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
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shower
Increasing
sun
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cloudy
Clouds
and sun
Clouds
and sun
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sunny
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cloudy
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