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Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 9, 2025 -- THREE ~ Letters to the Editor ~ The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that you provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The address and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the right to edit. The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $16 Email to editor@rapidserve.net or upload to Heppner.net. Left To-Do List I don’t know if it’s my generous mood lately or I’m just getting soft in my old age, but I’ve been feel- ing a little sorry for the Woke Folks. It’s got to be tough watching your country doing so well when you’ve had such high hopes for failure. As they watch the successful endeavors of President Trump, one after the other, I’m sure many have had to retreat to their safe space and hold their stuffies close. Since I’d like to help them out as much as pos- sible, I’ve created a list of causes they can get behind…complete with talking points. Not only will it give them a sense of purpose, but it might even keep them off the streets. One can only hope. 1. Save the Alligators: Everyone knows how high- fat humans are. Trump’s Alligator Alcatraz will only contribute to the high-fat/ cholesterol issue these ‘ga- tors are battling. They need compassion, not recycled tacos. 2. Society for No Child Left: The horrific Trump Tariffs will only lead to poverty. We can not let this happen. The elimination of children in the womb should be top priority, so we can save them from star- vation and the devastating heartbreak of no cheap im- ported toys for the holidays. 3. Sports Fairness Act: Women have been dominat- ing Women’s Sports long enough. The SF ACT will ban women from Women’s Sports forever. Go Lia! 4. Free Stuff Fighters: We’ve had to pay our way for too long. It’s time we let the government pay for everything. And no more taxes! 5. Citizens For Nice ICE: Deportations are cru- el! This is a free country, and criminals should be able to live where they want. ICE agents need to do something worthwhile, like sending Jews back to Israel. Nice ICE, Baby! 6. The Lie Alliance: Christians have been target- ing lies for years. This has to stop. Deception is one of our best tools. CBS, MSN- BC and ABC have shown how effective lies can be. And remember…there is no truth…and that’s the truth! 7. AOC for Queen! She would look pretty cool in the royal robe, and she’d be really good at yelling, “Off with his head!” Plus, you gotta admit, she’s better looking than Kamala. And remember…no kings! 8. Citizens for Peaceful Protest Fund: Protesting is our constitutional right. Let’s support our peace- ful protesters. Your funds will help purchase terror- ist flags, pallets of bricks, flame throwers and bags of poop. Make your dollars count! 9. Ammo Exchange Advocates: “If you like your guns, you can keep your guns!” We are not trying to take away your guns. In fact, give us your ammuni- tion and you will receive rubber bullets (extra-soft) in exchange. Make Amer- ica’s guns safe! 10. Better Biology Foundation: We’ve been living under the heavy hand of Biology for years. We need to stop categorizing people by their anatomy. This is so divisive, espe- cially when we know our real worth is determined by our skin color. Black lives matter way more than white lives…common sense! 11. Anti-Trump Ac- countability Accord: Our motto is “If Trump is for it, we’re against it.” Come on folks. Get on board the hate Trump train! I hope this helps. Let’s keep the Left on their cur- rent path down Insanity Street. It’s making mid- terms look a lot better. “A wise man’s heart inclines to the right, but the heart of a fool to the left” Ecclesiastes 10:2. Susie Crosby Prineville, OR Smith faces ethics investigation -Continued from PAGE ONE that at the time the grant application was submitted, those pay increases were not actually approved by the CDA board,” said Fen- stermaker. A public official may not use or attempt to use their position for financial gain that would be unavail- able to them otherwise. In this case, Fenstermak- er said, Smith would not have been in a position to discuss pay increases with the OLDCC or develop the grant application if he were not the CDA’s executive director. Additionally, the pre- liminary investigation found he apparently failed to disclose that conflict of interest when working with the OLDCC. S m i t h ’s a t t o r n e y, Amanda Gamblin, did not speak to the pay increase but addressed the alleged conflict of interest and said it was “undisputed” that the CDA board in December of 2023 asked Smith to talk to the OLDCC to see how much funding was available to the Port of Morrow to administer the CDA. However, she pointed out that nobody recognized it as a conflict of interest since neither the OLDCC nor the Port had the author- ity to grant a raise. “Greg didn’t see it, the CDA attorney didn’t see it, nobody saw a potential conflict of interest because Greg Smith wasn’t talking to an organization that had the authority to give him a raise,” said Gamblin. “Only the CDA board had the authority to give anybody a raise. “So when the board in- structed Greg Smith to talk to the OLDCC about how much grant funding it might give to the fiscal agent, that’s like three degrees re- moved from anybody being able to use their position to benefit,” she added. This investigation is not related to any previous allegations, nor is it tied to Smith’s role as an Oregon State legislator. The inves- tigation itself could take several months to complete before it is returned to the ethics commission for a verdict. An additional allega- tion that Smith failed to dis- close a conflict of interest as a shareholder in the Bank of Eastern Oregon when discussing bank matters in his role as CDA executive director was dismissed. New MCHD board members -Continued from PAGE ONE Dennis Burke CEO for the health district for several years. “Bob’s been here, he knows what need to be done, specifically, and I feel that we need to have some action now,” said Nichols. “We’ve been in a stagnant position with the health district, we’re going back- wards, and I don’t think we have time to wait until we get a CEO in here to start making needed changes now.” Houser, who was pres- ent at the meeting, was in favor of a one-year contract with limited flexibility. He said he would focus on recruiting providers and mid-level employees, as well as a new CEO. “(One) Who wants to be in Heppner and live the lifestyle of a small rural hospital CEO,” he added. “That includes being in- volved in the community.” Munkers said Houser had been CEO before, and he felt Burke was “right on track.” “I have great confidence in him,” said Munkers. “I think to take the ship in a new direction, we need a new captain,” Hanna countered. “I think this is absolutely the right direc- tion to go with Mr. Houser.” The board voted 4-1 to ask Burke to step down and hire Houser as temporary CEO, with Munkers the sole no vote. Nichols and Spicer were then selected to ne- gotiate a contract with Houser and bring it back to the board for a vote at the next meeting. The motion passed 4-0 with Munkers abstaining. Burke did not object to stepping down. He said he had known Houser for years and considered him a competent leader. “It has been a wonder- ful pleasure being here,” Burke added. “The staff is marvelous. It’s a great little community, and you’ve got so much potential down here.” Houser took over his duties Monday, July 7. In other MCHD news, the health district has re- vealed that former CEO Emily Roberts signed a three-year contract in De- cember of last year with a base salary of $250,000 starting December 1, 2024. Increases to $257,500 and $265,225 were planned for the next two years. The salary figure did not include the cost of ex- tra benefits such as family health insurance, retirement contributions and other benefits that were included in both her employment contract and separation package. According to Roberts’s contract, she was entitled to six months’ severance if she resigned or was dismissed without cause, opposed to the one-year separation agreement she received, and she was required to give 90 days’ notice for voluntary resignation. While no copy of for- mer CFO/COO Nicole Mahoney’s contract was available, information on health district wages for executive team members and the number of years Mahoney worked at the dis- trict would place her yearly wage around $215,000 for one of those positions. The Gazette-Times was unable to determine what additional compensation she may have received for filling dual roles, or the cost of her benefits package. McDaniel family picnic July 19 There will be a McDan- iel family potluck picnic Saturday, July 19, at Anson Wright Park around the fireplace. All family and friends are invited. Bring a chair, some food to share and all your stories and memories. WCCC Sunday men’s play Eleven participated in men’s play on Sunday, July 6, at Willow Creek Coun- try Club. Results are as follows: KP #4-13, Tim Hed- man, 8’8”. Net—1 st , Curt Day, 58; nd 2 , Terry Snider, 59. Gross—1 st , Charlie Ferguson, 67; 2 nd /3 rd (tie), Dennis Peck-Duane Dis- que, 72. The next event will be hosted by Donald Mathews and Joe Armato on Sunday, July 13. Remember to sign up for Wednesday night match play at the club- house. Please sign up by July 13 so the schedule can be prepared for the start on Wednesday, July 16. Father Thankachan Joseph Good Samaritan = Be a Good Neighbor This Sunday’s Gospel reading places before each of us wonderful questions: Who is my neighbor? How much do I know about that neighbor? We hear Christ’s immortal parable about a man lying wounded by the roadside and how two people passed him by while a third stopped and helped him. Let us stop for a moment and call to mind the number of times we have passed by someone who needed a little help. Christ is our Good Samaritan. He does not pass us by. He cares for us, binding up our wounds. The Gospel of the day is from Luke (10:25-37), the parable of the Good Samaritan, an answer to the question of the scribe: “What should I do to inherit eternal life?” The scriptural answer is “love God and express it by loving your neighbor.” However, to the scribe the word “neighbor” meant another Scribe or Pharisee—never a Samaritan or a Gentile. Hence, the Scribe insisted on further clarification of the word “neighbor.” So, Jesus told him the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable clearly indicated that a “neighbor” is anyone who needs help and anyone who gives that help. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus presents three philosophies of life concerning our relationship with our neighbors: The philosophy of the thieves who robbed— “What is yours is mine; I will take it by hook or crook.” In Jesus’s day, the steep, winding, country road from Jerusalem to Jericho was the haven of such bandit groups. No wonder the Jewish traveller was robbed, stripped, beaten and left for dead on the Jericho road. These thugs roamed the countryside like packs of wild dogs attacking innocent victims. The philosophy of life of the Jewish priest and the Levite— “What is mine is mine; I won’t part with it.” The priests were powerful upper-class authorities governing the Temple cult. The Levites were the priests’ associates, who provided music, incense, sacred bread, Temple cur- tains and adornments. In the parable, the representatives of these classes did not pay any attention to the wounded man because of their utter selfishness. Misplaced zeal for their religious duty gave them a couple of lame excuses: a) “If the man is dead and we touch him we will be un- clean for seven days (Numbers 19:11) and disqualified for temple service.” Thus, they saw the wounded man on the road, not as a person needing help, but a source of ritual impurity. b) “This may be a trap set for us, by bandits.” This excuse has some validity, as bandits did use a “wounded” member as a bait to trap other people. The philosophy of the Samaritan— “What is mine is yours as well. I shall share it with you.” The Samaritan was generous enough to see the wounded Jew as a neigh- bor. He ignored the long history of enmity between his people and the Jews. The Good Samaritan was taking a real risk, since the robbers who had assaulted the traveller might still be nearby. Nevertheless, he gave first aid to the wounded Jew, took him to a nearby inn and arranged for his food and accommodation by giving the innkeeper two denarii. Two denarii was a lot of money—enough, in fact, to pay for more than three weeks’ board and lodg- ing. The Samaritan also assured the innkeeper of further payment for any additional medical requirements of the wounded man. We must remember that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho passes right through our home, parish and workplace. The Jericho road is any place where people are being robbed of their dignity, their material goods or their value as human beings. It is any place where there is suffering and oppression. As a matter of fact, Jericho Road may be our own home, the place where we are taking care of our mother or father, husband or wife, or even our own children. We may find our spouse, children or parents lying “wounded” by bitter words or scathing criticism or by other more blatant forms of verbal, emotional or phys- ical abuse. Hence, Jesus invites us to have hearts of love. What God wants more than anything is for us to show our love to others, in our own home, in the workplace, and in the neighborhood, as the Good Samaritan did. Jesus is inviting us to have hearts of mercy for those who are being hurt or mistreated on any of the “Jericho Roads” of life. WWW.HEPPNER.NET MUSIC IN THE PARK HOSTED BY HOPEFUL SAINTS Over the Tee Cup The first day of July was sunny and hot for the women who ventured out for the Tuesday ladies’ play day at Willow Creek Coun- try Club. Low gross of the field was taken by Pat Dougherty Spiritually Speaking and Shirley Martin. Low net went to Kris Lindner. For flight B, Kim Carl- son took low gross, Karen Smith-Griffith had low net and Colleen Neubert had least putts. Lunch & Dinner Menu Featuring Brass Fire Band at 5:00 pm on Sunday, July 13 at Heppner City Park Face Painting and activities at 3:00 pm This is a free event thanks to the Morrow County Unified Recreation District M&D Equipment, LLC 7/10 - 7/16 Thursday - Pastrami Reuben with macaroni Friday - French toast and sausage Saturday - Bratwurst kabobs with deep fried zucchini Sunday - Closed Monday - Hot dog, chips, and pasta salad Tuesday - Hot Roast Beef dip with jojos Tuesday Night - 6-9pm $2 hard shell tacos Wednesday - Boneless wings and salad QUALITY HOPPER TRAILERS FOR RENT We rent good quality Wilson hopper bottom grain trailers to farmers, truckers, fertilizer suppliers George DesBrisay 541-571-2318 Craig Martin 541-571-8838 78471 AGNEW RD. HERMISTON, OR 97838
