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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 2015)
FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 9 Local Livestock judging contest held Man crashes into pole near John Day • 4-HERS GATHER AT THOMAS ANGUS RANCH BY BRIAN ADDISON Brian@TheBakerCountyPress.com The Poco Wing 4-H Club invited other 4-H clubs to the Thomas Angus Ranch and held a livestock judg- ing contest on June 15. Judging took place on two classes of lambs and one class of beef. Bob Harrell from nearby Harrell Hereford Ranch and Mark Coomer judged the beef class, and from the Baker High School Future Farmers of America judg- ing team Sophomore Au- gustena Cook and Senior Melissa Foltz, alongside 4-H club members, judged the two classes of lambs. During the contest, the official judges and 4-H members scored and ranked the livestock and then compared notes. “The kids’ll have to explain why they placed the class the way they did,” said Poco Wing 4-H leader Lori Thomas. If individual club members scored abso- lutely consistently with the expert judges they received 50-points. The exercise not only Photo Courtesy of OSP. Brian Addison / The Baker County Press Members of the Poco Wing 4-H Club and invited guests judge bulls on the Thomas Angus Ranch during a livestock judging contest, June 15. helps the 4-H members hone their knowledge and decision-making skill on judging livestock but also provided a public speaking opportunity as well, said Thomas. “I think 4-H is an excel- lent program. I started 4-H at about age eight and then became a leader with my kids, and now volunteer to help out,” said Sue Danielson as she prepared paperwork and place tags for the contest. The Junior Division con- test resulted in first place going to Ty Morrison of the Poco Wing 4-H Club, second place to Tristin Curry and third place to Gretchen Morgan both rep- resenting JQ Livestock. Senior Division honors were earned by first place finisher Emma Finley of the Poco Wing 4-H Club, second place to Johnathan Cunningham of Poco Wing 4-H Club, and third place to Aiden Coomer repre- senting the Baker FFA. Adult Division win- ners were Diana Dowing in first place, Tami Foltz in second, and in a third place tie Greg Maddox and Michelle Coley. Diana Downing won the weight guessing contest. An 18-year-old driver crashed into this pole Tuesday near John Day. The Oregon State Police and emergency personnel responded to HWY 26 Milepost 159 to the report of a vehicle crashed into a power pole. Additional information indicated the power lines were down and a grass fire had started. According to Sergeant Tom Hutchison, on June 16, 2015 at about 12:28 p.m., a 1998 Dodge pickup pulling a flatbed trailer was traveling eastbound on Highway 26 when the vehicle left the roadway, rolled over and struck a power pole. This caused the power lines to drop and start the vehicle and the surrounding vegetation on fire. The operator of the vehicle. Taylor D. Meliza, age 18, of Salem, was uninjured. Fire crews from John Day and the Bureau of Land Management responded and extin- guished the fire. Initial investigation suggests Meliza fell asleep causing his vehicle to depart the roadway. He was cited for Careless Driving. OSP was also assisted on scene by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Blue Mountain Ambulance and the John Day Police Department. CASA’s daddy-daughter dance City water rocks the Sunridge tests negative for crypto BY BRIAN ADDISON Brian@TheBakerCountyPress.com All of ages of dads and daughters enjoyed an eve- ning together at the Daddy- Daughter Night Out held at the Sunridge Inn, Saturday, June 13. The affair is an annual fundraiser for the Court Appointed Special Advocates, Inc., (CASA) a nonprofit organization helping children who’ve entered the court and foster care system. “CASA advocates for the best interest of children who are involved in the de- pendency system, or foster care,” said Mary Collard, CASA Executive Director. “When a child enters the system, the judge appoints the advocate. The advocate then gets to know the kids and then makes recommen- dations to the courts.” The evening’s festivities included food, photos, a silent auction for items do- nated by local individuals and businesses, and a much anticipated dance. “This is the second year we’ve been here and the dancing is my favorite part,” said 8-year-old Zoey Justus just before haul- ing her dad Kody onto the dance floor. Collard makes special note of the community support and the volunteer work provided by the CASA board of directors and the 25 CASA volun- teers who advocate for children. “The Sunridge Inn has been a great supporter of this event. This is the second year at the Sun- ridge and they donate the banquet room and provide food at cost,” Collard said. Karee Severns, Sunridge Inn Sales and Market- ing Manager’s assistant, On June 1 at 7:30 a.m. staff from the Baker City Water Department obtained water samples from a residence at which a Baker City woman lived who tested positive for cryptosporidiosis. The water had been treated with the City’s UV treatment system. The water was transported to the Grants Pass Water Laboratory on June 2. On June 11 the lab reported that there were neither cyrptosporidium oocysts nor giardia cysts found in the sample. Brian Addison / The Baker County Press Mary Collard, CASA Executive Director, Christina Smith, chairperson for CASA board of directors, and Jill Finney, CASA Program Director during the CASA Daddy-Daughter Night Out fundraiser. helped with the set-up, acted as errand-runner throughout the evening, and has a young daughter and boyfriend who at- tended the event. Collard expresses appre- ciation to a list of donors. This year community members donating to the CASA’s Daddy-Daughter Night Out fund-raiser includes Dr. Eric and Mrs. Katie Lamb, Barley Brown’s Brew Pub, Blue Mountain Denture Center, Ray and Jay Berryman, Jim Gordon, Lew Brothers/ Les Schwab Tire Center and the Brown family, Troy and Lori Stewart, Eric and Michelle Paoletti, Lisa Raffety, Tay Mohr, Silvan Schmeits & Vaughan PC, Kelly Hardy, Dr. James and Mrs. Kathleen Davis, Random Resales, Francis Davis, and the Sunridge Inn. Public’s help asked to solve poaching case The Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division is asking for the public's help in locating the person(s) responsible for unlawful wounding a buck deer outside of LaGrande in the Starkey Unit located in Union County. According to Sergeant Chris Hawkins, a concerned citizen reported the mortally wounded buck only a couple miles off I-84, a short distance up Ladd Creek Road. OSP Fish and Wildlife Troopers responded and deter- mined the buck was shot with a .17 caliber rifle twice in the head, on or before June 3rd. There are no legal deer hunting seasons occurring dur- ing this time of year. A reward is being offered by the Oregon Hunters As- sociation through the Turn-in-Poachers (TIP) program for any information leading to an arrest and conviction in this case. Callers can remain anonymous. The TIP program number is 1-800-452-7888. Anyone with any information is encouraged to contacted Senior Trooper Kris Davis at the Oregon State Police office in LaGrande at 541-805-4757. OTEC plans outage Brian Addison / The Baker County Press Zoe Justus with dad Kody says the dancing is her favorite part of the event. OTEC has scheduled a planned outage for Tuesday, June 23. The outage will be for approximately 10 min- utes, sometime between 9:00 a.m. and 11: 00 a.m. This will affect consumers from Ben-Dier Lane up to Upper Pine Creek Lane, including Spring Creek Loop and all roads off of Ben Dier Lane in the Baker District. The outage is planned to last less than ten minutes. OTEC apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.