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Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, June 17, 2020 -- THREE DA’s Report Morrow County Dis- trict Attorney Justin Nelson has released the following report: Veronica Monique Garza, 23, was convicted of: Count 1: Unauthorized use of a vehicle, Felony Class C, committed on or about 05/20/2020. Convic- tion is based upon a guilty plea on 06/11/2020. Defendant’s driver’s license is revoked for one year. Defendant is sentenced to supervised probation for a period of 18 months. Pursuant to the sen- tencing guidelines grid, the Defendant is subject to 90 sanction units with 30 jail units. Defendant is confined to jail for 30 days. These 30 jail days are not to be deducted from the ordered sanction units. Defendant may receive credit for time served. Defendant is ordered to submit blood or buccal sample and thumbprint pur- suant to ORS 137.076. The defendant shall be required to pay $450. Adam Alexander Ew- ert, 23, was convicted of: Count 3: Attempt to commit a Class A Felony – sodomy in the first de- gree, 161.405(2)(b), Felony Class B, committed on or between 10/01/2018 and 03/14/2019. Conviction is based upon a no contest plea on 06/11/2020. Defendant is sentenced to the custody of Oregon Dept. of Corrections for a period of 46 months. De- fendant may receive credit for time served. The term of post-pris- on supervision is 10 years minus time actually served pursuant to ORS 144.10. The court recommends as a condition of post-prison supervision: have no di- rect, indirect or third-party contact with the victim, the victim’s residence or the victim’s place of employ- ment or the victim’s par- ents or siblings. Be further restrained from harassing, stalking or threatening or conduct that would place the victims in reasonable fear of bodily injury, in- cluding the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury. Defendant to complete sex offender evaluation and follow any recommended treatment. Defendant is ordered to submit blood or buccal sample and thumbprint pursuant to ORS 137.076. Defendant is ordered to register as a sex offender pursuant to Oregon Revised Statutes. Count 4: Attempt to commit a Class A Felony – unlawful sexual pene- tration in the first degree, 161.405(2)(b), Felony Class B, committed on or between 10/01/2018 and 03/14/2019. Conviction is based upon a no contest plea on 06/11/2020. Defendant is sentenced to the custody of Oregon Dept. of Corrections for a period of 50 months. De- fendant may receive credit for time served. For reasons stated on the record, the sentence shall be consec- utive to the sentences on Count 3. The term of post-prison supervision is 10 years. The court recommends as a condition of post-prison supervision: have no di- rect, indirect or third-party contact with the victim, the victim’s residence or the victim’s place of employ- ment or the victim’s par- ents or siblings. Be further restrained from harassing, stalking or threatening or conduct that would place the victims in reasonable fear of bodily injury, in- cluding the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury. Defendant is ordered to submit blood or buccal sample and thumbprint pursuant to ORS 137.076. Defendant is ordered to register as a sex offender pursuant to Oregon Revised Statutes. Counts disposed with no conviction: Count 1, Sodomy in the first degree is dismissed; Count 2, Sodomy in the first degree is dismissed; Count 5, Sexual abuse in the first degree is dismissed; Count 6, Sexual abuse in the first degree is dismissed; Count 7, Sexual abuse in the first degree is dismissed. EOU Small Business Development Center receives grant “We are pleased to an- nounce that because of a grant, Eastern Oregon University Small Business Development Center will be able to increase advis- ing resources to businesses affected by the COVID-19 shutdown. Our center was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from The Ford Fam- ily Foundation and we are most appreciative,” said Greg Smith, EOU SBDC Director. To date, EOU SBDC has assisted business own- ers in receiving PPP and EIDL disaster funding in excess of $3.9 million dol- lars. In addition, the center has helped preserve 316 jobs which is the highest within the state network of 19 centers, most of which are located in much more densely populated areas. “It’s not about tooting our horn, but we think it is important to share in- formation about the work being done to assist local businesses. Not all have been negatively affected and have seen a tremendous growth in sales,” Smith said. EOU SBDC has been holding webinars on such topics as navigating the PPP and EIDL process, manag- ing cash flow, creating and understanding a financial statement, and getting your financial house in order. All of these have been recorded and are accessible on EOU SBDC’s YouTube Chan- nel. More webinars will be scheduled soon. “We have a robust col- lege internship program in our center and one of the projects completed by a recent EOU grad working in our center is the creation of an app. Individuals who would like to explore the services we offer, partners, and other information are invited to download it. The free app can be accessed by searching your app store using the term “Business Advising.” It shows up at the top of the list with the ‘America’s SBDC logo’,” Smith said. None of the efforts by EOU SBDC could be ac- complished without the extraordinary support of Eastern Oregon University and the leadership of Dr. Ed Henninger, Dean of the College of Business. Spiritually Speaking “I am the Bread of life” By Fr. Thankachan Joseph SDB This past Sunday, the Catholic Church celebrated “Corpus Christi Sunday,” or the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. In the Gospel of John, chapter thirteen, first verses, we read: “Jesus, knowing that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father” … called his disciples together to celebrate the memorial together. “While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many’” (Mk 14: 22). The Holy Eucharist is the parting gift of the Lord Jesus to us before his departure to the Father. Thus, Jesus becomes “the Bread of life” (Jn 6:48). Before he left from this world, He instituted the sacrament of Holy Eucharist, as well as the Sacrament of Priesthood and asked his disciples to do this in His memory for eternity. We know it well from our Catechism classes: Jesus was born in David’s town of Bethlehem. Bethlehem literally meant “the place of bread, place of meat.” Food is one of the main elements of human lives, and we all work to satisfy our stomachs, but Jesus became bread for everyone, to satisfy the spiritual and physical hunger of everyone, instituting the Holy Eucharist as the memorial of his presence with us and his unconditional love towards us. The Eucharist is spiritual nourishment for human be- ings, to satisfy their hunger for spiritual realities. Is Jesus Really Present in the Holy Eucharist? Every day and at every Eucharistic celebration, the real presence of the Lord takes place. Every single Mass involves a true Eucharistic miracle in which the bread and wine is truly made into the Body and Blood of Our Lord. The real presence of the Lord is felt in the Eucharistic bread that is kept in the tabernacle. Eucharistic miracles take place every day on every continent. There is a beautiful story that comes to my mind from the life of St. Antony of Padua (1195-1231). In his life story is an old and traditional incident regarding the real presence of the Lord. The heretics of his time were a real vexation for him. During his travels through a city called Rimini, Saint Anthony became engaged in conversation with a particularly stubborn heretic. This man obstinately refused to admit the mystery of transubstantiation, for he perceived no change in the sacramental species after the words of consecration. In vain, Anthony presented proofs drawn from both Scripture and Tradition. When his efforts failed before the stubborn obstinacy of his un- believer, he decided to alter his strategy. “You possess,” he told the man, “a mule that you ride often. I will present a consecrated host to it; if it falls on its knee before the Blessed Sacrament, will you recognize the real Presence of the Savior under His Eucharistic appearance?” “Cer- tainly,” responded the unbeliever, who felt confident that the outcome of such a proposition would be to the saint’s detriment. The two men agreed to meet again in the market square three days later. They then went their separate ways, each to prepare for the spiritual showdown in their own way. The heretic, in order to ensure victory, deprived his beast from all food for the three days. Our saint prepared for his assured victory by doubling his accustomed time in prayer. At the set day and time, An- thony left the Church, carrying a ciborium in his hands. The skeptic arrived leading the famished animal by the bridle. A considerable crowd had gathered on the square, curious to attend such a remarkable sight. With a smile on his lips, the unbeliever, believing victory already to be his, set a sack of oats before the animal. All watching in breathless anticipation, the hungry animal turned away from the oats and turned toward the Sacred Host held high by the Saint. With a graceful motion uncharacteristic of his breed, the beast of burden bowed low to the ground, giving due reverence to his Creator. Thus, the heretic and those gathered there believed in the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharistic bread. What are you hungering for? Jesus actually satisfies the physical hunger of humans before the spiritual one. The Eucharistic discourse of Jesus in the gospel of John begins with the miracle of loaves. He fulfills the natural hunger of everyone before he begins the spiritual dis- course. The temptation of the Lord in the desert begins with the tempter asking Jesus to change the stones into bread, since the Lord was hungry. In the last judgment scene, too, we read, to the people on the right, “Come you that are blessed by my Father! I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink” (Mathew 25: 34-35). From these examples we need to assume that Jesus addresses the basic needs of human life first. The Lord is always and every time present with us with his real presence. He is always available to satiate the hunger and thirst of human beings. What Does the Feast Of Corpus Christi Teach Us To Do? Do we approach him for physical food or spiritual food? As human beings we cannot live on bread alone. We need more than food to live. I am reminded of the words of St Augustine: “It is no use feeding on Christ with our teeth if we are not feeding on him with our minds” - that is by faith. Let us remember that eating and drinking of the body and blood of Jesus are meant to be symbolic of our wanting to live by the word of God. In the gospel of John when he speaks about the vine and branches, and in the Eucharistic discourse, too, Jesus reminds us that without him, we cannot live: “I tell you solemnly, if you do not eat of the flesh of Son of Man and drink His blood you will not have life in you. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I in him, anyone who eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:53-54). On the Feast of Corpus Christi, Jesus offers different kinds of ‘bread’ to the faithful to gratify their many hun- gers. To people who followed him into the desert and who were starving, He offered ordinary bread and so satisfied their physical hunger. To the leper whose body was falling apart, He offered the only bread that mattered – the bread of physical healing. To the lonely woman at Jacob’s well, He offered the bread of human kindness and acceptance. To sinners He offered the bread of forgiveness. To the rejects and outcasts, by mixing with them, He offered the bread of empathy and companionship. To the widow of Nain and Martha and Mary, who each had lost someone dear to her, He offered the bread of compassion. To the thief who died by His side, he offered the bread of repen- tance and reconciliation with God. The universe is in the attack of coronavirus which has meddled with our daily lives, economy, relationships. As Jesus has become bread and gratified human deprivation, it is our time to satisfy human needs of people around us. Is there anyone hungry around me? How do I approach such situations and become the bread someone needs? What bread are we looking for? Only Jesus can offer us that bread because “He is the Bread of life.” Port of Morrow awarded $3.2 million The Department of Transportation has awarded $3.2 million to the Port of Morrow to aid in the expan- sion of the barge services. The Marine Highway Des- ignation, which Represen- tative Greg Walden helped secure last summer for the Columbia River, is part of America’s Marine Highway Program and enables the Port of Morrow to apply for federal funding for its proj- ect to extend barge service. The additional funding will lead to reduced transpor- tation costs and decreased road and rail traffic. It will also enable an increase in the freight shipments along Marine Highway 84, which runs along the Columbia and Snake Rivers. “This additional fund- ing to support the expansion of barge services at the Port of Morrow is great news for the region. The Port’s Marine Highway Project Designation that we se- cured last August enabled the Port to compete for “Thank you for making our EOU SBDC such an envi- able and highly productive and successful operation,” said Dr. Henninger. We invite all business owners to contact us to receive confidential and no cost business advising. We can be reached by calling 541-962-1532 or emailing eousbdc@gmail.com. More information about The Ford Family Foundation can be found at www.tfff.org. such funding and I am glad to see the Department of Transportation award this grant. The Columbia River system is a valuable asset for transporting wheat and other products from eastern Oregon to the world. I am glad to have worked so closely with them to pursue Marine Highway status. This funding will improve the Port’s capabilities while simultaneously increasing economic opportunity for the region. It will decrease traffic, reduce transporta- tion costs, and bring addi- tional jobs and growth to the area,” said Walden. The Port of Morrow applauded the new fund- ing and Walden’s help in securing the grant. “This grant will directly support increased barge service through the Port of Morrow, helping grow the economy and create family wage jobs here in eastern Oregon. As the Project Sponsor, the Port was proud to support this grant request, which hinged on the strong pub- lic-private between our community and Tidewater Barge Lines. I would like to thank Congressman Walden for his help securing this grant, and his continued support of our efforts to expand barge service along the Columbia River,” said Ryan Neal, Executive Di- rector, Port of Morrow. Tidewater Barge Lines, the direct recipient of the funding, said this will allow them to acquire a new barge specially designed for ex- panding container services from facilities in Vancouver to the Port of Morrow. County now reports 19 COVID-19 cases Morrow County Public Health reported on June 15 that four more individ- uals had tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the county total to 18. On June 16, one more case was reported that had been identified as being a contact from a previously reported positive case, bringing the total to 19. One of the new cases was from the Hep- pner/Lexington/Ione area and four were from Irrigon. According to the press release, social distancing of six feet, wearing masks and washing hands often have proven to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and the public is encouraged to use these measures when- ever possible. The new cases bring the total to 12 in Boardman, five in Irrigon and two in the south end of the county. The report does not indicate which of the communities of Heppner, Lexington and Ione reported the positive cases. The number of re- covered cases remain at 12 with the other seven in home isolation. No deaths from the virus have been reported anywhere in the county. Give the Gift of News! Father’s Day is June 21st How About a Gift Subscription to The Heppner Gazette- Times? Call 541-676-9228 or Come in to the office at 188 W Willow St in Heppner