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.”
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