TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, December 22, 2021
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
~ Letters to the Editor ~
Heppner
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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
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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
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subscriptions.
David Sykes ..............................................................................................Publisher
Bobbi Gordon................................................................................................ Editor
Giselle Moses.........................................................................................Advertising
All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m.
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For Obituaries: Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to
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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
Ronald Henry
Currin
Ronald Henry Currin and joy.
was born in Heppner, OR
After a lengthy battle
on August 21, 1960, to Ron- with metastatic bladder
ald Currin and Judy Lazin- cancer Ron passed away at
ka Currin. Affectionately, his Clements home with his
he was known to family
wife by his side.
and friends as Ronnie or
He was pre-
RC. He was raised on
ceded in death
the family cattle ranch
by his brother,
on Buttercreek with his
Mike Currin in
brothers, Tony, Mike
1990. Ron is sur-
and Steve and sister, Ronald Henry vived by wife,
Jennifer.
Rayanne; son,
Currin
Ron graduated from
Riley and daugh-
Heppner High School in ter, Rayna. In addition, he is
1978, then attended Blue survived by his father, Ron
Mountain Community Col- Sr.; mother, Judy; brothers,
lege and Montana State Tony (wife Kelli) and Steve
University, on rodeo schol- (wife Lisanne); sister, Jen-
arships, where he was a nifer Gutridge (husband
three-time College National Shane); sister-in-law, Judy
Finals Rodeo qualifier. At Pederson (husband Curtis)
Montana State, he discov- and nine nieces and neph-
ered his love of the cattle ews.
industry. After returning
A celebration of life
home from Montana State will be held in Pendleton at
University, Ron pursued the Convention Center on
the family’s passion of ro- December 31 at 1:15 p.m.
deo. He traveled for several Memorial contributions can
years, over thousands of be made to the Ron Currin
miles, with his brothers and Memorial C/O Bank of
friends making a lifetime of Eastern Oregon, PO Box
memories and friendships. 39, Heppner, OR 97836 or
He was an accomplished to Hospice of San Joaquin
all-around cowboy, com- (www.hospicesj.org) in
petitive in both calf roping Ron’s memory.
and steer wrestling. Ron
was most proud to capture
the prestigious Pendleton
Round-Up All-Around
Champion in 1993 and the
steer wrestling title in 1995.
After Ron’s rodeo ca-
reer, he switched gears and
began pursuing his passion
of trading cattle. He started
in the business at the bottom
and worked his way up to
become a first-class cattle
trader. Ellington Peek and
Western Video Markets
were instrumental in start-
ing his career and allowed
him to broaden his cattle Jeff Bailey
trading network. In 2005,
he found his ultimate posi-
The Oregon Bankers
tion as director of procure- Association (OBA) induct-
ment with John Wilson and ed Jeff Bailey, president and
Beef Northwest. He loved CEO of Bank of Eastern
what he did and valued the Oregon in Heppner, into
people he worked with in the Oregon Bankers Hall
the cattle industry.
of Fame during the Oregon
Ron married Rayanne Bank Leadership Sympo-
Engel in 2005 and they sium held in December.
divided their residency be-
Induction into the Ore-
tween Clements, CA and gon Bankers Hall of Fame
Pendleton, OR. In 2007 is the highest honor be-
they welcomed twins, son stowed peer-to-peer within
Riley and daughter Rayna, the Oregon banking com-
which have been their pride munity. It recognizes the
People received
Him not
To the editor:
Jesus “came unto his
own, and his own received
him not.” (John 1:11). How
could Jesus’s own people
received him not? Every
prophet, every scribe, every
priest in the holy land was
seeking, waiting, hoping
and praying for their ex-
pectant king. The Torah,
the prophets, the psalm-
ists, the historical scribes
had carefully and copious-
ly recorded the prophecy
of their coming King, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Over one
quarter of written scripture
documented this joyous
event. Nevertheless, these
venerated Jewish priests,
prophets and scribes all
misinterpreted and misun-
derstood scripture and the
Jews “received him not.”
How could this happen?
“He is despised and
rejected of men: A man
of sorrows and acquainted
with grief: and we hid as it
were our faces from him;
he was despised, and we
esteemed him not. Surely
he has borne our griefs and
carried our sorrows: yet
we esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflict-
ed. But he was wounded
for our transgressions, he
was bruised for our iniq-
uities: the chastisement of
our peace was upon him;
and with his stripes we are
healed.” (Isaiah 53: 3,4,5)
The Jewish scribes,
priests and prophets threw
out or misinterpreted any
scripture that did not fit
their tradition of their com-
ing King. Jesus their King
could not be born in a barn,
could not come from lowly
Bethlehem, could not have
come out of heathen Egypt
as scripture prophesied
so they developed their
own tradition and cherry
picked scripture to fit their
doctrine. They missed the
central truth of the Word
of God: that Jesus would
come to earth twice, first
to redeem mankind by sac-
rificing his life for the sin
of all men and second to
return at the end of the age
as King of Kings and Lord
of Lord’s.
Nothing has changed.
Mankind has not changed,
nor has God, nor has the
truth of scripture. The scrip-
tural truth of the return of
Jesus Christ will happen
precisely as prophesied.
Could it be that “His own
will receive him not.” Have
the traditions of the church
and man misinterpreted
scripture to fit their tradi-
tion and church doctrines?
Jesus warned before he
returned “then shall be
great tribulation, such was
not since the beginning of
the world to this time, no
nor ever shall be.” (Matt.
24: 21) Jesus comes at the
end of this great tribulation
(Matt. 24:29,30) “to gather
together his elect from the
four winds, from one end
of heaven to the other.”
(Matt 24:31) Jesus exhorted
his followers, “those that
endure to the end shall be
saved.” (Matt. 24:13)
As we celebrate Christ-
mas let’s worship Jesus
Christ, not as a baby, not on
the cross, but as He is: our
triumphant King returning
to earth to claim His king-
dom and end all wicked-
ness, all lies and deception,
every mandate of tyranny,
and set mankind at liberty.
Stuart Dick, Irrigon
DEADLINE:
MONDAYS
AT 5PM
Good News Only
By Doris Brosnan
Surely the answer is,
“No one,” to the question
of, “Who isn’t happy to
realize that yesterday was
the winter solstice, so the
daylight hours are now
increasing?” (The average
increase, a resource reports,
is two minutes and seven
seconds daily.) Hooray.
Good news for many
are the returns of college
students for a lengthy win-
ter break that will have
them home for the holidays.
Fortunate, too, are the par-
ents whose families who
live elsewhere are able to
squeeze enough time out
of demanding schedules to
come for Christmas.
The power of prayers
of friends and our commu-
nity of churches deserves
some credit for Ayden Mel-
ba Grace Miller’s being
able to celebrate her first
Christmas this week, say
her family. Ayden was born
in Portland on July 22, a
“preemie” at seven months,
and didn’t get released from
the hospital to come home
with parents, Jimmy and
Marcy Walton, until late
October, after several pre-
carious months. Grand-
parents Mark and Shannie
Miller and Paul and Susy
Walton, as well as many
friends, have been a great
help to the new parents,
and the Millers now serve
as babysitters, since Marcy
and Jimmy have had to re-
turn to their jobs. Shannie
reports with a smile that
this wee nine-plus-pound
wonder has quickly made
obvious “why we have our
children when we are much
younger and have loads of
energy.”
Important to the prom-
ise of a better future world
are kindness and caring in-
stilled into the young: Hep-
pner Day Care’s pre-school
class walked to teacher
Kellie Gray’s house last
Wednesday to deliver a
card and sing to her, since
she is recovering at home
from surgery and will miss
their Christmas program.
Also, Sage Pre-School stu-
dents made crafts to deliver
to Willow Creek Terrace.
And the Heppner High
School Choir serenaded at
the Elementary School and
Bailey inducted into OBA Hall of Fame
outstanding contributions
inductees have made to the
Oregon banking industry,
to the OBA, and to the
communities in which they
live and work.
Bailey was born and
raised in Enterprise and
graduated from Eastern
Oregon University with a
degree in agriculture busi-
ness. His professional ca-
reer started as a grain buy-
er in Portland. He would
eventually return to eastern
Oregon where he became
a commercial loan officer
in Gilliam County with the
Bank of Eastern Oregon.
This was the beginning of
what has been 25 years of
service to the bank. From
2003 to 2009 Bailey served
as chief credit officer. In
2008 he was named presi-
dent and a year later, CEO.
Beyond his service and
leadership within the bank,
Bailey is known for his
service to his community
and to the banking industry.
Bailey is a past chair of the
OBA and recently started a
two-year term as the chair
of the Community Banks of
Oregon, a sister entity of the
OBA that serves as a unique
voice dedicated to banks
headquartered in Oregon.
In eastern Oregon, Bai-
ley is engaged in the Willow
Creek Valley Economic
Development Group, the
Heppner Chamber of Com-
merce and many other civic
and nonprofit groups.
During Bailey’s induc-
tion into the Oregon Bank-
ers Hall of Fame, OBA
President and CEO Linda
Navarro shared comments
she received from his col-
leagues about his contribu-
tions and service.
Gabrielle Homer, a
member of the bank’s board
of directors said, “I have
always appreciated Jeff’s
open door - both as a cus-
tomer of many years and
when joining the board last
year. He has always been
responsive and helpful. He
is a friendly, patient voice
of reason. He is incredibly
knowledgeable, and he is
dedicated and loyal.”
George Koffler, former
CEO of the bank and cur-
rent board member said,
“Jeff has a strong moral
compass that serves him
well. He leads by example
and is always willing to
represent our industry in
any capacity.”
Becky Kindle, exec-
utive vice president and
chief operating officer said,
“Jeff is a great leader. He is
kind and considerate when
working with employees
and is always approachable.
He truly cares about his
employees and customers
and wants to do what he can
to help everyone succeed.”
Adding, “He is involved not
only locally within the com-
munity but also has been an
integral participant in OBA
over the years as an advo-
cate not only for our bank
but for the banking industry
as a whole. He is very de-
serving of this award, and
we are so proud of him and
his accomplishments.”
Mark Lemmon, exec-
utive vice president and
chief financial officer said,
“Jeff is dedicated to his
family, is a man of strong
faith and loves his country
and community. His default
in decision making is ‘do
the right thing’ whether or
not it aligns with his own
personal benefit. He has a
holistic view of situations
and is committed to making
the greater good succeed.”
Since its creation in
1987, the Oregon Bankers
Hall of Fame has inducted
81 individuals who have
made outstanding contribu-
tions to the Oregon banking
community and the com-
munities they serve.
Hometown Tacos. The cho-
risters are led this year by
new music teacher, Brooke
Baker. The FFA group ad-
opted three families for
Christmas; by using money
from their greens workshop
profits, they are able to give
them gifts, decorations and
the Heppner Family Foods
holiday meal package for
each family.
JoAnna Lamb reports
good news as her thank
yous go out to many, “I
had the greatest help ever
with putting on last Thurs-
day’s event. Alicia Doherty
helped me not freak out
when I really wanted to over
how to do this type of event.
She has been so much help.
Seren Hansen and Melanie
Wilson assisted in planning
the building layout and
display. Members of the
Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints set up
and tore down decorations.
The Parent-Teacher Club
helped with behind-the-
scenes planning. The amaz-
ing Amazon AWS Elves
came from ‘Up North’ to
help with our event. They
were so friendly, very hard
working, and incredibly
helpful. My husband, Scott,
Russell Ellsworth and Mel-
anie Wilson jumped right
in and got those gifts out
to everyone quickly and
efficiently. Lastly, I thank
everyone who participated.
We can put on an amaz-
ing display, but if no one
comes, it is all for nothing.
I am glad we got to bring
back to the community
some part of what used to
be.”
The HHS Class of ‘65
gifted Kenny and Jan Evans
an all-expenses-paid trip to
Las Vegas for the National
Rodeo Finals, to show ap-
preciation for their years of
hard work on the All-60’s-
Classes gatherings. Return-
ing a week ago, the Evanses
report a fantastic trip that
included the last two days
of the rodeo competition,
an introduction to Uber
transportation – which was
great and provided some
interesting conversations –
and visits with a variety of
individuals while waiting
here and there, including
the small-world encounter
with a gentleman who at
first said he was from Or-
egon, from John Day, but
then heard that Evanses
are from Irrigon, so cor-
rected that to “Long Creek,
since you will know where
that is,” and even further
into the conversation said
that he had worked for the
Morrow County Road De-
partment. (No, they can’t
remember his name.) Both
Jan and Kenny say they are
humbled by the great gift
classmates bestowed upon
them.
A seventy-eight-year-
old woman offers as evi-
dence that she is still able
to adapt to a changing world
the fact that at a party, “In
my day, we were apt to
serve a ‘cheese-and-meat
tray’ with some fruit and
crackers or breads,” but no
longer. Now, instead, “I un-
derstand that what I will put
together is a ‘Charcuterie
board,’ which consists
of (wait for it…) cheese,
meats, fruits and breads.”
Good news for this
column will be reports of
happy moments shared
with family and friends
over these next several days
and then shared with our
readers by sending good-
news tidbits before Monday
afternoon to dbrosnan123@
gmail.com or call 541-676-
5382 or 541-223-1490.
A Christmas greeting
to everyone. And here’s
hoping that some good
news comes to everyone
reading this.