FROM PAGE ONE
Tuesday, June 8, 2021
SHOW
Continued from Page 1A
Miller Xtreme Bulls com-
petition is conducted.
Carnival rides will
be provided June 10-12,
from 3-9 p.m. Thursday,
2-9 p.m. Friday, and
1-9 p.m. Saturday. Wrist-
bands for rides can be pur-
chased on site or for a dis-
count at Union Market
in Union and at D & B
Supply in Island City.
The Ed Miller Xtreme
Bulls competition, an
annual event at the Live-
stock Show, will start
at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Forty Professional Rodeo
Cowboy Association bull
riders from throughout the
United States will compete
for a $10,000 purse and
Xtreme tour PRCA points,
which improve their world
rankings, Cassie Miller
said.
Events continue June
11 with the annual Eastern
Oregon Livestock Show
parade at 2 p.m. that runs
down Union’s Main Street.
William “Bill’’ Teeter,
an Imbler mint farmer,
will serve as the parade’s
grand marshal. Teeter
has many years of expe-
rience as a EOLS volun-
teer and has served on its
board as second vice pres-
ident, first vice president
and president. He previ-
ously served on the Imbler
School Board for eight
years and on the Summer-
ville Cemetery Board for
many years, according to
the EOLS website.
People can still enter
the parade. Sign-up forms
are available at the EOLS
TRAIL
Continued from Page 1A
other association members
and local volunteers.
According to Sean
Chambers, now in his 10th
year as Union County
Parks coordinator at
MERA, these trails would
not be nearly as developed
without volunteer help.
“It’s a lot of work. Vol-
unteers just have a dif-
ferent lens they’re looking
at this place through, that
me and the managing
agency don’t see, so it
keeps us well rounded in
what we’re providing,” he
said.
The recreation area
contains 45 miles of
motorized trails and 45
miles of nonmotorized
trails, all of which require
consistent maintenance
and work to ensure riders
and hikers are safe and
comfortable in the area.
Mark Barber, orga-
nizer of the work day and
member of the ATV asso-
ciation, started the annual
day of work six years ago
when he saw the amount
of upkeep that could be
accomplished with more
volunteers.
“We’ve had anywhere
from four to 12 people
show up, and that’s about
the most we can round
up most years, because
everybody wants to ride
and not work,” he said.
“The trails are all volun-
teer maintained and most
of the single track is vol-
unteer made, and nobody
is up there taking care of
it.”
Most of the year,
Chambers and a sea-
sonal worker are the only
employees maintaining
the trails, making the
work day a big opportu-
nity to make and expand
new trails.
“Progress has been
really good. On the motor-
cycle trail there is a highly
motivated group,” Cham-
bers said. “They built that
trail system themselves, so
website, www.easternore-
gonlivestockshow.com.
The annual PRCA
rodeo and pari-mutuel
horse racing begins June
11 at 4 p.m. The rodeo and
horse races continue June
12 at 2 p.m. and June 13 at
1:30 p.m.
Musical entertainment
will be provided June 12
by the Wasteland Kings,
a popular Northeastern
Oregon band that has
been playing through the
region for 10 years. The
Wasteland Kings’ concert
will start around 6 p.m.
soon after the rodeo and
pari-mutual horse racing
sessions are over. The
band will play at the EOLS
track were a stage will be
placed.
Features available to
children at the Livestock
Show include the Kid’s
Corral in the Ken Knott
Barn where there will be
many activities for kids
to enjoy, Miller said. The
Kid’s Corral opens at
4 p.m. June 11 and 2 p.m.
June 12.
Rodeo tickets may be
purchased online at the
EOLS website or at the
gate. Miller said this is the
first year that tickets have
been sold online and that
EOLS officials are making
sure a substantial number
of tickets will also be
available for walk-up cus-
tomers. She explained this
is because some people
may feel uncomfortable
buying tickets online or
not have internet access at
home.
“We want to make
things as convenient as
possible for everyone
coming,” Miller said.
it’s really impressive.”
The main goal for
June 5 was to build a trail
connector between two
motorcycle trails, which
expanded the overall
perimeter of the trail
system that Chambers
planned out years ago.
Each year, about 2 miles
of new trails have been
developed, according to
Chambers.
“We’re just always
grateful to have volunteers
out here,” he said. “It helps
a lot and it means a lot.”
The land containing the
Mount Emily Recreation
Area was privately owned
timberland that was going
to be sold in 2008 in 240-
acre parcels until a local
organization campaigned
against the deal, citing its
potential for recreational
and educational use. After
receiving support from
organizations including
the Oregon State Parks
and Recreation Depart-
ment, the ATV Grant Pro-
gram and the Blue Moun-
tain Habitat Restoration
Grant Program, Union
County bought the land
for almost $500,000.
In 2019, the Coalition
for Recreational Trails
awarded MERA the Rec-
reational Trails Program
Achievement Award, a
national recognition given
for the park’s multiple-use
management and corridor
sharing.
Without volunteer
work, the trail system
would not be nearly as
successful as it is today,
according to Barber. He
said he looks forward
to keeping the work day
event alive and gaining
more attention for future
volunteers.
“If everybody put
in one day of work, we
would have a fantastic
trail system,” Barber said.
“Just one day a year. It’s
not like you have to be
up here every week, but
if everybody did one day
of work, then we would
have the best trail system
around.”
alex Wittwer/The Observer
La Grande High School graduating seniors relax and listen to speakers during their commencement ceremony Saturday, June 5, 2021, in the
school’s gymnasium.
LHS: ‘The world is already a better place because of you’
Grande Superintendent
George Mendoza during his
speech.
For Mendoza, this year’s
graduating class was spe-
cial not only because of his
position with the school
district, but because his
son, Cristian, graduated
with the Class of 2021.
The superintendent
praised the school district,
community and LHS fac-
ulty for getting the high
school back to in-person
learning. He noted many
communities and schools
across Oregon were unable
to overcome obstacles in
the way that La Grande did
during the 2020-21 school
year.
Guest speakers give
words of wisdom
La Grande Middle
School teacher Klel Carson
was requested by the stu-
dents to be the ceremony’s
guest speaker. Carson cred-
ited the seniors as the most
adaptable class of all time
and noted he had never
seen a class have three
first days of school in their
perimeter control.
“It’s too early and the
conditions and outlooks
are not favorable, so we are
going to keep the fires to
minimum sizes and dura-
tions,” he said.
Anderson listed valu-
able rangeland grazed by
public land allotment per-
mittees as at risk from
the fires as well as infra-
structure and recreational
and cultural resources,
while Mitch Thomas of
the BLM, who helped
oversee the Joseph Canyon
Fire, said some of the
area within that footprint
includes areas of ecolog-
ical, cultural and geologic
concern.
The troops on the
ground are some of the
Northwest’s most expe-
rienced firefighters —
smokejumpers, hot shots,
and helicopter rappellers
— all accustomed to being
dispatched to the roughest,
least accessible terrain.
Joe Hessel, ODF North-
east Oregon forester, said
the two fires were managed
the first few days by four
agencies in two states. He
said coordination among
the agencies is working
well due to long-standing
relationships with each
REQUEST A FREE QUOTE!
ACT NOW TO RECEIVE
A $300 SPECIAL OFFER!*
(844) 989-2328
Off er valid March 16, 2020 - June 30, 2020
Special Financing Available
Subject to Credit Approval
*Terms & Conditions Apply
alex Wittwer/The Observer
Jack Seydel claps for his peers Saturday, June 5, 2021, during La Grande
High School’s graduation ceremony in the school’s gymnasium.
senior year.
“It’s been a year that
you will never forget and
neither will anyone else,”
Carson said in his speech.
A longtime commu-
nity member, Carson noted
seeing some of his closest
friends in the audience and
in the graduating class.
Kevin Cahill, a teacher
at La Grande for more
than 30 years, gave the
guest of honor speech.
Cahill reflected on the pas-
sage of time throughout
the speech and cherished
seeing the graduates live
out important moments in
their lives.
Achievements and
recognitions
Many students wore
cords or medallions to sig-
nify their accomplishments,
organizations, national
honors society membership
and pathway studies.
More than 80 students
were recognized as path-
ways endorsement recip-
ients, studying in pro-
grams that focus on career
learning opportunities.
For students attending
higher education following
Continued from Page 1A
SCHEDULE YOUR FREE IN-HOME
ASSESSMENT TODAY!
7-Year Extended Warranty*
A $695 Value!
Turning the tassels
WILDFIRE
A Smarter
Way to Power
Your Home.
FREE
graduation, the list of col-
leges and universities being
attended stretches far and
wide. From staying close
to home at Eastern Oregon
University to traveling to
Duke University in North
Carolina, the Class of 2021
casts a broad net.
Continued from Page 1A
Prepare for unexpected
power outages with a
Generac home standby
generator
877-557-1912
THe OBseRVeR — 5A
*Off er value when purchased at retail.
Solar panels sold separately.
u.s. Forest service/Contributed Photo
The Joseph Canyon Fire, which was first reported Friday, June 4,
2021, by June 7 has burned 4,000 acres.
other and landowners.
“Our goal is to catch
these fires as quickly as we
can,” he said.
Ahead of Team 7’s
arrival, La Grande Unit
Forester Logan McCrae
served as the Joseph
Canyon Fire’s operations
chief. He said on June 5 the
fire was burning actively
until dark on all flanks. He
said as much as 90% of the
fireline had been scouted
and crews had a successful
burnout operation between
Cottonwood Creek and the
fire to decrease fuels and
reduce fire severity.
As of the morning of
June 7, the Joseph Creek
Fire had consumed 4,000
acres.
Firefighters have
little success with
Dry Creek Fire
McCall, Idaho, smoke-
jumper Jason Foreman was
the initial incident com-
mander on the Dry Creek
Fire. He said he and crew
members jumped the Dry
Creek Fire at 2 p.m. June 4
and watched it grow from
20 acres to 200 acres.
“We had little suc-
cess initially due to fire
behavior,” he said.
Zach Tayer, a Wallowa
County-based Forest Ser-
vice firefighter, served as
the operations chief ahead
of the transfer to Team 7.
He said two hot shot crews,
nine rappellers and two
Despite hurdles to the
class’s learning and per-
sonal experiences, the
turning of tassels drew a
sense of achievement and
relief from the students
and audience members.
Senior Class Presi-
dent Hayden Robinson
and school board stu-
dent representative Kobe
Cooper stood on stage and
announced the moment as
the Class of 2021 officially
graduated. Caps flew high
in the air as the pandemic
senior year became a thing
of the past.
“The world is already
a better place because
of you,” LHS Principal
Baxter told the graduating
class. “I’m confident that
you will continue to make
a positive impact with your
chosen paths.”
helicopters were working
on the fire’s northern divi-
sion, using the Downy
Gulch Road to contain the
blaze.
On the Hilo Division,
Tayer said firefighters were
securing the north edge
and working east near
Cook Creek.
At risk on the national
forest are a handful of
grazing allotments. Tayer
said cows grazing on
Rye Ridge, southwest of
the Dry Creek Fire, were
removed from their pasture
for safety.
Crews are camped all
around the fires’ perime-
ters, Tayer said. Food and
supplies are driven in or
delivered via helicopter.
In some cases the staging
areas are a two-hour drive
from Enterprise.
Crews were able to
make some headway on
the two fires June 6 as
temperatures dropped,
humidity rose and winds
died down. Tayer said the
goal was to get as much
headway on the fire before
temperatures warm up later
this week.
Forecasted rain on June
9 should also give crews
the upper hand on the
roughly 1,600-acre Dry
Creek Fire.
“We should make
headway in the next 72
hours,” Tayer said.
NO MORE GUTTER CLEANING,
OR YOUR MONEY BACK GUARANTEED!
CALL US TODAY FOR
A FREE ESTIMATE
15
%
AND!
OFF
YOUR ENTIRE
PURCHASE *
Promo Number: 285
1-855-536-8838
10
%
OFF
SENIOR & MILITARY
DISCOUNTS
+
5 %
OFF
TO THE FIRST
50 CALLERS! **
Mon-Thurs: 8am-11pm, Fri-Sat: 8am-5pm, Sun: 2pm-8pm EST
*For those who qualify. One coupon per household. No obligation estimate valid for 1 year. ** Offer valid at estimate only. CSLB# 1035795 DOPL #10783658-5501
License# 7656 License# 50145 License# 41354 License# 99338 License# 128344 License# 218294 License# 603 233 977 License# 2102212986 License# 2106212946
License# 2705132153A License# LEAFFNW822JZ License# WV056912 License# WC-29998-H17 Nassau HIC License# H01067000 Registration# 176447 Registration#
HIC.0649905 Registration# C127229 Registration# C127230 Registration# 366920918 Registration# PC6475 Registration# IR731804 Registration# 13VH09953900
Registration# PA069383 Suffolk HIC License# 52229-H