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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 2019)
COMMUNITY MyEagleNews.com The deadline for What’s Happening items is 5 p.m. Friday. Call the Eagle, 541-575-0710, or email editor@bmeagle. com. For meetings this week, see our list in the classifieds. Wednesday, Dec. 11 Blood drive • 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Prairie City School gymnasium To schedule an appointment, contact Aleah Johns at Ale- ahjohns29@gmail.com. Wednesday, December 11, 2019 A7 WHAT’S HAPPENING Friday, Dec. 13 ‘A Gingerbread Christmas Party’ • 2 p.m., Blue Mountain Care Center dining area, Prai- rie City Blue Mountain Care Center invites community members to attend. Contributed photo Joel Coombs, top, accompanies the junior guitar group at the Youth Arts Program concert in 2018 at the John Day Unit- ed Methodist Church. Friday-Saturday, Dec. 13-14 ‘Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ • 7 p.m. Friday, Canyon City Community Hall • 2 p.m. Saturday, Canyon City Community Hall The Youth Arts Program pageant costs $2 for children 12 and under, $3 for teens and adults (13 and up) or $5 for a family. Saturday, Dec. 14 Winter Festival • 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Dayville Community Hall Crafts, food and fun will be offered with several vendors. Timber Truckers Light Parade • 6 p.m., downtown John Day The theme for this year’s parade is “A Storybook Christ- mas.” A by-donation dinner will follow at the Elks Lodge. Sunday, Dec. 15 Monument Christmas bazaar • 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monument School gymnasium Vendors will have items for sale. Monument tree-lighting ceremony • 4:30-5 p.m., Monument city park Hot cocoa will be served during the tree-lighting ceremony. Grant County Fair and Rodeo Court coronation • 5 p.m., Grant County Fairgrounds, Trowbridge Pavilion Queen Kelsei Kiser and Princess Katelyn Barker, along with outgoing 2019 Grant County Fair & Rodeo Court Eagle file photo The 2020 Grant County Fair and Rodeo court, from left, 2020 Queen Kelsei Kiser of Fox Valley and 2020 Princess Katie Barker of Dayville, pose with 2019 Queen Courtney Nichols of Dayville. Queen Courtney Nichols, will attend this year’s coronation dinner. Kathy Moss will perform. The dinner costs $15 per person or $25 per couple. Wednesday, Dec. 18 Grant County Food Bank distribution • 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Grant County Food Bank, John Day Food will be distributed one week early because of the holiday. The Eagle/Richard Hanners Santa Claus waves to the crowds as the 2018 Timber Truckers parade ran down Main Street in John Day on Dec. 8. Timber Truckers parade marking new chapter in its ‘Storybook Christmas’ By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle Christmas lights and vehi- cles will come together to stroll down Main Street in John Day for the 26th annual Timber Truckers Light Parade at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14. The theme is “A Story- book Christmas.” “The festival started out as a way to acknowledge the timber industry that has been very important over the years in Grant County,” said Leslie Traylor, the president of the Timber Truckers committee. About 125 trucks drove during the first parade on Dec. 11, 1993, which was organized by D.R. John- son. A decrease in the timber industry affected the amount of timber trucks that par- ticipated, so the committee diversified the people who can participate. “If individuals wanted to enter and they had a pickup and wanted to decorate for their family, they would Eagle file photo Iron Triangle Logging trucks carrying post and poles from Seneca appeared in the 2018 Timber Truckers parade in John Day on Dec. 8. Leslie Traylor has headed up organization of the Timber Truckers parade in John Day for 18 years. started the parade, and D.R. Johnson’s office is still very supportive of the event. It’s always going to be Timber Truckers Parade.” Drivers can enter in four categories: farm and ranch, timber, commercial, and community. Planning for the parade began on Oct. 1 with com- mittee members picking a theme and sending out letters to merchants. City merchants make donations that are used as prizes for the participants in the parade. “These guys that decorate their vehicles are doing it in December, and a lot of them Eagle file photo have an opportunity, and we also have some churches and community organizations participate in the commu- nity category,” Traylor said. “Somebody told me, ‘Why don’t you change the name of the event from Timber Truck- ers to a Christmas Parade?’ It was a timber industry that don’t have shops to do it in and it’s cold,” Traylor said. “After the parade, we have a dinner and an award cere- mony, and this is where driv- ers get really cool prizes that are donated by merchants, or the committee buys gifts through donations.” When drivers sign up for the parade, they submit their name into a drawing. If any women or children helped decorate, they are also put into a raffle for prizes. Vehicles are also judged in each of the four catego- ries with first place winning $200, second place $100 and third place $50. After a win- ner is decided in each cat- egory, a sweepstakes win- ner is decided for a prize that changes every year. Orga- nizing this event requires an abundant amount of time and planning but comes with a payoff that is priceless. “Especially during the last couple of days going into the event, we are running around trying to collect donations and following up,” said Tray- lor. “We then spend several hours at the Elks club deco- rating the place, and then we go down to where the drivers register. 6 o’clock comes and you’re exhausted, but all you have to do is drive into town and see all the cars, people and kids lined up to see the start of the Christmas season. It makes everything worth it.” People interested in driv- ing in the parade can pre- register at John Day Auto Napa, Bank of Eastern Ore- gon or at the city of John Day with a $10 entry fee. Partic- ipants can also enroll on the day of the event at Iron Trian- gle, formerly known as Grant Western, from 3-5:30 p.m. When participating, peo- ple are not allowed to throw candy. Vehicles must be fully decorated, and no motorcy- cles are allowed. Everyone is invited to the John Day Elks Lodge for a dinner by Elks members after the parade ends. The dinner will be free, but donations will be accepted. Bu d g e t 8 M o t e l Heritage Hill Farm 711 W. Main St. John Day • 541 575-2155 • 541-575-2156 Beautiful flowers for all occasions Phone: 541-820-3600 Mon-Fri 10-6 pm/Sat by appt. Debbie Ausmus 245 South Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845 OPEN WED. & THUR. 9 am - 5 pm www.heritagehillfarmflowers.com 24 hrs/7 days wk • Wi-Fi • In-Room Coffee • Guest Laundry 541-575-1113 Cindy Wimer, • Microwave • Pets Welcome debbie.ausmus@ countryfinancial.com Professional Florist L We ow e Rat kly es! • Refrigerator S145885-1 S154082-1 S156782-1 Give Fresh This Season Sole Searching for Winter? 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