Coffee roasting
business opens in
Heppner
50¢
VOL. 140
NO. 2
8 Pages
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Juvenile arrested in town-wide
graffiti spree
Locals clean up after vandal targets churches and more
Browne House Coffee’s roasting room is open on Wednesdays
for samples.
Bill McDowell (left) and Merlin Hughes paint over graffiti
on the stairs at the Episcopal Church. -Photo by Janelle Ellis.
Food court concession trailer tagged.
Graffiti at the Episcopal Church.
Obscene words on Catholic Church parsonage garage door
Catholic Church spray painted
A 16-year-old male
juvenile was arrested by
police Monday following a
town-wide graffiti painting
spree Sunday night that left
several churches and other
buildings with obscene
messages spray painted on
them. Local people quick-
ly got out Monday and
removed or painted over
Larry Lutcher, Janet Greenup, Father Thankachan Joseph the swear words and other
and Jerry Healy (not pictured) repaint the Catholic Church messages.
and garage door of the parsonage to cover up the vandalism
Those reportedly hit
that was done sometime Sunday night. -Photo by Janelle Ellis.
By Bobbi Gordon
Travis and Laura Win-
ters opened Browne House
Coffee, a fully licensed
FDA coffee roasting busi-
ness, in June of 2020. How-
ever, they bought the fa-
cility and started building
the business a year prior.
“Coffee roasting has been
a dream of ours for a long
time, and we are excited to
share our product with the
community,” Laura noted.
The roasting facility is
located in the brown build-
ing next to the Neighbor-
hood Center on Main Street
in Heppner. The Winters
told the Gazette, “Many
businesses have located
here over the years, and
we are proud to put a busi-
ness back in the building.”
They said they are excited
to build a business that not
only thrives but can give
back to the community as
well. They are pleased that
many community members
have tried, shared, gifted
and enjoyed their coffee.
Browne House Cof-
fee provides high quality
roasted coffee beans to
eastern Oregon and the
pacific northwest. At this
time, coffee can be ordered
online, with shipping avail-
able, through Facebook and
Instagram. Their website
were the Catholic, Episco-
pal and Methodist Church-
es, the Methodist and Cath-
olic parsonages, the Bank
of Eastern Oregon and a
trailer belonging to Upper
Place Concessions, a food
concessionaire at the Hep-
pner food court.
The Sheriff’s office did
not release the name of the
suspect arrested since he
David Lee Bowles, 43,
was a juvenile.
Heppner, was found de-
ceased in his cell at the
Umatilla County Jail on
Saturday, January 9. Ac-
cording to the press re-
lease from the Umatilla
County Sheriff ’s Office
(UCSO), there is no appar-
rates. The council agreed ent evidence of foul play.
and with consensus said Early Saturday morning,
there would be no event while conducting morning
in 2021. “Maybe next year rounds, jail staff discovered
we can come back and have Bowles deceased in his bed.
one twice as big,” Mayor
Oregon State Police
Jim Kindle said optimis- had previously reported
tically.
that Bowles had turned
In other business at the himself in to the Morrow
meeting newly elected and County Sheriff’s Office on
re-elected councilmembers Thursday, January 7 after he
and the mayor were sworn had been named as a person
in. First Council President of interest in the shooting
Corey Sweeney swore in death of his wife, Marlen
-See ST. PAT’S CANCELED/ Bowles, on December 15.
PAGE TWO He was jailed on charges of
No evidence of foul
play in Bowles’ death
Heppner Saint Patrick’s Day Celebration
canceled ‘We don’t want it becoming a super spreader’
vendors and merchants
stocked up on supplies only
to have the event cancelled
which left them taking the
loss on unsold merchandise.
“If you are going to have St.
Patrick’s, now is when you
start to plan for it,” City
Manager Kraig Cutsforth
said in urging the council to
Because of COVID there make an early decision. “I
won’t be any leprechauns don’t want a repeat of last
roaming the streets of Hep-
pner this March.
By David Sykes
Fearing the event could
turn into a COVID su-
per-spreader event, the Hep-
pner City Council Monday
shut down the 2021 Hep-
pner Saint Patrick’s Day
Wee Bit o’ Ireland event,
saying there would not be
a celebration this year.
The council was in
unanimous consensus the
celebration, which can at-
tract thousands of out-of-
town people to Heppner,
was not a good idea with
the current COVID-19 pan-
demic still out there.
The council decided
to make the decision now
instead of waiting until
closer to the event to avoid
a repeat of last year where
year with all the planning
costs and then no event,”
he said. “There is real con-
cern. We don’t know if we
want two thousand people
coming in and it becoming
a super spreader.” A super
spreader is the name given
to events and gatherings
that draw large crowds and
close contact causes a big
surge in COVID infection
will be coming soon. They
sell wholesale coffee to
businesses as well.
The roasting room is
open to the public from 4
to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays
for pickup and samples.
Their future plans include
providing additional coffee
services and merchandise
as the business grows.
Travis Winters was
born and raised in Heppner
and came back ten years
ago to start a family. He is
currently the main roaster
and contact for the business
and is enjoying starting a
business in his hometown.
Laura Winters moved
to Heppner with Travis
and is currently a teacher
in Boardman. Together
they have two girls and
live in a family home in
Heppner. She first experi-
enced picking and roasting
coffee while living with a
family in Nicaragua as a
teenager. Coffee has been
a part of her life in many
ways through the years - as
a roaster, a barista and a
consumer. Laura said she
is passionate about sourcing
green coffee from farms
that treat workers well, pay
fair wages and practice
sustainable farming, and
working with importers that
share the same ideals.
first-degree manslaughter
and felon in possession of
a weapon.
UCSO staff and de-
tectives are conducting an
investigation into the death.
Morrow County District
Attorney, Justin Nelson,
told the Gazette an autopsy
was scheduled for Bowles
Monday, January 11 to de-
termine the cause of death.
“David Bowles was
our primary suspect in the
shooting of Marlen Bowles.
When he was arrested, we
had already filed a secret In-
formation of Felony against
him involving the shooting
and had a nationwide arrest
warrant outstanding. With
his death the case will now
need to be dismissed be-
cause the defendant is de-
ceased,” Nelson continued.
Keeping their proper social distancing, Heppner City Council
President Corey Sweeney (left) swears in re-elected Mayor Jim
Kindle, after which Kindle swears in Councilmembers Sweeney
(right) and JoAnna Lamb. All councilmembers, staff and the
public do wear masks throughout the council meetings.
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