Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 7, 2024 -- THREE
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What’s the Point
I have questions. So,
you would think, as long
as we’ve been here, we’d
be getting it right by now.
Whether you figure we’ve
been here 6,000 years or
6 zillion, have we not yet
learned something? How
can we land so far from
what works? Since the
world is pretty much cur-
rently a mess, maybe we
should try to figure out what
we’re doing wrong.
So how about we just
dump The Ten Command-
ments because everybody
knows lying, stealing, and
murder, to name a few, are
great things. No difference
between good and evil any-
way, right? It’s all relative.
Or better yet, let’s just make
our own morals to suit
ourselves and call it good.
Let’s start with blurring
the lines of the old good vs
evil thing and come up with
new “definitions”, and new
catchphrases. That should
do it. Nope….won’t work.
“Income Redistribution” is
still stealing. “Gender flu-
idity” is still perversion, a
“minor-attracted person” is
still a sicko pedophile, and
“Reproductive choice” is
still killing. And until your
conscience is totally seared,
you know inside those
things are wrong. That’s
why you work so hard at
making them “good”. I
guess there is a point where
a mind gets so depraved that
they don’t feel guilt, but
you have to be pretty far
gone for that.
Where does real mo-
rality come from? It comes
from the One who made
us. He determines what’s
good and evil and we have
the freedom to act on it.
But if you don’t believe
there’s a creator…that cre-
ates a problem. I know it’s
popular now to “pray to
the Universe”. That’s right
up there with making a
golden calf and deciding to
worship it. Dumbest thing
ever. Creator vs created?
The trouble with making
stuff up is that, eventually,
reality shows up and empty
theories fall flat.
The saddest thing I’ve
ever heard is “I believe that
when we die, we’re dirt.”
So, if that’s really the case,
and something went boom
somewhere, and here we
are……then what’s the
point and where did that
“point” come from? Why
are we even here? Do we
have a purpose other than
fertilizer?
If you take a box of
City Legos open it up and
throw the entire contents
in the air…what are the
chances of it landing in
the form of New York, or
any city for that matter?
Well, that’s about the same
chance as the “Boom” the-
ory landing us exactly the
distance we need to be from
the sun to not fry or freeze.
And since everything you
can feel or touch has been
created by someone, makes
the Intelligent Design “the-
ory” pretty plausible. You
are here by design and
were created with a specific
purpose, and that purpose
is to know and love God.
When we look for Him, He
says we will find Him. Why
are you here? Because He
loves you. When you find
the truth, everything else
makes sense.
“You will seek Me and
find Me when you search
for Me with all your heart.
“Jeremiah 29:13
B y S u s i e C r o s b y,
Prineville, OR.
Class of ’74 Reunion
“It’s time to renew old friendships and catch up with
one another,” explains a spokesperson when talking
about the 50 th Reunion for the HHS Class of ’74.
The weekend of September 7 will see many 68-ish-
year-olds about town, some familiar faces, some back in
Heppner for the first time in several years. These grad-
uates will have a variety of planned activities to choose
from while enjoying visits with classmates and local ac-
quaintances who stop by for chats.
The planning committee reports a good response to
the invitations, from graduates and from teachers who
helped to guide them through the challenges of high
school. The invitation includes a questionnaire that,
when filled out will provide information to be included
in a keepsake booklet, so hopes are that the few class-
mates who have yet to respond will say they are coming
and will add their updates to the class information.
Individuals who arrive on Friday will have oppor-
tunities to tour the museums, tour HHS and the track
and baseball fields, attend a volleyball tournament, and
attend the school’s first football game.
A golf scramble will find some classmates on the
course on Saturday morning. Then, Saturday afternoon
and evening at the Heppner Elks Club will be the week-
end highlight. Beginning with a 4 PM social hour, the
attendees will dine at 5 PM, followed by some special
presentations, a slide show memorializing deceased
classmates, and a photo op for the group. The class is
inviting families, friends, and HHS graduates from other
classes to join them any time after about 7:30 PM. Music
and dancing will top off the evening’s revelry.
“It takes a long time to grow an old friend” notes
the letter to the 44 members of the Class of ’74, and the
planners hope that the truth of that adage is appreciated,
and classmates will be eager to come to Heppner to rem-
inisce and refresh friendships.
Contact persons for the event: Gary Hunt (golf) 541-
314-5799, gbjmhunt@hotmail.com; please sign up by
8/20. Patricia Hughes (questionnaires, money) 541-676-
5520, 280 S. Court St., Heppner 97836. Kathy Arrington
Hedman 541-561-6405, kmh2175@hotmail.com. Toni
Toll Roach jtroach625@gamil.com.
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Firefighters hold lines amid
challenging conditions
BM Juniors team placed 2nd in
D3 tournament
Battle Mountain Complex
morning update August 6, 2024
Battle Mountain Com-
plex Morning Update for
August 6, 2024: Firefight-
ers continue mop-up, con-
tainment at 39%.
UKIAH, Ore. – Over-
night, firefighters pushed
containment to 39% as they
continued to extinguish
lingering hot spots and
increasing mop-up depth.
Today, crews will continue
mop-up operations around
the entire perimeter of the
fire. Firefighters will pay
special attention to the duff,
the dense layer of pine nee-
dles that accumulates in the
understory, under Juniper
trees and limb them up to
ensure that no fire smolders
and climbs branches later in
the summer.
Firefighters will con-
tinue securing the area
between Ditch Creek and
the Potamus drainage as
they bring the fire to control
features along the ridgetops
where it’s flatter and more
defensible. Late in the eve-
ning and overnight, with
the cooler temperatures,
crews will burn the light
vegetation to those firelines
at a low intensity to remove
the grass and brush but
leave trees intact. Crews
will also continue building
contingencies and a shaded
fuel break north of that area
as an additional safeguard
for homes and natural re-
sources.
Crews will also contin-
ue suppression repair work
along lines considered fully
contained, especially along
the east and southeast. Sup-
pression repair work con-
sists of burying firelines,
knocking down berms built
by bulldozers and using
waterbars diverting runoff
to minimize potential soil
erosion and environmental
impacts. Crews will also re-
move hazardous, standing
dead timber near firelines
and roads.
Residents should con-
tinue to expect to see smoke
in the interior and the un-
burnt island within the fire
perimeter as unburnt veg-
etation burns well within
the fire’s footprint. Crews
will continue to patrol the
fire perimeter throughout
the summer to check fire
behavior and ensure the fire
doesn’t escape.
Oregon Department of
Forestry’s Incident Man-
agement Team 3 will be
passing the baton to South-
west Complex Incident
Management Team 3 to-
morrow. The entire team
would like to extend our
thanks and appreciation
to the Ukiah, Dale, Ritter,
Long Creek, Monument
and Heppner communities
for their unwavering sup-
port during this challenging
incident. It has been an
honor to serve.
For Morrow County,
visit https://experience.
arcgis.com/
Public Land Closures:
The Bureau of Land
Management has closed
public lands along the John
Day River from Kimberly
to Dale, and from Kim-
berly to Service Creek.
More information here:
https://www.blm.gov/.../
oregon-washington/fire-re-
strictions.
The Umatilla National
Forest has implemented
a closure for public lands
within the Heppner Rang-
er District and the North
Fork John Day Ranger
District. More information
at: https://www.fs.usda.
gov/detail/umatilla/news-
events/... and https://www.
fs.usda.gov/detail/umatilla/
alerts-notices/....
FIRE AT A GLANCE
Total Estimated Com-
plex Size: 181,941 acres
Monkey Creek Fire:
177,457 acres
North Fork Owens:
4,484 acres
Total Containment 39%
Cause: Under Investi-
gation
Estimated Cost:
$51,180,190
All Resources
Hand Crews: 57
Engines: 74
Water Tenders: 38
Dozers: 22
Helicopters: 9
Total Personnel: 1,805
Print & Mailing Services
YOUR BATHROOM. YOUR WAY.
IN AS LITTLE AS
ONE DAY
HHA to hold meeting
August 13 th
The next meeting of the
Heppner Housing Authori-
ty for the Heppner Senior
Center will be Tuesday,
August 13, at 4:00 p.m.
in the St. Patrick’s Senior
Center dining room. For
more information, contact
KayRene Qualls at 541-
980-2836.
Lunch
& Dinner
Menu
Specials 8/8 8/14
Thursday - Steak sandwich with jojos
Friday - Ham and cream cheese wrap
with fruit
Saturday - chicken plus with cottage cheese
Monday - Philly taco with chips
Tuesday - Tuna melt and salad
Tuesday Night 6-9pm $2 hard shell tacos
Wednesday - Turkey BLT with macaroni salad
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAY AT 5:00 P.M.
177 N. Main
P.O. Box 337
Heppner, OR 97836
Chris@sykesrealestate.net
Broker
Chris Sykes
541-215-2274
Pending
$350,000
9.09 ACRES
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embrace the beauty of nature and create a life
of serenity in the mountains you’ve always
SPECIAL OFFER
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The Blue Mountain Junior Softball team placed 2nd in the
Oregon District 3 little league tournament this past June.
-Photo contributed
*Mail
Installation
Costs
CALL NOW
855.341.5268
Add’l terms apply. Offer subject to change
and vary by dealer. Expires 8/25/2024.
177 N Main St.
Heppner, Or 97836
O: 541-676-9228
E:sykeschris@hotmail.com
Broker
Chris Sykes
541-215-2274
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