10 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015
Local
Elkhorn Muzzleloaders meet
• GROUP HOLDS
ANNUAL
RENDEZVOUS
BY CHUCK BUCHANAN
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
During the heyday of the
fur trade in the western
United States, mountain
men of all stripes gathered
once or twice per year to
trade their hard-earned
furs and hides for those
things that they were un-
able to make or procure for
themselves any other way.
A gathering was known as
a rendezvous.
Such items as steel
knives and hatchets, blan-
kets, rifl es, powder and
ball, and even needles and
other small goods could be
found at a rendezvous. In
addition to trading, com-
petitions of all sorts, from
shooting to foot racing,
knife throwing to tobacco
spitting, drinking to horse
trading, and other displays
of “manly skills,” all went
on at a rendezvous.
The Elkhorn Muzzle-
loaders began in a meet-
ing in the Baker County
Library in 2007. Folks
interested in the fi ne art
of shooting and hunting
with “primitive” weaponry
gathered together to search
for a venue on which to
pursue their craft.
They found such a place
near Oxman Crossing
outside Durkee. The group
comes together at 10 a.m.
on the fi rst Saturday of
every month, rain or shine
to practice the fi ne arts
of shooting both smooth-
bore and rifl ed arms, and
of throwing knives and
“hawks” or hatchets.
Each month the club
members police the range,
picking up garbage no
matter who tossed it out,
and have also worked on
improving the two-track
road that goes through the
property. They have even
gone so far as to install
several “water bars” in the
road to control runoff. In
2014 the idea of having a
Rendezvous` of their own
became a reality.
2015’s rendezvous was
held June 4-7, 2015 in a
sagebrush basin approxi-
mately a half mile from
Old Highway 30.
Per Chief Grayhair, who
is known “outside” as Don
Smith, shooter numbers
were not as good as the
previous year, possibly
due to the number of high
school graduations that
took place that weekend.
However, those shoot-
ers present seemed to be
determined to make up in
fun what they didn’t have
in numbers.
A modern muzzleloader
rendezvous is a com-
petition of the skills of
shooting, archery and knife
and “hawk” throwing that
takes place, in this case, on
a trio of trails. Each trail
has a set of steel targets set
out at unknown distances
from the shooting stakes.
OTEC linemen
perform pole
rescue exercises
Chuck Buchanan / The Baker County Press
Chief Grayhair fi res his trade gun.
Targets were everything
from steel plates to chains
suspended both vertically
and horizontally. Points are
scored for hits, and if your
style of dress was authentic
enough, the shooter could
get an extra point or two.
One trail was designed
for smoothbore trade
guns while the other was
designed for pistols, rifl es,
knives and “hawks”.
A third trail was built
around a set of archery tar-
gets. Archery targets were
of course made of a softer
material than steel in order
to preserve as many arrows
as possible.
In addition, a large “long
shot” plate was set on the
side of the ridge to the
north of the camp.
Social activities were
available as well, includ-
ing a raffl e for a number
of nice prizes including a
Lyman Great Plains rifl e
and a muzzleloading pistol.
Awarding of prizes for the
competition was based
on total score, and were
“blanket prizes.”
Each competitor supplied
an item of muzzleloader
equipment of some sort to
the blanket, and took it in
turn to pick a prize from
the blanket based on their
placing.
Unlike many competi-
tions, which are timed, the
competition at a rendez-
vous is based on points
earned by hitting the target,
and all scoring is on the
honor system.
GARY GRACE
MEMORIAL RIDE
Join us for the 12th annual Gary Grace Memorial Motorcycle Ride
RIDE STARTS
SATURDAY, JUNE 27TH
9 AM PDT with
CLOSING DINNER
at 6 PM
Meet at the
Halfway
Lion’s Club
parking lot in
Halfway, Ore.
For more information contact Briana Sutherlin at 541.410.8358.
DEADLINE for registration is June 20, 2015. Register online at
www.GaryGraceMemorialRide.com or mail in the form below.
Rider’s Name:
Passenger’s Name:
Address:
City / State / Zip:
Phone:
Registration fee is $35 per bike. Includes patch & pin. ___________. Additional pins ($4 each)
___________. Additional patches ($8 each). Closing Dinners ($18 each) ____________.
TOTAL ENCLOSED $________________.
Include payment (cash, check or money order) and mail to:
Briana Sutherlin, PO Box 8099, Bend, OR 97708. All proceeds go to the Gary
Grace Memorial Scholarship Fund, which benefi ts local high school seniors.
Submitted Photos.
Rich Eskew (Top) and Tony Hellbusch perform res-
cue drills high above the ground.
Buckling on their new fall-restraint equipment belts and
digging into the utility pole with their steel gaff “spikes”,
the linemen at Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative began
their annual pole top and bucket rescue safety training
this week. As an OSHA mandated safety training require-
ment, OTEC linemen are required to pass this training to
maintain employment with the cooperative.
While OTEC has never had to perform a pole top rescue
in the fi eld the training is an opportunity for the linemen
to prepare and hone their skills if the need ever arises.
“The course is designed to evaluate each lineman on
their ability to properly rescue an injured and/or stranded
lineman,” stated Claude Morgan, Northern Division
Superintendent for OTEC. “It’ll never be exactly the way
they would perform the rescue out in the fi eld. But, with
this type of training comes repetition and it allows the
linemen the opportunity to have it in their mind the things
they will need to prepare for,” Morgan explained.
As part of the annual training course, each lineman must
balance their skills with safety, climb a pole and rescue
a 185 pound training mannequin. The lineman must then
secure the mannequin using ropes and pulleys and safely
deliver them back to the ground.
The bucket rescue is similar with the training involving
the use of the bucket on the OTEC service trucks to get
the mannequin out safely using the lower controls.
While no electricity is running through the lines, atten-
tion to detail remains key and the linemen are evaluated
as if every aspect of the training were real. “We are not
timing their performance,” said Morgan. “We are focused
on the safe and effi cient methods with which the rescue is
accomplished.”
In addition to safety training for employees, OTEC
continuously raises awareness of electrical safety in its
four county service territory by performing demonstra-
tions at local schools and community events.
“There, we show our members just how easy it is for
an accident to occur when working with electricity and
how to prevent these dangerous, and sometimes deadly,
mishaps,” said OTEC’s Manager of Loss Control Jeff
Anderson.
“We also increase awareness of electrical safety by
offering free trainings with volunteer fi re departments,
emergency medical teams and sheriff’s departments on
a regular basis. These programs keep service men and
women, as well members of the community, safe,” ex-
plained Anderson.
OTEC always places safety fi rst, and by performing
annual trainings, the cooperative is assuring that the
linemen and community members in service are properly
trained to handle nearly any situation.
Ladies bridge, golf
The June 3 results for the Quail Ridge Ladies Bridge
and Golf Club are:
Golf Winners: 1st Flight Jennifer Godwin, 2nd Flight
Virginia Babski, 3rd Flight Nancy Ferree
Bridge Winners: 1st place Deni Smith, 2nd place
Lavelle Woodcock, 3rd place Marlene Cross
9 week winners: 1st Della Steele, 2nd Zena Edwards,
3rd Judy Karstens.