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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 3, 2019)
NEWS BlueMountainEagle.com Wednesday, April 3, 2019 A3 American Legion and Auxiliary visit Kam Wah Chung The Eagle/Richard Hanners American Legion Auxiliary National President Kathy Dungan, left, and other members of the American Legion and Auxiliary listen to a presentation in the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site interpretive center on March 31. World War II. Her husband, son and two grandchil- dren are all members of the Legion family. Tour guide Chris Labhart led the two-hour long pre- Big plans for Lake Creek Youth Camp By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle From youth groups, 4-H and FFA outings and out- door education to family reunions, corporate retreats, workshops and weddings, the Lake Creek Youth Camp has seen it all. The rural camp facility offers ice and showers for hunters and will take walk-ins if there’s room. The Forest Service has held rappeller training at the Contributed photo camp, and National Guard Youths enjoy a bonfire during a Natural Resource Camp held troops stayed there during at Lake Creek Youth Camp. the 2015 Canyon Creek Two board members Complex fire. It’s been a Grant County in 2007 to while since the camp was a re-roof the lodge, upgrade retired after the 2017 sea- wintertime destination for the septic system, remodel son. Then Heckman, the cross-country skiers and the restrooms and build five camp cook, and husband, snowmobile races, sled dog new bunkhouses that opened Carl, the groundskeeper and maintenance worker, retired races and a Girl Scout Snow in 2008. A $25,000 grant from the in September 2018, and the Playday, but the hope is to keep it staffed in winter in Shelk Foundation and Swin- board put out the word that the future, board president dells Family Fund in 2014 it was looking for people to was used to replace one of refill those positions. Aimee Rude said. But as a board-run camp the 50-year-old A-frames “If we can hire some that formed as a nonprofit 50 with an energy-efficient experienced people, we’ll be years ago, the Lake Creek ADA-accessible cabin. The able to continue our reputa- Youth Camp must rely on $42,500 total cost was met ble service,” Rude said at the the community to keep with camp funds and in-kind time. Rude, who attended the running. labor and materials. Today the camp has a camp as a Girl Scout while Historic roots main lodge with a full-ser- growing up in Burns, said Located in Logan Val- vice kitchen, fireplace, the camp now has a solid ley about 2 miles from the piano, ping-pong table and board with nine members. southern trailheads for the central gathering room; The nonprofit is seeking Strawberry Mountains Wil- 10 bunkhouses each with grants to replace and rebuild derness, the site began as a 10 beds; recently reno- the fireplace in the lodge, fire guard camp built by the vated bath houses; a base- replace 50 bed frames and Civilian Conservation Corps ball field, volleyball court, 100 mattresses and replace in the 1930s. Some of the horseshoe pit and basketball the netting on the base- buildings are designated his- half court; and tent and RV ball backstop. They are also torical structures, and two of spaces. seeking a $200,000 grant to the original cabins are used Lake Creek Youth Camp replace four of the A-frame by staff. is open from June 1 through cabins. Burns resident Marge September. Rude said they Grant County Economic Riley McRae is credited as would like to extend the sea- Coordinator Allison Field the driving force that turned son and take in more hunt- will provide contracted the 27-acre site into a fam- ers. Interested parties should administrative services to ily camp. A nonprofit orga- make reservations by email- Lake Creek Youth Camp to nization was formed in the ing lakecreekcamp@yahoo. help with the grant writing. 1960s, which leased the com or booking online at The county will be compen- sated with 10 percent of suc- site from the Forest Ser- lakecreekcamp.org. vice. Then, using a $25,000 cessful grants up to $30,000 Staff turnover Federal Housing Adminis- for two years. tration loan and a match of The Lake Creek Youth A gala banquet fund- donated materials and labor, Camp has experienced staff raiser for the Lake Creek the organization built a main turnover in recent years. In Youth Camp will take place lodge and five A-frame 2017, the board announced April 6 at the Grant County bunkhouses. the facility might not reopen Fairgrounds pavilion, with The camp saw contin- the next year and might even doors opening at 4 p.m., a uous use after it opened in be liquidated if people in the tri-tip dinner at 5 p.m. and 1968 but fell into disrepair community didn’t step up. a live auction at 6:30 p.m. by 2000. Requests for bids “The current board have There will be live music and were made in 2005 for new been devoting every sum- a drawing for “his and hers” doors and windows, new mer for years to ensure the Ruger handguns. propane heaters, concrete smooth running of Lake walks and ADA-accessible Creek,” board member Vicki Heckman said at the time. upgrades. The organization “Most of us are beyond received $460,000 in fed- retirement age by any mea- eral Title III funding through sure and cannot continue.” sentation, beginning at the interpretive center and con- cluding at the historic Kam Wah Chung building. He left the lights off inside as the group filed inside the Inland Northwest Chorale sings in Canyon City By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The Inland Northwest Musicians chorale per- formed a free classical con- cert, complete with a string quartet and harpsichord- ist, for a welcoming audi- ence Saturday at the Can- yon City Community Hall. Conductor R. Lee Friese led the chorale as they sang Antonio Vivaldi’s “Gloria” and Randall Thompson’s “Peaceable Kingdom.” About 60 people attended the presenta- tion, including Kris Beal, president of Juniper Arts Council. “I’m tickled,” Beal said. “The caliber is out- standing, and the music is wonderful.” Representatives of Inland Northwest referred to Beal as their ambassa- dor for Grant County. The group has previously per- formed in Canyon City and John Day, collaborating with the nonprofit Juniper Arts Council. “I’m proud of the pre- sentation today,” Friese said during the dessert reception. “The audience was appreciative.” He described both pieces as “opulent” and said they’ve given well over 500 performances in the past 20 years. Inland Northwest Musi- cians are based in Hermis- ton and have chorale and orchestra members from Hermiston, Pendleton and several surrounding cit- ies who volunteer their time. There were 26 singers performing on Saturday with three violinists, a cel- list and Myrna Van Cleave on the harpsichord. Salli Ketchersid, a soprano and Inland North- west’s publicist, said the group gathers because they love to sing. “We like to get together,” said soprano and program manager RaN- iel Dunn. “It’s not just a group. It’s kind of a fam- Where fun and fund-raising combine for a memorable evening. Date: Time: Saturday, April 20 4:00—Doors open 5:30—Dinner 7:30—Auction Place: Pavilion— Grant County Fairgrounds Ticket Information: Gale Wall (541) 575-2661 Mendy Sharpe FNP Apppointments available communities. More than 4,000 schol- arships were awarded last year, $18 million was raised and spent on the Legion’s Girls State program and more than $82 million was raised and spent to benefit children. More than 3 mil- lion veterans were assisted, 356,000 military families were served and $189 mil- lion was spent on commu- nity projects. The Auxiliary has advo- cated for veterans rights, including the GI Bill and Department of Veteran Affairs benefits and ending homelessness among veter- ans. The Legion and Aux- iliary have been lobbying Congress to amend its char- ter to allow veterans who didn’t serve in wartime to become members. Classical concert is a hit with audience in Canyon City Attend a Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Dinner and Benefit Auction Monday - Thursday 7am- 6pm Friday 8am - 5pm cramped quarters and then shined a flashlight around to simulate the first visit to the building in 20 years by a John Day historian in 1969. This is the American Legion’s 100th anniversary. It was chartered by Congress on Sept. 16, 1919. The Aux- iliary was “born” during the Legion’s first annual con- vention two months later. Within a year, 1,342 units in 45 states were organized. The Legion sanctioned the Auxiliary at its second con- vention in September 1920. Today, the Auxiliary has about 750,000 members in more than 8,000 com- munities. In 2018, Auxil- iary volunteer hours had an impact of more than $1 bil- lion through services to ser- vice members, veterans and their families and local Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter Conductor R. Lee Friese leads the Inland Northwest Musicians as the chorale performs ‘Gloria’ by Antonio Vivaldi, accompanied by a string quartet and harpsichordist. The Inland Northwest Musicians perform for an appreciative audience Saturday at the Canyon City Community Hall. ily because everyone has to sacrifice.” Two local audience members commented on the concert. Nancy Nickel called the performance “glorious.” “I had no idea that Viv- aldi wrote choral music,” she said. “It was a wel- come surprise.” David Seacord said the experience was a “very appreciated bit of culture.” “It was impressive that the choir included a 92-year-old man and an authentic musicality, including a harpsichord from the period.” 1809 First Street • Baker City • (541)523-5439 BARGAIN MATINEE IN ( ) Adults $7 ALL FILMS $6 ON TIGHTWAD TUESDAY MOVIE SCHEDULE APRIL 5 - 11 SHAZAM! (PG-13) By shouting out one word - SHAZAM! - Billy Batson can turn into the adult superhero Shazam. FRI & SAT (3:45) 6:45 9:35 SUNDAY (3:45) 6:45 MON - THURS 6:45 PET SEMATARY (R) A family discovers an ancient burial ground behind their home with the power to raise the dead. FRI & SAT (4:10) 7:10 9:45 SUNDAY (4:10) 7:10 MON - THURS 7:10 DUMBO (PG) A young elephant, whose oversized ears enable him to fly, helps save a struggling circus. FRI & SAT (4:00) 7:00 9:40 SUNDAY (4:00) 7:00 MON - THURS 7:00 113148 The Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site in John Day hosted visitors March 31, as the American Legion Auxiliary’s national presi- dent and other Legion and Auxiliary members were given a special tour. Kathy Dungan was elected the 99th national president of the American Legion Auxiliary at its 98th convention last August. She is the Auxiliary’s first national president from Mississippi, hailing from the town of Wesson. Dungan said she is try- ing to visit every U.S. state to work the Auxiliary’s mission. She has visited 31-32 states so far, and this was her first “official” visit to Oregon. She said she flew in to Boise, Idaho, and will visit Oregon commu- nities as far west as Bend. The theme of her visit is “serving heroes,” Dun- gan said, with a focus on female veterans and the issues and challenges they face. Currently there are 2 million female service members, and big changes can be expected as more and more women volun- teer, she said. Dungan spent more than 20 years working for the Mississippi Supreme Court and has been an Auxil- iary member for 40 years, attached to the Legion’s Drane-Prine Unit 79 in Wesson. She is eligible for membership through the service of her father, who served in the Army during $9 Adult, $7 Senior (60+), Youth 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. AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK? DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE 112617 Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it! A great time for a great cause. Proceeds benefit elk and other wildlife. Blue Mountain Eagle MyEagleNews.com 113101 By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710
