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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 2020)
FAMILY Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, April 22, 2020 OBITUARIES OSU Extension Outdoor School provides resources for families during stay-at-home order Blue Mountain Eagle The statewide Oregon State University Extension Service Outdoor School pro- gram is offering resources to engage children in learning about nature while adhering to Oregon’s “Stay Home, Save Lives” order. Extension Outdoor School added a webpage – “Edu- cational Resources for Stay Home, Save Lives” — to its website where parents, guard- ians and teachers can find links to resources to support outdoor learning experiences while schools are out of ses- sion, according to a press release. The page, which can be translated to Spanish, is updated Fridays with weekly resource sets with nature observations, journal prompts and online activities: https:// outdoorschool.oregonstate. edu/educators/educational-re- sources-for-stay-home-save- lives. So far, the themes have been birds, trees and flowers. Outdoor School is also linking to the resource sets on its Twit- ter and Facebook accounts. “These weekly themes simplify matters for fami- lies who are sorting out a lot of information about at-home activities,” said Kristopher Elliott, an OSU Extension assistant director who leads Contributed photo/ Oregon State University A ladybug crawls on a stu- dent’s finger. The Oregon State University Extension Ser- vice Outdoor School program offers resource to engage stu- dents in learning about nature while staying home. the Outdoor School program. “Given all the time we’re spending inside, these are unique resources to help fam- ilies keep children connected to their natural environment in a meaningful way.” The resource page and resource sets are part of Exten- sion Outdoor School’s strate- gic response to the COVID- 19 pandemic, which led to mass cancellations of in-per- son outdoor school programs this spring. The strategy seems to be working, Elliott said. Nearly 400 new users have visited the webpage since it launched in late March. That’s created a ripple effect: Visits Studded tire deadline extended Blue Mountain Eagle Oregon drivers will not be required to remove stud- ded tires until 11:59 p.m. Friday, May 15. The dead- line had previously been extended from April 1 to May 1. While studded tires are allowed in Oregon by law from Nov. 1 through March 31, the Oregon Department of Transportation decided to again extend that deadline in response to the continuing public health emergency of COVID-19. ODOT encourages driv- ers to have their studded tires removed before May 15 if it can reasonably be done while maintaining social distancing. HEINEGER WINS LAKE CREEK YOUTH CAMP PISTOL RAFFLE Contributed photo Margot ‘Grace’ Heiniger, 83, won the Lake Creek Youth Camp pistols in a raffle on April 4. She has been a resident of Grant County for 40 years, has been a sharpshooter since she was 22 and an author since 1981. to the OSU Extension Out- door School website have more than doubled in the last month. They’re coming from Oregon cities such as Bend, Klamath Falls, La Grande, Seaside and The Dalles. Out- side of Oregon, the page has been visited by users in Minneapolis, Bangkok and Amsterdam. It’s not just families who are accessing the resources. Nearly 17% of unique vis- its to the weekly resource sets come from Google Class- room, suggesting that teach- ers are directing parents and students to the resource sets as part of their distance learning, said Kristi Backe, Extension Outdoor School’s curriculum and professional development coordinator. “We picked topics that are accessible to many stu- dents. Things that you can see out a window,” said Backe, who worked with the Exten- sion Outdoor School’s team to develop in one week the edu- cational resources webpage. “We wanted to focus on curating these resources into manageable pieces so they’re not overwhelming families,” she said. “It only takes a cou- ple of minutes to read through each topic.” Oregon’s school clo- sures and cancellations of this spring’s outdoor school experiences came at a time Darryl-McKenzy Sheppard Smith when enrollment in Outdoor School was increasing state- wide. Nearly 38,000 students took part in Outdoor School in 2018-19, a 6% increase over the 2017-18 school year. Elliott anticipated that figure would rise to 43,300 students this school year — before the spread of COVID-19 led Gov. Kate Brown to issue a statewide order to close schools. In 2016, Oregon voters passed Measure 99, mandat- ing that all Oregon fifth- or sixth-grade students should have the opportunity to attend a week-long outdoor school program or comparable out- door education program. Measure 99 created an Outdoor School Educa- tion Fund and charged Ore- gon State University Exten- sion Service with supporting, administering and funding an outdoor school program as set forth in Senate Bill 439, which approved $24 million for the program’s first two years. Last year, the Oregon Legislature approved $46 million for the next biennium for Extension Outdoor School. Elliott said that if funding is available, Extension Out- door School is considering guidance for schools to allow next year’s seventh-graders to participate in an outdoor school program if theirs was canceled this spring. Amateur radio operators participate in emergency test Blue Mountain Eagle Grant County Ama- teur Radio Emergency Ser- vice took part in an Eastern Oregon and Eastern Wash- ington regional exercise April 18. Grant County ARES normally participates in twice annual simulated emergency tests with other counties throughout the state, according to a press release from Grant County ARES Emergency Coordinator Steve Fletcher. This year those exer- cises were canceled because of the COVID- 19 restrictions and the fact that in many counties an emergency communication response requires a cen- tralized room with many people in it. In Grant County, ARES has been practicing dis- persed communication responses, which solves many of the problems of a centralized communica- tions network. “The decentralized approach solves problems of audio and radio ‘noise,’” Fletcher said. “When you have a room full of people talking, this creates a num- ber of problems for radio operators. When you have a number of radios and antennas in one spot it cre- ates some serious technical problems.” When other counties had to cancel their tests, Grant County partnered with nearby counties and continued, using temporary cross-band repeaters to talk to operators in Pendle- ton, Boardman, La Grande, Baker City, Summerville, Caldwell, Nampa and Boise. Four different bands or modes were used to accomplish the objectives of the test. “Many things were learned and improvements will be made,” Fletcher said. June 17, 1968 — April 9, 2020 Darryl-McKenzy Sheppard Smith, 51, passed away at his home on April 9, 2020, in Baker City, Oregon. Darryl was born in Ontario, Oregon, on June 17, 1968. Darryl gradated high school at Mt. Vernon and attended col- lege at the University of Eastern Oregon in La Grande. After college he moved to Portland and became a property manager until he became disabled. After leaving Portland, he moved to Hermiston, Mt. Vernon and Baker City. Darryl loved to garden, camp and fish. He enjoyed spending time with his fam- ily and friends. Darryl is survived by his moms, Marilyn Smith and Elaine Johnson; step-dad Dale Johnson; brother Gene Sheppard; sis- ters Wendi Leeper, Pam Woodworth and Ann Morino; several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousin;s and his beloved four legged companion Nia. Darryl was preceded in death by his father Carl Sheppard and nephew Steven Jay Maine. All those who knew Darryl loved him dearly and will always treasure their time that they spent together. Darryl will forever be missed. May he rest in peace. For those who would like to make a memorial donation in memory of Darryl, the family suggests Best Friends (animal care and rescue) through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home & Crema- tion Services P.O. Box 543 Halfway, OR 97834. Online condo- lences may be shared at tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com. James L. Johnson Oct. 8, 1934 — March 26, 2020 James Lynn Johnson of Canyon City passed away on March 26, 2020, at the age of 86, surrounded by his family. Jim was born Oct. 8, 1934, to Iva Marie and Irvin Leroy Johnson. He was the sixth of seven sons. Jim attended Grant Union High School, participating in football, basketball, base- ball, boxing, track and field. On July 30, 1954, Jim married his high school sweetheart, Lola Lee Smith. Three days later, he deployed to Korea serving in the Army as SP3, 99th ENG CO, oper- ating an offset printing press. He also vol- unteered at orphanages helping children. Jim received the National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal and Honorable Service Medal from Oregon Veterans. Music was Jim’s passion, playing and singing fiddle music in the community or at home. Jim had a gift for flint-knapping, leather and rawhide braiding. Jim as often found fishing or boating and enjoyed being outside hunting and camping with family and friends. He loved teaching the children of his community survival techniques during Outdoor School for many years. Jim attended Redeemer Lutheran Church in John Day and was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was employed by Hines Lumber Company and USFS as a Timber Sale Administrator. Jim was preceded in death by both of his parents and all six of his brothers. He is survived by his wife, Lola; daughter Cindy Lem- cke; son and daughter-in-law Guy and Angie Johnson; daughter and son-in-law Tani and Tom Schaefer; nine grandchildren, Bran- don, Tyrel, Jared, Amanda, Kaylee, Ben, Ori, Clay and Katie; nine great-grandchildren, Emma, Paisley, Samantha, Stetson, Parker, Sheppler, Jaxon, Harleigh and Lawson. Donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or Shriners Hospital for Children. A celebration of life for Jim will be held this summer. Darrell H. Johnson Darrell H. Johnson, age 96, of Prairie City went to be with his Lord and Savior on the morning of Thursday, April 16, at Valley View Assisted Living in John Day. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a private family burial will be held this week at Prairie City Cemetery. However, a public memorial service will be announced later in the summer for his many friends to attend and pay their respects. Memorial contributions may be made to the Samaritan’s Purse through Driskill Memorial Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845. To offer online condolences to his family, visit driskillmemo- rialchapel.com. Rosemary A. King January 2, 1924 ~ April 15, 2020 Rosemary A. King died April 15, 2020 at Wheatland Village in Walla Walla, WA. Her birthday was January 2, 1924 near Mt. Vernon, Oregon to James L. and Edith Schrier. She was next to the youngest child in a family with six children. Rosemary grew up on a cattle ranch near Mt. Vernon, graduating from Mt. Vernon High School as valedictorian of her class in 1942. After graduation she attended NYA School in Pendleton, Oregon and then worked at Pendleton Field as a secretary in Special Services until the Air Base closed. She then worked at Knob Hill Pharmacy in Portland, Oregon. On September 10, 1945 Rosemary married Dennis J. King at her father’s home in Mt. Vernon, Oregon. They made their home on a ranch west of Long Creek, Oregon, raising registered, horned Hereford cattle for over 40 years. Mrs. King enjoyed participating in Home Extension for a number of years. She was a long-time exhibitor at the Grant County Fair, most particularly in the home economics division, winning champions and a trophy for her angel-food cakes. Also, for a few years she served as a 4-H cooking leader, teaching youth how to exhibit at the fair. The real joy of her life was preparing made-from-scratch meals, from their home-grown produce for her family, friends and summer hay-hands. In her later years, she enjoyed her cats, garage sales and hobbies of refunding and coupon shopping and attending the Adams Community Church. Mrs. King was preceded in death by Mr. King, her parents, two brothers and two sisters. She is survived by one sister, Kay Swanson, and by two daughters, Edith Elligsen Smith of Athena and Terry Thunell and her husband John (Bud) Thunell of Walla Walla, as well as numerous grandchildren, great grandchil- dren and other relatives. A private burial service will be held at Olney Cemetery in Pendleton, OR. A public memorial service will be held at the Adams Community Church when the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control. Meantime, memorial gifts can be made to the Adams Community Church, Box 34, Adams, OR 97810 or to the Blue Mountain Humane Society of Walla Walla. Munselle-Rhodes Funeral Home of Milton-Freewater is in charge of the arrangements. To leave a condolence online, visit: www.munsellerhodes.com. Paid for by the family of Rosemary King. S184356-1 Last Week’s Temps John Day ...........................................................HI/LO Tuesday ........................................................... 63/29 Wednesday ..................................................... 58/37 Thursday .......................................................... 58/28 Friday ............................................................... 66/29 Saturday .......................................................... 65/35 Sunday ............................................................. 62/36 Monday............................................................ 70/37 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 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 S184034-1 A2 Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710 W EATHER F ORECAST FOR THE WEEK OF A PRIL 22 - 28 Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Showers Chance of showers Mostly sunny Chance of showers Mostly cloudy Chance of showers Cloudy 56 58 63 69 67 63 72 40 35 40 40 42 29 42
