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.