A10
News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
OCA: Meeting Ranchers urged to tell their story
in JD a success
By Scotta Callister
Blue Mountain Eagle
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY – Wolves,
water and international
trade were just a few of
the topics at the Oregon
Cattlemen’s Association’s
2015 Midyear event. Over
130 ranchers from across
the state attended the con-
ference earlier this month
at the Grant County Fair-
grounds.
It featured more than 15
speakers and an array of
vendors.
The lineup impressed
past association president
and current water resourc-
es chair Curtis Martin.
He felt each session was
packed full of information.
This year, OCA was
able to bring in National
Cattlemen’s Beef Associ-
ation’s Vice President of
Government Affairs, Colin
Woodall.
“Colin is diligent in
working for the cattle in-
dustry in Washington,
D.C.,” said Keith Nantz,
chair for both NCBA
Young Beef Leaders pro-
gram and Oregon’s Young
Cattlemen’s Committee.
“It was our privilege to
have him speak at Mid-
year.” Woodall covered
several topics the associa-
tion is paying close atten-
tion to in D.C. including
TPA and TPP, the interna-
tional trade bills.
“Our attendance was
great. We feel this was
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cellent presentation at our
Midyear event,” said Je-
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director.
The event wrapped up
June 12 with a barbecue
hosted by Prairie City
FFA and meat donated by
Country Natural Beef.
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE
Dayville School District 16J
tion
forma
For In ew, call
i
or to v 7-2412
8
9
(541)
Sealed bids are being accepted by
Dayville School District 16J for the
following items:
Commercial Cafeteria Appliances:
• Pass Through Low Temp Dish Sanitizer,
minimum bid: $200
• Silverking Mild Dispenser Cooler, minimum
bid: $100
• Imperial Commercial Range, Minimum bid
Dayville School District 16J $350
• Cooling Unit (condenser & fans) for Walk-in
P.O. Box C
Freezer, minimum bid $200. Buyer must
Dayville, OR 97825
carefully dismantle and remove from old unit.
(541) 987-2412
Sealed bids should be
delivered or mailed on
or before 6/30/2015 to:
JOHN DAY – A Grant Coun-
ty natural resources consul-
tant says private landowners
should tout their part in the
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ery’s success.
“If you don’t step up and
take credit for what you’ve
done, somebody else will,”
Shaun Robertson warned in
a talk at the Oregon Cattle-
men’s Association confer-
ence June 10-12. His ses-
sion was one of several that
packed the Sale Barn at the
Grant County Fairgrounds
during the three-day event.
Robertson, founder of the
John Day Resource Center,
said the John Day River Ba-
sin is a powerful draw for
groups that want “to save us
from ourselves.”
He recounted how one
group called it “the last best
place,” but then described it
as a place destroyed by log-
ging, grazing, mining and
other traditional activities. It
was a pitch, he said, to get
money “to save it.”
He said the reality is that
long-term landowners have
been good stewards, and
were so for a century without
the involvement of federal
and state regulators.
He said to be wary when
groups talk about “legacy ef-
fects,” which he called code
for “we need lots of money
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time ago.”
In fact, he said, the John
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ery resource is a bright spot
in the Columbia Basin, and
he credits private landowners
and local programs for the
gains.
“Elsewhere in the Colum-
bia Basin, it’s all gloom and
doom,” he said.
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and habitat gains have come
about because landowners
and local agencies, such as
Grant Soil and Water Conser-
vation District, are working
together on shared goals and
commitments.
At the same time, Robert-
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ernment organizations ready
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forged on the private lands.
And he said there’s a need
for honesty in the discussions
about natural resources.
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a photo that had been used
by one group as evidence
of grazing mismanagement,
noting that something was
missing from the image:
cowpies. Puzzled, he re-
searched the source of the
photo, and found it had been
taken after a massive grass-
hopper infestation – and the
result shown in the picture
had nothing to do with graz-
ing.
Robertson said some re-
source damage blamed on
landowner practices really
reflects post-World War II
changes on a national scale,
when the focus of govern-
ment shifted from the war
effort to one of reforming
the local landscape. What
ensued was an era of land
clearing, dam building and
waterway control.
Today, he said, govern-
ment agencies are trying to
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activities, but often with-
out accepting responsibility
for their role in creating the
problem.
Robertson got a chuckle
from the audience when he
said Oregon ranchers could
take a lesson from French
farmers.
He showed a photo of
a convoy of French farm
equipment clogging a high-
way in a parade to draw at-
tention to the needs of agri-
culture.
“They get on their trac-
tors and dump manure in the
streets … and pretty soon,
they’ve got an audience,”
Robertson said.
He said he’s not advo-
cating anarchy, but he urged
ranchers to stop complaining
in the coffee shops and take
their cases instead to the
centers of power, where de-
cisions get made.
He said agriculture’s
slogans from recent years –
“We feed the world” or “Ev-
ery day is Earth Day for the
American cattleman” – no
longer cut it. He said ranch-
ers instead need to tell the
whole story of rural Oregon,
and the strong schools, fam-
ilies and communities that
agriculture has fostered and
built.
G RANT C OUNTY M EETINGS
ONGOING
Grant County Library
is open 1-5 p.m. Monday,
Wednesday, Thursday and
Saturday; 10 a.m.-noon and
1-7 p.m. Tuesday; and 7-9
p.m. Thursday. The library
is located at 507 S. Canyon
Blvd., John Day.
Canyon Mountain Cen-
ter offers meditation sittings
from 5:30 to 6:10 p.m., Mon-
day, Wednesday and Friday,
511 Hillcrest, John Day. Call
ahead, 541-932-2725.
Burns-Hines VA Clinic
– Services for Grant Coun-
ty veterans. Immunizations,
minor surgical procedures,
blood pressure and diabetes
monitoring, group therapy
for combat PTSD, sobriety
and other issues. Lab draws
on Wednesdays. Nursing staff
and therapy Monday through
Friday. 541-573-3339.
Grant County Genea-
logical Society Research
Center – Open 1-4 p.m.
Thursdays and Fridays; and
10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays.
Parsonage building behind
Historic Advent Church, West
Main Street in John Day. 541-
932-4718 or 541-575-2757.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. – TOPS
(Take Off Pounds Sensibly),
weigh-in, meeting. United
Methodist Church library,
126 N.W. Canton St., John
Day. 541-575-3812, 541-932-
4592.
12 p.m. – Seniors Meal
Program at the Strawberry
Grange Hall, Prairie City.
12 p.m. – Women’s Sup-
port, by Heart of Grant Coun-
ty, for domestic violence
survivors. Free lunch. 541-
575-4335.
12-1:30 p.m. – Commu-
nity Advisory Council, Grant
County Regional Airport,
John Day. Open to the public,
call 541-620-0444.
6 p.m. – Long Creek Vol-
unteer Fire Department,
City Hall.
6:30-8:30 p.m. – Family
History Center open, Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, John Day. Also open
by appointment. 541-656-
8069.
7:30 p.m. – Let Go Group
of Alcoholics Anonymous,
St. Elizabeth Catholic Par-
ish Hall, John Day. 541-575-
0114.
THURSDAY, JUNE 25
9 a.m.-5 p.m. – Family
History Center open, Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, John Day. Also open
by appointment. 541-656-
8069.
Noon – Seniors Meal
Program and bingo, John
Day Senior Center, 142 N.E.
Dayton St. 541-575-1825.
5:30-7:15 p.m. – Youth
Connection, Living Word
Christian Center, Mt. Vernon.
Kid-friendly dinner and Bible
activities. Van rides available.
541-932-4910.
6 p.m. – “The Girlfriends”
Women’s 12-step Recovery,
2830 10th St., Baker City, OR
541-524-0122
EVERY OTHER TUESDAY
Jerry
“ Jerry goes above and beyond
what is expected of him. ”
– Travis, manager, Wildhorse Resort & Casino, Pendleton
Promoting community jobs for people
with developmental disabilities
Read more
about Jerry’s
success story:
John Day Church of the Naz-
arene. 541-620-0065.
FRIDAY, JUNE 26
4 p.m. – Long Creek His-
torical Society, Long Creek
City Hall, 541-421-3621.
7 p.m. – Whiskey Gulch
Gang, Sels Brewery, Canyon
City. 541-575-0329.
SATURDAY, JUNE 27
8:30 a.m.-noon – John
Day Farmers Market, SW
Brent St., John Day. Crafts,
baked goods, produce, kids
activities, entertainment, in-
formation booths. 541-932-
2725.
7 p.m. – Bingo, Monu-
ment Senior Center. Potluck
dinner at halftime.
SUNDAY, JUNE 28
Fun Jam, musicians and
listeners welcome for blue-
grass, gospel and traditional
country western music, Call
for time and location, 541-
575-1927.
MONDAY, JUNE 29
Noon – Seniors Meal
Program, John Day Senior
Center, 142 N.E. Dayton St.
541-575-1825.
6 p.m. – Mt. Vernon Vol-
unteer Fire Department,
541-932-4688.
7 p.m. – John Day Valley
Bass Club, Outpost Restau-
rant. All are welcome. Wil-
liam Gibbs, 541-575-2050.
7:30 p.m. – Outlaw
Group of Alcoholics Anon-
ymous, Presbyterian Church
in Mt. Vernon. 541-932-4844.
TUESDAY, JUNE 30
10-11 a.m. – Story Hour
and craft project, Grant
County Library, for pre-
schoolers 0-6 years old. 541-
575-1992.
12 p.m. – Seniors Meal
Program at the Monument
Senior Center.
12 p.m. – Transient Room
Tax Committee, Grant Coun-
ty Chamber of Commerce,
301 W. Main St., John Day.
6:30 p.m. – New Begin-
nings Recovery Group, Liv-
ing Word Christian Center,
Mt. Vernon. 541-932-4910.
7:15 p.m. – Boy Scout
Troop 898, John Day Elks
Lodge, John Day. 541-575-
2531.
7 p.m. – Grant County
Genealogical Society, old
parsonage building behind the
Historic Advent Church, John
Day. 541-575-2757, 541-932-
4718.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 1
7 a.m. – Ministerial As-
sociation of Grant County,
Outpost Restaurant, John Day.
9 a.m. – Grant County
Court, courthouse, Canyon
City.
9 a.m. – Shepherd’s Clos-
et, open, with free clothing for
all ages and coffee, at Prairie
City Assembly of God. 541-
820-3682.
9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. – Veter-
ans/families services, John
Day Elks Lodge. Topics in-
clude PTSD services and in-
dividual needs.
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. – TOPS
(Take Off Pounds Sensibly),
weigh-in, meeting. United
Methodist Church library,
126 N.W. Canton St., John
Day. 541-575-3812, 541-932-
4592.