8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016
Local
Hunt of a Lifetime
City Council
discusses
lagoon storage,
train quiet zone
CONTINUED FROM
PAGE 1
McEnroe, a local build-
ing contractor and Hunt of
a Lifetime representative
for northeast Oregon, said
he has volunteered for the
organization for 12 years,
as part of the all-volunteer
group conducting the
actual hunts. There were
donations from corporate
sponsorships, and some
fundraisers in Oregon in
the past, but “...nothing of
this magnitude,” he said.
McEnroe said that he
was chatting with Smith
one day, and Smith, who’s
a real estate broker for
Sunfire Real Estate, sug-
gested holding the fun-
draiser. “I called Danny
(Benson, the Oregon
Ambassador for the Or-
egon Chapter)...and, he
said, ‘Sure, knock yourself
out.’ And, he was think-
ing, 75, 100 people tops...”
Within 30 days, McEnroe
said, over 100 tickets were
sold (at $25 each, for the
dinner), and in the next
30 days, the tally was 300
tickets. “There might have
been more than 500 people
here,” he said. The final
tally, according to Smith,
was over 430 dinner tickets
sold, and over 500 plates.
Laurene Parry served as
the decorator for the event.
Toby Gangler and Steven
Talbot from Switch Back
Outdoors were there doing
the videos of the event
Hunt of a Lifetime, a
non-profit organization,
was created by Tina Pat-
tison, with a mission to
grant hunting and fish-
ing dreams for children,
age 21 and under, who
have been diagnosed with
life-threatening illnesses.
Tina’s son, Matthew,
had been diagnosed with
cancer, and, having hunted
together with his father
since he was a boy (he was
over 18), he dreamed of
being able to hunt moose
with him.
Tina contacted a wish-
granting organization, and
told the person who an-
swered the call about Mat-
thew’s wish, but she was
told that the organization
no longer fulfilled hunting
requests, and that, since
Matthew was over 18, he
no longer was eligible for a
wish of any kind.
Heartbroken but un-
daunted, Tina made calls
to various outfitters, and
she finally was contacted
by Clayton Grosso, an
outfitter in Nordegg, a tiny
village located in Alberta,
Canada. Grosso and his
wife, Hilda (who had lost
her right arm to cancer
several years before),
deeply affected by Mat-
thew’s story, assured Tina
that everything would be
done to provide a hunt for
Matthew, at no cost to the
family.
The Grossos, and the
citizens of the town of
Nordegg had come to-
gether, and gone above and
beyond what Tina could
have hoped for, including
providing a free helicopter
ride into the mountains,
free housing, and free
food.
On the first day of the
hunt, Matthew dropped a
huge bull moose, with two
shots, and his dad, Chet,
was there to see Matthew’s
dream fulfilled.
Six months later, on
April 28, 1999, Matthew
passed away, and Tina
decided to start the Hunt of
a Lifetime Foundation, to
give terminally ill children
• APPROVED BUDGET ALTERED TO
INCLUDE NEW COMMUNITY
DEVELOPER POSITION
BY KERRY McQUISTEN
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Submitted Photo.
This recent hunt on Dailey Creek Ranch / Idaho Power was the Hunt of a Life-
time for one young man.
the chance to embark on an
outdoor hunting or fishing
adventure.
McEnroe spoke about the
auctions, held in Lefty’s
Loft, which included 19
firearms, sporting equip-
ment, and other items,
nearly all donated (a few
items were purchased, he
said). The event also in-
cluded raffles. The catered
dinner included tri-tip
steak (about 230 pounds
total, all donated), baked
potato, salad, roll, and des-
sert. Specially-made drink
glasses could be purchased
for $20, with unlimited
beverages. With the aver-
age hunt costing around
$5,000 to $7,000, the funds
raised from the event will
provide more opportunities
in the near future.
Between five and seven
hunts (completely paid
for--food, travel, etc.) are
conducted each year, and
five State-wide game tags
are granted, good from
September 1, through
November 30, he said,
mostly for deer, and elk (he
conducts most of the elk
hunts in Oregon, he said).
There’s one hunt currently
tentatively scheduled,
which McEnroe hopes to
begin shortly after Sep-
tember 1, due to the child’s
illness progression.
Most of the hunts,
lasting up to four or five
days, which were for elk,
using a rifle, have included
children from back East,
and McEnroe said there
was even one request for
a buffalo hunt, conducted
successfully. Other game
included antelope, and
pheasants. “I’ve met
some incredible kids, and
some amazing parents,”
he said. “Not one kid has
ever complained...” about
being tired, not wanting to
continue the hunt, etc., he
said, and his opinion is that
the minor inconveniences
most of us experience, and
complain about, pale in
comparison to what chal-
lenges these kids have to
face, day to day.
He said, “Without them
(private ranches, which
provide hunting access,
sometimes exclusively to
the organization), we’d be
in trouble.”
These ranches are mostly
in Baker, and Union
counties, he said. He
mentioned Tom Lager,
owner of Timber Tiger
Lodge, who’s been a key
member of the volunteer
hunt effort, and McEnroe
had much to say about the
volunteer effort in general,
showing enthusiastic praise
for the core group of 20
to 25 people who prepped
Lefty’s, in order to make
the event happen. “That’s
phenomenal,” he said.
McEnroe thought about
other venues, but Lefty’s,
with space available on
two floors, plus the parking
lot behind the building,
and its fresh, bright, invit-
ing environment, made the
most sense. In order to
accommodate the crowd,
the adjoining space next
door, home of the for-
mer Clothes Outlet, was
opened up. Johnny and
the Lawbreakers provided
entertainment for attend-
ees, and the music and
dancing continued on until
after midnight, he said. He
received glowing reports
from locals, many of
which stated that the event
was the best one they’d
ever attended, and, “They
remember the experience,”
he said.
McEnroe’s brother,
Mark DeLong, co-owner
of Coverworks, said,
“There are people that, you
aren’t going to drag them
to town, and they came,”
speaking about the diverse
group of individuals from
across the State, who
showed tremendous local
support, by donating to the
cause.
Smith said, “This was
the biggest fundraiser for
Hunt of a Lifetime in Or-
egon. It took hundreds of
hands to make this work,
from all over, especially
here. We started about
four months ago. It took a
lot of work, but we had a
lot of people who helped...I
pitched the idea to Clay...
made some calls to people
I know, formed a commit-
tee (there was a core group
of about 20 people), and
went from there...It was a
very successful event...”
She said that the commit-
tee had to create the format
for the fundraiser from
the ground up, since there
wasn’t a ready guide on
that process.
Smith said the auction
items included a hand-
made quilt, by Mary Jo
Grove, which was auc-
tioned, sold, and then
re-auctioned, bringing in
$4,750, which Hunt of a
Lifetime will donate to
Colby and Erin Thompson,
of North Powder, whose
daughter, Chelsie, had lost
part of her left leg, due to
a lawnmowing accident,
earlier this month.
Smith said that it was
very important for the
committee, when plan-
ning started, to support a
local business, and, though
donations came in from all
over the State, all of the
auction items which were
purchased, were bought
locally.
The beef was donated
by Jim and Cindy Wright,
owners of CJ’s Country
Store, in North Powder,
and the rest of the meal
was catered by Robin
Mawhinney.
The dessert (which
McEnroe heard was “un-
believable”) was donated
by Jackie Wirth, who owns
Jackie’s Savory Sweets,
Smith said.
Digital designing was
donated by Aspen Digital,
all material was printed
through Hudson Printing,
and Elkhorn Media Group
was a big sponsor, running
advertisements, and pro-
moting the event, she said.
She had high praise for
all of the volunteer effort,
noting major sponsors
and donations, “...on top
of countless people, who
gave up their evenings, and
weekends. Lefty’s did a
great job. It wouldn’t have
run as smoothly that night,
without the great help from
Lefty’s.”
Speaking about the Hunt
of a Lifetime Founda-
tion, Smith said, “It’s an
amazing program. It’s an
absolutely amazing organi-
zation.”
McEnroe said there are
tentative plans to hold the
fundraiser in Hermiston
next year, with the pos-
sibility of Baker City as
the venue after that, maybe
every other year. Speaking
about the whole Hunt of a
Lifetime volunteer experi-
ence, he said, “It’s never
about us. I don’t need a
pat on the back...It’s what
we do, and, why wouldn’t
you do it? Give a little bit
back from time to time,
when you can...”
Those who want to do-
nate to the eastern Oregon
chapter (funds stay in east-
ern Oregon) can contact
Christina Smith at 541.519.
1866 or Clay Mcenroe at
541.403.1313.
Members of the Baker City Council gathered Tuesday
for an over two-hour meeting. Councilor Rosemary Abel
was absent and no citizen participation occurred.
Appointment.
Ann Mehaffy was appointed to the Historic District
Design Review Commission. Two positions had been
open, and now one vacancy remains.
Wastewater Disposal.
Public Works Director Michelle Owen introduced
Keven Shreeve and James Bledsoe of Shreeve and Ass-
sociates out of Kuna, Idaho. The firm was retained to
conduct research and present options on the City’s waste-
water disposal options. According to Shreeve, the City
migh continue disposing treated wastewater effluent into
the Powder River with a National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) permit, or expand land
application by pumping effluent as irrigation water onto
agricultural land. The City might also pursue a wetland
situation similar to Ladd Marsh. Only in the case of land
application would a NPDES permit not be required.
Discharge to groundwater or an irrigation canal were
very briefly touched upon.
The City currently has an NPDES permit, which can be
modified and negotiated with regulatory agencies upon
renewal.
At present, the City’s lagoon system is adequate for
storage, but sludge buildup continues to put long-term
viability of that system in question.
Franchise Agreements.
Council unanimously approved two separate franchise
agreements, one with Oregon Telephone Company to op-
erate within Baker City, which will result in about $2,000
per year in revenues to the City, the second with Charter
Communications worth $25,000. Both are 10-year agree-
ments, according to City Manager Fred Warner, Jr.
The ordinances adopting these agreements will be read
again by title only at the next meeting.
Railroad Quiet Zone.
City Engineer Doug Schwin presented a staff report
following his May 25 meeting with representatives from
Union Pacific and the Oregon Department of Transporta-
tion regarding what it would take to implement a quiet
zone through Baker City in which train whistles would be
silenced.
According to the Federal Railroad Administration, at
least two of the five affected railroad crossings in the
City would have to be upgraded and maintained by the
City. Initial costs simply to upgrade would range between
$100,000 and $500,000 depending on the estimate.
Councilor Langrell expressed that at this time he didn’t
see implementing a quiet zone as a cost-effective use
of money, and stated he hadn’t heard from anyone who
really had a significant problem with the train whistles to
begin with.
Schwin expressed safety concerns with only two of the
five crossings potentially upgraded—meaning the trains
would then silently approach the first crossing at Poca-
hontas Road, which wouldn’t have the updated safety
features. Councilor Sandy Lewis echoed his concerns.
Implementing protection at all crossings could cost the
City into the millions of dollars. Discussion was tabled.
Election Changes.
Council discussed the idea of two potential changes to
the candidate process for running for City Council. At
present, one may file to run for City Council by circulat-
ing a petition to gather the amount of signatures equal to
1% of the votes cast within the Baker City limit in the last
gubernatorial election.
Councilor Daniel Lowe suggested looking into allowing
candidates to simply pay a fee to file as an option to the
signature gathering. City Recorder Julie Smith said 13
cities around Oregon now have the two options.
In addition, Councilors are limited to two consecutive
terms. Lowe asked if the term limit might be expanded
for a Councilor who is appointed to serve out the term of
a departing member, if the term is six months or less.
Lowe hopes if implemented, the changes might encour-
age more interest in running for Council.
Langrell voiced strong opposition to both ideas, feeling
the first change would encourage candidates who aren’t
serious and the second would upset the public, which is in
favor of the existing term limits. Other Council members
were ambivalent. The discussion was postponed until
future meetings after more time was allowed to hear from
the public and give the ideas some thought.
Interfund Loan.
A $39,000 interfund loan was approved to move funds
from the Equipment and Vehicle budget to the Sam-O
Swim Center Maintenance fun to cover heater repairs.
Budget.
Councilors voted to adopt the new budget with changes
that included adding one full-time Community Developer
position. One-quarter of that position will exist under
administration, three-quarters under Economic Develop-
ment. The position adds $33,000 to the general fund past
the amount already found within the budget. The position
is expected to provide a number of liaison and grant-
writing services within the City Limits.