8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 2015
Local
Huntington Food Bank
coordinators retire
ODOT
Continued from Page 1
By Eileen Driver
Eileen@TheBakerCountyPress.com
After 16 years of dedi-
cated volunteer service to
the Huntington Food Bank,
Darlene Graves, co-found-
er, and Maxine Murray,
bookkeeper, are taking a
well deserved retirement.
Graves said,” I will miss
the work and the people,
but its time for me to pass
it on to someone with a
little more energy than I
have these days.”
These two will be
sorely missed as they have
worked hard to make the
Huntington Food Bank the
successful operation that is
today.
The Huntington Lion’s
Club, in partnership with
the Huntington Christian
Center, will be taking over
the day-to-day operations
and physical support of the
food bank.
In 1998, a group of
ladies from the Hunting-
ton Christian Center saw
a need in the community
and set about fulfilling that
need.
They started the Hun-
tington Food Bank in a
small trailer on the Chris-
tian Center property and
brought emergency food
supplies to those in need.
It soon outgrew the small
trailer and was moved to
the vacant Catholic Church
in town and had to move
again when that property
was sold by the Catholic
Church to a private party.
It has been in it’s cur-
rent location, the Lion’s
Building in Lion’s Park,
for about five years since
the Lion’s Club stepped up
and donated the use of the
facilities when the other
Eileen Driver / The Baker County Press
Maxine Murray (left) and Darlene Graves have decided to retire from their
volunteer efforts at the Huntington Food Bank.
building was sold.
When the food bank
was begun, they traveled
monthly to La Grande in
a pickup truck to pick up
supplies and bring them
back to Huntington.
For the last few years
they have been lucky to
have the food delivered
here on a monthly basis
by an Oregon Food Bank
semi-truck.
When the food arrives,
it is unloaded and stored
on shelves and in freezers
until it is time to sort and
box it by family size and
distributed to families.
The food is not all free
to the food bank, they are
billed at a comparatively
low price to help with
costs and delivery. But is
always free to the families
that are on a fixed income
or have lost their jobs and
need the food to survive
the month.
According to Maxine
Murray, “ The food bank
spends from $250 to $300
per month for food and
supplies.” This makes
looking for grants and
donations a necessity.
The food Bank has been
fortunate and thankful to
receive yearly grants from
Ash Grove cement plant,
Huntington Christian Cen-
ter and FEMA but always
needs to find other donors
to make up the difference
in costs as they are con-
tinuing to grow.
The Food Bank distrib-
utes food to an average of
50 families each month,
from Huntington, Durkee
and the surrounding area.
This number has grown
in the last few years due
to the down turn in the
economy.
The Food Bank is open
the third Saturday of every
month from 9 a.m. to 11
a.m.
Volunteers are always
needed to help unload
the truck on the second
Monday of every month,
and anyone interested in
receiving assistance or
donating time, money or
food can come by the Food
Bank or send an email
to huntingtonchamber@
gmail.com for more infor-
mation.
Bentz announces new 2015
legislative team
SALEM—Representative
Cliff Bentz (R-Ontario) has
assembled the following
people to help represent
District 60’s (Baker, Grant,
Harney, Lake, and Malheur
Counties) interests during
the 2015 Legislative Ses-
sion, which will convene
Monday, February 2, 2015.
Andrea Dominguez, of
Ontario, Oregon, is Rep.
Bentz’s District Director.
She manages the day-to-
day operations from the
District Office in Ontario.
A member of Rep. Bentz’s
staff since 2009, Mrs.
Dominguez holds a Bach-
elor’s degree in Media Arts
with a concentration in
Journalism from Eastern
Oregon University, and an
Associates’ degree from
Treasure Valley Commu-
nity College.
Mrs. Dominguez staffs
Rep. Bentz’s Eastern
Oregon office, works on
research projects, assists
in responding to constitu-
ent concerns, drafts press
releases, compiles the Rep-
resentative’s newsletter,
and helps manage the flow
of legislative matters.
Michael Short, Esq.,
from Boise, Idaho, joins
Rep. Bentz’s staff as Legis-
lative Director. Michael
holds a Juris Doctorate
from the Loyola Univer-
sity New Orleans College
of Law with certificates
in Civil Law, Interna-
tional Legal Studies, and
Environmental Law. He
also holds a Bachelor of
Philosophy degree from
St. John’s University in
Minnesota, and is currently
working on his Legum
Magister (LLM) Degree in
Polar Law at the Univer-
sity of Akureyri in Iceland.
Mr. Short will pro-
vide policy analysis, bill
research, hearing backup,
task force process manage-
ment, and policy develop-
ment.
Nicole Crane, from
Salem, will staff the Repre-
sentative’s front office in
the Capitol. Ms. Crane
holds a Bachelor’s Degree
in Community Health
Education, with a minor in
Gerontology, from Western
Oregon University in Mon-
mouth, where she has been
working as an Administra-
tive Assistant.
Ms. Crane will main-
tain the Representative’s
calendar, organize email
correspondence, and direct
the flow of visitors through
the Salem Capitol Office
Lauren Boyd, from
Vancouver, WA, will be a
volunteer Legislative In-
tern for Rep. Bentz’s team
during the 2015 Session.
Lauren is currently work-
ing on her Juris Doctorate
at the University of Oregon
School of Law, and will
graduate in May 2015.
She is the Executive Editor
of the Oregon Law Review
and a Fellow with the Re-
entry Court Clinic Design.
Ms. Boyd holds a Bache-
lor’s Degree in the History
of Art from Johns Hopkins
University in Maryland.
She is currently working as
a court-certified intern for
the Clark County Prosecut-
ing Attorney’s Office in
Washington.
Garrett Kitamura, from
Ontario, will return to Rep.
Bentz’s staff as a volunteer
Legislative Intern for the
2015 Session.
Garrett worked as a
Legislative Intern for Rep.
Bentz during the 2014
Legislative Session. After
graduating from Ontario
High School, Mr. Kita-
mura deferred enrolling
in college for a year to
serve full-time as a State
Officer for the Oregon
Future Farmers of America
(FFA), and was recently
awarded his American FFA
Degree. He is currently a
sophomore at Oregon State
University, majoring in
English and Pre-Education.
Kieran Colahan, from
Burns, will also be a vol-
unteer Legislative Intern
in Rep. Bentz’s Capitol
Office for the 2015 Se -
sion. Kieran is a junior
at Willamette University,
majoring in Sociology with
a minor in Economics. He
is a member of the Wil-
lamette University men’s
basketball team.
Rep. Bentz said, “This
group will provide District
60 with a significant
advantage in dealing with
legislative issues, and it
helps that three of my team
are from Eastern Oregon.”
The Legislature has
Submitted Photo.
State Rep. Cliff Bentz.
allocated $37,662 to each
Legislator to pay for staff,
office supplies, and limited
travel for the six month,
“odd year” Legislative
Session. Two FTE (Full
Time Equivalents) are paid
for from this fund. Since
Rep. Bentz maintains his
legislative office in Eastern
Oregon year-round, he
uses campaign contribu-
tions from his Campaign
fund to pay for staff not
paid for by the state.
Rep. Bentz is currently
Vice-Chair of the Revenue
Committee, Vice-Chair of
the Joint Tax Credits Com-
mittee, and a member of
the Energy & Environment
Committee, the Transpor-
tation & Economic Devel-
opment Committee, and
the Legislative Counsel
Committee.
He is also Co-Chair of
the Public Infrastructure
Commission, a member of
the Governor’s Transporta-
tion Vision Panel, and As-
sistant Minority Leader.
Once I-84 closes many
motorists look to locate
alternate routes in order
to reach their destinations
without delay. Global
Positioning Satellite (GPS)
units are installed in many
new model vehicles and
are carried by many people
and, once I-84 faces clo-
sure, this technology points
motorists to alternative
routes. Many follow the
directions suggested by
GPS without familiarity or
thought to driving condi-
tions on these alternative
routes.
Motorists traveling
between Baker City and
Ontario find an alternative
route with their GPS units
pointing over the 5,400-
foot summit of Dooley
Mountain, past Bridgeport
and Hereford, to Unity,
Vale, and then into Ontar-
io. While this route looks
viable on a flat screen map-
ping device, the reality is
quite different, according
to Tom Strandberg, ODOT
Public Information Office .
“Some people look at
GPS and simply follow
GPS and end up getting
stuck. GPS offers alterna-
tive routes and folks don’t
know what to expect.
Just because GPS shows
another route doesn’t mean
it’s a safe alternative,”
Strandberg said. “The route
over Dooley Mountain is
a windy, narrow two-lane
highway. An alternative
route like Dooley Moun-
tain is not a safe alterna-
tive.”
Strandberg explained that
many times after impos-
ing the closure of I-84, the
Dooley Mountain route is
also closed to semi-truck
and passenger bus traffic.
While the big rigs are off
limits on Dooley during
I-84 closure, Strandberg
said that the full closure of
the highway over Dooley
Mountain is rare.
“We try to keep the
Dooley Mountain route
open to local traffic so
people can get home,” he
said. “For those unfamiliar
with the route it is best just
to sit back and wait for the
freeway to open.”
The late fall and early
winter of 2014 has been
fairly mild and for the
most part has seen smooth
sailing on the freeway
between Pendleton and
Ontario.
“It’s been pretty quiet.
We had several freeway
closures in November and
one late last Sunday and
early Monday due to a
crash but other than that
only some slide-offs and
light impact accidents,”
Strandberg said. “We are
trying to educate drivers as
much as possible.”
ODOT’s driver edu-
cation effort centers on
getting current road condi-
tions to motorists through
the agency web-site trip-
check.com. The site offers
up to date road condition
reports and allows viewers
to see weather conditions
on the routes by offer-
ing camera views of the
roadways.
ODOT also offers winter
roadway guides at truck
stops and at ODOT offices
“We encourage travelers
to check tripcheck.com be-
fore traveling,” Strandberg
advises.
Additionally, ODOT
now offers Twitter alerts
sent directly to partici-
pants. Strandberg suggests
those interested in Twitter
road updates to sign-up
for the service at web-site
http://twitter.com/oregon-
dot.
“Motorists should always
use caution around winter
highway maintenance
equipment,” Strandberg
added. “If the roads are
covered with snow and ice
it is better to just follow
the equipment as long as
possible. And, never pass a
snowplow on the right.”
Other ODOT Winter
Driving Tips.
Travelers should be
prepared for winter condi-
tions with possible snow
and ice on the roadways
as they travel over moun-
tain passes and along
eastern Oregon highways
this week and through
the weekend. People who
are unprepared for winter
travel can jeopardize their
safety and the safety of
others on the road.
Here
are some reminders to
ensure everyone gets to
where they are going
safely:
Drive for the conditions
of the road: Adjust your
speed to the road condi-
tions. SLOW DOWN!
Plan extra travel time:
Give yourself plenty of
time for winter travel to
reduce stress and help
keep you focused on safe
driving.
Turn off cruise control if
snow or ice is present: You
may lose control if cruise
control is active in wet or
slippery conditions.
Travel with warm
clothes and emergency
supplies: With tempera-
tures in single digits and
below zero at some loca-
tions, be prepared in case
you become stuck in a
traffic jam or road closure.
Always carry food and
water, a flashlight, extra
cell phone batteries, blan-
ket and other emergency
supplies.
Use caution when tak-
ing alternate routes: If the
route you were planning
to travel is closed (due to
weather or a crash), think
twice before taking an
alternate route suggested
by your GPS navigation
system. These systems
may not take into account
winter road conditions on
secondary highways.
Use chains and trac-
tion tires: When chains
are required, use the next
chain up area to put on
your tire chains. Continu-
ing to drive in the snowy
conditions hoping the road
will improve is not a safe
idea. Neither is stopping in
the middle of the highway
to put on tire chains.
Chain up areas and
highway shoulders are not
playgrounds: Use desig-
nated parking areas and
never use chain up areas
or highway shoulders as a
place to play in the snow.
Don’t park your vehicle
along the highway: Park-
ing in highway shoulders
prevents plowing activities,
limits access for emergen-
cy responders and creates
a safety hazard for other
road users. Abandoned or
parked vehicles along the
highway will be towed.
Stay home if conditions are
bad: Consider postponing
your trip if road or weather
conditions are extreme.
Know Before You Go:
Visit TripCheck.com or
calling 511. Here is a video
about how TripCheck can
help you.
For more information
about winter travel, includ-
ing links to chain-up vid-
eos and more, visit: http://
www.oregon.gov/ODOT/
COMM/Pages/winterdriv-
ing.aspx