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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2022)
TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 12, 2022 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 Jack Dee Unrein Jack Dee Unrein was born February 18, 1956, and passed away Decem- ber 24, 2021 in Salem, OR at the age of 65. He is in the care of Howell, Edwards, Doerksen with Rigdon-Ransom Funeral Directors in Salem, OR. A committal service will be held Wednesday, January 19, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. at Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, OR. Once a Marine, always a Marine. Good News Only By Doris Brosnan Never too late to ac- knowledge deeds well done. On Christmas Day, employees at Heppner Family Foods and at the gas station kept their doors (and pumps) open for a good part of the day. Certainly, they were paid to do so, but these individuals had agreed to work these hours that en- abled customers to run in for those last-minute food items or those gallons of gas and desired sundries so helpful to their Christmas celebrations. Kudos. More snow and more reports of helpful people: A “shout out” has come this way from Dana and Aileen Wilson, who greatly appre- ciated and were impressed by the unrecognized helpful gentleman who cleared their street’s sidewalks last week. “We were amazed that his powerful snow blower worked even on the frozen-over snow,” Aileen reports. Another homeowner was greatly impressed by Gary Watkins’s quick re- moval of the large snow drift that blocked their ga- rage access last week and by his very reasonable fee. “No job too small,” cap- tures Gary’s enthusiastic logo for his Little Diggs Ex- cavating business. He has fun on the several jobs he is now capable of doing since replacing his retirement last year with a multi-task piece of equipment and his know-how of outdoor jobs that may require a backhoe, a bucket, a plow, etc. And who was the young man who came to the rescue of the driver of the high-centered vehicle? Spinning one’s wheels did no good, but his heavy chain and his Ram diesel pickup sure did. Golf, anyone? Maybe not on the frozen-snow course in Heppner, but ap- parently in the Tri Cities. That was the announce- ment by the dedicated golf- ers loading their clubs on Saturday, ready for some rounds in the north. Anyone who has a pos- itive tidbit to share with our readers: Contributions can come this way before Mon- day afternoon by writing to dbrosnan123@gmail.com, or calling 541-676-5382 or 541-223-1490. Readers look forward to smiling with the contributors. Here’s hoping that some good news comes to everyone reading this. ~ 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. Proposing a different narrative To the editor; I propose a different “narrative” than the “nar- rative” Pelosi suggested on January 6 th that we need to “keep alive.” President Trump saw a rush in election state law changes-often done illegal- ly- and warned about the increased opportunities for fraud. He was dismissed as explaining away an antici- pated loss. Trump went to bed on election night with a com- fortable lead in several key states. When he woke up, he’d fallen behind in all of them. At least one video showed counting had con- tinued after most people, including all the observers, had been sent home for the night. Numerous people came forward to complain about not being able to observe the count the way they were supposed to, and others signed affidavits (a written statement that can be used as evidence in court, and which amounts to perjury if it is not the truth) describing abnor- malities in the vote count which certainly indicated fraudulent ballots were counted on a fairly large scale. There were other reasons to question the accuracy of the vote count, but I think that is enough to make the point. Numerous lawsuits were filed, but no one wanted to take a stand on this mess and even look at the evidence. The story about this became-he failed to prove anything, not be- cause no one would look at the evidence, but because there was none. But it was too late-some of us already knew better. Trump apparently en- couraged his followers to come to the capitol to show support for him and to pro- test the certification of the electoral vote as it looked like it was going to be. Several of the states had alternative delegates, show- ing that state’s reservations and questions about its own election. And come they did. So much so that Trump himself, as well as others, requested additional police protection, and even help from the national guard, a couple of days before the 6 th . They were turned down, with ultimate responsibility for not having enough pro- tection lying at the feet of Pelosi. Hmm. Before Trump even fin- ished his speech a block or a mile away from the cap- itol, sending his supporters off with admonitions to be peaceful, havoc was starting to break out at the capitol. The riot ended up undermining what Trump was trying to do. In most cases, even states which planned to challenge their state electoral votes didn’t after this fiasco. Within a couple of days, Trump was being blamed for inciting the riot, and it was be- ing called an insurrection. Quickly an impeachment was planned and carried out, after Trump had left office, even though the pur- pose of an impeachment is to remove a president from office. Thus, the impeach- ment had no purpose-or at least not the purpose an impeachment is supposed to have-and was unconsti- tutional. A few months later, even the FBI admitted there was no evidence of orga- nized insurrection. But it is still called that. Unlike the riots in many of our cities starting about a year and a half ago, when whole blocks were taken over and declared “not part of the US,” and police were kept out, there were no fires and damage was light by comparison. It was all over in a few hours. There were miniscule weapons for the size of the crowd, and none of them were used. There was only one killing-not by a Trump supporter, but of a Trump supporter – an unarmed woman, a veteran, who was shot by a police- man who fired his weapon without warning, according to witnesses. A policeman with a record of reckless behavior. We know not why he was exonerated and wouldn’t even have found out who he was if he hadn’t revealed himself, apparent- ly proud of what he did. Although any violence was roundly condemned by many conservatives and Trump supporters, it wasn’t long before all conserva- tives and Trump supporters were being called white su- premacists, insurrectionists, enemies of the state, and a threat to democracy. Big tech censorship increased, and about half the popula- tion felt like outcasts from the USA they’d always loved and considered their country. Sandra Johnson, Heppner Explaining the stats To the editor; In response to my letter to the editor last week, I have heard a lot of talk from the administration about the inaccuracies of my stats. So, I thought it be best to explain my numbers. There is one PA for PMC, with another PA who possibly works at PMC one day a month in addition to work- ing in Irrigon. Another PA works for Irrigon; an FNP works part time for Ione and Good Shepherd, a MD that works a lot of ERs but does see patients in clinic, and last I heard, a chief of staff who lives in Washington. When I was working for the health district, there were five MDs, six PAs and two FNPs for a grand total of 13 providers. Per the US Census of April 1, 2020, there is a total pop- ulation of 12,186 people in Morrow County. Off the top of my head, I can think of 12 providers (six MDs, four PAs, two FNPs) who are currently not working for the district. There were three CEOs (one of which retired), one COO, two clinic directors, one Locum provider, and at least eight employees for the hospital and clinic. As we all know, this town talks. The people of Morrow County knew I was moving here before my husband and I even moved here. I don’t have a source; I just open my eyes to what is really going on. I am still a resident of Morrow County, and I am still a patient of the health district; just look at my medical bill. Just because I used to work there, does not mean I don’t have a right to voice my opinions about my own healthcare, or my hus- band’s, or even my neigh- bor’s, who I care about. And I commend every employee who still works at the health district. You have more patience than I did. I was unfortunately unable to get past the betrayal from the district, therefore I left. For those employees working at the clinics and the hospital, and who are continuing to take care of our communities, I thank you for sticking through it. You are appreciated more than you know. Victoria Waltz, Heppner Grief support group to begin The GriefShare support group will begin holding meetings for 13 weeks on Wednesdays, beginning January 19, 2022. The group will meet from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Gilliam and Bisbee building in the upstairs conference room. Participants are asked to enter the building at the side entrance on Main Street. After the funeral, when the cards and flowers have stopped coming, most of the people around you return to their normal lives. But your grief continues, and you feel alone. GriefShare is a series of video seminars and support group discussions for people experiencing grief and loss. GriefShare runs for 13 weeks, featur- ing nationally recognized experts on grief recovery topics. Seminar sessions include “Is This Normal?” “The Challenges of Grief,” “Grief and Your Relation- ships,” “Why?” and “Guilt and Anger.” Often, friends and fam- ily want to help you, but don’t know how. Finding strategies that can help you cope and eventually find peace is the reason for GriefShare. The group is led by caring people who have experienced grief and have successfully rebuilt their lives. You are not alone. There are others experienc- ing overwhelming feelings also. GriefShare support group offers a warm, safe and caring environment that will become an “oasis” on your journey through grief. By sharing experiences, we can strengthen ourselves and help others who are facing similar challenges. You are welcome to begin attending at any point of the 13 weeks. Each ses- sion is self-contained, so you don’t have to attend in sequence. You will be able to pick up any sessions you missed. There are three key parts to your GriefShare ex- perience: A video seminar experience with leading grief recovery experts; a support group discussion about the weekly video con- tent and a journaling work- book and personal study exercises that reinforce the weekly session topics. GriefShare is spon- sored by Pioneer Memorial Hospice and the Willow Creek Baptist Church. For more information, please contact Jerry Conklin, Hos- pice Chaplain at 541-676- 2946 or www.griefshare. org. Chamber annual luncheon scheduled St. Pat’s committee Enterprise Zone seeks volunteers meeting Jan 21 The Heppner Chamber of Commerce annual lun- cheon will be held January 20 at noon at the Gilliam and Bisbee building. Lunch will be provided by Hep- pner Market Fresh for $10 per person. RSVPs must be sent to There will be a public planning meeting for the St. JoAnna Lamb at heppner- chamber@gmail.com prior Patrick’s Day celebration on January 18 at 7 p.m. at the The Columbia River city hall conference room. Anyone interested in this event to 4 p.m. on January 18. Enterprise Zone (CREZ II) is welcome to attend. will hold a public meeting Friday, January 21 start- DEADLINE: ing at 9 am at the Port of Morrow Riverfront Center MONDAYS in Boardman. The CREZ AT 5PM II will discuss among oth- er things how it plans to disburse $9 million in tax dollars this year under its control. The meeting is open to the public and available to attend by Zoom. For a link to the zoom meeting visit the Gazette-Times web page at heppner.net/crez
