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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (June 18, 2025)
50¢ VOL. 145 NO.25 8 Pages Wednesday, June 18, 2025 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Neighborhood Center’s act of giving hearkens back to WWI ‘Donut Lassies’ By Andrea Di Salvo On a recent Friday, the Neighborhood Center of South Morrow County handed out free doughnuts in honor of National Donut Day. National Donut Day is celebrated on the first Friday of June each year. While Donut Day may sound like a fluff holiday celebrating one of Ameri- ca’s sweet treats, though, it turns out that it is much more than that. The holiday was es- tablished in 1938 by the Salvation Army to hon- or the “Donut Lassies” who served soldiers during World War I and to raise funds during the Great De- pression. Many doughnut shops and bakeries still honor the day by giving out free doughnuts. “In 1917, a group of women from the Salvation Army, the Donut Lassies, traveled to the front lines of World War I to bring The Heppner Gazette-Times will be closed Wednes- day, Thursday and Friday this week, June 18-20. Regular hours will resume Monday, June 23. We apologize for any inconvenience. Hisler selected for OACA All-Star Series Heppner athlete named Player of the Game Salvation Army “Donut Lassies” serve soldiers on the front lines in World War I. -Contributed photo responders, civic leaders, elected officials, and other local heroes and sharing the story of Donut Day’s humble beginnings.” The Donut Lassies were a group of women from the Salvation Army who served American soldiers during World War I, particularly on the front lines in France starting in 1917. These women, known for their dedication and bravery, provided moral support and comfort to troops by cooking and serv- ing fresh doughnuts, coffee and other baked goods in the trenches. The doughnut became a practical and symbolic treat: it was simple to make with limited supplies, could be cooked using soldiers’ helmets when necessary, and brought a taste of home to weary soldiers. Waylon and Sophie Sykes stop by the Neighborhood Center Two Salvation Army for doughnuts on Donut Day. -Contributed photo volunteers, Ensign Marga- soldiers hope with the sweet taste of home,” says local Salvation Army represen- tative Kelly Nolan. “Today, the Salvation Army cele- brates by recognizing first ret Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purviance, are cred- ited with frying the first doughnuts in war zones. The efforts of the Donut Lassies helped establish the doughnut as an American icon and laid the foundation for National Donut Day. Neighborhood Center Coordinator Nikki Clark said her own mental wheels started spinning when No- lan told her about the hol- iday. “I immediately thought to myself, we live in such a great community full of people who serve each other in so many ways every day, that everyone needs a doughnut,” says Clark. “Everybody in this beautiful community of South Morrow County is performing active service for each other every day. We have a community full from the unofficial results to upset the election apple cart, so to speak. For Morrow County Health District, Ann Spicer secured Position 1 with 62.7 percent of the vote. Russ Nichols won Position 2 with 56.57 percent, and Janet Greenup took Posi- tion 3 with 65.31 percent. Jason Hanna secured the final open position, Position 4, with 56.37 percent of the vote in that three-way race. The contested races for the Port of Morrow Com- mission also stayed largely the same. Incumbent Rick Stokoe walked away with 47.16 percent of the vote for Po- sition 1—still enough to secure a win in the three- way race with J. Fletcher Hobbs and Heather Bishop. With no incumbent, Danny Kerns defeated Raymond Seastone in the race for Position 2 with 65.7 percent of the vote. Incumbent Joel Peterson held on to Position 3 with 58.95 percent of the vote. For a full breakdown of election results, visit https://www.co.morrow. or.us/clerk/ and click on the elections tab. Hallee Hisler capped off her high school basket- ball career in spectacular fashion last weekend, earn- ing a spot on the OACA East Team for the Oregon Athletic Coaches Associ- ation Basketball All-Star Series. Players are selected for the All-Star Series based on their performance during the regular season, in- cluding All-League and All-State honors. Coaches nominate players from their Hallee Hisler with her Player respective leagues, and of the Game award. -Contrib- selections are made by a uted photo committee of coaches. -See HISLER EAST TEAM, Representing Heppner PAGE SEVEN It’s official: Morrow County voters pass school district bond After three weeks of waiting, Morrow County School District is finally celebrating the passage of the district’s General Ob- ligation bond, which was passed by voters on the May 20 ballot. The wait was tense as voters and school district staff alike waited for the certification of the eletion results. In the end, the bond -See DONUT DAY, PAGE passed with a narrow 50.12 TWO percent of the vote—a mar- gin of only six votes coun- ty-wide. “After an anxious waiting period and a close vote, we are very pleased that voters supported the bond and the projects it will fund,” MCSD Board Chair Richard Cole said, “Thank you to all the voters who committed to improving facilities for student success in our community.” Cole and MCSD Su- perintendent Matt Combe said that passing the bond was more than a year-long effort and they appreciate the work of the Community Bond Advisory Commit- tee (CBAC), school board members, district admin- istrators, members of the district facility and busi- ness departments, teach- Election results now Dhan Lama certified ministry to visit Lexington Off-year elections don’t garner a lot of attention— usually. That wasn’t the case for the May 20 spe- cial election in Morrow County, which saw the passage of a school district bond hang by a razor-thin margin, as well as the over- haul—or sometimes failed overhaul—of some special district boards. With so much at stake, no one was anxious to cele- brate too soon. Entities like the Morrow County School District, with a $204.4 mil- lion bond at stake, waited anxiously for the election results to be certified. As of this week, those results are finally official. Here’s the breakdown: With hotly-contested races, Morrow County’s voter turnout of 39.66 per- cent far surpassed the state average of 23.82 percent. That still meant that only 2,874 ballots were counted out of the 7,247 active reg- istered voters in the county. Of those voters, a slen- der majority of 50.12 per- cent voted in the MCSD bond, 1,245 to 1,239—a difference of only six votes. As for the rest, there weren’t enough changes Gazette-Times closed this week ers, school staffs, Wenaha Group and InterMountain ESD Communications for all their work. The district represen- tatives say they also ap- preciate all the community organizations, chambers of commerce and other local entities who hosted bond presentations. “It has truly been a huge team effort across our district to evaluate facilities, develop projects and inform our community about the need for this bond. We appreciate everyone who worked on it,” Combe said. The bond will fund these projects: Irrigon Jr/Sr High School—replace school to provide modern educational environment for students. Riverside Jr/Sr High School—remodel and build addition for more class- room space and gym to support future enrollment. Heppner Jr/Sr High School and Heppner Ele- mentary—remodel junior/ senior high to become a K-12 campus with thought- ful grade level separation, resulting in operational savings and safer location -See SCHOOL BOND PASSES, PAGE EIGHT Nepali Pastor Dhan Lama with wife Bimala Thapa and his three daughters, Upashan, Christina and Marilyn. -Con- tributed photo Dhan Lama Ministries from Nepal will be com- ing to Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington the last week of June. The Nepali pastor will be at the Lex- ington Community Church this Saturday, June 21, be- ginning at 6 p.m. There will be a potluck and worship service to follow. Lama is known as the “Apostle Paul of Nepal.” -See DHAN LAMA, PAGE SIX CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 for more information
