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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2018)
A2 Family Blue Mountain Eagle B RIEFLY OTEC awards scholarships Reagan Shelley, Maggie Justice, Jamie Waltenburg and James Clay Johnson were each awarded $5,000 scholarships from Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative. OTEC awarded 26 college scholarships and two lineman scholarships as well as two trade school scholarships yet to be awarded. Applications for 2019 scholarships will be made available online starting in November and are open to current high school seniors and returning college students who are members, or depen- dents, of OTEC members. Scholarships are funded from interest earned on unclaimed refunds of capital credits. Call for artists The 12th annual Commu- nity Art Show will take place May 18-19 at the Madden Brothers Performing Arts Center in John Day. Artists interested in participating in the show can contact Patricia Ross at 541-932-4856 or Joan Hopper at 541-379-8963. OTEC launches charity program Oregon Trail Electric Co- operative is offering a char- ity program to help local co- op members in need. In the Member to Member program, all monetary donations col- lected will be used solely to support local emergency re- lief needs and programs with- in OTEC’s service territory. Enrollment in the program is voluntary, and there are two options. With the Round Up option, the bottom line of the member’s monthly bill is rounded up to the nearest dollar (99 cents maximum). With the Project Share op- tion, the member chooses a fixed donation amount to be added to their monthly bill (no minimum or maximum amount limitations). Project Share also includes the option to make a one-time donation at any time if that is more convenient for the member. Members interested in enroll- ing in the program can call their local OTEC office, 541- 575-0161. Fossil beds seeks YCC workers John Day Fossil Beds National Monument will sponsor an eight-week Youth Conservation Corps pro- gram this summer. Youths 15 to 18 are encouraged to apply, provided that they do not reach their 19th birthday before Aug. 4. YCC team members will work June 11 through Aug. 3, earning $10 per hour. The schedule is 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. The YCC team will work at John Day Fossil Beds National Monu- ment under the supervision of National Park Service staff. The YCC team will focus on the preservation of resourc- es associated with the Cant Ranch and the surrounding fossil beds. Young men and women who are interested in applying may obtain an ap- plication from: Grant Union High School office, Dayville School office, Monument School office, Grant Coun- ty Library or National Park Service at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. The completed application must be postmarked no later than May 3 to: John Day Fos- sil Beds National Monument, Attn: Jonathon Fitch – YCC, 32651 Highway 19, Kimber- ly, OR 97848. Wednesday, April 18, 2018 Jake Grossmiller named 2018 Spray Rodeo grand marshal Spray Rodeo set for May 26-27 Blue Mountain Eagle For nearly 30 years, rodeo announcer Jake Grossmiller kicked off the action at the Spray Rodeo with the words “where the pavement ends and the west begins!” This year, in recognition of Grossmiller’s decades as the voice of Spray Rodeo, he will be honored as grand marshal. The 71st annual Spray Ro- deo will be held May 26-27. Saturday and Sunday perfor- mances start at 1 p.m. Slack is at 11 a.m. May 25. The rodeo parade is at 11 a.m. May 26. Grossmiller started attend- ing rodeos with his father, Kenny, also a rodeo announc- er, when he was about 6 and selected the pre-rodeo and grand entry music. He started announcing slack at age 10. “Dad was insistent that I speak clearly and chop my words, instead of trailing them off,” Grossmiller said. “Most important was pronouncing the cowboys’ names correct- ly. It’s a habit I still have that whenever I see a printed name I sound it out.” Soon, they were split- ting announcing duties, with his father announcing the rough stock from the stands and Grossmiller announcing timed events from the roping chutes. “We had about 100 feet of cord on a reel that we strung along the fence. No wireless mics in those days,” he recalled. “I do believe we were the first to work with two announcers File photo Spray Rodeo 2018 Grand Marshal Jake Grossmiller announces at a rodeo in this file photo. said they stayed at the “Spray Hilton” in a room the size of a closet with the bathroom down the hall. The next year, he bought the first of many travel trailers he took to rode- os nearly every weekend. At the peak of his career, Grossmiller was announc- ing 22-24 rodeos around the Northwest every year. The break came in 1968 when he announced the Pacific Inter- national Livestock Exposition and Rodeo in Portland. “There were 12 perfor- mances in 10 days,” he re- called. “I was working days driving Pepsi truck out of The Dalles. In the morning I would do my rounds and then load my truck for the next morning. from the rodeo arena.” At 18, the Umatilla Sage Riders asked him to announce his first rodeo by himself, and he was invited back for years after that. Grossmiller first an- nounced the Spray Rodeo in 1961 when he was attending Eastern Oregon College in La Grande. “When they asked, I wasn’t sure about it,” he said. “I had heard how wild and woolly Spray was. But I ar- ranged for my sound equip- ment to be shipped and drove down for the weekend.” Later, after he was mar- ried and his first child was 6 months old, he brought his family to the Spray Rodeo. He O BITUARIES Radio operators participate in statewide emergency exercise Blue Mountain Eagle Local radio operators are preparing for the worst. On April 14, 12 Grant County FCC-licensed am- ateur radio operators took part in a statewide simulat- ed emergency based on a scenario where the Pacific Northwest electricity gird was shut down by the hack- ing of a foreign state. Partic- ipants in the exercise had to run on battery or generator power during the four-hour exercise. Messages were ex- changed throughout the state. During the exercise, por- table stations were estab- lished in several locations in Grant County. The primary station was set up in the park- Contributed photo Grant County Emergency Management Coordinator Ted Williams participates in a statewide simulated emergency test April 14. ing lot in front of the office of the Grant County emer- gency manager. Other porta- ble stations were established on Starr Ridge, a generator powered station on Bumpy Road, a mobile station at the Blue Mountain Hospital and the airport, and fixed stations operated from Mt. Vernon, Canyon City and John Day. Voice check-ins were es- After that, I’d drive to Port- land to announce the rodeo, drive back home to sleep a few hours, deliver Pepsi the next day and then drive back to Portland.” The long days — and nights — paid off. Gross- miller was noticed, and his announcing career kicked off. The Roy Pioneer Rodeo and Molalla Buckaroo im- mediately contracted with him to announce their rode- os, and it was the beginning of a relationship with both rodeos that lasted for 20 years. After nearly 70 years an- nouncing rodeos, he has end- less memories of cowboys and rodeo clowns, pickup men and stock contractors. He is in the process of writ- ing a book of his experiences titled, “Around the Arena.” For anyone starting out in the announcer’s stand, Grossmiller shared some advice: “Take all the speech classes you can find. And don’t expect to go to the top at the beginning. It’s like making a good saddle horse — it takes lots of wet saddle blankets. “The most important thing to remember when you’re an- nouncing rodeos is that you are not in it for yourself or for your own glory,” he said. “You are there to do the best possible job for the people who have invested their time and money to be there — the contestants. That means being aware of everything around you, taking any opportunity to become ac- quainted with the cowboys and getting to know them. The bet- ter you know the contestants, the better announcer you will be.” tablished with 82 stations throughout Oregon including a Net Control Station operat- ing at a state level on behalf of the Office of Emergency Management in Salem. Digital messages were sent via radio to OEM and to the ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) Emer- gency Coordinators in neigh- boring counties. The radio footprint of Grant County was noticed and commented on both by Arnold Sias of the Net Control Station and by John Cores of the Or- egon ARES section manager. On a local level, Grant County Emergency Management Co- ordinator Ted Williams said he was pleased because objec- tives were met. Margaret Ann Wood Meads May 31, 1942 - April 8, 2018 Margaret Ann Wood Meads, 75, of Hermiston passed away peacefully at home April 8 after a long battle with cancer. She was born May 31, 1942. A celebration of life gathering will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 21, at the Let’er Buck Room, 1205 SW Court Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801. Sign the online condolence book at burnsmortuaryhermiston.com. Burns Mor- tuary of Hermiston is in care of arrangements. About Obituaries News obituaries are a free service of the Blue Mountain Eagle. The paper accepts obituaries from the family or funeral home. Information submitted is subject to editing. Obituaries submit- ted to the Eagle with incorrect information may be corrected and republished as paid notices. Send obituaries by email, editor@bmeagle.com; fax, 541-575-1244; or mail, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845. For more information, or to inquire about a paid memorial, call 541-575-0710. D AYVILLE S CHOOL STUDENTS OF THE MONTH — M ARCH A man wakes up in the morning after sleeping on an ADVERTISED BED, in ADVERTISED PAJAMAS. He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR, have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE. Then it’s too late. Contributed photo Dayville School students of the month for March are J.T. Hand, high school; Ethan Thompson, middle school; Aaron Berry, grades 3-5; and Olivia Berry, grades K-2. AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK? DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE C ORRECTION 52182 Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it! Information submitted to the Eagle for Donna Maxine Blackwell’s obituary contained a misspelling. She was born to Gilman and Della Shaw in Long Creek. The Eagle regrets the error. Blue Mountain Eagle MyEagleNews.com Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710 L AST W EEK ’ S T EMPS J OHN D AY ..................................................................... HI/LO T UESDAY ....................................................................... 65/43 W EDNESDAY ................................................................... 55/37 T HURSDAY ..................................................................... 47/32 F RIDAY .......................................................................... 48/30 S ATURDAY ...................................................................... 60/39 S UNDAY ......................................................................... 59/37 M ONDAY ........................................................................ 46/31 24/7 F ORECAST A UTOMATED : 541-575-1122 R OAD CONDITIONS : 511; TRIPCHECK . COM NOAA W EATHER R ADIO FOR J OHN D AY 162.500 MHz W EATHER F ORECAST FOR THE WEEK OF A PRIL 18-24 Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday An afternoon shower Increasing sun Becoming cloudy Clouds and sun Clouds and sun Mostly sunny Mostly cloudy 51 54 62 58 61 65 65 35 33 40 35 38 35 42
