HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 135
NO. 10 8 Pages
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Warm February will lead into
warm March, NWS predicts
According to prelimi-
nary data received by NO-
AA’s National Weather Ser-
vice in Pendleton, tempera-
tures at Heppner averaged
warmer than normal during
the month of February.
The average temper-
ature was 42.5 degrees,
which was 4.7 degrees
above normal. High tem-
peratures averaged 52.3
degrees, which was 4.9
degrees above normal. The
highest was 65 degrees
on the 18 th . Low tempera-
tures averaged 32.6 de-
grees, which was 4.4 de-
grees above normal. The
lowest was 18 degrees, on
the third.
There were 15 days
with the low temperature
below 32 degrees.
Precipitation totaled
0.72 inches during Febru-
ary, which was 0.40 inches
below normal. Measurable
precipitation of at least .01
inch was received on seven
days with the heaviest, 0.28
inches, reported on the 18 th .
Precipitation this year
has reached 1.59 inches,
which is one inches below
normal.
The highest wind gust
was 45 mph, which oc-
curred on the 19 th .
The outlook for March
from NOAA’s Climate Pre-
diction Center calls for
above-normal temperatures
and near-normal precipita-
tion. Normal highs for Hep-
pner rise from 51 degrees
at the start of March to 58
degrees at the end of March.
Normal lows rise from 30
degrees to 36 degrees. The
30-year normal precipita-
tion is 1.52 inches.
The NWS is an ofice
of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administra-
tion, an agency of the U.S.
Commerce Department.
On to quarterinals Grand marshals’ Irish roots run deep
By Andrea Di Salvo
This year’s grand mar-
shals for the St. Patrick’s
weekend Great Green Pa-
rade are no strangers to
Heppner’s Irish passion.
In fact, siblings Robert J.
“Butch” Laughlin, 75, and
Sheridan Tarnasky, 67, will
be carrying on a bit of a
family tradition when they
climb on that loat March
19.
Their Irish roots stretch
back to County Kilkenny
and County Tipperary; Mi-
chael Summers, who was
born in Co. Kilkenny, im-
migrated to New Orleans
in 1856. He married a Tip-
perary girl, Mary Ellen
MacCormack in 1857.
The couple had five
Mustang CJ Kindle blocks a Lost River player during the
2A state irst-round in Heppner Saturday. -Photo by Sandra
Putman
The Heppner Mus-
tang boys’ basketball team
punched its ticket to the
OSAA 2A State Basket-
ball Tournament with a
64-49 win over the Lost
River Raiders in their irst-
round playoff game. The
game was played in front
of one of the largest crowds
ever seen in the Heppner
High School gymnasium.
A large and loud student
cheering section provided
a high-energy atmosphere
throughout the entire game.
The Mustangs, who are
now 21-3 on the season,
will return to the state tour-
nament for the second year
in a row. The team hopes to
improve on its ifth-place
inish at last year’s event.
In preparing for the
game against the Raid-
ers, Heppner had watched
enough ilm to know they
would be in for a battle.
Lost River had several good
athletes and shooters on
their team. Mustang coach
Jeremy Rosenbalm had his
team well prepared with a
game plan that had them
ready for every situation
that might arise.
It was a tight irst quar-
ter as both teams were able
to get to the basket and
score. Heppner led at the
end of the quarter 13-11.
The Mustangs also scored
13 points in the second
quarter and held the Raid-
Kate Russell
children, Katherine, Delia,
Mary, Emmett and Mike.
Katherine, or “Kate,” was
born in Keokuk, IA on July
3, 1858.
When the railroad route
was changed and bypassed
Michael’s store and busi-
ness in 1881, the family
was forced to give up their
livelihood, and migrated
west to start a new home.
Kate’s father died during
the journey and was buried
in New Mexico. Mary Ellen
continued the journey with
three of her children, work-
ing wherever they could
during their sojourn.
Kate at one point
worked as a cook for the
railroad, where she met her
husband, William Russell,
who worked as an engineer
for the railroad.
William “Bill” Russell
was born in Belfast, Ireland
in 1849. He served in the
U.S. Civil War with his fa-
ther and two brothers, who
were killed in the war. He
then worked as a contrac-
tor and was instrumental
in building the irst water
system in St. Louis, MO.
He drove the irst six-mule
Siblings Sheridan Tarnasky and Robert “Butch” Laughlin
are this year’s grand marshals for the Great Green Parade.
-Contributed photo
teams that had ever been
seen in this part of the
country.
Kate and William were
married in 1883 in Boise,
ID. To Bill and Kate four
children were born: Sudie
Russell Maddock, Margaret
Russell Monahan, Lottie
Russell Kilkenny, and Ed
Russell.
In 1884 the Russells
moved to Oregon and lo-
cated on Matney Flat in Gil-
Smith, Flynn secure second at state
Heppner wrestlers
brought home two silver
medals from the state cham-
pionship last weekend.
District champions
Ryan Smith and Cord Flynn
competed in the OSAA
state wrestling champion-
ships on Feb. 26 and 27
at the Veterans Memorial
Coliseum in Portland. All
classiications from 1A to
6A competed simultane-
ously on 12 mats in the
12,888-seat coliseum.
Both Smith and Flynn
won their bouts by fall on
Friday and advanced to the
semi-finals on Saturday
morning. In the semi-inals
matches, both wrestlers
were successful again in
pinning their opponents and
earned the right to compete
in in the championship
matches.
The finals matches
were wrestled with all di-
visions side by side on ive
mats in front of a coliseum
near-capacity crowd. The
championship evening be-
gan with the Parade of
Champions, in which all
2016 state placers were led
out to the loor following
Oregon’s inductees to the
national wrestling hall of
fame. It was Smith’s third
time to march in the parade
and Flynn’s irst.
Smith faced Derrick
Hargraves, also an unde-
feated senior and return-
ing state champion from
Riddle, in the 113-pound
championship bout. Har-
graves scored a last-second
takedown in the irst period
to take a 2-0 lead going into
the second. With an escape
and another takedown, Har-
graves was up 5-0 before
Smith scored on a reversal.
At the end of the second
period it was 5-2. Smith
Bouncin’ Leprechaun Fun Zone is back for
F ind the S hamrock !
St. Pat’s
Win $50 Gift Card
The Shamrock Hunt is
back! The first person to
find the hidden shamrock
will win a $50 Visa Gift
Card donated by the Bank
of Eastern Oregon.
-RULES- 1. A new set of clues to guide you to the
hidden shamrock will appear in each edition of the Heppner
Gazette-Times.
2. A total of five clues beginning with the Feb. 17 edition will
be published each week on the front page.
3. The hidden shamrock is not on private property and no dig-
ging or moving of objects, dirt or other materials is necessary to
find the shamrock.
4. The first person to find the shamrock and bring it to the
Heppner Gazette-Times office will claim their prize.
CLUE #3
You’re back this week and have not given up.
Good for you because you might find the shamrock.
We left you with a number, recall?
Look up and see if it’s on the wall.
But a corner ahead gives you the question,
Which way to turn during this week’s session?
There’s Les or usda where you could wander
But your time for searching would just be squandered.
Instead take turn and keep eyes wide.
There’s Tim and vets along the side
And smokey will help along the way,
making sure you’re not about to stray.
So gaze your eyes upon the next sheet
for a special clue on where next week we’ll meet.
Sponsored by Bank of Eastern Oregon and The
Heppner Gazette-Times
Saturday, March 19,
during the Wee Bit o’ Ire-
land celebration, the Hep-
pner Elementary School
gym will turn into the
“Bouncin’ Leprechaun’s
Fun Zone.”
The fun zone will open
at 1:30 p.m. and continue
until 5:30 p.m. Children
ive and under will be $5,
and six and older will be
$10. Admission is for all
day with unlimited entry.
Bouncin Bins Rent-
als out of the Tri-Cities
has been contracted for
the event. They will bring
several different inlatable
structures, including a bun-
gee run, an obstacle course,
a 20-foot dual slide and, of
course, the memorable 30- The Bouncin’ Leprechaun Fun Zone was a big hit at last year’s Wee Bit o’ Ireland celebration,
foot climbing wall for the and it’s back this year on afternoon of Saturday, March 19. -Contributed photo
very brave.
For the really young
crowd there will be a boun-
cy house and a mini carni-
val, which will include a
bean bag toss, ducky pool
and plinko.
Polaris
Service
Special
$ 79.
99
Thru February 28th
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
For farm equipment, visit our web site at www.mcgg.net