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About The Record-courier. (Haines, Baker County, Oregon) 1932-2016 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 2015)
ï Record-Courier 12 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12,2015 Ol IRAI/I I The challenge is to fill every row across, every column down, and every 3x3 box with the digits 1 through 9. Each 1 through 9 digit must appear only once in each row across, each column down and each 3x3 box. q UUU ix U How Much 9 5 2 8 9 3 1 2 ■ 5 4 3 6 Jj .7 ' 5 ——. --«j 8 ^3 Sudoku puzzle sponsored by Embroidery F pater City How much money has the Shrine Steer generated at the annual East West Game through 2014 to help kids at Shriners Hospital for Children? $302,000 according to Guyer & Associates. Diana Downing and Susan Bunch (pictured above) of the Baker County Cattlewomen have played key roles in organizing fundraisers to help acquire and promote the Shrine Steer for several years. Current Reservoir and Snow Depths Jackets Hats Scarfs Shirts Sweatshirts Logos BHS Bulldog items January 2015 Water Volumes: Recorded on the last day of previous month and subject to revision. 1920 Court Street, Baker City McElroy Printing Also located here. 541.523.2621 ■ 1 2 11 15 ! J J 35 52 51 L 14 ■ 20 24 n 33 37 ■ 36 H. 45 ■ 48 47 ■ ■ 28 44 43 10 16 ■ 40 39 9 13 23 32 34 8 30 29 ■ r 7 26 25 55 4 22 21 1 W ■ ¡G !■ ■ ■ 14 3 19 17 —"'’TSk _____ 2 7 9 2- The Western Meadowlark: The bird we Across I. Daniel___ , Am. frontiersman 6. Chronic nag II. Underlying theme 13. Exclamation of excitement 15. Place in office 16. Rose plant fruit 17. Abbr. after a comma 18. Nutty confection 20. “To___ is human...” 21. Orders to plow horses 23. Come to mind 24. Taro plant’s edible root 25. Cab driver in “It’s a Wonder ful Life” 27. ___ grass 28. Sheik’s bevy 29. Daniel Webster, e.g. 31. Golden Horde member 32. Fat unit 33. ___ Scotia 34. Artificial leg? 36. Extension of library book due date 39. Mawkishly sentimental 40. Haul 41. Bigwig 43. Downer 44. Stands for 46. It has its ups and downs 47. CD follower 48. Tony___ , Am. singer 50. Boy 51. “Father Murphy” extras 53. Unit of distance used in navi gation (2 wds) 55. Listlessness 56. Men with chauvinistic beliefs 57. Small coins of ancient Greece 58. Concise Down 1. Baseball batters who lightly tap the ball 2. Bawdy 3. His “4” was retired 4. ___ tide 5. Accessory 6. Excelled 7. Cheat, slangily 8. ___ v. Wade 9. Desert shrub with scalelike leaves 10. Stranger 11. Surrounding and blockading a fortress 12. Restaurant serving light meals 13. Slap target, sometimes I 49 38 42 46 ■ 50 Water Levels 54 53 56 ■ 58 Thief Valley Reservoir Water Storage Volume: 13,882 acre-feet (98 percent of 30- year average) Phillips Reservoir Water Stor age Volume: 16,544 acre- feet (52 percent of 30-year average) Brownlee Reservoir Water Storage Volume: 1,634,420 acre-feet (137 percent of 30-year average) Wolf Creek Reservoir Water Storage Volume: 2,804 acre-feet (100 percent of 30-year average) Pilcher Creek Reservoir Water Storage Volume: 2,395 acre-feet (An acre-foot is defined as the volume of one acre of surface area to a depth of one foot.) j 14. Erasable programmable read only memory (acronym) 19. Pinocchio, at times 22. Vocalizing songs 24. Erode (2 wds) 26. Before the due date 28. Any port in a storm 30. Sylvester, to Tweety 31. Elephant’s weight, maybe 33. Quality of having been re cently obtained 34. Sisterly 35. Injure by treading heavily 36. Bookbinding leather 37. Annul 38. Fidelity 39. Kind of drive (acronym) 40. Perfect, e.g. 42. Indicates 44. Bright circle? 45. Prepare, as tea 48. Can of worms? 49. Checker, perhaps 52. Accident 54. Cambridge sch. This Puzzle Sponsored By PRECISION IMPORT Auto Repair Foreign car owners: You’ve got old fash ioned values and modem technology at Precision Import. Dusty knows your for eign car inside and out. Brownlee Reservoir Water Level: 2,059 feet (18 feet below Full Pool) Wolf Creek Reservoir Water Level: 3,645 feet (25 per cent of full pool) Pilcher Creek Reservoir Water Level: 3,952 feet (42 percent of full pool) Snow Depths Anthony Lakes SNOLITE Site at 7,160 feet: Snow Depth - 45 inches Bourne SNOTEL Site at 5,850 feet: Snow Depth - 19 inches Taylor Green SNOTEL Site at 5,740 feet: Snow Depth - 27 inches Wolf Creek SNOTEL Site at 5,630 feet: Snow Depth - 23 inches Moss Springs SNOTEL Site at 5,760 feet: Snow Depth - 36 inches All measurements are current as of Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. Seethe Record-Courier website: therconllne.com E-mail; news@ Ask about our 18-month warranty on all parts and labor. therconline.com 2466 Broadway, Baker City Phone: 541-523-2945 541.856.3615 dusty@precisionimport.us The time is again upon us. Oregon’s state bird, the Western Mead- j owlark, is about to make its 2015 singing debut in the Baker Valley. The 3 timing of our fine-feather friend’s arrival could not be more appropriate • as we prepare to celebrate our State’s 156th birthday. For those of you ■ who don’t know (pretty unlikely) but Oregon become the 33rd member ; to join as a state with the United States on the Feb. 14,1859. Oregonians did not declare the Western Meadowlark as their own until ■ 1927 - more than 68 years later. The Oregon Audubon Society con- ducted a poll of school children across the state. With more than 80,000 y votes being cast, the Meadowlark won by a wide majority, defeating - candidates like the Oregon Junco, the Varied Thrush, the White-crowned . Sparrow and the Oregon Bluebird. On July 27 of that year, Governor Patterson issued a proclamation declaring the Western Meadowlark (Stumella neglecta) as our own. How s could that Governor go wrong? More than 80,000 kids participating in I democracy to name a state bird. No-brainer! I am guessing our current -J Governor would love to have something that easy on his desk right now. * Four other states followed Oregon’s lead in recognizing this lovely songbird as their own: Nebraska (1929), Montana (1930), Kansas , (1937), and North Dakota (1947). It was only the state of Wyoming who beat Oregon to the punch in naming the Western Meadowlark. They did so in Feb. of 1927, edging us out as number one by a mere five months. (Dam! Once again Oregonians are denied a #1 title.) Baker County, dominated by open grasslands and agriculture area, . provides the Western Meadowlark with the type of habitat it likes to call home. They forage on grain and weed seeds, beetles, caterpillars, sow bugs, spiders and other insects found aplenty here. Every spring, many of us hear their familiar, flute-like melody and say “hey, I know that sound.. .what bird is that, anyway?” More often than not, it is the male we see perched on a fence post or , atop a power line. This colorful bird (a member of the blackbird family) proudly shows off his bright yellow chest and distinct back v-shaped band splashed across. Throughout spring and summer, his voice is con fident, distinct and captivating. That alluring call comes in handy. After all, he does not mate with one but two females during the breeding sea son. Sorry to you romantics. I know it is Valentine’s week, but this is not a one-bird man. The female, on the other hand, has little time to show off. Go figure! Alone, the female Western Meadowlark seeks a nest spot on the ground, i preferably covered by dense vegetation. Native grasses, rabbit brush and ' greasewood work well. She uses her bill to cut a depression in the soil, E and then line it with soft grasses and pliable shrubs. Often she uses the i surrounding vegetation to anchor a waterproof dome by weaving grass 4 and shrub stems. Her commitment to covering her young from weather 1 and, predators as not only admirable, but rather ingenious. She works solo for six to eight days to complete a nest that can reach eight inches across with a cover of up to five inches. As we approach spring, males will establish an average territory of seven acres. He will fearlessly defend the area for up to a month with “pursuit flights” that can last up to three minutes. He will continue this aggressive display until the females arrive in the neighborhood. His focus then turns to the ladies. The female Western Meadowlark will lay one to two broods each spring and summer. They usually contain five or six eggs and require approximately two weeks before hatching. Full disclosure requires me to inform you that the male does sometimes assist the female with feed ing his offspring once hatched, and does play a role in actively defending the nest. You gotta give credit where credit is due. The young leave the nest in about 10-12 days. It is during the incubation time we humans pose a great threat to the success of their breeding. The usual suspects like hawks, skunks, coy otes, raccoon and weasels play their predictable havoc with a Western Meadowlark’s nesting grounds. But they are extremely sensitive to hu mans when nesting and will abandon a nest if they are disturbed while incubating their eggs. Western Meadowlarks are numerous, but recent counts indicate their breeding populations have been declining. While we here in Baker County are fortunate to have them in solid numbers, it is not unusual to hear someone from the other side of the state remark how much they miss hearing the once familiar call of the Western Meadowlark. In fact, many use the word scarce. Hard to imagine, but true. As with other species, habitat destruction, climate change, invasive plants, fire suppression, and pesticide use, are often reasons contem plated for the decline in numbers. I am not the correct person to offer a scientific reason to explain such a decline. I do know that the Western Meadowlark has been part of our landscape for centuries. Merriweather Lewis noted the Western Meadowlark in his journal on See MEADOWLARK on page 13 Treasure Valley Livestock Market Report February 6, 2015 Class Weight 200-300 300-400 400-500 500-600 600-700 700-800 800-900 900-1000 Heifers 200-300 300-400 400-500 500-600 600-700 700-800 800-900 900-1000 1000 and Up 800-900 Cows 900-1000 1000-1100 1100-1200 1200-1300 1300-1400 1400-1500 1500-1600 1660-1700 1700-1800 1800-1900 BullCf. 300-400 400-500 500-600 600-700 700-800 900-1000 Steers Average Price Top Price 187.50 197.00 184.50 219.50 155.50 179.75 162.25 150.00 237.50 222.50 159.50 199.50 174.25 147.75 128.50 131.00 117.25 87.0CT 64.00 63.00 83.00 92.25 92.75 70.25 93.25 .102.00 98.25 94.50 170.00 155.50 207.25 176.25 91.00 79.00 187.50 262.50 274.00 220.00 218.00 206.00 191.00 150.00 237.50 257.50 210.00 214.75 212.00 192.50 164.00 157.00 138.00 89.00 64.0Ô 86.50 111.00 126.00 117.00 99.00 130.00 122.00 99.00 95.50 170.00 156.00 215.00 200.00 91.00 117.00 T reasure V alley L ivestock M arket Owners - LG. Davison & Sons 208-459-7475 800-788-4429 P.O. Box 639 1901 E. Chicago Caldwell, ID 83605