Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current, May 10, 2023, Page 3, Image 3

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 10, 2023 -- THREE
~ Letters to the Editor ~
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.
Port commis-
sioner needs
a holistic ap-
proach
Dear Editor,
I would like to thank Mr.
John Wenholz for pointing
out in his editorial what a
fine community leader I
have been.
Imagine a citizen actu-
ally showing up at a public
meeting and testifying, only
to be called a “disrupter.”
Not that I was “out of order,”
but merely a participant in
a civil process. God forbid.
I showed up at a planning
commission meeting, county
meeting and a city meet-
ing—such civil disobedi-
ence.
Perhaps Mr. Wenholz
has forgotten what it is to
be a responsible citizen, and
how democracy actually
works. If that’s all the dirt
you have on me, I’ll take it
as a compliment and move
on. “A disrupter.” I kinda
like it, actually. Someone
with an original thought, a
voice, an idea, a dissenting
opinion. What a novel idea.
Perhaps the idea of democ-
racy is a new concept for
Mr. Wenholz, the very idea
that the government would
listen to the people. It’s not
too surprising. After all, he
supports Mr. Padberg, who
said, “in 28 years has never
seen nor cast a dissenting
vote.” If that’s not the very
definition of the “Good Old
Boys” club, what is?
We have seen our share
of ill-planned growth and
expansion—DX 90 in the
heart of our retail and com-
mercial district, proposed
data centers on fertile agri-
culture lands, man camps
that isolate people from
services and a Speedway
that everyone knew would
be a “white elephant” and
still is. These were not good
ideas. It wasn’t a good idea
to postpone a digester until
the fines racked up into the
millions, either.
I feel we need to change
the way we move forward,
sharpen our resource effi-
ciency, build strong infra-
structure to support respon-
sible development, make our
communities a place families
want to live in and make
their home. I am a strong
supporter of land use, its
laws and how they actually
build strong communities.
That’s not anti-growth, it’s
the three pillars of sustain-
able growth: social, eco-
nomic and environmental.
Simply the fundamentals.
P.S. The Speedway was
not thrown out at the state. It
was taken out of the people’s
process by a “tag” on to a
junk bill in the legislature—
which I’m sure Mr. Wenholz
was a party to. They left
Morrow County holding the
bag. Unpaid taxes, repos-
sessed equipment and an
overlay zone that still creates
havoc for land use. One rea-
son why we need someone
to take a holistic approach
to being a Port of Morrow
Commissioner.
Kelly Doherty,
Boardman, OR
Why is Mor-
row County
developing a
new Ambu-
lance Service
Area plan?
Morrow County is de-
veloping a revised Ambu-
lance Service Area (ASA)
Plan for one reason, and
one reason only. We are
required by Oregon law
and administrative rules to
do so.
Unfortunately, over the
years Morrow County has
not been carrying out its
legal duties and respon-
sibilities, and as a result,
we are out of compliance
on our current ASA. We
are operating under a 1998
plan that has never been
reviewed and updated as
required every five years.
An attempt was made in
2021, but did not follow the
required legal process, and
was never completed nor
approved and adopted by
the county. We are working
with the Oregon Health
Authority to complete this
process as soon as possible.
The process to update
the plan has been started
and we are committed to
conducting this procedure
according to law and in a
fair and impartial manner.
David Sykes, Chair
Morrow County Board
of Commissioners
What a Drag
I’ve always liked a man
in uniform. Pressed slacks,
starched shirt, hat tipped
just right…. I never had
a Ken Doll but if I had,
I’d have dressed him in
uniform. Funny thing, but
Stilettos and lipstick were
never a part of that vision.
So, I heard recent-
ly that we have a certain
branch of our military that
has decided to go Woke
and politically fashionable
with the enlistment of a
Drag Queen to help their
recruitment efforts. My
mind immediately went to
a possible scenario where
this idea could have origi-
nated. I pictured an off-duty
and slightly discouraged
recruiter sitting in a bar
with one too many Bud
Lights and slightly slurred
speech…. “Hey Bob…I got
an idea….” After finally
getting past the realization
that this was an actual event
and not just another great
satirical piece from the
Babylon Bee, I have to be
honest…. I had some seri-
ous questions.
What if they break a
nail in battle? Would that
be considered a disability?
While I have no problem
with my tax dollars going
to support our military, I
won’t be a happy camper
when my money goes to
the Naval Nail Salon. And
what happens when Sick
Bay is filled with sailors
complaining of cramps?
Will they get automatic
leave for their “time of the
month”? And can you even
march in stilettos?
And I wonder, honest-
ly, to what do we owe this
unfortunate decline in re-
cruitment numbers? Could
it be that the thought of
serving under a Command-
er in Chief that can’t tie his
shoes is a little unnerving?
Or maybe it’s the success-
ful campaign of our educa-
tors who are determined to
make it really uncool for
young folks to be proud of
their country. Maybe boot-
ing sailors off the boat for
not wanting The Vid Vax
left a bit of a hole in their
numbers. And they didn’t
even see it coming.
My dad was a Navy
man. He joined up when
Pearl Harbor happened. He
went from Stanford Uni-
versity to Officer Training
School, then PT Boat Com-
mander, and eventually all
the way to Lieutenant Com-
mander. He was proud of
his Navy career. He’s been
gone several years now,
but I can’t imagine what it
would do to him to see what
has become of his beloved
Spiritually Speaking
Navy and his beloved coun-
try. He saw it coming, but
I’m sure he never imagined
how rapid or how disastrous
the decline would be.
We’ve allowed our mil-
itary to become a banner for
an ungodly society and our
government to become a
laughingstock to the rest of
the world. We’ve traded our
freedom for a pot of beans,
while we’ve welcomed the
enemy with open arms.
We’ve taken what so many
of our fathers and grandfa-
thers did to protect us, risk-
ing and losing their lives in
the process, and acted like
they just handed us a piece
of gum. The whole Drag
Queen thing feels like the
final straw on a very tired
and weak camel’s back.
Daddy, I miss you ter-
ribly…but I’m glad you
aren’t here to witness the
insanity.
“When the godly are
in authority, the people re-
joice. But when the wicked
are in power, they groan.”
Proverbs 29:2
Susie Crosby
Heppner, OR
Good News Only by Doris Brosnan
Good news for area senior citizens: Soon the meal site
at the St. Patrick’s Senior Center will again be offering
lunches. A committee of five have adopted the moniker
of “South Morrow Seniors Matters” for the nonprofit
organization that is now working on final details before
the grand opening of the lunch site. Watch for information
in the Gazette-Times.
Mary Ann Elguezebal refers to “healing hands” when
talking about Judy Norris, who was a professional mas-
seuse in Heppner, and many other clients would agree with
those modifiers. Judy is now in Maine with a daughter
and suffering a serious health challenge, so Mary Ann is
suggesting the sending of thoughtful cards and encour-
aging words to Judy at 26 Leeman Drive, Northport, ME
04849. Such caring can bring smiles to Judy’s face.
For a grandmother, little can best an opportunity to
share time with all her grandchildren, so last weekend
was the best for this writer: On Friday, at the OSU ROTC
Awards Ceremony, grandson Carson received from the
Marine Corps Coordinating Council a Marine sword in
recognition of his leadership skills. On Saturday, grand-
daughter Amy was a member of the West Salem Titans
Choir that placed second in the Oregon State 6A Choir
competition, also held in Corvallis. And the best part of
the weekend was the sharing of time with them, the other
two grandchildren, and their parents at the Old Spaghetti
Factory!
Mothers’ Day is coming up! One fortunate
Mom-Grandmother will be Bev Sherman, who is excit-
edly looking forward to having her entire family “home”
this weekend. Joining her Huddlestons (including Jared)
and Watkinses (including Jeff) of Heppner will be her
Sherman children, grandchildren, and great grandchil-
dren, including Mahaley Huddleston from Austin, TX,
and from Portland, Kyle Huddleston, Ron and Mercedes
Sherman, Jacob Sherman, Josh and Jenny Kingsbury
with 8-1/2-month-old Calina (named after “Papa Cal”),
Julie Watkins and Jasper Hua with Delah, who is seven
years old, and their wee baby girl, Stevie, who is 3-1/2
months old. This will be the first time for Calina and
Stevie to meet.
The waters of Willow Creek run high, and the banks
look much cleaner than they did last year! One walker/
good citizen was seen last week reaching for a piece of
debris left near the creek, sliding down the slippery slope,
and almost ending up in that water! (Debris was captured.)
Please share your reasons to smile with the GT readers
by sending your tidbits to dbrosnan123@gmail.com or
by calling 541-223-1490.
Here’s hoping that some good news comes to every-
one reading this!
Father Thankachan Joseph
St. Patrick Catholic Church Heppner
“If you love me: you will keep
my commandments”
The Lord Jesus has shown us how to live and reach
the Father in Heaven. He has said He is “the bread of life”
(John 6: 48). “I am the good shepherd that lays down the
life for the sheep” (John 10:11). This Sunday, Jesus speaks
about the Holy Spirit: “I am telling you the truth: it is for
your own good that I am going, because unless I go, the
Paraclete will not come to you. And when he comes, he
will show the world how wrong it was about sin and about
who was in the right and about judgement and about sin”
(John 16:7-8). The subsequent tension, anxiety and fear
over Jesus’s departure to Heaven are calmed when He
says that the Spirit will show what is sin and the malice
of sin. Jesus presents the Holy Spirit as the Advocate who
can intervene on our behalf, the Comforter/Helper when
we face difficulties of life, the Counselor. A counselor
is whom we can approach for help in times of anxiety,
worry, desperation etc., such as now. Jesus leaves with
us the Counselor who can really soothe all our anxieties.
The Gospel of John, chapter 14:15-21, starts with
Jesus saying to His disciples, “If you love me, you will
keep my commandments” (15). It is a moral instruction.
As parents, we instruct our children to “do what I tell
you.” Similarly, Jesus is telling His flock to adhere to
Him in love and to listen to His voice and follow Him.
Jesus asks everyone to follow the commandments in order
to have a spirit-filled life. For example, in the season of
baseball, games can degenerate into fights if the rules
are ignored. Also, we see accidents on the roads when
people ignore safety measures and road rules. Jesus asks
the disciples to do two things: to love Him and to obey
His commandments.
“Love” is one of the most commonly used words
in the world. But truly love is not in what we say; it is
beyond words. It is not what we feel; it is beyond feel-
ings. It is not what we sing; it is more melodious than
any song. For love to be what it really is, it must have
its foundation in God because God is love (1 John 4:8).
To Love truly and comprehensively is to have a strong
and steady connection with God as defining support, for
without God, love does not exist.
Not once, but several times during the last supper,
Christ said these or similar words: “If you love me,
keep my commandments.” Life is governed by rules
and regulations. Effective survival depends largely upon
responses to those rules and regulations. But apart from
natural and human laws are divine laws that are God’s di-
rectives and regulations for wholesome living. Obedience
to God’s commandments is the pathway to the life one
really wants to live. Jesus reminds us that obedience is
listening and acting on what we hear. Jesus says, “I have
come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the
will of him who sent me” (John 6:38). God’s language of
love is obedience, so, as Jesus obeyed His Father’s will,
He pleads with us to keep His commandments to have
beautiful lives.
As we take a close look at the Gospel of the day,
we must understand one thing. We are not talking about
clearly defined rules and commandments, but about
guidelines and signposts He left. We are talking about a
new spirit. Keeping this in mind, looking at some of the
Dos and Don’ts the Holy Spirit teaches would not only
seem to be helpful, but even necessary.
Don’ts: Do not return evil for evil. Nothing is
achieved by retaliation, except to pile darkness upon
darkness. Similarly, do not judge your neighbor. No one
knows all the facts in any particular case except God.
Therefore, leave judgement to Him. The Holy Spirit will
inspire us to not condemn our neighbors.
Dos: Love your enemies. Not just friends and cronies,
because that’s easy and everybody does it, but practicing
kindness towards those you do not like or those who
may have been unkind to you is hard. Forgive, not just
in words, but from the heart. If you do, then you have
nothing to fear in regard to your own sins. God has already
forgiven them. Finally, the commandment, “If you love
me, you will keep my commandments.”
Print & Mailing Services
*Design *Print
Sykes Publishing
*Mail
541-676-9228
Print
&
Mailing
Services
*Design
*Print
*Mail
Sykes Publishing
541-676-9228
PORT OF MORROW COMMISSIONER
Committed to:
✔ Transparency and Accountability
✔ Responsible Economic Growth
✔ County-wide Representation