Community Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, November 16, 2016 WHAT’S The deadline for What’s Happening items is 5 p.m. Friday. Call the Eagle, 541-575-0710, or email editor@bmeagle.com. For meetings this week, see our list in the classifi eds on Page A17. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16 HAPPENING Red Cross blood drive • 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, John Day To make an appointment or for more information, call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood. org. Eagle file photo A wide variety of gingerbread houses from Prairie City businesses wait to be auctioned during Christmas on the Prairie last year. The event is set for Saturday, Nov. 19, this year. Grant County Democrats meeting • 6:30 p.m., 511 SE Hillcrest Road, John Day Local Democrats are encouraged to attend a meeting. Re- freshments will be served. For more information, call 541-542- 2633. FRIDAY, NOV. 18 ‘Music of Autumn’ concert •7 p.m., United Methodist Church, 126 NW Canton, John Day The Grant County Youth Arts Program and Juniper Arts Council will present the Youth Arts Program Ensembles Con- cert, with the theme “Music of Autumn.” Admission is free, but donations are requested. SATURDAY, NOV. 19 Christmas on the Prairie • 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Prairie City The theme for this year’s holiday event, presented by Talents and Treasures, is “Believe in the Magic of Christmas.” Activ- ities include gingerbread house building and other children’s crafts, bazaars, merchant sales, wagon rides, FFA dinner and auction and photos with Santa and the elves, including a session for family pets from 4:30-6:30 p.m. For more information, see Page A8 and Page A9 or call 541-820-3675. SUNDAY, NOV. 20 • 9:30 a.m., Seneca Trap Range The Seneca Trap Range will be holding its annual Thanks- giving turkey shoot, open to everyone. Practice starts at 9:30 a.m., and the shoot begins at 10 a.m. Shells will be available, as well as lunch. For more information, call Nancy Chase at 541-575-0243. Grant County Fair and Rodeo Court corona- tion dinner • 5 p.m., Grant County Fairgrounds, John Day The community is invited to the Grant County Fair and Ro- deo Court Cowboy Christmas Coronation Dinner and Auction. Jessica Carter will be crowned queen, and Trinity Hutchison princess. The dinner includes tri-tip catered by Kris and Kjer Kizer, and Snaffl ebit Restaurant’s no-host bar. Live, silent and dessert auctions will be held. Dinner is $15 a person or $25 for a couple. For dinner tickets, or to donate an item, dessert or mon- ey, call Nicole Israel at 541-620-2624. All proceeds benefi t the court for travel expenses, wardrobe and outfi tting their horse as THURSDAY, NOV. 24 Community Thanksgiving dinner • 1 p.m., The Teen Center, 145 W. Front St., Prairie City The Prairie Baptist Church will host a community Thanks- giving dinner. Everything will be provided for diners. For more information, call the church at 541-820-3696. Community Thanksgiving dinner 1-4 p.m., John Day Elks Lodge, 140 NE Dayton St. A free holiday meal with ham, turkey and all the trimmings will be offered. Contributions of side dishes and desserts are welcome. The lounge will be open for pool, shuffl eboard, card games and football on big screen TVs. Home deliveries are available for seniors, veterans and disabled people who live in John Day, Canyon City, Mt. Vernon and Prairie City. Call the lodge in advance to make arrangements. Volunteers are also needed to help cook, set up, clean up and deliv- er meals. For more information, call the lodge at 541-575- 1824. Community Counseling Solutions receives rural health award By Rylan Boggs Blue Mountain Eagle By Rylan Boggs Blue Mountain Eagle Eagle photos/Rylan Boggs Richie Colbeth keeps an eye on the road while driving back into John Day Nov. 9. BELOW: Colbeth with his taxi. Community Counseling Solutions, a mental health pro- vider servicing Grant County and Eastern Oregon, recent- ly received the Rural Health Hero of the Year award. The award is given to a person, organization or pro- gram that greatly improved the quality and availability of health care in rural Oregon. The award was presented to CCS at the 33rd annual Ore- gon Rural Health Conference, held Sept. 28-30 in Portland. “There are many hard working, dedicated people out there who have made a major impact on health care in rural Oregon,” Scott Ek- blad, director of the Oregon Offi ce of Rural Health said. CCS provides ser- vices in Morrow, Gilliam, Wheeler, Grant and Lake counties. Its services in- clude individual, family and group therapy, such as gambling counseling, Your Rural Fa mily Health Clinic tance, senior companion and foster grandparent programs and a phone line for those struggling with mental health issues. Kimberly Lindsay is the organization’s executive di- rector and oversees a huge swath of rural Eastern Ore- gon’s mental health care. By statute, each county must hire a mental health director, a de- velopmental disability man- ager and provide certain men- tal health services, usually by contracting a provider like CCS. Most directors oversee only one county. alcohol and drug treatment, 24-hour crisis intervention, psychiatric consultations and medication management. In addition, it offers case man- agement for individuals with developmental disabilities. The agency’s list of fa- cilities and services include Juniper Ridge Acute Care Fa- cility in John Day, Lakeview Heights in Heppner and men- tal health, alcohol and drug and developmental disability services in Heppner, Condon, Arlington, Fossil, John Day and Boardman. Additional services include rental assis- ORDER YOUR HOLIDAY DINNER TODAY am, Holiday R H ib OR Prime Turkey Smoked Grant County HEALTH Department 528 E. Main, St. E, John Day Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm Karen Triplett, FNP Services Provided: from his past days driving cabs. He said he once picked up four soldiers from a bar near Fort Dix, New Jersey, and drove them back to their barracks. The soldier riding shotgun made a run for it when they got close. Colbeth gave chase with tire iron in hand, and while he wasn’t able to catch the fi rst soldier, the oth- er three were. They slammed the run-away to the ground and made him pay for all their rides, plus a tip, Colbeth said. Another time, Colbeth said he was driving in Phoenix, Ar- izona, and picked up an NBA player named Kareem Ab- dul-Jabbar. Over 7 feet tall, he spent the entire ride to the air- port with his knees in the back of Colbeth’s head. Abdul-Jab- bar gave him a quarter, an auto- graph and a story to tell for the rest of his life, Colbeth said. He said one time he picked a rough-looking man in New Jer- sey who asked Colbeth to take him where the women were. Colbeth drove to the YWCA. Unamused, the man pulled a gun. Colbeth was not only able to talk the man down, but got his $2.50 cab fare as well. To get a ride, call Colbeth at 541-620-4255. they promote Grant County. Seneca turkey shoot John Day gets a lift with new taxi service Experienced in the taxi driv- ing industry, Richie Colbeth has always wanted to own his own business. A perfect storm of proper fi nance, enough time and his wife’s grudging approval have allowed him to make that goal a reality. Colbeth said business at John Day Taxi is going great, and people are glad to have a taxi service in the area. He is of- fering rides to Canyon City, Mt. Vernon, Prairie City and John Day and is getting as many as 10 customers a day. He charges $2 for a round trip anywhere in John Day, $3 in Canyon City, $5.50 to Mt. Vernon and $7.50 to Prairie City. He is typically available from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. He said he has been ap- proached by customers wanting rides as far as Idaho and Bend but has declined because he’s more interested with providing a local service. “I’m here for the people of John Day,” Colbeth said. He also said he would make himself available for late-night emergency pickups if the need arises. He said he has been print- ing business cards, magnetic labels and even advertising via mail. Colbeth said startup ex- penses cost him a small for- tune. He said he has been ap- proached by others who had wanted to start a taxi business, but the various legal expenses and insurance costs made it impossible. Colbeth said he wanted to work as a driver for the People Mover, but after being denied employment, he decided to start his own taxi business. He has plenty of stories • Primary Care • Acute Care • Women’s Health Exams • Men and Children Exams • Immunizations • Family Planning • Contraception • Pregnancy Testing & Referrals • HIV Testing & Referrals • Cacoon • WIC • High Risk Infants • Maternity Case Management Grant County Health Department does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, or age in admission, treatment, or participation in its programs, services and activitie s, or in employment. Appointments available ! w o N r e d r O r u o Y n i l l Ca Call and schedule your appointment today! TOLL FREE 888-443-9104 or 541-575-0429 EARLY DEADLINE for Nov. 23rd Edition Classifi ed Liners, Legals & Display Ads DEADLINE Thurs. Nov. 17 5:00pm 541-575-0710 Offi ce will be CLOSED Nov. 24 195 N. Canyon Blvd. John Day OR 97845 Baker City 2830 10th St. • 541-524-0122 Every other Monday at Blue Mountain Hospital 170 Ford Rd. • 541-575-1311 The doctor sp eaks Spanish - El doctor habla Espanol ˜ A3