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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 17, 2023)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 17, 2023 -- THREE Good News Only by Doris Brosnan “They’re back!” ODOT has returned to work with those cryptic letters and numbers painted a couple of months ago along our Main-May-Court Streets, which are also ODOT’s Highway 74. According to an In-The- Know Street Observer, the bump-outs were designed with then-regulation 1.5-degree slopes that now need to be redesigned to meet the now-regulation one-degree slopes. And the rolls of straw at the several intersections? They have been temporarily placed to prohibit large debris from flowing into the drains. Other good news about our streets is that some of the local side streets will soon be chip-sealed, adding to our…improvements. The county has been hired by the city for that job. Evidence that you can take an individual out of Heppner but you can’t take Heppner out of the individ- ual is yet another home-grown, familiar-to-many, name of someone who keeps “track of the goings-on in Hep- pner” since moving with her family to Spokane in 1964. Vicky Barratt Moland is among the many individuals who live elsewhere but continue to receive the Heppner Gazette-Times. Vicky now lives with her husband in Valleyford, WA, and includes in her recent letter to this column that “Heppner has always been such a close-knit community….” Nancy Ekstrom and daughter Cindy Greenup enjoyed a long weekend with Haley Struckmeier in Tacoma before she had to “ship out” on her sixth deployment with the Air Force Reserves. Nancy and Cindy travelled up on Friday, the 5 th , to spend three evenings with Haley. Bittersweet was Haley’s being able to celebrate her 30 th birthday with them on the 7 th , just days before she had to fly away. For the weekend of April 29, Ellis McRoberts was delighted with a visit from his niece Margaret McRoberts (Arlo’s daughter) and her two children, Bea and Niko. Margaret comes from Denver, CO, but for the breakfast that she prepared for Ellis and his friend Kathy Turner on Saturday, she did not make a Denver omelet but excellent crepes. Niko was eager to check out the “ghost town” of Hardman, so off he, Margaret and Ellis went while Bea opted to spend that time with Kathy. To end new experi- ences while here, they all, and friend Judy Buschke, went to dinner at the Broken Spoke, promising a repeat visit in the near future. Cori Jo Lindsay will again appear on stage this month when the Pendleton Ballet Theater offers two perfor- mances at BMCC, “Rodeo” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Tickets are available through PBT and the BMCC box office for evening performances on May 25 and 26 and the matinee on the 27 th . Also returning to the stage will be Cori Jo’s brother Andrew. The siblings’ parents are Joe and Leanne Lindsay. Wow, Ali Ball, Diana Ball’s granddaughter! More claims to fame for this runner at Whitworth University came last week. Not only was Ali chosen “Athlete of the Week” for a third time, but she broke the 19-year-old school record in the 200. And, she and teammates also broke a 20-year-old school record in the 4x1! No won- der “DiDi” and Ali’s parents, Duane and Stephanie, and grandparents Les and Kathy Payne, are so happy for her. Kudos to the local seniors chosen to play in the July 29 Shrine game in Baker City: Tucker Ashbeck and Tyler Boor; and Bryce Rollins as an alternate. An honor deserved. Spring sports are wrapping up locally now, but Mus- tang tracksters and the baseball team are working this week at extending their successes into the state level. Good luck, All! The Heppner Schools Spring Concert last Thursday was an evening of astounding, melodic sounds. Great voices from kindergarten through high school and im- pressive instrumentals from fifth, junior high, and high school band members. Tonight at 7 p.m., the comedy “Enchanted” will be staged at HHS. Only $5 for this evening of entertainment. On Thursday, HJSHS students will be busy through- out our community on Mustang Mop-Up Day. Such a great assist for many and such a rewarding experience for the young people participating. On May 18, Birthright, at their Willow Street office in Heppner, will host Kayla Draper and Becky Cherry of Heppner, who are “doulas.” They will explain the training for certification “to assist women and girls in their concerns about the delivery of a child.” More in- formation about this 5:30 p.m. gathering that is open to the public or for other services of Birthright is available at 541-676-0530. The third-floor balcony of St. Patrick’s Senior Apart- ments is developing into a garden oasis, thanks to the work headed up by Kathy Turner. She and “Steve” and “Penny” are close to the final look they have targeted with the plants and potting soil from Green Feed. It will be a welcome respite from the coming hotter weather. A reminder to anyone who wants some rocks for their landscaping plan: A variety of sizes and types of rock are available for free from Chris Bruhn and Andrea Kendrick, who live on Gale Street. Give them a call at 971-282-6682 if you want to talk “rocks.” That human-sized “Noxious Weed” will return to our City Park this Friday with the Soil and Water Conservation District personnel who will be handing out free pre-mixed one-gallon containers of herbicide from 9 a.m. to noon. Morrow County Grain Growers is donating the herbicide. 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! ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. Spiritually Speaking Father Thankachan Joseph St. Patrick Catholic Church Heppner How to Make Ascension Possible in Our Lives This Sunday, the Catholic Church celebrates the Ascension of the Lord. What is the Ascension of Jesus? Forty days after Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended into Heaven. It was a moment of prodigious celebration. All the angels gath- ered around Him and asked about His life and mission on Earth. Jesus was glad to share His wonderful experience of living with mankind: His life struggle with priests and rulers on Earth and how they condemned Him to die on a cross because He stood for the cause of the subalterns and the marginalized of the society, how He failed to impart the love of the Father to the priestly clan, their refusal to believe in God, and finally His dying on the cross for their salvation. The Lord has already built a bridge between Heaven and Earth. He has come and lived with us and set connectivity between God and human beings. Why did Jesus ascend to the father? In the letter of Paul to the Philippians is written: “Our Lord Jesus Christ ascended to receive the glory due to Him as the victor over sin and death” (2:8-9). Jesus in the Gospel of John reminds us in several places that He needs to ascend to the Father in order for the Advocate to come to us, and He reminds us that He ascended to the Father to prepare rooms for us, to welcome us all back to Heaven (14:2). How do we make ascension possible in our lives? Paul, in his letter to Colossians, gives us this intact mes- sage: “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Chapter 3). This teaching of St. Paul reminds us believers that ascension is possible for everyone. He suggests, in fact, three ways to ascend to the Father: 1) Material Ascension: With the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are being led to our material free- dom. Poverty is converted to riches, lack is converted to abundance. The works of our hands are blessed (Deut. 28:12; Psalm 90:17). From a tendency of amassing wealth for ourselves, we need to have an option for the poor. When we look at the lives of most of the saints, we see very good examples of this material ascension in their lives. Saints like Francis of Assisi, who was born into a noble business family, but who became poor and chaste because his love of Christ made him leave aside every- thing and follow Christ. Likewise, many other saints are very good examples of this material ascension. 2) Mind Ascension: There is an old proverb: “A sound mind dwells in a sound body.” When our minds are engaged in material things and things of this world, we can say that we are in a mental slavery, which leads to acute depression, worry, anxiety, fear. Mostly the “haves” are more involved in things of this world and attached to things of this place. Our life on earth should be a constant striving to liberate our attachment to material things and instead be focused on things of above. 3) Sensual Ascension: In this twenty-first century, everything seems available at our fingertips. There is a tendency in the present world to waste so much time in front of social media, to engage ourselves with the things of this world, and get all the pleasures possible for our sense organs. Our eyes and ears need to be controlled to ascend above this world of sensual pleasures. On the Feast of Ascension, the Lord invites everyone to ascend from our present style of life to Him. As the apostles were the witnesses of Christ ascending to heaven, surely each one of us is to have the same experience as they had. It was possible for the apostles because they spent time in the upper room experience. The scriptures invite every one of us to spend time with the Lord in the upper room experience, for us to witness Him to the be- lievers of present time. After Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit came down to empower the followers of Jesus to become effective witnesses of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is always with us to help us ascend from this present style of life to a worthy life through our words and actions. Justice Court Report Morrow County Justice of the Peace Glen Diehl has released the followed Justice Court Report: Silvza E. Bracamontes, 28, of Pilot Rock, OR was cited for Driving While Suspended and fined $440. Amanda J. Asher-Ghol- ar, 34, of Lexington was cited for Violating the Basic Print & Mailing Services *Design *Print *Mail Sykes Publishing 541-676-9228 Rule (VBR) and fined $265. Donald A. McElligott, 24, of Ione was cited for VBR and fined $265. Austin P. Morter, 24, of Ione was cited for VBR and fined $165. Brian H. Burnside, 42, of Heppner was cited for VBR and fined $440. ~ 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. Smarter than God I’ve never been a fan of costume jewelry. Give me the real thing or nothing at all. You can have all the Astroturf you want, too. I’ll take dandelions and weeds. And artificial sweeteners? Gross. Seems lately we’ve been hearing a lot about Artificial Intelligence. So, what is that exactly? Men- tion the term “AI” in the company of cattlemen hav- ing coffee at a local restau- rant and I doubt they’ll be discussing Bovine Intelli- gence. More likely, you’ll spark a lively conversation about breeds, bulls and the physical characteristics most desired in their herd. It’s a popular practice that farmers and ranchers have taken to because of the more sterile and controlla- ble factors, though I doubt it’s so popular amongst the bulls. Intelligence has always run on a bit of a sliding scale. I wonder if fake in- telligence is just as variable. For instance, one might use the term to identify someone of the Liberal persuasion as having the wisdom to make the correct choice when casting a bal- lot. When referring to the FBI, Artificial Intelligence is what gives them the abil- ity to conjure up “informa- tion” and use it to suggest Russian interference in a presidential election. Or, quite possibly, we might be referring to our sitting president and his assumed possession of the aptitude necessary to run our coun- try or finish a sentence. It’s interesting how the Artificial Intelligence that’s captivated the media re- cently has such a positive connotation to it. “AI” can make your life easier, an- swer all your questions and even determine if you have cancer that’s not even de- tectable by the human eye. It sounds pretty promising. But when you take away the human factor, it seems a little scary. The intelligence we’re used to (other than the FBI kind) normally has a component called “wisdom.” You can have all the brain power in the world, but knowing what to do with it is key. Is in- telligence without wisdom really intelligence? And is it a positive advancement? Or is it just information on steroids? Will Mr. AI have the wisdom to use moral judgment? It seems like an important factor. Because without it, you have a dan- gerous tool that can wreak havoc…especially when it’s used on a whole society. Man has been trying to prove he’s smarter than God for a long time. While we do have a lot of clever inventions under our belt (messing with viruses didn’t work out so well) we have a long way to go to catch up with God. The more time goes by, the more arrogant we get. We go to ridiculous lengths to disprove an in- telligent designer when it actually takes more faith to believe our absurd theories. It’s kind of funny to think about. We’re gonna save the planet…but we can’t seem to make a hose that doesn’t leak. Artificial Intelligence, indeed. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, ‘He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness’” (1 Corinthians 3:19). Susie Crosby Heppner FFA plant sale continues Thursday T h e H e p p n e r F FA chapter and plant science class will be extending their annual plant sale to this Thursday. The Heppner High School greenhouse will be open this Thursday, May 18, from 1-5 p.m. to sell all remaining plants The greenhouse and plant sale is a project of the FFA chapter/plant science class. Please join us as we come together to celebrate the life of Rena Henry 11:00 am, June 10, 2023 Hughes Ranch 11:00 am 60458 Little Butter Creek Road Please join us for lunch as we visit and share memories of Rena.
