TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 13, 2024
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
Senior Class Fundraiser
St. Pats weekend
bull riding
The senior class of
2024 would like to invite
everyone to stop by our
Ewe Do Bingo St. Patrick’s
day fundraiser on Saturday
March 16th, 2024. The
booth will be located in
the lot next to the Bank of
Eastern Oregon building.
Ewe Do Bingo is a fund-
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
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Chris Sykes ...............................................................................................Publisher
Annalynn Black ............................................................................................ Editor
Cindi Doherty.........................................................................................Advertising
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Obituaries
Brian Louis
Sullivan
Brian Louis Sullivan
died February 29, 2024
near Long Creek. Brian
was born August 4, 1953,
the fourth of nine children
to Robert and Marilyn
Sullivan of Pasco, Wash-
ington. He began working
on the family’s farm along-
side his dad, uncle, and
siblings as soon as he was
old enough to hold a tractor
steering wheel steady. His
hands often stained green
from early morning weed-
ing, he attended St. Patrick
Catholic School, his mis-
chievous spirit keeping the
nuns busy.
From an early age, he
loved anything outdoors
– he could often be found
with his brothers, cousins
and friends hiking down
the bluffs at the family farm
to the Columbia River to
fish and hunt. He liked the
classroom less and strug-
gled to learn to read, so his
mom bought him “Field
and Stream” magazines,
which he studied carefully.
In those pages, he found his
dream to one day buy land
in the mountains and build
a cabin.
He went to Pasco High
School, where he played
football, caused some more
trouble, and eventually met
the love of his life, Lorie.
After she graduated from
Washington State Univer-
sity School of Nursing, the
two married and moved to
a farm in Oregon, where
Brian primarily grew al-
falfa seed.
In farming as in life,
he was meticulous. Alfalfa
seed was a finicky crop to
grow anywhere, but it was
especially difficult in the
sandy, windblown soil.
He sped around the 1,000
acre farm on his dirt bike,
stopping to walk the fields
and measure soil moisture,
bug count, and crop devel-
opment.
By the time they were
27, Brian and Lorie had
three daughters. A loving
and protective father, Bri-
an had seemingly endless
energy for his girls, and
loved working with them in
his huge backyard garden,
taking them fishing in the
irrigation ponds, riding
horses, and even piling all
three on his dirt bike, pop-
ping wheelies on the farm’s
dirt roads as they squealed
in delight and terror.
As his father had done,
he hired his kids for farm
jobs early. Starting with
picking potato bugs out
of the garden for nickels,
they worked their way up
to weeding the fields, scar-
ing birds off the leaf cutter
bees, keeping deer out of
the fields, bookkeeping, and
eventually driving tractor
and combine.
He was driven to find
new and better ways of
farming, and took careful
notes over the years to
document mistakes and
learnings. One summer, he
noted that he thought he
might be able to someday
grow 1,200 pounds of seed
per acre if he stayed on top
of every detail and “got his
(stuff) together.” He sur-
passed that, ranking among
the top 1 percent of growers
nationally.
As his girls grew older,
the proud father became a
doting grandfather. In his
retirement, he realized his
lifelong dream of owning a
cabin in the woods, and he
began spending weekdays
watching his grandkids
and long weekends in the
mountains outside of Long
Creek.
On Thursday, February
29, Brian was driving near
Long Creek when his heart
suddenly stopped. Fitting
his adventurous spirit, the
state trooper described his
truck as doing a “Dukes of
Hazzard” jump before set-
tling on a logging road. First
responders described him
as so peaceful he appeared
much younger, which he
would have found funny.
He is survived by his
wife of 47 years, Lorie, as
well as their three daughters
and their families: Alison
and Jarrod Ogden, parents
to Grace, Isabelle, Olivia,
and Brodie; Jenny Sullivan
and Kurt Staley, parents
to Lane Staley, and Niki
and Jeff Reading, parents
to Vivian and Evan. He is
also survived by his mother,
Marilyn, siblings Berna-
dette Such, Rosemary Wil-
son, Kevin Sullivan, Karen
Elliott, Arleen Campbell,
Maureen Vincent, and Pat-
rick Sullivan, as well as
their families. He is pre-
ceded in death by his father,
Robert Sullivan, brother,
Robert “Guy” Sullivan, and
nephew Luke Sullivan.
Brian’s celebration of
life will be held Sunday,
March 17 at 2 p.m. at the
Maxwell Center, 145 N.
First Place, Hermiston, Or-
egon, with a meal to follow.
raiser where people are able
to purchase squares for $10
a square. At 12:00 pm, a
ewe will be let out into the
pen and wherever she first
poops, the winner will get
half of the pot. Again we
would like to invite every-
one to our event. We hope
to see you there!
Heppner Elementary presents
‘Disorder in the Court’
The talented musical entertainment for the event, the Brass
fire Band. – Photo Contributed
St. Patrick’s weekend
bull riding festivities are
set to take place at the
fairgrounds this year, prom-
ising a thrilling experience
for cowboy enthusiasts and
partygoers alike. To ensure
everyone stays warm and
comfortable, the event or-
ganizers have arranged for
a heated party area inside
the arena. One of the local
taverns, Bucknums, has
been chosen to tend the
bar, serving up refreshing
beverages to keep the ener-
gy flowing throughout the
event. In addition, a bever-
age stand will be available,
offering a variety of energy
drinks and snacks to keep
attendees fueled.
Musical entertainment
will be provided by the tal-
ented Brass Fire band, cre-
ating a lively atmosphere
that will surely get every-
one’s boots tapping. For
those eager to hit the dance
floor, a designated area has
been arranged where visi-
tors can dance their hearts
out, sheltered from inclem-
ent weather conditions.
The highlight of the
event will undoubtedly be
the bull riding competi-
tion. A total of 25 skilled
bull riders, accompanied
by a group of junior bull
riders, will show off their
bravery and skill, aiming
to conquer the challenging
beasts. Over 30 bulls will
be bucking during the per-
formance, guaranteeing a
heart-pounding spectacle
that will leave spectators on
the edge of their seats.
Adding an element
of humor and entertain-
ment to the proceedings,
a clown will also be pres-
ent, providing laughter and
amusement between rides.
Attendees will even have
the opportunity to meet
and obtain autographs from
their favorite bull riders
and the hilarious clown,
creating lasting memories
of this exciting experience.
The festivities don’t
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end with the main event, as
an after-party will be host-
ed at Wilkinson’s Arena.
Various vendors, including
popular establishments like
The Grizzly Grill from
Hermiston and Yeps from
Prineville, will be present,
serving up delicious food
and beverages to satisfy any
cravings.
The event owes its suc-
cess to the generous sup-
port of its sponsors. Watt
Construction, a prominent
local company, stands as
the main sponsor, recog-
nizing the importance of
promoting and preserving
such thrilling events. Other
key sponsors include Les
Schwab and Wheatland In-
surance, both contributing
to ensuring an unforgettable
experience for all attendees.
Additionally, Community
Counseling Solutions spon-
sors the Out Gate, while
Bank of Eastern Oregon
sponsors the Announcer
stand, highlighting their
commitment to supporting
the community.
With all of these excit-
ing features and attractions
on offer, the St. Patrick’s
weekend bull riding event
promises to be a sensational
occasion that will captivate
attendees, leaving them
with cherished memories
and a longing for the next
thrilling ride.
The Heppner Elementary 6 th grade Class
The 6th grade class the Court Thursday March
would like to invite the 14th at 2pm. and at 7pm in
community to their play the Elementary school gym.
performance of Disorder in
Critters with Attitude
upcoming fundraisers
The Critters With At-
titude 4-H club has been
busy at work with planning
all their new fundraising
ideas. The club is fundrais-
ing for new supplies as the
group grows into different
projects, and we are finding
we need some club money
to offset the cost. They
are planning on doing two
fundraisers on the 16th for
the St Patrick’s Day cele-
bration. The first fundraiser
will be starting on Friday,
we will have a basket raffle
going on. There will be nine
different baskets raffled off!
The drawing will be at 3:00
pm on Saturday, March
16th, 2024. The second
fundraiser will be a 50/50
raffle. You can buy tickets at
the vendor fair OR next to
the Ewe Do bingo. Our Clo-
verbuds of the CWA group
will be doing their own
fundraiser with their very
own bake sale right next to
the 50/50 raffle. We are so
excited to see everyone in
their green this St Patrick’s
Day weekend.
12 DAYS:
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