News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
A3
BMW motorcyclists ride again
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Dayville Assistant Fire Chief Tim Briggs, right, chats
with Chet Day about the previously owned fire engine
the department recently acquired. Briggs brought the
engine to the DMV in John Day for registration.
Dayville Fire volunteers
ready with new engine
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
450 riders join
the BMW Chief
Joseph Rally
of riders through the sce-
nic Sheep Rock Unit Friday,
which included a stop at the
Thomas Condon Paleontolo-
gy and Visitor Center. Anoth-
er guided tour was planned for
Saturday.
Fiedor donates the money
he receives from the “Geolo-
gy Rocks! Tour” to the local
Juniper Arts Council.
Other organizations raise
funds, including Friends of
the Fair and a 4-H group, both
groups providing breakfast
for the riders.
Doug and Joyce Knights
of Salem arrived at the rally
Thursday and reviewed their
map as they donned helmets
for a morning ride on Friday.
“It’s just gorgeous,” Doug
said. “Everything between
Salem and here was just per-
fect, and the community is
great.”
Motorcyclists have banded
together since the year 2000
for the Chief Joseph Rally in
John Day.
Riders from as far away
as New Zealand gathered at
the Grant County Fairgrounds
June 23-25 for the annual
event, sponsored by BMW
Riders of Oregon.
There were 450 in atten-
dance at the rally.
“We get quite a diverse
group. Last year’s youngest
rider was 17, and the oldest
was 82,” said rally master
Linda Tewksbury, who shares
the title with her husband,
Doug.
She added some attendees
have been members since the
organization started 41 years
ago.
Tewksbury was pleased to
show visitors this year’s event
program, which features an
art logo designed by Grant
Union Junior-Senior High
School student Paige Gerry of
John Day.
“There is a wall with the
entries, so people can see the
brilliant artwork the students
did,” she said. “We were
thrilled with the response.
A total of 108 entries from
Grant Union and Prairie City
schools were on display at the
fairgrounds pavilion.
John Fiedor of Dayville
doesn’t ride a motorcycle, but
the retired John Day Fossil
Beds park ranger led a group
Diverse groups
restore upper
Camp Creek
Interagency assessments for fish
habitat delay ranchers’ access
Blue Mountain Eagle
Blue Mountain Eagle
June 1-4, 20 volunteers
for the Oregon Natural
Desert Association per-
formed riparian restoration
work as part of an ongo-
ing project on upper Camp
Creek, a Middle Fork of the
John Day tributary in the
Malheur National Forest.
The project is a coopera-
tive effort led by the nation-
al forest involving many
interest groups including
ONDA and local ranchers.
For two days, ONDA vol-
unteers from around the
state helped repair wildlife
exclosures, rebuild pasture
boundary fences and repair
in-stream structures. The
improvements in stream
habitat have already shown
payoffs for the anadromous
Mid-Columbia River steel-
head that use the creek for
spawning and rearing hab-
itat. It has also benefited
nearby vegetation as show-
cased by the new green
carpet of sedges and rushes
along the creek.
“The vegetation has
already started to change.
This area was just dry,
sparse grass last year. The
structures we installed and
high water from a big snow
year has allowed Camp
Creek to access its flood-
plain again.” Jeff Nelson,
a fisheries technician with
the Malheur National For-
est, said.
ONDA volunteers are
providing labor for several
similar projects throughout
the forest in 2017. Register-
ing early is advised, as trips
typically fill up fast.
Grazing allotments conflict with
steelhead and bull trout habitat
By Rylan Boggs
Blue Mountain Eagle
Delayed Forest Service
biological assessments are
preventing some Grant Coun-
ty ranchers from turning out
their cattle on public lands.
Grant County Commis-
sioner Boyd Britton expressed
frustration and dismay at the
issue and said local grazing
permit holders were seriously
affected. Britton said turnout
dates are typically May 15,
June 1 and June 15.
Malheur National Forest
Supervisor Steve Beverlin
said ranchers were typically
able to turn out their cattle
about the middle of June. He
said some ranchers had al-
ready been able to turn out
their cattle and others would
be able to at the beginning of
July. In the interim, ranchers
had been grazing their cattle
on private lands or other pas-
tures, he said.
Beverlin said the assess-
ments affect a majority of
ranchers in the community.
Linda Tewksbury of
Eugene holds the BMW
Riders of Oregon Chief
Joseph Rally program. She
and her husband Doug are
this year’s rally masters.
The program art was
designed by Grant Union
Junior-Senior High School
art student Paige Gerry.
The biological assessments
are consultations with the Na-
tional Marine Fisheries for
steelhead and United States
Fish and Wildlife Service for
bull trout.
Grant County Stock Grow-
ers Association President Alec
Oliver estimated some ranch-
ers missed out on roughly 20-
30 percent of summer grazing
on their alloted land. He said
they had compensated by
turning out onto fall pastures
and feeding cattle hay typical-
ly used later in the season.
Oliver said they were for-
tunate it was a good year for
grass, but that ranchers had
still taken a hit.
Commission seeks bike, pedestrian advocate
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Southeast Area Com-
mission on Transportation
is seeking a new member to
provide input and insight re-
garding transportation related
bicyclist and pedestrian con-
cerns in the Malheur, Grant
and Harney county area of
Eastern Oregon, according
to an Oregon Department of
Transportation press release.
The SEACT is hoping some-
one with a background or in-
terest in this field, plus an in-
terest in improving the state’s
transportation’s system will
apply for the open volunteer
position. More information
about these opportunities is
available by contacting Sean
Maloney at 541-823-4025 or
by email at sean.maloney@
odot.state.or.us. To fill out
an application please contact
A TTENTION G RANT C OUNTY
V ETERANS :
Did you know there may be VA benefits available for you
as a result of your spouses’ military service?
See your Grant County Veteran Services
Officer today for more information,
located at Grant County Court House.
Jeff Wilcox
Call 541-620-8057 for an appointment
Open: Mon, Wed, & Fri 10am-4pm by appointment.
05171
Judy Moore at 541-276-6745,
or by email at Judy.Moore@
geodc.net. The SEACT is
hoping to have applications in
hand by July 11, 2015.
“The South East Area
Commission on Transporta-
tion is a very engaged group
that helps address all aspects
of transportation, including
surface, marine, air, and trans-
portation safety,” Maloney
said. “We currently have nu-
merous representatives from
city, county and state agencies
within the Malheur, Harney
and Grant County area and
are looking for a new member
who can help represent the
interests of bicyclist and pe-
destrians in this three-county
section of eastern Oregon.”
Ideally, the new SEACT
member will live or work
within the tri-county district,
but it is not a requirement of
the volunteer positions.
Phillips honored for
40 years in the Grange
Blue Mountain Eagle
Mt. Vernon Grange re-
cently honored longtime
members.
Loyce Phillips was
awarded a certificate for 40
years of service at an event
in May that also served as
her birthday party. Mary
Ellen Brooks was awarded
a certificate for 25 years of
service.
The Grange, which start-
ed in 1925, is a casual group
that meets the second Friday
of each month at the hall
across from Clyde Holliday
State Park on Highway 26
just east of Mt. Vernon. A
potluck begins at 6:30 p.m.,
followed by the meeting at
7:30 p.m. Anyone interested
in joining can attend the pot-
luck as a guest, and young
people are encouraged to
join.
Members host two an-
nual fundraisers: a pancake
feed in January or Febru-
ary and a bazaar the second
Saturday in November. The
Grange sponsors a candi-
date night during election
year and provides awards at
the county fair. The group
$9 Adult, $7 Senior (60+), Youth
Contributed photo
Loyce Phillips was
honored for her
birthday and 40 years of
membership in the Mt.
Vernon Grange in May.
donates to a variety of lo-
cal causes and supplies dic-
tionaries for third-graders
in Long Creek, Monument
and Dayville and assists the
American Legion in giving
dictionaries to Humbolt and
Seneca elementary students.
For more information,
call Harold Preston at 541-
820-4463, secretary Jean
Sagert at 541-575-1007 or
Scott Farmer at 541-876-
7770.
JOHN DAY VIDEO & ELECTRONICS
4th of July Movie and Game Rental Special
Friday 6/30/17 until Wednesday 7/5/17
2 Games $8.00 • 5 New Release Movies $15.00
Don’t forget our 7-day rentals!
DESPICABLE ME 3 PG
Gru meets his long-long charming,
cheerful, and more successful twin
brother Dru who wants to team up with
him for one last criminal heist..
FRI - THURS (12:45) (4:20) 7:20 9:30
* No 9:30 show on July 4th
BABY DRIVER R
After being coerced into working for a
crime boss, a young getaway driver
finds himself taking part in a heist
doomed to fail.
FRI - THURS (12:45) (4:10) 7:10 9:35
* No 9:30 show on July 4th
TRANSFORMERS:
THE LAST KNIGHT PG-13
The key to saving our future lies buried
in the secrets of the past, in the hidden
history of Transformers on Earth.
FRI - THURS (12:45) 4:00 7:30 7:30
05852
By Angel Carpenter
05788
05852
Photos by The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Doug and Joyce Knights of Salem prepare for the day’s ride Friday during the BMW Riders of Oregon Chief Joseph
Rally held at the Grant County Fairgrounds in John Day.
The Dayville Volunteer
Fire Department is even
more prepared for its next
call out to a fire.
The department recently
bought a 1991 Cummins 300
Big Cam fire engine from a
private seller in Salem. Fire
Chief Brandon Thompson
said their other newest truck
is 43 years old.
“Our truck was pretty
worn out,” he said. “We’d
been having problems with
it overheating and decided
to look for a new one.”
Assistant Chief Tim
Briggs and firefighter Cody
Clausen drove to Salem to
take the Cummins 300 for
a test drive, and they looked
it over with the Salem Fire
Department.
Because the truck had
a problem with the pump,
they were able to knock
$2,000 off the asking price,
purchasing the truck for
$16,500, Thompson said.
Briggs fixed the pump
in his shop, and brought the
fire engine to the John Day
DMV May 24 for registra-
tion.
“We’re
absolutely
stoked,” Briggs said.
Thompson said the truck,
which came with ladders,
hoses and other equipment,
is all stocked and ready to
go.
“It should hold us for an-
other 30 years,” he said. “It’s
going to be our first truck
out the door.”