Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 22, 2023 -- THREE
~ Letters to the Editor ~
Spiritually Speaking
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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!
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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