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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 2015)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, September 16, 2015 SCHOOL DISTRICT ~ Letters to the Editor ~ -Continued from PAGE ONE junior high head volleyball math teaching position, ant delivery systems, pre- which also paid for Eastern Promise college credits. -learned from Dirk- sen that all the district’s teachers were hired before classes started. He said that many districts still had vacancies after the school year began. -heard from Dirksen that DLR, the architectural firm hired by the district, will make a presentation at the Oct. 12 meeting at Windy River Elementary School in Boardman. DLR presented conceptual build- ing designs/possible school configurations at earlier in- formational meetings. One of the proposals would be to move all Heppner students to the high school site. -heard a report from the HJSHS Technology Stu- dents Association members and advisor, Dave Fowler, who attended the annual TSA national convention in Dallas, TX. -approved the follow- ing employment action: resignations/non-renewals- Stormy Botefuhr, IJSHS coach, April Dawson, SBE ed assistant, Minerva De- Loera, IES ed assistant, Me- lissa Lindsay, HJSHS head girls’ basketball coach, Donna Maben, HJSHS ed assistant, Cristina Montes, IJSHS ed assistant, Anna- bel Sosa, SBE ed assistant; employment/promotions/ transfers-Heather Adams, SBE ed assistant, Jackie Alleman, HES ed assistant, Andrea Chairez, IJSHS ed assistant, Leah Gadsden, IJSHS junior high science teacher, Celeste Johnson- Maret, SBE one year tem- porary first grade teaching position, Gary Klinger, MEC part-time assistant custodian, Jessica Lentz, transfer to HJSHS alterna- tive ed assistant, Tamera Lien, HES ed assistant, Wendy McAllister, SBE ed assistant, Byron Mitchell, IJSHS assistant custodian, Cara Osmin, one-year tem- porary ACH third-grade teaching position, Dulce Pena, SBE ed assistant, Martha Rhodes, IJSHS one year temporary half-time scription/non-prescription medication, request for family and medical leave, FMLA (family and medical leave)/OFLA (Oregon fam- ily leave) eligibility notice to employee and interscho- lastic activities programs structure and emphasis. -approved the sale of the old Lexington school building. -approved cooperative sponsorship of the cross- country program with the Ione School District. -approved the possibil- ity of sale of a piece of dis- trict property in Boardman, underneath the Boardman viaduct, by the railroad tracks and zoned residen- tial, which would be of no possible use of the district. -received the following announcements: Oregon School Boards Association 2015 fall regional meet- ing, Blue Mountain Com- munity College, Oct. 6; OSBA 2015 annual conven- tion, Portland, Nov. 12-15; next board meeting, Windy River Elementary, Oct. 12. get-well card and a hat for donations—to be used for a “get-well trip,” they said. They then hand-delivered both the card, signed by some 23 workers, and a thick envelope of money the Michels employees had given. “They wanted to em- phasize that this was from the people whom Louis had befriended, and not the company,” Betty Carlson said. “I think it shows a qual- ity of employee that Mi- chels hires on a regular ba- sis,” added Louis Carlson. And that wasn’t the end of it. Michels’s Chief Safety Coordinator Chuck Mackey visited the Carlsons last week to see if Louis Carlson wanted a private tour of the pipeline the company is constructing. Carlson then spent last Friday getting an on-the-spot tour of the con- struction, including gifts of a cap and hard hat bearing the Michels logo. At the end of the day, the Carlsons said they invited Mackey, their new-found friend, to have dinner with the family. Looking back at the last month, Carlson doesn’t see any of it as mere luck. “There are a lot of what-ifs,” he said. “What if the universal joint had broken half an hour earlier, when I was out of cell ser- vice and inaccessible? What if I hadn’t been near the Michels pipeline? I have a whole slug of ‘em.” But, he says, the what- ifs aren’t the end of the tale. “Thanks be to God that Michels safety coordinator arrived when he did and Joe Dear Editor, and Donna Rietmann took What is the world coming to in Heppner and surrounding control,” he said. “All this area? Why would people steal my rocks? Because I guess they wasn’t just coincidence. wanted them more than I did. God had His hand keeping P.S. No apples for the deer. me.” (s) Thomas Gonty, Heppner TRACTOR FIRE -Continued from PAGE ONE WA. with locals Donna and Joe Rietmann. “They saw the burning tractor but no sign of me,” Carlson said. “When I re- turned to the scene, I saw the three by the tractor, by the cab, looking in to see if I’d burned.” “Luckily at that time my pickup appeared on the horizon,” he added. “They pointed at me as if to say, ‘He’s alive and well!’” The Rietmanns load- ed Carlson up and drove to meet Betty Carlson on Johnson Grade Road. She then took him to the Pioneer Memorial emergency room in Heppner. There, they said, Dr. Dan Hambleton was afraid Carlson might have lung damage from smoke in- halation, so Carlson was air-lifted to Kadlec Medi- cal Center in the Tri-Cities, He spent the night in the hospital for observation, but after his ordeal, Carlson walked away with no lung damage and no broken bones. He did, however, have first degree burns on both his arms, as well as his scalp, eyebrows and ears. “All that healed pretty quickly,” he said. Not so quick to heal were the third-degree burns on his shoulder and elbow, which he used to push open the tractor door during his escape. However, with his narrow escape in the past and the healing underway, Carlson found he wasn’t finished with surprises. At their weekly safety meet- ing the following Monday, the Michels crew that had become acquainted with Carlson passed around a GRAND CHAMPION MARKET STEER Rita McElligott Buyer - GAR Aviation GRAND CHAMPION MARKET LAMB Riley Gorham Buyer - Jared & Alison Ogden The Morrow County Livestock Growers would like to thank the following for their support of the 2015 Morrow County 4-H / FFA Auction! BUYERS 4GD Land Company 6 Mile Farm 6 Mile Land & Cattle Al and Donna Osmin Andrew Rietmann A-Plus Wheat Mitch & Tag Ashbeck Ashbeck Trucking Bailey Heavy Equipment Bank of Eastern Oregon Banner Bank Beef Northwest Blown Away Ranch Boardman Hardware Bob & Bonnie Ball Brian & Susie Thompson Brian & Lori Sullivan Farms Bruce Young Logging Butter Creek Cattle Company Campbell Livestock Cannon Chiropractic Carlton Farms Cascade Specialties Charlie & Marcia Anderson Columbia Basin Helicopters Columbia River Dairy Community Bank Community Counseling Solutions Con Agra Foods Corey Miller Crown Paper Daniel Haggard Dave and Anita Pranger Devin Oil Dick Wilkinson Double T Farms Doyle Electric Inc Dr. Robert and Patti Adair Elmer's Irrigation Eric & Brandi Orem Gar Aviation Gary and Marcia Kemp Gordan’s Electric Grieb Farms Healy Ranch Heppner Family Foods Heppner Les Schwab Hisler Ranch Horseshoe Hereford Ranch Intermountain Livestock Jerry & Anna McElligott Joe Orem JS Cattle Company Ken and Julie Nelson Kent Anderson Farms Krebs Livestock Lakeview Heights Les Schwab Lexington Pump Loren & Della Heideman Marcie's Tax Service Marcie's Nutrition Center Mark & Pam Wunderlich Mark & Shannon Miller Mark and Jocelyn Jones Maureen McElligott MCGG Mid Columbia Title Mike's Mobile Slaughter Montana Coat Company A life that mattered To the editor: On Tuesday, Sept. 8, I had the privilege of attending a most unique and memorable funeral service. It was supposed to be held inside their home, but the funeral directors from Kennewick were unable to get the casket through the door. The open casket was placed in the lawn near the trees and the creek. Lelia, her brother Ray and his wife Debbie, Liz, Sharon and Dick Jones, myself, two nice men from Hillcrest Memorial Center, and Jan Spears, outside, with the mid-day traffic and the city lawnmower roaring across the street. Jan led the service; she is a minister and uses sign language to reach out to people who communicate through signing. She gave a beautiful message and read scripture from the Gospel of John as Ray signed it. Jan also sang three songs while signing for Lelia and her family. This was a very special and touching memorial for someone who had few friends in attendance. Lelia is deaf. She reads lips, she can speak, but it is difficult for most of us to understand. While out on her electric wheelchair, she uses a pad and pencil to help with communication. At home she uses a computer and American Sign Language interpreters via her computer and telephone. Her brother and sister-in-law are also deaf. “Hereditary,” Lelia says with a shrug. And Lester? Lester has been paralyzed from the waist down for many years; I think from a motorcycle accident, or something else, I’m not sure. What I do know is he had many health issues to contend with—he was diabetic, he had a colostomy and a catheter, he was fed through a tube placed through his abdominal wall into his stomach, he had multiple large bed sores. Over the past year or so he was bedbound, relying on Lelia and his caregivers. Dr. Nichols occasionally made home visits. Not able to leave his bed or his room could have been a horrible existence. For the most part Lester was upbeat and positive. Lester had a strong faith in God. He was a person. He mattered. Especially to Lelia. So why am I sharing this? A couple of days after the service, Lelia brought me a thank you card, “(F)or being there for us. And also thank you for coming to Les’s funeral. It was a beautiful funeral service.” She’s so right. It was. (s) Molly Rhea, Heppner What is the world coming to? Thank you to the 2015 Morrow County 4-H/FFA Livestock Auction Supporters GRAND CHAMPION MARKET SWINE Devan Case Buyer - Elmer's Irrigation The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that you provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The address and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the right to edit. 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. Jessica Stelk, transfer to HJSHS ed assistant, Mitch Thompson, IJSHS ed assis- tant; extra duty contracts- Marie Cain, RJSHS high school assistant volleyball coach, Vanessa Gutierrez, IJSHS junior high head volleyball coach, Antonia Nichols, HJSHS half-time cross country coach, Russ Nichols, HJSHS half-time cross country coach, Robert “Jody” Saunders, IJSHS junior high assistant foot- ball coach, George Shimer, RJSHS junior high head volleyball coach. -adopted rescinded, new or revised policies on non-discrimination, to- bacco-free environment, truancy, student conduct and discipline, suspension, expulsion, prescription medication and retention of students. -adopted new, revised or rescinded administra- tive rules on discrimina- tion complaint procedures, discipline for use, posses- sion, distribution or sale of tobacco products or inhal- SPECIAL THANKS TO: Morgan Ranch Morter Farms Bank of Eastern Oregon Murray's Drug Ken Grieb Northwest Farm Credit Services Christy Correa Northwest Farm Supply Becky Kindle NW Metal Fab Laurie Barrows O T Trucking LLC Beef Northwest Ogden Farming Wes & Mary Killion Peg Leg Farms Mitch & Tag Ashbeck Peter and Nancy McElligott Carlton Farms Ranch Triangle Ranches PGE NW Farm Supply Pioneer Livestock Randy Sifford Proudfoot Ranches Scott & Ashley Jones Rocky Bluff Ranch Morrow County Grain Growers Rodelo Farms Price Cattle Company Rogers Toyota of Hermiston Zane Gibbs Trucking Shelco Electric Inc CHS Silver Creek Evans Livestock Simplot SK Fencing Skye and Penny Krebs Nancy Gorham Snow McElligott Jennifer Wilson & Rex Nielson Starvation Farms Kathy Rauch Sweet Pea Design Threemile Canyon Farms Ken Bailey Tim & Shannon Rust Jim Kindle Treve & Elizabeth Peterson Joe Taylor Tri County Seeding Company Kyle Robinson Twin Flags Distributing Rod Taylor Umatilla Electric Coop Weedman Ranches Wes & Mary Killion Damon Brosnan Western Ag Tiffany Clement Wilber Ellis Austin Roberts WindWave Communications SUPERINTENDENTS: RINGMEN: PHOTOGRAPHERS: CITY COUNCIL -Continued from PAGE ONE na that would prohibit rec- pner the school district is considering moving all the grades up to the high school building on the hill to save money. He wondered if the sewer system could handle the extra students at that facility. Doherty said since there would be no overall increase in usage associated with the move, it should not be a problem. The city took no action on the sewer study, but agreed to talk about it dur- ing the annual goal setting session in January. In other action the council voted to move for- ward with a proposed Opt Out ordinance for Marijua- reational marijuana produc- ers, processors, wholesalers and retailers. The public will be notified when the public hearing will be held on the finalized ordinance. The council also heard from fire chief Rusty Estes who gave the following summary of activity for August: Eight rural wild land fires, secured the he- licopter landing zone four times, three motor vehicle accidents, one structure fire, five lift assists, one dump- ster fire at the high school, one boat assist at Willow Creek Lake, one search as- sist with the Sheriff’s Dept. and 37 chief calls. THE L ANDING RESTAURANT Prime rib Every Saturday night $23.95 (Reservations Required/Limited supply) Sunday Morning Breakfast Buffet $8.95 Open 8am-11am Closed 11am-12pm for cleaning Senior Sunday Dinner $6.95 Old Fashioned Pot Roast Landing at Morrow Count y OHV Park Hours: mon-Sat 8am-8pm Sunday 8am-5pm 541-969-3822 find us on facebook www.facebook.com/TheLandingLodge