W EDNESDAY , J ANUARY 25, 2017
The
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Blue Mountain
EAGLE
PHOTOGRAPHER
OF THE DECADE
Wyllie shares rodeo lifestyle through his lens
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
P
hotographer Lindsey Wyllie of
John Day has done it again.
He won “Your Competitor
News” rodeo magazine’s Photog-
rapher of the Year award — for the sixth con-
secutive year.
He also won Cover Photo of the Year with
a photo he took at the Spray Rodeo.
The magazine is the largest rodeo publi-
cation in the West, covering 25 states.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by so
INSIDE
many people for so long,” Wyllie said. “I like
capturing that piece of history that they can
hold onto.”
Wyllie, who grew up on a ranch and was
involved in rodeo in his younger years, has
been in the rodeo photography business for
more than 12 years.
One of his highlights this year was being
invited as the exclusive photographer to the
Baker Bulls and Broncs Rodeo, which boasts
the highest one-day payout in bull riding and
saddle bronc riding.
“The opportunities that opened up for
me in the PRCA world is phenomenal,” he
said.
Wyllie’s personal favorite cover photo
this year, a picture of young cowboy John
Barry Rose, a Burns resident, competing at
the Burns Junior High Rodeo, holds a spe-
cial meaning to him. The photo appeared on
the June 2016 edition of “Your Competitor
News.”
“John Barry had not reached his 16th
birthday this year when his life was taken in
an auto accident,” Wyllie said. “He was well
on his way to greatness and had enjoyed be-
ing at the top of his game, competing with
the big guns in the NPRA and ICA world.”
See WYLLIE, Page A18
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Lindsey Wyllie received the 2016 “Your
Competitor News” magazine’s Photographer of
the Year award for the sixth consecutive year. In
the photo, Wyllie stands with his camera near a
Grant County Fair sign in John Day.
TOP PHOTO: Wyllie won “Your Competitor
News” magazine’s Cover of the Year award
for this photo, which shows steer wrestler Ty
Sherman performing at the 2016 NPRA Rodeo
in Spray. The photo appeared on the June 20
cover of the magazine.
Locals join La Grande women’s march
By Rylan Boggs
Blue Mountain Eagle
Family Health
Guide special
section inside
Roughly 250 protesters gathered in
La Grande to speak out against newly
elected President Donald Trump and
threats to women’s rights.
Protesters marched from the Union
County Clerk’s Offi ce to Max Square
in solidarity with hundreds of other
international organized marches.
“I’m marching because as an
American I want future generations
to enjoy the same, if not better, ac-
cess to public lands that we do today.
I hunt and fi sh on public lands and,
if we don’t speak up, Oregon may
soon look like Texas where only the
wealthy have opportunities to har-
vest wild game,” John Day resident
Ashley Stevick wrote after the march.
“I want our country to move forward
rather than backwards on LGBTQIA,
civil and reproductive rights. These
rights along with immigrant, disability
and worker’s rights are essential to our
freedom. I want the compassion and
The Eagle/Rylan Boggs
Kate Olsen, left, Katie Sprovkin, right, and her daughter Fiona march
towards Max Square in La Grande during Saturday’s women’s march.
They were among roughly 250 protesters from across Eastern Oregon
who attended the march.
kindness I’ve found within this small
Eastern Oregon town to be mirrored in
Washington, D.C.”
Marilyn Dudek came from Bak-
er City with friends to stand in
solidarity with the marchers and ex-
ercise her fi rst amendment rights on
issues ranging from climate change to
women’s rights.
“To see all of these like-minded
people in one place makes us feel pret-
ty good. It makes us feel hopeful,” she
said.
“For me it’s a feeling of solidari-
ty, to be with like-minded people and
have a sense of optimism for the fu-
ture, that’s why I’m here,” protester
Ann MeHaffy said.
The march coordinated with similar
events in Salem and Pendleton, which
both boasted crowds of hundreds, as
well as a march in Washington, D.C.,
that organizers said was attended by
500,000 people.
Within hours of being sworn in,
Trump signed an executive order to
“minimize the economic burden” of
the Affordable Care Act, which allows
government agencies to stop enforcing
certain regulations associated with the
law.
See MARCH, Page A18
Emry pleads guilty to possessing machine gun in John Day
Maximum sentence: 10 years, $10,000 fine
Blue Mountain Eagle
Michael
Emry
Michael Ray Emry faces up to
10 years in prison and a $10,000
fi ne after pleading guilty to pos-
sessing a machine gun illegally in
John Day.
Emry, 54, pleaded guilty Mon-
day, Jan. 23, before U.S. District
Court Judge Ann Aiken to unlaw-
ful possession of a fully automatic
.50-caliber machine gun that was
not registered to him, according to
a press release from the U.S. De-
partment of Justice.
After accepting the guilty plea,
Aiken scheduled Emry’s sentenc-
ing hearing for April 3. Emry
faces a maximum sentence of 10
years in prison, a $10,000 fi ne and
three years of supervised release.
According to court documents
and statements made in court, on
May 6, 2016, federal agents ex-
ecuted a search warrant on Em-
ry’s trailer at the Grant County
Fairgrounds and RV Park in John
Day and recovered a Browning
M2 machine gun with an oblit-
erated serial number. Emry told
agents that the fi rearm was fully
automatic and could fi re between
550 and 650 rounds per minute,
that he had stolen it from a man
See EMRY, Page A18