HEPPNER G T 50¢ azette imes VOL. 134 NO. 18 12 Pages Wednesday, May 27, 2015 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon BMCC bond passes in four of five Morrow County cities Hermiston, Stanfield, Umatilla and Milton- Freewater all vote no in Umatilla County The Blue Mountain Community City Yes College bond measure passed last week, Heppner 316 and every precinct in Morrow County 83 voted yes except for Irrigon. The BMCC Lexington 123 district covers both Umatilla and Mor- Ione row Counties. Boardman 196 The $23 million bond will cost Irrigon 187 taxpayers approximately 25 cents per Umatilla 138 $1,000 of assessed property value for Hermiston 941 15 years. In Umatilla County, the bond passed Stanfield 114 with 52.96 percent of the vote, and in Echo 90 Morrow County with 52.25 percent. Helix 67 Heppner voted 316 to 192 in favor, 42 Ione 123 to 68 yes, Lexington 83 to 66 Adams Pendleton 2215 in favor, and Boardman 196 to 182 in favor. Irri- Meacham 16 gon voted Pilot Rock 178 187 yes to Athena 145 319 no on 9 the mea- Ukiah Umapine 15 sure. About Milton-Freewater 321 36 percent Weston 67 of the eligible 5263 voters in Total Morrow County cast votes. Above are totals from both Morrow and Counties. No 192 66 68 182 319 216 1209 126 57 39 50 1360 47 98 128 36 22 446 62 Local veterans among others honored in trip to D.C. 4723 Umatilla Wyden postpones town hall U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, has postponed the Morrow County town hall originally set for this Friday, May 29, in Heppner due to a scheduling conflict. A spokesperson for Wyden said the meeting will be re- scheduled. McEwen releases third Sniper Elite novel Five Morrow County World War II veterans, accompanied by friends or family members, made the Honor Flight trip to D.C. this month. Pictured are (back L-R) Clint Carlson, Sandy Matthews, Don Bennett, George Griffith, Lloyd and David McNary, (front L-R) John and Ernie McCabe, and Alice and Jody Tatone. –Contributed photo By Andrea Di Salvo Five Morrow County veterans were among a group of 48 World War II veterans from Eastern Oregon to participate in a World War II Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. earlier this month. Local veterans on the four-day trip were Don Bennett and Ernie Mc- Cabe of Heppner, George Griffith and Lloyd McNary of Ione, and Alice Tatone, formerly of Boardman and now of Condon. McCabe, 90, served in the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific from ’43 to ’46. He was stationed at a naval ammunition depot in Guam. He was accompanied on the trip by son John McCabe. Bennett, 87, was one of the youngest veterans on the trip. He served in the Army Air Force from 1945-1947, training in Kan- sas before shipping out for Oberhausen and then Munich, Germany. He was accompanied by daughter Sandy (Bennett) Matthews. Lloyd McNary, 90, served stateside in the Pacific Theater from ’45 to’46. He served as a Navy corpsman in a naval hos- pital on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. He was accompanied by David McNary. A l i c e Ta t o n e , 9 2 , served stateside in Florida and San Francisco with the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) 1943- 1944, including serving as secretary to Rear Admiral Andrew C. McFall. She was accompanied on the trip by her son, Jody Tatone. George Griffith, 89, served in the Marines from 1944-1946. He spent most of his time in the Pacific Theater, participating in Iwo Jima and serving with the occupying forces in Japan. The trip was planned by Honor Flight of Eastern Oregon (HFEO), one of 117 regional hubs in 42 states participating in the nation- al Honor Flight Network (HFN) program honoring World War II veterans by taking them to Washington, D.C. to visit their National World War II Memorial. In order to qualify for the flight, participants must be World War II veterans and not have seen the World War II Memorial, which opened to the public in 2004. World War II veter- ans travel free of charge in appreciation for their service and sacrifice seven decades ago preserving our freedoms. “Guardians” as- sisting the veterans pay for their own lodging, meals, and airline expenses. HFN operates totally on dona- tions; even the HFN staff donate their time. Many of the Honor Flight volunteers are Korean War and Viet- nam War veterans. “It was a wonderful experience, one of my best ones,” said Ernie McCabe of the trip. “I was surprised at the emotion I had, seeing all the things we went to.” The veterans and their “guardians” began their journey on May 13 when they arrived in Portland and were greeted with a welcome party that night. The group of 48 veterans plus guardians left early the next morning on their flight to D.C. From the beginning, the trip was memorable. On their arrival in D.C., fire trucks at the airport sprayed the plane with water, an honor usually reserved for retiring pilots. Even the ho- tel was a highlight for some. “We stayed in a Shera- ton Hotel, which on 9/11 had airplanes fly right over it. That was pretty excit- ing,” said Alice Tatone. Their tour of D.C. be- gan the next day with the purpose of the trip, a visit to the World War II Memorial. It was an emotional time for all of the veterans. “The World War II Me- morial was really beauti- ful,” said Ernie McCabe. “There are 4,048 stars on that memorial, each repre- senting one hundred people who had died. A real good friend, Paul Rietmann, lost his life in Normandy. I could look at it and think, ‘He’s in one of those stars, there.’” After the World War II Memorial came a tour of the U.S. Capitol, where they were greeted by Rep. Greg Walden and Sen. Ron Wyden. Sandy Matthews said the second day of the trip began with something not on the itinerary, when a high school band in the same hotel asked if they could serenade the group during breakfast. The vet- erans dined as they listened to Big Band-era favorites. Other highlights that day included the Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Me- morial, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial. McCabe recalled a spe- cial moment at the Lincoln Memorial as the veterans gathered on the upper level. “We all started singing the Star Spangled Banner. I thought that was emotional for the public,” he said. At the Iwo Jima memo- rial, the group was greeted by a group of Marines do- ing a silent drill. The Ma- rines then came over and shook the hands of all the World War II vets. It was at the Iwo Jima Memorial that the group discovered George Griffith’s special connection to the event as McCabe said his friend and classmate—the two graduated from Ione High School together in 1943— Hometown boy Scott McEwen continues his lit- erary career with the release this month of a third Sniper Elite novel, “The Sniper and the Wolf,” with coau- thor Thomas Koloniar. Released May 12, the book continues the saga of SEAL Team sniper Gil Shannon, who joins up with an unlikely ally in order to stop a terrorist plot bent on destruction across Europe. According to the book teaser, “Hot on the trail of ‘The Wolf,’ a rogue Russian military sniper- turned-Chechen-terrorist, Gil Shannon turns from hunter to hunted when his mission is exposed by a traitor high up in US gov- ernment. Shannon must turn to an unlikely ally— a deadly Russian special operative—to help even the odds. But when they discover that ‘The Wolf’ is just the tip of a global ter- The Sniper and the Wolf: A Sniper Elite novel. rorist plot whose goal is to upend the US economy and the stability of the Western world, Shannon and his team of operatives must track the terrorists down before their plan comes to fruition,” The book is available at major book outlets, includ- ing Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Costco. Graduation approaches for local seniors Graduation day is quickly approaching for seniors at Heppner and Ione high schools. Ione’s commencement will be held Friday, June 5, beginning at 7 p.m. Bac- calaureate services will be held Monday, June 1, at 7 p.m. at the Ione Legion Hall. Heppner’s commence- ment ceremony will take place Saturday, June 6, -See HONOR FLIGHT/ beginning at 2 p.m. in the PAGE THREE Heppner Jr./Sr. High School gymnasium. Baccalaureate services for Heppner will take place Wednesday, June 3, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church beginning at 6 p.m. Pavement chip seal planned on Hwy. 207 ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. Oregon Dept. of Trans- portation has issued an update to the planned pave- ment chip seal on OR 207 (Lexington - Echo High- way) between Kilkenny Road and the Morrow County line. Travelers should ex- pect lane closures, reduced speeds, day/nighttime flag- gers, pilot cars, loose rock on the roadway, and delays up to 20 minutes. Work is expected to start June 1 and take about two days.