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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2015)
8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2015 Local Huntington celebrates Christmas Sumpter holds BY EILEEN DRIVER Eileen@TheBakerCountyPress.com Washington Street in front of Lion’s Club Park was brightly lit with Christmas lights of all colors imaginable, Satur- day evening, December 12, during the Annual Christmas Parade and tree lighting. The park itself was decorated with gingerbread men, large candy canes, lighted deer and a giant Christmas dinosaur along with lights of every color of the rainbow in anticipa- tion of the arrival of Santa Claus and the lighting of the City tree. Although the skies opened up and the rain fell it did not dampen the spirits of all the children or those who are still chil- dren at heart, who came to witness the event. With a mile long parade of fl oats to watch, all those gathered were not disappointed. Among the fl oats en- tered was a National Guard truck, windmill trucks, and fi re department trucks along with the Chamber of Commerce fl oat and sev- eral fl oats by local citizens all festooned in colorful lights. The much-anticipated arrival of Santa Claus, sponsored by the Hunting- ton Lion’s Club, rounded out the parade. Then it was on to the tree decorating by the kids and the turning on of the tree lights that brightened up the small town of Hunting- ton even more. By this time all were ready to head inside the Howell’s Cafe and Stream- liner Lounge Banquet Room to warm up, dry off and have cookies and cocoa with Santa, provided by the Huntington Histori- cal Society. Young and old alike were each given the opportunity to sit on Santa’s lap and whisper in his ear what they wanted for Christmas. The winner’s of the Float Contest sponsored by the Chamber of Com- merce were announced as follows: Third Place went to the Huntington Lion’s Club for their Santa Float, Second Place went to Kevin Jones for his mini car covered in lights, and the First Place Award went to Mindy and Stefan Burley for their fl oat por- traying Santa Claus stuck in the top of a teepee. The Annual Christmas Parade is sponsored by the Cham- ber of Commerce and this years theme was Babes in Toyland. Christmas Bazaar. The annual Huntington Christmas Bazaar was held on December 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the VFW Hall, located next to City Hall on Adams Street, in Huntington. The tables were loaded with holiday cookies, candies and pies as well as handmade items and Christmas trinkets. The Huntington Christian Center Ladies booth was selling a whole host of goodies including cherry pie, fudge and cinnamon rolls all homemade and very tempting. They also had a variety of Christmas ornaments and holiday decorations available. Kathy Hughes at the Hun- tington Christian Center Booth was pleased with the turnout this saying, “We didn’t have much left to sell at the end. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone come out.” There were approxi- mately 10 booths covered with handmade angels ornaments, beaded jewelry and tree wear, crocheted pot holders and small purses. Christmas gifts of decorated mugs fi lled with cocoa or apple cider mix, large and small Christmas ornaments and Christmas lights were on display. There were also booths from the Huntington His- torical Society, Huntington High School and numerous private vendors. Those who missed it this year should be sure to mark calendars for the fi rst weekend in December next year to join in the fun and the opportunity to grab some of the specialty items on sale to fi ll Christmas shopping lists. This year’s Bazaar was sponsored by the Hunting- ton High School’s Senior Class. Pine Eagle Charter School holds Christmas concert festivities Meghan Andersch / The Baker County Press Santa stands at the Sumpter train station waiting for the train to come in while supervising the plowing. Heavy snowfall marked this year’s festivities. BY MEGHAN ANDERSCH Meghan@TheBakerCountyPress.com Sumpter’s Christmas parade was made a little more magical this year by the addition of falling snow, as storms swept through the region. The hours of planning by the Christmas committee of the Sumpter Valley Community Volunteers and other community members paid off with a fun weekend of events on December 12 and 13. The Christmas bazaar offered everything from hand- made wooden toys to sweets to educational materials. The Christmas trains again proved popular. Crews re- portedly were out shoveling the railroad crossings to keep things running smoothly. Heavy wet fl akes blanketed everything as Saturday eve- ning went on, frosting the town tree and making driving interesting. The parade started not long after dark and lasted about ten minutes. Volunteer fi refi ghters made up the color guard and led the parade down Main Street. Fire trucks, ambulances, bedecked ATVs, and even a lighted up back- hoe paraded by. Volunteers walked alongside the parade, handing out handfuls of sweets. Immediately after the parade, folks gathered at the town tree in front of the gas station. Santa arrived on foot, explaining he hadn’t made it into the parade as his fl oat broke down. Mayor Leland Myers led all in a chorus of Jingle Bells. He thanked everyone involved with the Christmas events. Lynn Applegate announced the winner of the Christmas lighting contest: Robert Woolery and Ruth Tennissen. Myers then asked everyone to sing “Oh, Christmas Tree,” and the lights came on. JOB OPENING NOTICE Carmelita Holland / The Baker County Press The Pine Eagle Charter School held its Christmas Concert on December 9th, playing to a full house in the old grade school gym in Halfway. Teacher Denzil Kumar was Director, with Donna Schmitt and Joseph Aguilar on the piano. Precious little Pre-schoolers presented “Lights on the Tree,” with Kindergarten/First Graders following with “Jingle Bells.” Second Grade /Third, sang “O Christmas Tree.” “Deck the Halls,” was sung by Fourth Graders, and”Angels We Have Heard on High” by Fifth and Sixth Graders, with Hunter Simpson and Timbre Hill, soloists and Aubrey Vannice, on the fl ute. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” was sung by Seventh and Eighth Graders, with Moroni Jensen on alto saxophone. “Kyre,” with Kelsey Whybark, Jeff Rice and Shane Denig, soloists. The High School Choir sang the “Coventry Carol,” then “The Christmas Song” with Moroni Jensen on the alto saxophone. The High School Band was outstanding in playing three tunes, Latin Yuletide, Dreidi Adventure and White Christmas. Boardman to Hemingway: Revised Preliminary Environmentally Preferred Alternative announced The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has announced a revised pre- liminary environmentally preferred alternative for the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line (B2H) Project. Following the Draft En- vironmental Impact State- ment (DEIS), released in December 2014, the agen- cies considered additional route variations within the study area based on submitted comments and have revised the previously identifi ed environmentally preferred alternative. The revised preliminary environmentally preferred alternative differs from the DEIS environmentally preferred and agency pre- ferred alternatives in some locations. The route variations developed in response to DEIS comments include a number of new variations to previously analyzed routes and other routing options within the study area. All alternatives that will be analyzed in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) are avail- able on the project website at www.boardmanto- hemingway.com for your information. The BLM is working with cooperating agencies to identify the agency pre- ferred alternative – consid- ering economic, environ- mental, technical and other factors – and updating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) sched- ule for the project. No decision will be made on the project until the Record of Decision is issued, fol- lowing the FEIS, expected in late 2016. Questions? Please con- tact Tamara Gertsch, BLM National Project Manager, at info@boardmantohem- ingway.com or 307-775- 6115. OREGON TRAIL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE NORTHERN DIVISION DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative (OTEC) with headquarters in Baker City, Oregon, has an opening for Northern Division District Superintendent. This position is based in the La Grande District Offi ce and supervises operations employees in the La Grande and Baker City offi ces. High school diploma or equivalent required. A mini- mum of fi ve years’ experience managing the engi- neering and/or operations activities of a rural electric cooperative is preferred. Experience in other business settings will be evaluated for relevance. Ten years of in- creasingly responsible experience in electric utility con- struction and maintenance; demonstrated knowledge of electric line crew operations, electrical principles and safety codes; and the ability to supervise others and work effectively with associates and consumers is required. Must be able to take appropriate action on one’s own initiative. Strong management skills in areas of com- munication, motivation, delegation, evaluation as well as employee development and planning. Responsible for all construction, maintenance and operations in both district service areas including safety, fl eet maintenance and assistance in budgeting. This position requires that the employee have no restrictions on hours of work and/or travel. OTEC has 83 employees in four district offi ces serv- ing over 30,000 members located in eastern Oregon, known for its excellent hunting, fi shing, and outdoor recreation. Excellent health and retirement benefi t package. Please submit a resume and application (which can be found on our website—www.otecc.com) and any other applicable documents to the attention of the H.R. Dept., OTEC, 4005 23rd Street, Baker City, OR 97814. For questions or more information, please contact Deb- by Ray, Director of Human Resources at dray@otecc. com or (541) 524-2832. Applications and resumes must be received no later than December 31, 2015.
