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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 2019)
A2 FAMILY Blue Mountain Eagle OBITUARIES Leonard ‘Sonny’ Elwood Rider Aug. 11, 1930 – Aug. 4, 2019 Leonard “Sonny” Elwood Rider, 88, of Seneca passed away Aug. 4. A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at 2 p.m. at Canyon City Cemetery. Sonny was born to Leon- ard and Doris (Mackie) Rider on Aug. 11, 1930, in Lakev- iew, Oregon. He graduated from Grant Union High School in 1949. After high school he joined the United States Navy, and served for three years as a Radio Man Second Class where he was awarded three medals and a star for his ser- vice. Sonny returned home where he went to work in the lumber mills as a machine operator; he worked for Ellingson Timber, Hines Lumber and John Day Lumber Co. After his retirement he worked for the U.S. Forest Service, officially retiring in 1992. Sonny was married three times. His love was strong for each of them. He enjoyed the outdoors whether it was hunting, shooting, reloading or snowmobiling. Sonny was a friend to everyone; he was an excellent marksman, a great father/husband and trusted by all. Sonny enjoyed being a part of Lake Creek Youth Camp and attending Grace Chapel Methodist Church. He was preceded in death by his mother and father; sister, Wanda Leslie; wife, Mary Lou Rider; wife, Mar- ilyn Rider; and his faithful dog “Dingo.” Sonny is survived by siblings, Don Rider of Sen- eca and Bob Rider of Stockton, California; sister, Alice Seabart of Burns, Oregon; sons, Lance Rider of Win- throp, Washington, Ray Rider of McNary, Oregon, and Paul Rider of Hermiston, Oregon; stepdaughter, Fran- cine O’Shaughnessy of Camas, Washington; stepson, Perry Oaks of Vancouver, Washington; Dan Lane of Milton-Freewater, Oregon; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to Cinnabar Adult Foster Care through Driskill Memorial Chapel at 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845. To leave a condolence, visit driskillmemorialchapel. com. Wednesday, August 14, 2019 Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Summer Rendezvous successful Blue Mountain Eagle The 2019 Rocky Moun- tain Elk Foundation Sum- mer Rendezvous continues to be a great success. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has held the annual summer rendez- vous at Lake Creek Camp for over 10 years. As part of the event, RMEF volunteers from across Oregon and the greater Northwest gather and partner with the Mal- heur National Forest for a two-day habitat restoration work event to celebrate the RMEF’s continued con- servation successes in Oregon. The focus of the projects was on aspen restoration. July 18, three small proj- ects were planned at sepa- Contributed photo Volunteers took part in conservation projects at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Summer Rendezvous, which was held at Lake Creek Camp. rate sites, including barb- wire fence removal, big game aspen fence main- Forest Service seeks volunteer campground host for Bull Prairie Lake EO Media Group The Umatilla National Forest is looking for volunteers to serve as campground hosts at Bull Prairie Lake Campground from now until October — duration is dependent on user use, but no later than Oct. 15. A camp host greets campers, pro- vides information on the surround- ing area and generally makes camp- ers feel at home. Hosts will visit with campers and day-use visitors, clean and maintain restrooms, restock sup- plies, occasionally clean up after campers and carry out minor mainte- nance as needed. They keep an eye on things and set a good example for others in the campground. Individuals or couples can apply to be hosts. Retirees often apply to the camp host program, finding it the ideal way to spend the summer in a beautiful setting. Hosts need to be friendly, flexible and responsible. Host applicants may be subject to a criminal background check. Norman DeJong Norman DeJong always gave his best and he lived a good life. He said, “I am the happiest man on the planet.” The ones that really knew him and loved him will have his touch on their heart forever. Norm was born to Rudolph DeJong and Mary Ann Robins DeJong in Salt Lake City, Utah. His family moved to Richland, Washington when Norm was 2. He loved his parents and had huge respect for his amazing dad, Rudy, whose motto was “The job you do looks like you.” Norm was a good student, had great stories of his teachers, coaches and basketball and pole-vaulting in high school. He loved learning, had a great work ethic and achieved a fantastic education. He was a YoYo champion at 12. He won the National Art contest for metal sculpting two years in a row. He went to BYU on a basketball scholarship and on a scholarship to Northwestern Dental School in Chicago. He worked nights as a nurse at Cook County Hospital four years while in dental school. Norm got his Masters in Public Health at Harvard and went to Oxford UK for a fellowship under the Minister of Health Admiral Holgate. While in England he had some pretty famous friends… Normie had great stories. Even John Lennon knew how special Norm was. Norm and he were friends and Lennon wanted Norm to go tour with them. Norm said no! He was not a musician… he was a dentist. After completing his fellowship, Norm became a dentistry professor at OHSU Dental School and with his love of teaching dentistry and masterful mechanical and technical skills he left OHSU to be on founding faculty at University of Connecticut Dental School. The dean of UConn then took Norm with him to Jackson, Mississippi as founding faculty at University of Mississippi Dental School. Norm loved Mississippi and made great friends there. He chaired the department and taught restorative dentistry to the first four graduating classes of UM dental school. He decided to leave academics in 1978 and head towards his hometown of Richland, Washington. He remembered the beautiful little town of Prairie City, Oregon from smokejumper parachute firefighting when he was 19. He drove into the beautiful John Day Valley from the east and decided immediately that he wanted to practice dentistry in Prairie City. He bought the dental office building before the day was over. Norm and his dad Rudy transformed the historic building into his dental office. Doc Norm hung his dentistry shingle on the building in 1978. Norm absolutely loved being a dentist and he adored living and working in Grant County. He loved the people and the beauty of Eastern Oregon. Norm left Grant County for four years. He used his public health background for Kotzebue Care and clinic building skills to help build a dental clinic in a new hospital in Kotzebue, AK. He helped provide dental care to the villages of Northwest Arctic Borough from ‘92 til April 1, 1996. He thoroughly enjoyed his arctic adventure. He recruited adventurous friend of 20 years, Melanie Lott, to work in the villages. Norm and Melanie fell in love and married in Ambler, Alaska at -48 degrees in 1994. They decided in 1996 to move back to Prairie City to remodel and reopen as a mom and pop dental shop. Mel and Norm loved working together and lived happily in Prairie City. Norm never used nitrous oxide but used natural laughter in the dental office. We liked to tell our new patients if you don’t have a good sense of humor you might have to find another dentist, hahah, wink, wink. We were Smile Maintenance. Norm enjoyed his patients so much. Norm attended his Northwestern Dental School 50th year class reunion September 2017. His classmates and Norm had fun and shared fascinating stories. Norm loved motorcycles and nice cars. He actually restored a Cord automobile in his garage shop. He restored an Indian hill climber motorcycle on his bench just before he reopened his dental office in 1996. He was proud of partnering with Pat O’Hara to remodel the former Prairie Schooner Tavern turning it into Ferdinand’s Restaurant in 1987. Norm and Mel loved investing in Prairie City and enjoyed restoring the landmark Prairie Creamery as well. Norm enjoyed river rafting and pioneered and navigated many river-rafting adventures. He loved his family, friends and his dental patients of Grant and Harney Counties and beyond. He coached basketball and taught auto body at the high school. Norm was super supportive of all things good for Prairie City. Norm loved the US Constitution and Bill of Rights and knew it backwards and forwards and could discuss its importance at great depth. He was a great patriot and stayed ultra-current on politics. He loved Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and his favorite quote was, “My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me. That is the way all men should live, and then would be equally brave.” - Stonewall Jackson Norm is survived by his wife, soulmate and partner, Melanie; daughter, Kendyl DeJong; granddaughter, Melanie Trulove; grandson, Garrett DeJong; and two great grandchildren; brother, Lamont (Carolyn) DeJong and their family, Bryan (Lenora) Lott, James Gordon Lott, Bill (Donna) Lott, Sam Lott and Abby Starr (John Gavin) Lott-Buffington; cousins, Jimmy, James, Hannah, Mike and Mac Lott; and his constant companions, puppy dogs FangLee, Loosy Tooth and Flossy; and close friend, Karen Magee Jones, who was a God send during this time. Norm was preceded in death by son, Matthew DeJong; his father and mother, Rudy and Ann DeJong; and brother, Robin DeJong. Per Stormin’ Norman’s request, there will be no funeral service. There will be a motorcycle ride starting and ending downtown at the Prairie City Community Center meet at 11 a.m. Aug. 25. A joyful commemorative mingle celebrating Norm will follow at the PC Community Center at 2:30 p.m. with wildflower seeds to sow just before the snow flies and your pocket copy of the US Constitution from Norm. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name can be made to the Prairie City Community Association, PO Box 758 Prairie City, Oregon 97869 for Prairie City Community Center remodel. Paid for by the Family of Norm DeJong Last Week’s Temps 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 Those who apply will need to supply their own trailer, camper or motor home. Camp hosts will be provided a campsite, usu- ally near the main entryway to the campground. Though the host program is a vol- unteer program, a food allowance and propane is offered, and personal vehicle mileage associated with host- ing duties is reimbursed. Bull Prairie Lake Camp- ground is located 36 miles south of Heppner. Batease named to dean’s list April 4, 1942 – June 1, 2019 John Day ...........................................................HI/LO Tuesday ......................................................... 100/65 Wednesday ..................................................... 93/61 Thursday .......................................................... 85/62 Friday ............................................................... 90/55 Saturday .......................................................... 79/50 Sunday ............................................................. 71/51 Tuesday ........................................................... 81/48 tenance and buck and pole fence construction preparation. July 19 was the major work day as volunteers from RMEF worked with a six-person AmeriCorps crew, North Fork John Day Watershed Council youth crew members and For- est Service staff as a large group to construct two buck and pole aspen fences on Blue Mountain Ranger Dis- trict in the Damon Project area. A total of 447.5 volun- teer hours contributed to 0.75 miles of buck and pole fence protecting approx- imately 4 acres of aspen, 0.25 miles of aspen fence maintenance, 0.25 acres of invasive weed removal and 1 mile of four-wire fence removal were all accom- plished during the two-day work event. Blue Mountain Eagle Rebecca Batease was named to the spring 2019 dean’s list at Marist College. She studies at the Florence, Italy, branch campus. To make the list, students must carry at least 12 credits with a 3.4 GPA. ODF implements fire restrictions Blue Mountain Eagle Oregon Department of Forestry’s Central Ore- gon District has increased restrictions on private, state and municipally owned lands protected by the dis- trict. Activities below are restricted by the regulated closure. Additional restric- tions and the full procla- mation can be accessed at oregon.gov/odf/fire/pages/ restrictions.aspx • Possession of the follow- ing firefighting equipment is required while traveling in a motorized vehicle, except on federal and state highways, county roads and driveways: one shovel and 1 gallon of water or one operational 2.5- pound or larger fire extin- guisher, except all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles, which must be equipped with an approved spark arrestor in good working condition. • Smoking is prohibited while traveling, except in vehicles on improved roads. • Open fires are prohib- ited, including campfires, charcoal fires, cooking fires and warming fires, except in designated areas. • Chainsaw use is prohib- ited, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. Chainsaw use is permitted at all other hours, if the following fire- fighting equipment is present with each operating saw: one ax, one shovel and one oper- ational 8-ounce or larger fire extinguisher. In addition, a fire watch is required at least one hour following the use of each saw. For more information, visit odfcentraloregon.com. 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 Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it! Blue Mountain Eagle MyEagleNews.com Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710 W EATHER F ORECAST FOR THE WEEK OF A UG . 14-20 Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Mostly sunny Mostly sunny Mostly sunny Mostly sunny Partly sunny Plenty of sunshine Mostly sunny 87 84 83 89 92 90 93 54 50 51 55 55 46 46