People make their way to John Day from all kinds of unexpected places, but few have traveled so far to get here as Father Christie Tissera, who presides over St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church in John Day. Born in Sri Lanka, Tissera entered the priesthood in his native country and served there for 24 years before being assigned to the Baker Diocese in 2013. In 2017 he transferred to John Day to become pastor to Grant County’s Catholic flock. 

Richard F. LaMountain’s fascinating profile of Father Tissera appeared in last week’s Blue Mountain Eagle as part of our continuing series of Grant County Neighbors features. Rick has written a number of articles for us in the past few months, and we are grateful for his contributions as we continue to recruit applicants for our open reporting position.

Justin Davis, who has been the paper’s sole full-time reporter since mid-November, filed a fine review of 2022’s Top 10 sports stories in last week’s edition. It was fun to relive some of the year’s athletic highlights, which included state titles for Grant Union wrestling standouts Justin Hodge and Mallory Lusco, a state title in the 100 meter dash for Hodge and an unforgettable 26-2 run by the Grant Union softball team, among other achievements.

We also delved into the history of the Clean Plate Club, a largely forgotten World War II homefront initiative that enlisted schoolchildren in a food conservation effort that encouraged them to lick the enemy by licking their plates. That story was based on information provided by Margot Chinnock Heiniger, a longtime Grant County resident who, as a child, was a charter member of the Clean Plate Club, which was founded by her father. Sadly, Margot passed away in June, about two weeks after I interviewed her. She was one of a kind, and we miss her around here.

This week’s paper will include stories on the new owners of the Long Creek Store, the completion of Prairie City’s long-running water project and the latest installment of our Grant County Neighbors series. 

As always, I want to take this opportunity to thank our subscribers for their support. We can’t do this work without you!