TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 8, 2025
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Spiritually Speaking
Good News Only by Doris Brosnan
Father Thankachan Joseph
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE:
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Published weekly by Sykes Publishing and entered as periodical matter at the Post
Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage paid
at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 177 N Main St. Telephone (541) 676-9228. Fax (541)
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Chris Sykes ...............................................................................................Publisher
Andrea DiSalvo ............................................................................................. Editor
Cindi Doherty.........................................................................................Advertising
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From the Archives
Of the 1965 Gazette-Times
Sixty Years Ago:
January 7, 1965
Auto Smashed As Tree Topples
High winds that hit the
area in early morning hours
Saturday caused a big black
walnut tree to fall on the
parked car of Mr. and Mrs.
Dean Hunt at their home in
Lexington about 2:30 a.m.
The car was severely
damaged with a portion
of the top crushed and the
windshield broken out,
Mrs. Hunt said. A woven
wire fence and its concrete
foundation were also dam-
aged.
The tree was some two
feet in diameter and per-
haps 40 to 50 feet high.
The Hunts did not realize
that the tree had fallen until
they went out later in the
morning, although they had
heard the high wind in the
night.
From “Chaff and Chatter” by
Wes Sherman
What does 1965 hold
in store? We don’t exact-
ly know, but here are a
few things we don’t expect
during the new year:
Bill Collins giving up
bowling to devote full time
to his new duties on the city
council.
The office of Turner,
Van Marter and Bryant be-
ing used as a meeting place
for Ladies Aid Society.
Police Chief Dean Gil-
man tagging overparked
cars every day.
Randall Peterson enter-
ing the Northwest Amateur
bronc riding championship
at the Morrow County Ro-
deo.
County agent Nels An-
derson punching a time
clock.
Clint McQuarrie giving
up coffee drinking.
Orville Cutsforth com-
plaining because the taxes
are too low.
Claude Cox catching
a 18 lb. steelhead in Ditch
Creek.
Boardman and Irrigon
consolidating their city
governments.
Max Barclay and Rod
Murray giving up raising
quarter horses to start a
Morrow County kennel
club with Roice Fulleton as
manager and Charley Daly
as trainer.
*
*
*
It couldn’t have been
too bad down south on New
Year’s Day. Clint McQuar-
rie came back with a smile
and Dr. McMurdo came
back with laryngitis. Appar-
ently the doctor shouted his
best support for OSU and
Clint can still be philosoph-
ical about it.
It was cold down south,
too, Clint said. When they
got out to watch the Rose
Parade in early morning
there was ice on the bleach-
ers. At the Bowl game he
succeeded in getting a sun
burn, but as soon as the sun
went down they about froze
to death.
Epiphany: Revealing
as the Real Messiah
The word “Epiphany” comes from an Ancient Greek
word epiphainein, meaning revelation, appearance or
manifestation. For Western Christians, the Feast of the
Epiphany marks the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus.
Many of us can recall this event, described in the
Gospel of Matthew: the three wise men are Melchior,
Caspar and Balthasar, who presented to the baby Jesus
gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Christian theologians emphasize the epiphany as the
manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, i.e., their belief
in Jesus as divine Lord and Savior of all people. Since
the wise men came searching for Christ, found him, wor-
shipped Him and offered Him gifts, millions of people
have followed in their footsteps and come to Christ. We,
too, are doing just that this coming week.
The Gospel of Matthew (2:1-12) describes well the
visit of the Magi to the newborn king of Israel. The term
“Magi” originally referred to a clan of Persian priests with
special claims to interpret dreams. Here, they appear as
astrologers/astronomers who observed the movements of
the stars as a guide to major events.
The Magi, or wise men, seeing a sign in the heavens,
learn that some important event has taken place in the
West, in Palestine. They follow the sign, reach the palace
of King Herod, and ask, “Where is the child who has been
born King of the Jews?” (The Oracle of Balaam in the
Book of Numbers 24:17 says, “A star shall come forth
from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel.”)
King Herod is greatly troubled hearing the words of
the Magi. He makes all efforts going through Scriptures;
the experts find out that the child is to be born in Beth-
lehem. He lets the wise men go to worship the child, but
he intends to destroy the child. The king knows that the
newborn child may not be a pretender to his throne but
can cause unrest in Judea. Therefore, the best thing would
be to eliminate him.
Most often, instead of appreciating and approving the
goodness of someone, we try to eliminate it at the root
level itself. This Feast Day of Epiphany is an invitation
to examine our conscience. What is my approach to the
well-being of someone else?
When Matthew was writing the Gospel around 85
AD, most Jewish people had rejected Jesus as the Messi-
ah, though the proclamation had first been made to them.
We read in the Acts of the Apostles how the Chris-
tian preachers were being delivered up to the Sanhedrin,
flogged in the synagogues and dragged before kings for
bearing testimony to Jesus.
Meanwhile, Gentiles were flocking to the Christian
communities, and, thus, the apostolate had become one
of making disciples of the Gentiles (Matthew 28:1).
Matthew differentiates the believing Magi from the
unbelieving lot led by Herod and “all Jerusalem with
him.” In spite of their claim of possessing scripture and
tradition, they fail to recognize the Messiah.
For the Gentile, on the other hand, a glimpse of a ris-
ing star is enough to discern God’s presence in the world.
However, Matthew is quick to add that the Magi could
not find Christ with “their own” effort. Their wisdom and
science needed to be complemented by the revelation in
Scripture to find the precise birthplace of Christ.
The gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh are another
Epiphany: a revelation of the identity of Jesus as King,
Priest and Savior of the world. Jesus had not even started
to talk or walk, yet it is clear to the entire world that He is
God in human flesh. He rules as King with gold, He sanc-
tifies as a priest with incense, and is Savior of humanity,
for Jesus’s body would be preserved with myrrh when He
offers His life for our salvation. The three gifts manifested
the future mission of the newborn King-Messiah.
This Feast of Epiphany brings a great message, that
we need to trust and deepen our knowledge of scripture
and traditions passed on to us for becoming better be-
lievers in our faith. The three wise kings had a mission
to fulfill, the mission to meet the Savior of the world and
worship and adore Him.
Let us ask the child Jesus to give us the faith of wise
men so that we may, like them, fulfill the mission to love
the Lord, serve Him, and be faithful to Him forever.
Kelton named
to OSU honor
roll
DeSpain Pizza
-Continued from PAGE ONE express gratitude for the
warmer weather approach-
es. Customers can reach the
restaurant by phone.
Looking ahead, the
family has several goals.
They aim to create a wel-
coming spot for Heppner’s
youth, including a positive
place for teenagers to “hang
out.” They also hope to
sponsor local little league
teams and add homemade
items to their menu, such as
bread for sandwiches.
As time allows, they
plan to expand the menu
even further to include
breakfast, burgers, and oth-
er local staples.
Additionally, they envi-
sion a five-year plan to add
an arcade.
David and Dakota
support they’ve received
during the transition.
“We have received so
much grace and support
from the community, our
family and our friends
during this transition, and
we couldn’t do it without
them,” they say. They also
thank Nicole and Drion for
staying on the team. “Mom-
ma Merry” will continue
selling her handmade jew-
elry, garden and memorial
stakes, gifts, and holiday
decorations in the pizza
shop.
As their son Logan
says, “Everybody’s excit-
ed.” The Rice family is
hopeful for success in this
new chapter.
Piper Kelton
Piper Kelton of Hep-
pner was named to the
honor roll at Oregon State
University for Fall 2024.
Kelton is a freshman and is
majoring in Botany.
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As 2024 was ending, two “elves” were seen about
the area wishing a few friends a “Happy New Year” and
sharing a peppermint or cranberry toast to 2025. Only
the couple slow to answer their phone to let the elves
know they were, indeed, home, missed out on the brief
celebration.
David and April Sykes traveled to Portland last
weekend to visit daughter Camille and grandson Oscar.
On Saturday, the group went to see the movie Sonic the
Hedgehog 3 at Clackamas Mall and then spent some time
at the arcade, where Oscar played lots of games and had
a great time. They rounded out the day with dinner at the
Olive Garden before returning home Sunday.
Two readers remind us: “There’s sun out there
somewhere! Keep the faith and remind yourselves that
we needed the rain, though there might be more smiles
and good news without daily drizzle.” And “Snow in the
mountains means good grass in the spring, and grass is
growing down here with all the rain.”
As Porky Pig used to say at the end of a cartoon:
“That’s all folks!”
A quick note to dbrosnan123@gmail.com or call to
541-223-1490 will get your positive item in the G-T and
bring a smile to many faces!
Here’s hoping that good news comes to everyone
reading this.
County students
named to BMCC
honor roll
Blue Mountain Com-
munity College fall term
2024-25 honor roll recog-
nition went to the following
full-time students from
Morrow County:
President’s List (3.75 -
4.0 GPA)—Cindy Agripino,
Braden Atkins, Ana Calvil-
lo, Arely Cambero, Isela
Echols, Alejandro Gomez
Chavez, Kourtney Krogh,
Miranda Landeros, Savan-
nah Medrano Pruitt, Juliet
Montes, Chelsea Newdiger,
Brisa Salas, Humberto San-
chez, Sariah Thomas and
Mayra Wightman.
Vice President’s List:
(3.5 to 3.74)—Juan Ochoa,
Carol Salas and Dailen
Schultz.
Wolf Depredation
committee to meet
The Morrow County
Wolf Depredation Advisory
Committee will meet Tues-
day, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. at the
Bartholomew Building, 110
N. Court St., Heppner.
The meeting is open
to the public in person
and online. The meeting
agenda with Zoom link
can be found online at
https://www.co.morrow.
or.us/meetings.
Did you know?
Murray’s espresso walk up window
(only) is open Sundays 9am to 2 pm.
Call ahead or walk up! See our
Facebook for January specials!
Peak Flu season is between December
and February. DID YOU GET YOUR FLU
SHOT? Fast and easy, no appointment
needed. Covered by insurance, zero
copay... Stop by anytime weekdays 9-1
and 2-6 pm. We carry both regular and
Hi Dose (for 65 and over).
Mark your calendars for Saturday, January 25
for the BARNEY LINDSAY MEMORIAL
SCHOLARSHIP DINNER AND
AUCTION--A fun evening to raise money for
many county wide scholarships.
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