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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2016)
FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7 Outdoor Rec / Local HELP WANTED BAKER SCHOOL DISTRICT 5J is currently accepting applications for a .5 FTE Culinary Arts position. For a complete description of the position and the application process go to www.baker.k12.or.us. You may also call Norma Nemec at 541-524-2260. The Baker City Public Works Department is seek- ing qualifi ed applicants for the position of Mechanic II. Closes April 29, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. For more information and how to apply go to www.bakercity.com. The City of Baker City is an EEO employer. PUBLIC NOTICE: WEED SPRAY GIVEAWAY! For 2016, Baker County Weed District will again be giving out herbicide on the following locations, dates, and times. This fully mixed, ready-to-go herbicide will be targeting whitetop and scotch thistle. Folks need to bring chemical-resis- tant containers, preferably gas or oil cans, and a pair of chemical-resistant gloves. Please, no food containers. There will be a fi ve gallon limit imposed for each residence. Note!!! New location for Baker City Giveaways! Where Huntington Service Station Richland/Halfway - Wildfl ower Corner Baker City - Old ODOT Building 1050 S. Bridge Baker City - Old ODOT Building 1050 S. Bridge Street Hereford Hall /Unity Hall Hereford - Unity Date April 22 May 6 May 21 Time 8:00 - 11 AM 7 - 12 Noon 7 - 12 Noon May 28 7 -12 Noon June 3 9 AM - 10:30 AM Talking turkey season this spring could show an even higher jump in successes. ODFW Upland Bird Coordina- tor David Budeau reported that, “Production was good last year, and despite THE OUTDOOR COLUMN more snow this winter, By Todd Arriola we didn’t see any signifi - Today marks the fi rst cant over-winter mortality day of the general turkey among turkeys. The above hunting season, a month- average precipitation and-a-half long adventure, should result in good habi- with one new surprise for tat conditions throughout 2016, sure to please most the state.” every gobbler seeker: the We adults love to have statewide season bag limit our fun, and steal some increased by one, for a total of three legal turkeys. of the spotlight, but the younger hunters have Proudly the bearer of been no slouchers, when more good news, I have it comes to success rates, noticed that the Oregon either, having taken 22% Department of Fish and of the total number of Wildlife (ODFW) reports turkeys harvested last year, that the increase in spring according to Budeau. turkey harvests last year One of the advantages from the previous year of the kiddos get to enjoy, 17%, at 4,948 birds, was the highest since 2010, and is the price of their tag, at $10.50, while we older folks pay $22.50 per tag. So, where are these tur- keys to be found? South- west Oregon continues to be the top spot to fi nd them, with the Rogue Wildlife Management Unit taking fi rst place in turkey harvest two years in a row, according to ODFW. Statewide, ODFW relo- cated about 400 nuisance turkeys from private land to public land, or pub- lic accessible lands, this winter, increasing hunter access to the birds. The western part of the state isn’t alone in show- ing plenty of bird hunting activity, as nearly half of the turkeys harvested dur- ing the last spring season were east of the Cascades. The Mt. Emily, Sled Springs, Ukiah, Heppner, and Northside units have shown a consistency with high total harvests, and individual hunter success rates. The Sumpter unit rated “fair,” on a scale from “good,” to “diffi cult,” ac- cording to ODFW, as far as hunter success, based on the total harvest, and individual harvest rate in 2013, compared to its rat- ing of “diffi cult,” in 1993. Across the state, within that time period, other units’ ratings have im- proved, and turkey hunting opportunities have drasti- cally expanded, which is all great news. There’s plenty of time to decide whether to pursue turkeys this spring, since the season lasts from April 15 through May 31, and tags can be purchased dur- ing that period. Personally, I admittedly haven’t com- pleted any kind of scouting ahead of time, and I don’t have any “sweet spots” pinned down, however, as pointed out, I don’t have to immediately have concerns about timing right now. Having said that, I would certainly encourage others to take on the pursuit. ODFW provided one of the best comments I’ve heard, regarding our neck of the woods, hunting- wise, or not, when it stated, in reference to fi nding tur- keys, “Don’t forget about northeast Oregon.” Don’t worry—we won’t... Quail Ridge ladies golf scores Following are the results for the April 6 Ladies Golf Day held at Quail Ridge Golf Course in Baker City. Birdies: Myrna Evans, Marianne Klinger, Tori Brown. Count Putts: 1st Myrna Evans, 2nd Tori Brown Bridge Winners: 1st Dianne Ellingson, 2nd Della Steele, 3rd Martha Why advertise with us? David Conn david@thebakercountypress.com or call 541.523.5524 Baker City, Haines • Low rates per column inch & promotional deals • Color at no additional charge as space permits • Friendly, professional sales staff Wendee Morrissey wendee@thebakercountypress. com or call 541.805.1688. Sumpter, Bates, Richland, Halfway, Medical Springs, Keating Family owned and operated. Packed with local news! • All display ads are also posted to our Facebook page, which means thousands of individuals see your ad from that source alone. We’re the only local paper that offers this service! Cassidy. Spring bear update Bear numbers are strong in the Starkey Unit. The warm temperatures during March should provide good forage for bears in April and May. The snow pack is receding and will make for good access to the Wallowa Whitman Na- tional Forest lands within Union County. Hunters can expect snow to limit access to some areas during the month of April. Hunters should focus efforts on south aspects for best re- sults. Walking in on closed roads is a good way to access bear habitat within this hunt area. The Dry Beaver Ladd Canyon road closure area offers diverse habitat and provides limited motorized travel. Other areas that have good bear densities are Spring Creek, open slopes along Fly Creek and public lands surrounding Vey Meadows. It is also quite possible to encounter a cougar in these areas. Fire service exercise planned Submitted by Gary Timm On Saturday April 16th Federal, State and fi re agencies from around the county will come together to participate in the 12th Annual Baker County Fire Service Task Per- formance Exercise, also know within the fi re service as the Scavenger Hunt. Originally created in 2005, the event was developed to bring fi re agencies together to practice skills and miti- gate realistic incident scenarios. An added bonus was to highlight the need to fi nd new volunteer fi refi ghters for Baker County fi re agencies. In 2016, the goals have not changed – departments benefi t greatly by coming together to participate in scenario based exercises, and the fi re service is always interested in bringing on new personnel. Those interested in joining a local fi re department/district, should contact their local agency. This year’s Fire Service Task Performance Exercise will have several structural related task performance stations, and a wildland-urban interface station. The event will be- gin with Fire agencies being dispatched to a skill station and upon arrival, perform a variety of fi refi ghting tasks. While we develop new scenarios each year, past skill stations have included – radio communications, technical scene size-up, apparatus operation, working with equip- ment such as ladders, hydrants and fi re tools. Each of the Teams will have to successfully complete all scenario based stations. As in prior years, each Team will be required to work through the emergency situation presented and will be scored on safety, coordination and organization, com- munications and appropriate completion of the scenario based incident. The realistic scenarios will challenge the crews, but in the end valuable lessons will be learned. “Each year we create realistic and challenging scenarios – but the overall goal is to allow agencies to evaluate and improve response skills, and ultimately enjoy the day,” said Gary Timm, Baker County Emergency Management. “While this exercise could be seen as a fi re service pre- paredness exercise, I’m hoping it will also be viewed as dedicated local fi refi ghters’ coming together from around the county to enhance their abilities to respond to all-risk incidents within their own communities, and during mutual-aid responses.” Past Winners of the Baker County Fire Service Task Performance Exercise: 2005 Keating Rural Fire Protection District 2006 Baker City Fire Department 2007 Baker Rural Fire Protection District 2008 Keating Rural Fire Protection District 2009 Baker Rural Fire Protection District 2010 Baker Rural Fire Protection District 2011 Baker City Fire Department 2012 Baker Rural Fire Protection District 2013 Baker City Fire Department 2014 Eagle Valley Fire Protection District 2015 Baker Rural Fire Protection District Outdoors videos wanted by USFS In our public listening sessions over 700 people talked about their relationship with the Blue Mountains. Their voices matter, and so does yours. Share why the Blue Mountains are important to you! Please submit a video (under 60 seconds) in which you introduce yourself and answer this question: “Why are the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon and Washington important to you?” Think about a place in the Blue Mountains that you care about: • Why does this place stand out? • What do you do there? (Or what would you like to do there?) • What's your relationship with this place? We will choose a variety of videos to highlight the diverse people who care about these public lands. We will not share all videos; rather we will share a selection of videos that touch on different topics in the Forest Plans. We will share these videos on this website and our forest Facebook and Twitter sites. Please see the following website for instructions on how to submit your video, terms and conditions, and also an example video. Please note that this is not intended to be an opportunity for formal public comment on Forest Service projects. http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/wallowa-whitman/land- management/planning/?cid=FSEPRD495538 Turkey tag requirements Spring turkey hunting is general season, and anyone can purchase a tag any time before going hunting. Turkey tags are $22.50 for residents, $10.50 for youth hunt- ers (age 17 and under). Hunting licenses are $29.50 for residents. New in 2016, all youth hunters age 12-17 can get a $10 combination license (includes hunter, angler, shellfi sh and Columbia River Basin Endorsement). The daily bag limit is one male turkey or a turkey with a visible beard (so hens with beards may be lawfully taken). The season limit is three legal turkeys; hunters must purchase a tag for each turkey.
