Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Nordic ski club on the hunt
for snow and sun
Last Saturday, the Nordic ski club reported they had six skiers and three dogs make the trek
to the mountain snow. With existing warm temperatures and no new snow, members of the
Arbuckle Nordic ski club say it is becoming more difficult to find good skiing conditions. The
group again chose the flat terrain around Kelly Prairie for this weekend’s trip. Members re-
ported it was a bit icy in the morning but the sunshine brought a softening of the surface, so
the skiing was good after lunch. Participants say they appreciate the many of the weekends
this year they’ve been able to spend the day in sunshine and blue skies instead of staying in
town with the fog. Pictured (L-R) are last weekend’s skiers: Steve Brownfield, Sherry Ewing,
Luanne Brownfield, Bill Ewing, Terry Harper and Betsy Anderson. –Contributed photo
WARM WINTER
CONTINUES
-Continued from PAGE ONE ary from NOAA’s Climate
inch was received on nine
days with the heaviest, 0.18
inches, reported on the 18 th .
Since October, the
water-year precipitation
at Heppner has been 4.51
inches, which is 1.02 inches
below normal.
The greatest depth of
snow on the ground was
three inches on the 1 st .
The highest wind gust
was 42 mph, which oc-
curred on the 5 th .
The outlook for Febru-
Prediction Center calls for
above-normal temperatures
and near-normal precipi-
tation. Normal highs for
Heppner during February
are 47.4 degrees and normal
lows are 28.2 degrees. The
30 year normal precipita-
tion is 1.12 inches.
The National Weather
Service is an office of the
National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration,
an agency of the U.S. Com-
merce Department.
Ruiz wins Windy
River geographic bee
BOARDMAN – Jose Ruiz, a 6th grader at Windy
River Elementary School, won the school-level compe-
tition of the National Geographic Bee on Jan. 14, and
now he has a chance to earn a $50,000 college scholar-
ship.
- SEVEN
Bakery Bunch 4-H club learns
all about coffee
The Bakery Bunch 4-H
Club held its January club
meeting at the Turquoise
Yeti Coffee Shop in Ione.
Owner Keri Heideman
briefly told club members
about the history of coffee
from 14 th century Ethiopia
until the present day.
She explained different
ways that coffee beans are
ground and roasted, and
talked about guidelines for
caffeine consumption.
Then members watched
as Heideman demonstrated
step-by-step how to make
a caramel latte and an iced
coffee, two of the shop’s
popular beverages.
That led to a discussion
about to prepare a frappe,
macchiato, cappuccino, and
cold brew coffee.
Refreshments included
eating Mocha Rocky Road
Keri Heideman of the Turquoise Yeti (left) shows members of
the Bakery Bunch 4-H Club how to make a latte at her coffee
shop in Ione. –Contributed photo
Oatmeal Cookies that club
leader Nancy Jepsen had
prepared with decaffeinated
coffee for flavoring.
Members present were
Madison Orem, Haylie and
Renee Peterson, MaLinda
Morter, Cecelia McElligott,
Katelyn Thompson, Mack-
enzie and Hailey Heide-
man, and Grace Ogden,
with guests Isabelle and
Olivia Ogden.
Cub Scouts have local pinewood derby
Heppner Pack 691 and
Ione Pack 643 held the an-
nual Cub Scout Pinewood
Derby Jan. 31 in Lexington.
This was the first year
the Ione pack has been a
part of the derby, but the
Heppner scouts showed
them the ropes.
The older boy scouts
organized the heats.
Heppner pack lead-
ers Dan and Andrea Grigg
prepared the track, helped
the scouts and their families
make weight, and kept of-
ficial results.
Every car raced in each
lane twice, and the average
times determined placing.
Every student got a
certificate with an award for
his individual car design.
Examples of awards
given include most creative,
best body design and best
paint job.
Local derby winners
for 2015 were Liam Heide-
man (first), Mason Orem
South Morrow Cub Scouts recently held their annual pinewood derby. Back row: Roen Waite,
Seth Grigg, Felix Matthew and Eli Petzoldt. Front row: Mason Orem, Corey Rice, Finn Simpson
and Liam Heideman. –Contributed photo
(second), and Felix Mat- derby in Hermiston later looking forward to next
thew (third). The scouts this year. Members of both year’s local event.
can compete in the regional packs say they are already
Oregon enters next phase of wolf recovery after at least seven
packs breed in 2014: Changes for livestock producers
SALEM, Ore.—Or-
egon is moving to Phase
II of its wolf recovery plan
after wildlife biologists
documented seven breeding
pairs of wolves in Oregon
in 2014.
Of nine known wolf
packs, only the Imnaha
Pack is not a breeding pair.
The Umatilla River pack
still needs to be surveyed.
A breeding pair is a
pair of adult wolves which
produce at least two pups
that survive to the end of
each year. Six of Oregon’s
2014 breeding pairs are in
eastern Oregon.
While surveys are not
completed on all of Or-
egon’s wolves, confirma-
tion of at least four breeding
pairs for the third consecu-
tive year in eastern Oregon
moves the eastern part of
the state to Phase 2 of the
state’s Wolf Conservation
and Management Plan.
“This is an important
step for Oregon. Wolves
have now met one of the
initial milestones envi-
sioned by the public and
the Commission,” said Russ
Morgan, ODFW wolf coor-
dinator. “In the past seven
years, Oregon has gone
from no known wolves, to
resident and reproducing
wolves, and now to meeting
our conservation objective
for the eastern part of the
state.”
In addition to breeding
pairs, the department docu-
mented four new pairs of
wolves in 2014, including
confirmation of a second
wolf in the Keno Unit last
week.
Changes for livestock
producers east of Hwys.
395-78-95
Most known wolf ac-
tivity, including eight of
the nine known wolf packs,
is east of Hwys. 395-78-
95. This is the area of the
state where wolves are also
delisted from the federal
Endangered Species Act.
Wolf-livestock conflict
in this area is now managed
under Phase 2 rules of the
Oregon Wolf Plan. Non-
lethal measures to prevent
wolf-livestock conflict are
still emphasized in Phase
2 but livestock producers
now have more flexibility
to protect their livestock.
Specifically, producers in
the easternmost portion of
the state are allowed to take
(shoot) a wolf caught chas-
ing livestock under certain
circumstances. Livestock
producers are also encour-
aged to visit the Wolf-Live-
stock page and sign up for
automatic Wolf-Livestock
section email updates to
get the latest information on
wolves in their area.
In our backyard
West of Hwys. 395-78-
95, wolves remain listed
under the Federal Endan-
gered Species Act, and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service regulates all take
and harassment of wolves
where wolves are feder-
ally listed. The only known
wolves in this area are the
Rogue Pack (OR7) and
two new wolves recently
confirmed in the Keno Unit.
Next steps: Annual re-
port, potential delisting of
wolves from Oregon ESA
ODFW biologists
are now working to final-
ize 2014 wolf population
counts. Population surveys
are nearly complete and the
number of wolves may be
updated through February
as biologists continue to
collect information. The
2014 population will be
reported in March when
ODFW publishes its annual
wolf report.
The transition to Phase
2 also marks the initiation
of the state delisting process
in Oregon as outlined in
the Wolf Plan. ODFW will
begin conducting a full sta-
tus review and will present
the results of that review
to the Fish and Wildlife
Commission in April 2015.
Delisting from the Oregon
List of Endangered Species
is a public process and the
Commission could make
their decision as early as
June 2015.
“The Wolf Plan is
working and the wolf popu-
lation in Oregon expanding
as the original crafters of
the Plan thought it would,”
said Brett Brownscombe,
ODFW interim deputy di-
rector. “We should embrace
this wildlife success as
wolves return to the Oregon
landscape and ensure man-
agement approaches are
also in place to address the
challenges that come with
wolves.”
For more informa-
tion on wolves in Oregon,
visit www.dfw.state.or.us/
wolves.
Nominations open for Crystal Apple Awards
Ladies Night
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH
Dinner: 6:00 pm
Cost: $10.00
PENDLETON—The
InterMountain Education
Service District (IMESD)
has announced that nomi-
nations for the 2015 Crys-
tal Apple “Excellence in
Education” Awards opened
Sunday and will be ac-
cepted through Wednesday,
April 1. The Crystal Apple
Awards will take place in
two locations on separate
dates to reflect the IMESD’s
regional service areas. Win-
ners for Umatilla and Mor-
row counties will be recog-
nized May 20, 2015 at the
Pendleton Red Lion.
The purpose of the
awards is to recognize in-
dividuals who help to make
our schools and students
successful. The awards are
open to school district and
the Crystal Apple Awards,
nominations also are be-
ing accepted for the Doug
Flatt Memorial Leadership
Award, which recognizes
one outstanding administra-
tor (such as a principal or
superintendent).
Nomination forms,
q are available at www.
imesd.k12.or.us/crystalap-
ple/home. The deadline is
April 1 at 5 p.m.
Join Us For A Valentine's Day Banquet
Menu will Consist of
pork short ribs, cheesy
potatoes, coleslaw, green
beans, rolls and dessert
Dinner will be prepared by Nancy
Anderson, Betty Gray, Karen
Haguewood,Sharon Harrison, Nancy
Ekstrom, Judy Harris and Betty Burns.
IMESD employees in Uma-
tilla, Morrow and Union
county school districts.
The honor may be
awarded to individuals who
work full-time or part-time
in any capacity. The staff
member must have worked
in his or her current posi-
tion for at least one year
to qualify. Anyone in the
general public may submit
a nomination. In addition to
Saturday Evening, February 14th at 6:15 P.M.
Cost: FREE - Tickets REQUIRED!
On Thursday, February 12th
Heppner and Ione Wheatland
offices will be closing at 3:30 pm
Mexican Dinner & Entertainment
A drawing for a romantic couple’s basket
Heppner SDA Church
560 N Minor, Heppner
R.S.V.P. by February 10th to
(541) 922-8697 or ecwenberg@gmail.com