10 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015
Local
BHS’s Skills USA club hosts
its first competitio
Community
Bank announces
first winners
On January 30th Community Bank conducted the first
of 12 drawings as part of the Silver Sweepstakes. In cel-
ebration of the 60th anniversary, each month 60 ounces
of silver bullion will be given away - a 10 oz bar to six
lucky winners. With 14 branches, that will be 14 names
advanced to the prize drawings. A random drawing of six
names will determine the lucky winners for the month.
January winners are: Jeanenne Bowers of Baker City;
Larry Morrison of La Grande; J.P. Nelson from Hermis-
ton; LaRae Holm of Clarkston; Mike Rossman of Hep-
pner; and Lorrie Rigdon of Pendleton.
Enter up to once every business day at a local Commu-
nity Bank branch. There is no purchase necessary and a
full disclosure is available at your local Community Bank
or online at www.communitybanknet.com.
Gina K. Swartz/ The Baker County Press
Skills USA members from four schools focused on their areas of competition last week.
By Gina K. Swartz
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Teams gathered from
Pine Eagle, Vale, Elgin,
and Baker City to com-
pete in what was the first
official completion held.
Students competed in
Welding, Engineering, Au-
tomotive and Construction.
“All of the teams that
are here today are part
of the Eastern Oregon
Regional Construction
Hub,” said Sherry Cole,
Co-Director. “This is basi-
cally a pre contest before
they head to the other side
of the state in April.”
Cole would love to
see more of these type of
events held and support
given to the students so the
Department of Education
can see the benefits and
provide more funding into
these types of programs.
After a long day of
completion the winners
of each category were
presented a plaque at an
awards ceremony.
A list of winners for each
category was not available
at press time.
Judges for each
category of competition
consisted of Engineer-
ing: Kyle Carpenter and
Ron Rasmussen. Weld-
ing: Kevin Campbell and
Pat Conley. Automotive:
Clay Gyllenburg, Dusty
Christensen, Mike Reever,
Rocky Brown and Topper
Schlupe. Construction:
Pete Nelson, Jeff Richman
and Bill Harvey.
As the awards ceremony
concluded Burke Smejkal,
one of Baker Technical
Institute advisors ad-
dressed the competitors. “I
have had the opportunity to
work at BTI for 1 year, the
pilot year. This has been
one of the highlights of the
year for me and it’s been
exciting to bump elbows
with some of the other
schools. This has also been
an opportunity to see you
all in a different light, I
know you spend most of
your time in classrooms
maybe not enjoying
yourself as much as I saw
today, there were a lot of
smiles, a lot of teamwork,
a lot of enthusiasm. I like
that we are all wearing
kind of the same colors it’s
like we are all on the same
team. Congratulations to
all the students,” he said.
Baker Technical Insti-
tute (BTI) is headed by Jer-
ry Peacock. BTI would like
to thank Miller Lumber
for donating the wood for
the competition, Pizza Hut
for their continued support
of the local chapter, and
Oregon Sign Company for
the vinyl sign that hangs in
the BTI hallway.
— Obituaries —
Continued from Page 2
Bruce Christman
Bruce was born August
5th 1943 in LaGrande , OR
to Calvin and Helen Coffee
Christman. He attended
school in North Pow-
der, Oregon. In 1961 he
enlisted in the US Marine
Corps. He served for six
years until he was injured
in the line of duty.
He saw action in
Vietnam and the Domini-
can Republic. After his
military service he went
on to work in the logging
and construction industries
in northern California
and later eastern Oregon.
He worked as a surveyor,
heavy equipment op-
erator and timber faller.
After earning a degree he
worked for the Oregon
employment department.
Then he contracted for the
La Grande Observer before
his health forced his retire-
ment in 2006.
Bruce married Laura
Lynn Morris on June 19th,
1976 in Dayville, Oregon.
They combined their
families and had two
more sons. Bruce, Laura
and their children lived
multiple places in eastern
Oregon, before settling in
the Baker valley in 1991,
so he could attend college
in Pendleton and later
La Grande Where he
earned a bachelor of sci-
ence degree from EOSC in
1998.
That was one of his
proudest accomplishments.
He was a lover of the
outdoors and spent a
great deal of time hunt-
ing, fishing and picking
mushrooms and huckleber-
ries all the time sharing
his love and knowledge of
the outdoors with his wife
and children and later his
grandchildren.
Bruce is preceded in
death by his parents, a
brother Cedric Christman,
and a sister, Janice Christ-
man Metz.
Survivors include his
wife Laura, sister Carol
Wisdom and husband
Duane of Nampa ID, sister
Marylin Esquibel and
huysband Felix of Nampa
ID, sister in-law Betty
Christman of Lexington
OR, daughters Kelly
Kenworthy and husband
Robert of Baker City,
Tina Ingerson and hus-
band Kevin of LaGrande,
OR, and sons Cedric and
Charles Christman both
of Baker City. He also
had five grandsons, three
granddaughters and many
nieces, nephews, cousins
and friends.
Memorial contributions
can be made to the Wild-
land Fire Fighter Founda-
tion and/or Southern Pov-
erty Law Center (Bruce’s
favorite charities) through
Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer
Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave.,
Baker City, OR 97814.
Amos Frederick
Rasmussen
Baker City, 1936-2015
Amos
Frederick
Rasmussen,
78, of Baker
City died
February 8,
2015 at St.
Alphonsus
Amos
Medical
Rasmussen
Center in
Baker City, Oregon. No
services are planned
at this time.
Amos was born May 21,
1936 in Toledo, Oregon to
Pete and Mary “Jett”
Rasmussen. He grew up
on the Oregon coast and
graduated from Newport
High School. After high
school he entered the Air
Force and served as an
Airman 2nd Class/ Air
Policeman from June 16,
1955 through December
5, 1958 with an honorable
discharge.
On September 20,
1958, just before he was
discharged from the Air
Force, Amos married
Rosemarie Leopold in
ULM Germany.
Upon his return to the
United States, Amos com-
pleted training at the Or-
egon Police Academy and
worked from 1959 through
1988 with the Oregon State
Police retiring as Lieuten-
ant. He also worked as the
Marine Patrol Manager for
the Baker County Sheriff’s
Department and as a US
Forest Service Liaison for
the Grant County Sheriff’s
office.
Amos enjoyed a variety
of hobbies including
woodworking, leather
work, horseback riding,
sport shooting, motor-
cycle riding, reloading and
was considered a Master
Craftsman. He was a
member of the Elk’s Club
and an active community
volunteer which included
serving as the Western
Heights water systems
manager.
Survivors include his
wife, Rosemarie Rasmus-
sen; sisters, Irene Rasmus-
sen and Maxine Rasmus-
sen and brother, Elmer
“Speed” Rasmussen.
He was preceded in
death by his parents; Pete
and Mary Rasmussen; and
his brothers, Ed “Mickey”
Rasmussen and Dale Ras-
mussen.
Memorial contributions
may be made to the Sclero-
derma Foundation through
Gray’s West & Company
Chapel, 1500 Dewey Av-
enue, Baker City, Oregon
97814.
Donald Lee Pringle
Baker City, 1932-2015
Donald Lee Pringle of
Baker City, OR left his
family and friends to a new
life in Heaven on January
09, 2015 at the age of 82
after a battle with cancer.
Don was born Decem-
ber 27, 1932 in Longview,
WA. He was the son of
Victor and Dorothy Pringle
of Kelso, WA. Don served
in the Korean War on the
ront lines with the Army
Infantry as a Sergeant
for three years. Don was
preceded in death by his
grandson, Phillip Prin-
gle. He is survived by his
wife of 60 years, Beverly
Pringle; daughter, Darlene
Johnson of Vancouver,
WA and son-in-law, Mike
Johnson; daughter, Char
Buxton of Sherwood, OR;
daughter, Linda Sterr; 8
Grandchildren, and 10
great grand-children.
Don worked for many
years in the logging in-
dustry, but made a career
in construction building
many roads and bridges
in the Pacific Northwest
when he went to work for a
Roy Ladd Construction. In
the wilderness, Don found
his life’s passion: fishing,
hunting, camping, in ad-
dition to his most beloved
passion, woodworking.
Don was an active mem-
ber of the Baker County
Sheriff’s Posse, and was
voted Posseman of the
year. Don was an active
member of the Elkhorn
Muzzle Loaders for the
past few years, a 50-year
member of the Interna-
tional Labors Union, VFW
member, and a volunteer at
the local food bank.
He will be remembered
for his humanitarian work
and for the significant co -
tributions he made to all
of the hundreds of families
around the world that he
helped throughout his life.
A memorial service was
held to honor Don’s life at
10 a.m. on Friday, January
14, 2015, at Willamette
National Cemetery (11800
Southeast Mount Scott
Boulevard Portland, OR
97086).
The family has request-
ed that in lieu of flowers,
memorial contributions
be made to Gray’s West &
Co. Pioneer Chapel.
Ash Grove has
new CFO
Ash Grove Cement
Company announced
David G. Meyer is join-
ing the company as its
vice president and chief
financial officer in th
company’s headquarters
in Overland Park, Kan. In
his new role, Meyer will
direct accounting, trea-
sury, internal audit, tax
and information technol-
ogy functions.
Submitted Photo
“Dave brings 17 years
of corporate finance leade -
David G. Meyer.
ship in strategic planning
and capital markets as well
as financial planning and reporting within a la ge cor-
porate setting. His prior experience also includes seven
years with a Big 4 public accounting firm. Dave is a
great addition to our senior management team,” said Ash
Grove Cement Company President and Chief Operating
Officer Randy Vance.
Most recently, Meyer served as senior vice president –
finance for Dairy Farmers of America, a $13 billion dairy
cooperative headquartered in Kansas City, Mo. Prior to
his employment at Dairy Farmers of America he served
as audit manager for Deloitte, also in Kansas City.
“Ash Grove has a great history of success here in Kan-
sas City and is well-respected in the cement manufactur-
ing industry,” said Meyer. “I am eager to use my strong
background in accounting and finance and experience
with transactions to benefit the compan .”
Meyer earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Ad-
ministration degree from Kansas State University and is a
certified public accountant
Safeway warns
about local scam
Last week, two Baker City residents went into the
local Safeway store on Campbell Street after receiving
convincing calls from someone alleging to be from Pub-
lisher's Clearing House.
The caller stated that they have won the sweepstakes—
up to $11 million in one case—but require that the
winners send $950 beforehand to satisfy the IRS's tax
portion.
A pre-paid Reload-It card and/or Western Union
money transfer are requested by the scammer. Safe-
way has alerted their loss prevention division and local
authorities.
Local RadioShack
not among closures
Texas-based RadioShack has announced the future
closure of up to 2,100 of its 4,400 stores, resulting in
massive job loss. 18 of those closures will hit Oregon and
southern Washington state, but the Baker City franchise,
owned by Ken Gross, is not among the casualties.
The closures come as part of a reorganization plan fol-
lowing bankruptcy.
The Oregon and Washington stores on the chopping
block are:
•11525 NE Halsey St., Portland
•Lancaster Mall, Salem
•Washington Square, Portland
•Clackamas Town Center, Happy Valley
•Keizer Creekside, Keizer
•65 Division Ave., Eugene
•Martinazzi Square, Tualatin
•550 SE 10th, Hillsboro
•Medford Riverside, Medford
•Medford Bear Creek Plaza, Medford
•Garden Valley, Roseburg
•Albany Heritage Mall, Albany
•10587 SE 82nd Ave., Happy Valley
•4000 SE 82nd Ave., Portland
•Tanasbourne Village, Hillsboro
•Valley River Center, Eugene
•6607 E. Mill Plain, Vancouver
•Vancouver Mall, Vancouver