8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2015
Local
What it’s like to be a …
This week in
photos …
Long-haul trucker
With college students
choosing majors and high
school students deciding
between college or the
workforce, this series will
highlight one career path
each week in August and
September.
This week, we introduce
you to April Bronson of
Ironside, a rare female
long-haul trucker and
“cattle relocation special-
ist.”
Wendee Morrissey / The Baker County Press
BY KERRY McQUISTEN
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
The BCP: April, what
would you say your exact
title is?
April: Cattle relocation
specialist! Technically, it’s
truck driver. Long-haul.
It’s different from the driv-
ers who come home every
night.
The BCP: How long
would you say you’ve
been driving? What’s your
background?
April: Oh my gosh. I’ve
always been driving in
some way or another—
over 20 years. It’s almost a
family tradition. My folks
have always driven. My
brother drives, my nephew
drives … I used to haul
fish for ODF . I have
hauled a lot of things. To
name just a few—agricul-
tural commodities, live
fish, produce, eme gency
supplies for FEMA, heavy
equipment—and my favor-
ite is livestock.
The BCP: What does it
take to start driving? Do
you have your own rig, or
do you work for someone?
April: I’ve sold off all
my own equipment. Now
I work for Tor-S Ranch
Trucking. They have loca-
tions in Roseburg, Izee,
Fields—several places. So
I drive their truck.
There are a lot more
women drivers on the
roads these days. Driving
truck has always been a
part of my life and a way
to make good money. I
started out as an employee
then later on I bought my
own truck and I was an
Owner/Operator for 10
years.
In January, due to emis-
sion standards I chose to
sell my truck and I once
again become a company
driver.
Burnt River’s booth at the Fair this year was
decorated in green and displayed the 4-H motto, “To
make the best better.”
Submitted Photo.
April Bronson and Chico, her 15 year-old Jack Russell, heading toward his two-
million-mile mark.
The BCP: What sorts of
special skills do you need?
April: You have to have
a good driving record first.
People don’t realize that
whatever you do in your
own car will count against
your CDL. Possess a Com-
mercial Drivers License
(CDL). You must pass a
written test on rules and do
a driving test showing you
can operate safely. You
must be 21 years-old, pass
a physical every two years.
No felony vehicle crimes,
drug crimes or DUIIs
resulting in deaths.
You also have to have a
lot of patience and the abil-
ity to live in a 4’x6’ box.
The BCP: Can you tell
us a little about the best or
worst parts of your job?
The most interesting?
April: Driving truck
(long-haul) is a great way
to see the country and
get paid to do it! I have
seen a lot of country from
behind the steering wheel
of a truck. All the lower
48 states to be exact. My
favorite states for scenery
are Kentucky and Virginia.
And there are several states
that I never want to drive
in again.
The BCP: Do you have
any advice for someone
who might want to become
a trucker?
April: It is a lifestyle and
you have to get used to be-
ing away from home.
I’ve had couples ask
advice about trucking
together. I always tell them
to lock themselves together
in their bathroom for a
week. If they can survive
and get along in that space,
then they might be okay
trucking together!
I also have some issues
with truck driving schools.
So if you’re 18 or 19 and
go through a truck driv-
ing school, insurance still
won’t cover you and you
won’t get hired after you
graduate. So people should
be aware of that. The
companies can’t get the
insurance.
If you go through a
driving school it helps to
be one within one of the
companies that you can
then keep driving for. But,
you have to put in so much
time for that company
afterward or you pay back
the training expenses.
There are a lot of regula-
tions for driving truck. The
Federal Motor Carriers
Safety Administration sets
the rules that you have
to abide by. For instance,
You can work a 14-hour
day and be behind the
wheel 11 of those hours.
Then you are required
to take 10 hours off with
eight of those hours in the
sleeper berth.
The BCP: How many
cattle fit in a load
April: Really, it’s all
about weight and weight
distribution. It will depend
on the size of the animal
and the trailer. With a
standard 48’ trailer we say
about 40 cows.
Hauling livestock always
provides a challenge! Yes,
my trailer is one of those
smelly ones going down
the highway. But we say, it
is the smell of money!
The BCP: Any adven-
tures or challenges?
April: Driving truck is
a year round job. In the
wintertime it can become a
real challenge.
Getting lost would be
the other. I’ve used Google
Earth to get around dirt
roads at night—but I lo-
cated the corrals!
Wendee Morrissey / The Baker County Press
Visitors and contestants stopped by the Baker
County Fair to check out some of the entries this
year.
The BCP: How many fe-
male drivers do you come
across?
April: Lately I think I’ve
seen … one—about two
months ago. Tor-S had an-
other female driver before
me though. Most people
are surprised at first, but
then they come up and we
yack for a while. We’ll
stand around and talk, so
it’s funny. It’s good. It’s
definitely male-dominated,
but women can do it. If
you want to do it, go for it.
The BCP: Any parting
thoughts?
April: I love livestock
and I love the people who
produce and haul livestock.
Like I said, it’s a lifestyle,
but if you want to do it,
do it! The transportation
industry is vital. Remem-
ber, if you got it, a truck
brought it!
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
In what was arguably the highlight of the evening,
kids gathered to watch as Baker City Police Chief
Wyn Lohner made a splash in the dunk tank at the
Community Night Out on Tuesday. Proceeds
benefitted the Baker Mat Club.
Community invited to talk
about death and dying
The October 17 2015
event is part of Oregon Hu-
manities’ statewide Talking
about Dying initiative,
created in partnership with
Cambia Health Founda-
tion.
The program will be
held at 7:00 p.m. in the
Riverside Meeting Room
of the Baker County Public
Library in Baker City. It is
free of charge. Pre-regis-
tration is not required.
Death is part of the
human experience; all of
us have experienced loss,
and all of us will die one
day. Yet conversations
about death and dying are
difficult and often avoided
even with our closest fam-
ily members and friends.
Talking about Dying is a
one-time, ninety-minute
community discussion that
provides Oregonians with
an opportunity to reflect
on what stories and infl -
ences shape their thinking
about death and dying and
to hear different perspec-
tives and ideas from fellow
community members.
Participants will explore
essential questions: What
do we think about when we
think of dying? As people
we’ve known have moved
closer to death, what
seemed to work well for
them and the people close
to them? What seemed
difficult? When we think
about our own dying, what
do we want most?
This discussion will be
facilitated by Dr. Jenni-
fer Sasser of Marylhurst
University in Portland who
is a nationally recognized
expert in the study of
aging. She designed and
established the Marylhurst
gerontology program in
1998. She was president of
the Oregon Gerontological
Assocation from 2008 to
2010. Sasser was recog-
nized with a distinguished
faculty award in 2012 from
the Association for Geron-
tology in Higher Educa-
tion. She co-authored the
textbook Aging Concepts
and Controversies, seventh
edition.
Participants will come
away from this conversa-
tion with a strengthened
sense of community sup-
port and collective engage-
ment around these ques-
tions, as well as a resource
list with tools and informa-
tion to help them consider
how to shape a meaningful
approach to death and
dying.
Talking about Dying is a
statewide initiative by Or-
egon Humanities, created
in partnership with Cambia
Health Foundation, to
bring thirty conversations
about death and dying
to communities across
the state from September
through November. These
conversations will be
facilitated by profession-
als working in the fields
of chaplaincy, counseling,
gerontology, facilitation,
and hospice care.
For more information
about this free community
discussion, please contact
Library Director Perry
Stokes at 541-523-6419.
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
The traditional Shriners parade down Broadway to
Main Street saw onlookers brave the nearly
100-degree heat to see the floats pass b .