FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Spiritually Speaking
Peace be with you
By Fr. Thankachan Joseph SDB, St. Patrick Church
The theme of Easter is “Peace” (shalom). Peace…We
can’t turn on the TV news or listen to the radio without
hearing daily reports of worldwide tragedies, especially
since corona drastically changed the
world we live in. And on top of that, we
are all going through our own personal
trials, struggling with things like broken
relationships, deaths of loved ones, bat-
tling addictions, hurt feelings, broken
hearts, regrets for mistakes, unfulfilled
dreams…none of which bring us feelings Fr. Thankachan
of peace. Easter reminds us that peace Joseph
isn’t something we find on the outside,
rather it is a blessing we can experience on the inside.
What we notice in all the post resurrection scenes is
that the first words when Jesus appears to his disciples
are “peace be with you.” Maybe something that we and
the world are looking for and longing to have. As I was
thinking of the Easter-message preparation, something
from the Bible struck me very intensely, from the Gospel
of John an apt message for the occasion: Jesus answered
them, “Do you believe now? The time is coming and is
already here when all of you will be scattered, each of
you to your own home, and I will be left all alone. But I
am not really alone, because the father is with me. I have
told you this so that you will have peace by being united
to me. The world will make you suffer. But be brave! I
have defeated the world!” (John 16:31-33)
Last year, due to the pandemic, we could not even
come together to worship and praise the Lord as a commu-
nity. Unthinkable is the image of Jesus arriving in Jerusa-
lem without even a sparse number of admirers practicing
social distancing, a Maundy Thursday meal without the
disciples, the way to the Crucifixion without the loved
ones watching His journey. Last year, the Church found
different ways for us to celebrate life and hope during a
time of uncertainty. Easter has once again arrived, and
I am sure we are going to witness the Risen Lord once
again as a worshipping community.
Easter reminds us that peace is available to us at any
time and in even the most difficult of circumstances be-
cause of Christ and the sacrifices He made for every single
one of us. Our Christian hope cannot be quarantined. On
this Easter Sunday, the fear of coronavirus and joy of
Easter are simultaneously possible. Even at this time we
need to shout, “Alleluia, God is with us!” because Jesus
declared, much before His death what was going to take
place after His death: “In this world, you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
In this world, in 2020 and 2021, we really courageously
face troubles.
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles (10:34a,
37-43), we see the continued work of Christ in his Church
after His resurrection. This continued work of Christ
was made possible as a result of the witnesses of the
apostles. Peter’s address to Cornelius and his household
was preceded by the baptism of Cornelius and his entire
household, a witness which was made possible by the
resurrection of Jesus. Peter reminds them that “God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with
power; how he went about doing good and healing all
who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in
Jerusalem….” (Acts 10:38-39). Witnessing comes as a
result of experience. We are all real witnesses of Living
Christ in our personal life last year, especially in the
defense against the pandemic.
The letter of St. Paul to the Colossians (3:1-4) reminds
us of one thing: “Brothers and sisters: if then you were
raised with Christ, seek what is above” (3:1). We are
really witness to God’s infinite love in the previous year,
especially when the pandemic hit all around us. Since we
all sought Christ above everything else, somehow we are
all still holding on because to His infinite love. Last year
while we were affected by the pandemic, Pope Francis
tried to keep us focused on Christ in a unique manner. He
tried to keep the church united to Christ. His Urbit et Orbi,
blessing was actually a moment of building peace with
Christ; this is what Christ reiterated to disciples before his
death and to us when we are caught in the grief and loss
of our dear ones due to COVID-19, “you will have peace
by being united to me.” It is very apt at this time. We can
really overcome fear, anxiety, nervousness, through the
support of our praying communities in which we take part.
The risen Lord always greeted his disciples in all
the post resurrection scenes with these words: “Peace
be with you” (John 20:19). He also mentions, “Peace is
what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you.
I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and
upset; do not be afraid” (John 14:27). This Easter season
reminds us all to come a little closer to the Lord, who is
caring for us, who continues to protect us from all threat-
ing events of the world. Instead of looking for comfort
and pleasures from the material and worldly things, the
Lord invites everyone to come closer to Him and trust
Him more. Let the words of Christ resonate in our mind
and heart. I think that is the real message of Easter, “Be
brave I have conquered the world.” If you remain in Him
and His words remain in you, surely we can conquer with
our faith anything and everything that challenges us every
day. The gift of peace is available to us because Christ is
the prince of peace. Jesus Christ is the light that dispels
darkness and ushers lasting peace and joy.
Good News Only
By Doris Brosnan
Quite a challenge for
my brain when I came back
into town last Tuesday:
How to get from Main
Street to my home on West
Center through the demo-
lition warnings and cones.
Great to see that work has
begun and Gale Street will
soon look like a new street.
The bridge at the end of the
street will not be tampered
with, however, as it is des-
ignated “historic,” accord-
ing to the city manager.
Another change oc-
curred while I was away:
Gone is the unstable sta-
ble-Green Feed-etc.-Lott’s
Electric building. Sidewalk
supervisors will soon have
a job as work begins on the
new building that Allstott
Construction will erect on
that site.
And I notice that some
clean-up effort has occurred
by the bridge to HES. Ap-
parently, efforts were cur-
tailed for some reason, but
already an improvement is
underway, so hope is that an
attractive, peaceful, clean
Willow Creek space will
soon invite visitors.
Cora Marie Ellis was
born on March 24 in Pend-
leton, joining mom and
dad, Janelle and Jon, and
brother, Cole. The big re-
veal took place when Cora
was delivered, finally sat-
isfying everyone’s curios-
ity. Everyone who has met
Cora says she is the spitting
image of her brother, who
also weighed 6lbs. 8oz. at
birth, so she must be cute.
Congratulations, Ellises
and grandparents Ellis of
Pilot Rock and Healy of
Heppner.
And we are watching
for announcements for fa-
miliar last names of two
other baby girls born in
Pendleton within three days
of each other.
Signs of spring keep
popping up or out. Other
evidence that it is here:
daylight savings time has
come (still amid debate
on the need to switch with
standard); the calendar (of-
ficial first day, a couple of
days before that skiff of
snow greeted early risers);
spring break from school
(just in time for some cool-
ing, windier wind, periodic
rain); reminder that April
1 (yes, tomorrow) is when
winter tires have to be re-
moved.
Another sure sign of
spring a couple of weeks
ago, according to Shirley
George: Colden and Garin
Hoeft, 8 and 6, are having a
great time on their hillside
on their dirt bikes. The sons
of Justin and Danielle knew
exactly what use to put the
bikes to in the sunny weath-
er, which their mom says
happens as often as they can
get out there.
And Kay Proctor has
noted that Jennifer Wilson
has posted a photo and cap-
tion: “Operation Take Back
Waterland Field currently
underway.” If interested in
this ball field in Heppner
below the dam, a person
can get information from
Jennifer, apparently.
Spring break and re-
laxed Covid rules were
allowing students to travel
last week, which made
Martha Doherty very hap-
py. Her grandniece Cate,
from Hermiston, came to
~ Letters to the Editor ~
stay for some days of visit-
ing and activity. Time with
a softball was followed
by a first: a trip to Fossil,
to search for fossils. Yes,
they found some shard with
parts of leaves imprinted.
A suggestion from Martha,
however: remembering to
take digging tools would
probably have resulted in
more impressive finds.
Merlin and Claudia
Hughes were totally sur-
prised and astounded on
Friday, March 12, when
(vaccinated) grandson
Austin Dennis showed up
all the way from Virginia,
with his mom, Kimberly
(Pendleton), for a two-day
visit. Austin’s wife, Angela,
could not come on this trip
because of work and no
vaccination yet. Adding
to the impromptu family
gathering for a short time
on Saturday morning were
granddaughter Makenzi
Hughes and fiancé Cole
Evans of Hooper, WA.
Back in Heppner in
time for our return to
spring, Omer Huston says,
“It feels good to be back.”
Omer graduated from HHS
in 1961, soon left the area
for Portland, Irrigon, Coos
Bay and Pendleton but is
ready to settle down in his
recently purchased house
on Gilmore.
A move across the
street explains why some
customers at Heppner
Family Foods are missing
a favorite clerk, Cynthia
Wenberg. Cynthia says that
she regretted leaving her
work with those custom-
ers, but she is excited over
having been asked to run
the Country Rose business
in Murray’s. She has had a
strong, earlier familiarity
with the floral business and
is eager to get back into it.
She is certainly hoping,
though, that familiar faces
from across the street will
come in to say hi.
Though modified, the
return to classrooms at
Heppner High School is
back this week, and the Red
Cross Blood Drive is also
back. Sponsored by HHS,
it will be held on April 5
at St. Patrick’s Parish Hall,
and donors can call 1-800-
733-2767 to schedule an
appointment.
For south Morrow
County organizations,
clubs, special districts,
or government entities, a
Community and Public En-
hancement grant program
will be available through
the Willow Creek Valley
Economic Development
group until April 19. The
Heppner Chamber has de-
tails and application forms.
Only if you jot down
your good news as an email
or call it in, will we con-
tinue to see “Good News
Only” in the Gazette. I
know the readers will be
glad you do. (A reminder
of those few ideas I have
to offer are new babies,
marriages, anniversaries,
new jobs, new businesses,
projects, visitors, travels,
vacations, adventures, pro-
motions and successes,
education and sports news,
great pets, children’s ac-
complishments.) Anyone
who has a tidbit is invited to
email it to dbrosnan123@
gmail.com or to call 541-
223-1490. And I accept
helpful suggestions, as well.
Hoping some good
news comes to everyone
reading this.
The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following
criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name
of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that you
provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The
address and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be
printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the
right to edit. The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in
letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under
“Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10. Email to editor@rapidserve.net or upload
to Heppner.net.
Vietnam war, first war
America lost
To the editor:
Editor David Sykes
poignant testimony of his
preparation for and ser-
vice in Vietnam is a fitting
testament for the National
Vietnam War Veterans Day
March 29. “Looking back,
I should have questioned
my sanity for volunteering
to go there; after all, every-
one I knew was trying to
stay out of Vietnam…I just
had to find out what was
going on and see for myself
what everyone was talking
about.”
2,594,000 Americans
actively served their coun-
try in the war in Vietnam.
The vast majority of Viet-
nam soldiers were young
white men (88.4 percent),
10.6 percent were black,
and one percent were as-
sociated races. 7,484 were
women, mostly nurses (83
percent). 58,202 Vietnam
soldiers sacrificed their
lives, predominantly white
Americans from lower to
middle class homes of an
average age of 23. 303,704
Vietnam soldiers were
wounded, 75,000 severely
disabled and the number of
amputees was four times
the number in WW2.
John F. Kennedy op-
posed American military
involvement Vietnam and
would never have allowed
our country to become en-
tangled in the warfare in
SE Asia. This is the major
reason he was assassinated.
One of Lyndon Johnson’s
first acts as president was
the “Gulf of Tonkin Res-
olution” falsely declaring
war against the communists
in Vietnam. This disastrous
war, the first war America
lost (and has not won since)
changed America forever.
Those Americans that came
of age during the Vietnam
War were indelibly molded
by nightly horrors of the
killing fields of SE Asia
for over a decade. These
2.6 plus million Amer-
ican soldiers of war did
not come home to ticker
tape parades of an adoring,
grateful nation. They were
sometimes spit at and most-
ly shamed as baby killers by
the general public because
of the brutal and horrific
press releases coming from
Vietnam. Today, these Viet-
nam Vets are appropriately
honored to the point that
four out of five that claim
to have fought in Vietnam,
lie. These courageous men
fought against a war sea-
soned entrenched army in
their terrain. They fought
to thwart the spread of
communism, courageously
representing an American
government that had no in-
tention of winning this war.
America owes the remand-
ing pillars of liberty left in
America to men like these.
The stain of the Viet-
nam war was only the tip
of the iceberg of the devas-
tating turn of direction and
commitment against one
nation under God during the
K2 Aerial provides agricultural
spraying of pesticides and
broad cast spreading of
dry materials such as
seed or fertilizer.
541-980-8498
Located at the Lexington Airport
60s. Those that attempted
to steer America back on
course were silenced or as-
sassinated (Robert Kennedy
and Martin Luther King).
Prayer was taken out of
our schools by a spurious
Supreme Court decision in
1962. The removal of the
Bible followed in 1963. The
Ten Commandments top-
pled in 1968 all by the same
activist Supreme Court.
The church was a silent
accomplice to these blatant
acts of kicking God out of
American. America has
never recovered and now
the very Communism our
boys fought to contain has
taken over our government.
The rebellion birthed by the
Vietnam War has metasta-
sized into what we now call
the swamp, or deep state, or
the One World Order.
Like the majority of
young men of age during
the 60s I understood the lies
and deception of President
Johnson and the Vietnam
War hawks. I avoided going
to the killing fields in SE
Asia by joining the National
Guard (Weekend Warriors).
While my Heppner and col-
lege classmates were fight-
ing and some dear friends
dying in Vietnam, I was
safe as a teacher and coach
in Corvallis. The problem
was the war would not end,
even after President Nixon
claimed “Peace is at Hand”
in the fall of 1972.
After Nixon bombed
Hanoi and Haiphong over
Christmas in 1972 I made
a decision that changed my
life and ended my teaching
career. I organized one of
the largest peace marches
in Oregon in Corvallis and
my Guard unit was called
out to police the march.
The fact I had been nom-
inated for Guardsman of
the Year and my principal
was a Commander in the
National Guard made my
predicament untenable.
Like David Sykes, I had
to find out for myself what
was going on in Vietnam
and why my friends and
thousands of other young
men were dying in Vietnam.
After a vicious nine month
battle I won an honorable
discharge as a C.O. and
sold everything I owned
and headed for the killing
fields of SE Asia in the fall
of 1973. I documented the
results in a book “Outback
to Asia” dedicated to every
soldier that fought in Viet-
nam. These men (and wom-
en) are the greatest heroes
America will ever honor,
even though it has taken
decades. Thank you David
Sykes, all our Heppner
High School warriors, Or-
egon Vietnam veterans, and
every soldier who served
our country in SE Asia.
Most of these men would
serve again, even knowing
their government had back-
stabbed them. Semper Fi,
‘always faithful’ to the end.
Stuart Dick, Irrigon
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