Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 2012)
SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, September 5,2012 Local hearing screenings next month IMESD to conduct hearing screenings in Eastern Oregon schools The InterM o u n tain Education Service District (IMESD) is providing free hearing screenings to public elementary school students through November. Local hearing screen ings will be conducted on Monday, Oct. 22 at 8:15 a.m. in lone and approxi mately 10 a.m. in Hep pner. Re-screenings will be held Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 8:15 a.m. in lone and approximately 10 a.m. in Heppner. H earing screen in g s are conducted annually by the IMESD's Audiol ogy Department for public school students in Umatilla, Morrow and Union coun ties, and is cooperatively sponsored by local school districts. Students to be screened include nearly 4,000 kindergarten, first- and third-grade students, new students to a county, and parent/teacher/princi- pal referrals of students in other grades. Children who fail the initial screening will be re-screened within a three-week period. Parents who do not want their child’s hearing to be screened should notify their child’s school as soon as possible. If you have any questions regarding the hearing screening pro gram, please contact your local school principal or the IMESD Audiology Depart ment at 541 -966-3140. BEO announces winners of fair giveaways Fall prescribed burning may impact hunting and camping activities Fire management staff on the Umatilla National Forest are preparing for the fall prescribed burning, which may impact access and camping opportunities in several fall hunting units. Area, road and trail closures will go into effect just prior to and during bum opera tions, which typically take twp to five days. Forest officials advise hunters to plan ahead and avoid camping in the fol lowing designated p re scribed burn areas during this 2012 hunting season: -The Gulliford Burn (located in the Heppner Hunting Unit in Oregon) encompasses 4,000 acres on the North Fork John Day Ranger District west of State Highway 395 between forest road 5308 and forest road 5314. Prescribed burning is highly dependent on pre cise weather and fuel con ditions, and fall weather provides some o f the best conditions—dry material and cooler temperatures. Burning could occur any time from late September through early November, which coincides with sev eral big game hunting sea sons. Additional areas across the forest are also scheduled for fall prescribed burning but will not involve large area closures. “It’s important to note that not all proposed bums planned for this fall may be completed, since typical weather conditions provide limited burn w indow s,” said Chris Johnson, Deputy Fire Staff Officer. Firefighters will ignite the bum perimeter by hand using drip torches. The in- terior of the bums will be aerial ignited, via helicop ter, using a plastic sphere dispenser that drops ping- pong-like balls through the tree canopy that catch fire on the ground. For this reason, it is important that hunters avoid setting up camp within the designated bum perimeter. “The safety of our fire fighters and the public are top priority,” said Johnson. While closures may inconvenience hunters, the long-term reward is worth the short-term restrictions on forest use. “Unfortunately, hunt ing season coincides with prescribed burning season. We understand this will im pact hunters, but controlled bums are necessary to rein troduce fire to the landscape and encourage healthy veg- etation that will ultimately improve landscapes and forage for big game,” added Johnson. Partnerships with the Blue Mountain Elk Initi ate, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Washing ton Department of Fish and Wildlife provide funding and in-kind support for prescribed burning proj ects. Maps and additional information on these and other proposed prescribed bums are available on the Umatilla National Forest website www.fs.usda.gov/ umatilla/ or at any forest office. For more information concerning the Umatilla National Forest Prescribed Burning program, contact Dale Boyd in the Heppner Ranger District at 541 -676- 9187. Wildfire danger extreme despite cooler weather Public assistance needed to minimize human caused fires Cooler nights and mod erate daytime temperatures may have people thinking more about fall and less about wildfire prevention. However, fuel conditions across the landscape are dangerously dry this time of year and will bum ag gressively. “In timbered areas, it takes many days of hot and dry conditions for fuels such as trees, brush and logs to cure. It also takes many days o f cool and moist w eather for these same fuels to absorb enough moisture to the extent they will no longer bum,” said Brian Goff, Forest Fire Staff Officer. “ We need help from the public to minimize the chances of human-caused fires during this critical period,” urged Goff. “There are a number of large fires burning in Oregon, as well as in other western states. If we can avoid it, we don’t want to add any more fires to the list,” said Goff. Hunters and other for est visitors are reminded that public-use restrictions pertaining to campfires, smoking, chainsaw use and the use of other internal combustion engines such as generators, remain in effect on the Umatilla National Forest. Under current public- use restrictions, the follow ing apply: -Building and tending of open campfires, includ ing charcoal briquettes, cooking fires and warming fires are prohibited until further notice, except in fire pits at designated rec reation sites. Permissible sources for cooking or heat include pressurized gas BBQs, stoves hnd space heating devices. 4th Annual -Smoking is only al lowed within enclosed ve hicles, buildings, developed recreation sites or when stopped in an area cleared of all flammable material. -Firewood cutting is not allowed. Operating an internal com bustion en gine, such as a chainsaw, is prohibited. This restriction applies to internal combus tion engines other than a motor vehicle. -Generators will only be allowed in the center o f an area at least 10 feet in diam eter that is bar ren or cleared of all flam mable material, or when fully contained within a pickup bed that is devoid of all flammable material, or when factory-installed in a recreational vehicle and the generator exhaust discharge is located in the center of an area at least 10 feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable material. As a reminder, travel restrictions prohibit motor vehicles traveling off desig- nated forest roads and trails, except for the purposes of going to or from campsites located within 300 feet of an open road. Motorized travel on segments of road where access is blocked by gate, barricade, log, boul der or earthen berm is also prohibited. Vehicles must still abide by all laws and regulations pertaining to the area of travel. Regulated closures are in effect on state and private lands protected by Oregon D epartm ent o f Forestry (ODF) in northeast and central Oregon. Specific information on ODF’s re strictions is available on the web at http://egov.oregon. gov/ODF/. If unsure which restric tions apply, contact the Umatilla National Forest Office at 541-278-3716. Public-use restrictions will be updated on the toll-free message line at 1 -877-958- 9663 and are also available online at www.fs.usda.gov/ umatilla/. cfet/in ’ on tko (ftiytid Chamber lunch Saturday, September 22nd Boardman Marina Park 3:00pm—9:00pm Live Music featuring C. C. King Band & THE SHADES Classic Car Display Wine & Beer Tasting Tickets: $20. To Purchase call: 541-481-3014 www.rotrfestival.com $25 at the door, Must be 21 to Attend Catered b y : Judy Scott's Chuck Wagon Sponsored b y : Boardman, OR Top: Jessica Lentz won the BEO carving knife set from the bank’s Morrow County fair booth giveaway. Middle: Ray Cecil, winner of the camp chair and cooler. Bottom: Branch manager Tricia Rollins (L) with Darrin Padberg, winner of the Kindle from BEO’s Morrow County fair booth giveaway. -Contributed photos Tricia Rollins, Branch Manager at the Heppner Bank o f Eastern Oregon branch, drew the names of three persons who won the prizes displayed at BEO ’s M orrow County fair booth. Jessica Lentz won the BEO carving knife set; Ray Cecil won the camp chair and cooler; and Darrin Pad berg won the Kindle. BEO’s branches with fair booths in Harney, Grant, Gilliam and Wheeler coun ties had or will have similar drawings. County Court news meeting This Thursday’s Heppner Chamber o f Commerce lunch meeting will be all entities report from 12-1 p.m. in the St. Patrick’s Senior Center dining room. We will also have a brief introduction of “District Energy for Heppner” by Andrew Haden of Wisewood, Inc. Cost of lunch is $9; Alvin Liu of Cornerstone Gal lery will cater. Attendees are asked to RS VP no later than Wednesday the Wednesday before. The Morrow County Court met in Heppner on Aug. 29 with Judge Tallman and Commissioners Grieb and Rea in attendance. The court review ed and approved the account payables in the net total Located In the R olling Hills near Hardman. This remote location Is perfect for your private functions. THE TREO LODGE IS AVAILABLE FOR RENT Family Reunions Company Functions Nightly or multiple days Bring your own or Full Service Prices start at $300.00 per night sleeps 14 Available at Treo: Sporting Clay Course • Rifle Range Pistol Range • Tannerite Range Train Your Hunting Dogs Horse Shoes • Bicycling Hot Tub • Pool Table • Satellite TV Qlve Kathy a call «t S41-B78-SB40 « IUthy.TreoRancheeOHughes.net www.TreoRanches.com amount of $51,451.09. The court discussed the addi tional funds requested for the evaluation of the bell tower. The court approved spending up to $2,500 for the additional engineering review of the bell tower. The court meeting was adjourned and the Depart ment Head meeting begun. This information is pro vided by Com m issioner Leann Rea; anyone who would like to receive Coun ty Court minutes, please contact Karen Wolff at 541 - 676-5620. WEBSITES Heppner Gazette-Times 541 676-9228 - I
