Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 18, 2021 -- THREE
Spiritually Speaking
Do you also want to
leave?
By Fr. Thankachan Joseph
At this time of pandemic, it is an
apt question the Lord is placing before
us: Do you want to leave the places of
worship? We see in the Gospel of today,
at the conclusion of Jesus’s instruction,
many disciples leaving Him when they
found His teaching on “the Bread of
Life” too hard to understand. Christ Fr. Thankachan
Joseph
asked His disciples, “Do you also want
to leave?” Simon Peter answers Him,
“Master to whom shall we go? You have the words of
eternal life.” The twelve apostles make a decision to
continue to stay with Jesus. Today too, ‘the Eucharist’ is
a cause for division. Let us ask mercy and forgiveness
from the Lord for the many sins committed against the
Body of Christ, the sacrament of our salvation, especially
the sin of division among Christians and for our wrong
choices in life.
The book of Joshua (24: 1-2, 15-18) narrates a similar
story, in which the people are asked to take a stand, for
or against the Lord. Joshua became the leader of Israel
after the death of Moses in their journey to the Promised
Land. Once they reached their destination, they did not
forget the Lord who accompanied them throughout their
journey. They also had to decide to serve the one God or
to continue with other gods. This decision always sounds
simple but is very complex, just as it is for us. So often we
say that we will serve the Lord, and yet we go on as if we
are serving other Gods. Our values remain foreign from
this God who reveals Himself to us in the Scriptures. It is
easy to say, “I am a Christian,” and it is truly difficult to
be Christian. What is my response as we are faced with
this pandemic situation? Do I truly practice piety and
trust in the Lord?
St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (5: 21-32) describes
the institution of the Sacrament of marriage, to describe
the relationship between Christ and the Church. For him,
the cornerstone of any marriage is mutual love. Paul
elaborates that in a familial context, love is not a theo-
retical concept but is something that is to be practiced in
everyday life. He is speaking about a mutual care for one
another that comes from another time and another culture.
We must listen attentively as we hear so often in the books
of Wisdom: Be attentive to each other.
The Gospel from St. John (6: 60-69) asks us all to
make a choice as did Simon Peter, to follow the Lord.
Many of the followers of Jesus left Jesus because of his
teaching that He Himself is the Bread of Life and that we
must eat His body and drink His blood, which was a hard
teaching and instruction for many of His followers. If that
teaching were only symbolic, it would not have offended
those followers. So many today, even among Catholics,
no longer believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the
Eucharist after the prayers of consecration by the priest.
Only when the strength of that teaching is present can
we understand why followers left Him in His own time
and why people today still find it difficult to accept the
Divine Presence, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, in
the Holy Eucharist.
When we come to communion in our Catholic
Church, we affirm that Christ is truly present, not just as
symbol and not just as remembrance—but truly present,
Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. This is why the early
Christian believers could rejoice and could be strong when
they were persecuted. They knew that Jesus was with them
always and every moment in this Sacrament. We started
through a tough time when the corona virus originated in
2019. From then onwards, the Church and the sacraments
were almost absent from some lives. These people were
frightened away from approaching the sacrament as the
source of medicine and divine presence in those moments
of anxiety and worry. The second variant of the Delta virus
is spreading fear and worry among us all. Let us hold on
to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to heal our society and
the persons who are affected by this virus, to touch them
and heal them. The Lord is still again inviting everyone
to remain with Him. What is your decision?
Umatilla National
Forest to further
reduce area closure
With continued reduced
initial attack on new fires
across the Forest, Umatilla
National Forest officials
further reduced the area clo-
sure on Aug. 13, reopening
access to most of the Uma-
tilla National Forest lands
in Oregon. National Forest
lands within proximity to
active large wildfires (the
Lick Creek, Green Ridge
and Elbow Creek fires)
will remain closed to public
entry.
The modified closure
prohibits access to all Uma-
tilla National Forest lands
in Washington state (on
both the Pomeroy and Walla
Walla Ranger Districts) and
closes lands surrounding
the Elbow Creek Fire on
the Walla Walla Ranger
District in Oregon, which
encompasses lands south
and east of where Alder
Creek intersects with Forest
Service Road 62 to the for-
est boundary. Public entry is
prohibited in the areas iden-
tified in the closure, which
includes lands, roads, trails
and recreational facilities.
Visitors planning a trip
to areas within the closure
should cancel any plans
for the next several weeks.
These areas remain closed
to protect public and fire-
fighter safety as the forest
continues to actively sup-
press wildfires, while also
responding to new smoke
reports.
A detailed map describ-
ing the updated closure area
is available on the Forest
website and at any Forest
office. Closure barriers and
signs will be posted on the
ground.
Fire danger on the
Umatilla National Forest is
still extreme. For areas that
will re-open to the public,
Phase C Public Use Re-
strictions will be in effect.
Under these restrictions:
-Campfires are pro-
hibited on the Forest. Use
liquid and bottle (propane)
gas stoves only.
-No internal combus-
tion engine operation (in-
cluding chainsaws), except
for motorized vehicles.
--Electrical generators
operated under the follow-
ing conditions are allowed:
---in the center of an
area at least 10 feet in di-
ameter that is barren or
cleared of all flammable
material, or;
---when fully contained
within a pickup truck bed
that is empty of all flamma-
ble material, or;
---when factory in-
stalled in a recreational
vehicle and the generator
exhaust discharge is locat-
ed in the center of an area
at least 10 feet in diameter
that is barren or cleared of
all flammable material.
-No off-road/off-trail
vehicle travel or travel on
roads not cleared of stand-
ing grass or other flamma-
ble material. Vehicle travel
is never permitted on cur-
rently closed forest service
roads where access has
been impeded or blocked by
earthen berms, logs, boul-
ders, barriers, barricades
or gates, or as otherwise
identified in a closure order.
-Smoking is allowed
only in enclosed vehicles
and buildings, developed
recreation sites, or in
cleared areas.
Violating closures and
fire restrictions is a viola-
tion that carries a manda-
tory appearance in federal
court, punishable as a Class
B misdemeanor with a fine
of up to $5,000 for an in-
dividual or $10,000 for an
organization, or up to six
months in prison, or both.
For more informa-
tion regarding restrictions,
please contact the infor-
mation hotline at 877-958-
9663.
Justice Court Report
Collins graduates
from EOU
Morrow County Justice
of the Peace, Glen Diehl,
has released the following
Justice Court report:
-Michael D. Lynch, 62,
Heppner, was convicted of
dog at large, fine, $110.
-Shayla J. McClure, 34,
Prosser, WA, was convicted
of VBR, fine, $165.
-Kegan C. Steagall. 18,
Lexington, was convicted
of failure to obey traffic
control device, fine, $265.
-Rien C. Maret, 21,
Heppner, was convicted of
dog at large x2, fine, $220.
-Juvenile, 17, Stanfield,
was convicted of VBR, fine,
$265.
-Kassey A. Wilson, 30,
Hermiston, was convicted
of VBR, fine, $265.
-Lisanne K. Currin, 55,
Heppner, was convicted of
VBR, fine, $165.
Library district to
hold meeting
Patrick Collins, Hep-
pner, earned his Master of
Business Admin in Busi-
ness degree during the
2020-21 academic year at
Eastern Oregon University.
EOU awarded 389 degrees
for the year.
Eastern Oregon Uni-
versity provides high-qual-
ity liberal arts and pro-
fessional programs with
personalized support. As
Oregon’s Rural University,
EOU serves students at its
The Oregon Trail Li-
brary District board meet-
ing will be held Wednesday,
August 18 at 6:30 p.m.
at the Irrigon branch via
Zoom. Items on the agenda
include swearing in new
directors and electing a
president and vice presi-
dent. Minutes and financials
will be reviewed as well as
the ethics policy.
New business will in-
clude setting the October
meeting date and the direc-
tor report.
main campus in La Grande,
as well as online and at 11
regional centers across the
state. EOU is committed
to providing a personal,
student-centered experi-
ence that drives economic
and cultural growth in our
region and throughout the
world.
Print
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~ Letters to the Editor ~
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.
Censorship controls the
people
To the editor:
Every Communist/
Marxist/dictatorship in his-
tory has one central tenant
that must be established in
order to control the people:
censorship. All forms of
information; news, research
data, medical/ political /
educational studies must
be controlled and manip-
ulated by the state. Any
research data, documented
peer studies, or any in-
formation that contradicts
that state political agenda
must be censored as mis-
information. The state is
the sole arbitrator of what
the people are allowed to
believe and what they are
allowed to read and view.
The heavy hand of our
present government includ-
ing the local school board
is no longer of the people,
by the people and for the
people. This government
demands lockdowns, pri-
vate medical mandates and
yielding personal liberty
to promote what the state
calls our common good.
The surrogates of the state,
the national mass media,
Google, Twitter, Amazon,
the CDC, the WHO, the
FDA, Dr. Fauci and his
subordinates at the Wuhan
lab, in lockstep, all cook
the facts to justify every
lockdown and oncoming
mandates. All information,
documentation, scientific
peer studies that undermine
the government dictatorship
must be censored as misin-
formation.
The Bible, also cen-
sored in our schools and
government, neverthe-
less warns mankind of the
coming world totalitari-
anism. Jesus spoke, “Take
heed that no man deceive
you…For nations shall rise
against nation…and there
shall be famines and pes-
tilence, and earthquakes in
diverse places…For then
there shall be great trib-
ulation, such as was not
since the beginning of the
world to this time; no, nor
ever shall be.” (Matthew
24: 4, 7. 31) Pestilence is
“a deadly and overwhelm-
ing disease that affects the
entire community.”. Pesti-
lence is also a “contagious
or infectious disease that is
virulent.”
Our government (and
governments of the world)
are using the pandemic/
pestilence to strip our God
given, constitution protect-
ed liberty and freedom by
manipulating a man-made
pestilence developed in a
“gain of function” lab in
China funded by USA tax
dollars under the direction
of Anthony Fauci.
Our children are being
used as pawns. They are
being forced the wear face
masks that have no evi-
dence of protection while
the multiple and insidious
dangers are censored. We
are teaching our kids to
live in fear of a flu that
hardly affects them and
if it does, they build anti-
bodies that protect them.
In 15 minutes in a 30 by
30 classroom all students
are breathing the same
air and these face masks
have no medical protection
against breathing this virus.
Children cannot compre-
hend or protect themselves
against this fear monger-
ing. Parents can. This is
child abuse. The Morrow
County School board is run
by Kate Brown and Dirk
Dirksen, not the locally
elected school board. The
only action they will honor
is pulling your children
out of these government
schools. These government
schools no longer require
math or reading proficiency
(Senate Bill 744) and they
cannot deny interscholastic
activities, including sports
ORS 339.460.
These soon to be man-
dated vaccines are not true
vaccines, they are exper-
imental gene therapies.
They will soon be approved
by the FDA which is con-
trolled by the same drug
companies that produced
the vaccines. Here is the
uncensored truth: natural
immunity/antibodies and
trust in God are our best
defense and hope against
this pestilence. God`s word
tells us to “fear not” 365
times, a “fear not” for ev-
ery day of the year. Trust
God my fellow American/
Oregonians. He will protect
and sustain those that trust
in Him throughout this time
of tribulation.
Stuart Dick,
Irrigon
District Attorney’s
Report
Morrow County Dis-
trict Attorney Justin Nelson
has released the following
report:
-Eric Sebastion Shaver
was convicted of attempted
burglary in the first degree
and escape in the third
degree. He was sentenced
to 16 months prison and
six months of post-prison
supervision.
- Hershel Douglas Gas-
kill was convicted of stran-
gulation and sentenced to
36 months formal proba-
tion, 80 hours community
service, no contact with
victim or witnesses, alco-
hol evaluation and comply
with all treatment, anger
management evaluation and
comply with all treatment
and mental health evalu-
ation and comply with all
treatment.