By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

Sandra Crittenden’s foray into Harney County history started with A.H. Robie, an ambitious pioneer whose adventurous nature had an irresistible pull.
She was reading through the oral histories at the Harney County Library and one day, stumbled across Robie’s name. She found out that he came west in 1853 and started several saw mills. In fact, he set up the first sawmill at Camp Harney in 1867. “That’s what introduced me to the Western history books,” Crittenden said.

She went on to become the curator for the Claire McGill Luce Western History Room at the library, helping to elevate the special collection out of storage and into a true showcase of Western life. The Western History Room officially opened to the public in 2006 and was paid for by donations and grant money.

Library Director Jolyn Wynn said much of the credit for the creation of the Western History Room goes to Crittenden. “If it hadn’t been for Sandy, I’m not sure we’d have gotten the Western History Room off the ground,” Wynn said. “She has a real bent for history.”

For the last eight years, Crittenden has helped locals and visitors alike with their research into Harney County history, whether it be for family genealogy or background research for books. While the Western History Room has been Crittenden’s focus for the last eight years, she is now retiring to pursue other interests.

All things Western

A visit to Crittenden’s house, where she lives with her husband Jim, reveals just how deep her passion runs for all things Western. Their home is a tribute to a bygone era. Step into their back yard and you are instantly transported to an old Western town. A small winding path takes you to wooden buildings with signs that read “Sage Hotel” and “Outlaw Camp.” Particularly impressive is Jim’s collection of Western antiques.

Sitting in front of the house is the Tumbleweed Wagon, a replica of a vehicle pulled by horses that used to transport prisoners to the state penitentiary.
A poker table set up in their living room features the kind of gun Western legend Wild Bill Hickok used as his weapon of choice along with the poker hand (a pair of eights and a pair of aces) he was holding when Jack McCall shot him in the back in Deadwood, S.D.

The Crittendens not only love reading about Western history, they live it. From specializing in dutch oven cooking to hosting the local Cub Scout troop for a Western Day cook out, the Crittendens revel in the Western lifestyle. This is why they love living in Harney County.

They moved here 10 years ago from the west side of the state. “There’s a lot of history here, and you can still reach out and touch it,” Crittenden said. “You can look out there and see what the buckaroos saw. I really think this area is a gem. Maybe we don’t want to let out the news that it’s so great over here.”

Capturing history

Crittenden realizes there are still many stories in Harney County that need to be documented for the historical record and while she is retiring from her post as curator, she hopes locals will continue to utilize all the special research materials the library has to offer. The Western History Room, in addition to housing the rare book collections of Walter McEwen and Edward Gray, holds local family and oral histories as well as old photographs and newspaper articles.

She hopes that people realize how special the Western History Room truly is. The books are so rare that they cannot leave the library. Some are worth quite a bit of money. “This is material that you can find right here in our library. This is stuff you’d normally have to order,” she said.

Over the years, Crittenden has heard many personal accounts of historical happenings in Harney County. “That’s probably what I’ll miss the most — the stories that would come in,” Crittenden said.

She still encourages people to add to the family history files. “There are all kinds of ranching stories that haven’t been correlated at all,” she said.
Crittenden said that while the Harney County Historical Museum is a great place to display antiques, the museum really isn’t set up to store paper documents. That is where the Western History Room comes into play. She hopes people realize that they can continue to use the Western History Room as a depository for family histories and historical documents.

Crittenden also hopes the new curator carries on her work. “Since the books couldn’t leave, I tried to build a comfy place that people felt they could be at home in,” she said. She encourages locals to dig into the past and unearth historical figures such as A.H. Robie, who originally inspired her. “This was a man who was going to fall through the cracks of time,” she said of Robie.

Some day she hopes to organize all her research on Robie and submit it to a historical society. Crittenden said that reading about these pioneers from the past can truly transport one to a another time. “It was just like getting to travel with one of these old codgers without having to ride a mule,” she said with a smile.

Library Director Wynn, who is retiring herself in June, said she’ll miss Crittenden’s enthusiasm for the Western History collection. “Sandy was the right person for the Western History Room — the right person at the right time,” she said. “Anybody who has a passion for what they’re doing can bring it alive for others, and Sandy did that for the library and the Western History Room.”

By Debbie Raney
Burns Times-Herald

In accordance with Senate Bill 111, which was passed during the 74th Oregon Legislative Assembly in 2007, Harney County recently prepared a “Use of Deadly Force Investigation Guidelines.”

According to Harney County District Attorney Tim Colahan, the bill was originally proposed in 2005, but failed. Between 2005 and 2007, Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers, “Took the lead” and the bill was passed. The bill creates planning authority in each county to develop a plan concerning the use of deadly force by police officers; authorizes the Department of Justice to make grants for expenses incurred in implementing and revising approved plans; and establishes procedures for law enforcement agencies to follow.

Use of deadly force refers to any incident where the result is serious injury or death. This is not limited to use of firearms or weapons.

The Harney County guidelines were written by a planning authority made up of members of the local law enforcement agencies, as well as a citizen member. Those involved were Colahan, Harney County Sheriff Dave Glerup, Burns and Hines Police Chief Randy Cook, Oregon State Police Sergeant Brian Williams, Harney County Sheriff Deputy Lucas McLain, and citizen member David McDonald.

Colahan told the Harney County Court last week that the group had used policies already in place by other Oregon counties, revising them to fit Harney County’s needs. “The protocol,” said Colahan, “is the same as what the county has done in the past.”

The guidelines include who will be assigned to investigate incidents, the duties of each responding officer, incident scene procedures, interview procedures, and post-investigational actions required.

The guidelines must be approved by two-thirds of the county’s governing bodies, and then approved by Attorney General Meyers. The plan must be returned to the Attorney General by March 31.

•••

Oregon State Representative Cliff Bentz attended the Harney County Court meeting of March 19, presenting his concerns over water, water rights and related issues that are facing Eastern Oregon.

Bentz told the court that the situation in the Klamath Basin “is a preview of what we’re going to see across the state.” Over the past 25 years, water rights have been disputed in more than 7,000 claims. Bentz said it is anticipated that within the next two years, the final claims will be completed, and the prioritization will begin. “The Owyhee, Silvies, Malheur and John Day systems face the same ESA issues, and the process will repeat itself.”

Bentz gave the members of the court two papers to review — a draft of an Institute for Water and Watersheds Briefing Paper, and a draft of the Headwaters 2 Ocean (H20) initiate. “This is a glimpse of what I found was happening (in the legislature). There is a package of legislation being prepared for the ’09 session that is based on these papers.”

The Headwaters 2 Ocean paper can be viewed at:  www1.wrd.state.or.us/pdfs/ Headwaters-2-Ocean-2008-01-10.pdf

•••

Mark Maliwauki, Harney County Business Development Coordinator, and Jerry Gardner of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, reported to the county court the possibility of recruiting a dairy to the area. Maliwauki and Gardner attended the Tulare, Calif. World Ag Exposition last month, and according to Gardner, an “idea germinated there.”

Due to increased taxes and regulations in California, the state’s dairy farmers  seemed to be open to relocating their businesses. Gardner said Harney County needed to inform these farmers that this would be an acceptable area to move to. Primarily, he said the prospective businesses need to know what property is available, that it is zoned properly, that veterinary services are available, what the feed resources are, and where and how the products could be shipped. Using a contact they met in Tulare, and with the use of a descriptive map, Gardner and Maliwauki suggested that representatives of Harney County visit potential dairy farmers in California and present the information “on their turf.”

In addition to providing the dairies with information on Harney County, the representatives would ask that each dairy recommend one or more potential processing companies that the county could set up meetings with.

The Burns High School concert band, under the direction of Ken Peckham, topped the entire Central Oregon Music Educators District Band Festival, outscoring all of the 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A bands that were participating in the festival.

The band performed “Symphony of Souls,” by Robert W. Smith; “Shenandoah,” by Frank Ticheli; and “Encomium for the Courageous,” by Nolan E. Schmit. Judging was based on musicality, tone, intonation, technical accuracy, choice of music and appearance. Burns’ closest competitors scored 11 points less than the Hilanders.

Following Burns’ performance, Judge LeRoy Anderson offered all of the senior band members scholarships to attend Mt. Hood Community College. Judge Brad Townsend, from Oregon State University, commended the group on their excellent attention to musical detail. Townsend closed his remarks with “Wow, what a great performance.”

With the extraordinary performance at district, the Burns band qualified to compete in the Oregon Schools Activities Association state band competition on May 7 at Oregon State University, in the LaSells Stewart Center. The public is welcome to attend and support the Burns musicians.

The Harney County Chamber of Commerce announces that Travel Oregon has commissioned Primefilmsites LP to produce a 17- episode HDTV destination series to brand and market Oregon to a global audience.

This series will be broadcast on Travel Channel Europe to 48 million households across Europe including those in Oregon’s targeted markets of Benelux (Belgium and Luxembourg), France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Recent research indicates that 86 percent of the Travel Channel Europe audience travels overseas a minimum of once per year.

On March 28, the film crew from Primefilmsites LP will be in Harney County. The crew will be filming the migratory birds during the first part of their day. They will then film the Peter French Round Barn, which will be featured in the Travel Oregon Real West episode and the Crystal Crane Hot Springs, which will be part of an episode showcasing the many hot springs in Oregon.

For more information, call Jessica Boone, Chamber Director, at 573-2636.

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

The Crane track teams began their 2008 seasons by competing in the Nyssa Ice Breaker meet on Tuesday, March 11, and the Diane Thurmond Invitational in Harper on Friday, March 21.

Individual placers for the Mustangs at the Harper meet are as follows:
Girls
Discus — Rachel Pelroy 3rd (85’ 6”).
Long jump — Savannah Duff 4th (13’ 1”).
High jump — Natalie Bentz 1st (4’ 10”).
Pole vault — Bentz 2nd Tie (7’ 6”).
1,500m — Delilas Korth 5th (6:13), Bethany Milburn 6th (6:32).
100m — Caity DeBoer 3rd (13.70), Emilee O’Toole 4th (14.00), Alex Borelli 5th (14.07).
400m — Milburn 6th (1:14.52).
100m hurdles — Briana Brown 3rd (19.36), Duff 4th (19.96).
800m — Iris Gunkel 2nd (3:06).
200m — Lindy Steeves 5th (28.24), DeBoer 6th (29.50).
300m hurdles — Milburn 3rd (55.00).
3,000m — Korth 3rd (13:49), Gunkel 5th (14:12).
4×100m relay — “A” team  1st (Steeves, BeBoer, Borelli, O’Toole 53.50), “B” team 4th (Brenda Otley, Lily Valentine, Shannon Norris, Taylor Campbell 1:03.90).
4×400m relay — “A” team 2nd (Steeves, O’Toole, Bentz, Borelli 4:26.90).
Boys
Shot put — Carl Neumann 3rd (35’ 8 1/2”).
Discus — Raymond Thompson 2nd (104’ 9 1/2”).
Javelin — Thompson 3rd (143’ 0”), Jeran Conaway 5th (136’ 2”).
Long jump — Dallen Davies 1st (19’ 8 1/2”), Levi Crisp 2nd (17’ 11 1/2”), Kyle Borelli 3rd (17’ 8”), Blake Steeves 6th (17’ 1/4”).
Triple jump — Steeves 1st (37’ 7 1/2”).
High jump — Borelli 1st (5’ 8”), Chris Brower 4th (5’ 4”).
Pole vault — Conaway 2nd (9’ 6”), Borelli 5th Tie (9’ 0”).
1,500m — Borelli 3rd (4:57.87), Ty Harris 6th (5:29.66).
100m — Crisp 2nd (11.80), Brower 5th (12.01).
400m — Milton Merritt 4th (57.65).
200m — Davies 2nd (23.50).
300m hurdles — Conaway 2nd (47.68), TJ Potter 3rd (48.40).
3,000m — Garrett DeGraw 1st (10.23), Gus Titus 2nd (10:35), Lewis Whiting 4th (11:35.35), Daniel Rothgeb 5th (13.13.69), Tom Gunkel 6th (14:10).
4×100m relay — “A” team 1st (Davies, Thompson, Brower, Crisp 45.70), “C” team 4th (Neumann, Alan Robertson, Whiting, Merritt 53.09), “B” team 5th (Harris, Potter, DeGraw, Conaway 53.20).
4×400m relay — “A” team 1st (Davies, Thompson, Merritt, Crisp 3:46.38).

•••

Individual placers for the  Nyssa meet:
Girls
Shot put — Taylor Campbell 6th (25’ 5 1/2”).
Discus — Pelroy 4th (66’ 5”), Campbell 6th (65’ 6”).
Javelin — Valentine 7th (66’ 9”).
Long jump — Duff 3rd (12’ 6”).
High jump — Bentz 1st (4’ 10”).
1,500m — Korth 5th (6:15.05), Milburn 7th (6:26.45).
100m — O’Toole 4th (13.40), Borelli 6th (13.47), DeBoer 7th (13.90).
400m — DeBoer 4th (1:14.75).
100m hurdles — Brown 1st (20,22), Duff 2nd (21.22).
800m — Gunkel 6th (3:08.19).
200m — Milburn 7th (30.9).
300m hurdles — Milburn 2nd (60.55).
3,000m — Gunkel 6th (14:38.94).
4×100 relay — “A” team 2nd (Borelli, Brown, DeBoer, O’Toole 55.12). “B” team 5th (Otley, Valentine, Norris, Campbell 1:03.72).6
4×400m relay — “A” team 3rd (O’Toole, Milburn, Korth, Borelli 4:46.00)
Boys
Shot put — Neumann 2nd (38’ 7”).
Discus — Thompson 4th (110’ 11”).
Javelin — Thompson 2nd (137’ 5”), Je. Conaway 3rd (126’ 0”), Robertson 7th (101’ 8”).
Long jump — Matt Holloway 3rd (16’ 7”).
Triple jump — Steeves 3rd (36’ 7”), Rothgeb 6th (24’ 2”).
High jump — Jordan Conaway 1st (6’ 0”), Borelli 2nd (5’ 4”), Je. Conaway 3rd (5’ 4”), Brower and Steeves 6th Tie (5’ 0”).
1,500m — Titus 3rd (4:56.00), Borelli 4th (4:58.03).
100m — Brower 6th (11.72).
110 hurdles — Jo. Conaway 1st (18.47).
800m — Kenny Willsey 4th (2:29.27)).
200m — Davies 2nd (23.75).
300m hurdles — Je. Conaway 1st (47.25), Potter 3rd (49.09).
3,000m — DeGraw 2nd (10:33.50), Titus 3rd (10:59.85), Whiting 5th (12:30.53), Rothgeb 6th (13:42.96), Gunkel 8th (15:52.00).
4×100 relay — “B” team 4th (Steeves, Potter, DeGraw, Je. Conaway 52.15)), “D” team 5th (Neumann, Robertson, Jeff Warburton, Merritt 54.59), “C” team (Colton Ketscher, Gunkel, Harris, Whiting 56.60).
4×400m relay — “A” team 3rd (Jo. Conaway, Borelli, Willsey, Holloway 3:58.85).

•••

The Burns Hilander track teams traveled to Prineville on Tuesday, March 18, to compete in the Crook County Invitational, their first meet of the year.
The Hilander girls team placed second in the team standings and the Burns boys finished in fifth place.
Crook County won the girls meet with 161.5 points, Burns was second with 71, followed by La Pine with 46, Madras 43.5 and Gilchrist 9.
The host Cowboys also won the boys meet, finishing with 149 points. Madras placed second with 101 points, Gilchrist was third with 32, followed by La Pine with 20 and Burns 10.
The Hilander Top Performer awards, selected by the coaching staff, went to Jamie Higle and Lucas Schaefer.
Individual placers for the Burns teams are as follows:

Girls
100m — Jaela Dinsmore 1st (13.43); Jennifer Higle 3rd (13.88).
200m — Dinsmore 1st (27.36); Stefani Sanders 9th (32.29).
400m — Dinsmore 1st (1:04.03).
800m — Ja. Higle 2nd (2:41.02).
1,500m — Louisa Van Batavia 3rd (5:48.53).
3,000m — L. Van Batavia 2nd (12:28.85).
100m hurdles — Brea Ribeiro 2nd (18.10).
300m hurdles — Ribeiro 2nd (53.49).
400m relay — Ribeiro, Dinsmore, Je. Higle, Ja. Higle 1st (52.71)
Long jump — Sanders 6th (12’ 7 1/2”).
Pole vault — Sanders 5th (6’ 6”).
Discus — Chelsea Siegner 6th (82’ 10”).
Shot put — Taylor Lee 3rd (28’ 8”); Siegner 4th (28’ 4”).
Javelin — Siegner 6th (76’ 9”).

Boys
400m — Ethan Bentz 2nd (56.10); Kraig McCanna 6th (1:05.00).
800m — Ralph Caldwell 7th (2:31.95); Anthony Frail 10th (2:44.34).
1,500m — Devan Attleberger 9th (5:17.89); Frail 11th (5:23.02); Caldwell 12th (5:25.60).
3,000m — Landon Hannaford 5th (12:47.08).
300m hurdles — Lee Nau 5th (57.10).
400m relay — Attleberger, Garrett Bentz, Nau, E. Bentz 5th (50.10).
Pole vault — Philip Kness 7th (8’ 6”); Attleberger 8th (8’ 6”).
Discus — Steven Smartt 7th (105’ 4”); Carraig Colahan 8th (105’ 2”).
Shot put — Smartt 4th (38’).
Javelin — Smartt 2nd (142’ 6”); Colahan 6th (122’ 8”).

The next meet for the Hianders is the Grant Union Invitational in John Day at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 1.

Nina Petrovna Jookova, 92, died in San Rafael, Calif. on March 20 of natural causes. She had been a resident of The Aspens in Burns for several months prior to returning to California.

Jookova was born in Siberia. After the Russian revolution, she and her family settled in Northern China, where she and thousands of other Russians fled to escape Communist rule.

She met her husband, who had been in the Czar’s army, in Shanghai, and they married in 1935.

By 1945, the Soviets had taken most of the Russian men in their area of China as war reparations and sent them to the gulags. Jookova never saw her husband again. She sold all of her possessions, and with her two children, mother, sister, and nephews had to flee China as stateless refugees. The International Red Cross interned them, along with thousands of others.

After a lengthy journey, the Jookovas ended up in Brazil, where they had to wait several years before they could individually emigrate to San Francisco. There, Jookova worked as a domestic until her retirement. Her strong spirit, sense of humor, giving heart  and zest for life profoundly touched all those she met along her life journey.

Jookova is survived by her children, Boris Jukov and Elena Jookova-Clemmons; grandchildren, Irene Jukov Cooper and Leo Jukov; and great-grandchildren, David and Jonathan Ford.

Clara Howard, 57, died on March 15.

She was born in Burns and was a resident of Sun Valley, Nev.

Howard is survived by her husband, Bill, of 41 years; daughter, Teresa (Chris) and Paul; two grandchildren; two sisters; numerous nieces and nephews; and many caring friends.

At Howard’s request, in lieu of flowers, contributions are appreciated in her memory to the Veteran’s Guest House, 990 Locust St., Reno, NV 89502.

A reception in Howard’s memory will be held March 28 at the Reno Elks Lodge from noon to 3 p.m.

Georgia Ellen Kahn of Hines died on Saturday, March 8, at her home in Hines.

She was born on Oct. 21, 1923, in Spokane, Wash., to George Otis Adams and Louise Davis Adams. She is a descendant of Oregon and Washington pioneers and moved with the family from Craigmont, Idaho, in 1930.

Kahn graduated from Eugene High School and from the University of Oregon in 1948, with a bachelor of arts degree in phycology.

After working with the YWCA in St. Louis and Phoenix and the Red Cross in Okinawa, Japan and Madigan Hospital at Fort Lewis, Wash., she returned to the University of Oregon and secured her master’s degree in heath education. She moved to Burns and was a girls physical education teacher at Burns High School.

In Burns she met and married Howard Fredrick Kahn on June 1, 1962, her parents 52nd wedding anniversary, in Eugene. They adopted two boys, David and Guy, who reside in Hines.

Kahn loved working with people. She belonged to Burns Chapter #40 Order of Eastern Star, was a Past Matron and served many years as secretary. She also belonged to Nydia Temple, Daughters of the Nile, Sons and Daughters of Oregon Pioneers, Genealogical Forum of Oregon and for many years was active with the Harney County Senior Center of Burns calling bingo. Her passion was genealogy.

Kahn is survived by her husband, Howard Kahn; sons, William Downing of Concord, Ohio, David and Guy Kahn of Hines; daughters-in-law, Benilda and Katie Kahn of Hines; and daughter, Jean Cotton of Elma, Wash.

She is also survived by seven grandchildren; brother, Bruce Adams of Milwaukie; and sister, Betty Rutherford of Eugene.

A celebration of life will be held at the Harney County Senior Center on Saturday, March 29, at 11 a.m. All family and friends are invited.

Private burial will be in the Eugene Masonic Cemetery, in Eugene. Contributions in Kahn’s memory may be sent to the Harney County Senior Center of Burns and the Burns Chapter #40 Order of Eastern Star.

Carl Robison, 75, died on March 19, in Woodburn.

He was was born in Moscow, Idaho.

In 1953, he married Wanda “Mickey” Kuensting in Tigard.

Robison worked at the sawmill in Hines as an electrician for 38 and a half years. He lived in Burns from 1950 to 1980, then moved to Woodburn Senior Estates. He lived in Yuma, Ariz., during the winter months. He enjoyed fishing, golf and socializing.

Robison is survived by his wife, Wanda (Mickey) of Woodburn; daughter, Nancy Johnston of Redmond; grandchildren, Kimberly Drolz, CJ Carl Johnston, Shahayla Johnston; and great-grandchildren, Phelisia, Alexis and Alexander Drolz.

Robison was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Grace Allen; brother, Ralph Robison; and daughter, Dawnsa Henwood.

A celebration of life will be held at 1 p.m. April 4 at Woodburn Senior Estates Country Club. Cornwell Colonial Chapel of Woodburn is in charge of arrangements.

Harney County Health District board of directors meets the fourth Wednesday of each month at the Racine building on North Egan at 6 p.m.

Burns City Council meets the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at Burns City Hall, 242 South Broadway, at 6 p.m.

High Desert Park and Recreation District board of directors meets the fourth Wednesday of each month in their office at Lincoln Administrative building, 550 North Court, at 7 p.m.

Storytime for preschoolers is held Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. at the Harney County Library.

Burns Fire Dept. meets each Wednesday at the Burns Fire Hall at 7 p.m.

\Burns Elks Lodge, 118 North Broadway, meets each Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Alcoholics Anonymous meets each Wednesday at the Foursquare Church at 7 p.m.