TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
Edmundsons
celebrate 60 years
GAZETTE-TIMES
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE:
http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/
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
Scout Maxwell
Matheny—Stefan
and Chelsea Matheny
of Lexington an-
nounce the birth of a
daughter, Scout Max-
well Matheny. Scout
was born Nov. 28,
2016. She weighed
7.2 pounds and was
20 inches long.
She joins older
brother Sonny Ma-
theny, age 2-1/2, at
home.
Scout Maxwell Matheny
Grandparents are
Patty and the late Dave Matheny of Lexington and Rod
and Shelley Pahl of Pendleton, OR.
Birthday greetings
asked for centenarian
Local woman Linda Bristow’s mother, Mildred
McMurphy, lives in La Grande, OR. According to her
daughter, McMurphy exercises, does her own laundry,
and bakes pies and cookies to this day—and she will turn
100 on Dec. 29.
Bristow says the family will gather to celebrate her
birthday on Dec. 28, but would appreciate it if friends and
neighbors could help make the centenarian’s day special
by sending birthday cards.
Anyone wishing to send a birthday greeting may send
it to Mildred McMurphy, Clover Glen Apt. #A 102, 2212
Cove Ave., La Grande, OR 97850.
Historical society
plans quarterly
meeting
The quarterly meeting of the Morrow County Histori-
cal Society (MCHS) will take place on Sunday, Jan. 8, at
2 p.m. at the Baptist church in Irrigon.
The agenda is tentatively scheduled to include finance
report, personnel roster update, acknowledgement of a
liaison between the MCHS and the Hardman Commu-
nity Center, discussion of a proposed Lexington Grange
project, planning for a Wellspring trip, planning for trip
to the Whitman mission, and establishing an internet
presence for MCHS.
Both members and the public are invited to attend.
Funerals
Robert A. “Bob” DeSpain—Robert A. “Bob” De-
Spain, 92, of Heppner, died Monday, December 5, 2016
at his home. A memorial service will be held on Saturday,
January 7, at 1 p.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church in Hep-
pner. A complete obituary will follow in a future edition
of the Gazette-Times. Sweeney Mortuary of Heppner is
in charge of arrangements.
Deaths
Allen Ernest Springer—Allen Ernest Springer, 86,
passed away at his home in Hood River, OR December
11, 2016. He was born June 3, 1930. A viewing will be
held from 2-4 p.m. Wednesday, December 14, at Ander-
son’s Tribute Center. Services will be held at 1 p.m. on
Saturday, December 17, at Anderson’s Tribute Center. Ar-
rangements are under the direction of Anderson’s Tribute
Center, 1401 Belmont Avenue, Hood River, OR 97031.
Visit www.AndersonsTributeCenter.com to leave a note
of condolence for the family.
~ Letters to the Editor ~
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.
Above: John and
Pat Edmundson
on their wedding
day in 1956. Right:
The Edmundsons
today. -Contributed
photos
John and Pat
Edmundson of
Heppner are cel-
ebrating their 60 th
anniversary with a
family celebration
in Hermiston, OR on Dec.
23 at the home of their son,
Jeff Edmundson.
John Edmundson and
Patricia Dorine Turner were
married Dec. 29, 1956 at
the Calvary Baptist Church
in The Dalles, OR. The
town was a Winter Wonder-
land and added a feeling of
celebration throughout the
day and evening. Of course,
there is always a crisis, and
they are forever thankful to
The Dalles Elks for coming
to the rescue when the tux-
edos did not arrive.
John and Pat first met
in their seventh-grade math
class at Hood River Junior
High School. The romance
blossomed during the
school’s noontime dances,
and the area church parties
and hayrides.
The summer before
ninth grade, Pat’s family
moved to The Dalles. The
couple was able to maintain
a long-distance relationship
via mail, train, bus and car
rides over the treacherous
Columbia Gorge/Rowena
Loops Highway. Another
challenge to John and Pat
was the fact that individ-
ual cities could determine
whether they would honor
Daylight Savings Time or
not. Hood River and The
Dalles did not agree on this
issue, wreaking havoc with
curfew times.
They were helped
along by caring adults, like
the time the Hood River
school bus driver for the
Hood River basketball team
okayed stopping at Pat’s
home for an after-the-game
spaghetti feed that included
other Hood River basket-
Time for a new chapter
ball fans.
Pat received her en-
gagement ring at a celebra-
tory dinner hosted by John’s
Uncle Meade and Aunt
Esther Elliott in Yakima,
WA while John was attend-
ing military training at the
U.S. Army Yakima Firing
Center with the U.S. Army
Reserve.
The couple was mar-
ried over their college
winter break, with John
graduating from Willamette
University in 1957 and Pat
from Oregon College of
Education in 1958.
John and Pat have three
children: daughters, Vicki
Edmundson, Baker City;
Kristi Smalley and husband
Mark of Hermiston; and son
Jeff Edmundson and wife
Sheila, also of Hermiston.
They also have six
granddaughters: Emily (Ed-
mundson) Wurtz (Bran-
don), Boise; Erin (Brook-
shire) Lair (Shane), Canby;
Kirsten Brookshire, Perth,
Australia; Megan (Brook-
shire) Shaffer (Nick),
Roseburg; Jordan Smal-
ley, Milwaukie; and Jillian
Smalley, Hermiston. Great-
granddaughters include
Ada Wurtz, Audrey and
Brooke Lair, and Raylee
Shaffer, arriving in January.
John and Pat are re-
tired educators and during
their schooling and working
lives, lived in Salem, Park-
dale, Boston, Hood River,
Eugene, Ione and Heppner.
They look forward to
an anniversary stay at the
Columbia Gorge Hotel in
Hood River. It is the site of
many wonderful memories
from earlier years.
Letter to the Editor
I am writing this letter to express my gratitude to the
Heppner community. I am resigning from my city ad-
ministrator position and my last day will be in February.
To say it has been a pleasure serving you is an immense
understatement.
To me, Heppner is the ideal community, which is why
I moved back to Heppner over 20 years ago with my fam-
ily. I wanted my children to grow up in this amazing town
filled with caring, strong and bright people. I then became
city manager so I could take a larger part in bolstering
growth, beautifying parks and streets, and helping to plan
for our community’s future. I look back on the past four
and a half years with pride at what the City of Heppner
and the community have been able to accomplish.
To call out a few people specifically: Skip Matthews
has been one of the hardest-working mayors I have had the
pleasure to work with. He embodies putting the commu-
nity first. Rusty Estes and Steve Rhea were instrumental
in getting our fire hall built in record time and within the
budget. Chad Doherty and his crew (special shout out
to Robert Whelan) have worked tirelessly, and often on
weekends, to maintain the city’s parks and streets, espe-
cially during the ruthless winters. Tarina and Judy’s hard
work, dedication and humor get our community through
each day. Bill Kuhn keeps us legal while attending every
single council meeting and reviewing all of our work. The
volunteer council and committees serve our community,
as do the county, MCSO, Morrow County School District,
WCVED, Heppner Chamber, and every volunteer who
helped with the myriad of projects we’ve had over the
years. Without everyone’s dedication and hard work, this
town would cease to be the city that we are all so proud of.
I will still be a part of bolstering growth and improv-
ing the city as I help to build a nonprofit for the Heppner
community. My favorite part of serving as city manager
was working on projects with the community and this
new venture will allow me to do just that. I look forward
to working with all of you in the future and, as sad as I
am to close this chapter of my career, I am excited to get
started on the next.
With gratitude,
(s) Kim Cutsforth, Heppner
Hats off to Heppner
decorating crew
To the Editor:
My hat is off to the Heppner city crew. Heppner is nicely
dressed for the winter holidays, thanks to our public works
members who did such a nice job of wrapping the Main Street
tree trunks and lighting up some of the farming equipment
display. Job well done and appreciated.
(s) Doris Brosnan, Heppner
PLEASE JOIN US... Wheatland food drive
Nazarene church
OPEN HO U SE
FOR
BECKY RIPPLE
DECEMBER 22ND
10AM - 4PM
Kuhn Law Office
Main Street, Heppner
PLEASE STOP BY AND
WISH HER THE BEST!
Thank you for being a one in a million
employee - From everyone at the office
ends Friday
Please
Join Us....
Asher’s Army
YOU CAN
Benefit Dinner for
Asher Schonbachler
Saturday January 7th @ 6pm
at the Elks Lodge in Heppner
Dinner - Music
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
Silent & Live Auction
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
plans candlelight
service
Wheatland Insurance’s food drive continues through
this Friday, Dec. 16. Non-perishable food items can be
dropped off at the Heppner or Ione branches. All of the
The Heppner Church of the Nazarene will hold a
food will be donated to the Neighborhood Center in
Christmas
Ever candlelight service Saturday, Dec. 24,
Heppner.
at 6 p.m.
The service will include singing and a brief message.
The church is located at 355 Gilmore (by the hospital).
If you wish to donate or would like more
information contact Juli at 541-350-3974
FREE WORK SHOP COMING TO
HEPPNER SDA CHURCH IN EARLY JANUARY
To assist you in your New Years resolution to
stop smoking or kick any other tobacco habit
Watch for details in the near future!