COMMUNITY
BlueMountainEagle.com
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 classifi eds.
Wednesday, March 13
Luncheon and church service
• 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., Seventh-day Adventist Church,
John Day
The Ministerial Association churches will observe Lent
with a special luncheon and service held at various local
churches. Everyone is invited. These special services are held
on Wednesdays ending on Wednesday, April 10. A soup and
bread lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 pm. The
service follows from 12:15-12:45 p.m.
Spay-ghetti dinner and auctions
5-8 p.m., Grant County Fairgrounds pavilion
Hope 4 Paws: Grant County will host its by-donation fund-
raiser for its spay and neuter programs. Doors open at 5 p.m.,
and bidding on the silent auction items runs until 6:15 p.m. An
oral auction of desserts and specialty items will follow. The
spaghetti dinner is sponsored by the Squeeze In, and Spitfi re
Cocktails will provide drinks for adults 21 and up. There will
be a rescue dog demonstration during the event, and silent and
oral auction items will include golf at The Retreat & Links
at Silvies Valley Ranch, jewelry by Hunting Heron Designs,
a metal sculpture and many specialty gift baskets. For more
information, call 541-575-0500.
Friday, March 15
American Legion 100th anniversary
• 6 p.m., John Day Senior Center
A ham dinner will be held by donation. For more informa-
tion, call Art Pereira at 541-575-1841.
Saturday, March 16
Pie auction and cake walk
• 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Grant County Library
Bidding starts at noon. Kids are encouraged to attend and
participate in the cake walk. Food will be available from $2-3:
hot dog, hot dog with chili or chili and cornbread with honey
butter. For more information, call 541-575-1992.
Sunday, March 17
Clay pigeon jackpot shoot
• 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., mile marker 9 on Highway 402,
Kimberly
With proceeds benefi ting Silent Wave Horse Rescue, the
cost is $3 per shoot with men’s, women’s and kids’ compe-
titions. A dessert auction takes place at 1 p.m. Irish-themed
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
A7
WHAT’S
HAPPENING
Contributed photo
Visiting at the Hope for Paws fundraiser booth during
Christmas on the Prairie are, from left, Cashel Toy, Quinn
Cowie, “Miss Sheilah the Cat” and Avery Toy. The organization
will host its annual Spay-ghetti fundraiser March 13.
Monday-Friday, March 25-29
Contributed photo/Joelene Floyd
Americanism Essay winners stand together at a dinner held
for them by the American Legion Auxiliary in John Day last
year. Students will be honored March 18 this year.
food and drink will be available by donation. Call 541-934-
2143 for details.
Monday, March 18
Americanism essay congratulatory dinner
• 6:30 p.m., Alec Gay Hall, John Day
A potluck dinner will be held to honor local American-
ism essay winners, sponsored by American Legion Auxiliary
Ellis Tracy Unit. Family and friends of the winners are wel-
come to attend. For more information, contact Sherry Feiger
at 541-575-0766.
Friday, March 22
Cancer benefi t dinner
• 4:30 p.m., John Day Golf Course
There will be a benefi t dinner to support GIST (gastrointes-
tinal stromal tumor) cancer research. There will be two dinner
times, 4:30 and 6 p.m. Dinner is breakfast: biscuits and gravy,
pancakes, bacon, sausage and eggs. The cost is $10 per per-
son, $5 for children under 7. For more information, call Linda
McClellan at 541-620-2352.
Kids Passport to Fun
• Grant County
The second annual museum event for children features a
variety of history, science and arts events throughout the week
at different locations. “Passports” are available at the Grant
County Chamber of Commerce in John Day for $5, or $12 per
family. Children 5 and under can participate for free. The Can-
yon City Community Hall will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
March 28 with many sponsored activities, and passports are
required for entry (ages 6-12). For more information, leave
a message at the Grant County Historical Museum, 541-575-
0362, after March 15.
Wednesday, March 27
Food bank distribution day
• 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Grant County Food Bank
The food bank is back on its normal distribution schedule
for the fourth Wednesday of the month. For more information,
call 541-575-0299.
Saturday, March 30
Inland Northwest Musicians Chorale concert
• 4 p.m., Canyon City Community Hall
The Juniper Arts Council will host the 40-singer cho-
rale, performing “Peaceable Kingdom” by Randall Thomp-
son and “Gloria” by Antonio Vivaldi. The concert is free.
A dessert reception will follow. For more information, call
541-932-4892.
Volunteers needed for bike park work
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
The .17 HMR
P
unxsutawney Phil
said spring was
on its way a while
ago. Once the snow melts
off, I’m sure it will arrive.
Before long it will be time
to bust out the squirrel
guns!
For most folks, this
means a .22 for ground
squirrels and likely a .223 or
.22-250 for the bigger stuff.
But there is another sheriff
in town, not exactly new but
newer to the party.
In years past, there have
been several attempts to
dethrone the .22 Long
Rifl e as America’s rim-
fi re darling. Some, like the
5mm Remington Magnum,
quickly went by the way-
side and today are only
seen in collectors’ vaults.
Others, like the .22 WMR,
are still widely used but
have hardly supplanted
the .22 Long Rifl e. Enter
the .17 Hornady Magnum
Rimfi re.
In 2002, the .17 HMR
was released to the pub-
lic. To say it’s been well
accepted would be a huge
understatement. Its design
is simple, the full-length
.22 WMR case necked
down to .17 caliber. The
performance is extraor-
dinary, the report is mild
and the accuracy truly
amazing.
For only being around
for 17 years, this car-
tridge has won the hearts
and minds of thousands
of hunters and with good
reason. Its effective reach
is over double the dis-
tance of a regular .22, and
its tiny 17-20 grain bul-
lets start out at double the
velocity. These thin-jacket
speed demons open vio-
lently on impact, eliminat-
ing not only their target
but any chance of ricochet
more commonly seen with
the big-
ger, slow-
er-moving
.22 projec-
tiles. Now
I will con-
cede that it’s
Dale Valade
not nearly
as cheap
to shoot as a .22, but the
added performance is well
worth the extra dinero.
No other cartridge so
excellently melds the
reach of the smaller cen-
terfi re rounds with the effi -
ciency and mild blast of
a rimfi re round than does
the .17 HMR. And even
though it’s more or less a
specialty cartridge, it does
just fi ne on bigger stuff as
well. That’s right. It’s not
merely a 250-yard squir-
rel rifl e but also works
well for skunks, badgers,
coyotes and the like. The
smaller .17 caliber bul-
lets don’t drift in the wind
a fraction as badly as do
the .22 rimfi re rounds.
The higher velocity and
ballistic coeffi cient of
these .17 calibers are to
thank for that increase in
performance.
Not that I’m trying
to sell the old .22 down
the river, but the .17 out-
classes it in nearly every
way. It’s a literal apples-
to-oranges type of com-
parison. Do I think the .17
will replace the .22 Long
Rifl e as rimfi re king? I am
dubious, but I think there
is room for both in your
gun cabinet. Make your
next squirrel gun a .17
HMR. They are a real blast
to shoot!
Please drop us a line at
shootingthebreezebme@
gmail.com!
Dale Valade is a local
country gent with a deep
love for handloading, hunt-
ing and shooting.
Eagle fi le photo
Ptarmigan Ptrails, which spent three weeks last summer constructing a single-track
mountain bike trail system above the Seventh Street Complex in John Day, will return to
do touch-up work this spring.
year, will return this
spring to touch up their
work.
The
parking
lot
has been constructed,
lined with a telephone
pole fence and will
accommodate up to 15
vehicles.
About a dozen volun-
teers turned out for a trail
day in October. Usage of
the bike park has been
light, with some children
riding the single-track
trail with BMX-type
bicycles.
The bike park hasn’t
been promoted because
safety
and
informa-
tional signs have not been
erected and additional
work is needed on the sin-
gle-track trail, Lieuallen
said.
A grand opening will
take place in late spring,
he said, with fundraising
efforts slated for this year
and 2020.
Contributed image
In this conceptual drawing for the skills area of the Seventh
Street Bike Park, the heart-shaped area is the pump track
and the sections to either side are the external features
areas. Parking is to the right of the logs. The storage shed and
additional skills trail system to the left will be built in 2020.
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.
Monday - Thursday
7am- 6pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Mendy Sharpe FNP
Apppointments
available
AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK?
DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE
Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it!
Blue Mountain Eagle
MyEagleNews.com
108421
SHOOTING THE BREEZE
106279
Contributed photo
The .17-caliber Hornady Magnum Rimfi re is more expensive
to shoot than a .22 but outclasses it in nearly every way.
Volunteers are needed
for a trail day at the Sev-
enth Street Bike Park on
the weekend of March
30-31 to work on con-
structing a dirt pump track
and do maintenance on
the existing single-track
trail.
The Eastern Oregon
Trail Alliance will head up
the work starting at 9 a.m.,
weather dependent.
To volunteer or to
donate to the project, con-
tact Darin Toy at 541-620-
4030 or visit the Eastern
Oregon Trail Alliance on
Facebook.
Phase 2 construction
this year also will include
constructing external log
features on either side of
the pump track, which
will be located just south
of the trailhead and just
west of the parking area.
That work will be spread
out over the year, Toy
said.
The bike park is not
a John Day city proj-
ect. The nonprofit Grant
County Economic Coun-
cil led the fundraising for
Phase 1, EOTA provided
technical guidance and
the land belongs to Grant
School District 3. Other
stakeholders include the
city of John Day and
the John Day-Canyon
City Parks & Recreation
District.
Aaron Lieuallen, a
GCEC member, said the
goal is to have most of
the pump track built by
volunteers, with some
in-kind donations. A stor-
age shed for tools and a
dirt jump line will be built
just to the west in fall
2020.
Ptarmigan Ptrails, the
company that constructed
the single-track trail last
Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710