TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 27, 2021
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE:
http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/
Published weekly by Sykes Publishing and entered as periodical matter at the Post
Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage paid
at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 188 W. Willow Street. Telephone (541) 676-9228. Fax
(541) 676-9211. E-mail: editor@rapidserve.net or david@rapidserve.net. Web site:
www.heppner.net. Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times,
P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $31 in Morrow County; $25
senior rate (in Morrow County only; 65 years or older); $37 elsewhere; $31 student
subscriptions.
David Sykes ..............................................................................................Publisher
Bobbi Gordon................................................................................................ Editor
Giselle Moses.........................................................................................Advertising
All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m.
For Advertising: advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Cost for a display ad is $5.25 per
column inch. Cost for classified ad is 50¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $10 up to
100 words. Cost for a classified display ad is $6.05 per column inch.
For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for publi-
cation must be specified. Affidavits must be requested at the time of submission. Affidavits
require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be
specified if required).
For Obituaries: Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to
meet news guidelines. Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines
or who wish to have the obituary written in a certain way must purchase advertising space
for the obituary.
For Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor MUST be signed by the author. The Heppner
GT will not publish unsigned letters. All letters MUST include the author’s address and phone
number for use by the GT office. The GT reserves the right to edit letters. 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.
Obituaries
Raymond Jesse French
Raymond Jesse French Heppner Elks Lodge, mem-
was born May 18, 1927, ber of Heppner Chamber
to Rose Hirl and Herbert of Commerce, American
French at St. Anthony Hos- Legion and Willow Creek
pital in Pendleton, OR. Country Club.
He died Septem-
Acknowledge-
ber 5, 2021, at Wil-
ments of his dedica-
low Creek Terrace
tion include Morrow
Assisted Living in
County Cattleman
Heppner.
of the Year, Hep-
Raymond spent Raymond
pner Chamber of
his early childhood Jesse French Commerce Lifetime
at the family ranch
Achievement Award,
on Big Butter Creek at- Grand Marshall of the Ore-
tending Lena school. His gon Trail Pro Rodeo, honor-
father passed away when ary member of the National
he was nine years old. He Block and Bridle Club,
attended St. Joseph’s Acad- and Distinguished Service
emy in Pendleton for one Award as a Charter Member
year following his father’s of the Oregon State Univer-
death. The family moved sity Withycombe Club.
to Heppner where he spent
Wi t h N o r m a ’s e n -
the rest of his school years. couragement, he enjoyed
During high school he met learning to dance and play
a cute Condon cheerleader, golf. Television service
Norma Denton. Immediate- was a long time coming
ly following graduation, he to the ranch. His favorite
enlisted into the US Navy. programs were football
Following basic training, and baseball games, Star
he volunteered for the na- Trek and Jeopardy. The
val aviation program and family also knew not to
was in Seattle, WA com- interrupt Paul Harvey on
pleting his last six weeks the radio. He and Norma
of bomber pilot training to were avid fans of Heppner
ship out to the South Pacific High School events still
when the WWII ended. He frequenting many sports
was honorably discharged games after retirement. He
and returned home to mar- enjoyed meeting his friends
ry Norma on October 26, downtown to visit and have
1946. They moved back morning coffee every day.
to his childhood home and While living on the ranch,
built a herd of horned Her- a Sunday tradition included
efords. They would have mass in Heppner, a stop
been married 75 years this downtown to buy candy
October.
bars for Norma and his
Raymond was com- daughters and a Sunday
mitted to his faith, com- newspaper for himself--all
munity, his industry, state for 25cents.
and country. Some of his
He is survived by his
contributions include pres- wife and three daughters,
ident of the Oregon Cattle- Karen Wood (Joe) of Ti-
men’s Association, chair- gard, OR, Verina Schiller
manships of the Morrow (Tony) of Round Rock, TX,
County Livestock Grow- and Susan French (Matthew
ers, Heppner Soil and Wa- Greenup) of Heppner; sis-
ter Conservation District, ters Dorothy O’Rourke,
Morrow County School Pendleton, OR, and Fran-
board and member of the cine Evans, Irrigon, OR,
Columbia Blue Mountain nine grandchildren, 13 great
Resource and Conservation grandchildren, and numer-
Development Association ous nieces and nephews.
board and USDA Forest His parents and brother,
Service Advisory board. He Joe French, preceded him
served as director and then in death.
district vice president of the
With consideration for
National Cattlemen’s Asso- the health of Raymond’s
ciation, and director of the family and community, fu-
Pendleton Production Cred- neral services will be held
it Bank. He was a volunteer at a later date. Condolence
and served on the Heppner messages may be sent to the
rodeo board. He served as Raymond French Family,
an Oregon State Represen- c/o Susan French, 84176
tative for District 59. He French Lane, Heppner,
was elected as a Morrow OR 97836, or online to
County commissioner. He Sweeney Mortuary, www.
dedicated service to St. sweeneymortuary.com.
Patrick’s Catholic church
Memorial contributions
from the time he was an may be made to St. Pat-
altar boy to teaching adult rick’s Church, PO Box 633,
bible study classes and was Pioneer Memorial Hospital,
eventually nominated for PO Box 9, Willow Creek
the Wall of Honor at the Terrace Assisted Living,
church, following in his 400 Frank Gilliam Drive,
mother’s footsteps. He was or Heppner Elks Lodge, PO
a member and trustee of the Box 494, all in Heppner.
Good News Only
By Doris Brosnan
On October 16, on
the floor of the Pendleton
Roundup grounds, Taigh-
ler Dougherty, daughter
of Cliff and Dawna, and
Bo Pickett, of Idaho, ex-
changed wedding vows.
Their guests were delighted
to see Taighler arrive in
what had been her grandfa-
ther Jerry’s 1965 red pick-
up, which Cliff had com-
pletely restored. A reception
followed in the convention
center of this town that the
couple will now call home.
Together for nineteen
years but never having had
a “twosome” vacation in
sixteen years, since their
first child was born, Peter
Wenberg and Sheena re-
cently had such a getaway
to Hug Point Recreation
Site, on the coast about
five miles south of Cannon
Beach. Hug Point was so
named because it was nec-
essary to hug the rocks to
get around the point on the
ocean front without getting
wet, which is what the cou-
ple did (got a bit wet). Peter
insisted that Sheena take
a selfie of them with the
ocean in the background,
but while she was preparing
to do that, he went to his
knee and surprised her as
she turned by expressing his
love and giving her a beau-
tiful diamond ring, some-
thing he did not accomplish
nineteen years ago.
Good news for Kite
(Healy) Thorne, who lives
at the McKay Estates in
Pendleton: Covid shutdown
did not preclude a celebra-
tion of her 91 st birthday but
just created an opportunity
for a week of celebration.
Her Healy girls; Patty, Joan,
Mary, Maureen and Susan
made certain that at least
one of them visited every
day. Her grandchildren
were also able to be in
touch, either in person or
through their cards. That
was true, also, of her many
friends and other family
members who kept the
birthday wishes coming.
Among Kite’s neighbors,
Carlene West is one of
the best-wishers and Kite
enjoyed getting better ac-
quainted with Bev Wright.
Lorene Montgomery
of Lexington and Edna
Dalzell of Ione celebrated
their October birthdays at
lunch with nine friends at
the Route 74 Restaurant in
Ione last Thursday. Lorene,
83, and Edna, 79, both
stressed the importance of
health and sharing good
times with friends.
At last Thursday’s foot-
ball game in Heppner, spec-
tators included a couple
who enjoy attending sport-
ing events in small east-
ern Oregon communities,
though they have no con-
nection to the visited towns.
The wife said that, without
a doubt, the Heppner High
School cheerleaders were
the best – enthusiastic, syn-
chronized, attentive – that
they have seen this season.
These comments added to
the positives frequently
voiced among the local
fans. Kudos, cheerleaders.
Also, in the stands
at last Thursday’s game
were many HES students.
What great contributions
they made to the cheer-
ing section. Brook Baker,
new music teacher, had
taught the kindergarten-
ers-through-sixth graders
the words to the HHS fight
song and some cheers and
encouraged them to attend.
They were so impressive.
Though these students were
spread throughout the root-
ing section, the ones closest
to the pep-band section
numbered thirteen kinder-
garteners who were having
such a great time participat-
ing with the cheerleaders.
Such strong voices.
Kane Sweeney is at
it again. When he learned
that Oregon State Uni-
versity theatre’s next pro-
duction was going to be
“It’s a Wonderful Life,” he
knew he wanted to audition.
This play/movie is one of
his all-time favorites and
during his senior year at
Heppner High School, he
selected this play as their
main production in which
Kane played the lead role
of George Bailey. He is
looking forward to playing
the darker character, the
antagonist Mr. Potter, for
the OSU theatre production.
The cast and crew are very
excited over production of
this first live performance
in Withycombe Hall since
2019. Those who may be in
the area for either of the first
two November weekends,
Kane would love to see you
in the audience.
Drew Brannon was the
epitome of neighbor-watch-
ing-out-for-neighbor on
Sunday when I fell at the
Heritage Park while trying
to tip down a large “no thru
traffic” barrier that wind
gusts were pushing around
in the traffic lanes. He inter-
rupted what he was doing
at his home several houses
away to rush my way. No
need for help, thankfully,
but his thoughtfulness is a
lesson for us all.
Please, share your rea-
sons to smile by sending
your good-news tidbits
before Monday afternoon
to dbrosnan123@gmail.
com, or call 541-676-5382
or 541-223-1490, or stop
me on the street.
Here’s hoping that
some good news comes to
everyone reading this.
Morrow County
schools to update
HVAC systems
The Morrow County
School District has received
approval from the Oregon
Department of Education
(ODE) to use $2.4 million
of federal funding to up-
grade and improve heating,
ventilation, and air condi-
tioning (HVAC) systems
in schools throughout the
district.
The funding approved
is part of the Elementa-
ry and Secondary School
Emergency Relief Fund
(ESSER) provided to the
district as part of the federal
coronavirus relief package
allocated through ODE.
Because ventilation and
circulation are an import-
ant part of improving air
quality and maintaining a
healthy environment, these
funds can be used to up-
grade HVAC systems.
The Morrow County
School District prepared a
study of its HVAC systems
as part of its overall long-
term facility planning and
found that multiple proj-
ects in Heppner, Boardman
and Irrigon qualified for
the funds. These upgrades
include replacing rooftop
units and outdated heat
pumps, testing and rebal-
ancing airflow through cur-
rent ductwork and installing
new controls to improve
ventilation and monitoring.
By updating these sys-
tems, the school district
will be able to reduce ener-
gy and maintenance costs
while maintaining more
consistent temperatures
throughout school buildings
in winter and summer.
“We all become very
aware of how an HVAC
system is working when
the weather gets cold, and
especially when the electric
bills come in,” said Mor-
row County Superintendent
Dirk Dirksen. “The Morrow
County School District will
be able to make substantial
upgrades to our systems in
our older buildings using
federal dollars. This will
create a better learning en-
vironment for our students
while allowing us to spend
less time and money keep-
ing aged systems up and
running.”
Work will begin this
year and is expected to con-
clude in summer of 2022.
The district will continue
to address other HVAC
upgrades discovered during
the long-range facilities as-
sessment that did not quali-
fy for the grant. For more in-
formation about the ESSER
funding, visit https://www.
oregon.gov/ode/schools-
and-districts/grants/Pages/
CARES-Act-Resources.
aspx.
Cross country
prepares for
districts and middle
school state
By Hannah Finch
Last Thursday, the high
school cross country team
traveled to John Day for
their final meet before dis-
trict meets. The boys placed
fourth as a team and the
girls placed seventh.
The high school dis-
tricts meet is this Friday,
October 29 in John Day.
The 1A/2A varsity boys
will race first at 3 p.m.
followed by the 1A/2A/3A
varsity girls at 3:30 p.m.
There, the Heppner runners
will compete for a spot at
state. The state meet will
be held at Lane Community
College on November 6.
Currently, the boys are
ranked second in the district
behind Union. The girls are
in third place behind Union
and Burns. The top two
teams from this next meet
will go to state, not count-
ing any individual quali-
2021 COLUMBIA BASIN ANNUAL MEETING
To keep our employees and members safe during COVID, we
have reached outside the box this year and will be holding an
Old-Fashioned “Drive In” Annual Meeting
Park your vehicle in the Fairground’s Parking Lot
Facing the Wilkinson Arena
On November 4, 2021 @ 12:00 Noon
In Heppner, OR.
We will provide a lunch, goodie bag and a brief presentation!
CBEC ANNUAL MEETING
fiers. Individually, Trevor
Nichols is ranked second in
the district. Hailey Heide-
man is ranked third for the
girls, along with Hannah
Finch at fifth and Kylie
Boor in tenth.
The middle schoolers
competed in the Eastern
Oregon XC Champion-
ships last Friday in Pend-
leton. Cooper Wight fin-
ished eighth with a time
of 11:04.0, followed by
teammates Olson Anderson
(13:43.7) and Lincoln Ells-
worth (14:12.7).
For the girls’ race, Lily
Nichols finished second
with a time of 11:41.0.
Riley Archer was right be-
hind her and finished fourth
(11:55.5) and Brooklyn
Hendricks finished eighth
(12:12.3). After those three
were Hailey McDaniel,
Jules Archer, Lizzie Ginn
and Rebecca Ellsworth.
Overall, the girls placed
third as a team.
Lily Nichols, Riley Ar-
cher, Brooklyn Hendricks,
Hailey McDaniel, Jules Ar-
cher and Lizzie Ginn will be
competing Sunday, October
31, in the middle school
state meet at Western Or-
egon University. The girls
will race at 1 p.m. Good
luck to all of our runners
this week.
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