EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 16, 2025
AWANA Club ends year with Grand Prix
Heppner AWANA Commander Dale Bates (back) with AWA-
NA Grand Prix speed winners (L-R): Ethan Jepsen (third);
Ryder Worden (second) and Lucas Worden (first). -Photo by
Andrea Di Salvo
Ariana Matzick and Jara Macias take a front seat view
as pinewood derby cars fly down the track at the AWANA
Grand Prix last Sunday in Heppner. -Photo by Andrea Di
Salvo
Heppner AWANA Club
concluded its 2024-25 club
year with its traditional
awards and pinewood derby
Grand Prix for members
and their families April
6 in Heppner. Fourteen
club members, along with
leaders, family and friends,
packed the house for the
event at Heppner’s Chris-
tian Life Center.
Preschool Cubbie par-
ticipants were Ethan Jepsen
and Ryder Worden. Ethan
earned special recognition
for finishing his Cubbie
Honeycomb book.
Leaders John and Barb
Collin handed out awards
Spring Arrives,
Walk Date Set
By Phillip Pacheco
Last year Anne Cross,
a Professor of Neurology
at Washington University
at St. Louis, discovered
that people with Multiple
Sclerosis may be protected
against Alzheimer’s Dis-
ease.
Cross observed that
all her MS patients with
suspected cognition issues
stopped short of an AD di-
agnosis. She wondered why.
That’s how this recent
discovery began. The ques-
tion remains what genetic
and biologic factors protect
one from MS or Alzhei-
mer’s. Getting to this stage
in research takes a long time
and plenty of resources.
This spring, the Hep-
pner MS Walk will focus
on MS Focus, a non-profit
that supports people with
MS through home health
costs assistance. While do-
nations are being collected,
supporters are planning the
yearly walk down Main
Street to the city park, start-
ing at 10 a.m. on April 26.
Walk organizer Barb
Orwick is preparing her
fundraising goals for 2025.
“The new discovery
will probably not affect me
but someday it will directly
help those with Alzhei-
mer’s,” she says.
For most MS patients,
she explains, the work to be
done is often at home.
“Most people with MS
wear braces, use scooters,
but there are a lot more elec-
tronic support devices out
there—but they’re costly
or out of reach for Eastern
Oregonians. MS Focus can
bridge the gap.”
From Hager Park, sup-
porters will stop by Les
Schwab’s and Murray’s
Drug to pick up additional
participants before finishing
up for a photo shoot at the
city park.
Residents can help sup-
port MS Focus this month
by contacting Barb Orwick
at 541-256-0455.
Bring your water bottle
and join in for the walk.
to the Sparks members,
ages kindergarten through
third grade. Receiving
recognition for participa-
tion were Sparks Adelaide
Jepsen, Anna Jepsen, Ari-
ana Matzick, Ashlyn Hen-
dricks, Becca Payton, Jara
Macias, Josiah Humphreys,
Kinsley Schlaich, Lucas
Worden, Marlee Chapa,
Mason Stephens, Meadow
Walker, Rhyatt Reed, Wes-
ley Brannon and William
Brannon.
Receiving book awards
and special recognition
were Adelaide Jepsen, Anna
Jepsen, Ariana Matzick,
Heppner AWANA Commander Dale Bates (back) with AWA-
NA Grand Prix design winners (L-R): Anna Jepsen (third),
Germaine Ramos Lopez (second) and Hannah Sumner
(first). -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo
Ashlyn Hendricks, Jara Ma-
cias, Lucas Worden, Mead-
ow Walker, Marlee Chapa
and Mason Stephens.
Anna Jepsen received
an award for completing all
three Sparks books.
Attendance awards
went to Anna Jepsen, Ar-
iana Matzick, Meadow
Walker, Adelaide Jepsen
and Jara Macias.
Awards for the fourth-
through sixth-grade Truth
and Training (T&T) mem-
bers were handed out by
leaders Dick and Karen
Temple and CJ Archer.
Receiving recognition for
participation were Aaron
Humphreys, Caleb Hum-
phreys, Emmett Bozeman,
George Johnson, Germaine
Ramos, Hannah Sumner,
Ian Macias, Jaxson Nelson,
Jaylee Schlaich, Kaiden
Martinez, Laurelee Jepsen,
Lupe Aguilar and Sofia Di
Salvo.
Attendance awards
went to George Johnson,
Germain Ramos, Han-
nah Sumner and Laurelee
Jepsen.
Book awards and rec-
ognitions went to George
Johnson, Germain Ramos,
Hannah Sumner, Ian Ma-
cias, Jaxson Nelson, Kaiden
Martinez, Laurelee Jepsen
and Sofia Di Salvo.
In the Grand Prix event,
Lucas Worden placed first
for speed, with brother Ry-
der Worden taking second
and Ethan Jepsen third.
In the design contest,
Hannah Sumner took the
top spot with her bird car–
complete with feathers.
Germaine Ramos Lopez
placed second, while Anna
Jepsen placed third.
The Heppner AWANA
program is the combined
effort of local churches to
teach children what the
Bible is all about. AWANA
stands for “Approved Work-
ers Are Not Ashamed,”
based on II Timothy 2:15.
Games, songs and a Bible
lesson are included during
a typical club meeting. The
AWANA program will pick
back up in September.
For more information
on the Heppner AWANA
Club, contact AWANA
Heppner secretary Andrea
Di Salvo at awana.hep-
pner@gmail.com, 757-
285-5792, or via Facebook
Messenger.
WCCC Sunday Men’s Play
Nineteen participat-
ed in Sunday Men’s Play
at Willow Creek Country
Club on April 13. Results
are as follows:
Special Events:
KP 2 nd shot 6-15, Dave
Pranger; KP #4, Rick John-
ston.
Net—1 st (tie) Tim Hed-
man/Kelly Fox, 59; 3 rd Ter-
ry Snider, 60.
Gross—1 st Curt Day,
67; 2 nd (tie) Duane Disque/
Barry Munkers, 68.
There is no play next
week as we observe Easter.
The following week is the
Mustang Scramble. Donald
Mathews and Joe Armato
are in charge of that event.
The next regular Sun-
day play is scheduled for
May 4. Jeff Watkins, Jar-
ed Huddleston and Derek
Gunderson will be hosting
the event.
The Gazette Puzzle Pop
Sharpen your mind with our Gazette Puzzle Pop!
Weekly math, word, and local trivia from our five
towns—no internet or phones allowed. Answers in
next week’s edition—grab a pencil and show off!
Number Pattern Puzzle
Level - Expert
Question: Find the next number in the sequence: 1,
2, 7, 34, 103, 104, 623, ...
Wordplay Whiz
Level - Easy
Question: I speak without a mouth and hear without
ears. I have no body, but I come alive with the wind.
What am I?
Morrow County Trivia
Challenge
Level - Moderate
Question 4: What is the highest point in Mor-
row County, and in which forest is it located?
Answers from April 9nd edition
Number Pattern Puzzle
Answer: 136
Wordplay Riddle
Answer: Cat (becomes Kitten)
Morrow County Trivia
Answer: Samuel H. Boardman