Local men bring hope to
Liberia
HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 138
NO. 35 6 Pages
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Local cowboys and cowgirls
win in Morrow County rodeo
Coy Patterson took first place in the Morrow County Rodeo amateur calf roping, taking home
the 2019 championship saddle donated by Morrow County Grain Growers. Pictured: Jessica
Hughes, OTPR committee member, Coy Patterson, Kevin Gray, MCGG and OTPR president,
Tanner Britt. -Photo by Juli Kennedy.
‘Ministry no bigger than the one in front of us’
Heppner man Sam Bellamy (third from left) pictured with Hope 2’s Rich Wrisley (far right)
on the recent trip to Liberia to install solar panels on well water pumps.
By David Sykes
Two area men from the
local Christian Church have
been giving their time and
effort to helping those in
need, on the other side of
the world in the war torn
Ivy Sandford is presented with
the winning bracelet cuff for
breakaway roping by Tanner
Britt, OTPR president. The
buckle is sponsored by Buck-
num’s. -Photo by Juli Kennedy.
and diseased ravaged coun-
try of Liberia.
Pastor Ray Deloe and
Sam Bellamy have both
made trips to Liberia where
the church is helping people
obtain water, build schools
and gain medical care. Pas-
tor Deloe is the Christian
Church minister and has
been to Liberia five times.
Bellamy is a church mem-
ber and made his first trip
this past May. He went to
help install solar panels
on water well pumps in
three small villages. All
the work is done under the
church sponsored program
called Hope 2 - Watering
the Thirst.
Most people of course
know Bellamy as the long-
time owner of Lexington
Pump. He has worked on
many wells and pumps in
the area as part of his job.
His trip to Liberia in May,
however, wasn’t for money
but to help those in need.
everyone started singing.
It was very rewarding.”
He says as soon as the
water started to flow peo-
ple brought out buckets
and filled them from the
newly operating solar-pow-
ered pump. “No water goes
to waste,” he points out.
He says the solar panel
pumps work well and will
be run just as long as the
sun shines. “It will rain
hard there but then the sun
comes out.”
Pastor Deloe says the
original Hope 2 program
was started in 2005 when
three men from Muncie, In-
diana made a trip to Africa.
Liberia is a small country
of just three million people
and was just coming off a
devastating 14-year civil
war that left the country
with little to no infrastruc-
ture. In the beginning the
program supplied many
water filter systems just
to get people clean water.
Getting ready to install the solar panels that will power pumps
to replace hand pumping
The winner of the all-around,
Kolby Currin, received spurs
presented by OTPR president
Tanner Britt. The spurs were
donated by Les Schwab. -Pho-
to by Juli Kennedy.
-See RODEO WINNERS/
PAGE SIX
The cow hide race winners Lane Bailey and Wacy Coil were
presented buckles, sponsored by Eastern Oregon Mobile
Slaughter and BLK Truck Parts by OTPR president Tanner
Britt. -Photo by Juli Kennedy.
Stick horse three-and-under winners Lydia Knowles, first
place, Jaxson Nelson, second place and Emma Britt, third
place. Trophies were donated by Peterson’s Jewelers and the Knives donated by Wight’s Electric and John Britt Logging
Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo committee. -Photo by Juli Kennedy.
were presented to ribbon roping winners Kevin Murray and
Kolby Currin by Tanner Britt, OTPR president. -Photo by
Juli Kennedy.
Above: Winners of the six-and-seven-year-old stick horse races
were Charlie Mullins, first, and Ella Mullins, second. Trophies
were donated by Peterson’s Jewelers and the Oregon Trail Pro
Rodeo committee.
Right: Kolt Chick took first place in mutton bustin’, taking
home the buckle sponsored and presented by Tim Dickenson
of Dickenson Chiropractic. -Photos by Juli Kennedy
Traveling to three small
villages out in the jungle,
where one trip took three
hours from the capital of
Monrovia, Bellamy said he
saw people pumping water
by hand and then packing
the water in buckets on top
of their heads just so they
could have drinking water
for their families. Some-
times they will spend two
to three hours per day just
carrying water, he says.
Bellamy used his long
experience in the well and
pump business to help in-
stall solar panels on water
pumps in wells that would
then supply clean water for
the village. Bellamy said
it was very satisfying to
provide something as ba-
sic as water to the people.
“When we hooked them
up (the panels and pumps)
they started pumping right
away,” he recalls. “At the
second village there was
an orphanage with 100 kids
standing around watching
us work,” Bellamy relates.
“There were ten young guys
helping us (they do speak
English but not always un-
derstandablly). When the
water started coming out
Many babies died before
their fifth birthday due to
dirty water. The effort has
grown into not only water
but schools, medical care
and other basic help for this
poor country.
Bellamy says people
will donate to the effort if
they are asked. He received
$10,000 worth of equip-
ment from one supplier he
works with, and another
$5,700 from a local farmer
who wanted to help. The
equipment, including the
solar panels, were shipped
earlier by container to Libe-
ria and were waiting when
they arrived. He said they
did have to load the panels
on top of trucks to take
them out to one of the vil-
lages. “We had mattresses
on the top for protection
against damage, with the
panels tied down on top of
them. It was quite a sight,”
he says with a smile. Once
out in the villages he says
people just came out of the
jungle from everywhere to
see them work. Pastor De-
loe says the rural population
makes a living by hunting,
-See LIBERIA/PAGE TWO
MORROW COUNTY GRAIN GROWERS
350 MAIN ST
LEXINGTON, OR 97839, CONTACT: JUSTIN BAILEY
541-989-8221
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