Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Heppner students take ‘time
out for reading’
Heppner students took “Time Out For Reading” during January and February. The program,
which gave the students prizes for reading minutes, received positive feedback from partici-
pants. –Contributed photo
During the month of
January and part of Febru-
ary, 32 sixth-grade students
at Heppner Elementary
took “Time Out For Read-
ing.”
Led by Pam Dowdy-
Turner, students engaged
in a reading program based
on the game of basketball.
Each week was recognized
as a quarter of a game, and
reading minutes were rec-
ognized as points. Students
were evenly divided up
into teams, but competed
individually, as well.
Each Monday, the team
captains figured out their
teams’ average minutes
read per person for the
week. Whichever team
scored the highest aver-
age won a prize, as well as
a book with a basketball
theme. If a student read at
least 1,000 minutes dur-
ing the week, that student
also got to choose a book
and won a chance to win
four Harlem Globetrotter
tickets.
This year the reading
game went into overtime,
allowing students to log
even more minutes read.
The Portland Trailblazer
team, consisting of Jayden
Wilson, Kendall Dowdy,
Jackson Lehman, Diana
Rodriguez and Hannah
Palmer, had the highest
weekly average with 1,005
average minutes read per
person.
Serenity Rodriguez,
the individual leader with
a total of 10,010 minutes
read, had this to say: “I love
the competition of reading.
I spent many late nights
reading and I got to finish
two book series that I had
been wanting to read. And,
of course, I like the prize
party. My family is going
to get to attend a Harlem
Globe Trotters game, and
that is very exciting, too!”
“I was motivated to
read for the challenge of
it,” commented Sydeny
Wilson.
Marlee Mitchell said,
Ten Reasons why Religious TV Can't
Compete With Heppner's Churches
It's certainly easier to stay home and watch TV
on Sunday morning than it is to get up and go to
church. Also the rehearsed programs, professional
musicians and big time preachers can usually make
a slicker and more appealing presentation than
you'll find in the average church in Heppner. Why
not then just stay home and enjoy the TV?
1. Obedience: God told us not to forsake the assem-
bling of ourselves together. (Heb. 10:25) He knows
we need each other. By ourselves we are incomplete
and out of balance.
2. TV lends itself to entertainment, whereas a Hep-
pner church will encourage you to active involve-
ment in worship.
3. Most TV programs are selected for public con-
sumption and seldom give the balanced diet needed
to cover all the areas of life's joys and struggles.
4. We all need the give and take of interacting in
small group settings to stimulate our thinking and
challenge us to personal action and growth.
5. Every church in Heppner could use one more
helping hand. The TV church gives little opportu-
nity for you to develop any ministry of service - - -
except to give your money.
6. TV ministries let the needs of Heppner go un-
met. They don't teach your grandchildren or hug
the neighborhood kids, or spend an hour holding
the hand of a grieving widow.
7. You have a responsibility to be a good example
in raising the spiritual and moral climate of your
community. Our local churches need you to help
in assuring a good moral environment for the Hep-
pner area.
8. There is strength in numbers! Whether its prayer,
worship, or building a storage shed, many hands
are stronger than one! Jesus said, "Where two or
three are gathered together in my name, there am I
in the midst of them." (Matt: 18:20)
9. The TV preacher won't be there to marry your
children or to comfort your family at your decease.
10. Loving and caring are central to Christianity
and essential for emotional health. Admiring a TV
celebrity just doesn't express love like hugging the
senior citizen next door.
11. Hey, well, I know I said ten, but let me throw in
just one more: If your family has a major tragedy,
will the TV audience be there for them the way a
local congregation in Heppner would be?
“The program pushed me
to read on weekends rather
than my regular free time
activities because I had the
goal to make the weekly
1,000-minute club. I didn’t
get it the first week, but
figured out how to manage
my time to accomplish my
goal. I enjoyed the reward
of the prizes, too!”
Blake Wolters was also
impacted by the Time Out
For Reading program.
“The program moti-
vated me to read the series
Janitors, and I’m reading
the fourth book now,” he
said. “I really liked my
prize, a $50 Game Stop gift
card donated by my cousin,
Logan Grieb.”
The Time Out For
Reading program provides
a book and prize at the end
for each and every student
participating, as well as the
weekly average prizes and
1,000-minute club prizes.
Program coordinators
and volunteers say this
reading program would not
be possible without dona-
tions like Logan’s, or cash
donations from Paul Rei-
mars, Karen Smith-Griffith
and the local Elks lodge.
Jannie Allen once again
donated prizes, as well as
her famous Babe Ruth bars
for the reading party.
Heppner robotics takes first place
at Redmond competition
Heppner High School’s
Robotics Team won first
place at a VEX Robotics
competition in Redmond,
OR recently. The primary
members of the Heppner
Robotics team include
Bryan Fowler, Cade Arbo-
gast, Kai Arbogast and Tom
Gould.
VEX Robotics is a na-
tional robotics organiza-
tion. Students use special-
ized equipment to design,
build and compete against
other teams. Students use
computer programing to
control their vehicle and
then also drive it manu-
ally. Heppner competed
in two prior VEX Robotics
competitions this season in
Salem, OR.
This year’s challenge,
Skyrise, involves stacking
tower sections and placing
cubes on various height
poles. Teams compete with
Heppner Robotics Team members Bryan Fowler, Cade Arbo-
gast and Kai Arbogast at the Redmond VEX Robotics competi-
tion recently. –Contributed photo
an alliance of two teams.
With help from the Ukiah
team, Heppner students
improved throughout their
day in Redmond, redesign-
ing the vehicle and writing
new programing code.
Heppner worked its
way through the double
Heppner schools will
host Adam Miller, folk
singer and storyteller, on
March 19. Miller will be
holding assemblies with
his “Singing Through His-
tory!” program at both Hep-
pner Elementary and Hep-
pner High School.
This assembly is pos-
sible because of donations
by Morrow County Grain
Growers and their “Fuel the
Future” program. The “Fuel
the Future” program was
designed to support Hep-
pner schools by donating
a percentage of all propane
sales to the fund.
“We would not be
able to do this without the
support we have through
MCGG and this program,”
said Matt Combe, Heppner
Schools Principal.
According to Miller,
traditional folksongs re-
mind us that historical
events have been accom-
Storyteller and folk singer Adam Miller, shown here at a Mil-
ton–Freewater library performance, will present his “Singing
Through History!” program at assemblies in both Heppner
schools March 19. –Photo by Andrea Di Salvo
plished by ordinary people
not unlike ourselves. For
over a decade, Miller has
captured the imagination
of students at schools and
public libraries all over
the United States with his
instrumentals, or anything
in between. The event will
not be judged; event coor-
dinators say the tryouts will
be used to vet performances
in order to fill the allotted
time.
The talent show will
take place March 14 at 6
p.m. during the St. Patrick’s
Day celebration; the talent
show will serve as an open-
ing act for the Gothard Sis-
ters concert that evening at
the St. Patrick’s parish hall.
Questions, text or call
Leanne Lindsay at 541-
379-6331.
The Spirit of Agriculture
E v e r y y e a r b e g i n s w i t h t h e h o p e o f g o o d
w e a t h e r a n d b e t t e r p r i c e s .
S o m e y e a r s M o t h e r N a t u r e c o - o p e r a t e s a n d
s o m e y e a r s s h e d o e s n ’ t .
Russell Seewald
Loan Officer
elimination rounds and
then won the finals in two
straight matches. Heppner
Robotics is now prepar-
ing for the VEX Robotics
competition at the National
TSA Conference in Dallas,
TX this June.
MCGG ‘Fuel the Future’
sponsors folk singer Adam Miller
Tryouts planned for St. Pat’s
talent show
Tryouts for a St. Pat-
rick’s weekend talent show
will be held Sunday, March
8, at 6 p.m. at St. Patrick’s
parish hall.
The tryouts are open to
all youth high school age
and younger. All talents are
welcome—dance, vocals,
- THREE
T h a t ’ s a g r i c u l t u r e . B u t e v e r y y e a r b e g i n s w i t h
t h e f a i t h a n d h o p e t h a t t h i s y e a r w i l l b e t h e y e a r .
T h a t ’ s t h e s p i r i t o f a g r i c u l t u r e . W e b e l i e v e i n i t .
G e t y o u r a g l o a n s f r o m u s .
Joe Perry
Loan Officer
entertaining, multi-cultural
“Singing Through Histo-
ry!” folk-music programs.
These programs are
intended to conform to state
history, social science, and
visual and performing arts
frameworks, addressing
curricula and subjects stu-
dents are already studying
in the classroom. All “Sing-
ing Through History!” pro-
grams aid are intended to
aid in the development
of cultural and historical
literacy, emphasizing the
importance of history as a
story well told. Students
also can have a great time
learning about American
folklore and folk traditions
while singing along…all
programs are designed to
encourage group singing
and interactivity, and are
tailored to be age appropri-
ate for any combination of
grades or ages.
From his repertoire of
more than 5,000 folksongs,
Miller selects age-appro-
priate songs that appeal
to children, and presents
them in a way that helps
students realize that they,
the young people of today,
are not very different from
the young people of past
generations.
These meaningful and
enjoyable songs also help
children locate their own
place in the long stream
of cultural tradition, and
emphasize that America’s
culture has diverse ethnic
roots.
Marriage
Licenses
Term Loans. Lines of Credit. Ag & Commercial Real Estate Loans.
beobank.com
M e m b e r F D I C
Heppner 541-676-9125
Ione 541-422-7466
The Morrow County
Clerk’s office has released the
following report of marriage
licenses:
February 19, 2015: Car-
los Bartolo Jaimez, 38, of
Hermiston and Hilda Landeros
Ramirez, 31, of Hermiston.
February 23, 2015: -Abi-
gail Quasar Lepage, 39, of Irri-
gon and Roy Ernest Hallgarth
Jr., 29, of Henryetta, OK.