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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 2023)
TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 3, 2023 The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES U.S.P.S. 240-420 Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper Competitions, contests make math fun Heppner students place in math games SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE: http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/ Published weekly by Sykes Publishing and entered as periodical matter at the Post Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage paid at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 188 W. Willow Street. Telephone (541) 676-9228. Fax (541) 676-9211. E-mail: editor@rapidserve.net or david@rapidserve.net. Web site: www.heppner.net. Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $35 in Morrow County; $40 senior rate (in Morrow County only; 65 years or older); $30 elsewhere; $35 student subscriptions. Chris Sykes ...............................................................................................Publisher Andrea Di Salvo ............................................................................................ Editor Cindi Doherty.........................................................................................Advertising All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. For Advertising: advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Cost for a display ad is $5.50 per column inch. Cost for classified ad is 50¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $15 up to 100 words. Cost for a classified display ad is $6.00 per column inch. For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for publi- cation must be specified. Affidavits must be requested at the time of submission. Affidavits require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be specified if required). For Obituaries: Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to meet news guidelines. Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines or who wish to have the obituary written in a certain way must purchase advertising space for the obituary. For Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor MUST be signed by the author. The Heppner GT will not publish unsigned letters. All letters MUST include the author’s address and phone number for use by the GT office. The GT reserves the right to edit letters. 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. Obituaries Janet Gail Hughes Janet Gail Hughes, 88, formerly of Hep- p n e r, d i e d Tuesday, April 25, 2023, at her home in Walla Walla, WA. A graveside service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 13, at the Heppner Masonic Cemetery in Heppner. A reception will follow at the Gilliam and Bisbee Build- ing in Heppner. She was born Decem- ber 14, 1934, at San Luis Obispo, CA, the daughter of Edwin H. Coe and Bernice W. (Arnold) Coe. Gail was raised and attended school at Mil- ton-Freewater, OR, where she was valedictorian for the graduating class of 1953 at McLoughlin Union High School. Later in life Gail went back to school at Blue Mountain Community Col- lege, receiving an Associate of Arts Degree in 1992. On June 7, 1953, she married Allen Hughes at St. James Episcopal Church in Milton-Freewater. The cou- ple raised three daughters in the Heppner area, Patricia, Carolyn and Jennifer. After her husband’s death, Gail moved to Heppner, where she lived until moving to Walla Walla in 2018. Gail was employed at First National Bank, which became First Interstate Bank and later became Wells Fargo Bank, where she was a personal banker until her retirement. She was a member of the All-Saints Episcopal Church, where she was the organist for many years. Gail had a beautiful flower garden, which was one of the many hobbies she enjoyed along with sew- ing, bridge and playing the organ. She also was on the Willow Creek Valley Assisted Living Facility planning committee. Survivors include daughters Patricia Hughes, Carolyn Knox (Loren) and Jennifer Jaca (David); four grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and a brother, Edwin Arnold Coe. Gail was predeceased by her parents, her husband, Allen Hughes; and a sister, Lorna Roebke. Memorial contribu- tions may be made to Cove Ascension School Camp and Conference Center, 1104 Church St., Cove, OR 97824 or to Frazier Farm- stead Museum, 1403 Chest- nut St, Milton-Freewater, OR 97862 or the charity of your choice. Sweeney Mortuary of Heppner is in charge of ar- rangements. You may sign the online condolence book at www.sweeneymortuary. com. Death Notices Timothy E. “Tim” Reese—Timothy E. “Tim” Reese of Heppner died on April 17, 2023, in Spokane, WA at the age of 71. He was born on January 15, 1952, in Minneapolis, MN. Arrangements are pending. Please share memories of Tim with his family at burnsmortuaryhermiston. com. Burns Mortuary of Hermiston is in charge of arrangements. William “Thad” Kill- ingbeck—William “Thad” Killingbeck of Hermiston died on April 28, 2023, in Richland, WA at the age of 69. He was born on April 2, 1954, in La Grande, OR. A celebration of life service will be held on Saturday, May 13, at 2 p.m. at New Hope Church, 1350 S. Hwy 395, Hermiston. Please share memories of Thad with his family at burnsmortuaryhermiston. com. Burns Mortuary of Hermiston is in charge of arrangements. Marriages The Morrow County Clerk reports issuing the follow- ing marriage licenses for the month of April: April 5, 2023—Richard James Occhiuto, 30, and Marissa Therese James, 35. April 7, 2023—Jackson Riley Richards, 20, and Jael Aguilar, 20. April 21, 2023—Neftali Abdiel Ochoa Avalos, 29, and Grecia April Chairez Lepe, 29. April 24, 2023—Maribel Alejandra Sanchez, 33, and Antonio Garcia Garcia, 32. Housing authority to meet May 9 The next meeting of the dining room. For more information, Heppner Housing Authori- ty for the Heppner Senior please contact Kay Rene Center will be Tuesday, Qualls at 541-980-2836. May 9, at 4 p.m. in the St. Patrick’s Senior Center Students participate in math contests and games during the Regional High School Mathematics Contest in La Grande April 18. -Contributed photos Heppner High School students were among 150 young people from nine dif- ferent schools who attended a math contest hosted by Eastern Oregon Univer- sity on Tuesday, April 18. This was the 35 th year for the Regional High School Mathematics Contest on the La Grande campus. Students at the event participate in state quali- fying tests before taking part in math contests that include a Math Bee, and a Solve That Problem event, based on the old “Name That Tune” game show, which scores teams on the speed with which they can solve complex mathemati- cal problems. Students also par- ticipated in a Math “Re- lay Race” that combined physical fitness and prob- lem-solving skills. Several Heppner stu- dents brought home honors in the small schools team contests. Elizabeth Finch took third in Solve that Problem Geometry. Madi- son Palmer tied for second in Solve that Problem Open. The Heppner team took first in the small schools math relay race. “Any opportunity to get together and have fun with mathematics is ideal,” EOU Associate Professor of Mathematics Steve Tanner said. “Our main purpose is to identify top-performing students and invite them to the state competition.” Regional high schools that participated include Heppner High School, Burnt River High School, Enterprise High School, La Grande High School, Im- bler High School, Ontario High School, Union High School, Cove High School and Union County Home School. Imbler High School walked away with top hon- ors in the small school category, and the Enterprise High School team took top honors for the large school category. Scholarship winners included Tyler Leathers, Union High School, En- jie Fan, La Grande High School, Olivia Thornburg, Union County Homes- choolers, Rowan Hassinger, Cove High School, Azat Kossanov, Burnt River High School, and Weston Durfee, La Grande High School. Each scholarship winner was presented with a $1,000 EOU scholarship award for excellence during the Eastern Oregon Univer- sity Regional Mathematics Competition. BMCC to hold community listening sessions Blue Mountain Com- munity College (BMCC) has announced it will host a listening session in Board- man May 9 as part of a series of community and public listening sessions. The meeting will take place from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Riverside High School au- ditorium. The listening sessions are part of the process in BMCC’s new strategic plan. “Input is vital,” said BMCC President Dr. Mark Browning. “BMCC is poised to move into the future with new efforts to align programs, outcomes and services to further en- rich the lives of our students and the communities we serve. “Sitting down and hear- ing what are the needs and wants of our community partners is the first step in our work to formulate the plan that will guide Blue Mountain forward,” added Browning. The BMCC strategic plan will guide not only the overall direction of the col- lege but serve as a catalyst for other campus planning and operational efforts such as strategic enrollment, fa- cility usage and operational optimization. Input from the listen- ing sessions will impact the development of the 2025-2028 strategic plan. BMCC’s current 2021-2024 strategic plan can be viewed DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5PM online at bluecc.edu. Sessions will be held throughout BMCC’s ser- vice district. Each session will be 90 minutes and feature a facilitator to help guide conversations, input and feedback the college seeks as part of the process. Written contributions are welcome from those who are not able to attend. Visit www.bluecc.edu/lis- teningsessions for more details and a submission form. Blue Mountain Com- munity College is a com- prehensive community college serving more than 2,500 students throughout a six-county region spanning 16,500 square miles. Spiritually Speaking Father Thankachan Joseph St. Patrick Catholic Church Heppner Are you fear-full or faith-full? As we read last week, Peter, immediately after the Pentecost, added to the number of disciples three thou- sand on the very first day. The first reading for this week is again from Acts (6:1-7), the concern of the 12 apostles about the fast-growing early community of believers. As good shepherds, they accepted the seven reputed men, who were selected by the community and were filled with the zeal of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, to lead and guide the fast-growing believers’ community in the path of Christ. The apostles laid hands and prayed over the seven. The word of God continued to spread and the number of the disciples increased in Jerusalem significantly. The Gospel reading of this fifth Sunday of Easter is from John (14:1-12) and begins with these words: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” These are the words of Lord Jesus Christ addressing His disciples, not the crowd. A careful study of the Gospels shows that there are times Jesus speaks to the crowd, and at other times He would talk to His disciples as a group or to specific individuals among them. (For example: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human….” to Peter [Mt. 16:23].) One of the pieces of advice nowadays that young people receive from their parents, teachers and other people who play caring roles in their lives is to “stay out of trouble,” which are actually similar to words Jesus addressed to His apostles: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” It could be possible to stay out of trouble in the sense of not deliberately looking for it, but what about the times when troubles come to you even when you do not want them? What about when you are minding your own business and something or someone shows up with cans of troubles? Can we avoid being troubled? This week’s reflections are taken from the priestly prayer of Jesus. Christ was giving part of His final in- structions to His committed followers who could relate to His words and actions. Note that He was not telling them to stay out of trouble but not to be troubled. In a later instruction from the same Gospel of John (16:33), Jesus says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Are you troubled? If your answer is “yes,” then I would ask, how is that helping you? Being troubled would mean that you are becoming disheartened and dismayed. It could also mean that your trust or dependency in the Divine is deteriorating. Faith comes in such situations as the Lord has instructed as in the Gospel passage. There are many definitions of faith, but the one that excites me the most about faith comes from the letter to the Hebrews: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the con- viction of things not seen. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible” (11:1-3). The above understanding of faith helps us to know that it does not ask the famous traditional questions of what, why, where, when and how. Faith could be understood from the scriptural perspective: In fact, faith made Abra- ham the father of faith (Gen. 12:1ff), to leave his home- town without clarity about the destination. Faith made Daniel accept being cast into the lion’s den rather than deny God (Daniel 6). Faith made Job declare, “I know that my redeemer lives and that in the end, he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh, I will see God” (Job 19:25-26). Faith made the woman with the hemorrhages of 12 years touch the garment of Jesus (Luke 8: 41ff). What is your own story of faith in moments of your troubles; are you fear-full or faith-full? May God grant you the grace to look beyond the troubles of the time because they have expiration dates. Instead, may we focus on the enduring peace that reigns in the eternal home that our Lord Jesus Christ has pre- pared for us, and may we continue to strive to secure our dwelling places in the Father’s house. WWW.HEPPNER.NET Submit News, Advertising & Announcements Letters To The Editor Send Us Photos Start A New Subscription PORT OF MORROW COMMISSIONER Committed to: ✔ Transparency and Accountability ✔ Responsible Economic Growth ✔ County-wide Representation