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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (March 3, 2017)
FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7 Sports / Local Natural Resource Advisory Committee meets BY TODD ARRIOLA Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com The Baker County Natural Resource Advi- sory Committee (NRAC) met for a regular meeting on Tuesday, February 27, 2017, 3 p.m., in the Com- mission Chambers of the Baker County Courthouse, which included Coordina- tion, Mining Advisory, and Sagebrush Focal Area Mineral Withdrawal dis- cussions. Present from the NRAC were Chair Doni Bruland, Baker County Com- missioner Bill Harvey, NRAC Coordinator Eric Wuntz, Cookie Long, Alice Knapp, Jan Alexan- der, Arvid Andersen, Ken Anderson, Laurene Chap- man, Dick Fleming, Chuck Chase, Lyle Defrees, and Jake Bingham. Public attendance included Wanda Ballard. Bruland called the meet- ing to order, followed by Public Participation, for which there was no com- ment offered. The minutes from the Tuesday, January 24, 2017 meeting were approved, with a motion from Long, and a second from Alexander. As part of the agency-to- agency Coordination prog- ress update (also a regular segment, along with Har- vey), Wuntz, referencing a handout he provided cop- ies of, said that the process will include meeting with, among others, U.S. For- est Service (USFS) Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision (BMFPR) Team Leader Victoria Anne, to discuss the consistencies and inconsistencies be- tween the BMFPR, and the County’s Natural Resource Plan (NRP). Harvey said that the USFS will need to show why there are incon- sistencies between its plan and the County’s, and why, according to law, the USFS can continue with these inconsistencies in place. Wuntz said that there had been a high turnover rate in the leadership and team members, of the East- side Resiliency Project, though, about half of the staff is being pulled from that, to work on the BM- FPR (which he said isn’t necessarily a bad thing). He said getting out on some fi eld trips with USFS staff in the spring and sum- mer, to discuss treatments, is something he’s looking forward to. Wuntz said the Pine Valley Range Allotments Draft EA (Environmental Analysis) is expected soon, there was very little, if any, issue noted during the scoping phase, and it prob- ably won’t change much, as far as animal grazing numbers. Harvey empha- sized that the County is not going to allow the retire- ment of any allotments, and Long commented that BLM (Bureau of Land Management) allotments can’t be retired, without action from Congress. Wuntz said that the La Grande Ranger District is working on the Sparta Project Draft EA. A new project, the Two Eagles, on the La Grande Ranger Dis- trict, and in Baker County, will involve discussions soon with the NRAC, before the scoping phase, with the public, and will also involve fi eld trips, to discuss treatments propos- als. The Patrick Project, a new forest improvement project, is one the Whit- man Ranger District is working on, in the Whit- ney Valley area. Alex- ander asked what “forest improvement” means, and Wuntz said normal treat- ments, like logging, thin- ning, aspen enhancement, etc. Long asked why there’s such an emphasis on aspen enhancement, and Wuntz said that aspen volume is about 10% of what it used to be, and that it’s important for wildlife. He said that a NOI (Notice of Intent) to prepare the Powder River Mining EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) is expected soon. Bingham said, in refer- ence to grazing allotment fees and the effects of the BMFPR, he’ll be attending a March 13 meeting in La Grande, after which he’ll have more information to share with the NRAC. Doni began a discussion regarding the NRAC’s draft advisory letter, about mining concerns, on BLM’s Proposed Withdrawal from Mineral Entry in Sagebrush Focal Areas, which Bruland had presented to the County Commission, during its regular session, on Febru- ary 1, 2017 (the Commis- sion Board approved to forward this correspon- dence to Congressman Greg Walden, as well as to the White House, during that session, for which Bruland congratulated the NRAC). As discussed dur- ing the Tuesday, January 24, 2017 NRAC meeting, she said that no withdrawal is planned currently for Baker County, however, support should be given to other counties, and her main message, per the let- ter, is that federal agencies need to adhere to their own rules. She detailed many different issues in the let- ter, and she recommended a no-action alternative, saying that the BLM should not be allowed any more leeway. Following a lengthy discussion, during which many issues were pointed out regarding the proposed withdrawal, a no-action al- ternative recommendation to the County Commission Board for comment was unanimously approved, with a motion from An- dersen, and a second from Fleming. Ballard had also provided her input, which aligned with the commit- tee—stick to your guns, and say everything you need to, and more. A discussion regarding the draft NRAC By-Laws was scheduled, however, this was postponed, with a motion from Long, and a second from Knapp. The next NRAC meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 28, 2017. Durkee Cafe is back in business BY CHUCK BUCHANAN News@TheBakerCountyPress.com The tiny ranching com- munity of Durkee is one of those places that “if you blink you miss it” as you’re traveling Interstate 84 between Baker City and Ontario. But in a town where it’s been said that there are more dogs than people, pulling off of the highway and into the parking lot of the Ranch Hand Cafe` is an unexpected pleasure for the hungry traveler. Durkee has been without a restaurant for fi ve years, so Cecil and Darla Sangs- ton’s re-opening of a staple of the valley is welcome. While Darla has never been in the food business before this adventure, Ce- cil grew up working in his mom’s cafes in livestock sale yards in California. “My mom has pictures of me standing on the oven door to cook eggs when I was fi ve years old,” Cecil says. “She had several cafe`s at different saleyards so she’d cook one day at this one, then the next day at another one. I started working the fl attop grill when I was ten.” He remembers getting up at 4 a.m. to clean the rocks out of fi fty pound sacks of beans and to peel potatoes for that days cafe` meals, because “everything was done from scratch.” And that’s how the Ranch Hand’s food is prepared today. From hand-pressed burg- ers to freshly mixed fry sauce, the Sangston’s are doing their best to make their cafe` a place people Huntington middle school basketball Eileen Driver / The Baker County Press. Powder Valley and Prairie City square off in the fi nal game. BY EILEEN DRIVER Eileen@TheBakerCountyPress.com The 54th Annual Huntington Middle School Basket- ball Tournament was held on February 24th & 25th. The tournament which was scheduled for 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday was extended several hours each day as the close competition took longer than expected when a number of games went into overtime before the winners could be determined. In the end battling it out for fi rst place in the Girl’s Bracket were the Prairie City Panthers and the Powder Valley Badgers. At the half the score was Prairie City 8 and Powder Valley 14 with the teams battling it out the score became as close as one shot apart before Powder Valley poured on the steam and took the game with a fi nal score of 29 -17. In the Boys Bracket we again see a battle between Powder Valley and Prairie City the score at the half was Powder Valley 17 and Prairie City 13. In an intense games during the 3rd quarter Prairie City put on an impressive push and ended the 3rd quarter with a 29-24 score. The 4th quarter was equally intense with both teams giving it their all. At 1 minute left in the game it looked like we were headed for overtime again since the score was 36-36. Powder Valley player #1 Justin Ash pulled off the win for his team by making a last minute 1 point foul shot bringing the fi nal score to Powder Valley 37 and Prairie City 36. Trophies awarded were Girls Bracket: First Place Powder Valley, Second Place Prairie City, Third Place Jordan Valley, Consolation Willow Creek. Boys Bracket: First Place Powder Valley, Second Place Prairie City, Third Place Cove, Consolation Willow Creek. Sportsmanship Trophy: Huntington. BTI unveils heavy equipment training program Eileen Driver / The Baker County Press. Cecil and Darla Sangston. will want to come back to. Cecil and Darla, their son Daniel, 16, and daugh- ter Emily, 13, moved to Durkee “looking for space for our cows” and other livestock. In addition to beef cattle the Sangston’s also have horses and goats. Darla makes goat’s milk soap that Cecil says is great for bowhunters because it not only is good for your skin but it con- tains no chemicals, only essential oils, so it masks human scent. They are bowhunters themselves so they know what hunters need. “Cecil shaves with it, too,” Darla says. When asked why they decided to open the cafe` after it sat vacant for so many years, Darla said that Cecil “kept driving past it, waiting for it to open, and it never did. So he decided that we needed to open it ourselves.” The couple hated to see such an ideally placed es- tablishment sitting vacant and run down and wanted to do something about it. They spent several weeks cleaning up the building, which sparkles with fresh paint inside. There are plans in the works to re-open the Coun- try Store in the summer of 2017 in addtion to the small RV park area behind the store. At the cafe`, Cecil says that they are working with a USDA certifi ed meat packer to start a program to feature beef from a different local ranch each month. In addition to a menu of juicy hand-pressed burg- ers and assorted other hot sandwiches and “breakfast served all day” the Ranch Hand Cafe` offers free Wifi for travelers who need to keep up on the weather and road conditions. They are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. In an effort to provide relevant workforce training and provide career opportunities that promote thriving eastern Oregon communities, on March 1, Baker Technical Institute (BTI) unveiled plans to offer heavy equipment operator training. Wednesday’s unveiling of a CAT® Hydraulic Excava- tor marks the fi rst simulator that will be part of BTI’s expanding programs to offer a variety of career and technical education programs. The CAT® Hydraulic Excavator Simulator was made possible through the Leo Adler Foundation, which funds worthy projects instituted by organizations who benefi t Baker County and North Powder, Oregon. This announcement comes after months of discussions with industry leaders like CAT® Simulators. A division of Caterpillar, CAT® Simulators provide hands-on learn- ing in a safe and economical way to enhance traditional operator training programs. CAT® Simulators is partner- ing with BTI to provide next generation training tools like the CAT® Hydraulic Excavator that will be show- cased as part of the new heavy equipment Career Techni- cal Education (CTE) program. “BTI’s goal is to give our best and brightest a place to learn the skills needed to start or advance in a career, earn higher wages and provide for their family without having to leave the region,” says president Doug Dalton. “Heavy equipment operators are in short supply, and the trend is expected to grow as people retire at the same time as industries in road construction, forestry, general construc- tion and agriculture are predicted to need more operators. BTI is helping meet workforce needs by providing state- of-the-art, high-tech equipment where students learn the latest techniques in high demand fi elds.” Subscribe today! See page 9 for how.
