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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2017)
News Blue Mountain Eagle A3 Wednesday, April 5, 2017 Photographer captures treasured memories behind the lens Contributed photo Pastor Jeff Parson with his wife, Lindsay. Churches plan Spring Roundup April 6-8 By Rylan Boggs Blue Mountain Eagle Churches from across the area, six Christian min- istry organizations and over 100 people will gather at the Trowbridge Pavilion at the Grant County Fairgrounds for the Spring Roundup this weekend. “Nineteen different de- nominations will be repre- sented, but we all worship one god,” Grace Chapel Pas- tor Mike Harvey said. “We will get to see how much we are all alike instead of how much we are all different.” Church of the Nazarene Pastor Bob Douglas said the event was a way for church- es to come together and do something big. “We have a whole bunch of very small congregations in the area and very few churches with resources for major projects,” he said. The event is also an op- portunity for people to do some “comparison shop- ping” to find a ministry right for them, according to Doug- las. The event will feature a bell choir, solos, duets and piano specials at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6. There will be a concert by Faith Street and Grace — their third in John Day in the last year — at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 7. The Women’s Ensemble and the full Praise Band will lead worship on Saturday evening. Each evening of the Spring Roundup will feature Pastor Jeff Parson of Ham- lin, Texas, as a speaker. People will be able to tour the “The Road to Res- urrection,” a one-hour walk through five stations de- picting Jesus’ final week, in the Trowbridge Pavilion on Saturday, April 8. Tours will leave every 15 minutes from 1-4 p.m. There will be 20 differ- ent tables from ministries of congregations in the com- munity. There are 24 sepa- rate churches worshipping in Grant County. The doors open at 5:30 pm each eve- ning. Francis Kocis of the Re- deemer Lutheran Church said the event was made possible by support from the community and that it was a team effort. “It just speaks for the people here in Grant Coun- ty when an event like this comes about and they get behind it,” Kocis said. Tanni Wenger opens new John Day studio By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Grant County native Tanni Wenger took her favorite hob- by, photography, and turned it into a career. “When you do what you love, you don’t work a day of your life,” she said. Wenger said she’s always liked taking pictures, and her first “portfolio” was a photo album she made in the fifth grade. She’s come a long way since those early days. She moved her Tanni Wenger Photography Stu- dio, which she’s owned since 2012, from its Canyon City location to John Day, opening in January. Wenger was mainly a self- taught photographer until in- terning with professional pho- tographer Jody Thompson, who previously owned the Canyon City studio. She has also taken classes with oth- er photographers and online workshops. The new studio office is lo- cated inside a historic Victori- an house on the west side of John Day, which Wenger, her husband, Ray, and their two daughters also now call home. Many locals remember the house, built in 1890 by the Luce family, as the Apricot Tree Restaurant. Historic buildings or old barns are often a part of Wenger’s photography, along with familiar scenery. Her specialties include graduates, families, children, babies, weddings, sports, events and landscape photog- raphy. Contributed photo/Tanni Wenger Photography Studio Bride and groom Lydia and Nathan Wunz celebrated their wedding day in September of 2014 with Tanni Wenger capturing the event behind the lens. The photo was taken at Emmel Brothers Ranch east of Prairie City where the wedding took place. The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Tanni Wenger, at the computer, searches her files of senior photos. The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Photographer Tanni Wenger in front of her new business location in John Day. She and her family also call the house, built in 1890, home. She recently branched out with commercial photogra- phy — photos of artwork and restaurant meals — and she hopes to offer a basic photog- raphy class in the future. Senior portraits are some of her favorite photos to take. “I want their pictures to be uniquely about them,” she said. “One person might love horses and old barns, and an- other might like sports, band or hunting.” Wenger goes to great lengths to get just the right look for her clients. Last year, she traveled to Monument to photograph two seniors, one who likes “guns, ammo and camo” and his friend who likes fishing. Another time, she photo- graphed a senior on Magone Lake with her paddle board. “In a small town, you can really personalize their pho- tos,” she said. “I like my pho- tos to define who the person is.” Wenger said she appre- ciates the opportunity to be- come involved in her clients’ lives. “I took a couple’s wedding photos a couple years ago, and last week, I photographed their first baby girl,” she said. Contributed photo/Tanni Wenger Photography Studio A Tanni Wenger Photography Studio senior picture of Reannah Lemons. She’s also taken elementa- ry students’ school photos and later their prom pictures. “I love documenting their lives,” she said. “You never know when you take some- one’s photo, if it will become a treasured memory.” Her favorite time to take photos is late afternoons and evenings — “my prime light,” she said. “Everywhere I go, I’m always looking for a mag- ical shot.” She said her daughter Av- erie gave her a plaque with one of her favorite quotes, which sits on her desk: “Life is like a camera. Focus on what’s important, capture the good times, develop from the negatives, and if things don’t work out, take another shot.” The photography studio is located at 60355 Highway 26 in John Day. Studio hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon- days through Fridays, with a flexible schedule. For more information, call Wenger at 541-620-3045. New officer on the streets of John Day, Prairie City Martin splits time between dispatch and patrols By Rylan Boggs Blue Mountain Eagle Residents of John Day and Prairie City may have seen a new face in the John Day po- lice cruisers. Officer Andrew Martin be- gan patrolling with other offi- cers earlier this year. Martin worked for almost two and a half years as a re- serve officer before moving up to work as a dispatcher and officer. Reserve officers receive training on the job and aren’t able to work alone until they complete training and are ap- proved by the chief, according to Martin. He graduated second in his dispatch training class of 42 and hopes to attend police academy in the fall. He was hired on in Jan- The Eagle/Rylan Boggs Officer Andrew Martin stands outside the John Day Police Department Monday, March 27. uary to work part time as a dispatcher and officer. While Martin doesn’t mind working in the call center, he would prefer to be on the streets. “The real reason I got into law enforcement is because of my grandfather,” Martin said. “He was a longtime Oregon State Police fish and game trooper out of Baker City, and is really the inspiration for me to take this career path.” The dispatch center is cur- rently underfunded and may be in danger of being out- sourced to Condon. “It is a big worry, not an immediate worry because I know we’ve been working and the city manager has been working really hard on keep- ing us here,” Martin said. All of the dispatchers are certified, which carries a cer- tain sense of job security, ac- cording to Martin. “We live here, and we work here because we love to be here, and we would hate to go somewhere else,” he said. Before joining the depart- ment, Martin worked in cus- tomer service. He sees some similarities between the two, but wouldn’t trade the excite- ment he gets as an officer for a regular job. “It would be very hard to go back to working a cash register,” he said. Things can be fast paced at the dispatch center, and with such a small staff, there’s al- ways work to be done. While having only a handful of of- ficers and dispatchers can spread the department thin, Martin also said it has its up- sides. Many of the officers grew up in the area, and peo- ple know and recognize them. Martin grew up in the hills between Sumpter and Baker. As an outsider, he said he will have to work to gain the community’s trust. Since he began patrolling with other officers, he’s han- dled everything from drunk driving to restraining order violations. “I feel like I’ve done one of everything since I’ve been here,” Martin said. While he is sometimes surprised at how little people think things through, he said he enjoys the community as a whole. “The thing that jumps out at me is how, overall, our population in John Day and in Grant County are general- ly very decent and very out- standing respectful people,” he said. April 11th, Tuesday 8:00am - 2:00pm Harney County CWMA Hay Growers Class The Harney County CWMA presents our Hay Growers Class, April 11th at the Harney County Courthouse Basement Meeting Room. ODA Pesticide License credits will be offered. Speaker subjects to include: Irrigation/Water conservation w/ LESA, Herbicide reps from CPS & Wilbur Ellis treatment options for broadleaf & annual grass control, OSHA PPE training, African Rue & Noxious weed ID & treatment. PUBLICATION FOR SONSHINE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL Sonshine Christian School will be accepting pre-registrations for the 2017/2018 school year. Registration fee for students is $75.00 Pre School students must be 3 years of age before September 1 of the school year and able to attend to toileting without staff assistance. Their classes will be offered 2 days a week from 9-11am. Pre-Kindergarten students must be 4 years of age before September 1 of the school year. Their classes will be offered 3 days a week from 9-11:30am. Registration packets can be picked up at the Spring Roundup being held in the Trowbridge pavilion April 6, 7 & 8 at the Church of the Nazarene, Sonshine School information table. After these dates, you can receive these registration packets at the church office, 521 E Main Street, John Day. The office is open Tuesday-Thursday 9am- 3pm. For information call (541) 575-1895 or e-mail Trace at the church e-mail address judy@johndaynazarene.com 05455 Lunch will be Provided by CPS This event is sponsored by your Harney County CWMA Partners Contact Person: Steph Bonson 541-535-8397 RSVP 05437