Disabled Services Advisory Council (DSAC) meets every fourth Thursday at the State Office Building small conference room, 809 West Jackson, at 1:30 p.m.

Harney County Soil and Water Conservation District board of directors meets the fourth Thursday of each month. This month’s meeting will be held at the USDA, Hines Service Center conference room, at 1 p.m., on March 27. The public is welcome to attend.

The Prescription Assistance program through the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center is held each Thursday, from 1-3 p.m. Call Selena Westlake at 573-6024 to make an appointment.

Chamber Music Bell Choir meets each Thursday at 6:30 p.m., at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 393 West A. St. Bell ringers are being recruited. For information, call Carol Sawyer, 573-6886.

Tai Chi  is held every Thursday at the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center, from 9:30-10:30 a.m. All ages are  welcome to participate.

Kiwanis Club of Burns-Hines meets for a no-host luncheon each Thursday at Glory Days Pizza, 690 Oregon Ave., at noon.

Take Off Pounds Sensibly meets each Thursday at Hines City Hall, 101 East Barnes, at noon. Call 573-2896.

The Boys and Girls Club presents People in Uniform the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month, from 1-2:30 p.m. Professionals from around Harney County come give kids a peek into their profession.

Oregon Old Time Fiddlers, District 9, meets the first, third and fourth Friday of each month. Call Julia at 573-2770, for time and place.

Boxing is held each Friday from 2-4 p.m. at the Boys & Girls Club. The fundamentals of boxing are taught to kids. Permission slips must be turned in prior to participation in this program.

Hines Middle School Reading Club meets each Friday from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at the Harney County Library.

The Boys & Girls Club has the Club Bucks Store open each Friday. This is an incentive program in which members earn “club bucks” by doing good deeds and helping out around the club.

Alcoholics Anonymous meets every Friday at Foursquare Church at 7 p.m.

A writing workshop, presented by Eastern Oregon Writer in Residence, Geronimo Tagatac, will be held on March 29, from 9-11 a.m. at the Harney County Library. Topics will include developing characters, finding your writing voice and developing sense of place. Call 573-7339.

Diamond Community Club play and dance will be held on Saturday, March 29, at 7 p.m., in the Diamond Grade School gymnasium.

Celebrate the Horse Exposition for Northeast Oregon, will be held in Haines on March 29. Seminars and presentations will begin at 9 a.m. For more information call T&T Horsemanship at 541-856-3356, or go to: www.tnthorsemanship.com

Alanon holds an open meeting each Saturday at Foursquare Church at 5:30 p.m.

The Harney County Ministerial Association holds services every fifth Sunday. The community is invited to join in a time of music, fellowship and praise. For information, contact Pastor Jean Hurst, 573-4141.

Alcoholics Anonymous meets every Sunday at Foursquare Church for 12X12 study, at 7 p.m.

Harney County Library board of directors meets the last Monday of each month in the library, 80 West D St., at 7 p.m.

The Torch Club, a teen leadership and service group at the Boys & Girls Club, meets each Monday from 4:30-5:30 p.m.

ImageMakers, a photography program is offered to members of the Boys & Girls each Monday from 4-5 p.m. All ages are encouraged to learn and practice black and white, color and digital photography skills as well as image editing.

PRIDE meets each Monday in the Courthouse basement meeting room, 450 North Buena Vista, at 7:30 a.m. to network for community betterment.

The Burns Lions Club meets each Monday at noon at the Burns Elks Lodge, 118 N. Broadway, for lunch. Those interested in serving the community are welcome.

Narcotics Anonymous holds an open meeting each Monday at 7 p.m. at Foursquare Church.

HDH Sports & Physical Therapy will offer a free athletic injury clinic at that facility, 559 West Washington, every Monday from 5-6 p.m. A physical therapist will assess and treat athletic injuries and provide education for athletes and parents on self management of injuries. For more information call 573-1543.

Harney Hospital Foundation meets the first Tuesday of each month in the Hospital Conference Room at 7 p.m.

Sylvia Rebekah Lodge meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at the I.O.O.F. Hall, 348 North Broadway at 6:30 p.m.

The Chamber Orchestra meets the first and third Tuesday of each month in the Burns High School band room, 1100 Oregon Avenue, from 7-8:30 p.m. with Ken Peckham directing.

Harney County Democratic Party meets the first Tuesday of each month at the Harney County Courthouse, 450 North Buena Vista, at 7 p.m.

Tai Chi is held every Tuesday at the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center, from 9:30-10:30 a.m. All ages are welcome to participate.

Alcoholics Anonymous holds an open meeting each Tuesday at Foursquare Church, at 7 p.m.

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

The Bistro, a new soup and salad lunch spot, recently opened for business in the heart of downtown Burns.

The restaurant is part of Samantha and Kelly Landon’s Beauty on Broadway Day Spa, 314 N. Broadway, and is managed by Jeannette Vinson.

The Bistro quietly opened on March 4. “We’re taking baby steps right now, trying to do it right,” Samantha said of the “soft” opening, which means they chose not to advertise it.

Starting slow means that right now, the Bistro serves espresso drinks and a lunch of a hearty soup, salad and roll. While the Bistro is taking baby steps, business has been robust as the restaurant served 75 customers for lunch on a recent Friday. “We wanted to offer something different and unique to Burns, but still something that fills you up,” Samantha said. She hopes to eventually add Friday and Saturday night dinners to the Bistro’s menu.

Samantha is no stranger to the restaurant business, as her family legacy includes running The Antlers and the Pine Room for many years. In fact, she is incorporating many of the same soup recipes that were popular at those eating establishments. Friday at the Bistro is German potato soup day, which was a Pine Room favorite.

In addition to soup and espresso, the Bistro features artisan breads and gourmet desserts from Sonni Svejcar’s On a Roll Bakery. “Everything is homemade and as fresh as we can possibly get it,” Samantha said. In fact, she noted that the Bistro will try to focus on all things Oregon as well.

Bella Java, the Bistro’s espresso counter, already features coffee from Oregon Coffee Roasters, which roasts the coffee and sends it to the Bistro the next day. Samantha hopes to eventually add a counter with Oregon cheeses and a service bar featuring Oregon wines.

Rustic oranges, reds and browns cover the walls and ceiling, giving the Bistro a warm Italian feel. Fresh flowers decorate each table. The Bistro building used to house the JC Penny store in Burns. “This is a beautiful building,” Samantha said. “Nobody saw it when we first started working on it.” She and Kelly have been  remodeling the building for the last three years. “There was a lot of craftsmanship put into this building. Unfortunately, it was covered up,” she said. As they removed layers, they found items they wanted to incorporate in their design, such as the molding and ceiling tiles.

If the furniture looks a little familiar it could be because the Landons used table legs that came from The Antlers. Samantha and Kelly built new table tops and attached them to the old table legs. The chairs, circa 1948, were originally used when Samantha’s family ran The Stag in Madras.

This summer, the Landons will remodel the front of the Bistro to offer some outdoor seating, and wireless Internet will also be an option for those who want to bring a laptop downtown.

Samantha feels the Bistro compliments the day spa and other businesses that are already established in the building. “It just goes with our wellness theme,” she said. “We have Zantiva Yoga and Beauty on Broadway. It’s beautiful and simple.”

The Bistro at 314 N. Broadway is open from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

Burns City Council member Jim Eshelby surprised the rest of the council when he resigned at the end of the March 12 meeting.

He left his seat, walked around to face his fellow members and said, “This is my last meeting. I’m just tired.”

Eshelby thanked the council telling them that he thought they were a great bunch of people, and then walked out of the meeting.

Eshelby’s term would have been up in December of this year, so now the council will have to find a replacement until residents elect another councilor in November.

In other business:

• the city’s letterhead has become a major issue of discussion among community members. At a February council meeting, Burns City Manager Justin Boone proposed a new Steens Mountain logo for the city’s letterhead. It would have replaced the city’s old logo featuring a Scotsman. However, the city received so much feedback from residents who didn’t want to do away with the Scotsman, that Boone had Cindy Witzel from Design Journeys come up with another design featuring a different Scotsman, this one playing the bagpipes.

He offered the new Scotsman logo up for comment at the March 12 meeting. “This is sort of a shot in the dark,” Boone said. “I don’t feel particularly passionate about this logo.”

Councilor Linda Johnson and Acting Mayor Lev Vohs, who was sitting in for Mayor Laura Van Cleave, said they would like to see something more akin to Burns High School’s warrior Scotsman on the city letterhead. Johnson said the warrior logo would be more consistent with the signs drivers see as they are entering and exiting Burns.

“I’d like to see a more professional appearance for our city logo,” said Vohs who isn’t particularly fond of the cartoonish nature of the current Scotsman.
Resident Roger Reason commented that the city is not the high school and said he didn’t think it was appropriate for the city to have the exact same logo as Burns High School.

The discussion concluded with no action taken;

• after some negotiating with City Attorney Steve Finlayson and Unicel representative Randy Winlake, the council approved a lease agreement with RCC Atlantic, Inc., which will give Unicel permission to install a cell tower on the city’s water tower.

Winlake said the agreement will give Unicel customers better coverage in downtown Burns. As part of the agreement, RCC Atlantic will pay the City of Burns $12,000 annually, for a period of 25 years, to lease the water tower site.

• the council discussed the possibility of including funding for a code enforcement officer in next year’s budget.

City Manager Boone stated that the City of Hines may consider splitting the salary for a code enforcement officer, who would then patrol both cities. He said that it would probably be a 60 percent (Burns), 40 percent (Hines) split. The officer would use the fire chief’s old vehicle, which would be outfitted with a cage to transport dogs caught at large.

Councilor Renwick said that if the city does hire a code enforcement officer, he would like to see someone with police credentials.

Boone said that someone with police credentials would probably require a higher salary, somewhere in the range of $30,000 to $40,000.

Pro-tem Councilor Yvonne Warden, who is filling in for Sean Wilson, stated that she felt the city should not pick someone with police credentials. However, she said she felt a code enforcement officer was needed. She said the issue has been addressed at budget time for the last two years. Both times funding for the job has been struck down.

Acting Mayor Vohs said that the city has been looking to fix the problem for quite a while. “It’s going to take some creative financing to get it done,” he said;

• City Manager Boone brought up the issue regarding renewal of the parks, cemetery and airport contracts.

In the past, the city has renewed these contracts without putting them out for bid. However, last year, Councilor Wilson suggested that for legal and fiscal reasons, the city should put them out to bid like all other contracts.

Boone said that currently the parks and cemetery contracts are grouped together as one contract, but logically, they should probably be split up because of the amount of work involved. “I’m in no way saying that the current groundskeeper isn’t doing what he is supposed to do,” Boone said. “I’m just saying it’s a big job for one person.”

City Clerk Dauna Wensenk noted that if the contracts go out for bid, the bids will be higher than what the city is currently paying because contractors will need to pay for new equipment.

Some councilors agreed with splitting the parks and cemetery contract and others thought it would cost the city more money. However, the general consensus seemed to be to keep the parks and cemetery contract as one.

Councilor Johnson then moved to rebid the contracts (keeping the parks and cemetery together) with specific rebid dates included. The motion was approved unanimously.

• Vohs reminded the council that the city will schedule another public meeting, likely during the week of April 7, to discuss whether or not the city should change Monroe Street from four lanes to three lanes. He stated that he hoped residents would come with open minds to hear the pros and cons of each option.

• the council appointed Tom Sharp to the Airport Committee.

• the council approved a $150 donation to fund a table for the HHope shelter’s 25th anniversary dinner to be held May 8 at the Valley Golf Club;

The next Burns City Council meeting will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, at Burns City Hall.

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

Rural Hines residents living in the Garland Acres and Highland Estates subdivisions let the Harney Basin Rural Fire District Committee know in no uncertain terms that they don’t want to be included within the boundaries of the district.

In order to get the rural fire district on the November election ballot, the committee must present the county with the district boundaries, a feasibility statement, a petition and a budget before the May deadline. The county court will then decide whether there is enough information to go through with the November election. At that time, hearings will be held for residents who don’t want to be included in the district’s boundaries.

At the March 11 fire district committee meeting at the Harney County Courthouse, committee president Phil Kessinger opened the floor for citizen comments, and a handful of rural Hines residents had plenty to say.

John Ebar, who lives in Garland Acres, said that those in rural Hines have contracted with the City of Hines for fire protection. In his conversations with city officials, he said that it was his understanding that Hines would continue with those contracts even if a fire district is created. This is why he proposed that Garland Acres and Highland Estates be excluded from the district’s boundary. He said he’d heard from many residents living in the two subdivisions who felt the same.

Kessinger said that Ebar’s proposal was predicated on an understanding with the City of Hines. “What is Hines’ position?” he asked. He noted that in preliminary talks with Hines, City Administrator Pam Mather indicated Hines would consider contracting with the rural fire district, if the voters approve it. Of course, Mather noted that she could not speak for the city council, which would make the ultimate decision.

Kessinger also said that he thought the City of Hines had indicated that it would do away with the rural fire contracts if the fire district went through.
Ebar disagreed. “The problem is, we’ve been included in rural Burns’ problem,” he said referring to the City of Burns’ decision to stop responding to fire calls outside the city limits after June 30.

Currently, the City of Hines offers fire contracts to rural residents living within five miles of the city limits for $100 per year.

Kessinger has said that while a final budget has yet to be determined, the estimated tax rate for those within the rural fire district would be $1.34 per $1,000 of taxable assessed value. So a resident living in a house with a $200,000 taxable assessed value would owe $256 per year to the fire district.

It would be possible legally to exclude Garland Acres and Highland Estates from the fire district boundaries, if everyone in the subdivisions agree and residents could prove to the Harney County Court that they would not benefit from being included in the district.

However, Kessinger said that after consulting legal counsel, he found that the City of Hines could potentially stop offering the rural fire contracts at any time. If a fire district is approved, he noted that it would be legally obligated to provide fire protection to all those within its boundary. Kessinger said that from his perspective the fire district was being created for the good of the larger Harney County population. “I look at this as one community,” he said.

“What I don’t want to do is pay for an eventuality that might never happen,” Ebar said. He indicated that he didn’t feel rural fire protection was his political problem and doesn’t want to pay for other people’s services when the rural contracts Hines has now work just fine.

Earl McGee of Highland Estates agreed with Ebar. “We’ve got perfect protection now,” he said. McGee also asked what happens if the fire district doesn’t work? “If there’s something that’ll go wrong with it, this is Harney County — something will go wrong with it,” he said. McGee said he feels that the fire district is being created for insurance purposes only.

The Hines City Council has yet to take an official position on what it will do in the event that the rural fire district is approved.

The City of Burns has said that it would consider extending its June 30 deadline if the there is progress with the rural fire district. Burns Fire Chief Bill Guindon said that he is pleased with the headway the committee has made so far, but the council has yet to discuss extending the June 30 deadline.

Kessinger said the committee will soon begin canvassing in public places for signatures to petition to get the proposed rural fire district on the November ballot.

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

If all goes as planned, the Jitters RevOlution espresso hut in Hines is just the beginning.

“We’d like to start a chain,” co-owner Dick Baird said. “There are a few other locations we’ve picked out, and we’ll see how it goes.”

For now, Baird and his  business partner, Dick Anderson, are putting all their efforts into making the local Jitters RevOlution a success.

They built the building from the ground up themselves and are putting in long hours serving the public.

Baird and Anderson also purchased a top-of-the-line automated espresso machine to ensure consistency and flavor in every cup they sell. “The machine grinds the coffee, compacts it and pours the coffee out. It does all the work,” Baird said. “When it’s done by hand, the amount of pressure can vary, and that’ll change the taste. You want it to taste the same all the time.”

The Jitters RevOlution menu includes a number of different drinks including flavored coffee (both regular and decaf), espressos, Italian sodas, Oregon Chai tea and Pepsi products. “We have Kiger freezes too,” Anderson said. “They’re kind of like a smoothie, and we can make them in a lot of different flavors.” He then set himself to whipping up a banana split flavored Kiger freeze, complete with whipped cream on top.

Opening a new business is always an unknown venture, but Baird said business has been good so far. “The first Sunday we were open, it was crazy in here,” he said.

For now, Jitters is open 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week, but as the weather gets warmer, plans are to expand their hours. VIP cards (free drink with nine punches) and gift certificates are also available.