TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Obituaries
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
Published weekly by Sykes Publishing, LLC and entered as periodical matter at the
Post Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage
paid at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 188 W. Willow Street. Telephone (541) 676-
9228. Fax (541) 676-9211. E-mail: editor@rapidserve.net or david@rapidserve.
net. Web site: www.heppner.net. Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner
Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $30 in
Morrow County; $24 senior rate (in Morrow County only; 65 years or older); $36
elsewhere; $30 student subscriptions.
David Sykes ..............................................................................................Publisher
Andrea Di Salvo ............................................................................................ Editor
All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m.
For Advertising: advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Cost for a display ad is $5 per
column inch. Cost for classified ad is 50¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $10 up to
100 words. Cost for a classified display ad is $5.75 per column inch.
For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for pub-
lication must be specified. Affidavits must be required at the time of submission. Affidavits
require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be
specified if required).
For Obituaries: Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to
meet news guidelines. Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines
or who wish to have the obituary written in a certain way must purchase advertising space
for the obituary.
For Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor MUST be signed by the author. The Heppner
GT will not publish unsigned letters. All letters MUST include the author’s address and phone
number for use by the GT office. The GT reserves the right to edit letters. The GT is not
responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will
be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10.
Births
Nina Belle John-
son—Drew and Hol-
ly Johnson of Mon-
mouth, OR announce
the birth of a daughter,
Nina Belle Johnson.
She was born May
1, 2015; she weighed
6 pounds, 12 ounces
and was 19.5 inches
long.
Nina is the first Nina Belle Johnson
grandchild to grand-
parents CJ and Andrew Johnson of Heppner, and Susan
and Jamie Warne of Pendleton.
GATEWAY CAFE
The restaurant includes several family-friendly features, in-
cluding a popcorn machine for free popcorn and a children’s
play area. –Photo by Andrea Di Salvo
Forrest Allen Burkenbine
It is with heavy heart
that I write this obituary
for my son, Allen Burken-
bine, 57, who passed away
unexpectedly while at work
on Sunday, June 7, 2015 at
Ajo, AZ.
A memorial will be
held at a later date.
Allen was born May
25, 1958 in Heppner to
Forrie and Gail Burkenbine.
He graduated from Hep-
pner High School in 1976
and worked in the grocery
business at Central Market
Merritt “Harold” Gray
Jr. passed away at his home
in Portland, OR on June 26,
2015 at the age of 70. A re-
ception for Harold’s family
and friends will be held at
11 a.m. on Saturday, July
11, at the home of Mike and
Marlene Gray, 65308 Rhea
Editor’s note: Sheena
Christman, Ione native
and graduate of Ione High
School, is volunteering with
World Orphans in northern
Iraq. She is sending home
weekly updates to family
and friends, which the G-T
was lucky enough to also
receive. We plan on publish-
ing these updates as space
allows. She writes:
1. Living in Soran. In
Soran, the local Kurds (i.e.
not the refugees) seem to
enjoy relatively easy access
to such necessities as shel-
ter, food, water, electricity,
and the Internet. However,
access to electricity can
be unpredictable, often
because the government’s
supply does not meet local
demand at any one time.
As a result, most locals get
electricity from two differ-
ent sources: the government
and the community gen-
erator. Government power,
or main power, provides
enough electricity to power
a house, while, in contrast,
the community generator
provides each house in the
neighborhood with just
Creek Road near Ione.
Harold was raised and
attended school in Heppner
and was a graduate of Hep-
pner High School, class of
1963. He joined the United
States Marines in May of
1964, and was honorably
discharged in March of
six amps, meaning there
is only enough electricity
to power the refrigerator,
lights and a few ceiling
fans. In addition, in order to
make sure each household
receives their fair share of
main power, the govern-
ment staggers access to
these two power sources.
For example, at the Ray
house where I’m staying,
we generally get govern-
ment power every morning
and every other night, and
we get power from the
community generator every
afternoon and every other
night. However, sometimes
the power just shuts off for
no apparent reason. For
example, several days ago
the power was off from
about midnight until noon
the next day. Obviously this
unpredictability becomes
more challenging as the
weather gets hotter!
2. Traveling from
Soran to Erbil. I have
made a half-dozen trips
to Erbil over the past two
weeks. To get from Soran
to Erbil, we take the Ham-
ilton Road through the
entities who reside in theA
South Morrow County Ser-
vice Area (as defined by the
WCVEDG Service Area
Map). The requestor must
have at least 50 percent of
funding (may include in-
kind and cash contributions
from local and regional
sources) for the total project
budget committed before
application. Exceptions
may be granted at the dis-
Chamber lunch meeting
Morrow County Justice of the Peace Ann Spicer has
released the following Justice Court report:
-Matthew Adam Looney, 31, of Heppner, was found
The next lunch meeting
guilty of No Non-Resident Angling License and fined
of the Heppner Chamber of
$150.
Commerce will be Thurs-
day, July 16, at noon in
Heppner City Hall confer-
ence room.
Sandy Matthews, and
-Continued from PAGE ONE would take effect March 1, hopefully her dad, Don
HB 3402 passed the 2016. The full text of the bill Bennett, will be here to
House 52-5 and the Senate is available at https://olis. share about the trip they
22-6. The bill now awaits fi- leg.state.or.us/liz/2015R1/ recently took together to
nal approval from the Gov- Downloads/MeasureDocu- Washington, D.C. with
ernor. If approved, the bill ment/HB3402.
other veterans.
Cost of lunch is $10;
B u ck n u m s wi l l cat e r.
Chamber lunch attendees
are asked to RSVP at 541-
676-5536 no later than the
Wednesday before to guar-
antee a lunch.
Heppner chamber
would also like to welcome
its newest member, Mid-
Columbia Bus Company.
BURNING
BAN
Effective June 29, 2015, the Fire Chief
of the Town of Lexington is imposing a
CLOSED SEASON for open burning
based on local fire safety concerns.
This burning ban is for the Town of Lexington.
A reminder that open burning also in-
cludes a “burn barrel.”
Long Time Ione Resident
1968.
He is survived by his
two sons, Forest Arthur
Gray of Portland and David
Robert Gray of Springfield,
and brothers, Michael Lee
Gray of Ione and Ronald
Dean Gray of Pendleton.
Harold has a granddaugh-
ter, Avriel, and a grandson,
Alec, both fathered by Da-
vid.
Harold was preceded in
death by his father, Merritt
Harold Gray, Sr.; mother,
Maxine May Barnes Gray;
and a brother, David Eu-
gene Gray.
Sheena Christman uses her Arabic dictionary while conversing
with a group of refugees in Iraq. –Contributed photo
gorge. Apparently, the
Hamilton Road was built
in the early 20 th century
by Sir Archibald Milne
Hamilton, an engineer
from New Zealand. The
road was supposed to be a
short-cut connecting Erbil
to Haji Omaran, an Iraqi
city on the Iranian border.
3. The Citadel. On
Tuesday, I traveled to Erbil
with Dawn, Sarah, and Ni-
cole to see the Citadel (and
take Nicole to the airport).
The Citadel sits in center
of the city, and it has sup-
posedly been continuously
inhabited for over 8,000
years. Unfortunately, it is
closed for restoration, so I
did not get to go inside.
4. Refugee Camps.
We have made lots of trips
to the three refugee camps
over the past two weeks.
Note that World Orphans
tries to limit each of its
refugee camps to 50 fami-
lies and, where possible,
to families from the same
tribal background. By do-
ing this World Orphans is
able to preserve existing
social and relational struc-
tures, promote autonomy,
and maintain the dignity of
those in its care.
Grant funds available for community and
public enhancements by WCVEDG
Justice Court Report
Congratulations
Ione Fire Department!
One of the
Best Fireworks Ever
ters; Lisa Leonard and Con-
nie LaFarge.
He was preceded in
death by his father, Forrie
Burkenbine.
We will all miss him
and he will be in our hearts
forever. Memorial contri-
butions may be made to
the Heppner Volunteer Fire
Department, PO Box 743,
Heppner, OR 97836.
Sweeney Mortuary of
Heppner is in charge of lo-
cal arrangements.
Letters from Iraq
Marriage Licenses
SPEED LIMIT
INCREASE
the mountains in his home
state. A physical handicap
limited his activity but he
was well-read. We think he
probably read every book in
the library.
He is survived by his
wife, Velvet, in Ajo; his
daughters, Jennifer Ham-
mons, Monica Madsen,
Samantha De Laughder,
Stephanie Burkenbine
and Amy McRoberts; two
step-children; seven grand-
children; his mother, Gail
Burkenbine; and two sis-
Merritt ‘Harold’ Gray Jr.
Both of the Lius said
it has been a long road to
this week. Now, a few days
from opening, Alvin Liu
said he finally feels excited.
“It’s a process,” he said.
“We hope people can be
patient with us.”
Alvin Liu can be
Willow Creek Valley
reached for catering and Economic Development
special party requests at Group (WCVEDG) has
541-980-2014.
received funds from the
Columbia River Enterprise
Zone Board (CREZ) to be
used for community and
public enhancement for
The Morrow County Clerk’s office has released the South Morrow County, the
following report of marriage licenses:
group announced this week.
July 1, 2015: -Mayra Fregoso, 20, of Boardman and
Applicant organiza-
Edgar Alejandro Llamas, 20, of Boardman.
tions must be local orga-
nizations, clubs, special
districts or a governmental
-Continued from PAGE ONE
have been John and Celia
Moyer. The Lius said the
Moyers have been instru-
mental in getting the Gate-
way Café operational. John
Moyer helped repair several
key items in the restaurant,
including the walk-in cool-
er. Celia Moyer’s touch,
among other areas, is seen
in her artwork that graces
some of the walls.
with his parents. He was a
volunteer fireman for many
years with the Heppner Vol-
unteer Fire Department. He
moved to Ajo, AZ in 2001,
where he met and married
his wife Velvet Richardson.
He worked in the insurance
business in Ajo.
He was outgoing,
friendly, loved working
with the public and had
a kindness that was un-
surpassed. He was dedi-
cated to his children. He
loved spending time in
The closed season will remain in effect
until further notice this fall as per ORS 478.960.
cretion of the board.
A grant application has
been developed for use
in applying for funding
through this grant. Grant
requests will be accept-
ed from Friday, July 17
through Friday, Aug. 14.
A review and decision of
grants awarded will be de-
cided by the WCVEDG
board and the successful
applicants will be notified.
To receive a grant ap-
plication form, Eligibility
and Exclusions information
sheet and South Morrow
County Service Area Map,
please contact Sheryll Bates
at 541-676-5536 or hep-
pnerchamber@centurytel.
net. All completed grant
applications will need to
be forwarded to Bates at
the Heppner Chamber of
Commerce office.
Bank of EO fund set
up for fire victims
An account has been set up at Bank of Eastern for
victims of the recent apartment fire in Heppner. Dona-
tions to help these individuals and families recover from
the fire may be made directly to the account under the
name of Mountain Glen Fire Victims. The account will
be administered by apartment manager DeRina Howard.
Community lunch menu
Lunch on Wednesday, July 15, at St. Patrick’s Senior
Center will include turkey pot pie, green beans, cranberry
sauce, hot rolls and peach pie. Hope and Valby Lutheran
and All Saints Episcopal church volunteers will serve.
Milk is served at each meal. Suggested donation is
$3.50 per meal. Menu is subject to change.
Beer & Wine Tasting
~
August 20th
6 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Entertainment! Food Available
STORE HOURS- MON – FRI 7:00 A.M. – 6 P.M.
SATURDAY 8 A.M. – 6 P.M.
PHARMACY HOURS: 9 A.M. – 6 P.M. MON-FRI
MURRAY'S DRUG - 217 N MAIN PHONE 676-9158