Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, June 24, 2015
HOLLOMON RETIRES
-Continued from PAGE ONE
up the Knox Variety Store
(which later burned down)
that sat in the spot between
Murray’s Drug and Bank
of Eastern Oregon on Main
Street. She also worked
for First National Bank for
eight years before she and
Jerry decided to buy the
local shoe store, the Shoe
Box, from the Gonty family
in January of 1977.
Hollomon recalls that
she and her husband were
the first people outside the
Gonty family to operate the
store; when she was forced
to close it some 28 years
later, the business was 99
years old.
Times had changed,
though, and the town than
once supported three car
dealerships and several
grocery stores—not to men-
tion several clothing and
variety stores—no longer
had enough business to
support a local shoe store
by the early 2000s.
“I hated to close it,” she
said. “But the business just
wasn’t there.”
The Shoe Box wasn’t
the only venture the family
had during that time.
Jerry at one point sold
his barber shop. However,
the woman who bought it
ended up leaving town, and
leaving the town without a
barber shop, so Jerry Hol-
lomon reopened inside the
same building as the Shoe
Box.
The Hollomon’s daugh-
ters, Kaedene (Bailey) and
Darcy (Coil), also opened
a t-shirt printing business,
Talk-N-Tops, in the build-
ing, which the family later
donated to the local school.
In 1988, Hollomon also
bought the local fabric
store.
“We wound up with
too many business,” says
Hollomon. “And each of
them had a separate set of
books.”
They even sold an-
tiques for a while, though
Hollomon says that was
more of a hobby than a
money-maker.
“That was a lot of fun.
It sure brought in a lot of in-
teresting people,” she says.
In the 1990s, though,
she and Jerry decided they
needed a less involved busi-
ness to take them into re-
tirement. They decided on
real estate. Hollomon says
she took classes and then
worked for Sharon Lewis
for three years until she
was eligible to start her own
business. Jerry then took
classes, as well.
Time has taken its toll,
though; within the last de-
cade, Hollomon has lost
both daughter Darcy and
husband Jerry. Now, 10
years after the normal re-
tirement age, she has de-
cided it’s time to move on
to the next thing.
So far, she says she
KENYAN CLINIC
can’t say what retirement
feels like. Still wrapping up
her last real estate commit-
ments, Hollomon says, “I
just feel I’m on a vacation
right now. I’m still busy.”
Hollomon has already
started traveling, continu-
ing to take trips to Alaska to
visit family and going down
to Arizona for part of every
winter. She says she expects
those things will continue,
though she’s not making
any more definite plans.
“I don’t make long-
range plans. I just take
things as they come,” she
says.
That said, she does say
she doesn’t have any plans
to move away for good.
“I love it here and I
wouldn’t want to be any-
where else or doing any-
thing else. I’ve felt that
way since I moved here”
says Hollomon. “It took
the whole town to raise my
children.”
HES announces honor card winners
Heppner Elementary
School has announced that
77 students were Honor
Card winners for the fourth
quarter of the 2014-2015
school year. Winners are
listed by class as follows:
Mrs. Morris—Keaton
Coiner, Jaysi Dompier,
Brooklyn Hendricks, Healy
Hisler, Claire Lindsay, Ash-
lynn Marlett, Hailey Mc-
Daniel, Alakae Rodriguez,
Patrick Wolford.
Mrs. Matteson—David
Asbridge, Mariah Combe,
Lane Critchlow, Caleb
George, Owen Guerra,
Faith Holsinger, Vincent
Kielmeyer, Levi Maret,
Sarah Munkers, Lily Nich-
ols, Rylee Palmer, Sophie
Rodriguez, Austin Willis,
Maya Payne, Natalie Piper,
Tripp Stewart, Logan Turn-
er, Connor Wilson.
We will be closed
Saturday July
4th, have a safe &
Happy 4th of July!
MURRAY'S DRUG - 217 N MAIN PHONE 676-9158
BURNING
Effective June 18, 2015, the Fire Chief
of the City of Heppner is imposing a
CLOSED SEASON for open burning
based on local fire safety concerns.
This burning ban is for the City of Heppner.
A reminder that open burning also
includes a “burn barrel.”
The closed season will remain in effect
until further notice this fall as per ORS 478.960.
Mrs. Stewart—Jackson
Coiner, Ally Green, Sierra
Greenup, Keeley Nairns,
Hallee Hisler, Aden Lath-
rop, John Lindsay, Amelia
Manning, Lynn Williams.
Mrs. Coiner—Keegin
Chitty, Morgan Cutsforth,
Ethan Delibertis, Caden
George, Reece Gorham,
Irelynn Kollman, Zandra
Masterson, Landon Mitch-
ell, Arianna Worden.
Mrs. Gibbs—Ty Boor,
Paul Lindsay, Trevor Nich-
ols, Madison Palmer, Hai-
ley Wenberg, Katie Wilson.
Mrs. Piper—Harley
- THREE
Ann Anderson, Mason Al-
leman, Kylie Boor, Conor
Brosnan, Jace Coe, Hannah
Green, Brock Hisler, Cody
Fletcher, Brian Lindsay,
Blane Mahoney, ZaBrena
Masterson, Aubriana Ro-
driguez, Joe Sherman, Jett
Stewart, Jonathon Waddell.
Mrs. Dowdy—Alexis
Cutsforth, Kendall Dowdy,
Sage Ferguson, Brinley
Furrer, Marlee Mitchell,
Madelyn Nichols, Hannah
Palmer, Serenity Rodri-
guez, Aimee Turrell, Jayden
Wilson, Blake Wolters.
Marriage Licenses
The Morrow County Clerk’s office has released the
following report of marriage licenses:
June 17, 2015: -Caleb Wayne McDaniel, 35, of Hep-
pner and Taylor Lee Kempas, 25, of Lexington.
June 22, 2015: -Adrian Julius Haney, 27, of Heppner
and Jennifer Marie Whalen, 28, of Heppner.
-Continued from PAGE ONE four different slums.
at a government hospital
and at a small clinic where
she was able to see first-
hand what health care is
like in Kenya. It was while
at that clinic that she met
Dr. James, a doctor who
has worked with the As-
semblies of God denomina-
tion in establishing clinics
throughout Kenya. James
has worked for years in
Kenya, establishing 12 clin-
ics in 10 years, making
him a valuable asset in Van
Cleave’s goal of establish-
ing her own clinic, Home
of Hope Medical Centre in
Nairobi.
“He understands the
process of starting a clinic
and has established con-
nections with people in
order to make the process
of starting a clinic faster
and easier than if I were to
do everything on my own,”
Van Cleave says. “I have
partnered with Dr. James
in the setting up process
of Home of Hope Medical
Centre and am thankful for
this connection.”
Van Cleave also says
she has partnered with the
Christian Health Associa-
tion of Kenya (CHAK),
of which Home of Hope
Medical Centre will be a
member.
She says Home of Hope
Medical Centre will include
a medical clinic, pharmacy,
laboratory and dental care.
“It will provide quality
health care at an affordable
price to the surrounding
community, which will pro-
vide sustainability in order
to provide free healthcare
to the rescued babies and
children at the Dream Cen-
ter, as well as the desperate
children from the surround-
ing slums,” explained Van
Cleave, who added that the
clinic will be located in a
middle-class neighborhood
that can afford to pay for
healthcare but will also be
within walking distance of
“This location will be
key in order to establish a
sustainable business. With-
out the sustainability of
running a good business,
the clinic would not be able
to survive as a charity,” she
says. “It is therefore impor-
tant that I start a clinic with
good quality equipment in
order to attract people who
can afford healthcare to
create the sustainability of
the clinic.”
Van Cleave says that it
is common for health facili-
ties in the U.S. and Canada
to donate used or expired
equipment to clinics in
third-world clinics, but her
desire for sustainability
makes that kind of process
a bad fit for Home of Hope
Medical Centre. Part of the
problem, she says, is that
if used equipment breaks
down it can be difficult to
find spare parts to replace
it. As a result, she is asking
for donations to help her
purchase equipment rather
than donations of equip-
ment.
Van Cleave said that,
for anyone who wishes to
donate, donations should be
given to Bethel Assembly
of God Church in Pendle-
ton. For more information,
follow her story at nursingi-
nafrica.weebly.com, visit
homeofhope.ca for more
information and clinic up-
dates, or contact her directly
at kristenvancleave@gmail.
com.
Van Cleave is currently
in Kenya working on the
clinic project and intends
to return to the U.S. to get
a bachelor’s degree in nurs-
ing before heading back to
Africa in the near future.
“By the world’s stan-
dards, I look crazy for start-
ing this clinic, but I know
that God placed me here for
a reason,” says Van Cleave.
“This is God’s plan, not
mine.”
Three local students receive degrees from EOU
Dillon Lutcher of Hep-
pner, and Marco Juarez and
Eric Jepsen of Ione, recent-
ly received college degrees
at Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity’s 85 th commencement
ceremony on June 13 in La
Grande.
Lutcher, the son of Lar-
ry and Roberta Lutcher, was
awarded a Bachelor of Sci-
ence degree in media arts
and communication.
Marco Juarez, son of
Amado and Elia Juarez of
Ione, earned his Bachelor
of Science in agricultural
Dillon Lutcher
sciences from Oregon State
University through the agri-
cultural degree partnership
that EOU has with OSU.
Eric Jepsen, son of Bill
and Nancy Jepsen, received
Marco Juarez and Eric Jepsen.
a Master of Arts in teaching.
Norton
celebrates
95 years
young
Hardman Community
Center to hold meeting
and potluck
Hardman Community Center will hold a meeting
and potluck to honor retiring HCC President Bob Allen.
The event will take place Sunday, June 28, 5 p.m. at the
center. Participants are asked to bring a salad or dessert.
Justice Court Report
TAKING THE
STAGE AT 8:30PM
Opening at 6:30pm
No Dogs Allowed in Park
This cake was a sweet treat
at the CAPECO weekly meal
at St. Patrick’s Senior Center
on Wednesday, June 17, when
family and friends helped
Ralph Norton celebrate his
95 th birthday. –Contributed
photo
Morrow County Justice
of the Peace Ann Spicer
has released the following
Justice Court report:
-Laura B. Reyes, 19,
of Hermiston was found
guilty of Violating the Basic
Rule (VBR) 74/55 and fined
$160. A charge of No Valid
Driver’s License was dis-
missed upon presentation
Ray Grace's New Book
Talent
TALENT Show
SHOW (3:30pm)
(3:30PM)
FIREWORKS
For more information visit:
www.cityofloneoregon.com/FourthofJuly
OR https://www.facebook.com/Ione4thOfJuly
Music funded in part by Morrow County Unified Recreation District
Available locally at Murray's
(Also on Amazon.com in Paperback and KINDLE)
of a valid license.
-Tammy F. Howey, 40,
of Heppner, was found
guilty of VBR 80/55 and
fined $260.
Chamber
lunch
meeting
Chamber lunch partici-
pants are reminded to RSVP
no later than Wednesday,
July 1, for the July 2 Hep-
pner Chamber of Com-
merce lunch meeting. The
meeting will be an all enti-
ties report at noon in the
Heppner City Hall confer-
ence room. Cost of lunch
is $10; Willow Creek Diner
will cater.