Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 11, 2023 -- THREE
Spiritually Speaking
Good News Only by Doris Brosnan
Father Thankachan Joseph
St. Patrick Catholic Church Heppner
Good News that some readers might not yet be
aware of since the pandemic interruptions is that the
library in Heppner is open daily from 10 to 6, except on
Sundays and Mondays, and it has so much to offer! One
example is its “Crafty Nights,” and tonight’s adult craft
From this Sunday’s Scripture readings, we get the mes-
is “mixed-media-canvas” at 6 p.m. A visit to the library
sage that Jesus was sent by God to this world with a purpose will impress the visitor with its vast shelves of books,
of building a bridge between heaven and earth, for God
educational resources, tutorials for students, the internet
wants all to be saved.
access, the young-readers room, audio books, movies, and
The Prophet Isaiah (49:3, 5-6), tells us about the Servant if something is not in this library, a search of the Sage
of Israel: He is a servant who will glorify God through his
Library system of several libraries will surely find it and
work. The Lord, in turn, will glorify His servant as no person have it here pronto!
on earth has ever been glorified. The servant’s effort is to
Looking for a Tuesday-afternoon activity? Good
bring back to the Lord not only the people of Israel but all
News for Bingo players: Play begins at 1 p.m. in the din-
people. Who is this servant? When Isaiah wrote about the
ing room of the St. Pat’s Senior Center, and it is a pretty
servant of God, he was speaking about himself, chosen by
inexpensive entertainment and social outing.
God while in his mother’s womb (Isaiah 49:1). He readily
The weather calmed down and became comfortable
agreed to be God’s messenger: “Here I am, send me!” (Isaiah for the 4-Corners Snowmobile Club’s recent annual Play
6:8). He announced, contrary to what the Jews thought, that
Day at Kelly Prairie. Tom Wolff’s reports of 52 snowmo-
God’s plan was to save everybody, not only the Jews. Isaiah
biles and 13 tracked side-by-sides included his observa-
saw himself as a powerful light casting its rays to the ends of tion that an increasing number of tracked (and heated)
the world.
side-by-side units seems to reflect that some members
The Gospel reading is from the first chapter of John,
are “growing more mature.” Members made the most of
wherein we see John the Baptist witnessing Christ to the
the spectacular day with time for a fundraising effort, a
world. He came to witness Christ and he does it so well
great dogs-and-chili meal, a trail ride and a poker run.
through his life. John describes Christ as “Behold the Lamb
John Edmundson reports that Pat and he were re-
of God who takes away the sin of the world” (1:30). Ac-
minded this past weekend of the benefit of having a
cording to John the Baptist, sin is the great stumbling block
person endowed with “above-average tallness” present
to God’s plans of salvation. We know how Adam and Eve
and available to help us short people with things we can’t
blocked God’s plan of salvation through their disobedience.
reach: On Friday the electrician Adam Wight, with his
Their sin was the first link of a long chain, and we add our
6’ 10” assistant, Justin McAnisch, checked out a ceiling
share to that sin with our sins. That is why Paul insistently
light fixture, without a ladder. And on Sunday, our son,
says that “Everyone has sinned” (Rom. 5:12). And we need
Jeff, at 6’ 3”, repositioned a smoke detector and helped
to admit our transgressions. That is the reason John tells us
with putting Christmas decorations away on high shelves,
that “If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves”
also without a ladder.
(1 John 1:8).
Shirley Connor is proud to report the latest good
John the Baptist is trying to describe sin. Sin is not only news about grandchildren from Asotin, WA: Greg and
breaking a rule given by God but also our refusal of God’s
Jodi Connor’s two students at Lewis and Clark College
love and going against His efforts to save us. For example:
in Lewiston, ID, are on the honor rolls. Jake, a senior ma-
Imagine a person about to fall into a gorge, biting the hand
joring in computer science, is on the Dean’s List. Kenlie,
of his rescuer trying to pull him up at the risk of his own
a sophomore majoring in radiology, is on the President’s
life. This would be a picture of what sin is. In order to fully
List. Their older sister, Nicole, graduated two years ago
understand sin, we should first understand the immensity of
from Lewis and Clark and is now a radiologist in Clark-
God’s love in saving us, the tenderness of the love we reject. ston. Shirley adds that the three students’ educations were
The role of John the Baptist was to introduce Him to the and are being paid for by themselves with hard-earned
fallen world. John the Baptist reminds us of someone who
and saved money from years of various jobs.
was a facilitator, who set the pace. His job was to prepare the
From Oregon State University comes the list of
way for someone else, someone greater than he. That some-
Heppner graduates on the university’s fall honor roll,
one was Christ. When Christ appeared, John slipped into
requiring a 3.5 grade-point or higher: Carson Brosnan,
the shadows. He knew exactly what his role was: only the
a senior; Kason Cimmiyotti, a freshman; Tatum Clark,
messenger who announced the King. He lived for it, seeking a senior; Keegan Gibson, a junior; Gibson McCurry, a
nothing for himself. In today’s Gospel we have the plain, yet senior; and Cami VanArsdale, a junior. And on the honor
powerful message of John the Baptist, wherein he preached
roll of nearby Linn Benton, Conor Brosnan is another
about the Messiah and His existence. The Messiah was more HHS graduate listed. Impressive, All! (The Good News
worthy and more powerful than he. He was not even worthy
column welcomes such good news about area young
to undo the strap of His sandals. He proclaimed, “I baptize
students from all institutions.)
you with water, but He with the Holy Spirit.” John also com-
Yes, as one reader has pointed out, the support that
pares Jesus to a lamb, keeping in mind the existing Jewish
members of the community offer when someone faces a
custom: Every morning and afternoon, a lamb was sacrificed tragedy is definitely a positive.
at the Temple of Jerusalem for the sins of the people of Israel
When something brings a smile to your face, how
(Exodus 29:38-42).
about taking a few minutes to send details to dbros-
That is why Jesus chose to die on the feast of the
nan123@gmail.com or call 541-223-1490?
Passover, giving a clear sign that from then onwards, men
Here’s hoping that some good news comes to ev-
should turn to Christ and not to animals to have their sins
eryone reading this!
Manifest the Lamb of God
forgiven. Jesus made pardon available to all by shedding His
blood on the cross. That is why Peter tells the Christians (1
Pt. 1:18-19): “Remember the ransom that was paid to free
you… it was not paid in silver or gold, but in the precious
blood of a lamb without spot or stain, namely, Jesus Christ.”
Jesus continues His work of destroying sin through Baptism.
Jesus destroys sin the very moment man repents. Thus, He
continues to be at all times the Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world. Angels and saints praise Him under
this glorious title in heaven. Rev. 5:12 says: “The Lamb that
was sacrificed is worthy to be given power, riches, wisdom,
strength, honor, glory and blessing.”
Pranger retires
-Continued from PAGE TWO weeds aren’t eliminated
plant designated by the
government as harmful to
public health, agriculture,
recreation, wildlife or
property. They’re typical-
ly invasive species that
reproduce quickly and
outcompete native plants.
It was those biological
invaders that Pranger was
out to conquer, often with
creative techniques.
“I was heavily invest-
ed in biological control,”
he said. “I had some pretty
good successes in different
areas.”
He said the state
works with around 70
different bio-controls, and
each has to go through rig-
orous testing and approval
to make sure they target
the problem plants and
only the problem plants.
“Because they don’t
want them hopping over to
grandma’s roses or grand-
ma’s tomatoes,” he said.
One of his successes
was with the reduction,
if not total eradication, of
knapweed.
“It was a running
joke when I started that
knapweed was the Mor-
row County flower,” said
Pranger.
He tried a new method
of bio-control, the knap-
weed seedhead weevil.
The weevils, which were
imported directly from
Turkey and Greece, lay
eggs on the plant’s seed-
heads. The eggs then
hatch, and the larvae eat
the seeds. It was a highly
individualized approach,
and it worked.
“You know you’re do-
ing something right when
you get ranchers asking
for more,” Pranger said,
“because they’re seeing
results.”
Pranger said he also
had good success with
similar bio-controls for
yellow star-thistle, dalma-
tian toadflax and purple
loosestrife. He knows the
but said that kind of suc-
cess was what made his
job worth it.
“That was probably
the most rewarding thing
about the job—working
with those things that will
continue on after I leave,”
he said. “The bugs will
still be here.”
During his time in
weed control, Pranger was
also involved in several
work-related associa-
tions—he was president,
vice president and board
member of the Oregon
Vegetation Management
Association, spent four
years in the Oregon
County Weed Control
Association, where he was
also president, and served
four years on the state’s
Oregon Invasive Species
Council.
As fulfilling as he
found his work, howev-
er, he said it was time to
retire.
“I was ready. It was
time for new blood,” said
Pranger said of handing
the weed control reins to
Corey Sweeney in No-
vember.
In addition, his wife,
Anita, had retired after 30
years with Morrow Coun-
ty. Pranger looks forward
to their retirement togeth-
er, and to spending more
time with the grandkids.
The Prangers have three
grandchildren, two in
Silverton, OR and one in
Medford, OR.
“It’ll give us time
to do some things while
we’re young,” he said.
He said he will miss
the people he worked
with at the road depart-
ment, calling them “a
great bunch of people,”
but it sounds like he has
no shortage of plans for a
relaxed retirement.
“Probably lots of golf
and hunting,” he said.
“Maybe a little traveling.”
Boardman officers involved in shooting
No one injured, shooting under investigation
Oregon State Police
report an ongoing inves-
tigation following an offi-
cer-involved shooting in
Boardman last week.
On Wednesday, Jan. 4,
two Boardman Police Of-
ficers attempted to contact
Matthew Louis Spargo, 39,
following a complaint that
he had violated a restraining
order. The officers located
Spargo in a vehicle and
conducted a traffic stop,
which resulted in an officer
involved shooting. Neither
Spargo nor the officers
were injured in the incident,
and Spargo was taken into
custody without further
incident.
Oregon State Police
did not provide any other
details about the shooting
other than to say that a
collaborative investigation
pursuant to Senate Bill 111
is being conducted. The
OSP is leading the investi-
gation with the assistance
of the Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office, Pendleton
Police Department and the
Morrow County District
Attorney’s office.
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