Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 12, 2022 -- THREE
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Morrow
County
Ethics?
Vote yes for
Greater
Idaho
By Doris Brosnan
Apologies to Hunter Nichols! Hunter is, indeed, the
HHS graduate so important to the EOU cross-country
team, but his brother Trevor’s name incorrectly appeared
here instead. Both young men are runners, and Trevor’s
name appears in the high-school sports pages. But to
Hunter go present accolades, for his outstanding contri-
butions to Eastern Oregon University’s national standing
in cross-country. Please, accept apologies!
On Monday, Tom Wolff had been feeling much better
at home for two days, after fourteen days of pain in one leg
and his abdomen, six of those in hospitals. Tom praises the
ER staff at Pioneer Memorial for the efficient, professional
attention he needed while they determined the necessity
of sending him on to Pendleton. An unusual result from
a lower-back vertebra eventually explained Tom’s pain,
and he can now look forward to physical therapy to bring
back his pre-injury strength.
Alan and Nancy Anderson of Ione returned on Sun-
day from their six-day trip that took them to Las Vegas
for Alan’s reunion with army comrades with whom he
served in a cavalry unit for three years in Viet Nam. The
men of the headquarters and three platoons involved have
been holding the reunion since 2000, rotating the locations
among the four entities.
Damon and Carie Brosnan were in Heppner last
weekend, their first visit since moving to Prineville in
June. The couple accomplished several purposes while
in town: Attended the HHS football homecoming game,
at which they were able to visit briefly with several
acquaintances; cut and hauled away some troublesome
evergreen branches from Doris’s back yard and took some
old tires to the transfer station; Damon took pictures of
a HHS senior, with Carie as his assistant, while they en-
joyed visiting with the student and his mom; and they ran
to Hermiston to see Carie’s sisters before heading back
home on Sunday.
HHS’s homecoming week ended with a challenging
14-6 win over Weston-McEwen on the football field,
with the presentation of the homecoming court at half-
time and the dance that followed the game. This week is
homecoming week at Ione High School, so more activities
and royalty to come!
On Saturday, German looks, not Irish green, dominat-
ed the gathering at Gilliam and Bisbee when Murray’s first
Oktoberfest drew a large crowd for entertainment, food
and drink. One enthusiast, Claudia Hughes, reports that
she hopes for a repeat. “…the German outfits, awesome
young dancers (Corie Joe Lindsay is amazing!), Andrew
Lindsay on electric guitar and with some Elvis renditions,
…additional fun, great Murray’s evening!”
Also on Saturday evening, the Ione Educational
Foundation held its annual dinner and auction—its 20 th
year! Betty Gray reports another year of good attendance
and show of support for the foundation that helps to keep
the charter school’s doors open. Seventy-five items were
donated for the event, and bidders were liberal in their
financial support.
Please, contribute your reason to smile to the Good
News column, so the many G-T readers can smile with
you. Send your tidbit to dbrosnan123@gmail.com or call
541-223-1490.
Here’s hoping that some good news comes to every-
one reading this!
Ione Community Church
470 E Main Street,
Ione, Oregon
Church School & Adult Study at 10:00 am
Worship at 11:00 AM
Father Thankachan Joseph
St. Patrick Catholic Church Heppner
Prayer and its importance
Prayer, basically, is the lifting of our hearts and
minds to God. We can also describe it as a dialogue with
the Lord. Prayer may be described as the function of the
heart and brain. It is to the soul what the nerves are to the
body and mind. Prayer is a precious privilege. It is said
that a prayerless human being is a powerless being. In
prayer, God hears more than words—he listens to your
heart. Sometimes God doesn’t give you what you think
you want, not because you don’t deserve it, but because
you deserve more.
Nowadays, young minds might ask parents, “For
what and whom should we pray?” The biggest suspense
regarding prayer is that we know for whom we are pray-
ing, but we never know the person who is praying for us.
We may pray for anyone or for everyone and for anything.
There are several examples in the Bible: Hezekiah prayed
for a long life (2 Kings 20:2-6). Daniel prayed for help in
the lion’s den (Daniel 6:10-11). King David prayed for
mercy (Psalm 51). King Solomon prayed for prudence and
wisdom (1 Kings 5-10). Abraham prayed for Sodom and
Gomorrah (Genesis 18:22-32). God’s help is only a prayer
away. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone.
We may pray at any place and at any time. We have
many examples in scripture: Jonah prayed when he was
cast into the deep (Jonah 2:2-10). Peter prayed on the
roof-top (Acts 9:38-40; 10: 9). Jairus prayed on the street
for Christ to heal his daughter (Mark 5:21-23). King
David prayed in a cave (1 Samuel 22:1; 23: 2, 4, 10-12).
Mary prayed to Jesus at the wedding at Cana (John 2: 3).
The good thief prayed when nailed to the cross (Luke
23:40-42). Jesus prayed before important occasions or
decisions that he needed to make: the whole night on a
mountain (Luke 6:12); before His baptism (Luke 3:21-
22); before the selection of the Twelve (Luke 6:12-13);
during Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-29); in the Garden of
Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36, 39, 42, 44).
We are encouraged to persevere in prayer and faith,
no matter what troubles and hurdles we have to surmount.
Success only comes through repeated effort—profession-
al success, sporting prowess, happy marriage and good
parenting all require constant effort.
Why are our prayers at times not answered? Some
elements are needed in prayer: We need to forget about
ourselves and pray for others. James tells us, “You pray
for something and you do not get it because you pray
with the wrong motive; you ask for things to spend on
your passions” (James 4:3). Pray with faith that you will
receive what you ask for in prayer. Again, he tells us, “If
anyone of you is lacking in wisdom, let him ask God who
gives it to everyone generously and ungrudgingly, and it
will be given to him” (James 1:5-8). Jesus reminds us of
another condition: He tells us of the need to forgive in
order that our prayers be heard by Him. He tells us, “And
when you stand to pray, forgive whatever you may hold
against anyone, so that your Father in heaven may also
forgive your sins” (Luke 11:25-26).
Each time we call on Christ in prayer, especially in
our wearied moments, we receive a fresh strength and
assurance of His support. Jesus tells us, “Look, I stand
at the door and knock. If anyone hears my call and opens
the door, I will come in to him and have supper with him,
and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). Again, he assures us,
“And I say to you, ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek
and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to
you;’ For the one who asks, receives and the one who
searches, finds and to him who knocks, the door will
be opened’” (Luke 11:9-10). That is why Paul tells us,
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks
to God at every moment. This is the will of God for you
in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Prayer is more than “asking;” it becomes “listening.”
We do a monologue, but we must listen to Him in reply.
The purpose of prayer is to render homage, give praise,
acknowledge one’s dependence, and ask for the gift of
perseverance. Let us not lose hope but continue to trust
in Jesus and allow him to guide our lives, leading us to
the Father.
“You will seek Me and find Me, when
you search for Me with all you heart.”
-Jeremiah 29:13
Join Us in the Search
M
U STAN
HEPPNER
BOOSTER HHS
CLUB DINNER O O S T E R
& AUCTION
G
This November voters
in Wheeler and Morrow
county will get the chance
to weigh in on whether they
want to explore changing
their state governance from
Oregon to Idaho. I urge
everyone who feels the
discussion needs to happen
to vote yes and join the
nine other eastern Oregon
counties who have already
voted to pursue moving the
border.
Greater Idaho is a
movement based on the
premise that people have
the right to have govern-
ment that they actually
want and that they agree
to. For too long in eastern
Oregon, this has not been
the case. Instead, eastern
Oregon’s own state govern-
ment has not shared their
values, culture, economics
or politics. And it’s not the
government that eastern
Oregonians have voted for.
The conservative leaders
that rural residents have
been able to elect and send
to Salem are increasingly
a minority voice, and the
effective political power of
rural residents of the state
is essentially zero. Even a
“red wave” in November
would likely only be a
temporary reprieve, as the
population centers in the
Willamette Valley continue
to outgrow the east side,
and western Oregon can
continue to push laws on
eastern Oregon through bal-
lot measures that a governor
can’t stop. Changing the
border would free eastern
Oregonians from the poli-
tics and policies of western
Oregon and would put them
under the governance of a
state that does share their
values. Instead of being
political minorities, elect-
ed leaders from eastern
counties would be part of
majorities with a real say in
how we are governed.
For nearly a generation
western Oregon has had
almost total control over
state government, and in-
creasingly, their values are
opposed to the values of
most eastern Oregonians.
If eastern Oregonians want
to preserve their traditional
way of life, the best long-
term solution is to redraw
the Oregon/Idaho border
and join a state that more
closely shares their values
and culture. Vote yes for
moving the border.
Matt McCaw
Powell Butte, OR
Good News Only
Spiritually Speaking
B
We, the citizens of
Morrow County, have re-
cently been made aware of
the seamy underbelly of our
local political scene.
At a public meeting on
March 16, when the County
Commission was deciding
how to distribute Morrow
County’s $11+ million gift
from Amazon, Commis-
sioner Doherty went on a
verbal tirade directed at in-
dividuals and businesses he
blamed for his not receiv-
ing an appointment to the
Oregon Energy Facility Sit-
ing Council (EFSC). One of
them was Amazon. Does
he value his own political
aspirations more highly
than industrial develop-
ment that would create
great paying jobs in Mor-
row County? (By the way,
you won’t find that in the
meeting minutes, but there
were plenty of witnesses.)
He has also attempted to
make political hay of the
Port’s nitrate violations
by seeking increased state
and federal intervention.
However, he ignored the
fact that the county has had
high nitrate levels (easily
remedied by putting filters
on rural domestic water
supplies) for decades and
increased regulation could
have devastating impacts
on small agribusinesses and
farms that run cattle or use
nitrogen-based fertilizers in
the county, while claiming
to be looking out for our
best interests.
Within a few days of
Commissioner Doherty
being publicly called out
over agriculture’s risk from
the nitrate issue, the Ore-
gonian/OregonLive pub-
lished the first of a series
of articles discussing Am-
azon’s presence in Morrow
County. Those articles fo-
cused on four individuals
serving in positions with
influence over tax breaks
for Amazon while also
negotiating contracts for
Windwave to provide fiber
optic services to Amazon.
These same people partic-
ipated in Inland Develop-
ment’s (non-profit owner
of Windwave) decision to
reduce their risk exposure
by selling Windwave. Then
they privately purchased
Windwave with financing
directly provided by Inland,
effectively limiting their
own risk and leaving it on
Inland’s books. While that
is apparently not illegal, it
certainly calls those indi-
viduals’ ethics into ques-
tion. I hope they recognize
that their self-dealing has
compromised their abili-
ty to continue serving as
public servants and do the
right thing.
This Oregonian/Or-
egonLive series has now
spurred the state to recon-
sider how enterprise zones,
like the CREZ, operate.
Because of the lack of ac-
countability and potential
self-dealing by our elected
officials, local communities
across the state may now
have decreased opportu-
nities to use their taxing
authority to attract indus-
try and jobs to their com-
munities. Coincidentally,
Commissioner Doherty
was a quoted source for
these articles. There’s noth-
ing like shining a light on
someone else’s bad behav-
ior to make your own fade
into the background. But,
once again, he failed to
think about the larger con-
sequences of his actions.
If given the opportunity
to vote to recall Commis-
sioner Doherty, I ask you
to consider that he appears
to be more concerned about
his own political future than
he is about local farms and
businesses or economic
development opportunities
for Morrow County. Then,
think about what you would
hope the ethics of Morrow
County’s leaders would
reflect, and tell him “No
thank you.”
Let’s start cleaning this
mess up!
Lisa Rietmann
Ione, OR
Good News Only by Doris Brosnan
S
~ Letters to the Editor ~
Saturday, October 22nd
Gilliam & Bisbee Building
D oors open at 5:00
Dinner at 6:00
Live Auction: 7:00
STEAK DINNER
$20/person
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!
Silent & Live Auction
The Card Game - Raf f l e
Heads & Tails Game
Please come out and
Support the Mustangs!