SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner. Oregon W ednesday, August 2 ,2 0 0 6
H eppner G arden Club to meet
Firefighters save homes from advancing flam es
H o m estead post o ffice
closed in 1965, the historic
Homestead School, which
was built about 1903, still
stands.
Taylor said she didn’t
drive beyond Dennis’ home,
so she doesn’t know how
close the flames came to the
school.
Keeping track of the
fire is difficult, Taylor said,
because smoke continues to
cast a pall o v er H ells
Canyon.
“It’s so smoky you
3 can’t see anything,” she said.
So sm oky that
Taylor moved her mother,
R uth M cG inness, to La
Grande until the air clears.
McGinness lives next door to
-
Taylor.
“She’s 88, and she
doesn't need to be in this
smoke,” Taylor said.
Fire officials have
recommended residents in
Steve Rhea with Heppner Volunteer hire and Rescue keeps a and around Oxbow leave the
careful watch on the Oxbow lire moving toward him and the area, but evacuations are not
highway at the Oxbow Village Tuesday. Baker City Herald/S. John mandatory.
Fire
o ffic ia ls
Collins
co n tin u e to lim it public
Reprinted from the Baker City O regon
Gov.
Ted access to the Oxbow area.
H e ra ld . A rtic le o r ig in a lly K ulongoski invoked the
Highway 86 is closed
published: July 27. 2006.
C onflagration Act at the betw een the W allow a
By Jayson Jacoby
request of the Baker County M ountain Loop Road
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Board of Commissioners, intersection, which is about
Dixie Taylor lost her 1 (X) fire engines have arrived seven miles east of Halfway,
electricity to the McLain to protect homes, most of and Oxbow.
The paved road
Creek fire, and the blaze them in the Oxbow area or
along
Highway
86
between
betw een
O xbow
and
busted her water pipe, too,
but so far the flames have N orth Pine C reek and Brownlee Dam is closed as
Oxbow.
well.
spared her home.
About
750
people
Idaho Pow er is
Taylor lives along
are
w
orking
on
the
tw
o
allowing people who have
the Homestead Road about
two miles north of Oxbow. blazes, w hich are being whitewater rafting permits
S h e ’s
one
o f m anaged together as the for the Snake River to drive
the road that runs along the
a p p ro x im ately
90 Foster Gulch Complex.
The
fire
camp
is
at
Idaho side of Hells Canyon
hom eow ners
w hose
the
fairgrounds
in
Halfway.
Reservoir to Hells Canyon
properties at the eastern
Taylor said the lights Dam, said Brian Bombie,
edge of Baker County are
threatened by e ith e r the w ent out at her hom e who works at the company’s
McLain Creek fire or the T uesday night. Flam es Oxbow compound.
But that road is
Foster Gulch fire, both of scorched several wooden
w hich w ere sp ark ed by power poles that support an •closed to people who just
lightning on Sunday evening. Idaho Power Company line want to get a look at the fire.
“ W e’re try in g to
As of this morning, that runs north from Oxbow.
T
aylor
said
this
keep
sightseers
out, to avoid
though, neither of the blazes,
morning
that
Idaho
Power
conflicts with all the fire
which are about nine miles
apart, had burned any homes crews were replacing burned traffic,” Bombie said.
poles.
Idaho Pow er has
or other structures.
She
has
been
staying
evacuated
its campgrounds
For that T aylor
sin
ce
T
uesday
w
ith
her
at Copperfield, which is at
c red its the h u n d red s o f
firefighters who are trying to daughter, Julie Stromer, who Oxbow, and at Hells Canyon
corral the flames, which have owns the Hells Canyon Bed Park, which is on the Idaho
side about seven miles north
spread across an estimated & Breakfast at Oxbow.
T
ay
lo
r
said
that
of
Oxbow.
26,240 acres of grass-and-
without
electricity,
she
can’t
The company’s two
sage country cured to tinder
during the heat wave that has run her pump which siphons o th e r nearby parks —
blistered Baker County since water from Hells Canyon Woodhead and McCormick
Reservoir, water she uses to — remain open, Bombie
last week.
said. Both parks are on the
Occasionally gusty irrigate her property.
T aylor said she Idaho side o f B row nlee
w inds and sin g le -d ig it
humidity, com bined with doesn't have drinking water, Reservoir.
The F o ster G ulch
steep
te rra in ,
have eith er, b ecau se flam es
burned
the
pipe
that
leads
fire, which started near the
complicated the fire crews’
from a spring above her summit of Halfway Hill on
task.
H ighw ay 86 betw een
“I can't say enough home.
Another of Taylor's Richland and Halfway, has
good th in g s about the
firefighters,” Taylor said this daughters, Jeanne Dennis, burned south and east since
morning. “They park these lives along the Homestead Sunday. Flames have crossed
big trucks right next to your Road about two miles north the Sag R oad south o f
Halfway and moved to the
house and keep the fire of Taylor's home.
T ay lo r said that shore
of
B row nlee
away.”
when
she
drove
to
Dennis’
Reservoir.
T aylor said the
The blaze is not yet
McLain Creek fire is the home Wednesday night, the
B row nlee
biggest blaze that has burned fire was em itting “a big th re a ten in g
on the Oregon side of Hells glow” on the slopes above Village, where eight Idaho
Canyon near Oxbow since the site of H om estead, a Power employees and their
town founded about 1900 families — about 25 people
she moved there in 1960.
in all — live, Bombie said.
Since Tuesday, when near the Irondyke Mine.
A lth o u g h
the
The com pany has
► ■<»
•*■%!.**■*&+* not reco m m en d ed those
4V * * &
#■'
residents evacuate, he said.
“ But e v e ry b o d y ’s
%
- H J e d d im T a h f e s -
§
well aware of what’s going
*
J
t
on," Bombie said.
N eith er fire has
Y M ickelle Kinley & Korey M organ -jf
affected Idaho P o w e r's
^
Wedding ~ Friday, August 11 tb
o p e ra tio n s at O xbow or
Brow nlee dam s, Bombie
said.
A
H eather Rill & Ad am W ight if
He said Idaho Power
£
Wedding ~ Saturday, September 2n d
w o rk ers are striv in g , to
protect
wooden power poles
J
-
Y Amellia Peck & Dustin Hag uewood A that support an electricity
line that runs
£ Wedding ~ Saturday, September 9tb I transmission
west from Brownlee Dam.
C rew s
used
bulldozers to carve 15-foot
%
^
M w u u j ' j i M u ij
! wide fire lines around the
X
217 North M ain • Happner • Phone 678-9158 • Floral 676-9426 ^
poles, and so far none of the
Serving Heppner. Lexington A lone
^
poles has burned, Bombie
said.
W
%
Danny Picard, a m em ber of the H eppner G arden
Club, helps by w atering at M emorial P ark and
H eritage Plaza.
The Heppner Garden Club will meet on Monday,
Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. at St. Patrick's Senior Center. The program
u ill he on making final plans for the fair. The Garden Club
prepares a booth and has been winning prizes almost every
year. Club members also set up and categorize flowers and
plants.
Hosting the meeting this month will be Danny
Picard and JoAnne Burleson. The Garden Club always
welcomes guests and does much to beautify the city.
The person honored this month is Danny Picard.
He packs a hose twice a day to Memorial Park and Heritage
Plaza to w ater those areas every day. Here's another Garden
Club member at work, keeping our city pretty.
W orkforce grants available
Training grants are available to businesses within
Umatilla and Morrow counties. Funding is provided by the
Employer Workforce Training Fund, established by the
Governor of Oregon*to support the retention and growth
of living wage jobs, a skilled workforce and competitive
businesses. Grant amounts are based on the demonstrated
need of the company with a one-to-one funding match
required.
Grant applications will be accepted on a first-come,
first-served basis between Aug. 20 and Sept. 20, 2006. All
grants w ill be awarded beginning Oct. 15,2006 and projects
must be completed no later than March 31,2008. Granted
funds may not be used to pay employee wages or for capital
purchases.
Contact Tina Bishop at tbishop@capeco-works.org
or (541) 278-5675 for application materials and assistance
in completing necessary forms.
Used book * wanted
The annual Friends of the Library book and bake
sale will be during the Fair this year. Books will be sold
Friday and Saturday, Aug. 18 and 19 inside City Hall. People
with books to donate may take them to the library, the
Methodist Church or to Kuhn and Spicer by Monday, Aug.
14.
The Friends will have story time for children
Wednesday and Thursday afternoons again this year at the
Fair. They w ill be located on the lawn behind the 4-H Snack
Shack.
T- - - - - -
SEW WHAT
f a r . \ H Y n u r S m in g !\m d s
- P r o fe s s io n a l E m liro itlo rv -
245 NW Main, Suite 200, lone
(541) 422-9000
H o u rs : T u e sd a y - F rid as !)-,'»
Hour
E
s
t
a
t
e
B y D A V ID S Y K E S
REALTOR
N E V E R A B E T T E R T IM E
The old sa y in g goes:
"There is no time like the
present.” When making the
decision to move up to a larg
er or newer home, there is no
better time than right now to
put your home on the market.
There are some wonderful op
portunities to secure that home
of your dreams right now at
the right price.
However, before you can
seriously think about a new
home, you have to do some
thing about your present one.
The best situation is to have
your present home under con
tract or sold. Without the first
event, the second event may be
a difficult reality. By having
the dollar figures in hand from
the sale of your present home,
you can better evaluate how
much cash you'll have for a
down payment and how much
you can actually afford to pay
for the new home.
Coordinating the purchase
and sale of two homes in a
short time frame can be tricky.
A s your Realtor, I can guide
you through the steps to pro
duce a smooth sale as well as
purchase.
Property listings are available
at www.sykesrealeslate.net
188 W. Willow • P.0. Box 337 • Heppner, OR 97836
(541) 676-9228 • 1-800-326-2152
Cell (541) 980-6674 • Fax (541) 676-9211
E-mail: david @ sykesrealestate. net
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Molly’s Revenge
to perform at
Old Richmond
Church
Molly’s Revenge is
coming to raise the rafters at
the Old Richmond Church in
the little town of Richmond,
Oregon, on Thursday, Aug.
10 at 8 p.m.
Born out o f the
timeless tradition of Celtic
m usic sessio n s, M o lly ’s
Revenge is a band with a
genuine affection for the
m usic they p lay ; th e ir
enthusiasm for the music
carries over in all their live
and recorded performances.
The classic combination of
solo instruments such as the
Highland bagpipes, uilleann
pipes, whistles, fiddle and
mandolin against a backdrop
o f g u ita r and b o u zo u k i
accom panim ent, w ith an
occasional rousing chorus
song mixed in, guarantees an
enjoyable and memorable
listening experience. Add the
visual excitement of award
winning Irish step dancing to
the mix and y o u ’ve got
yourself a party.
Equally at home in
front of audiences several
thousand strong or in small
intimate venues, such as the
O ld R ichm ond C h u rch ,
M o lly ’s R evenge ’ has
performed at many of the top
folk festivals and performing
arts events in the USA and
countless private concerts.
Internationally, they have
perform ed at prestigious
ev en ts in A u stra lia and
China.
The band's skilled
musicianship and boundless
enthusiasm for its music
g u a ra n tee s
e n jo y ab le
entertainment for people of
all ages. Their arrangements
of traditional Celtic jigs and
reels brings these dance
tunes up to date w ith a
driving, hard-edged accent in
a way that will leave your
feet tapping, your hands
clapping, and your voices
shouting for more.
L ast sum m er, the
O ld R ichm ond C hurch
hosted Ramblin’ Jack Elliott,
Peter Rowan and Tom May.
Once again, local flat picker
G w am ba w ill charm the
au d ien ce w ith his ow n
unique style of guitar to open
the show. Refreshments will
be available and the show
starts at 8 p.m., on Thursday,
Aug. 10. Tickets are $ 15 and
can be reserved by calling
(541) 934-2140.
The
R ichm ond
Church is easy to find. Take
Hwy 207 south from Service
C reek , or n o rth from
Mitchell to Richmond Road,
at milepost six. The church
is one mile east of Hwy 207
on Richmond Road in the old
ghost town of Richmond.
See you there.
W illow Creek
Baptist to host
VBS
W illow
C reek
Baptist is hosting Vacation
Bible School on Aug. 7-11
from 6-8:30 p.m. at City
Park. VBS is open for
children in kindergarten
through sixth grade.
A c tiv itie s
w ill
include c ra fts, w ater
b allo o n s, gam es and
refreshments. Registration
form s are a v a ila b le at
M urray’s and the Gazette
office. Fill out the forms and
bring them with you to VBS.
For
m ore
information, contact Deana
Price at 676-5552.
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