Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 13, 2024 -- THREE
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NO DEBATE
Well, it looks like
we’re finally narrowing
our presidential nominee
candidates down to the last
two choices. It was touch
and go there for a while,
but Trump was finally
able to squeak by Nikki
Haley. Meanwhile, Biden
heroically conquered his
illustrious opponent, “Any
Other Candidate”. In the
wake of all the Primary
commotion, there’s talk
of possible upcoming de-
bates. Though Trump has
invited Biden to a debate
“anytime, anywhere, any-
place”, there has been no
response coming from the
White House as of yet.
I’m thinking Front Street,
Dodge City, Kansas would
be the perfect place.
But I have a great
idea. Since debates are of-
ten just a rehashing of old
news and views, and this
isn’t their first rodeo….
how about we scratch the
whole debate thing….and
just have a contest. With
all the important decisions
a sitting president needs
to make, we need to make
sure our next president is
smarter than a fifth grad-
er…especially when he has
a pen, paper, and executive
orders to write. So, here’s
my proposal. There will
be ten different categories
and the winner will have to
perform well in every one.
PRESIDENTIAL
PROFICIENCY
CON-
TEST
1. Spelling: These will
be actual words and not
words made up during a
speech
2. Math: Read
both numbers….
$113,620,829,453.00
(amount spent
on Ukraine) and
$34,490,733,165,731.00
(current US National
Debt) out loud…twice.
3. Reading: Correctly read
two lines on the tele-
prompter.
4. Geography: What two
countries border the Unit-
ed States?
5. History: What year was
Biden (falsely) elected
president?
6. Science: What is a
woman?
7. PE-Strength: Presiden-
tial Stair Climb. Candidate
must both ascend and
descend a
10-step flight of stairs
without falling. (Landing
will be padded to avoid
any injuries).
8. PE-Agility: Jacket
Challenge: Candidate
must correctly put on his
own coat, with correct
arm/sleeve placement,
correct orientation (not
upside down) and com-
plete task WITHOUT
ASSISTANCE, in less
than 5 minutes.
9. PE-Balance: Bike Rid-
ing Race. Candidate must
ride a bicycle 20 yards,
keeping the bike upright
for the entire length of the
ride. This must be done
WITHOUT TRAINING
WHEELS.
10. Just for Fun Dance
Contest: …including
Swing State Swing, the
Cha China Cha Cha, and
The Biden Shuffle.
Tie Breaker: In case of
a tie, this bonus question
will asked; What is a bor-
der?
There will be EMTs on
scene with at least one de-
fibrillator…just in case. If
both candidates happen to
go down at the same time,
priority will be given to the
one with the highest score
so far. The winner of the
contest will receive both a
MAGA T-shirt and MAGA
hat…and, best of all….a
pair of the new MAGA
tennis shoes. They will
also have bragging rights
for the rest of the cam-
paign season. May the best
man win!
By Susie Crosby from
Prineville
Heppner High School Volleyball
and FBLA Raise Funds
The Volleyball team and FBLA kids posing together with
High School Teacher Jeanie Collins, Ja Allmen, and Miller
and Sons owner Ryan Miller.
It is in the small com-
munities where one fre-
quently sees the goodness
and integrity in people.
Today was no exception.
When faced with adversity
communities rally around
each other and work to-
gether to support those who
are in need. However, these
amazing people are not
necessarily always adults.
This time it was the Hep-
pner High School FBLA
and Volleyball team, who
worked tirelessly to show
their support and compas-
sion to a family who is
near and dear to the hearts
of Heppner. This past fall
the Heppner Community
lost a very dear “family”
member, Sharon Miller, to
cancer. Wanting to some-
how show their support
and help the family the
Heppner FBLA members
along with the Volleyball
Team began raising money
to donate in Sharon’s name.
FBLA members designed
and pressed shirts that were
sold at football games while
the volleyball girls held
a very successful dessert
auction. Overall, the stu-
dents raised an amazing
$5,307.75 which went to
the Morrow County Hos-
pice in the memory of Sha-
ron Miller.
The Heppner CMD will
hold meeting March 19 th
The Heppner Cemetery
Maintenance District will
hold their monthly meeting
on Tuesday, March 19 th ,
2024. The regular meeting
will be held at 5:15 p.m.
Agenda items include min-
utes of previous meeting,
financial report & Cemetery
Operations. The meeting
will be held at the Ag Ser-
vice Building conference
room at 430 W Linden Way.
Meetings of the Heppner
Cemetery Maintenance
District are open to the
public according to ORS
192.640(1). For questions,
contact Janet Greenup at
541-561-6768.
Spiritually Speaking
Father Thankachan Joseph
RE-ROUTE AND COME BACK
I am sure most of you
drive unfamiliar places us-
ing a GPS. When we take
a wrong route, the GPS
keeps on reminding us
to re-route, take a U-turn,
etc.
Thus
far,
Lenten
themes we have explored
have been the following:
“Turn away from sin and
turn towards God,” “Listen
to the Lord and be trans-
formed,” “Destroy and re-
build in Christ as a new
being,” and “Darkness
to light.” As we move to-
wards the fifth Sunday of
Lent, the readings invite us
to enter into a relationship
with the Lord and, thereby,
encounter the Lord. So,
the themes during Lent are
requesting us to re-route
and come back, take a U-
turn.
The prophet Jeremiah
(31:31-35) assures us of
God’s constant manifesta-
tions with us. It also re-
minds us of the new thing
that God is about to do in
our midst: “I will make a
new covenant and never
call their sin to mind…
then, I will be their God
and they will be my peo-
ple.” God is ready to
rebuild the relationship
that was destroyed by
infidelity.
He
wishes
to restore our broken
relationship. On our part,
we must be ready to accept
this new covenant with
God. Unlike the previous
covenants He has made
with humankind, it is not
written or carved in books
or on stones; instead, it is
engraved in the heart of
man. This new covenant
offers us salvation and
life. So, as we continue
our journey this Lenten
season, let us know that
God is willing to fulfill His
promises, and nothing can
stop Him. All He demands
from us is to be ready to
accept this new covenant
made in Christ Jesus. Are
we ready to be part of this
new covenant?
The Gospel Reading of
the day, John 12: 20-33, is
an example of the straight
talk of Jesus. The Gospel
of John is actually called a
Gospel of signs. There are
seven signs explained in
his Gospel. From Chapters
1 through 13, Jesus speaks
of six signs in a language
that is quite difficult for
common persons to under-
stand. The seventh sign is
His death and resurrection.
The Gospel of
John comes right after Je-
sus’s solemn entry into
Jerusalem, which we now
celebrate on Palm Sun-
day. He and His disciples
have come to Jerusalem
for the Passover festival;
Jesus has mounted a don-
key and rides in proces-
sion through the city gates
like a king coming into his
capital. His disciples are
waving palm branches,
and the crowd is cheering
and shouting, “Blessed is
the one who comes in the
name of the Lord – Hosan-
na to the King of Israel!”
(John 12:13). It must have
been an impressive sight.
The second part
of the Gospel is speaking
about how the grain of
wheat dies and produces
much fruit. We are called
to be like the grain of
wheat. We need to die dai-
ly to our bodily, as well as
worldly, passions. It may
be a bit difficult to begin;
but once you begin, surely
the sprout of the seed that
you have planted will take
root in you.
We started the
Lenten practices and ob-
servances with an inten-
tion of meeting the Lord
in our lives. I am sure all
these various themes have
been guiding us. The Gos-
pel begins with the Greeks
to Philip: “Sir we would
like to see Jesus.” The
Lenten practices of fast-
ing and almsgiving that
we have taken upon our-
selves should lead us to
see the Lord in our sur-
roundings. The Readings
wind up with the message
that we need to encounter
the pain and difficulties of
our daily sufferings.
But the cross is
not our final destination. It
is only a phase of our jour-
ney, not only through Lent,
but at other times of the
year. We have to remain at
the cross before we expe-
rience the joy of the resur-
rection. To reach the final
destination of our journey,
the Lord exhorts us to re-
route and come back, take
a U- turn, etc.
Maybe these re-
routes could lead us clos-
er to Jesus. Perhaps these
re-routes have come in the
form of a life situation, or
a change within our fami-
lies and circles of friends.
Maybe they have come by
learning new truths about
ourselves and about oth-
ers. Regardless of what
caused the re-routes, we
should consider how we
can re-route ourselves in
ways that still bring us to
our spiritual destination.
May God help us in our
spiritual GPS as we jour-
ney towards Him.
CRUZ-IN Cars
coming to ‘show’ off
The Cruz-In cars will
be once again lining up on
Willow Street (between
Heppner Market Fresh
and St. Patrick’s Senior
Center) and will be on dis-
play from 10 a.m. – 2:00
p.m. for everyone to stop
by and check them out!
Judging will take place at
10 a.m. and the winners
will be announced during
the Great Green Parade
that begins at 1 p.m. For
those of you who are in-
terested in participating in
the Cruz-In event, enter
on Chase Street.
Wil-
low Street will be closed
for parking the cars and
check in will start at 8:30
a.m. Enter in the side door
of the St. Patrick’s Senior
Center on Willow Street.
We are looking forward to
another great turn out so
take the time to stop by and
appreciate the great show
of cars.
Annual 3-on 3 Basketball
tournament March 15 th
The annual St. Patrick›s
Day 3 on 3 basketball
tournament will be held in
the Heppner High School
Gymnasium on Friday,
March 15 th . This is open for
any male or female in the
2nd Grade and above, in-
cluding adults. Games will
start at 5:00 PM with the
younger age division play-
ing first. The cost to play is
$10 per player. Each team
may consist of 3 or 4 play-
ers. Admission is free for
anyone to come and watch.
This event is put on by the
HHS Boys Basketball Team
and is sponsored by the
Heppner Chamber of Com-
merce. You may sign up
at the event or stop by the
Heppner Chamber office to
pick up a registration form.
If you have any questions,
please reach out to jeremy.
rosenbalm@morrowsd.org
A View from the Hill
by Doris Brosnan
The view from the Hill is the same as for the com-
munities-at-large: sunshine -clouds-WIND-sunshine-
snow-rain-sunshine. The Residents and Staff do know,
however, that Spring is truly just around the corner, with
clear skies and comfortable temperatures forecasted for
this St. Pat’s weekend.
While waiting for opportunities to get out into the
warm, fresh air, a few indoor events are keeping minds
and bodies occupied. And soon, the planting of seeds will
be a project some Residents will want to join, so they can
watch for the sprouting of their plants that will later be
transplanted into their flowerbeds. Though Herb Peterson
was a resident relatively briefly, Residents regretted his
having to move to the hospital and were later sad to hear
of his passing.
Handshakes and greetings were abundant last Mon-
day when Ed Baker moved into the Terrace. Ed, a well-
known neighbor from Lexington, was welcomed by many.
Welcomed as a weekend night cook, Aaron But-
ler is quickly meeting Residents and learning likes and
dislikes. And assuming the position of Resident-Care
Associates Team Director is Angelina Hammons, who has
been with the Terrace for three years now. A new feature
introduced last Sunday at the Terrace is the practice of
“Sunday dinner,” with everyone gathered around one large
linen-covered table space that enables easier visiting with
one and all. And soon to come from the kitchen will be
home-baked goods offered as Bingo prizes. Seems that
“things” are not especially needed as prizes at the Terrace.
Another change in activities recently has been
the Trivia games held on Thursdays. Administrator Lank-
ford and Staff have been creating the games with trivia
questions about the Terrace, about Heppner, and about
Morrow County. January and February featured what the
Staff assumed would be an attractive new feature tied to
participation in activities: “Fun Money” was awarded to
individuals each time they participated in a Terrace-wide
activity. The accumulated “Fun Money” could then be
spent at an in-house “store” that featured a variety of
items, such as room decorations, personal products, bird
seed…. Apparently, the money was more “fun” to save
than to spend, so interest in the store dwindled to zero.
This week will find some of the Terrace Residents
downtown on Saturday for the Big Green Irish Parade
and the corned-beef lunch. Some families will also ask
their Resident to join them for some of the other weekend
activities. March holds no birthdays on the Hill, but the
last birthday celebration will not soon be forgotten, as Rita
Bowman added nineteen family members to her birthday
luncheon with her Terrace neighbors!
The month will end with a couple of fun-filled
activities, the coloring of Easter eggs and then the egg
hunt on the 31 st . That Sunday will find several Residents
attending church services with families and then enjoying
their traditional Easter Dinner together. Residents and
Staff view these special events with pleasure.
The MC Republican Party
March Meeting March 21 st
The Morrow Coun-
ty Republicans will meet
at 6:30 pm, Thursday,
March 21st at the Lex-
ington School, Lexington,
Oregon. PCPs and anyone
interested in the county
Republican Party are en-
couraged to come and join
the discussions. Chairman,
Clint Carlson, will report
on the Oregon Republican
Party meeting and election
result for National Commit-
tee Man and National Com-
mittee Woman positions.
The MCRP Central
Committee will be planning
for the Candidates Forum
to be held on May 4th at
the Lexington School as
part of the Lexington May
Day celebration activities.
In addition, there will be
discussions about the up-
coming community events
and Summer FUNd Raiser.
Precinct Committee
Person, PCP, positions are
open for Heppner, Board-
man, and Irrigon. Individu-
als interested in one of these
positions are encouraged to
attend this meeting to learn
about the positions. PCP
appointments can be made
during MCRP meetings.
The Republican Par-
ty is open to individuals
interested in conservative
ideals and values. The Re-
publican Party platform
can be found at https://
oregon.gop/. For more in-
formation on the Morrow
County Republican Party,
contact mocoreps@gmail.
com.
Heppner’s new Street Sweeper
Heppner recently acquired a new street sweeper, the 2014
Elgin Eagle Sweeper. It was received on February 1, 2024,
from Owen Equipment located in Portland. Although the
sweeper parts have been rebuilt, the machine itself is brand
new. -Photo by Annalynn Black
Lunch
& Dinner
Menu
Specials 3/14 - 3/20
Thursday - Pulled pork sandwich w/ mango
habanero bites
Friday - Hot roast beef sandwich & fries
Saturday - Corn Chowder & cold ham & swiss
sandwich
Monday - 1/4 bacon cheeseburger & jojos
Tuesday - Chicken plus with chicken tortilla
soup
Tuesday night - 6-9pm $2 hard shell tacos
Wednesday - Tuna melt & side salad