Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 2, 2025 -- THREE
Spiritually Speaking
~ Letters to the Editor ~
Father Thankachan Joseph
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The Catholic Church is back to the “ordinary Sunday for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks
celebrations,” and in the last few weeks we were celebrat- will be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $16
ing the Solemnities of Our Lord in the Church and of Peter Email to editor@rapidserve.net or upload to Heppner.net.
The Task & Mission
of a Follower of Jesus
and Paul, the main pillars of the Catholic Church. In this
Sunday’s Gospel reading, the Lord is giving a guideline
for us to have a rich harvest through our life with Him.
The first reading from the book of Prophet Isaiah
brings the message of joy and gladness (Is. 66:10-14). Can
you imagine the happiness of Christopher Columbus when
he discovered the new world, as he went about telling
his friends, acquaintances and strangers about the new
world he had discovered? Can you picture the joy of the
founding fathers, George Washington and others, as they
began to realize the dreams of establishing a land of the
free? And yet what was the joy of Columbus and of the
founding fathers when compared with that of the Disciples
of Christ? They communicated to the world the Good
News of eternal freedom and the Kingdom of eternal life.
The Gospel this week from Luke (10:1-12, 17-20)
calls us to reflect on the theme of radical renunciation
and discipleship. The Evangelist warns each of us in these
words: If you want to be a disciple of Christ, ready to
walk to Jerusalem willingly and freely, nothing to sever
you, no detours are allowed, no vengeance, God loves a
cheerful giver. The Gospel leaves us with the idea of the
goal of discipleship or the mission of the seventy-two
disciples called by the Lord for a particular cause. From
the teachings of Christ, it is truly clear what the selected
must do for Christ.
a) Christ wants us to be determined: “Salute no one on
the road,” (Lk10:4), that is, do not get distracted from your
work, and do not miss an opportunity to take Christ into
the hearts of people. Robert Schumann’s middle finger
became paralyzed and his future as a pianist seemed at an
end. However, many people were thrilled by the beautiful
melodies which he produced despite this tragedy.
b) Jesus wants us not to put our trust in human
means: “Carry no purse...!” (Lk 10:4). That is contrary to
what we are often led to believe; neither money, nor hu-
man power, nor human learning is really needed to bring
people to Christ. What is really needed is the example
of a truly Christian life. The beautiful prayer taught by
Jesus to His disciples is a beautiful example: instead of
accumulating, try to look out for the daily bread.
c) Christ wants us to be messengers of peace and
love: “Whatever house you enter, let your first words be,
Peace to this House!” (10:5). When the Bible uses the
word “peace,” it uses it in four different senses. First,
it uses it in a military sense—to indicate an absence of
war between nations. Thus, we say, “The nations are at
peace.” Second, it uses it in a personal sense—to indicate
a feeling of personal well-being. Thus, we say, “We are
at peace with ourselves.” Third, the Bible uses it in a
religious sense—to indicate a right relationship between
God and us. Thus, we say, “We are at peace with God.”
Lastly, the Bible uses the word “peace” to indicate a state
in which everyone on earth is at peace with God, neighbor
and self. This is what we mean by the “peace of Christ.”
d) Christ wants us never to lose courage: “When they
do not receive you in a place...go to another” (Lk 10:10).
We should never get tired, never lose courage; God wants
us to try and try again, just as He does; the person who
rejected us yesterday might accept us today. Courage: It is
not the size of the dog in the fight, but it is the size of the
fight in the dog that counts. Kites rise, not with, but against
the wind. In George Bernard Shaw’s play there is a scene
in which Saint Joan knows that she has been abandoned
by the men who should have been her supporters and that
from now on she is alone. As she leaves them, she turns
and says, “It is better to be alone with God than to listen
to jealous little counsels. His friendship will not fail me,
nor His counsel, nor His Love. In His strength I will dare
and dare and dare until I die.”
Dig It
I’ve always wanted a
yard. Brilliant green grass
glistening in the sun, with
just a hint of dew and a
spattering of four-leaf clo-
vers. I can smell the freshly
mowed grass and see that
white picket fence. Little
children are busy playing
tag in their little grass-
stained jeans.
One would think that a
woman of my advanced age
would have had a plethora
of fine yards in my lifetime.
Not so.
Yes, I have had areas
around various houses that
might qualify to some as
a “yard”…but not in my
book. A real yard should be
green, not brownish-mud
colored. And it should not
look like a scene from
Meerkat Manor.
I happen to have a
member of the Farm Fam-
ily who doesn’t share my
admiration for beautiful
lawns. What she does have
is a desire to dig…inces-
santly. Her name is Lady,
and she is supposed to be a
“cow dog.” While she does
enjoy annoying cows and
horses now and then, her
main goal appears to be
making my would-be yard
look like a minefield. She’s
tried hard to convince me
that she has the good inten-
tion of ridding me of any
dangerous yard varmints.
She’ll stand over a
newly discovered un-dug
spot, stare at the ground a
few seconds, cock her head
a little as if she hears some
sinister activity going on
beneath her, then pounce…
and dig. Then a full-nose-
in-the-hole sniff…and more
furious digging. This ritual
will be repeated several
times until she is either
distracted by some form of
livestock in need of annoy-
ing or she discovers another
un-dug spot.
One morning, I saw
Lady trotting across the
pasture with something that
looked like it might be a
real gopher dangling from
her mouth. Yes! Finally!
“Good job girl! Lemme
see what you got there…”
False alarm. No dead
gopher. Dead stuffy. At the
time of this writing, she has
not retrieved one dangerous
varmint…dead or alive.
I’ve concluded that the
only way I’ll ever have my
dream yard is to have one
less dog. Finding a home
for a digging dog might
be a bit of a challenge. But
maybe some creativity is
in order.
“Nice dog. What kind
is she? Looks like a Blue
Heeler.”
“ N o … N o p e . S h e ’s
what they call an Amish
Tiller. “
“Really? Never heard
of those.”
“I’m not surprised.
They’re pretty rare. They
use ‘em in Ohio to clear
their fields. They can take
care of a whole acre in a
couple hours.”
“Wow. I bet they’re
pretty pricey pups.”
“Yeah…not cheap.
Hate to part with her.”
“Might be interested.
Does she catch gophers?”
Ya know, honesty has
a price to pay sometimes. I
have a rancher friend whose
cow dog catches gophers….
“Oh, lookie here….
pup got another gopher. He
usually just leaves ‘em on
the porch for me. Gets most
of ‘em from the pasture.
Never digs in the yard.”
Braggart…and he got
the pup from me. Stings a
little.
Susie Crosby
Prineville, OR
MoCo Republicans
raffle hunting rifle
Schlaich qualifies for
Junior NFR in Las
Vegas this December
Heppner girl Jaylee Schlaich, along with trusty partner Sti-
letto Biankus, presses toward her goal of qualifying for pole
bending at the Junior NFR this December. -Contributed photo
by Boaz Dov Elkes
L o c a l 1 0 - y e a r- o l d
Jaylee Schlaich set her
heart on qualifying for the
Junior National Finals Ro-
deo (NFR) in 2025 aboard
her trusty equine partner
and best friend, Stiletto
Biankus.
Jaylee just took over
the reins from her mom
(who raised and trained
Stiletto) in April 2025 and
knew right away she had
something special. The pair
qualified in barrel racing in
Hermiston, OR this May
and then set their sights on a
pole bending qualification,
which Jaylee accomplished
a few weeks ago in Powell
Butte, OR.
The qualifiers are held
all over the map throughout
the year. The top two times
in each event at each qual-
ifier get to move on to the
Junior NFR in Las Vegas.
Jaylee qualified in the
Junior (12 and under) barrel
racing and the 17 and under
pole bending; not an easy
feat for a 10-year-old, as the
competition at these events
is fierce.
The YETI Junior NFR
will host more than 700
contestants within the
Wrangler Rodeo Arena
over 10 days in December.
Celebrating its 10 th Anni-
versary, this premier event
takes place in the heart of
Las Vegas, where each con-
testant competes at the Las
Vegas Convention Center.
These young athletes
will vie for more than $1
million in combined cash
and prize payouts as they
chase a coveted Montana
Silversmiths championship
buckle and a national title.
Jaylee will be looking
for two business sponsor-
ships that would like to
have their ad put into the
official program of the Ju-
nior NFR. This program
will reach hundreds of thou-
sands of people over the
10 days in Las Vegas. A
full-page sponsorship is
$195 and a half-page spon-
sorship is $125. If you feel
your business could benefit
from this and would like to
support Jaylee at the Junior
NFR, please contact Amber
Schlaich before the end of
July.
Jaylee says she is very
thankful to have this op-
portunity and the chance
to represent Heppner at the
Junior NFR this December.
Over the Tee Cup
It was a beautiful day
for ladies’ golf on June 24.
The field of eight played
Bad Cards for Good Golfers
for a change of pace.
Low gross was Pat
Dougherty with 39. Betty
Carter had a chip-in on hole
15, and Karen Wolff had a
chip-in on hole 12.
The morning was
deemed a success and good
fun was had by all.
Ione library’s Summer
Reading Program kicked
off on June 24
The Morrow County Republicans are raffling off this custom
Howa 1500 hunting rifle this summer. -Contributed photo
Ione Public Library’s Summer Reading Program kicked off
on June 24 with a visit from the University of Oregon’s Mu-
seum of Natural History. Designing and testing wind wagons
was popular among the hands-on activities. The program
for children ages 5-12 continues on Tuesdays from 10:30-12
throughout July, ending with another special program on
July 31 from Eastern Oregon University. The program is
free of charge. Contact the library at 541-561-9828 for more
information. -Contributed photo
The Morrow Coun-
ty Republican Party 2025
Rifle Raffle tickets are on
sale now.
T5 Firearm Solution,
LLC has put together a
custom Howa 1500 hunting
rifle with a Pendleton com-
posite long-range hunter
stock. The gun features a
tungsten cerakote finish and
is equipped with an Arken
EP5 5-25 scope.
T5 Firearm Solutions,
LLC will hold the gun until
the drawing and then cus-
tom-load it with 7mm PRC
ammo upon pickup by the
winner.
A limited number of
raffle tickets will be avail-
able to those 18 years or
older for $25 each or five
for $100.
Those interested in pur-
chasing raffle tickets for
this hunting rifle can do
so by contacting a local
Republican Precinct Com-
mittee Person (PCP). The
south county PCPs are Jack
Meligan (Heppner), Sam
Bellamy or Corey Miller
(Lexington), and Clint Carl-
son (Ione).
Or, visit the Morrow
County Republicans’ booth
at the Fourth of July cele-
bration in Ione on Friday.
Raffle tickets will be on sale
there as well as at the other
summer community events
throughout the county.
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