+HSSQHU*D]HWWH7LPHV+HSSQHU2UHJRQ Wednesday, April 3, 2024 7+5((
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Worldly Wisdom
Seems to me there are
folks out there that have
way too much faith in their
fellow man. Deadly virus-
es? No problem…. just trust
the science…and the sci-
entist. Drive-by shootings?
Just take the guns away. Too
many hurricanes? Just take
the cows away. No problem
too big for the brightest
and best of us to solve. All
we need is a little more
research (and more money)
and there’s nothing man-
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they could start by making
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leak…. just a suggestion.
So, if man is so smart,
why is that things just keep
getting worse? We’ve had
a few thousand years to get
it right. Have we learned
from our mistakes? Nope.
We just keep making bigger
ones. A rather important
issue is the fact that we’ve
decided that either there is
no God or He is an old guy
who’s lost touch. The whole
“male/female” thing was
just a bad idea, and the Ten
Commandments are pretty
much passe’. Besides,
the best way to make sure
nobody breaks the rules is
to have no rules…unless
you’re the government.
Then you just make them
up as you go along and use
them against your political
opponents.
Every time we chuck
God’s ideas and trade them
for our own…. I wonder if
He laughs and says “Go
ahead. Make my day?” And
I wonder if He ever gets
tired of us acting like He’s
an idiot. I guess creating a
functional universe was just
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much credit. Besides, now
we have AI that will help
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make it easier to manage.
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Got a question? Just ask the
Big Guy (not to be confused
with the other Big Guys….
Biden and God). The Big
AI Guy will have all the
answers. If not, he’ll just
make something up.
But we have a problem,
Houston. It’s called evil.
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won’t make it go away.
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all that comes with is a re-
ality. You can call it “mental
health” or blame it on Bible
thumping Christians for
pointing it out…. but that
doesn’t change the result.
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all the technology in the
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fully, we do have a Creator
with a plan for dealing with
evil. In fact, we just cele-
brated that plan last Easter
Sunday.
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be able to reduce the “car-
bon footprint”. But I have
a feeling there’s a bigger
footprint we need to be
concerned about. The day
will come when two very
important feet land on this
earth. No amount of human
intervention will change it.
I pray we’re ready. Come,
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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. It is writ-
ten: “’As surely as I live,’
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will bow before me; every
tongue will acknowledge
God.’” Roman’s 14:11
By Susie Crosby from
Prineville
Dave Drotzmann a superlative
leader
For over 47 years I have
practiced law in Hermiston,
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has been mayor for almost
8 years. Dave is wicked
smart, financially astute,
and has that wonderful gift
of respectfully listening
to constituents and fellow
councilors and working
with them to do the right
thing. His leadership is one
of the best I have seen polit-
ically. I know. I served with
him on the Hermiston City
Council and have known
him for over 20 years.
Mayor Dave has also been
instrumental in many civic
projects—almost all with
fund-raised money and
no bonded debt: build-
ing a state-of-the-art high
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moving the Umatilla Coun-
ty Fair out of the middle of
town; and building an eight
million dollar city hall.
Major Dave is an uncom-
mon leader. He has ac-
complished great things
for Hermiston. He would
do the same for everyone
and every public entity
in our senatorial district.
George Anderson,
Hermiston, Oregon.
Spiritually Speaking
Father Thankachan Joseph
MISERY – MERCY & MYSTERY
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your families with the gift of peace. On this coming Sun-
day, the universal Catholic Church will be celebrating
the feast of Divine Mercy, which reminds us of the di-
vine love, care, and concern for each of us. The Gospel
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pel of John 20:19, we read: “It was late that Sunday eve-
ning, and the disciples were gathered together behind
the locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish
authorities.” This particular passage made an impact on
me. We went through a tough time of this sort during
the previous two years when the pandemic hit the world
and shut down our economy, our freedom of movement ,
and coming together - everything in a stand-still condi-
tion.
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touched by a character we met when we meditate on the
Stations of the Cross, the character and personality of a
woman called Veronica. She comes forward to the aid of
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ating pain on His way to Golgotha, the place where He
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without concern for how the male-dominated Jewish
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her act promptly to wipe His bloody face and console
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In similar situations, as when we meet our family
members or members of our community, what are our
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through emotional wretchedness because of our shame,
guilt of the past, brokenness, disappointments, failing to
reach ambitious goals. We need to look into ourselves,
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self-worth, and hatred. In miserable conditions, like Ve-
ronica, we need to reach out to others without bothering
with the opinions of others. We need to become God’s
mercy in similar conditions.
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ination.)
An understanding of the early Christian community
is described in the Acts of the Apostles. It received mer-
cy and lived with mercy: “All who believed were to-
gether and had all things in common; and they sold their
possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any
had need.” (Acts 2:44-45). I think the Divine Master
is inviting every one of us to continue the same acts of
kindness and benevolence to people around us even to
this present time, become like Veronica. The Divine
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hand and reach out to someone who is in need of our
services.
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ence of the apostles immediately after the death of the
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and hearts. The shutdown is actually in the plan of God.
In Genesis 7:16 we read: “A male and female of each
kind of living being went into the boat with Noah, as
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hind Noah.” Similarly, we read in the Gospel passage,
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the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and
stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with
you.’” (20:20). When we are faced with such situations,
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words of consolation, “Peace be with you.”
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ful to His promise: “I will be with you always, to the end
of the age” (Matthew 28:20). When we face the tough
sea, or troubles and problems crop up, keep in mind
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peace, mercy, compassion, and tranquility. He does it
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and compassion, take part in the mystery of Christ.
Good News Only by Doris Brosnan
The “Seniors Matter” have added another program
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<RX2QO\/LYH2QFH DFWLYLWLHV)URPVXUYH\VFRPSOHW-
ed by some attendees at the Tuesday lunches, several ac-
tivities have been scheduled for Thursday already, with
more to be developed. Sounds like a good place to spend
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2Q $SULO WKH ORFDO OLEUDU\ ZLOO R൵HU DQRWKHU
“Crafty Night,” this one for creating a Floral Hoop.
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(Maybe just go into the library or call?)
Shirley Connor says “Hello!” to friends in Heppner
and reports that she would enjoy contact/news from
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mending from surgeries: She had a shoulder reversal in
Boise, was recovering nicely, contracted a virus that set
her back several days, fell and broke the “surgered” right
arm in two places, had repair surgery, has cabin fever!
Good news: her daughter’s nursing care is superb! But
nerve damage apparently means that healing will re-
quire her to be a house guest for another month. She
is right-handed, which precludes her from responding
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97850) and can visit (541-371-6419).
Other pedestrians might agree with the ped who
reports that walking on the clean sidewalks has been
a welcome change from having to walk around dog
messes. This ped thanks the city employee who used a
blower on the sidewalks before St. Pat’s and thanks the
dog owners who continue to be conscientious.
“Hello, Spring!”
Readers seem eager to get the paper each week and
look for the positive happenings shared in this column.
As long as contributions come this way it will continue.
Contributing is as easy at writing to dbrosnan123@
gmail.com or calling 541-223-1490.
Here’s hoping that good news comes to everyone
reading this!
County audit shows concerns
over cybersecurity
By Andrea Di Salvo
The county has a few
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and internet technology
systems, according to the
audit report for the last
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highlights of the 125-page
report at the Morrow Coun-
ty Board of Commissioners
meeting in Irrigon March
20.
This was the county’s
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firm after 20-plus years
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nett and Moro. The audit
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ished in December of 2023.
However, delays in the
audit led to a March report.
Morrow County Fi-
nance Director Kevin Ince
said the transition to a
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bumpy.
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and transitioning to a new
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a big lift,” said Ince.
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Brad Bingenheimer and
Kathy Wilson were present
via Zoom to give the report
and answer questions from
the commissioners. While
there were no major alarms
in the county’s accounting
system, Bingenheimer said
they noticed some “nitty
gritty” details in the bud-
getary process that were not
followed correctly.
Morrow County Com-
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whether the errors were
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to the current year. Bingen-
heimer said the latter was
the case for several of the
items in the report.
“As new auditors come
in, we do have a tendency
to really dig into nitty gritty
things,” he said. “We ask
a million one annoying
questions, we ask for a mil-
lion different documents,
because we want to gain
a good understanding of
everything.”
“Sometimes it’s a mat-
ter of having fresh eyes
on things and looking at it
with a deeper dive,” added
Wilson.
Among the issues no-
ticed by the auditors were
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propriations for the year,
COVID fund classifica-
-Continued to PAGE FIVE
,57+5,*+7
Birthright of Morrow County is seeking
monthly donors to support our work here in
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FRQÀGHQWLDOVXSSRUWWRDQ\RQHZKRLV
pregnant or thinks she may be pregnant. If
you are ableto donate $10, $20, or more per
month, please let us know! We also accept
one time donations as well. For more info,
call 541-676-0530. Thank you!
Be a part of the movement
for Change,
Healing and Hope
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