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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (May 4, 2016)
A12 News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, May 4, 2016 STUDENTS Continued from Page A1 Brazilian Raquel Melo Silva, 17, said she enjoyed the community atmosphere and being so close to animals, ranches and the farming way of life. Andrea Montes, 16, from Spain, agreed. “I’ve become a country girl,” she said. Lilly said in a small school and town like Long Creek “you can develop relation- ships with everyone.” Each of the students said they experienced something for the irst time. Raquel got to brand and feed cows. Lilly helped skin an elk, which she said was “cool and interest- ing.” Andrea ate her irst corn dog — a new favorite food. Philipp got to go horseback riding, as did 16-year-old Near (Yanatorn) Bunnag from Thai- land. Mew (Onnalin) Wiriyasu- mon, 16, from Thailand, went ice ishing — her irst time ishing at all — during a trip to Alaska with her host family. Adam (Adugafor) Rajibeliev, 17, from Tajikistan, enjoyed hunting and skiing. Others attended a rodeo and rode along with a police oficer for the irst time. For Aaron (Yu_Cheng) Yueng, 18, Taiwan, it was a The Eagle/Cheryl Hoefler Foreign students Lilly Stemmann of Germany, left, and Mew (Onnalin) Wiriyasumon of Thailand enjoy friendship and new experiences at Long Creek School. Contributed photo From left, Near (Yanatorn) Bunnag, Aaron (Yu_Cheng) Yueng, Kirill Borisov, Fernando Garcia Rodriguez, Lilly Stemmann, Philipp Dessau, Raquel Melo Silva and, in front, Andrea Montes at Seattle’s bayfront during spring break. Mew (Onnalin) Wiriyasumon was in Alaska with her host family. close encounter with nature af- ter he saw a deer right in town. “I never saw a deer before,” he said. “I could not believe it and was so surprised.” While small-town life was new for all of them, the cold and snow of winter was not. Russian 17-year-old Kirill Borisov, who snowboards back home nearly every day, said, “It wasn’t so cold here.” Philipp agreed and said it is never warm in Germany. Lil- Payments may be made at the tax collector’s office at the Grant County Courthouse in Canyon City, or the payment may be mailed and POSTMARKED no later than May 16, 2016. Please remember that delinquent taxes accrue interest at the rate of 16% per year. If you have any questions, please call the Tax Office at 541-575-0107 or 541-575-0189. PO Box 185 Canyon City, OR 97820 03811 The third installment of the 2015-2016 property tax is due Monday, May 16, 2016 by 5 p.m. ly, however, said she’d never been somewhere so cold. Fernando Garcia Rodri- guez, 17, from Spain, said he tried to teach some downhill skiing skills to irst-timer Ra- quel during a school outing to Anthony Lakes Mountain Re- sort. They both laughed at the memory of her tumbling down the hill. The students all agreed American education is much easier than in their home countries. Some were sur- prised that not only is there no school here on Saturdays but, as in most Grant County schools, none on Fridays ei- ther. The exchange program offers a multi-cultural ex- perience for the visiting and local students, the host fami- lies and the community. With only three local Long Creek high school students this year — two freshmen and one ju- nior — the foreign students also provide the school with increased enrollment for such activities as proms and sports teams. One of those three local students, Cody Baker, said, if it wasn’t for the foreign students, he would proba- bly have to attend a differ- ent school. He said in three years at Long Creek, he has met three different groups of foreign students and has more than two dozen friends around the world. “It’s a really cool expe- rience,” he said. “The irst month or two, it’s hard getting to know each other, but by the VOTERS department. She said she brings budgeting, accounting and gov- ernment experience. Weaver said she moved to the area in junior high school and has been here since. She said she worked her way up to ofice manager at Chester’s Thriftway, where she worked for 30 years. As the current fair manager, she said she has experience with grants and the county budget. She said she would bring accuracy, honesty and accountability to the position. Continued from Page A1 work experience, including accounting and title work. She said she was a senior accounts clerk for John Day and current- ly works for the county road Public Forest Commission Six Public Forest Commis- sion seats are also up for elec- tion. Dave Traylor is running unopposed for Public Forest Commission No. 1. He said, although the Blue Mountains Forest Partners collaborative has increased timber harvest by working with environmen- talists, the amount is not what it used to be or what it ought to be. Tad Houpt will also be the only candidate on the ballot for No. 3 after Mark Webb was re- moved due to an issue with his oficial party afiliation. Webb did not attend the forum. Houpt said the forest is in poor shape, increasing the risk for wildires, and that harvesting larger trees would be more effective. Jim Boethin, King Williams and Howard Gieger are running for forest commission No. 5. Boethin and Williams did not attend the forum. Gieger said he was formerly an arson inves- tigator, and he believed the For- est Service should pay for an independent investigation into the Canyon Creek Complex ire. He said he has stressed the importance of communication to members of the Forest Part- ners, the forest commission and end, we form such a strong bond, it’s hard to see them leave. Some become your family.” Several of the host families have taken these students into their homes year after year, including Linda and Ed Studt- mann, hosting in Long Creek since 2008. “We treat them as if they are part of the family,” Linda, who is a teaching assistant and coach at the school, said. “We keep them busy.” She said she loves hosting and her own sons, who are now grown, enjoyed getting to know the foreign students each year, having them in their home and as school friends. Linda and Alvin Hunt have had 11 foreign students in their home — each experience dif- ferent but always entertaining. Linda Hunt, who works in the school cafeteria, said host- ing allows her to experience the world without leaving the county. She said, although it is dificult “saying goodbye to The Eagle/Sean Hart Public Forest Commission candidate Sam Palmer, right, speaks at a candidate forum April 23. the Grant County Court. “We are not working togeth- er, and I think this is extremely important,” he said. Larry Blasing and Jim Sproul are vying for No. 7. Blasing said he received a degree in forest management and has 45 years of experience working on forest issues. He said he worked for the Forest Service, then the forest prod- ucts industry and a timber industry association. He said he’s been involved in contract negotiations between agencies and the industry, appealing the irst environmental impact statement after the National Environmental Policy Act and passing the National Forest Management Act. Sproul said he was born and raised here where his family has lived since 1878. He said he was a rancher and later became a Realtor. He said he was in- volved in creating a natural re- sources plan through the sher- iff’s ofice that was “stomped out” by other agencies. The amount of acres burned annu- ally on the forest has increased, and policy changes are needed for better timber management as well as ine fuels, which are “like gasoline.” A MAN WAKES UP in the morning after sleeping on... an advertised bed, in advertised pajamas. He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR, have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE. Then it’s too late. AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK? DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it! Blue Mountain Eagle Paid for by Grant County Positive Action someone who has become such a wonderful part of your life, we have a lifetime of memories to look back on and smile.” Other host families this year include Mike and Myla Corley, Jennie and Patch Freeman, Shirley Gorgita and Bev and Eldon Johns. The foreign students all had high praise for their host families, most saying that the home-cooked American meals were one of the best things. Most plan to keep in touch with each other and their new Long Creek friends and families, and several would like to return to visit Long Creek in the future. None of the students knew each other beforehand. How- ever, two of them, Philipp and Lilly, discovered from a photo Lilly had that they belong to the same dance group back in Germany, where they live just a few miles apart. The world itself, and not just Long Creek, can be a mighty small place. MyEagleNews.com Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710 Mike Smith and Dave Han- nibal are running for forest commission Alternate No. 1. Mike Smith did not attend the forum. Hannibal said he has worked in forestry since 1980. He said he has been in John Day since 1994, and he has hired hundreds of local kids to work at Grayback Forestry. As a Forest Partners member, he said he believes the forest commission and collaborative have different approaches but the same goal. “I’m not taking anything over,” he said. “I’m trying to step up and do what’s right.” Sam Palmer and Russ Young are vying for Alternate No. 2. Young did not attend the forum. Palmer said he is a nurse and owns a small logging oper- ation. He said he has no forestry degree but experience, includ- ing 10 years as a ireighter on the Malheur National Forest. He said he has seen a decline in forest health and he and a busi- ness partner lost $1.5 million in timber in the Canyon Creek Complex. He said the collab- orative should be stopped and that ireighting is “big busi- ness” for some people. Measure 12-58 This measure is a Grant County citizen initiative re- garding commercial marijuana operations currently legal in the state but banned in the county. A “yes” vote would overturn the county ban and allow the growing, processing, wholesal- ing, testing and retail selling of marijuana. A “yes” vote would also make the county eligible to receive a portion of the 17-per- cent tax to be levied on retail sales at the state level, as well as a 3-percent tax possible at the local level. A “no” vote would retain the county ban on all commercial marijuana operations, and the county would remain ineligible to receive any tax revenue from marijuana sales. A “no” vote would have no effect on a per- son’s ability to legally possess and grow marijuana for person- al use in accordance with state law.