EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Keithleys earn yard of the month Former Heppner, Ione teacher
By Kay Proctor
Recognition for June’s
Yard of the Month goes to
a hard-working couple, Jay
and Kelly-Jo Keithley at
475 Linden Way.
The family moved into
the home in October 1989
after purchasing it through
a bank sale and right away
had to put on a new roof.
That was just the beginning
of their home improve-
ments that resulted in al-
most rebuilding the house
from the inside out. Their
latest work has been new
siding and other repairs to
damage done to their house
from a next-door house fire.
As things turned out,
the Keithleys ended up
with that same next-door
lot less than a year ago.
They immediately started
work by tearing down the
charred house, filling in the
basement and sawing down
a burnt birch and four locust
trees. While cutting up one
of the locusts, they found a
horseshoe dead center that
the tree had grown around,
perhaps from a livery stable
that was there years ago.
The late Clarence Bak-
er and Clarice Baker had
lived in the now burnt-out
home for years, so during
clean-up, Keithley’s made
sure the Baker family got
the kids’ old swing they
used to play on from the
backyard. Kelly-Jo saved
and shared some of the
plantings and was able to
move poppies, peonies, iris
and yucca to new spots.
New gravel created
extra parking space on the
front of the lot while grass
was seeded on the back
half. The original basalt
rock terracing put in by
Clarence years ago was
cleaned up and Kelly-Jo has
had fun filling the terraces
with plants and flowers.
Large rocks and rustics are
scattered throughout the
landscape.
Kelly-Jo’s gift for
Mother’s Day sits at the
top of the terrace; an an-
tique seeder that she filled
with colorful annual flow-
ers. Because of regular
visits by Heppner’s own
herd of deer, she tried to
use deer-resistant plants.
Behind the seeder are two
20-plus year-old Rose-of-
Sharon shrubs that were
badly burnt but are doing
well after Kelly-Jo trans-
planted them. Nearby is a
sculpture Jay made of old
barrel hoops. They have
plans to build a fence along
the property line in back.
Behind their own
home, Jay terraced the
slope to give them parking
above and a flat fenced back
yard. Their back patio has
stamped concrete that Jay
retires
Above: Kelly-Jo and Jay Keithly stand next to the antique
seeder filled with flowers.
Below: A bench placed on a terrace above the houses gives
them a private view of the hills. Next to the bench is the sculp-
ture Jay made from barrel hoops.
did and is cool and peace-
ful. Kelly-Jo has filled the
beds with plantings such
as honeysuckle, clematis, a
profuse white rose, and her
favorite, a large, old-fash-
ioned bleeding heart. Toma-
toes and peppers are grown
in pots.
They both have the
same favorite place in their
yard which is a large bench
that Jay installed at the top
of their new lot that gives
them a nice private view
out to the hills, but they still
enjoy their front porch.
Jay has lived in Hep-
pner all his life while Kel-
ly-Jo’s family moved here
to own and operate the
Wagon Wheel Restaurant
and Bar on Main Street.
Jay works for Silver Creek
Contracting and Kelly-Jo is
employed at CCS-Lakev-
iew Heights. They share
their home now with a cute
kitten named Rona, as in
‘Corona,’ but raised their
three children here. Daugh-
ter Blair lives in Hermiston
with her husband and two
children, son Sloan is in
Arizona and has a son and
Baillie is in Silverton and
recently became engaged.
Their basketball cement
pad and hoop are still in
the backyard though and
birdhouses made as kids
are filled with nestlings and
still hang in the front yard
crabapple tree.
The Keithleys’ goal for
their yard is to keep it as
low maintenance as pos-
sible. Both like to have a
nice green lawn and appre-
ciate the curb appeal a nice
yard adds to a home. Jay
points out that the monthly
city water bills have a flat,
minimum rate for a cer-
tain amount of gallons of
water, so why not water a
yard enough to use all the
water a person is paying for
anyway?
Yard of the Month is
co-sponsored by the Hep-
pner Volunteers, MCGG/
Green Feed Store, and the
City of Heppner.
By Bobbi Gordon
Former science teach-
er, Sarah Carlson, hung
up her lab coat on June 5,
retiring from her teach-
ing career that began 37
years ago. Carlson, who is
a Morrow County resident
at the Carlson homestead
at Valby, began teaching
seventh-grade life science
and eighth-grade physical
science at Heppner Junior
High in September of 1983.
Carlson enthusiastical-
ly said, “Teaching science
at Heppner Junior High was
fantastic. There were truly
great staff and students. The
science room was a former
high school science room
which was well equipped
with classroom space, lab
space, science prep area
and dark room. I offered
a yearbook/photography
elective one year where I
taught the students how to
process black and white
film and prints. My favorite
science lab was to make
peanut brittle with the stu-
dents at Christmas. I also
enjoyed teaching computer
skills and LEGO LOGO
programming.”
Her career consisted of
teaching science in Hep-
pner from 1983-1995 and
Ione from 2003-2004. Carl-
son worked at the Hermis-
ton Agriculture Research
Center from 2005-2007
as a lab manager for the
Riparian Entomology Lab
where she trained students
in entomology (the study
of bugs). Next, she taught
middle and high school
science at Oregon Con-
nections Academy from
2007-2010. Carlson ended
her teaching career teaching
high school sciences and
art at Condon High School
from 2010-2020.
Sarah Carlson was born
and raised in Medford, OR
where she graduated from
Medford Senior High in
1979. She then attended
Oregon State University in
Corvallis, graduating with
a Bachelor of Science in
Education in 1983. Gradu-
ate school at OSU provided
Valby Lutheran Church
Valby Road
Ione Oregon. 97843
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Sarah Carlson is pictured in front of her science classroom at
Condon High School. -Contributed photos.
Sarah Carlson, one of three 2019 Oregon state finalists for the
Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science teach-
ing, is pictured with her husband, Clint; daughter, Julianne
and son, Alex after receiving her award at the Oregon Science
Teachers Association Conference in Eugene.
her with her Master of Sci-
ence in Education degree
in 1987.
Carlson’s parents are
Dr. Robert Wilcox, DVM,
and Joanne Wilcox. She
married her husband, Clint,
after they graduated from
OSU in 1983 and moved
to the Carlson homestead.
They have two children
who both graduated from
the Ione Community
School. Their son, Alex, is
currently in his final year
of his MD PhD program
at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Daughter, Julianne, is cur-
rently an account manager
for Expeditors International
in Portland, OR.
Carlson told the Ga-
zette that she worked as a
lifeguard and water safety
instructor in the summers
during her college years in
Medford and later was the
pool manager/swim instruc-
tor/lifeguard trainer at the
Willow Creek Waterpark
in Heppner and a swim in-
structor and lifeguard train-
er at the Ione pool. She was
also the area coordinator
for the Hands-On Science
Outreach program which
provided pre-K through
sixth grade recreational
science after school and
summer classes in Mor-
row, Umatilla, Gilliam and
Wheeler counties.
When asked how it
feels to leave her career, she
said, “It feels a bit surreal.
I’m not sure where the time
has gone.” She noted, “It’s
time to start a new adven-
ture.”
She continued, when
asked what she will miss,
“I have really enjoyed the
friendships that I have made
with staff and students over
the years. I will miss getting
to know the incoming fresh-
man and helping the seniors
navigate their senior year of
high school. I will miss the
camaraderie and collabora-
tion with colleagues.”
Her plans for retirement
will include “reading a lot”
as she has a three-year ap-
pointment to the Children’s
Book Council and National
Science Teaching Associ-
ation selection committee
for Outstanding Science
Trade Books. She reported,
“I am very interested in
mentoring novice science
teachers.” She hopes to find
time to travel to visit friends
and family also.
Mrs. Carlson, top left, is pictured with her first class of eighth grade students at Heppner
Junior High, 1983-84.
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