Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 19, 2017
The View from the Green
WCCC men’s club champions (L-R) senior champion Ron Bowman, net champion Larry
Runyon, and club champion Greg Grant. -Contributed photo
Net—1 st , Larry Run-
yon, 112; 2 nd , John McCabe,
117; 3 rd , Josh Coiner/Dave
Gunderson, 124.
Senior—Ron Bowman,
136.
Special Play—KP #2-
11 Ron Bowman, 22’7”;
KP #4-13 David Allstott,
4’6”; KP #7-16 Charlie
Ferguson, 3’
Skins: Gross—Ron
Bowman, 3; David Allstott,
2; Greg Grant, 1. Net—Lar-
ry Runyon, 2; Kelly Fox, 1;
Greg Grant, 1.
Honey Pot: Gross—
Barry Munkers, 66; Greg
Grant, 68. Net—John Mc-
Cabe, 56; Josh Coiner, 57.
The next Sunday play
is July 23, hosted by Gene
Orwick, Barry Munkers and
Delbert Binschus.
WCCC ladies championship
results
The Willow Creek
Country Club ladies’ cham-
pionship took place last Fri-
day and Saturday, July 14-
15. Eight ladies showed up
for the tournament, which
was played in warm, breezy
conditions. Results are as
follows:
Ladies tournament
champion with low gross
of the field was Virginia
Grant. Leann Wright took
low net of the field.
In a special closest-to-
the-pin contest on Saturday,
Karen Haguewood took the
honors on holes #4 and #13.
APOLLO 11
-Continued from PAGE ONE were unlicensed, and I fixed coworkers played in that
WCCC men’s club
championship results
Willow Creek Country
Club men held their club
championship July 15-16.
Greg Grant won the cham-
pionship after a playoff with
Ron Bowman. Larry Run-
yon is the new net cham-
pion, and Ron Bowman the
senior champion. Complete
results are as follows:
Gross—1 st , Greg Grant,
136; 2 nd , Charlie Ferguson,
138; 3 rd , Matt Scrivner, 139.
- THREE
Least putts on Saturday
was a tie between Shirley
Martin and Leann Wright.
Chip-ins were Pat
Dougherty on #13 and Jodi
Ferguson on #8.
Birdies went to Virginia
Grant on #1 and #10 and
Jodi Ferguson on #13.
team that was responsible
for the assembly and test-
ing of the landing gear of
the Apollo 11 lunar module.
Though Michel doesn’t
have an engineering degree,
he does have a background
that made him a perfect fit
for work on the lunar mod-
ule. Born and raised in New
Jersey, living in the city of
Milltown, he was smitten
with a love of flying at a
young age.
“I used to build my
own model airplanes,” he
recalls. “I seen an ad in the
paper one day where it said,
‘Go for a plane ride for five
bucks,’ so I went, and (my
love of flying) started right
then.”
In his late teens at the
time, Michel dove into
aviation at full speed. De-
spite a right foot damaged
by polio around the age of
two, he was an active flyer
for many years; he had a
special bracket built to ac-
commodate his damaged
right foot. He also enjoyed
some stunt flying. He says
he flew mostly Cubs, but
his favorite plane was the
Interstate.
Not only did he enjoy
flying airplanes, but he also
knew their inner workings.
While he was living in New
Jersey, a farmer donated
some land to him and he
built an airport out of it.
“I bought airplanes that
‘em up to where they could
fly again and got them li-
censed. Then I sold ‘em.
“I had a good back-
ground (in aviation)” he
adds modestly.
While airplanes were
an important part of his
life, they weren’t his whole
life. Also while living in
New Jersey, he served as
a sergeant on the local po-
lice force. Near the end of
World War II, as a mem-
ber of the Civil Air Patrol
(CAP), he scanned the coast
of New Jersey, looking for
German submarines.
In his late 20s, Michel
moved to Los Angeles. It
was then that his love of
aviation lined up with the
timing of Apollo 11.
“I was looking for a job
and I found this place. So I
went and they hired me,”
he says of his time with the
Apollo Project subcontrac-
tor. While there, he worked
in a machine shop, where
he assembled and tested
the hydraulics system on
the lunar module’s landing
gear. It was nothing to brag
about at the time—in fact,
he wasn’t even aware of
his job’s importance in the
space race.
“We never knew what
we were working on till af-
ter they launched it. (It was)
so secret,” he says.
Only afterward did he
find out the role he and his
first space walk. Now, a
plaque on the wall of Mi-
chel’s apartment in Hep-
pner commemorates the
accomplishment.
Later, the company
he worked for lost their
government contracts and
shut down, laying everyone
off. Michel says he tried
to get a job “where they
launched the rockets” but
“they wouldn’t hire me be-
cause I couldn’t run.”
That didn’t keep him
from going back into law
enforcement in California.
He moved to Lake Isabella,
where he served in the sher-
iff’s department in search
and rescue. A widower
by that time, it was there
he met Peggy, a Heppner
graduate who worked lo-
cally as a cook. The couple
was married and, after Mi-
chel later retired from the
construction industry, they
returned to Peggy’s home-
town.
Self-employed and
married to a Heppner High
School graduate, with a
family he’s proud of, Mi-
chel now resides with his
wife Peggy at Heppner’s
St. Patrick’s Senior Cen-
ter—where, perhaps, this
down-to-earth man occa-
sionally takes advantage of
the clear skies to look up at
the same moon where he
helped humanity take its
first steps.
GAR SWANSON DRIVE
WCCC couples tournament
planned next month
The Willow Creek
Country Club couples tour-
nament will take place Aug.
4-6 at WCCC. Cost is $140
per couple and includes
three rounds of golf, din-
ner at the Elks Lodge and
prizes.
The tournament fea-
tures 36 holes of competi-
tion—18 holes of modified
Scotch play each day. Each
day will have a morning
and afternoon flight with
tee times both days at 6:45
a.m. and around 11:45 a.m.
Contact WCCC at 541-
676-5437 or Jodi Ferguson
at 541-571-4466 for more
details.
Columbia–Blue senior golf
results for Goldendale
Fifteen Willow Creek
Country Club senior golf-
ers played at the par-72
Goldendale Golf Course
on July 10.
Results for the WCCC
players were the following:
Columbia Division (Hand-
icap 18 and Below)
Gross: 5. Tom Shear
– 86.
Blue Division (Handicap
19 – 23)
Gross: 7. (tie) Steve
Marlett and Dave Gunder-
son – 97.
Net: 1. Delbert Bin-
schus – 67.
Senior Division (Handi-
cap 24 and Above)
Gross: 1. Roger Eh-
rmantraut – 99, 2. Bill Mor-
ris – 101, 8. Gene Orwick
– 106.
Net: 6. Al Scott – 79.
The next Columbia-
Blue Senior Tournament
will be at Big River Golf
Course in Umatilla on Aug.
14. Players are reminded
to call early to reserve golf
carts.
Tee times will be at
7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Lunch
will be available at Russ’s
Tavern.
Present at the Port of Morrow Gar Swanson Drive dedication on July 12 were several of
Swanson’s descendants. Back: Matt Fairbank, Sharlene Hamlett Arends, Adrienne Swanson
Fairbank, Monica Swanson, Jim Swanson, Luke Swanson, Shelly Turner Rietmann, Tyan
Swanson, Melissa Turner Lindsay and Sandi Turner Martin. Front: Carter Swanson, Anson
Fairbank, Hailee Fairbank and Chase Swanson. -Contributed photo
-Continued from PAGE ONE have contributed their time ing the Pioneer Memorial
McCoy and George Wiese
and serving from January
1959 until May 1975.
“There have been many
men and several ladies who
CELL PHONE LAW
-Continued from PAGE ONE while driving law was mobile phone even if the the court may suspend the
a phone is being “used.”
Spicer attended a recent
county commissioner meet-
ing and gave a summary of
the new law.
The new cell phone
passed by the Oregon Leg-
islature and goes into effect
Oct. 1, 2017. In part, the
law says a person can be
ticketed for driving a mo-
tor vehicle while using a
IONE MUSIC IN THE PARK
SATURDAY, JULY 22ND
Music by Cory Peterson & Band
FREE ENTERTAINMENT
IN THE IONE CITY PARK
LIVE MUSIC 6PM-8PM
TACOS HOME TOWN
will be offering Concessions starting at 5pm
pre order available 541-561-7397
EVERYONE INVITED! Bring chair
& cooler and come enjoy
Music in the park
Performances through
September
Sponsored by Morrow County
Unified Recreation District &
Ione Library District
driver “holds a mobile elec-
tronic device in the person’s
hand.” The law also applies
if a person is “temporarily
stationary because of traffic,
a traffic control device or
other momentary delays.”
Fine for the first offense
will be $260, and $435 if
the person causes an ac-
cident. On the first offence,
fine if the driver completes
a “distracted driving avoid-
ance course.” The fines will
increase on subsequent of-
fenses.
“I don’t want to see
people in my court,” Spicer
said about wanting to get
the word out about the new
law.
Boardman council
expresses gratitude for
new rec center
During its July 11
meeting, the Boardman
City Council expressed its
appreciation to the Board-
man Park and Recreation
District for building the
newly-completed Board-
man Pool and Recreation
Center.
Councilor Kegler said
he felt the district needed
to be complimented for pro-
viding Boardman with such
a great facility. He added
that he appreciates their ef-
forts and believes the new
pool and recreation center
enhances the Boardman
community. The city coun-
cil agreed unanimously
to send a thank-you letter
to the park and recreation
district.
In other city business,
the council approved an
ordinance for a franchise
agreement with Zayo
Group, LLC, a communica-
tions infrastructure service
company. Councilors also
approved two “housekeep-
ing” resolutions correcting
street names that were re-
corded improperly.
The next meeting of
the Boardman City Council
will be Tuesday, Aug. 1, at
7 p.m.
to the Port of Morrow’s
success, but for me, the
greatest visionary was Gar
Swanson,” Port commis-
sioner Larry Lindsay told
the crowd gathered for the
dedication.
“I was thrilled that the
dedication of this new high-
way across a major new de-
velopment area of the Port
of Morrow would serve as
a lasting reminder of a great
man in our local history,”
Lindsay added.
In the early 60s, Swan-
son was instrumental in
organizing the Port’s 4,000-
acre waterfront industrial
park, expanding irrigation
and being a leader in se-
curing the food processing
park in the early 1970s.
In South County, he
served on several boards
and committees. Serving on
the hospital board, Swanson
played a key role in bring-
Hospital to Heppner, and
he was instrumental in the
addition of the swimming
pool and football field in
Ione.
Among his personal
achievements was the in-
vention and patenting of
the Swanson Reel (a com-
bine reel). He was Morrow
County Conservation Man
of the Year in 1963.
Among those who at-
tended the dedication cer-
emony were several of
Swanson’s descendants,
one of whom is Morrow
County Commission Chair
Melissa Lindsay.
“Grandpa was a key
founder in the formation
of the Port of Morrow and
we couldn’t be more proud
and humbled by the Port’s
decision to dedicate a road
in his name,” Melissa Lind-
say said.
IONE RURAL FIRE
PROTECTION DISTRICT
BURNING
BAN
BURNING BAN IS NOW
IN EFFECT UNTIL
FURTHER NOTICE