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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2016)
FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2016 Classifieds / Outdoor Rec THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7 HELP WANTED BAKER SCHOOL DISTRICT 5J is currently accepting ap- plications for a BMS science teacher and a PE/Health teacher. For a complete description of the positions go to www.baker.k12.or.us or contact the employment division. You may also call 541-524-2261 or email norma.nemec@ bakersd.org. 5.20 BAKER SCHOOL DISTRICT 5J BAKER SCHOOL DIS- TRICT 5J is currently accepting applications for a BHS Assistant Football Coach and a Fall and Winter Cheer Coach. For a complete description of the positions go to www.baker.k12.or.us or contact the employment division. You may also call 541-524-2261 or email norma.nemec@ bakersd.org 5.20 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 five gallon limit imposed for each residence. Note!!! New location for Baker City Giveaways! Where Date Time Huntington Service Station April 22 8:00 - 11 AM Richland/Halfway - Wildflower Corner May 6 7 - 12 Noon Baker City - Old ODOT Building May 21 7 - 12 Noon 1050 S. Bridge Baker City - Old ODOT Building May 28 7 -12 Noon 1050 S. Bridge Street Hereford Hall /Unity Hall June 3 9 AM - 10:30 AM Hereford - Unity Ethanol is not my friend quickly here (okay, winter takes some time), and grass seems to grow with a vengeance, having taken a break dur- ing the cold months. Ad- mittedly, I’ve not always made a habit of draining THE OUTDOOR COLUMN mowing and weed-eating By Todd Arriola equipment Two weekends ago properly after spent with my much better the growing season, lead- half, Brandi and Airianna, ing to hassles after winter enjoying the activities has passed. at Geiser-Pollman Park, Having said that, con- provided by the volunteers sidering the remarks from for Healthy Kids Day people more knowledge- (front page, last issue), and able about engines than last weekend spent with me, and the issues experi- the same, as well as other enced by some, with gaso- special ladies, for Mother’s line that contains ethanol, I Day, distracted me from believe I may have a good the obvious issue of tam- foundation upon which to ing growing lawns with stand, to place blame for equipment that is less than my grass mowing woes. 100% operational. My For example, a gallon conclusion: ethanol is not of ethanol contains, to my my friend. knowledge, less energy Every year, this amaz- than a gallon of gasoline. ingly quick growth in grass That doesn’t thrill me (and weeds) should be ex- to begin with, because pected, but it seems to be I would be necessarily a “surprise” each time, for using and paying more to some unknown reason(s). use ethanol, or fuel with Seasons seem to change so ethanol. Strike number one. A local engine repair man told me that ethanol “soaks up water like a sponge,” and it can dam- age fuel lines, etc., which is obviously not great for engines. Strike number two. As if I needed to hear more, when I consider the energy and subsidies it takes to produce ethanol, and the overall process involved, light years away from any claim of “saving the environment,” a strike out comes to mind. During the trouble- shooting of my mowing equipment issues, I ended up changing the engine oil, the oil filter, the fuel filter, the spark plug, and draining and replacing the fuel. Basically, about every fundamental thing I could do outside the engine and carburetor, without dismantling the mower (too much). I even have started using ethanol-free fuel, from a local gas station, in my pickup, notably, not a new model. This is because I’ve experienced issues with it also, and funda- mentally and logically, I start from the power source, and the fuel source, and go from there. This experiment is still ongoing, because damage may have already been done, using “regular” fuel, with ethanol added. In the meantime, my sister-in-law had purchased a new push mower, with the explicit instructions that my brother (or anyone else, I think) not ever use it. This helps to inspire a quick remedy for the cur- rent mower issues, since hers is the only machine currently able to cut grass, and stay operational for more than five minutes. Maybe we’re just cursed to experience mechani- cal and other issues, but I think that at least one of the problems may be fuel- related, though the jury is still out on that issue. Just to be clear, I do prefer choices in today’s world, and I don’t want to keep others from using gasoline with ethanol, if they desire, for whatever reasons, including any manufacture recommen- dations/requirements. However, in my singular case, I will remain in the ethanol-free camp for now, choosing that option for all of the engines I have daily contact with. We’ll see how that works out, but there is one thing I do know, without any doubt whatsoever: the grass and weeds aren’t getting any shorter... Local man is new Special Olympics coach for World Games BY GINA K. SWARTZ Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com Bryan Tweit has been a downhill ski coach for the Special Olympics for the past 25 years. His tenure with the Special Olympics is pretty impressive. He’s coached athletes from Baker City, Union, La Grande, even John Day. He has run sectionals and regionals at Anthony Lakes and for the last several years he’s helped run the state games at Mt. Bach- elor, in charge of all the downhill events keeping both Coaches and Athletes organized. Recently, he learned some pretty excit- ing news. He applied for and was selected to be a coach for the Special Olympic World Games being held in Aus- tria in 2017. “I was pretty excited,” he said of learning the news. “It’s a pretty long process. It’s almost like applying for a Fortune 500 company,” he explained. “You have to give a ton of information. There has to be lots of references. You have to have a state direc- tor give you a reference as well. Several hundred applied. There is one head coach and 12 U.S. coaches that were selected.” According to Tweit, although the games will be held in 2017. “It is really a 10-month process starting now.” Tweit indicated that part of the training required is what they call “dry land games,” exercises for the athletes to start getting them in shape for when there is snow. “We find and identify all the athletes that we are going to be working with. The local athletes around Submitted Photo. Brian Tweit is headed for Austria as a coach. here that I know will be going have already started some of that work. We were lucky enough to have two athletes from Oregon that were selected to at- tend, both from our area. One of them has been com- peting for at least 25 years, I’ve coached. The other I know has been competing for several years. It was pretty impressive that there were only two spots for the State of Oregon and both spots went to athletes from our area,” said Tweit. No exact count of Athletes was available but Tweit expected that infor- mation soon. The USA World Special Olympics Team will take care of all travel expenses to Austria and while they are there so, “It’s not an expense we have to worry about,” said Tweit. One of the most important thing the Special Olympics stresses is that the athletes never have to worry about paying or pay for the op- portunity to participate. Fundraisers are held to benefit the local chapters of the Special Olympics, most notably Serve It Up Hot and Tip-A-Cop in which local Firefighters and Law Enforcement Of- ficers spend and evening serving patrons at Barley Browns Brew Pub with all “tip” proceeds and gener- ally a substantial dona- tion from Barley Brown’s benefiting the local Special Olympic chapters also cultivating a friendly competition between the two departments. Tip-A- Cop was held Thursday May 12. Leave young wildlife alone May and June are the months when newborn animals are getting their start in the wild. Help them out by giving them space and leaving them alone. ODFW and Oregon State Police remind Oregonians that taking young animals out of the wild isn’t just against the law—it’s also bad for the animal. These animals miss the chance to learn important survival skills from their parents like where to feed, what to eat, how to behave as part of a group and how to escape from preda- tors. Unfortunately, every year about this time, ODFW offices across Oregon get calls from people concerned about “orphaned” deer fawns, elk calves, seal pups and other animals they find alone. But the mother animal is usually just off feeding not far away. She will return soon, so don’t interfere. “People often pick up animals they find alone out of good intentions, without realizing they may be sentencing the animal to an early death by removing it from its natu- ral environment and its parents,” said Julia Burco, ODFW Wildlife Veterinarian. “Never assume one of a young animal is orphaned unless you saw the parent killed,” continued Buco. “In almost all cases, the parent will return once it is safe to do so, like when people and dogs aren’t around.” If an animal is injured, or truly orphaned, it needs spe- cial care. Oregon’s licensed wildlife rehabilitators have the knowledge and facilities to provide this care. They use special methods that limit human interaction and mimic the animal’s natural lifestyle as much as possible, so the animal can hopefully be returned to the wild. Before picking up any wild animal, call ODFW, Oregon State Police, or a wildlife rehabilitator for advice. Re- moving or “capturing” an animal from the wild and keep- ing it in captivity without a permit is against state law (OAR 635-044-0015), as is transporting many animals. Last year, seven people were cited for such offenses (No wildlife holding permit/Take-hold young game mammal). Follow these tips if you encounter young animals in the wild: Deer, elk and other mammals: Never assume an animal is orphaned. Don’t remove it from the forest, including your backyard. Female deer and elk and other mammals will often leave their young temporarily for safety reasons or to feed elsewhere. They will return when it is safe to do so (when people, dogs, or predators are not present). Call your local ODFW office, Oregon State Police office, or a local licensed wildlife rehabilitation center when: 1) you see an animal that you know is orphaned because you observed the dead parent animal, or 2) the parent hasn’t returned for several hours or even up to a day, or 3) if the animal is clearly inured or in distress. Bunnies are rarely orphaned; mother rabbits only visit den sites at dusk and dawn to feed her young. Keep your dog or cat away from young wildlife, espe- cially in the spring. If you see a seal pup, young sea lion, or other marine mammal that appears stranded or in distress, contact OSP’s hotline at 1-800-452-7888. Birds: Leave fledgling birds alone. It is natural for fledgling (mostly feathered) birds to be awkward while learning how to fly. If you see one on the ground, leave it alone and keep your distance. Bring your pets under control and indoors if possible. The mother bird will feed it for several days on the ground until it “gets its wings. Return nestling birds to the nest. Nestlings (baby birds not fully feathered) found on the ground can be gently and quickly returned to the nest. If the nest is out of reach, place the bird on an elevated branch or fence, or in a nest made from a small box, out of the reach of children and pets. Leave the area so the parent birds can return. Bring your pets indoors. Cats are a major cause of injury and death for all birds, killing millions of birds in the US annually. Keep your pets away from fledgling birds learn- ing to fly. Be careful when pruning trees as there may be a bird nest in the branch. Wait until birds are out of the nest. Beware of cavity nesters. Barn owls and other birds could be nesting in hollowed-out trees or logs and in haystacks. What if a bird flies into a window and appears hurt? Birds can be confused by reflective surfaces and mistak- enly fly into windows. If you find a bird that has been stunned as a result of a window strike, put the bird in an uncovered box with a towel on the bottom. Keep it in a quiet place away from pets and check back in a couple of hours. If the bird has recovered, it will have flown off. If not, contact a local ODFW office or your local wildlife rehabilitator. Let turtles cross the road. In May and June, females begin searching for suitable nesting grounds to lay their eggs. If you see a turtle on the ground, the best thing to do is leave it alone and let it continue on its path. It’s fine to move it off a road (if it is safe for you to do so,) but put it on the other side, where it was headed. Ladies golf scores Following are the results for the May 4, 2016 Quail Ridge Ladies Golf Day. Predict your score: 1st Flight Sammye Linzel-by one point 2nd Margo Kenworth-by one point 3rd DaDonna Uttenreuther-by 5 points Bridge Winners: 1st Joan Colton 2nd Margo Kenworthy 3rd Betty Combs