Hopeful Saints
pastor to retire
50¢
VOL. 141
Pastor Katy Anderson
NO. 20
10 Pages
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Coach Chad Doherty named Middle
School Coach of the Year
Chad Doherty on the sideline
in Heppner’s win at Kennedy
during the 2021 season. -Photo
by Susan Hisler.
continued to help establish
tremendous young athletes.
The junior high pro-
gram tries to get every
player ready for their next
step. Coach Doherty said
that he and his assistant
coach, Joe Armado, who
works mainly as a line
coach, focus on the fun-
damentals first. “We really
just want the kids to be able
to block and tackle, if we
are successful in running
plays after that then that’s
a whole new ballgame. If
they can go up there (high
school) and know how to
get into a three-point stance
and get off and block, or if
they can block in space or
tackle correctly that’s a win
for me and our program.”
The program also goes
more in depth, looking at
formations and plays they
will see at the high school
just to get the athletes more
comfortable. With the con-
stantly evolving playbook
that coach Grant runs, they
focus more on the verbiage
and formations rather than
specific plays. This focus
allows the young athletes
to develop an understand-
ing of the scheme, before
taking on the challenging
plays at the high school.
Talking to coach Grant, this
focus translates to success
for the athletes at the high
school. Grant talked about
what coach Doherty values,
and how he has seen that
translate into his ability to
help develop well rounded
football players. “Well, I
think he really values being
a team first guy, because
when he played, he was a
team first guy. He under-
stands that whether he wins
or loses it is secondary to
how he develops the play-
ers and how he keeps all
the kids excited, interested
and motivated to be a Mus-
tang.”
Coach Grant explained
that the ties to the varsity
football program’s suc-
cess start with both Coach
Doherty and his brother
Adam, who leads the Colt
football program, “What
they do is they work with
every parent and kid and get
them involved, help them
understand, get them ex-
cited and just provide them
with a quality experience.
That’s what helps us as a
group be better, we have
that continuity we have that
connectedness between the
three levels, you know what
he and Adam have done is
created a group of kids that
played for them that were
very successful later on,
they deserve a lot of the
credit for that.”
Coach Doherty’s role
in the Mustangs football
program has been evident.
His involvement has not
been limited to middle
school, however. Doherty
has helped take stats for the
team since 2005 and began
traveling with the team
three years later. Doherty
said he just wanted to be
involved with the program.
After stats and leading the
middle school program,
both coach Doherty and
coach Armado work with
Doherty’s brother Adam,
at the Colt football level.
Coach Doherty said it has
been fun working with his
brother, “We just talk, and
coach football, we just try
to have fun with it.” Down
there both Chad and coach
Armado help ref every
home Colt football game,
while also mentoring the
kids during practices. Chad
has also helped coach Les
Payne at the high school
line out the uniforms the
varsity level players wear
every Friday night, his fin-
gerprints are all over the
Mustangs program.
Doherty accredited his
success to the overall work
of the program, which has
helped him in many ways.
Chad talked about the rela-
tionships he has had with
every coach, and how their
help has been a huge part in
their program, “Any time
I’m struggling I can just call
coach Grant. Also, I have
had tremendous help from
coach Armado, my brother,
coach Coiner, both coach
Mathenys this past year,
and Brain Spivey. It’s all a
collaboration and we just
work together, and it seems
to work pretty well,” His re-
lationship with coach Grant
is one that Grant values tre-
mendously, whether it’s on
or off the field. Grant talked
about his relationship with
Doherty, “He has always
adapted and changed and
been completely willing
to do whatever he is asked
and that’s just a gift to the
kids and to the program,
and to me, because working
together, the kids to know
what we’re doing, it really
helps. He just steps up con-
stantly, thinking of better
ways to help the program.”
Coach Grant also talk-
ed about Doherty’s impact
on the high school program,
something fans may not
always see, “It is hard to
understate the value of what
he (Doherty) does, and
what it means to the coach-
ing staff.” Coach Grant
explained how Doherty has
always been able to adapt
to what the program is
doing. He said that he feels
assured that when he makes
a change in how the team
runs a play, or lines up,
Doherty will immediately
go to work. Grant said that
Doherty just understands
the game of football, and
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always comes up with new
ways to improve the pro-
gram as a whole. These
traits have made Doherty an
exceptional addition to the
program. Grant expressed
that the continued work
from every level is what
makes Heppner football a
program.
Coach Doherty said he
loves the position of middle
school coach for many rea-
sons. He has loved the game
for many years and enjoys
simply talking football. He
said that his favorite part
is being able to see the
kids grow and succeed. He
recalled having players be
unsure of football, but by
the end of the year the play-
ers were counting down the
days until their next season.
He also loves the small
victories over the season,
such as seeing kids slowly
start to pick up skills, and
play faster, and become
better players overall. The
enjoyment coach Doherty
has when working with the
athletes is something that
coach Grant has seen also,
“He’s there for the older
kids. I think he really enjoys
seeing the fruits of his la-
bor, he coaches them when
they’re younger, and really
enjoys watching them play
in high school, and seeing
them succeed. Rightfully
so, feeling like he was a
part of that success, he con-
tributed to that success, it is
hard to understate the value
of what he does.”
Doherty said that he
loves the position he is in.
He has been taking commu-
nity college classes while
working, and coaching mid-
dle school. When asked
what this honor meant to
him, he said this, “I haven’t
ever really thought about
receiving an award or being
recognized for something I
just love to do. Maybe it’s
just recognition for all of
the hard work everyone has
put in and just recognizing
that we do good things
down there.” Doherty’s
success and love for the
Heppner football program
seems to be something that
will keep him around for a
while. Having the coach-
ing staff at all three levels
assures that the Mustangs
will be in good hands for
years to come.
Coach Doherty will
have the chance to be rec-
ognized by Oregon Athletic
Coaches Association at a
private event on Saturday
May 21 st at Autzen Stadium
in Eugene, OR.
Quarter of eligible
voters return ballots
As of Tuesday morn-
ing, May 17, County Clerk
Bobbi Childers reported
that of the 7,077 registered
voters in Morrow County,
1,883 accepted ballots have
been received, for a 26.61
percent return rate.
Ballots received in the
first week after they were
sent out averaged approx-
imately 138 per day. The
second week averaged 152.
A flurry of ballots, 410,
came in Monday, May 16 as
the election wound down to
the final day.
In previous elections,
ballots needed to be re-
ceived in the clerk’s of-
fice on election day to be
counted. That rule has now
changed, and ballots will be
accepted if they are post-
marked on May 17, election
day. The clerk’s office will
count postmarked ballots
that are received within a
seven day window after
election day.
BEO names chair
and vice chair
BEO Bancorp and its
subsidiary, Bank of Eastern
Oregon, upon completion
of the annual shareholders
meeting in Heppner, elected
Brad Anderson as chairman
of the board and Bob Arm-
strong as vice chairman.
Anderson joined the
board in 2004. He is a part-
ner in a family farm with
his sister and brother-in-
law. Triangle Ranches is a
diversified wheat and cattle
operation in Gilliam and
Morrow Counties. Brad,
his wife Sally, a teacher for
Hood River schools, split
their time between Arling-
ton and Hood River.
Armstrong joined the
board in 2004. He is a CPA
for Solutions CPAs in John
Day. Bob and his wife Lau-
ri, also employed by Solu-
tions CPAs, live in John
Day.
“Brad and Bob have
a deep-rooted history with
the bank, and we look for-
ward to their continued
leadership roles on the
board of directors. Brad
currently chairs our Board
Loan Committee, and Bob
is chair of the Audit Com-
mittee,” said President and
CEO, Jeff Bailey. “The vast
experience and leadership
qualities of these two men
will serve our shareholders
well,” concluded Bailey.
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By Blake Carter
Athletics are something
that many children look for-
ward to and enjoy, whether
its two-hand touch football
on the playground, or youth
basketball in the gym.
While the athletes often
take center stage for their
efforts, many teams be-
come successful due to the
hard work of their coaches.
Luckily in our small town
of Heppner, athletes have
the privilege of working
with outstanding coaches.
Chad Doherty is one of
these special coaches and
mentors. Coach Doherty
has been coaching middle
school football since 2009
but started helping with the
Colt football program in
2005. His work and dedi-
cation to the youth program
earned him the honor of
being named the Oregon
Athletics Coaches Associ-
ation 2022 Oregon Middle
School Coach of the Year.
Football is a staple in
the small community of
Heppner. The Mustang
varsity team often takes
the main stage with their
continued success. This
success is something that
attracts all young athletes
in Heppner to the football
field. However, this ac-
complishment doesn’t just
happen overnight, Heppner
football sits upon a firm
foundation that starts way
before the athletes reach
the varsity level. Football
doesn’t start freshman year
either. For many athletes,
Heppner football begins
in the fifth grade. Athletes
established the foundation
for football for two years
with coach Adam Doherty.
As athletes entered their
seventh-grade year, foot-
ball ramps up just a little
bit. Players get two years
with coach Chad Doherty
at the middle school level.
Finally, athletes enter high
school, where they will play
for coach Greg Grant.
Chad Doherty’s love
for football has been with
him since his high school
years, his great experience
and relationship with his
former head coach, Greg
Grant, brought him back
to the football field after
his playing days were over.
Coach Doherty recalled the
moment Grant asked him
to take on the role, “I was
just coaching elementary
school and coach Grant was
talking to me one day down
at the pool. We were just
watching our kids swim,
and he was like, hey I think
I want you to coach middle
school. I said ok.” From that
point on, Coach Doherty
took the reins of the middle
school program and has
By Bobbi Gordon
Hopeful Saints Minis-
try’s pastor Katy Anderson,
73, will be retiring at the
end of this month. She is a
Lutheran pastor who serves
the shared Episcopal and
Lutheran congregation,
where she has served since
May 2010. Before that, she
served as intern and then
pastor of Valby Lutheran
Church in Ione from Octo-
ber 2007 through Novem-
ber 2009.
Mary Kathryn Ander-
son is her official name,
but she has been known as
Katy since she was born
in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Her dad, who was also a
pastor, accepted a call to
Sioux City, IA where she
attended school kindergar-
ten through eighth grade.
He was then called to Fran-
kenmuth, Michigan where
she attended high school.
She then attended college at
Valparaiso University (Indi-
ana) and graduate school at
University of Illinois, Pa-
cific Lutheran Theological
Seminary. Katy has three
children and eight grand-
children who live in Seattle,
Sandy and La Grande.
Anderson’s work back-
ground includes being a
Hong Kong International
School teacher; family law
paralegal and mediator in
La Grande and previously
in Lake Oswego; Lutheran
pastor, church organist and
“so much more.” She has
lived in Minnesota, Iowa,
Michigan, Indiana, Illinois,
Hong Kong and now in
Oregon in her lifetime. She
will be moving to a small
home in La Grande after
leaving Heppner where
she said, “I will be within
walking distance of my
youngest son, his family,
the schools and EOU. I
hope to get more time in the
woods with my little 1973
camp trailer and also fill in
for pastors around the state
when the need arises.”
When asked how it
feels to leave and what she
will miss, she noted, “It is
both difficult and liberating.
I won’t miss the burdens
that accompany ministry,
but I will miss the many
friends I’ve made here and
cherish the memories of life
passages I had the privilege
of participating in – bap-
tisms, weddings and the
burials of too many faithful
people.” She continued,
“I’m retiring because I’m
old and tired and, after 12
years, the wonderful people
of Hopeful Saints Ministry
are overdue for fresh lead-
ership.”
The congregation will
be bidding Katy farewell
Sunday, May 22 during
regular church service be-
ginning at 10 a.m. The
service will be followed by
a potluck luncheon at 11:30
and the public is invited.
For additional information,
contact Molly Rill at 541-
676-5455 or the church
office at 541-676-9970.
for more
information
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