FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Umatilla National
Forest cautions
visitors about fall
forest conditions
Umatilla National For-
est officials ask forest vis-
itors to use caution, plan
ahead and know the weath-
er and forest conditions
before heading out into
the woods. The Forest has
already received snow in
higher elevations this fall,
and snowstorms can often
bring wind, snow and rain
that can substantially im-
pact road and trail condi-
tions, causing hazards and
obstructions in roadways.
Fall weather can be
unpredictable and is a busy
time of year on the Umatilla
National Forest. Hunting is
a primary activity during
this time, increasing the
number of visitors in the
Forest. Prior to heading to
the woods, forest officials
encourage the public to
always contact your lo-
cal district office, always
check the weather, have a
planned route and ensure
that the area is accessible
by knowing what closures
or restrictions are in place.
Whenever possible, travel
in pairs. Always bring extra
clothing, food and water,
and make sure that some-
one knows where you are
going, that they also have
your planned route, and
when you will be returning
from your trip. Carry a map
and don’t rely on your cell
phone as many areas on the
Forest don’t have service.
Some roads may be
seasonally closed due to
wildlife or other resource
concerns. Motor Vehicle
Use Maps (MVUMs) dis-
play the open and seasonal-
ly open road system on the
Umatilla National Forest.
MVUMs are free and can
be picked up at any Uma-
tilla National Forest office
or downloaded from the
forest website. Motorized
cross-country travel is pro-
hibited under the forest’s
travel management plan.
“We encourage forest
users to responsibly enjoy
their National Forest roads
and trails, including plan-
ning ahead for a trip to the
woods. Responsible use
will not only avoid damage
of the resources, but also
ensure forest visitors have
an enjoyable and safe ex-
perience,” said Eric Watrud,
Umatilla National Forest
Supervisor.
For more information
on current forest conditions,
please contact the Umatilla
National Forest at 541-278-
3716 or visit our website at
https://www.fs.usda.gov/
umatilla.
ATTENTION HUNTERS!!
The Heppner Gazette-Times
wants pictures of your trophy
animals from this hunting
season.
Stop by to have your
picture taken, drop off
photos at 188 W Willow in
Heppner,
email them to
editor@rapidser ve.net
upload them at heppner.net
or text cell phone photos to
541-980-6674.
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Engagement?
Wedding?
We want to share your life events!
Stop in the Heppner Gazette office or email us
with details and photos.
All birth, engagement and wedding
announcements are always free!
188 W Willow Street
Heppner, OR
editor@rapidserve.net
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Spiritually Speaking
Be prepared and be wise always
By Fr. Thankachan Joseph SDB, St. Patrick Church
Today’s first reading from the book of Wisdom
(6:12-16) is an invitation to all to become truly wise. The
reading explains to us about what true wisdom is and
how each can find it. Where can true wisdom be found?
We say that God is Wisdom, God is Power, God is Life,
God is Love, etc. If we substitute the word “Wisdom”
for the word “God,” the meaning of today’s first reading
becomes clearer to all of us: “God is bright and does not
grow dim. He makes truly wise those who love Him.”
One is truly wise who tries to discover what God wants
from him and to carry out His wishes. God guides such
a person to arrive safely in Heaven.
In the second reading of the day, we see St. Paul in
his letter to the First Thessalonians (4:13-18) describing
death and living life with Christ after death. If we die
with Christ, each of us will have the same status that the
Lord Jesus had. In simple terms, Paul describes that for
us with faith, our death or end time is nothing but meeting
the person of Jesus. (Faith is not taught but caught by the
inspiring way it is lived.)
The message running through today’s Gospel is
found in Matthew (25; 1-13): “Be wise! Be prepared.”
We are asked to form a truly Christian mentality about
how we ought to live in this world, so that we shall be
best prepared for life in the world to come. Through the
parable of the ten wedding attendants, we are all called
to be bearers of the light of Christ, lamp-carriers, in our
daily lives, not to be like the five foolish virgins who
took no oil with them to await the bridegroom. It means
avoiding all sorts of laziness, sluggish ways and sloth,
but like the five foolish maids, we, too, are sometimes
careless and irresponsible and allow this lamp to go out or
at least grow very dim. When the five imprudent virgins
prayed that the door be opened for them, the response
was, “I do not know you.” The Church invites us to recall
the great event that will take place both at the end of our
lives and at the end of time:
Christ will certainly come.
So be prepared and be wise
always.
(To understand the
Parable of the ten virgins,
we must know the Jewish
traditions regarding mar-
riage celebrations. Usually
their wedding celebrations Fr. Thankachan Joseph
lasted for seven days. On
any one of these days, the
bridegroom came with his relatives and friends to the
bride’s house. Only the best man knew the exact day of
their arrival. In the parable, during a delay in the expected
time of arrival of the bridegroom and his party, the invited
guests at the bride’s house continue the celebratory mood
as they await the arrival. This explains the reason for the
shortage of wine at the wedding in Cana.)
Let us examine the inner meanings of each of the var-
ious elements in the parable: a) Christ is the bridegroom.
b) The wedding banquet represents God’s kingdom in
Heaven. c) The bridesmaids represent Christians waiting
for the return of Christ which will take place at the end
of their lives. Each one must decide in his/her own life
what to be - a wise or a foolish Christian. At Baptism,
each one of us received as God’s gift a lamp brightly lit,
well provided with oil. The lamp represents both the Life
in the Spirit and the gift of Faith in Christ, which ought
to light our way through the darkness of this world. We
must keep on adding oil to our lamp lest it goes out. The
oil is none other than a true Christian life. Be on guard
like the five wise virgins, don’t be like the five foolish
ones. Jesus admonishes His followers to be useful and
fruit bearing, be committed and hardworking, creative,
inventive, diligent, etc., like the five wise virgins of the
parable. So, let us also be prepared and be wise always.
A View from the Hill
By Doris Brosnan
Birthdays sort of open
and close this month on the
Hill. Raul Silva celebrates
his special day on the 5 th
and Floss Watkins finishes
up the month with hers on
the 30 th . Both will be cele-
brated by their neighbors at
the favorite lunch each will
select to share.
Halloween was the
most recent other reason
to celebrate at the Terrace.
Leading up to that, the staff
shared their week of work
with interspersed challeng-
es of “hide the snake.”
This bit of fun for the staff
involves someone hiding a
rubber snake somewhere in
work areas and the rest of
the staff keeping their eyes
open for the often-times
startling critter. The one
who hides it has to buy the
one who finds it a candy
bar or provide an equally
tasty treat, and then that
finder continues the game
by hiding the snake…. The
residents often witness the
hiding of the snake but are
sworn to secrecy.
On Halloween, a scary
plate of something was
looking up at each person
at lunch, but the disguised
food was tasty, as usual, and
contributed to everyone’s
stamina for the evening
visits of trick-or-treaters.
This year, seven costumed
young persons ventured to
the Terrace and brought
looks of surprise and de-
light through the windows
to residents’ faces. The
other Halloween-related
activity enjoyed by some
residents was the game of
“Halloween Bingo.”
The next holiday cele-
brated on the Hill, as well
as throughout the United
States, will be Veterans’
Day. The Community will
be honoring its veterans,
as well as paying tribute to
all who have served in our
country’s military.
Thanksgiving will be
here soon, so residents are
working on personalized
wreaths of thanksgiving to
hang near their doors. Each
resident is invited by staff
members to explain to them
what he or she is thankful
for. Those are printed on
leaves that are then ar-
ranged on a wreath form,
hung by the apartment door,
and will surely capture the
eyes of passersby who will
want to read the many rea-
sons others have for being
thankful.
A traditional Thanks-
giving Dinner will be
served on the 26 th and to
accommodate residents and
their family members who
would normally be sharing
that meal with one another
but cannot this year, an
open Zoom platform will be
available for saying “Hel-
lo” and expressing other
Thanksgiving messages.
A family member of each
resident will receive an
invitation to share with the
rest of the family.
The day before Thanks-
giving is “Tie One On Day,”
which is when the Terrace
community shares a loaf of
homemade bread with each
of the neighbors, tied up
with a ribbon and accom-
panied with a small, typed
prayer of thanks.
That will follow the
24 th ’s “Celebrate Your
Unique Talent Day.” Face-
bookers will certainly want
to keep an eye out for the
Terrace’s live exhibit of
talented residents and staff
Valby Lutheran Church
Valby Road
Ione Oregon. 97843
Church Services 1st & 3rd
Sundays
10:00 AM
Available for:
Weddings • Funerals
Family Events
541-422-7300
Old
Country
Church
All Are
Welcome
performing for you.
Yesterday was a good
day for a morning discus-
sion of past presidents of
the United States, favorites
and not-so-favorites, and
participants enjoyed creat-
ing a list of the presidents
they could collectively
name.
Today features a “Cir-
cle Social” at 2 p.m., the
circle being that of a donut.
Since today is “Donut Day,”
a good reason to gather for
donuts and conversation.
Tomorrow is “Men
Make Dinner Day,” but Ad-
ministrator Nairns reports
that the men were invited
to do just that, “and they
laughed.” Since Saturday
is “Tongue Twister Day,”
some fun with tongue twist-
ers at morning discussions
this week is entertaining.
Next Tuesday may incorpo-
rate Sesame Street as part of
the morning chat because it
will be the 51 st anniversary
of the educational show,
but “Pizza Day,” on the 12 th
might hold more interest for
some residents. Since next
Friday is “World Kindness
Day,” random acts of kind-
ness among residents will
be encouraged through the
week, and the Friday dis-
cussion will include mem-
ories of performing and
receiving random acts of
kindness.
Other topics for morn-
ing discussions that will be
pulled from the calendar of
special days (determined by
whom?) include the open-
ing of the Berlin Wall in
1989 (9 th ), Mickey Mouse’s
92 nd birthday (18 th ), assas-
sination of President JFK
in 1963 (23 rd ), and the 75 th
anniversary of the Slinky
(27 th ).
While enjoying the
company of their neighbors
and the in-house activi-
ties, the residents and staff
stay abreast of the State’s
Covid-19 rules for visits
from family. Though the
guidelines might change,
they do certainly remain
strict, so Nairns stresses
the importance of the Ter-
race’s total adherence to
the latest set of guidelines
that do allow indoor visits,
with definite restrictions.
To visit a resident, a person
must make an appointment
with a staff member for the
visit at least 24 hours in
advance. Certain protocols
must be followed by staff
before the visit, protocols
must be followed by the
resident and visitor during
the visit, and protocols must
be followed after the visit.
Interested persons need to
call 541-676-0004 to make
arrangements.
A variety of circum-
stances find the Terrace
with some staff vacancies.
One such position results
from the retirement of Jerry
Baker, who will be greatly
missed. For 14 years, Jerry
has been amazingly dedi-
cated to the Terrace as the
landscaper/maintenance as-
sistant and has been greatly
appreciated. Persons in-
terested in information on
employment as a residen-
tial-care team member or
as a replacement in Baker’s
position are invited to call
541-676-0004.
So goes life on the Hill,
where everyone has an
opportunity to view the
Heppner Valley below and
realize why they have rea-
sons to be thankful this
November.
The Lube Shop
Now Open!
Lube Shop
Car Maintenance
All Fluids
Oil Changes
Wipers
Lights
Call for appointment - 541-676-5009
148 E Center Street, Heppner
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