Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Bob Baker Memorial
Fundraiser March 11
- FIVE
Ione FFA helps CARE for local families
Poker, bunco, bingo and more
at yearly event
The 13 th annual Bob
Baker Memorial Fund-
raiser will take place Satur-
day, March 11, at the Ione
American Legion Hall.
The doors will open at 5
p.m. for the sandwich and
salad bar meal and bake
sale; cost of the meal is by
donation. Beverages for the
evening will be provided by
Bucknum’s.
Bunco play will take
place from 5-7 p.m. Texas
Hold ‘Em poker sign-ups
will begin at 6 p.m. with
play to begin at 6:30 p.m.
Poker buy-in will be $40
with re-buy available until
7:30 p.m. Winners will
receive cash prizes. Bingo
play will run from 7-9 p.m.
In addition to the food
and game play, raffles will
be held for a Howa 7mm
Rem Mag rifle and for
two beef halves, cut and
wrapped. Raffle tickets are
available at Ione Market,
MCGG Ione, at the door,
and from Ione Legion and
Auxiliary members.
Ione Fourth of July
planning meeting
next week
This year’s first planning session for the Ione Fourth
of July Celebration will take place at Route 74 restaurant
on Wednesday, March 8, at 7 p.m. The meeting is intended
to last only an hour.
Anyone who cannot attend the meeting or who has an
organization or activity they would like included in the
Fourth of July lineup is asked to contact Heidi Nelson at
heidi@hen-online.com or 541-256-0411 (text or call).
Both repeats of past events and new ideas are welcome.
WCVEDG ANNUAL
MEETING becomes a serious issue
-Continued from PAGE ONE
activities of the organi-
zation over the past year
and its goals for the com-
ing year. President Sykes
said a shortage of housing
in South Morrow County
is still top of the list and
a major concern for the
group. Easing that short-
age is the main goal, and
he pointed to the major
businesses located in south
county, including the health
district and hospital, Forest
Service, MCGG, Morrow
County government, the
school district and the Bank
of Eastern Oregon (which
has its headquarters in Hep-
pner), as employers who
need to recruit good people.
And these new employees
need places to live when
they take jobs here, Sykes
said.
“If these major employ-
ers and economic engines
cannot find housing for
their new employees, it
for our economy here,” he
emphasized.
WCVEDG has in the
past received operational
and grant funding from
Morrow County and the
Columbia River Enterprise
Zone, and Sykes thanked
those groups, as well as
the individual members for
their support of the orga-
nization this past year, and
asked for their continued
support in the future.
Membership to WC-
VEDG is $25 per year, and
anyone wanting to join is
urged to contact Bates at
the Chamber of Commerce
office 133 N. Main Street
Heppner, 541-676-5536,
or Sykes at the Heppner
Gazette-Times, 541-676-
9228. You can also send an
email to david@rapidserve.
net and an invoice for mem-
bership dues will be mailed
to you.
The Ione FFA Chapter recently wrote a grant for a service learning project through the national FFA organization. This past
week during an all school assembly—in honor of FFA week—the chapter members donated 20 blankets and toiletry items to
the Morrow County CARE program. Pictured are many of Ione’s chapter members presenting Yvonne Morter, CARE nurse,
and Peggy Doherty, CARE coordinator, with the fruits of the chapter’s efforts. Each bag had a fleece tie blanket, toothbrush
in a case, toothpaste and a toy. -Photo by Erin Heideman
A View from the Hill
By Doris Brosnan
Residents at Willow
Creek Terrace view the
turning of the calendar to
March as a good sign that
Spring really is around the
corner, even though snow
greeted everyone just a few
days ago. Won’t the hills of
Heppner be a great green
for St. Patrick’s Day?
Moving into the Ter-
race in time to enjoy those
green hills and the com-
ing St. Pat’s celebration is
Marjorie Gorham. Hav-
ing moved in last month,
Marjorie continues to get
a bit more settled and bet-
ter acquainted with new
neighbors. She has moved
from Salem, but she is fa-
miliar with Eastern Oregon,
having taught several years
in EO high schools that in-
clude La Grande, and with
Heppner, where her daugh-
ter Karen Wolff also lives.
Among her many “likes,”
Marjorie enjoys stimulating
conversation, reading and
Bridge.
March also happens to
be a bright spot on the cal-
endar for Manager George
Nairns and some of the
Residents who share her
love of chocolate. Included
in the days that celebrate
particular foods this month
are Chocolate Cake Day
(March 6), Chocolate Chip
Cookie Week (beginning on
the 12 th ), American Choco-
late Week (beginning on
the 19 th ), and Black Forest
Cake Day (on the 28 th ).
Many menus will include
many uses of chocolate,
obviously! (The Black For-
est Cake that will be served
on the 28 th is the one that
the Terrace won first place
with a few years ago in the
“Celebrate Heppner” des-
sert competition.)
Other days marked for
celebration in March will
provide some activities and
some topics for morning
discussions.
Any GIs who feel the
need for a hug might con-
sider visiting the Terrace
on March 4. That is desig-
nated Hug-a-GI Day. This
could be a great opportunity
for the Residents who are
proud to be GIs-retired.
The Monopoly board
will probably be set up
on the seventh, which cel-
ebrates the birth of the
game in 1933. The next
day might witness some
stimulating conversation
as the morning discussion
focuses on Women’s Day,
and the next day could be
interesting when the group
discusses the doll Barbie,
who stepped into phenom-
enal popularity in 1959.
To acknowledge Pack-
Your-Lunch Day, the kitch-
en will be serving a sack
supper on March 10. When
Daylight Savings Time
begins on the 12 th , the Staff
will check/replace all the
batteries in Willow Creek
Terrace. Baseball Cap Day
on the 14 th will be a good
excuse for fans to don their
favorite cap and discuss
changing customs that now
WATER DAMAGE
-Continued from PAGE ONE of days for that much water water to the entire building Lankford put in a full ceil-
on the corner of Main and
Willow in Heppner, flood-
ing the downstairs offices in
the old building. The build-
ing is owned by the Hep-
pner Masonic Lodge. Ma-
son Gene Orwick said the
breakage was not caused by
a frozen pipe, but by pres-
sure in the hot water line
that blew the lines apart. He
said they estimated 10,000
gallons of water flooded the
building before it was dis-
covered by Sheena Shank,
operator of Artisan Village
on the downstairs floor.
“There wasn’t anyone
in the building until (they)
opened their shop and there
was water coming down
through the ceiling,” Or-
wick said. “We figured it
had to have run for a couple
to go through there.”
Shank called the fire
department, and the water
to the building was shut off.
Shank recalls that there was
a downpour in their fabric
shop storage room, which
took days to clean up and
dry out. In the optometrist’s
office next door, though, a
false ceiling in the waiting
room collapsed, flooding
the whole waiting area.
“The whole waiting
room was demolished,”
said Rolen’s wife, Margaret
Rolen. She said the floor
was full of water and the
flooring and the wall panel-
ing were destroyed. “It was
very extensive,” she added.
The bathroom hall in
the back of the building
was also damaged, and the
apparently had to be shut off
for a couple of weeks.
Shank told the Gazette
that Artisan Village closed
the day the damage was dis-
covered and had to cancel
several sewing classes due
to the bathroom closures.
Margaret Rolen said the
damage to their office made
it impossible to function;
the Rolens thought it might
be the end of their business
in Heppner, but then the
Masons agreed to undertake
repairs to the building.
“My husband wanted to
keep coming, and they fixed
it up, so we’re back in busi-
ness,” said Margaret Rolen.
It wasn’t an overnight
affair, however. A con-
struction crew led by Jim
ing, repaired the floor and
put in new carpet, took off
the wall paneling and redid
the wall, and conducted re-
pairs to the bathroom hall.
Orwick said most of the
costs should be covered by
insurance; the damage was
estimated at $63,000. In all,
it was nearly two months
before the Rolens were
able to move back into their
Heppner office, which they
did on Feb. 14.
“They’ve been very un-
derstanding,” said Orwick,
but in speaking with the
Gazette, the Rolens simply
expressed gratitude.
“We’re very thankful to
the Masons for everything
they did,” said Margaret
Rolen.
Boots in the Air is back for 2017
The boots are set to
fly during the St. Patrick’s
Day Celebration on Sat-
urday, March 18 at the
annual Welly Toss. Those
who want to compete in
the team event should get
their teams entered soon.
Or, throw as an individual
and bring the kids.
The event will be held
on Willow Street in Hep-
pner between Murray’s
Drug and Artisan Village.
Team will be from 10
a.m. until 12 p.m. Teams
may come when they can
and the Welly crew will
work them in. Forms are
available from the chamber
office and should be re-
turned to the chamber office
by Wednesday, March 15,
or turned in at the registra-
tion desk the day of the
event. A $20 registration
fee will be charged for team
play. The fees collected
fund the prizes and supplies
for the event.
Individual play is free
and begins for all partici-
pants at 10:30 a.m., lasting
until 12:30 p.m. Brackets
are: kids, two to 12; teens,
13-17; and adults, 18 and
seem to allow this ubiq-
uitous fashion piece to be
worn almost anywhere.
Some Residents plan to
attend the drama at St. Pat-
rick parish hall on March
16, the event that kicks
off the Wee Bit O’ Ireland
celebration, and some will
hit Main Street for the Big
Green Parade that weekend.
That is also designated
Quilting Day, so the morn-
ing discussion may include
the sharing of quilts made
by and made for individu-
als.
After the weekend
variety of activities that
some Residents will enjoy,
a somewhat routine week
will begin with another
celebrity’s birthday: Big
Bird came into being on
Sesame Street on March
20, 1969. If anyone needs
an excuse to just goof off,
the 22 nd provides designated
Goof-Off Day. And then on
the 26 th , Residents and Staff
will be invited to Make-
Up-Your-Own Holiday,
for which they will explain
their reasons and invite oth-
ers to celebrate with them.
(These might take a few
days to accomplish?)
March 30 is Walk-in-
the-Park Day, so Residents
have hope that more of the
landscaping will have been
completed in their adjacent
lot, so they can go for a
walk there and see how it is
developing into a relaxing,
colorful space.
After discussing Bach
and while listening to some
of his compositions on the
31 st to mark his birthday
(1685), the Community
on the Hill might find the
soothing notes great back-
ground to their planning for
the next day: April Fools
Day always brings a few
surprises to the Terrace.
One might wonder if
someone who might be
good at creating some con-
fusion on April Fools Day
is Carolyn Hall. This March
5 Birthday Girl has a lot of
spunk, a ready smile and
a twinkle in her eye. (But
maybe she won’t pull any
pranks on her neighbors
who were so happy for her
on her special day.)
Carolyn and her neigh-
bors are truly happy that the
employees of the Heppner
Library are volunteering to
bring a rotation of books to
the Terrace. The hours of
pleasure the books bring are
many every week.
As the Community on
the Hill view the com-
ing month with interest,
they also wonder if anyone
might decide to bring back
the reading of the Heppner
Gazette-Times on Wednes-
days. That is an activity that
always brought pleasure to
the listeners and opportu-
nities for some wonderful
discussions. If interested
in volunteering, even for
one reading a month, a
person should call 541-676-
0004 or visit with Manager
Nairns.
Opportunity grant
awarded to county park
The Morrow County
Public Works Parks Depart-
ment has announced that
it has received a $47,835
grant from the Oregon Parks
and Recreation Department
through the County Oppor-
tunity Grant Program.
This funding is for the
purchase and installation of
a concrete dual vault rest-
room facility to be installed
at Cutsforth Park.
Installation of this fa-
cility is intended to “further
enhance the amenities for
park patrons by providing
accommodations that are
more centrally located in
the campground and are
ADA (Americans with Dis-
abilities Act) accessible,”
the parks department stated
in a release.
Park personnel will
complete the necessary
groundwork for the instal-
lation of the facility and
oversee the project until its
completion, estimated in
the spring of 2018.
Morrow County Parks
Department’s mission is
to maintain, improve, pro-
mote and protect the county
parklands while provid-
ing diverse facilities and
recreational opportunities
along with natural and his-
torical area conservation/
preservation, education
and inspiration for this and
future generations.
The County Opportu-
nity Grant from Oregon
State Parks and Recreation
Department goes to Oregon
counties to purchase land
for campgrounds, improve
or plan camping areas, and
other similar purposes.
The grants, which
come from a portion of
RV registration fees, have
been funding Oregon camp-
ground projects yearly since
1983.
Button, button, who’s
got the buttons for sale?
A young participant gets ready for her toss during the 2016
Welly Toss in Heppner. -File Photo
over, with brackets for men
and women.
All children will re-
ceive a gold coin for play-
ing. Prizes will be awarded
for the top youth, male and
female winners. The top
teams will receive a prize,
and the first-place team will
have its name engraved on
the Traveling Boot Award,
on display at Peterson’s.
The Heppner Chamber of Commerce would like to
remind everyone that a good way to support the annual St.
Patrick’s event is by purchasing this year’s St. Patrick’s
button, created in honor of Jimmy Farley.
The buttons are $3 each and will qualify purchases
for two chances to win $100.
The buttons can be purchased at Community Bank,
Heppner chamber, Heppner City Hall and Murray’s Drug.
Koozies may be purchased for $3 at Community
Bank, Heppner chamber and Heppner City Hall.