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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (June 23, 2017)
FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7 Classifieds / Local / Outdoors LAWN / GARDEN LAWNMOWER. Craftsman lawnmower. Works great but owner has upgraded to an easier to start mower for herself. Retailed for around $350. Asking $100 OBO. 541.519.0572. Leave a voicemail. RENTALS Office Space for rent in Baker City. Prime downtown location. Handicap accessible. Off-street parking. Air conditioning. 541-523-5851. Hoorah for free fishing day the fluid lev- els checked, we headed on our merry way on I-84, ravenous with hunger, and looking for a suitable establish- ment to quash our cravings. At about the crack THE OUTDOOR COLUMN of noon, or thereabouts, By Todd Arriola we arrived in Durkee, and During Oregon State for the first time, we ate Parks Day, Saturday, June at the Ranch Hand Cafe. 3rd, which was also the Cheeseburger and tater tots first day of the most recent for me, and eggs, bacon, Free Fishing Weeken— hashbrowns and toast for thank you, Oregon State Brandi and Airianna. Airi- Legislature, for another rare gem of solidarity—my anna helped me sample my loyal tribe and I decided to cheeseburger, and I helped her sample her eggs. Good head East, poles, bait, ice, food, good service, color- snacks, drinks, chairs and ing books, and a flatscreen enthusiasm in hand, to see TV featuring Chef Gordon what monsters we could Ramsey, torturing but ulti- land, at Farewell Bend mately helping a restaurant State Park. That beautiful and warm owner and their staff. With our bellies full Saturday morning, we had and bill paid, we said our a bit of a late start, since goodbyes, and contin- we needed to locate and ued East. We arrived in to pack everything, save Farewell Bend not long the enthusiasm, which after lunch, and we noticed came pre-packaged, and that there appeared to be to buy some bait, which some structural work on also came pre-packaged, Bahadur Singh’s 51-acre, as a nasty-looking garlic triangular-shaped property, brine mackerel mix--we where the former conve- had anticipated potentially nience store, restaurant, landing some catfish. and motel are located, so, With everything loaded, that was a promising sign the pickup gassed up and in the area of development. We made a brief tour of the park, including the north- ern Catfish Loop, and the two rental cabins, dubbed “Chukar” and “Coyote,” caught our eye, which we may have to test drive at a later date. I parked the pickup north of the park office, and we gathered our gear, ready to hit the trail. We didn’t have on much for clothing, but said gear included sun screen and hooded sweatshirts, as anyone used to Oregon weather can tell you, it’s predictably unpredictable. Said trail led us north of the boat ramp, first down a wooden staircase, and then along the western shore of the park section of Brown- lee Reservoir, below the northern camping sites. Along the way, we im- mediately discovered that we had neglected to bring any form of bug spray, a point which was driven home more soundly, once we cleared the trees and neared the water, which, at that time, resembled a backed up toilet. We relocated a few times, fussing with our gear and predictions on the current, finally settling on a spot between the boat ramp and an older gentle- man, who split his time between attempting to fish, and gently reminding his grandchildren to stop act- ing like wild animals. By this point in our ad- ventures, Airianna, a near- four-year-old, had become quite adept at fishing with her Zebco pole and reel, both replacements for de- fective equipment, and she and Brandi used different kinds of bait and bobbers, while I tried out the stinky garlic brine mackerel concoction I had purchased earlier, parking my hook on the channel bottom. We had some encourag- ing bites, but we had to cut our day short, in order to take care of some other pressing business. So, we packed up our gear, we walked back up the trail, and we headed out. While our dreams of catching a truck load of catfish, crappie and bass were temporarily dashed, the thought of retreating from the vicinity of the attacking insects didn’t disturb me that much. I bought bug spray later. We eventually made it back to Baker at the end of the day after taking advantage of shopping opportunities in Ontario, and fishing success was realized closer to home, in the form of rainbow trout, courtesy of the Highway 203 Pond. While no Moby Dicks were landed to be sure, there were no insects eat- ing me alive, and I can’t complain about the overall experience with my girls on that day--after all, it was about more than just fishing... Consider mechanical control in your noxious weed fight Submitted by Arnie Grammon, Baker County Weed District Whitetop – at Least Ad- dress the Seed Problem First, I want to confirm your suspicions that in- deed, this is a bad whitetop year. Why? I suspect that it may be due to the condi- tions we experienced last winter. The moist conditions of last fall coupled with the extensive snow pack allowed whitetop popu- lations to explode this spring. While we can all agree it was an especially cold and white winter, our soils were covered with snow before they had a chance to freeze. Thus, whitetop seedlings and mature plants were insulated from the deep- freeze temps we experi- enced. With these conditions this perennial weed ap- pears to be in a lot more locations than before. Whitetop, especially seed- lings, normally die back somewhat because of the harsh conditions of winter. The snow insulation ap- parently provided the boost required for our whitetop explosion this year. We have found that the ideal treatment time using herbicides is prebloom to pre-seed set, where white- top is highly visible and susceptible to herbicides. Without question, the use of sulfonylureas such as Telar or Escort that focus on killing the root is still our best control manage- ment strategy. While fall has proven to be another very effective window to treat whitetop, it is not as visible and showy as in the spring, making it a less desirable option. With the ideal condi- tions for spread, coupled with a particularly chal- lenging season of wind and rain, treating whitetop has been especially tricky this spring. So what can a homeowner do to address whitetop on their property, especially when it looks like the window of effec- tive weed treatment has come and gone? Depending on the extent of infestation, one method that may be helpful short term is to mow or weed- whack it down before seed is fully matured. While it certainly isn’t an ideal solution, at least it minimizes seed set for this year. Semi-formed seed lying on the ground is a much better option than allowing deer and cattle to graze viable seed this fall, thus spreading the plant through their feces and hair. Scotch Thistle – the Shovel Weed I want to remind folks that scotch thistle can be effectively controlled using a sharp shovel and persistence. Unlike Canada thistle, which tends to resprout from the roots after top re- moval, this plant is a non- sprouting biennial, which means it produces a rosette in year one and then bolts into a seedstock in year two. If allowed to go to seed, this plant will stand tall, allowing windblown seed to spread far beyond the mother plant. Sharpen a shovel using a good mill file, and cut the plant right at the soil surface. It will not resprout. However, if populations are beyond a few dozen plants, it may be time to treat this thistle using herbicides. The best herbicide avail- able for this weed and so many other sunflower family plants is a product called Milestone. Milestone is effective throughout the growing season, and again in later fall. We also use Telar in the fall with excellent results. I am puzzled why folks continue to ignore this easy-to-treat weed. I see scotch thistle grow- ing in among farmsteads, next to houses and barns, and in otherwise weed-free pastures and hayfields. Since growing condi- tions have been very kind to scotch thistle, we can be certain of very robust, tall, seed producing plants. However, a little ef- fort now will pay huge dividends later, when that future seed bank is minimized by a good sharp shovel. While the very best time for treating these weeds may have come and gone, it is still not too late to Art on Loan Program open for submissions The Baker City Public Arts Commission is pleased to announce a general call for artists for its Art on Loan Program. This program facilitates the display of privately owned artworks on city owned property. The Art on Loan Program is managed by the Public Arts Commission with the goal of beautifying Baker City while increasing awareness and appreciation of the visual arts. Primarily, three dimensional artworks appropriate for outdoor public display are considered. Special attention should be made to weather durability and vandalism resistance. The Public Arts Commission is anticipating an instal- lation date of October, 2017. Costs of installation are covered by the Public Arts Commission, with input and direction from the artist. The piece may be for sale during the one year period of display if the artist wishes. Further information on the Art on Loan Program may be obtained by accessing the Public Arts Master Plan on the Baker City official website. Please go to: www.bakercity.com/2164/Public-Arts-Commission. Interested artists are asked to submit an online applica- tion at the same website, along with a letter of interest, resume, and examples of previous work. Deadline for submitting an application is August 1, 2017. Ladies golf and bridge scores The most recent Quail Ridge Ladies golf and bridge scores as are follow: Bridge winners for May 17: 1st Janice Smull, 2nd Margo Kenworthy, and 3rd Carol Giovanneti. Golf winners for May 24: Mixed Flights- Low Net 1st Flight Winner Linda Taylor, 2nd Flight Winner Kathy Hopkins, and 3rd Flight Winner Carol Irvine. Bridge winners for May 24: 1st Dianne Ellingson, 2nd Judy Karstens, and 3rd Margo Kenworthy. Golf winners for May 31: 1st Flight Jennifer Godwin, 2nd Flight Tie Karen Woolard/Kathy Hopkins, and 3rd Flight Tie Carol Irvine/Roxanne McAdams. Birdie: Jennifer Godwin. Bridge winners for May 31: 1st Sandy Grover, 2nd Jes- sie Ritch, and 3rd Karen Lewis. Golf winners for June 7: 1st Flight 1st-tie Linda Taylor and Lavelle Raley, 2nd Flight 1st Karen Wollard, 3rd Flight 1st-tie Carol Petry and Roxanne McAdams. Birdie: Margo Kenworthy and Carol Irvine. Bridge Winners for June 7: 1st Lavelle Raley, 2nd Shir- ley Dodson; and 3rd Sandy Grover. Nine-week bridge winners:1st Della Steele, 2nd Judy Karstens, and 3rd-tie Marlene Cross and Karen Lewis. Pine Valley Exhibit Hall repairs begin Submitted Photo. Whitetop can quickly take over fields. treat whitetop and scotch thistle this year. There is no question that the use of effective herbicides when these weeds are most susceptible is still our best option. However, if you’ve al- lowed whitetop to mature and scotch thistle to attain small tree status, a sharp shovel, a good weed whacker, and a mower can still be utilized to minimize seed set. As it turns out, this approach is considerably more effective than ignor- ing the problem and doing absolutely nothing. Addressing seed set is important when noxious weeds tend to produce especially abundant quanti- ties of seed. Left to fully mature, this seed poten- tially assures whitetop and scotch thistle progeny of further invasions, unless we are willing to use a little elbow grease to “cut” the cycle. “Flatter than a pancake.” That's the look the Halfway Fair Exhibit Hall has been sporting since this epic winter took it down. For more than 80 years, the old Exhibit Hall provided a place for generations of families to strut their stuff - showing the Panhandle what they could produce from the land, the kitchen, their sewing rooms or their creative hands. That all ended on January 11 in a twisted pile of metal and broken wood. The effort to rebuild has begun. Tax-deductible dona- tions may be made towards clean-up and construction to bring the hall back to life before fair-time, 2018. In order to get the fundraising underway, United Com- munity Partners (UCP) has offered to provide fiscal sponsorship for the Exhibit Hall construction project to assist the newly formed “Friends of the Pine Val- ley Fair” (FPVF). While FPVF awaits notification on their application for federal tax-exempt status, UCP will receive funds dedicated for the Exhibit Hall Project into a restricted account and track payments for the project. Volunteers from FPVF will serve as the project com- mittee for UCP, seeking grants, informing the public of progress, and interacting with contractors. By the time the project is underway, FPVF should be ready to take the reins and continue on as a full service tax-exempt corporation. “We already have more than $22,000 in pledges from some wonderful local donors,” said FPVF President, Lynda Bird, “but we know we still have a long way to go. This arrangement lets us get mov- ing now.” Concept drawings will be prepared soon, but the com- munity should anticipate an attractive, updated structure of similar size to the existing footprint, with an exterior that matches the grandstand. Contributions of any amount are welcome. Locally generated funds will be combined with money raised through grants and a social media campaign. Please make checks payable to United Com- munity Partners, Inc. Write “Exhibit Hall Project” on the memo line. Mail to: UCP, PO Box 545, Halfway, OR 97834. United Community Partners, located in Halfway, is a nonprofit corporation qualified as tax-exempt under sec- tion 501c3 of the Federal Tax Code.
