TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 22, 2019
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
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: $31 in Morrow
County; $25 senior rate (in Morrow County only; 65 years or older); $37 elsewhere;
$31 student subscriptions.
David Sykes ..............................................................................................Publisher
Bobbi Gordon................................................................................................ 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 $5.25 per
column inch. Cost for classified ad is 50¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $10 up to
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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.
Ione senior awarded
scholarship
Payton Miller
Payton Miller, a senior
at Ione High School, has
been awarded a $1,000
scholarship from the Ore-
gon Wheat Foundation. The
Foundation awarded a total
of seven $1,000 scholar-
ships to high school seniors
this year, representing six
counties or regions.
Payton Miller will soon
graduate from Ione High
School and plans to attend
Eastern Oregon University
to study psychology with
the eventual goal of becom-
ing an occupational thera-
pist. Payton is the daughter
of Justin Miller and Stacie
Ekstrom. She was active in
FFA, Grange Youth, was a
class leader all four years
and class president as a se-
nior. She excelled in tennis
and volleyball and coached
a youth volleyball team
last year. She also worked
harvest for local farms for
two summers.
Students were judged
on their community in-
volvement, academic
achievement and an essay
on a wheat industry topic.
Community lunch menu
St. Patrick’s Parish volunteers will serve lunch on
Wednesday, May 29 at St. Patrick’s Senior Center. Lunch
will be sloppy Joe sandwiches, calico beans, coleslaw,
sliced tomatoes and chocolate cupcakes for dessert.
Milk, coffee and tea is served at each meal. Suggested
donation is $3.50 per meal. Menu is subject to change.
WE WILL BE CLOSED
Monday, May 27th in observance of
Memorial Day
HAVE A SAFE & HAPPY WEEKEND!
Heppner
Ione
Saturday, June 1
Friday, May 31
2:00p.m.
7:00p.m.
FOR THE GRAD!
- HALLMARK - Gift Ware -
- Cards - Party supplies -Balloons -
- Floral arrangements -
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
THIS FRIDAY AT 5:00 P.M.
Heppner track team takes second at state
Boys relay team takes first
Heppner track and field
competed at the state cham-
pionship meet at Western
Oregon University on May
17 and 18. Eight athletes
competed, and all eight
stood on the podium. Af-
ter winning the arguably
toughest district in 2A, the
men’s team came in with
strong athletes competing
in multiple events.
Friday started with
Derek Howard throwing
shot put. After a strong sea-
son with multiple personal
records, Howard came in
with confidence. Throw-
ing consistently and well,
Howard secured the sec-
ond-place spot with his
farthest throw of 49’5”.
Hunter Nichols was
up next in the 3000m run.
After a bout with sickness
at districts, he was ready to
run a strong race. Nichols
allowed another runner to
lead for the first few laps,
but pulled out in front and
showed his strength, finish-
ing as the state champion in
a time of 8:59.29. Nichols
received his championship
medal from his dad and
coach, Russ Nichols, and
went to rest for his races in
the 800 and 4x400 relay on
Saturday.
The preliminary heats
of the 400m dash and the
300m hurdles took place
Friday as well, with finals
on Saturday. Mason Leh-
man and Jayden Wilson
both ran in the same heat
of the 400m and Wilson
moved on to finals. Leo
Waite earned the eighth
spot in the finals with a
strong kick and determi-
nation.
The final days started
with Howard throwing disc.
With a tough field, Howard
threw with consistency and
earned the eighth spot with
a throw of 119’9”.
Madelyn Nichols start-
ed her state competition
with a strong showing in
the 1500m run. Nichols ran
with the fast front pack, fin-
ishing with a personal best
time of 5:06.34.
Trevor Antonucci was
up next in the men’s 1500m
run, with his signature
strong kick taking him from
sixth place to third place in
the last two hundred meters.
Antonucci crossed the fin-
ish line in a time of 4:13.90,
a personal best time.
The finals for the 400m
dash came next. Wilson
qualified for finals with a
time of 51.94 and started
in lane six. Wilson came
out strong, running a quick
first 200 meters and passed
several runners in the last
stretch to come in fifth in a
time of 52.01.
Madelyn Nichols re-
turned to the track for the
800m run. Nichols broke
the school record for the
800 earlier in the year and
was ready to do it again.
The first lap was strong, but
Nichols held on and stuck
with the leader, finishing
second with a new school
record time of 2:25.90.
Hunter Nichols fol-
lowed his sister in the 800m
run, narrowly missing a
delay in his start time due
to lightning. Although the
storm was coming, the race
was started and Nichols
took a chance to get out fast.
Nichols pulled out early, but
with a strong pack he had
to fight to the end. Nichols
finished as the state cham-
pion in first with a time of
2:01.09 and was quickly
pulled off the track due to
lightning close to the track.
At this point, the meet was
delayed for approximately
an hour. Wind howled and
rain poured, but the team
was thankful for a little
more time to rest before
the final races. Nichols
received his championship
The Heppner Mustangs placed first in the team relay event: Hunter Nichols, Trent Smith,
Jayden Wilson and Mason Lehman.
medal after the delay and
went to join the relay team
for warmups.
After the storm calmed
down and the proper amount
of time had passed, Leo
Waite was up in the 300m
hurdle finals. Ranked eighth
going into the finals, Waite
started the race with confi-
dence. Waite is known for
his build to the finish and
he took advantage to pull
up and pass another runner
struggling in the last 100m
of the race. Waite finished
seventh, earning the team
two points and standing
proudly on the podium.
Finally, the 4x400m
relay team was up. Hep-
pner came into the race
ranked first, but only by
a couple hundredths of a
second to Columbia Chris-
tian Academy. The team
knew it would be a fight;
the whole field was strong.
Most teams were within a
couple seconds of the boys
and were eager to fight for
first. Trent Smith started
in lane five, nervous but
eager to put his team in
the best position possible.
Smith ran a strong first leg,
coming in with the pack
and making a quick handoff
to Jayden Wilson. Wilson
took the baton and pulled
up to second place, handing
off almost simultaneously
with another team that was
trying to gain position by
pushing him farther out on
the track. Mason Lehman
took the baton and didn’t
let Columbia Christian, the
leading team at the time,
gain any ground. In the last
50 meters Lehman pulled
up to the leader, handing
off at the same time and
allowing Hunter Nichols
(the anchor leg) to pull out
in front. The final runner
for Columbia Christian
stuck right behind him and
tried to pass several times,
but Nichols fought him off
until the very end. Heppner
came across the finish line
first (by one tenth of a
second) and with a school
record-breaking time of
3:30.94. The whole team
celebrated with them while
coaches Russ Nichols and
Laura Winters ran to the
side lines to congratulate
them and award them their
medals.
The second-place team
trophy was awarded and
the team met in a huddle to
recap and to talk as a team.
The season ended with
amazing effort by all of the
athletes. The men’s team
received the second-place
plaque for the second year
in a row, a feat not easily
won.
The team and coaches
would like to thank all of
their supporters that made
the trip to watch the compe-
tition. For full results, visit
athletic.net or the OSAA
website.
HealthyMC.org
When seconds count, they
are the first to respond.
We thank all of the MCHD medical first
responders in honor of National EMS Week!
We count the communities we serve amongst the most fortunate
because of our outstanding EMS team.
With 14 employed team members and 47 volunteers, from
ambulance drivers to Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT), as
well as Paramedics, they are saving lives in Boardman, Heppner,
Ione, Irrigon, Lexington, and each corner of the county.
Their numerous contributions to the community-at-large are
deserving of recognition because they embody the spirit of
volunteering and exemplify the heart of our healthcare system.
Working Together to be a Healthier Community Today and