FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Mustangs wrestle large schools
in Pendleton tournament
Mustang boys sweep play at
Irrigon tournament
The Heppner/Ione
wrestling team competed
in the Rollin Schimmel
Memorial wrestling tourna-
ment on Friday, Dec. 30, in
Pendleton. The tournament
included 14 teams from
Oregon and Washington,
mostly large schools. The
Mustangs were one of only
two 2A teams at the tourna-
ment.
Senior Cord Flynn led
the team with a perfect
record on the day and a
gold medal at 220 pounds.
Flynn pinned his opponent
from Willamina in the semi-
finals. In the finals match he
faced Spencer Wells from
Mac-Hi, the 4A number-
one ranked wrestler at 220
pounds. Flynn held on to
a 3-2 lead into the final
second of the third round
before scoring a takedown
off Wells’s shot attempt to
finish with a 5-2 win.
Trevor Antonucci was
the Mustangs’ other placer
at 113 pounds. Antonucci
placed sixth.
The Heppner Mustang
boys’ basketball team won
two games last week at the
Irrigon Invitational Tourna-
ment. The Mustangs de-
feated the 4A McLoughlin
Pioneers by a score of 44-34
and then beat a good Waits-
burg, WA team by the score
of 53-51.
An early afternoon start
time for the game with
the Pioneers may have led
to the sluggish start by
the Mustangs. Heppner
struggled to score early in
the game and led at the end
of the first quarter by the
score of 11-6. The scoring
drought continued in the
second quarter as the Mus-
tangs could only put eight
more points on the board.
The defensive effort was
good as Heppner held the
Pioneers to only six points
in the quarter. The Mus-
tangs led at halftime by the
score of 19-12.
The pace of the game
picked up in the second
half as the Mustangs came
out and scored 16 points
in the third quarter. They
led the game 35-24 as the
fourth quarter started. The
Pioneers outscored the
Mustangs in the quarter
10-9 but it wasn’t enough,
and the Mustangs won the
game 44-34.
Logan Grieb led the
team in scoring with 22
points. He also had 6 re-
bounds, 2 assists, 6 steals
and a blocked shot. Jake
Lindsay scored 6 points,
and had 2 rebounds and a
Top: Leo Waite grapples with an opponent at the Rollin Schim-
mel memorial in Pendleton last week. Bottom: Charles Cason
looks to take the upper hand over an Echo wrestler last Friday.
-Photos by Kirsti Cason
2016 WEATHER
-From PAGE ONE of mostly grass and sage Hermiston, La Grande, and
The staff at the National
Weather Service in Pend-
leton have cast their votes
for the top weather events
of 2016, and a few pieces
of Heppner weather have
made the cut. At the top of
the NWS list, though, was
the June 8 supercell that
produced a tornado, large
hail, and damaging winds.
Events were rated on a scale
of one to 11.
Top weather events
were as follows:
1. June supercell
(9.8)—On June 8, a thun-
derstorm over southern
Wheeler County rapidly
developed into a supercell
with golf ball-sized hail,
damaging winds to 70 mph,
and a brief tornado as it
tracked northeast to near
Monument and Ukiah.
2. December snow and
cold (8.2)—Widespread
heavy snow was followed
by arctic air during mid-De-
cember. Snowfall averaged
between five and 10 inches
across the Columbia Basin
and eastern mountains, but
ranged up to between 15
and 20 inches in central
Oregon. The arctic air fol-
lowing the snow dropped
temperatures below zero in
many areas. By the end of
December, mountain snow-
pack had surged to 115 to
130 percent of normal.
3. Fire outbreak (7.4)—
Triple digit temperatures
and humidity in the five
to 10 percent range helped
to spread an outbreak of
fires at the end of July.
The Weigh Station fire oc-
curred east of Pendleton
and shut down I-84. The
Rail Fire near Unity, OR
burned nearly 42,000 acres
in rugged terrain before
being contained in early
September. The Range 12
fire started on the Yakima
Training Center and burned
for a week on 176,000 acres
on BLM, state and private
lands.
4. (TIE) Wet October
(6.4)—Rainfall was one to
three inches above normal
and ranked in the top five
wettest Octobers across
the region. It was the wet-
test October on record in
Washington at Bickleton,
Prosser, Selah, Mill Creek
and Whitman Mission.
Trout Lake, WA, at 14.58
inches, beat their previous
record by 3.62 inches.
4. (TIE) Strong El Nino
to weak La Nina (6.4)—
One of the strongest El
Nino patterns on record last
winter was reversed in a
matter of months to a weak
La Nina by mid-summer.
6. Launch of GOES R
(6.0)—The next generation
of weather satellites began
with the launch of GOES
R on Nov. 19. GOES R
reached geostationary orbit
and was re-named GOES
16 at the end of the month.
After sensor deployment,
calibration and checkout,
it promises to revolution-
ize satellite imagery and
data collection. It has four
times the image resolution
and can take an image every
minute. It also has the capa-
bility to track thunderstorm
lightning.
7. Tri-Cities tornado
(6.0)—An intense but
short-lived thunderstorm
brought a brief EF0 tornado
in Kennewick, WA on the
late evening of May 21. The
thunderstorm also produced
hail up to ¾ inch, damaging
winds which downed trees,
and localized flash flooding.
8. Warm, Dry April
(4.4)—It was the warmest
April on record in Washing-
ton at Walla Walla, Ellens-
burg, Yakima, Cle Elum,
Kennewick, Moxee City
and Richland. In Oregon,
it was the warmest April
on record at The Dalles,
Pelton Dam. Ellensburg
beat their previous record
warm April by nearly five
degrees. The unseason-
able warmth coupled with
a drier-than-normal month
made the mountain snow-
pack virtually disappear.
9. (TIE) Snowless Jan-
uary and February (4.2)—
Many stations in the south-
ern Columbia Basin went
through the entire months
of January and February
without measurable snow-
fall. In Washington, this
included Dayton, Ice Har-
bor Dam, Walla Walla,
and Whitman Mission. In
Oregon, a snowless end
of winter was observed
at Heppner, Hermiston,
Madras, Milton-Freewater,
Pendleton and Pilot Rock.
Snowpack in the mountains
also suffered decreases.
9. (TIE) Drought eased
(4.2)—Moderate to severe
drought was diminished in
March, made a comeback
in June, and finally eased to
just abnormally dry in De-
cember. The mid-December
rating was the least drought
coverage for the area since
November 2013.
11. November warmth
(3.4)—Indian Summer
continued into November
across eastern Washing-
ton and eastern Oregon.
In Washington, it was the
warmest November on re-
cord statewide, and second
warmest on record in Or-
egon. Individual stations in
Washington that set records
for warmest November
include Walla Walla, El-
lensburg, Pasco, Yakima,
Easton and Moxee City. In
Oregon, record warmth was
set at The Dalles, Hermis-
ton, Pendleton, Antelope,
Grizzly, La Grande and
Monument. Precipitation
was below normal and
mountain snowpack well
behind normal.
Cold, snowy weather to continue
The cold temperatures
and snow the area expe-
rienced during December
likely won’t let up in Janu-
ary, according to the Na-
tional Weather Service in
Pendleton.
Temperatures at Hep-
pner averaged colder than
normal during the month of
December, with an average
temperature of 30.7 de-
grees, or 2.8 degrees below
normal. High temperatures
averaged 38.3 degrees,
which was 3.1 degrees be-
low normal. The highest
was 51 degrees on the 30 th .
Low temperatures averaged
23.1 degrees, which was 2.4
degrees below normal. The
lowest was two degrees, on
the 17 th .
There were 26 days
with the low temperature
below 32 degrees. There
were nine days when the
high temperature stayed
below 32 degrees.
It was also a wet month;
precipitation totaled 1.52
inches during December,
which was 0.20 inches
above normal. Measurable
precipitation of at least .01
inch, was received on 13
days with the heaviest, 0.59
inches, reported on the 15 th .
Precipitation in 2016
totaled 12.03 inches, which
is 1.97 inches below nor-
mal. Since October, the
water year precipitation
at Heppner has been 4.32
inches, which is 0.26 inches
above normal.
Snowfall totaled 13
inches with at least one inch
of snow reported on five
days. The heaviest snowfall
was 5.5 inches reported on
the 15 th . The greatest depth
of snow on the ground was
sixth inches on the 15 th .
The highest wind gust
was 37 mph, which oc-
curred on the 23 rd .
The outlook for Janu-
ary from NOAA’s Climate
Prediction Center calls for
below-normal temperatures
and near- to above-normal
precipitation. Normal highs
for Heppner during January
are 43.6 degrees and normal
lows are 26.7 degrees. The
30-year normal precipita-
tion is 1.47 inches.
steal in the game. Kevin
Murray and Kevin Smith
each scored 6 points for
the Mustangs. Murray also
had 9 rebounds and an as-
sist while Smith had 9 re-
bounds, 2 blocked shots and
a steal. Caden Hedman had
3 points, 2 rebounds and 1
assist for the team. Hunter
Nichols scored 1 point and
Alex Lindsay finished with
5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1
steal.
The Waitsburg Cardi-
nals were a very tall team,
with a lineup of seven play-
ers over the height of 6’1”.
They featured two players
who could really shoot the
ball well and who ended
up scoring all but 9 of their
teams points in the game.
Heppner started the
game out better than they
had the day before. They
came out with more en-
ergy and were shooting the
ball well. The Mustangs
led at the end of the first
quarter by the score of
14-10. Heppner continued
to control the game in the
second quarter and looked
as though they would go
to halftime with a six-point
lead. The Cardinals then
got the ball and made a
half-court shot at the buzzer
to cut the Mustang lead to
27-24 at halftime.
A tightly contested
third quarter saw both
teams score 13 points, and
the Mustangs led 40-37.
Heppner stretched the lead
out a little bit in the fourth
quarter but Waitsburg made
some big shots and came
right back. Heppner made
some big free-throws near
the end of the game, but
none were bigger than the
two that Jake Lindsay made
with only seconds left in
the game to give the Mus-
tangs a five-point lead. The
Cardinals came down the
floor quickly and made a
three-pointer as time ran out
on the clock. The Mustangs
got the win by the score of
53-51.
Grieb once again had
a hot hand and torched the
net for 25 points. He also
had 6 rebounds and a steal
in the game. Jake Lindsay
had a good all-around game
and finished with 14 points,
6 assists, 5 rebounds and
1 steal. Hedman had 10
points, 2 assists, 2 steals
and 2 rebounds for the
team. Murray and Smith
each scored 2 points and
had 10 rebounds for the
Mustangs. Murray also had
2 steals and an assist while
Smith blocked 2 Waitsburg
shots. Alex Lindsay battled
foul trouble the entire game
and contributed 1 assist
and blocked 1 shot. Coby
Dougherty played well in
the game and grabbed 2
rebounds.
With the wins, Hep-
pner has a 7-2 record for
the season. The Mustangs
have two home games this
weekend. On Friday night
they will host the Union
Bobcats and then on Satur-
day the Elgin Huskies will
come to town.
Town and Country nominations
due Jan. 13
Community nomi-
nations for the Heppner
Chamber of Commerce’s
annual Town and Country
Community Awards are
due Friday, Jan. 13. All
nomination forms need to
be received by the Heppner
chamber or Kuhn Law Of-
fices by that day. Nomina-
tions can also be emailed
to heppnerchamber@cen-
turytel.net or faxed to 541-
676-5656.
Tickets will go on sale
starting this Friday, Jan. 6,
and will be available at the
Bank of Eastern Oregon,
chamber office, City of
Heppner, Community Bank
and Murray’s. Ticket prices
this year are $25 each until
the week of Feb. 6, at which
time they will be $30, so
those planning on attend-
ing are encouraged to get
their tickets early. Reserved
tables will be available on a
first come, first served ba-
sis; reserved tables require a
purchase of at least a round
table of eight or a long table
of six. Contact the Heppner
chamber at 541-676-5536
for more information and
to reserve seating.
Rep. Smith to compete in
Dancing with Hermiston Stars
D a n c i n g w i t h t h e ber Clara Beas-Fitzgerald,
Hermiston Stars, celebrat- Hermiston business owner
ing its fifth season, returns Eva Swain, business owner
to rock the Hermiston High and community volunteer
School auditorium Jan. 14. LuAnn Davison, and retired
Among the local celebrities Hermiston firefighter and
participating in the event EMT Spike Piersol.
will be State Representative
As in previous years,
Greg Smith of Heppner.
the six community mem-
Rep. Smith will be tak- bers will be paired with
ing to the dance
professional danc-
floor to “campaign”
ers from the Utah
for votes and do-
Ballroom Dance
nations for the
Troupe in attempt
Hermiston Warm-
to quickstep, rumba
ing Station. He said
and cha cha cha
he cares about the
their way into the
Hermiston Warm- State Rep. Greg audience’s hearts.
ing Station because Smith
Judges will rate
their mission is to
them, the audience
make sure there is shelter will vote with ticket stubs
and warmth for everyone and cheering, and cash do-
who needs it during the nations are tallied and com-
winter months.
bined to crown the Mirror
Other area stars com- Ball trophy winner as the
peting next month will be evening comes to a close.
Umatilla County Com-
Utah Ballroom Dance
missioner Bill Elfering, Troupe professional danc-
Hermiston City Councilor ers will train local celebri-
and Oregon Commission ties for a week and then
for Women Board mem- dance with them. A special
guest performance cho-
reographed by Utah Ball-
room Dance Troupe and
performed by local chil-
dren will open the evening,
while a festive intermission
will allow local celebrities
to secure audience votes
and donations.
“Dancing with Herm-
iston Stars” performance
will be held on Jan. 14 at
the Hermiston High School
Fine Arts Auditorium. The
box office opens at 6 p.m.,
doors open at 6:30 p.m.,
and the performances begin
at 7 p.m.
General admission
tickets are $20, and $10 for
those under 18. Tickets are
available online at www.
desertartscouncil.com, the
Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce and Hermiston
Parks and Recreation Of-
fice.
For information, call
541-667-5018. The event is
sponsored by the Hermiston
Breakfast Kiwanis Club.
Morrow County Road
Committee Meeting
will be held on
January 12, 2017 at 1:00 pm
in the Morrow County Bartholomew
Upper Conference room,110 N. Court
St., Heppner, OR.
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