A2
FAMILY
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Local bird count tallies 66 species
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle
Volunteers at John Day’s Squeeze-In Restaurant and Deck on Christmas Day.
Christmas at the Squeeze
John Day restaurant
makes 400 free
holiday dinners
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — A John Day
restaurant teamed up with a local
business owner and more than two
dozen volunteers to feed nearly 400
people on Christmas Day.
The Squeeze-In Restaurant and
Deck prepared free holiday meals
for pickup and delivery for the sec-
ond year in a row. The menu fea-
tured turkey, ham, stuffi ng and
all the trimmings of a traditional
Christmas dinner, including pump-
kin pie for dessert.
Shawn Duncan, the owner
of the restaurant, said the din-
ners were made possible by Russ
and Tara Young, who donated the
funds to pay for the food costs.
Russ Young is the owner of Iron
Triangle, a John Day-based log-
ging company.
“I would not have been able to
do this without them,” Duncan said.
Duncan said she could not say
how much the Youngs donated to
pay for the food. This was the sec-
ond year the John Day couple cov-
ered the cost of the meals.
According to Duncan, the volun-
teers delivered more than 200 meals
to John Day, Seneca, Prairie City
and Dayville. She said they made
the most deliveries to Prairie City.
Patty Ross, a volunteer, said
many people in Grant County are
single or without family and ulti-
mately end up spending the holi-
days alone.
“It’s important to make sure
everybody gets that feeling that
people care,” Ross said. “It warms
my heart to do it.”
By off ering the meals via pickup
or delivery, Duncan said, people get
a chance to visit and connect with
others on Christmas.
“A lot of people don’t have any-
where to go,” Duncan said. “I don’t
like people being alone.”
JOHN DAY — One of the joys
of birdwatching is you never know
what you’re going to see when you
head out with your binoculars and
field guide.
This year’s John Day Christ-
mas bird count, which has been
conducted each December since
1981 by the John Day Bird Club,
included two first-time sightings:
a ferruginous hawk and a Swain-
son’s thrush. Other rarities included
Harris’ sparrow, last spotted during
the local Christmas count in 2006,
and the first Lincoln’s sparrow
since 2013.
The local count, part of a
data-gathering effort sponsored by
the Audubon Society since 1900,
attempts to record all the bird spe-
cies and total number of each seen
on a single day in a roughly circu-
lar area centered on the stoplight in
John Day.
According to Tom Winters, the
bird club’s president, a dozen vol-
unteers took part in this year’s count
on Dec. 18, spending a combined 37
hours in the field, traveling 5 miles
on foot and 208 miles by car, and
spotting 66 species.
No clear trends were dis-
cerned in this year’s Christmas
bird count other than indications
that climate change may be caus-
ing some birds to alter their ranges,
Winters said.
“We have seen some species
moving in that didn’t use to be
here,” he noted, citing the Califor-
nia scrub jay and lesser goldfinch as
examples.
Among his favorite sightings this
year was a small group of bushtits.
“They always move in groups,”
Winters said. “They’re really tiny lit-
tle grayish birds, but they’re cute.”
He was also excited to have spied
an adult golden eagle perched high
on the rimrock above the John Day
Valley and an American dipper on
the riverbank near the John Day sew-
age ponds.
The most common species sighted
this year was the dark-eyed junco,
with 630 individuals counted, fol-
lowed by the California quail (492
individuals), house sparrow (342),
Canada goose (338), European star-
ling (333), pine siskin (193), Eur-
asian collared dove (169) and com-
mon raven (149).
At the other end of the spectrum,
birders spotted just a single exam-
ple of these species: Wilson’s snipe,
ferruginous hawk, barn owl, Pacific
wren, Swainson’s thrush, Harris’
sparrow, Lincoln’s sparrow and
spotted towhee.
OBITUARIES
Patsy Eileen Brooks
Diane Lee Tirico
Nancy Kay Swaggart
April 20, 1948 — Dec. 10, 2021
Patsy Eileen Brooks, 73, of Rosalia, Washington, passed
away on Dec. 10 following a long battle with kidney failure.
Patsy was born April 20, 1948, in Prairie City to John and Made-
line Hutchison of Austin. She graduated
from Prairie City High School in 1966.
Patsy was preceded in death by both
parents, husband Raymond Brooks, and
brother Parley (Leonard) Hutchison. She
is survived by sisters Hazel Berdahl and
Linda Hanks, brothers Robert Hutchison
and Kenneth Hutchison, children Neil
Brooks (Heidi), Dawn Hart (Jen), Tia
Barrietua (Joe), eight grandchildren, and
15 great-grandchildren.
Prior to health complications, Patsy
was full of life. She enjoyed hunting and camping with her fam-
ily. She was an avid crafter and spent many hours creating craft
items to give her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchil-
dren. Patsy was a loving wife, sister, mother, and grandmother.
Her kind spirit and generous nature will be missed by all that
knew her.
She will be laid to rest next to Raymond at the Washington
State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake, Washington. Bruning
Funeral Home of Colfax, Washington, is caring for the family.
Online condolences may be sent to bruningfuneralhome.com.
July 8, 1937 — Dec. 13, 2021
Diane Lee Tirico, age 84, passed away Dec. 13 in Bend, with her
family by her side. A Mass of Christian Burial was held Tuesday,
Dec. 21, at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church in John Day.
On Dec. 13, our Lord accepted another
kind and loyal soul to the Kingdom of God.
Diane was born July 8, 1937, in Orange,
California, to Joseph and Genevieve
Rhines Hamann. She enjoyed being a big
sister to her three younger siblings, Jean-
nine, Charmine, and Richard. She also has
a brother, David, who was closer to her age.
Diane was a wife for over 60 years to
her husband, Anthony Tirico. Together
they raised three sons, Anthony Jr., Joseph,
and Richard. They also have a daughter,
Lisa, who remained very close to her mother throughout her life.
Diane graduated from St. Vincent’s College of Nursing in Los
Angeles and worked for the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles
County. She worked for many years in various hospitals, when
she and Tony decided to move to Mt. Vernon, Oregon, and buy
a ranch.
After raising the older children, Diane decided to go back to
work as an offi ce nurse for Dr. Spalding. This started many years
at the Blue Mountain Hospital, where she enjoyed the camarade-
rie of close friends.
Throughout her life, she handled problems with joy, strength,
and dignity. She provided wisdom and courage to those she men-
tored throughout her long nursing career.
She is preceded in death by her grandsons Tony and Eric and
daughter-in-law Luann. She has now found them again in heaven.
Diane is also survived by her grandchildren, great-grandchil-
dren, son-in-law Greg Robirts and daughter-in-law Cindy Tirico.
To leave an online condolence for the family, visit www.driskill-
memorialchapel.com.
Jan. 5, 1941 — Dec. 17, 2021
Nancy Kay Swaggart of Hermiston was born on Jan. 5, 1941, in Mis-
souri to Earl and Irene Garrison Bonner. She died on Dec. 17 in Kenne-
wick, Washington, at the age of 80. She was raised in Eastern Oregon
and graduated from Long Creek High School
in Long Creek. Nancy was united in Mmrriage
to Cecil Swaggart on June 24, 1957, in Pend-
leton. They lived in Ritter and worked together
in the family logging and construction busi-
ness until retiring. They moved to Hermiston
in 2006, where they have lived since. Nancy
was a member of Our Lady of Angels Cath-
olic Church in Hermiston and the John Day
Elks Lodge. She enjoyed music, church, fl ow-
ers and traveling. Nancy cherished spending
time with her family.
She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Cecil Swaggart, Hermis-
ton; sons Benjamin Swaggart and wife Terri, Hermiston, Lincoln Swag-
gart and wife Julie, Eagle, Idaho, John Swaggart and wife Misty, Echo,
and Paul Blake Swaggart, Wickenburg, Arizona; 12 grandchildren, Levi,
Garrett, Logan, Ty, Chase, Jon Merle, J. Blake, Alyssa, Alaura, Shiyenne,
Sydney and Taylor; a great-grandson, Lonnie; a great-granddaughter,
Laine; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Nancy was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Carl and her
sister Joyce.
Recitation of the Holy Rosary was held on Wednesday, Dec. 22, at
10 a.m., followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. at Our Lady
of Angels Catholic Church in Hermiston.
Burial was held on Thursday, Dec. 23, at 11 a.m. at Ritter Cemetery
in Ritter.
Those who wish may make contributions in Nancy’s memory to Our
Lady of Angels Catholic Church, Hermiston.
Please share memories of Nancy with her family at burnsmortuary-
hermiston.com.
Burns Mortuary of Hermiston is in charge of arrangements.
Mt. Vernon looks to fi ll empty council position
The Blue Mountain
Eagle office will be
Blue Mountain Eagle
Closed Friday,
December 31 st
Happy Holidays!
MT. VERNON — The city
of Mt. Vernon is looking for
volunteers interested in fi ll-
ing a vacant seat on the City
Council.
Qualifi ed applicants must
be at least 18 years old, regis-
tered to vote and Mt. Vernon
residents who have lived in the
city for at least a year.
The appointee will serve a
term running through Dec. 31,
2022. Applications are due by
4 p.m. Feb. 7.
Application forms are
available at City Hall, 290 W.
Main St., from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Monday-Friday.
CORRECTION
Gleason Park: The state has agreed to pay the city of John Day $222,000 for the Glea-
son Park and Gleason Pool property. A story on Page A1 of the Dec. 22 edition misstated the
amount. The Eagle regrets the error.
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We want to thank everyone who took tags and donated food for
the Prairie City Fire Department Christmas Basket Program.
A special thank you to the people behind the scenes.
Prairie City School
Lauren Wenger
Chris Camarena
Carla Wright
Sharon Thissell
Lyn McDonald
Georgia Patterson
Tonya Wood
Carlos Bortell
Andy Hutsell
Laura Hire
Cynthia Jackson
Marvin Rynerson
KJDY
Debbie Sanowski
Pam Gangler
Tom Gangler
Verna Clark
Luella Simrell
Brogan Cearns
WE WISH EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR
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