NEWS
BlueMountainEagle.com
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
A7
School sidewalk project gets funding
ODOT helps with
Safe Routes to
School grant
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Contributed photo
Knives come in all shapes and sizes — from folders to
fi xed blades, clip points to drop points, gut hooks and
replaceable blades.
Shooting the Breeze
What’s in a knife?
blade. Folders are more
compact but are harder
to clean. Three inches is
plenty of blade to break
down even the biggest ani-
mal, and the drop point is
ideal for skinning. I’m not
a fan of gut hooks. I can
never get them to work as
well as advertised, proba-
bly operator error.
I’m also not a fan of
replaceable blades, hon-
estly, because they are too
sharp. I cut myself enough
as it is, and I’m always
a little afraid I’m gonna
leave a fi nger behind some-
where. Also, I think throw-
ing away all those blades is
kind of a waste.
My hunting knife today
is a Buck Micro. It is light,
inexpensive and meets all
my needs. I have tried all
kinds for butchering game.
Surprisingly, I have found
that a fi let knife works
best for me. This is the one
instance where a long blade
is a benefi t. It makes it so
much easier to cut steaks
out of big elk muscles. The
fl exible blade is also great
for working around bones.
I carry a multi tool when
I go fi shing. One with rel-
atively slender pliers for
removing hooks, scissors
for cutting line and a small
blade for cleaning works
well for me. I should prob-
ably carry one all the time,
but they are heavy, and I’m
old.
Whatever blade you
choose to carry, keep it
sharp. It really is true that
it’s the dull blade that cuts
you.
We welcome your
thoughts and ideas at shoo-
tingthebreezebme@gmail.
com!
Rod Carpenter is a hus-
band, father and hunting
fool.
By Rod Carpenter
For the Blue Mountain
Eagle
It’s interesting what
does and doesn’t turn some
folks’ cranks. For instance,
I can admire nice rifl es all
day, but for me a knife is
just a tool to get the job
done.
Other folks seem to
want every knife they see.
That doesn’t mean I don’t
appreciate the qualities of
a good knife, or the impor-
tance of having one when
you need it. You only need
to stand over one dead
elk realizing you left your
knife in the truck to appre-
ciate how important it is.
We all choose our
knives for different rea-
sons. When most of us were
fi rst allowed to have one,
all that mattered was that
it was big. The bigger the
blade, the better the knife.
After carrying it around for
a while and trying to clean
a fi sh or two with a seven
inch blade the light began
to dawn, and we began to
realize that other qualities
may be important in select-
ing a knife.
Knives come in all
shapes and sizes — from
folders to fi xed blades, clip
points to drop points and
gut hooks — and nowa-
days, we can even replace
blades and never have to
sharpen again. With so
many options, how do you
choose which knife is for
you? Well, in my experi-
ence, the best knife is the
one you have on you when
you need it. I have had the
joy of cleaning a deer with
a 1.5-inch blade because
that’s what was in my
pocket. It wasn’t ideal.
For hunting I like a
fi xed, 3-inch drop point
Suffi cient funding has
been lined up to complete
the sidewalk project along
South Canyon Boulevard
from Sixth Avenue in John
Day to the Grant Union
Junior-Senior High School.
The Oregon Transporta-
tion Commission approved
awarding a $1.136 million
Safe Routes to School grant
for the project on Jan. 17.
The Oregon Department of
Transportation headed up
the effort to apply for the
grant.
The grant requires a 40
percent match, but other
funding for the project has
also been lined up. The
project can now move for-
ward with no further fi nan-
cial commitment from the
city, John Day City Manager
Nick Green told the Eagle.
“Great news for our com-
munity and a tremendous
effort on the part of ODOT
to take this project on and
see it through to comple-
tion,” Green said. “It con-
tinues to show the state is
invested in our success and
has been an integral part of
our efforts to improve the
safety and accessibility of
our community.”
Tom Strandberg, the
ODOT public information
offi cer for Eastern Oregon,
said the sidewalk project is
not in the department’s proj-
ect queue and construction
would not start this year. He
couldn’t confi rm if the proj-
ect would start next year.
When the city initially
considered the project, the
cost estimate for the entire
sidewalk project was about
$840,000. But with rising
costs, the city council chose
a shorter design from Sixth
Avenue to the school in June
2017.
By February 2018, as
costs continued to esca-
late and the estimate dou-
bled for half the distance,
the city council considered
withdrawing from the proj-
ect despite the planning and
engineering work that had
been completed.
ODOT took the lead at
that point in fi nding the
needed funding. ODOT
coordinated the Safe Routes
to School application with
the city and Grant School
District 3 Superintendent
Bret Uptmor.
To date, the city of John
Day has spent $15,414 on
the sidewalk project for
engineering and rights-of-
way acquisition, Green told
councilors in his Jan. 22
agenda message.
1809 First Street • Baker City • (541)523-5439
BARGAIN MATINEE IN ( ) Adults $7
ALL FILMS $6 ON TIGHTWAD TUESDAY
MOVIE SCHEDULE JANUARY 25-31
THE KID WHO WOULD BE
KING (PG) A band of kids embark
on an epic quest to thwart a medieval
menace.
FRIDAY
7:10 9:45
SATURDAY (4:10) 7:10 9:45
SUNDAY
(4:10) 7:10
MON-THURS
7:10
SERENITY (R) Anne Hathaway &
Matthew McConaughey. A fishing boat
captain’s past comes back to haunt him.
FRIDAY
7:20 9:50
SATURDAY (4:20) 7:20 9:50
SUNDAY
(4:20) 7:20
MON-THURS
7:20
THE UPSIDE (PG-13) A comedic
look at the relationship between a wealthy
man with quadriplegia and the man who’s
hired to help him.
FRIDAY
7:00 9:40
SATURDAY (4:00) 7:00 9:40
SUNDAY
(4:00) 7:00
MON-THURS
7:00
Mendy Sharpe FNP
97254
Apppointments
available
100898
$9 Adult, $7 Senior (60+), Youth
Monday - Thursday
7am- 6pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
February 13, 2019
Echo, OR • Lunch at Noon • Sale 1 p.m. • Auctioneer: Butch Booker
BW +.3
WW +58
YW +98
Milk +24
CW +40
Marb +.35
RE +.69
Fat +.018
$B +133.12
100 Bulls • all freeze branded with videos
30 Females • consisting of heifers, bred cows and pairs.
Sired by: SAV Resource • Connealy Black Granite • Sitz Wisdom • PA Full Power 1208 •
GDAR Game Day • Coleman Charlo 3212 • Koupal Advance 28
Connealy Black Granite
BW
WW
YW
Milk
CW
Marb
RE
Fat
$B
SAV Resource 1441
+4.1
+71
+134
+18
+64
+.02
+1.14
+.010
+131.43
BW +.6
WW +62
YW +113
Milk +26
CW +33
Marb +1.09
RE +.86
Fat -.005
$B +141.74
ET Bu
l
sell w ls will
Angu ith
s GS
!
sm
PA Full Power 1208
Richard Correa
Devin Correa
(541) 449-3558
(541) 379-0632 cell
meadowacresangus@msn.com
www.meadowacresangus.com
EPDs as of 11/13/18
Eagle fi le photo
The Oregon Transportation Commission recently awarded a $1.1 million Safe Routes to
Schools grant, enough to complete construction of a sidewalk along South Canyon Boulevard
from Sixth Avenue to the high school.
According to ODOT Safe
Routes to School program
manager LeeAnne Ferga-
son, the local cash match of
$757,333 will come from
ODOT’s state highway
funds for a project total of
$1,893,333.
The transportation com-
mission awarded $15.6 mil-
lion to 24 projects across
Oregon for the 2019-2020
period, with 18 qualifying
for a reduced match of 20
percent. A total of 206 proj-
ects were submitted from
112 applicants.
Grants were awarded to
projects in high-risk areas
that benefi ted elementary or
middle schools in low-in-
come communities and were
ready to complete within
fi ve years.
The Oregon Transportation Commission recently awarded
a $1.1 million Safe Routes to Schools grant, enough to
complete construction of a sidewalk along South Canyon
Boulevard from Sixth Avenue to the high school.
OTEC nominating committe members appointed
Baker City, Oregon (OTEC) — The Oregon Trail Electric
Cooperative Board of Directors have appointed the
following members to the director nominating committee
for Baker and Union counties:
Positions 7 and 8 — Union County
Seats are currently held by incumbents Greg Howard and David Baum
•
Donna Beverage 541-786-1492
•
Mary West
541-910-4546
•
Russell Lester
541-910-0906
Position 9 — Baker County
Seat is currently held by incumbent Charlene Chase
•
Diana Brown
541-523-3679
•
DeeDee Clarke
541-524-1999
•
Fred Warner, Jr.
541-524-2040
The nominating committee handles interviewing and recommendations of qualified
candidates for the 2019 OTEC Board of Directors elections. If you are a member of
the cooperative and are interested in running for the OTEC Board of Directors, please
contact one of the committee members in your county.
The committee has requested any members interested in stepping forward for
consideration, please contact them on or before January 29, 2019.
The nominating committee must submit its nominations to the board secretary no later
than February 1, 2019.
Any member wanting to petition for placement on the 2019 Board of Directors election
ballot should contact Lea Gettle (541-524-2831) for the petition and conflict of interest forms.
Nominations by petition must be filed no later than March 5, 2019, must be signed by
the candidate and include at least 50 OTEC members’ signatures who are qualified to
vote. In addition, there must be a request that the candidate’s name be placed on the
ballot. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Wednesday, January 9, 2019
HED: OTEC nominating committee members appointed
Baker City, Oregon (OTEC) — The Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative Board of Directors
have appointed the following members to the director nominating committee for Baker
and Union counties:
Positions 7 and 8 — Union County
Seats are currently held by incumbents Greg Howard and David Baum
•
Donna Beverage 541-786-1492
•
Mary West
541-910-4546
•
Russell Lester
541-910-0906
Position 9 — Baker County
Seat is currently held by incumbent Charlene Chase
•
Diana Brown
541-523-3679
•
DeeDee Clarke
541-524-1999
•
Fred Warner, Jr.
541-524-2040
The nominating committee handles interviewing and recommendations of qualified
candidates for the 2019 OTEC Board of Directors elections. If you are a member of
the cooperative and are interested in running for the OTEC Board of Directors, please
contact one of the committee members in your county.
The committee has requested any members interested in stepping forward for
consideration, please contact them on or before January 29, 2019.
The nominating committee must submit its nominations to the board secretary no later
than February 1, 2019.
Any member wanting to petition for placement on the 2019 Board of Directors election
ballot should contact Lea Gettle (541-524-2831) for the petition and conflict of interest forms.
Nominations by petition must be filed no later than March 5, 2019, must be signed by the
candidate and include at least 50 OTEC members’ signatures who are qualified to vote. In
addition, there must be a request that the candidate’s name be placed on the ballot.