
was comfortable,” she says,
adding that the job allowed
her to keep her summers
free for her children and
one of her other great loves,
working in her yard.
Her retirem ent now
also comes mainly because
of her family. Of her three
children, only Tim remains
in Heppner; Chris and his
family are in Cove, OR
and Traci and her family
live in Iowa. Dickenson
says retirement will allow
her to spend more time
with her children and her
eight grandchildren—all
of whom are under the age
of 10—and one grandchild
on the way. Dickenson says
she looks forward to being
able to attend sporting
events and school functions
for all her grandkids as they
get older.
She also say s she
will help son, Tim, with
day-to-day organization
and administration of his
chiropractic practice to free
him up to work on medical
re c o rd and in su ra n c e
changes required by federal
law.
And, of course, there
are the inevitable home
projects.
“I have a few projects
around my house; people
who know me know I
always have projects,” she
says. “ I am one o f those
women who enjoys power
tools.”
For Dickenson, parting
from her work, students
and cow orkers w ill be
bittersweet.
“I will miss aspects, but
I want to be able to enjoy
Community garden
flourishes with tender care
By Kay Proctor
Those who (try to)
garden on the hillsides
in south Morrow County
know it can be a challenge.
B e sid e s th e ro ck s
to contend with, there is
shallow, alkaline soil, wind
and the need to irrigate on a
regular basis. And we’ve all
seen what deer can quickly
do to a garden.
John Murray and Ed
Struthers have accepted
that challenge with good
results on the hillside by
Heppner High School. In
an area surrounded by 6-Vi-
foot fencing to keep out
deer, they have developed
a productive community
garden from a rock patch
as Nov. 5; all primary ballots
are due by 8 p.m. Tuesday,
May 20. Remember, ballots
m ust be rece iv ed , not
I
I
t
J o h n M u r r a y and Ed
St rut hers have carved a
community garden out of a
rocky hillside in only four
years. -Contributedphoto
H anging B askets MOTHER’S
C olor B owls
DAY
P lanters
SPECIAL
mailed, that day. Call the
Morrow County Clerk at
541-676-5601 for more
information.
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
-See COMMUNITY GAR-
DEN/PAGE FIVE
Heppner High School held its prom April 19. Above: Heppner prom court members (back
L-R) Jordan Bailey, JC Putman, King Treston Maben, Jeff Dowdy, Tate Gentry, (front L-R)
Samm Lemmon, Kayla Kindle, Queen Nicole Kempken and Blake Greenup. Not pictured is
Jyla Dyer. - Contributed photo
-See DICKENSON RE-
TIRES/PAGE FOUR
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
Community Garden and
has free plots available to
the public with no charge
for water.
F i r s t p r i o r i t y for
St r ut her s and Murray
was to improve the soil.
Heppner celebrates prom
Ballots due May 20
A portion of last week’s
article, “Primary ballots are
in the mail,” incorrectly
stated the election deadline
in just four years.
Tw enty y ears ago,
the OSU Extension/Blue
Mountain Master Gardeners
developed a community
garden off Riverside Street
on an empty lot owned
by the City o f Heppner.
S ince the BMMG did
weed control on the lot,
the city provided water.
When the lot was sold and
BMMG disbanded, Murray
and Struthers started the
garden from scratch in
its new location; the two
continue their dedication
with general support from
the Heppner Volunteers.
The newer location has
been christened the City of
Heppner’s “ Irish Green”
M O N T A N A SILVER. JEWELRY 20% OFF
Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed <& Seed
242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-6221 (MCGG main office)
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