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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2015)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 13, 2015 - THREE BARTHOLOMEW BUILDING Local youth attend writing festival Alba G. Bartholomew was Morrow County Judge during the Heppner Flood in 1903. –Contributed photo -Continued from PAGE ONE consider a Hero of the Hep- pner Flood,” Byrd wrote as a result of her research. “He is worthy of having his name on something in Heppner.” One of the past coun- ty judge’s claims to fame stands to this day, right next to the building that will be named in his honor. Bar- tholomew was instrumental in the construction of the original Morrow County Courthouse, and even put in the landscaping himself. As impressive as that heritage is, however, the reason to put his name on a building goes much deeper. Bartholomew, then 58, was in his second term as Morrow County Judge on June 14, 1903. He was also, as it hap- pened, both the founder and superintendent of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church South Sunday school. On that June morning, he and his 19-year-old son, Fred, had 60 children at the church rehearsing for Children’s Day. “When the rehearsal was over Bartholomew re- fused to let any of the chil- dren go out into the storm,” Byrd wrote. It was later calculated that at least 23 of those children would have died trying to get home. Bartholomew himself lost neither his home nor any of his family. He did, however, have to make major repairs to his Star Rooming House. The county judge was also instrumental in the aftermath of the flood. “Two days after the Flood, Bartholomew and two other men were named to the Relief Committee, and it appears to me that he interviewed all (or at least most) of the survivors who would—or would not—re- ceive money or other sup- port from funds donated to the community,” Byrd continued. At the same time he was helping the survivors, Judge Bartholomew was handling all the probate proceedings and decisions for the families of flood victims. In the huge hand- written Probate Journal D in the Morrow County Court- house basement is recorded the fact that Judge Bar- tholomew was responsible for 94 estate proceedings of victims’ families. From Byrd’s book, “Calamity,” p. 74, comes more on Bartholomew’s contribution to post-Flood Morrow County: “he spent parts of the next two and a half months interviewing survivors. Alba’s judicial responsibilities must have been just as taxing. Both the legal and relief work involved his friends and neighbors, their children and their spouses, their par- ents, brothers and sisters. Even in a county where op- timism was the rule, every family that came before him was coping with sudden, inexplicable loss.” Bartholomew’s own family experienced sud- den loss when he died on Nov. 2, 1903. His obitu- ary declared, “The main cause of his death was over- work…he collapsed under the strain of his labors of attending to public and private affairs….” His granddaughter, Mary Bartholomew Sether, wrote a book, “The Judge’s Family.” In it, Sether quotes his obituary further: “As county judge, his administration of county affairs has been very suc- cessful and the present satisfactory condition of county matters is due to his efforts. He was a man of good judgment and was probably one of the best posted officials on county matters in the state. “While he was very enterprising and progres- sive, his first consideration was for the public welfare. COMMUNITY WIDE CLEAN UP Organized by The City of Heppner & Heppner Jr./Sr. High School Mustang Mop-up Wednesday May 13th. FREE Dumpster for waste collection available at the City Yard on Riverside Ave.- May 13th through Sunday May 24th . There will also be a spot to leave yard debris and burnable material. Any residents that are unable to transport their debris to the yard can contact City Hall for pickup prior to Mustang Mop Up day. The material must be bagged and ready to haul. The City will not accept tires, hazardous waste or household chemicals. Please contact the City of Heppner for more information 541-676-9618. The building of Morrow County’s fine stone court house was largely due to his enterprise. He was one of the promoters in the building of the IOOF stone block and other substantial monuments that stand today in his memory…” In fact, that row of stone buildings on the west edge of Main Street turned the flood waters and saved both the business district and an untold number of lives. When Sykes passed Byrd’s findings on to Tall- man, the choice immedi- ately resonated with the current county judge, who passed Byrd’s write-up on to the commissioners. “Not only did he do something to get that build- ing (the courthouse) built, but he did all those things to serve the flood victims of Morrow County, both those who lived and those who died. He put a lot of work into doing that,” Tallman said. “It (the name) wasn’t a stretch. It almost seemed like a no-brainer.” The Bartholomew Building is scheduled for completion October 1-10 of this year, Tallman said. “Our schedule right now says we’re gonna be there,” he added. Byrd was offered the $100 prize for finding the new building’s name, but said she would like to do- nate the money to the Farm Foundation for the Heritage Museum. On Friday, May 1, a few local students and teachers went to Portland to attend the Oregon Writing Festival, an event for fourth through 12 th graders, and even adults, to learn about and improve their writing skills. About 750 students from across the state at- tended, including five from Heppner: Kellie Eadler, Cara Arbogast, and Joe, Demi and Olivia Schmidt, accompanied by teachers John Flaherty and Andrea Nelson. In addition to attend- ing the Writing Festival, the group learned about Chinese culture and plants at the famous Chinese Gar- dens. They also perused Local students Kellie Eadler, Cara Arbogast, and Joe, Demi and Olivia Schmidt went with teachers John Flaherty and Andrea Nelson to the Oregon Writing Festival on May 1 in Portland. –Contributed photo the books at Powell’s City Group members pro- of Books and even saw a nounced it a “very memo- belly dancer at Marrakesh rable and blithesome expe- Moroccan Restaurant. rience.” Free instructor training to teach falls prevention program for older adults The Oregon Public Health Division is spon- soring a free two-day in- structor training in Tai Chi: Moving for Better Balance (also known as Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance) Monday and Tuesday, May 18-19, at the Harris Junior Academy Gym in Pend- leton. Training is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day; atten- dance is required at both days for certification. Tai Chi: Moving for Better Bal- ance is a gentle fitness class designed for older adults that is proven to reduce the risk of falling. Instructor trainees must have some experience teaching groups of older adults; no tai chi experience is necessary. Contact Lisa Shields for more information at lisa.m.shields@state.or.us. Read more about the Ore- gon Senior Falls Prevention Program at healthoregon. org/fallprevention. Anyone would like to partner with CAPECO as a volunteer instructor in Umatilla and Morrow coun- ties, contact Helena Wolfe, Health Promotion Coordi- nator at the CAPECO Area Agency on Aging. As a volunteer instruc- tor trainee, mileage reim- bursement to attend the training could be avail- able. For more information, hwolfe@capeco-works.org or 541-561-5443. Oregon Trail Library District joins Passport Program If you have an Oregon Trail Library District li- brary card you now have a “passport” for registering for library cards at other participating libraries in Oregon. The Passport Program allows cardholders from participating libraries to register and use other par- ticipating libraries around the state. The OTLD library card now becomes a passport to more libraries and more access to materials when traveling on vacation or for business in Oregon. Patrons are responsible for complying with the policies of the other library including due dates, over- due fines, and lost/damaged materials charges. Patrons must return materials to the library from which they are borrowed. A list of participating libraries can be obtained at http://librariesoforegon. org/passport. BEO Bancorp among 200 top performing banks in nation Bank of Eastern Or- egon was one of three Or- egon and three Washington banks named among the top 200 community banks in the country by American Banker magazine. The magazine, a trade publication based in New York City, named BEO Bancorp of Heppner, OR; Summit Bank of Eugene, OR; Siuslaw Financial Group of Florence, OR; Baker Boyer Bancorp of Walla Walla, WA; Cash- mere Valley Bank of Cash- mere, WA and First Sound Bank of Seattle, WA to the list based on average re- turn of shareholder equity between 2012 and 2014. Banks with less than $2 bil- lion in assets were eligible. At 13.11 percent aver- age return, Baker Boyer Bancorp ranked number 28. Cashmere Valley Bank came in at number 47 with 11.90 percent. At 11.89 percent average return, BEO Bancorp ranked 48. At number 78 First Sound Bank had an average return of 10.82 percent while with a 10.60 percent average re- turn, Summit Bank ranked number 84. With a 9.44 percent average return Sius- law Financial Group ranked number 152. “We are extremely pleased with the recogni- tion in American Banker magazine. This is the third year in a row that we find ourselves included in this list; we are in the company of some of the best ran and most admired banks in the nation.” said Jeff Bailey, President and CEO of BEO Bancorp and Bank of Eastern Oregon. “This is testimony to the dedica- tion of our employees and the tremendous support of our customer base. We are proud of our track record serving the region’s com- munities for over 70 years and are delighted to be the only bank in eastern Oregon that can make the claim of being in the top 200 com- munity banks in the coun- try,” concluded Bailey. Hunter ed classes planned in Heppner Hunter education class- es will be held June 16, 18, 23 and 25 from 6-9 p.m. at Heppner high School. A field day will be held June 20 at Lexington Gun Club from 8 a.m. till noon. The course is taught by Jim and Darlene Marquardt. Cost for the course is $10. Any person under the age of 18 who wishes to hunt must pass a hunter education course in order to obtain a hunting license in Oregon. For questions, call Jim Marquardt at 541-969- 4845. To register, go to http:// www.dfw.state.or.us/educa- tion/hunter/ and follow the registration instructions. HEPPNER LES SCHWAB CONGRATULATES THE CARDINAL TENNIS TEAM ON THEIR 2015 SEASON BOYS’ TEAM: Jan Glasen, Bryan Fowler, Enrico Macciotta, Jared Sny- der, Kai Arbogast, Dalchi Walters, Tom Gould, Tim Gould, Colton Hollis, Amir Bayanayev. Record: 10 wins 0 losses 3 ties GIRLS’ TEAM: Karina Rios, Babali Peterson, Rita McElligott, Katelyn Bass, Maia Fuchs, Hannah Flynn, Rylee Wagoner, Erica Nelson, Kelsey Van Os, Natalie Grigg, Reiah Waite. Record: 5 wins 8 Losses 1 tie 124 N. MAIN STREET HEPPNER OR 97836 541-676-9481 B oys second place trophy at suBdistrict . G irls tied for 6"‘ place at suBdistrict . 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