Page 8C
OUTSIDE
East Oregonian
BLOOMIN’ BLUES
Saturday, August 13, 2016
Flying free — a family hobby
By JENNIFER MOODY
Albany Democrat-Herald
Photo courtesy Bruce Barnes
Big Pod Mariposa Lily
One of the Blues’
most beautiful blooms
By BRUCE BARNES
For the East Oregonian
Name: Big Pod Mariposa
Lily
SFLeQWL¿F Qame: Calo-
chortus macrocarpus
This is one of the most
truly Eeautiful ÀoZers in the
Blue Mountains. The bloom
is about 23 inFhes Zide at
the top, and this photo, Zith
the sunlight coming through
the petals shoZs off its color
nicely.
To really appreciate it,
hoZeYer, you haYe to looN
doZn from aboYe into the
inside of it. The inside base
of the ÀoZer has a large,
fuzzy, golden nectar gland
surrounded by a darN purple
band.
The plant is about a foot
tall Zith a slender stem. ,ts
leaYes are narroZ and linear,
and dry up by the time the
ÀoZer opens. The ÀoZer base
has 3 long, narroZ, petalliNe
sepals that are often longer
than the petals, Zhile the 3
petals are broad and rounded.
Both petals and sepals are
laYender to deep purple, and
haYe an outer greentinged
stripe doZn the center.
This plant is one of 5
species of Calochortus in
northeast Oregon, and prob-
ably the most spectacular. ,t
groZs from southeast British
Columbia to northern Cali-
fornia, to Montana to 1eYada.
The genus Calochortus
comes from the *reeN
³Nalo´ for beautiful, and
³chortus´ for grass, referring
to the narroZ linear leaYes.
Macrocarpus is Latin for
big pod, referring to its large
seed pod. Though there is
much Yariation in the 60 or so
species of the mariposa lilies
in Zestern 1orth America, no
one Zould argue the fact that
all are impressiYe.
This particular species Zas
used throughout its range,
primarily for food, the bulbs
either eaten raZ or cooNed.
Some tribes used the plant
for a poultice to treat blisters
from poison iYy, and also
used mashed bulbs to treat
sore eyes.
Unfortunately, the plant is
far less common noZ, and ,
only get to see it about once
in four years. +arYesting the
plants is strongly discour-
aged, as their numbers are so
diminished, and they Zill not
surYiYe attempts to transplant
them.
:KeUe WR ¿QG: LooN
for the plant in dry open
meadoZs, at middle eleYa-
tions in the mountains.
Courtesy of Oregon Department of Agriculture
Close-up image of the “Asian jumping worm.” ODA
confirmed that the worm, Amynthas agresitis, was
found in Clackamas and Josephine counties in 2016.
‘Crazy snake worm’
XnearWKeG Ln Oregon
,nYasiYe species
could impact forest
Zater retention
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
EO Media Group
A neZ inYasiYe species,
NnoZn as the “crazy snaNe
Zorm´ or “Asian jumping
Zorm,´ has been unearthed
for the ¿rst time in Oregon.
The Oregon Department of
Agriculture has con¿rmed that
the Zorm, Amynthas agresitis,
Zas found in ClacNamas and
Josephine counties in 2016.
The signi¿cant distance
betZeen the tZo discoYeries
liNely indicates the species
is probably found elseZhere
in Oregon as Zell, said Clint
Bur¿tt, manager of ODA’s
insect pest preYention and
management program.
Residential landoZners
turned the Zorms oYer to
of¿cials from ODA and the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife after noticing its
Yigorous Àipping.
“The behaYior is Yery
distinctiYe,´ Bur¿tt said.
“EarthZorms aren’t NnoZn
for their energetic behaYior,
but this one is.´
The Zorm’s detrimental
effects on forest health haYe
also been causing groZing
concern in the Great LaNes
region and the East Coast,
said Jim Labonte, an ODA
entomologist.
“There’s beginning to be
a lot of attention to be paid to
this there,´ he said.
SeYeral pathZays may be
responsible for the Zorm’s
moYement, including earth-
moYing eTuipment, compost
and ¿shermen, he said. The
species reproduces ase[ually,
so not many indiYiduals are
necessary for an established
population.
By rapidly consuming the
detritus along the forest Àoor,
the Zorms remoYe the protec-
tiYe layer that plant seeds need
to sprout and outcompete
other animals that depend on
this habitat.
Bare soil isn’t as effectiYe
as retaining Zater, alloZing
it to run off more TuicNly —
potentially haYing an impact
on agriculture, said LaBonte.
The change in soil struc-
ture also disrupts nutrient
cycling, harming the forest’s
health oYer time, he said.
At this point, though,
it’s unNnoZn Zhether these
impacts Zill be e[perienced
in Oregon as they haYe else-
Zhere in the U.S., since the
forest type and climate here
are different, LaBonte said.
ALBANY —
Bob
StalicN can still remember
hunching oYer his mother’s
breadboard, model airplane
parts spread out, getting glue
on the dressmaNing pins
she’d loaned him to hold the
Nit’s pieces together.
Those planes neYer
ÀeZ, the north Albany
man recalled. But then an
attacN of polio as a high
school freshman left him
Zith plenty of time at home
recuperating. He used that
time to put together a neZ
airplane model he’d receiYed
from his classmates as a
Christmas gift, one poZered
by a tiny gas engine from his
parents, reported the Albany
Democrat-Herald.
:hen the plane Zas
¿nished and StalicN Zas
Zell enough, he tooN the
plane out to the bacN ¿eld
of his family’s Oregon City
farm, started the motor and
Zatched the aircraft rise into
the sNy.
³EYentually it hit a fence
post and broNe,´ he said,
³but that Zas the most
amazing day of my life — to
see that airplane that , had
built out of pieces of Zood
actually Ày.´
Emotionally, the former
superintendent for Greater
Albany Public Schools
neYer really came doZn
from that ¿rst Àight. At
78 and long retired from a
39-year career in education,
he continues to build and Ày
free-Àight model airplanes
year-round.
StalicN
shared
his
hobby Zith his son, Ted,
a 1982 graduate of West
Albany High School. Ted,
noZ liYing in Southern
California, shared it in turn
Zith his younger son, Ale[,
noZ 16. And thanNs to
Ale[, the three generations
are traYeling to Macedonia,
Zhere Ale[ Zill compete
in the 2016 Junior World
Championships for Free
Flight Model Aircraft.
Ted StalicN Zill be part of
the support creZ for the U.S.
team. StalicN himself has
been tapped to be the team
photographer and journalist.
The three are e[pected to
be bacN in Oregon by Aug.
9. Ale[ Zill be competing
against teens from 21 other
countries for the champion-
ship trophy.
Free-Àying model planes
don’t depend on remote
controls for naYigation. A
competitor Zins or loses
based on hoZ long the craft,
on its oZn, is able to stay in
the air.
The U.S. team has seYen
youths in three different
free-Àight
diYisions
glider, rubber-poZered and
gas-poZered.
Glider planes are toZed
into the air by a person
running on the ground,
StalicN e[plained. The
plane must Ày at least three
minutes after the toZ line
is disconnected. After ¿Ye
successful
three-minute
Àights, the time is e[tended
by a minute for each of the
David Patton/Albany Democrat-Herald via AP
In a July 28 photo, Bob Stalick of Albany explains how his free-flight
model airplane works. The former Albany superintendent will trav-
el to Macedonia this week to document his grandson’s entry in the 2016
Junior World Championships.
David Patton/Albany Democrat-Herald via AP
In a July 28 photo, Bob Stalick of Albany has model
airplanes hanging from the ceiling of his workshop
from friends who have died as a way to remember
them.
ne[t rounds until a Zinner is
determined.
5ubber-poZered planes
use propellers poZered
by special rubber bands.
Gas-poZered models run
on timers that cut the fuel
after a prescribed number of
seconds.
Timers also control the
dethermalizers, Zhich Àips
up the tail of the plane,
stalling it out and sending it
earthZard.
Ale[
already
Zas
competing in the glider
diYision, but the team asNed
him to join the gas diYision
as Zell after an une[pected
Yacancy, his grandfather
said.
Fans Zill be inYited to
folloZ the competition Yia a
FacebooN page, Free Flight
'igest, Zhich StalicN Zill
help ¿ll Zith photos and
copy.
StalicN said he’s going to
enjoy chronicling the team’s
adYentures, but said he’s
mostly going just to spend
time Zith his family.
³,t’s three generations of
the same family doing this
thing all of us haYe done
some Zay in our liYes,´ he
said.
As a little boy in Oregon
City, StalicN remembers
running outside, eyes glued
to the sNy, as the combat
planes of World War ,,
roared oYer his family’s
home, on their Zay to prep
for battle in the Paci¿c
Theater. “They made the
Zhole ground shaNe,´ he
recalled.
He built model planes up
through high school, then
put the hobby aside for a
Zhile as girls, cars, jobs and
college tooN precedence.
But a broadcasting class at
the UniYersity of Oregon
brought it all bacN the day
he Zas asNed to ¿gure out
hoZ to maNe a model of the
solar system spin.
For that project, StalicN
said he’d go get a spool of
rubber band material at the
hobby shop. One looN at
the plane Nits there and he
Zas bacN to buy one and get
started again.
StalicN’s ¿rst teaching
job Zas English, speech and
drama for Albany Union
High School in 1960.
,t Zas the bacN-to-school
inserYice day and he didn’t
NnoZ anyone, but he
oYerheard a conYersation
betZeen tZo shop teachers
Zho
Zere
discussing
forming a model airplane
club.
That club became the
Willamette Modelers Club.
StalicN has been its editor
eYer since and currently
serYes as its treasurer.
The club competes
outdoors in the summer —
the ne[t eYent is set for Aug.
19, 20 and 21 in a ryegrass
¿eld off SeYen Mile Lane
near ParNer 5oad Zatch for
signs — and in the gym of
South Albany High School
in the Zinter. Spectators are
encouraged.
“The good thing about
this hobby, in my opinion,
Zhen the Zeather isn’t Yery
nice, you can be inside
maNing them,´ he said.
“When the Zeather is nice,
you can go out and Ày them
and crash them.´
Remote control planes
are all Yery Zell, but they
neYer held the same fasci-
nation for StalicN as the
free-Àight planes. For 25
years, Zhen he Zasn’t Àying
the planes, he Zas often
found Zriting about them.
He Zas a correspondent for
Model Builder Magazine
for 25 years, Zhich helped
lead to the inYitation to be
the U.S. team Zriter and
photographer for this year’s
championships.
He has traYeled since
2005 to Zatch the national
competition sponsored by
the Academy of Model
Aeronautics, but Zill miss it
this year to traYel to Mace-
donia.
That’s all right, hoZeYer,
he said. “This is Nind of a
once-in-a-lifetime thing, as
far as ,’m concerned.´
BRIEFLY
DNR issues burn ban for
Washington state
OLYMP,A, Wash. AP — The
state Department of Natural
Resources has issued a burn ban on
DNR-protected lands throughout the
entire state.
DNR of¿cials said in a neZs
release that due to Zarm temperatures
and beloZ normal precipitation
in Zestern Washington, the burn
ban issued preYiously for eastern
Washington Zill apply to the entire
state starting Friday.
The ban Zill be in effect through
Sept. 30.
The ban applies to all outdoor
burning on state forests, state
parNs and forestlands under DNR
¿re protection. ,t does not include
federally oZned lands.
The last tZo Zild¿re seasons haYe
been the state’s Zorst. More than a
million acres burned across the state
last year, the single Zorst Zild¿re year
in Washington history.
So far this year, DNR has had 408
Zild¿re starts throughout the state.
SkyGiYer beFomes ¿rst
Serson to MumS anG OanG
without chute
LOS ANGELES AP — After
leaping from an airplane, LuNe
AiNins rocNeted toZard earth for tZo
minutes, and then calmly Àipped onto
his bacN at the last second and landed
in a 100-by-100-foot net in southern
California.
Cheers rose from those Zho
gathered at the Big SNy moYie ranch
on the outsNirts of Simi 9alley to
Zatch the stunt, including his family.
The 42-year-old sNydiYer Zith
more than 18,000 jumps made history
as the ¿rst person to surYiYe a leap
Zithout a parachute and land safely in
a net.
As the audience erupted, AiNins
TuicNly climbed out, ZalNed oYer and
hugged his Zife, Monica, Zho had
been Zatching from the ground Zith
their 4-year-old son, Logan, and other
family members.
“,’m almost leYitating. ,t’s
incredible,´ the jubilant sNydiYer said,
raising his hands oYer his head as his
Zife held their son, Zho dozed in her
arms.
“This thing just happened , can’t
eYen get the Zords out of my mouth,´
he added as he thanNed the dozens of
creZ members Zho spent tZo years
helping him prepare for the jump,
including those Zho assembled the
¿shing traZler-liNe net and made sure
it really ZorNed.
The jump — from the death-
defying altitude of 25,000 feet
— maNes AiNins the only sNydiYer
eYer to go from plane to planet Earth
Zithout a parachute.
Wyoming highway
e[ceeGs grizzOy Geath caS
JAC.SON, Wyo. AP — The
number of grizzly bears Nilled by
Yehicle collisions on a stretch of
highZay in northZest Wyoming
e[ceeds the estimate of¿cials e[pected
Zhen a redesign of the thoroughfare
Zas approYed more than a decade ago.
At least tZo federally protected,
threatened grizzlies haYe been run
oYer on a 38-mile stretch of U.S.
26287 oYer TogZotee Pass in the past
tZo years.
That is double the permitted
unintentional Nilling of a single
grizzly along the road that underZent
a seYen-year reconstruction at a cost
of more than 100 million. The ZorN
Zas completed in 2012 and resulted
in a Zider and straighter road that Zas
supposed to be safer.
When so-called “incidental taNe´
estimates are surpassed, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife SerYice customarily
produces neZ documents that permit
a higher number of the affected
threatened or endangered species to
be Nilled.
The Fish and Wildlife SerYice,
Zhich is in charge of the Greater
YelloZstone Ecosystem’s grizzlies,
has not yet receiYed instruction to
reYise a 2003 document that assessed
the effect of the redesign on grizzlies,
according USFWS.