A18
Sports & Community
Blue Mountain Eagle
SPORTS
SCHEDULE
Wednesday,
Oct. 4
Monument/Dayville
volleyball vs. Grant
Union JV in Dayville at
5 p.m.
Thursday,
Oct. 5
Prairie City volleyball
vs. Grant Union JV/JVII
in Prairie City at 5 p.m.
Prairie City football @
Arlington/Condon in
Condon at 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 6
Long Creek/Ukiah
volleyball vs. Spray
in Long Creek at 4:30
p.m.
Prairie City volleyball
vs. Jordan Valley in
Prairie City at 3:30 p.m.
Grant Union football
@ Culver in Culver at
7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 7
Grant Union cross
country @ La Grande
Tigers Invitational
at Buffalo Peak Golf
Course in Union at
3:30 p.m.
Grant Union volleyball
@ Enterprise and Elgin
at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Monument/Dayville
football vs. Adrian/
Jordan Valley in Monu-
ment at 1 p.m.
Monument/Dayville
volleyball vs. Adrian in
Monument at 4 p.m.
Tuesday,
Oct. 10
Long Creek/Ukiah vol-
leyball vs. Monument/
Dayville in Long Creek
at 5:30 p.m.
Author fi nds humor
in everyday farm life
Brianna Walker
writes ‘High
Heels & Tractor
Wheels’
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
W HAT’S
HAPPENING
The deadline for What’s Happening items is 5 p.m. Fri-
day. Call the Eagle, 541-575-0710, or email editor@bmea-
gle.com. For meetings this week, see our list in the classi-
fieds.
FRIDAY, OCT. 6
First Friday
By Angel Carpenter
• 6-9 p.m., Downtown John Day
Residents are invited to join A Flower Shop & More, 1188
Brewing Co., etc. and House to Home in enjoying a pumpkin
hunt, prizes, special offers, tasty treats and more.
Blue Mountain Eagle
Whether she’s writing
about bipolar balers, zucchi-
ni advice or country road eti-
quette, Brianna Renée Walk-
er has a knack for making
people laugh out loud.
Walker, who writes the
weekly column “Farmer’s
Fate” — occasionally fea-
tured in the Blue Mountain
Eagle — has published a
new book titled “High Heels
& Tractor Wheels.”
“One of my college pro-
fessors said to write what
you know best, and for me
that is farm life,” Walker
said. “I like to think that my
writing is like the ‘farm ver-
sion’ of Erma Bombeck —
just a humorous look at regu-
lar, everyday-life experiences
that hopefully people can re-
late to.”
Walker lives in the Walla
Walla Valley with her hus-
band and their two boys, and
they farm 600 acres of corn,
wheat and alfalfa.
She grew up in Hermiston
where her parents have been
growing watermelons since
1934.
“It keeps me busy running
between the two farms, but
I love it,” Walker said. “We
also have a few sheep and
goats — basically just enough
to qualify for old McDonald’s
farm!”
Writing stories since she
was little, her grandma gave
her an opportunity to publish
her fi rst book when she was
a teen.
Walker said she was
thrilled when she received
it, “so thrilled that my teen-
age self got into my car to go
show the book to friends and
family, and I backed right into
my grandparents’ car!”
She said writing the
“Farmer’s Fate” column has
been a type of therapy for her.
“Ripping the hydraulic
hoses off the tractor, or blow-
SATURDAY, OCT. 7
John Day Farmers Market
• 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – SW Brent St., John Day.
Crafts, baked goods, produce, kids activities, entertain-
ment, information booths. For more information, call 541-
792-0958 or email johndayfarmersmarket@gmail.com.
SATURDAY, OCT. 7
Harvest bazaar
• 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Unity Community Hall
Local vendors will have wares to sell and 4-H and FFA
members will provide coffee, muffins and lunch.
Contributed photos
Brianna Walker and her husband, A.J. Wentland, in their
wedding photo.
Brianna Walker
ing a tire with a full load of
melons is never fun, but by
having a column to write, I
am forced to ask myself, ‘Is
this a bad day? Or is this a
bad fi ve minutes?’ and ‘Will
this be funny later? And if it
will be, let’s see what we can
do to make it funny now,’”
she said.
She said thinking this way
helps her adjust her attitude.
“No one wants to read
about toil, misery and despair
all the time,” she said.
Walker offered an example.
“So, instead of ‘Honey,
the hydraulic hoses just blew,
looks like we’re gonna be out
$500 and half a day of work,’
my phone call is more like
‘Honey, want to go out for
lunch today? Maybe do a lit-
tle shopping afterward? Like
maybe some new hydraulic
hoses for the rake? I know
I’m an expensive date, but
I’m worth it.’”
She added, “Because
of this constant change in
thought, I really do value it
as my therapy, which makes
me especially thankful for
my readers, because without
them, I might not be writing
so much.”
Walker said her grandma,
who could quote a poem for
nearly any situation, had a
big infl uence on her.
“I included several of her
poems in my book with top-
ics ranging from zucchinis to
cancer,” she said.
Walker’s own advice for
an overabundance of zucchi-
ni from the garden?
Just look up “The Ford
Zucchini 350” in her book.
“Go to a busy feed store.
Drive around until you fi nd
a pickup without a dog. Put
the zucchini in the back and
drive away fast!” she writes.
Most of Walker’s stories
are about a page and a half
long, the same length as
her columns, and the book
is available at some local
stores, and can be ordered at
bookstores and through ama-
zon.com.
GRANT SCHOOL DISTRICT #3
Board of Director Vacancy
14825
Grant School District #3 is accepting
applications for a board of director vacancy.
Applicants must reside within District 3’s
Zone 3 boundaries and be a registered voter
for one year. A zone map is available online
at http://www.grantesd.k12.or.us/District-3/
board-members.html. Term will run
through June 30, 2019. Those interested in
applying may pick up an application from
Superintendent Curt Shelley,
401 N. Canyon City Blvd., Canyon City.
Application deadline: Wednesday, Oct. 11.
Monday - Thursday
7am- 6pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Mendy Sharpe FNP
Apppointments
available
TUESDAY, OCT. 10
Entrepreneurs meeting
• 10 a.m., Outpost Restaurant
Local entrepreneurs and startups are encouraged to at-
tend. For more information, email David at david@envme.
com.
MONDAY, OCT. 16
Malheur National Forest workshop
• 5-7 p.m., Grant County Regional Airport
The workshop will provide opportunities for public en-
gagement with the Forest, including volunteer opportunities.
Vernita Ediger, Ph.D., will facilitate the conversation, and
Forest Service personnel and others who have successfully
worked with the Forest will attend to provide insight to the
discussions. Workshop attendees are invited to bring Mal-
heur National Forest project examples they are interested in
learning more about. RSVP to Sasha Fertig at 541-575-3061
or sashafertig@fs.fed.us.
SATURDAY, NOV. 11
Annual Christmas bazaar
• 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Mt. Vernon Grange #659, across from
Clyde Holliday State Park
Local vendors will have a variety of wares to sell for
Christmas gifts. Homemade stew, rolls, pies, cakes and
cookies will also be available to purchase.
Long Creek/Ukiah
JV returns 5 starters
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Long Creek/Ukiah has a
junior varsity volleyball team
of 10 this season, including
fi ve returning starters.
Some of the new girls on
the team are having their fi rst
experience playing the sport.
Foreign exchange students
Juana Wagner of Germany
and Joe Nun of South Korea
said this is their fi rst time on a
volleyball team.
“It’s my fi rst sports team,”
said Nun. “It’s hard, but excit-
ing. It feels friendly.”
Wagner said she was ner-
OREGON CAPITAL
INSIDER
vous in their fi rst matches, but
she’s looking forward to their
future games.
Coached by Linda Studt-
mann and Reagan Enriquez,
the team kicked off its season
Sept. 9 with a second-place
fi nish at the Harper Tourna-
ment.
Studtmann said the ath-
letes are starting to get to
know one another and picking
up the game.
“They are doing well,
learning quickly how to play
and to work together as a
team,” Studtmann said. “We
are looking forward to a great
year.”
We’re investing in Salem
coverage when other
news organizations are
cutting back.
Get the inside scoop on state government and politics!
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corner’s
HOT
SH T
EEK
OF THE W
CASSIE HIRE
School: Prairie City
Grade: 12
Parents: Lori and Raymond Hire
Sport: Volleyball
Position: Middle Hitter
What I like best about my sport: “I like playing with
my team and having the drive to win. I think each year it
gets harder, but we still push through and learn new
things, that’s probably the best part.”
Coach’s Comment: “She has matured as a team leader
and has accepted the challenges that
have been given to her this season to
improve herself and the team. She has
a very good serve, continues to push
herself to improve her hitting, and has
taken the team’s serve-receive to a
higher level.”
-Coach Louanne and Lance Zweygardt
PROUD SPONSOR OF GRANT COUNTY ATHLETES
100 E. Main • Stoplight in John Day
541-792-0425
14834