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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 2017)
News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, March 22, 2017 A7 Prairie City welcomes new district ranger Guzman continues 31- year Forest Service career Blue Mountain Eagle Ed Guzman recently start- ed as the new Prairie City dis- trict ranger for the Malheur National Forest. Guzman considers Eastern Oregon his home, although his most recent duty station was the Klamath National Forest in the Klamath Riv- er country of northern Cali- fornia, according to a Forest Service press release. For the past seven years, he has been the fi re man- agement offi cer for the Klamath National For- est. G u z m a n ’s Ed fi rst summer Guzman job with the Forest Service was in Paisley, on the Fre- mont National Forest, where he worked as a tree planting inspector, among other sil- viculture-related duties. His 31-year career since then has included working in fi re and fuels management on the Sis- kiyou and Umatilla national forests in Oregon and Wash- ington, as well as the Arapa- ho-Roosevelt National Forest in Colorado. He also spent a season with the Redmond Hotshot crew in central Or- egon. In 2007, Guzman was named the interagency deputy forest fi re management offi cer on the Fremont-Winema Na- tional Forest out of Lakev- iew, and he was there until his move to the Klamath. Guzman has also completed details as the district ranger in Cascade, Idaho, and the deputy forest supervisor on the Klamath National Forest. One of the defining mo- ments in Guzman’s career was his deployment with the Pacific Northwest Incident Management team to New York City in 2001 in the days following the attack on the World Trade Center. He was there for over three weeks, staffing a supply cache at Ground Zero, which was re- sponsible for equipping the rescue personnel working at the site. Guzman holds a forestry degree from Central Ore- gon Community College in Bend, and he completed a natural resources manage- ment certificate in an accel- erated-curriculum program through Colorado State Uni- versity. However, he said a big part of his education has been in being “boots on the ground” throughout his ca- reer. Since starting his new po- sition in Prairie City, Guzman has been working on getting to know the employees and the projects that the district is currently involved in. He Music in the air at Grant Union By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle A March 14 concert had the audience tapping their feet as the Grant Union middle school band, concert choir and high school band presented their latest reper- toire. The crowd was intrigued by the middle school band’s performance of “Bugs” by David Shaffer, as director Lori Hart led the music with a bright green fl y swatter. The choir entertained with a bright rendition of “Nelly Bly” by Stephen Fos- ter. Among the high school band’s selections was “Car- naval in Sao Paulo” by James Barnes, to remind that warmer days are ahead. Hart, who is from Mich- igan and is a recent graduate of Brigham Young Univer- sity — Idaho, has led the Grant Union music depart- ment since the start of the new year. She also leads mu- sic for Humbolt Elementary School. In other music news, bass clarinet player Carle Wright, a sophomore, won fi rst place in her division at the March 4 OMEA District 6 contest in La Grande. She will compete at the April 29 State Solo Music Championship. The Grant Union senior band will perform at the April 12 Tri-County High School Band Festival in Stanfi eld, and the middle school band will perform at the April 21 Tri-County Middle School Band Festival at Riverside Junior-Senior High School in Boardman. The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Members of the Grant Union senior band perform in concert on Tuesday, March 14, at the school, including, front from left, Athena Tipton, Annie Wall and Raya Mead. The Grant Union concert choir performs at their March 14 concert. Grant Union music director Lori Hart has been impressed with the enthusiasm and motivation of the employees at the district. “We have some very knowledgeable and hard-working people here, and I look forward to continu- ing the work they have start- ed,” Guzman said. He has been enjoying his transition to the area, includ- ing getting settled in his new offi ce, which he said “has one of the best views of the Straw- berry Mountains.” Guzman will be joined by his wife of 22 years, Rose, and their black Lab. Rose grew up on her family’s century wheat and cattle ranch in southeast Washington. She fought fi re with the Forest Service in the summer to fi nance her college B RIEFLY Forest Service seeks trail input The Forest Service Pacifi c Northwest Region is inviting the public to help identify trails that will be part of a Forest Ser- vice effort with partners and volunteers to increase the pace of trail maintenance. Nationwide, the Forest Ser- vice will select nine to 15 prior- ity areas among its nine regions where a backlog in trail main- tenance contributed to reduced access, potential harm to nat- ural resources or trail users or has the potential for increased future deferred maintenance costs. To provide ideas and sug- gestions on potential priority areas and approaches for incor- porating increased trail mainte- nance assistance from partners and volunteers, contact your lo- cal Forest Service offi ce or Re- gional Trail Program Manager Dennis Benson at denniscben- son@fs.fed.us by March 31. The Forest Service Pacifi c Northwest Region manages more than 24,000 miles of trails enjoyed by many users each year. In 2016, approximately 5,000 volunteers contributed more than 230,000 hours of service to trails work across Oregon and Washington. These volunteer contributions helped the Forest Service accomplish nearly half of the Region’s trail accomplishments in 2016. Baker City to host fi re refresher class Carleanne Wright The Grant Union senior band performs at their Tuesday, March 14 concert. harvest again. Don’t let knee or hip pain keep you from doing what you love. StCharlesHealthCare.org/Mako degree at the University of Idaho, and that is how she and Guzman met. She now enjoys her career in the social work fi eld. The couple enjoys any- thing outdoors—camping, hiking, rock hounding, dis- covering historical sites — and they look forward to exploring the backroads of Grant County and meeting the locals. “We have driven through Grant County many times and have done some recreating in the area and have always wanted to spend more time here,” Guzman said. The Guzmans look for- ward to getting involved with the local community and be- coming part of it. Eastern Oregon Training Group of Baker City will be offering a 2017 Wildland Fire Safety Refresher Class April 22. The class RT-130 will be held at the Baker City School District Building at 2090 Fourth St. Class will start at 8 a.m. This is a required class for all fi refi ghters and contractors that are planning to work for any state or federal agency during the upcoming fi re sea- son. Certifi cation will be from the National Wildfi re Suppres- sion Association. Training will meet or exceed the standards set by the National Wildfi re Coordinating Group. The cost is $100. Registration and payment may be done at oregonfi retrain- ing.com. Contact Laurel Go- odrich at 541-403-0907 or Jeff Sherman at 541-519-6213 for more information. Training funds available for manufacturing and health care companies The Eastern Oregon Work- force Board has dedicated $40,000 to help manufactur- ing and health care compa- nies in Baker, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union and Wallowa counties retrain workers. This could include training in new or ad- vanced skills that enable an employee to multi-task or be more productive. Priority for funding is given to applicants who demonstrate the funding could assist the business in avoiding a layoff, downsizing or closure, or would provide retention opportunities by up- grading employee skills as a result of the training. For more information, contact Eric La- bonte, 541-963-7942.
