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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2023)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 22, 2023 -- THREE ~ Letters to the Editor ~ Spiritually Speaking 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. Heppner has dog issues I am writing this letter in order to raise awareness about various dog issues in the city of Heppner. First of all, I am a dog owner and dog lover. I have owned several dogs in my lifetime and enjoy walk- ing my current dog daily around Heppner. There are three main problems that I see. The first one is dog poop that is not being picked up. I see it all over but it is particularly bad over at the Heritage Plaza as well as the museum area. This baffles me because the city has conveniently installed dog poop bag containers in that area as well as other parts of town. We pick up ours and I appreciate all the other people who do as well. Many, however, are not. Please have respect and pride for our town. The next issue is loose dogs running around town. People, please know where your dogs are. The loose dogs pose a danger to them- selves (getting hit by a car, for instance) as well as pe- destrians and dog walkers. The loose dogs are some- times aggressive. Please, tie them up, keep them inside the house or fenced yard. Lastly, we have the barking dog issue. Please, people, have some aware- ness to your dog’s barking. I think some dog owners get so used to the sound of their own dog’s barking that they tune it out and don’t realize what a nuisance it is to their neighbors. It can be a real bummer, disturb- ing an otherwise peaceful neighborhood. I know that Heppner has a barking dog ordi- nance. I’m not sure about any ordinance regarding the other issues. Can we please work together on this? Please become re- sponsible dog owners if you are not already. Neighbors need to work together on this and, if need be, contact the sheriff’s office. I’m sure they have better things to do than deal with dog prob- lems, but that’s why these ordinances are in place. Thank you. Sincerely, Matthew Neal Heppner, OR Speak Up Recently I’ve had cause to give thought to our First Amendment. And since it’s been a while since seventh grade, I figured I had better look it up to see exactly what it said. Here’s what I found: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free ex- ercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to as- semble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” So my take-away from that is that our government is not supposed to develop a “state religion” and demand everyone comply. I’m good with that. What it does not say is “There shall be no prayer in schools, no 10 commandments, and no God in government... espe- cially those Bible-thumping Christians.” By the way, “Separation of church and state” is not there. Someone made that up. The “freedom of speech” part seems pretty clear to me. We get to say what we want. But remem- ber, just because we have the right to say anything, doesn’t mean anything we say is right. Big difference. Jesus made it pretty clear that we will account for “every idle word” spoken. And just be kind. By the way, I’ve heard yelling “Fire!” in a crowded the- ater is a bad thing, unless, of course, there is actually a fire... then it might be a good thing, but best to wait until you’re close to an exit. It’s all about context. Thanks to our friends on The Left, the term “Hate Speech” has taken hold as a great way to shut someone up. They’ve been working hard to change the “free speech” part to “free as long as you agree with me” speech. In their eyes, dis- agreeing, criticizing or hurt- ing their feelings should be punishable by law. There are a few problems with that. Who gets to decide what qualifies as “Hate Speech”? My “friend” on Facebook? CNN? The Pres- ident? How about letting God be the judge of that… since He’s definitely smart- er than all three (especially the latter). The whole thing has just gotten messy. Take for example, my distaste for little ankle-biter dogs. If I post something on social media about hating those little rascals, should I go to FB jail? Would I have the local ABCD (Ankle Biter Chihuahua Dogs) commu- nity after me? Should I have to purchase steel-ankled boots because now I am a target? I find it ironic that so- cial media proudly dis- plays dirty words and nasty things folks would never say to your face, yet they sift through the truth and discard it like yesterday’s coffee grounds. But while it’s not right, it is their right. My mom had a great little saying. I was informed that if I left my muddy boots in the living room one more time, I would get “skinned alive.” I’m pretty sure if I would have accused her of hate speech, those muddy boots would have taken flight over my head. Mom believed in her right to free speech. She wasn’t, however, that concerned about mine. Susie Crosby Heppner, OR What if it were Heppner? Why, why, why weren’t the people in East Palestine, OH immediately evacuated and given FEMA housing at a distance until state or federal leaders were willing to come back with them and live there themselves for at least a month or two? Can this administration do anything more to let us know they couldn’t care less about us, “The little people?” Wake up, middle class. That includes us. Everyone but the elites, the powerful, the really rich. What would you do, if Heppner were destroyed, and no one was willing to buy your house? Sandra Johnson Heppner, OR Taxpayers to foot bill “Near the end of January, Morrow County offered to settle the case with Green for $50,000 plus attorney fees. Green accepted the deal on Feb. 1. Both sides are due back in court on Feb. 21” (Antonio Sierre, OPB, Feb. 15, 23). There has been no public meeting documentation or agenda inclusion offering Darrell Green a settlement of $50,000 dollars plus lawyers’ fees. Both previous commis- sioners Doherty and Lindsay had been assured by Morrow County insurance (C.I.S.) that they honored and ful- filled all legal requirements and properly fired county ad- ministrator Green. Morrow County taxpayers must now foot the bill for compromis- ing to Darrel Green’s threat. In addition, our insurance rates will skyrocket after paying off both Darrel Green and his wife. If Darrel Green and his wife were employees in the pri- vate sector, not Morrow County employees, would they have been rewarded with tens of thousands of dollars for being fired? Stuart Dick Irrigon, OR Good News Only by Doris Brosnan “Yes, I laughed out loud! And I said several times, ‘My gosh, that has happened to me!’” Linda Riney re- ported to her Bookworms group a week ago when she encouraged them to read Vacuuming in the Nude and Other Ways to Get Attention, a collection of hilarious anecdotes written by Peggy Rowe. She is the mother of Mike Rowe, familiar to fans of the TV series Dirty Jobs. Riney said that this is Peggy’s third book, written a couple of years ago when she was 84. Her first success, after many years of rejections from publishers, was when she was 80. She weaves stories of incidents “that we all have in our everyday lives” into side-splitting entertain- ment, Riney reported. She thinks any reader who has accumulated some years of experiences will delight in this book, which is available at our library. (Contrary to the book’s title, Rowe’s Erma Bombeck-ish-type anecdotes are not rated R.) Bill and Neva Mahon have been happy “Ramblin’ Rovers” for long enough that Bill kept insisting to his sister Patty Harshman that she should join the group that offers a variety of travel opportunities every year. Recently, Patty decided to give it a try. Little did Bill anticipate the fact that Neva now has a second traveling companion and one that has now agreed to take with Neva an upcoming trip that Bill showed no interest in. So, Mr. Mahon’s company will not be necessary, and he will be keeping the home fires burning when the two women travel to Portland for a few days’ touring opportunities during Rose Festival week! Last Saturday’s Inland Northwest Orchestra’s concert was a splendid experience for the sparse crowd who were able to attend. The 34 members blended magnificently with their boisterous, somber, and light-hearted selections for an hour and a half and then mingled with audience members over refreshments before heading back to Pendleton. One member familiar to Heppner has been playing with the orchestra since leaving Heppner several years ago—Delanne Ferguson was the USFS Ranger in Heppner before taking a similar position in Pendleton. The members of the orchestra are unpaid volunteers from several Eastern Oregon communities and Walla Walla who are willing to travel and devote many hours to practices and performances out of love for the music. Last Saturday was an example of our relatively few numbers being stretched thinly among many events. The count included high school basketball teams playing out of town, elementary basketball teams playing club ball in Hermiston, barrel-racing competition at the fairgrounds, the Heppner Elks Annual, and the Inland Northwest Or- chestra’s concert. Do we need a gigantic bulletin board in a central location on which individuals who plan to sponsor an event can enter it and the date planned, so that anyone else who is searching for a date on which to hold an event can see dates already featuring events, avoiding overbooking, so to speak? Or are clones the answer? High school basketball season continues as dis- trict competitions have led into the first rounds of state playoffs. Both the girls’ and boys’ Ione-Arlington teams have moved on – the women played Jordan Valley yester- day and the men are playing North Douglas today. And the Heppner boys’ team will play Oakland this Saturday, the 25 th . Congratulations, Hoopsters, for these achievements! The Catholic-Church community welcomed Father Joseph Thankachan back last weekend from his vacation in India. So, Melancholy Collie and Perky Puppy have a house guest this week, Maggie, the “granddog” from Salem. Since Maggie is a “pom-chi” (pomeranian-chi- huahua), Lily (puppy) is delighted to have something her size to chew on, growl at, pounce on, generally harass. Since chubby Maggie is nine years old, she is mostly not into frisky activities, so seeks remote spaces away from the nuisance. Katie generally agrees with Maggie’s assessment of the puppy—although she does play in her own gigantic way with Lily off and on—mostly ignoring both. And the dog-sitter/walker? She finds walking three a bit more challenging than two! If you smiled, so will the Gazette-Times readers when you share your tidbit! An email to dbrosnan123@gmail. com or call to 541-223-1490 will do it. Here’s hoping that some good news comes to every- one reading this! WWW.HEPPNER.NET Submit News, Advertising & Announcements Letters To The Editor Send Us Photos Start A New Subscription Father Thankachan Joseph St. Patrick Catholic Church Heppner Lent: A Time to Turn Towards God Ash Wednesday has begun the season of Lent. In this Sunday’s Gospel we see Christ in the desert, struggling with the tempter. Through prayer, fasting and fidelity to the word of God, He emerges victorious. We face temp- tations in our day-to-day lives. Lent provides us a great opportunity to overcome them. When Lent begins, many people ask, “What will you do for Lent? What are you planning to give up for Lent?” Some will answer, “I will give up smoking,” or, “I will give up alcoholic drinks,” or, “I will give up movies and TV.” Others may say, “I will go for daily Mass,” or, “I will read one chapter of the Gospels every day.” But you who neither smoke nor drink nor watch movies and TV, you who go for daily Mass and read Gospels every day, what is there to give up? The real question of Lent is not so much, “What will I give up for Lent?” but rather, “What do I wish to become as a result of Lent?” When we drive, we need to follow traffic restrictions. When we work in an institution, we need to follow the rules and regulations of that institution. When it comes to God and humans, there, too, exist certain directions and commands inscribed in the Scriptures. We have many excuses to avert all these. This season of Lent is a time to investigate oneself and to realize that if we have walked away from Him, we need to return to Him, with a sense of repentance and a heavy heart, a time to recall all of our sins. Sin is the breaking of relationships with God (Adam and Eve), with others (Cain and Abel), and with self (tower of Babel). This season of Lent invites each of us to examine and evaluate how we have walked away from God. Refusal to help those in need: Lent is a time to ac- knowledge having not reached out when someone needed us most. The Lord has placed before us opportunities to do works of mercy. We cannot ignore the pain and struggle of someone else and pretend to live a happy and contented life. The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus helps us to reflect (Mt. 25:41-46; Lk. 16:19f). Waste of Talents: The season of Lent invites every- one to see the numerous blessings we have wasted. The Lord has blessed everyone according to his or her talents. Instead of thanking God for the numerous blessings that we receive each day, like the man who got one talent we look at someone else’s gifts and blessings and forget to live our lives to the fullest. The one who buried the talent is condemned (Mt. 25:24-30). Unwillingness to Forgive: The Lord asks each of us to forgive the mistakes of others. We might examine the case of the one who received forgiveness from the king but was not able to grant pardon to the man who owed him a hundred dinar (Mt. 18:21f). Pharisaism: We can search for times of pharisaic behavior in our lives, treating others as did the pharisees, pinpointing the mistakes of someone else and finding hap- piness in doing so. One example is the parable of the tax collector and the publican. This period of Lent is a time for us to acquire the habit of humility, not condemning and despising others (Lk. 18:11-12; Mt. 23:13f). Refusal to accept: Very clearly, Jesus explains this through the parable of the prodigal son. When the young- est son returns home, the father who lost everything is ready to forgive him and rejoices. Many are like the older son, pecking at the mistakes of someone (Lk. 15:25-32). Ingratitude: The Lord showers His numerous bless- ings upon us every day. Most of us are like the nine lepers who were healed by the Lord but never returned to thank Him. This is time to acknowledge and thank the Lord for all the numerous blessings received, much more than we truly need or deserve (Lk 17:11-19). Let us use this season of Lent to examine ourselves. God does not keep track of our sins/evildoings (cf. Lk. 15:21f). But we ourselves do. Our guilty conscience tor- ments us (Lady Macbeth, Herod). We punish ourselves. Readiness to forgive and contrition are more important than whispering sins to the priest. Readiness to change is a necessary condition (Zacchaeus, Lk. 19:8). No sacrament works like magic—either it is an occasion for personal transformation or empty ritual. Ione Community Church 470 E Main Street, Ione, Oregon Church School & Adult Study at 10:00 am Worship at 11:00 AM “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all you heart.” -Jeremiah 29:13 Join Us in the Search