By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

The Burns track teams hosted the Eastern Oregon League (EOL) district meet on Friday and Saturday, May 9-10, and will send four members of the girls team on to the 3A state meet at Western Oregon University in Monmouth May 16-17.

The Hilanders’ Jaela Dinsmore qualified for the state meet in four events and also earned the girls High Point Award for the district meet. Dinsmore won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes and was a part of the winning 4×100 relay team along with Brea Ribeiro, Jennifer Higle and Jamie Higle.

The relay team set a new school record in winning the race, finishing in a time of 49.88, and Dinsmore broke her own school record in the 200 with a time of 25.64.

Ribeiro also qualified for the state meet in the 300-meter hurdles with a second-place finish.
Following the meet, the EOL awards were announced. The Hilanders’ 4×100 relay team earned first team honors, as did Dinsmore in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter races.

Ribeiro was named to the second team in the 300 meter hurdles. Receiving Honorable  Mention were Lucas Schaefer in the 100, Ja. Higle in the 800, Brianna Cunningham in the 1,500,  and Louisa Van Batavia in the 3,000.

The Hilander athletes also set numerous personal records during the district meet competition.
The Hilander coaches named the girls 4×100 relay team, Meghann Gini and Anthony Frail as their teams’ Top Performers for the meet.

Individual results for the Hilanders are as follows (* denotes personal record):

Girls

100m — Dinsmore 1st (12.57), Ja. Higle 5th (13.51), Je. Higle 6th (13.86).
200m — Dinsmore 1st (25.64*), Je. Higle 5th (28.48).
400m — Dinsmore 1st (59.37).
800m — Ja. Higle 3rd (2:27.69*).
1,500m — Cunningham 3rd (5:34.95*), Van Batavia 6th (5:49.73).
3,000m — Van Batavia 3rd (12:26.29), Cunningham 4th (12:47.91).
300m hurdles — Ribeiro 2nd (50.18).
4×100 relay — Burns 1st (Dinsmore, Ribeiro, Je. Higle, Ja. Higle 49.88*).
Shot put — Amber Hodge 6th (29’ 5”), Courtney Toney 7th (29’ 4”*), Taylor Lee 8th (29’ 4”*).
Discus — Chelsea Siegner 5th (89’), Lee 6th (83’).
Javelin — Hodge 7th (87’ 11”).
High jump — Gini 7th (4’ 2”*).
Pole vault — Stefani Sanders 5th (7’ 6”*).
Triple jump — Sanders 10th (28’ 1”*), Gini 11th (27’ 9 1/2”*).

Boys

100m — Schaefer 3rd (12.05).
200m — Schaefer 4th (24.15*).
800m — Ralph Caldwell 10th (2:22.79), Josh Walters (3:08.35).
1,500m — Caldwell 7th (4:47.23*), Anthony Frail 11th (5:14.89*), Josh Walters 15th (6:18.82).
3,000m — Frail 7th (11:05.48*), Landon Hannaford 12th (11:54.33*).
4×100 relay — Burns 4th (Ethan Bentz, Philip Kness, Garrett Bentz, Schaefer 46.88).
Discus — Carraig Colahan 4th (128’ 7”).
Javelin — Colahan 5th (137’ 6”*).
Pole vault — Kness 7th (9’).
Long jump — G. Bentz 6th (17’ 9 3/4”).

Polly Clark died on April 15 of complications related to cancer at age 84.

Pauline Ruth Petersen was born on Oct. 20, 1923, in Nance County, Neb. Her family moved to Burns in 1938.

She graduated from Burns Union High School in 1940, the same year she married Charles Clark.

They lived in the Burns and Hines area their entire married life. The couple enjoyed camping, hunting and fishing all over the wide open spaces of southeastern Oregon. Clark worked for the Jordan Insurance Company for many years. She was a long time patron of the Valley Golf Club in Hines and a member of the Burns Elks Lodge.

Her husband of 60 years passed away in 2000. In 2007, Clark moved to Portland to be near her sisters and their families.

Clark was the second of seven children born to Paul and Ella Petersen. Survivors include her two sisters, Norma Paulus and Gerri Pyrch of Portland; and two brothers, Paul Petersen who lives in La Grande and Richard Petersen who resides in Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada. Her other brothers, Harold and Gale, passed away in 2001 and 2003, respectively.

Friends are invited to a memorial service on Saturday, May 24, at 2 p.m. at the Valley Golf Club. Remembrances can be made to the American Cancer Society.

Lauren Earl Miller died on May 1 in Burns.

He was born at home on Sept. 17, 1908, in Adams County, Ind., to Leonard Curtis and Bertha Adrena Miller.

He grew up on his parents’ farm with his brother, Delmi, and his grandparents on both sides. He attended elementary and high school in Decatur, Ind.

Miller married Edna Martin on Oct. 27, 1931, in Newport, Ky. The couple had five children.

In 1945, he was called to serve in World War II; he was 37 years old. The family sold his trucking business and household goods and bought a travel-trailer to move the family to Tucson, Ariz., in order for his wife and sons to be close to his brother, Delmi, and his family. He never had to serve in the war because it ended shortly after.

The family then moved to Spokane, Wash., where Miller worked in an aluminum foundry. From there, they went to Nampa, Idaho, where he built his own home. In 1952, they moved to Burns, where they stayed.

In Burns, Miller first drove truck for Jack McAllister Sr., then he went to work for California Pacific Utilities as a lineman truck driver. He retired in 1973. He stayed very busy even after retirement, running a bike repair business. He and Edna traveled to Arizona every winter and had many good times.

In 1986, after 55 years of marriage, his wife passed away. In 1988, he met Arleta Connor his dear friend and companion for the next 20 years.

Miller was a gentle, kind-hearted man who loved to flirt with the ladies and dance. His quick wit will definitely be missed. His family was very important to him, and he loved to spend time with them. He enjoyed hunting and fishing and spending time in his garden. He convinced anybody he could into making a strawberry-rhubarb pie from his homegrown rhubarb and strawberries.

Miller is survived by his friend and companion, Arleta Connor; sons, Jim Miller and wife Ruthie and Gary Miller and wife Jill; daughters, Janet Addison and Karen Miller; daughter-in-law, Anne Miller; grandchildren ,Rhonda Duncan, Brian Addison, Laurie Lavelle and husband John, Mandi Hoyt and husband Steve, Nick Miller, Darbie Kemper and husband Adam and Bret Bossuot; and great-grandchildren, Danielle Duncan, McKenzi, Lexi and Jaxon Hoyt and Hunter, Easton and baby-to-be Kemper.

Miller was preceded in death by his parents, Curt and Bertha; brother, Delmi; wife, Edna; son, Don; grandson, Chris; and son-in-law, Bob.

A service was held on May 5.

Robert Shearman Dean, long time resident of Harney County died of brain cancer on May 4 at his home in Vashon, Wash., with his family close by. Dean had been diagnosed with brain tumors just two months earlier.

Dean was born on April 19, 1932, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to Walter and Mary Alice Dean of Hayden Lake, Idaho. He spent his growing up years in Neotsu, where he greatly enjoyed outdoor life on the Oregon coast. He had one sister.

As a pre-med biology major, he earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Oregon in 1954. Dean was provisionally accepted into medical school during the Korean conflict, intending to become a doctor. His life took a different turn when he was called to ministry instead.  He attended San Francisco Theological Seminary where he graduated with a bachelor of divinity degree in 1959.

While he attended the UO, he met the love of his life, Myrla Ellen Thomas.  They were married on Dec. 26, 1954.
Dean began his ministry serving as pastor of Little Log Church in Yachats, until 1965 when he came to Harney County as the Mobile Minister. For 16 years he served the rural communities of Drewsey, Riley, Sod House, Diamond, Double O, Frenchglen, Andrews, Fields, White Horse and Mann Lake. He also served as pastor of Pioneer Presbyterian Church for one year.  In the summers after Bible schools, Dean led trail hikes for church youth, giving adults as well as children their first trail hike experience.

When his ministry ended, Dean didn’t want to leave the community he had come to love so he and his wife prepared themselves to teach school. He then taught at Lawen for one year and taught school in Burns as a substitute teacher until his retirement in 1997.

After retirement, he continued to be active in the community as a member of the Chamber Music Society, where he played trombone and sang with the choral group. Dean used his storytelling skills in his substitute teaching as well as at the Harney County Library Storytime, at the Aspens Assisted Living Center and in the Book Buddy program in the schools. He was a much loved participant in “Once in a Blue Moon” theatrical productions beginning with “Li’l Abner” in 1975 and concluding with “You Can’t Take It With You” in 2007, just one month before he and his wife left Harney County.

Dean was an avid outdoorsman, enjoying fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, backpacking and birdwatching, as well as gardening at his home.

In 1972, Dean received a medal from the U.S. Department of Transportation for heroism when he rescued a local resident from a burning airplane that had crashed nearby while he was hiking. In 1998, he was named Man of the Year by the Harney County Chamber of Commerce.

In 2007, after being an integral part of the life and culture of Harney County for 34 years, Dean and his wife moved to Vashon, Wash. to live by their son, Tom, and his family. They were in the process of building their home onto that of their son and daughter-in-law when he was diagnosed with brain tumors. Before his death, Dean made the decision to donate his body for medical research — one final giving act in a lifetime of giving and service.

Dean is survived by his wife of 52 years, Myrla Dean; daughters, Sue Dean Langlois and husband, Dan, of Kettle Falls, Wash., and Nancy Chamberlain and husband Pete, of Salem; sons, Thomas Dean and wife Shelley Means of Vashon, Wash., and James Kenneth Dean of Hillsboro; sister, Alice Dean-Daniel and husband Tom of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii; grandchildren, Mikaela Langlois, Peter Chamberlain, Maggie Chamberlain and Logan Means Dean; and nephew, Mike Daniel.

Dean was preceded in death by his parents.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 24, at Pioneer Presbyterian Church.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the Harney County Chamber Music Society or a charity of one’s choice.

Clarence Edmond Morlan, Sr. died on May 5.

He was born on Dec. 19, 1919, in Branson, Colo., to Edmond J. Morlan and Beulah Elizabeth Quinn.
He grew up in Rainbow Park and Wetmore, Colo., with three brothers and two sisters. Morlan played high school football with his brother, Buck Morlan. He graduated with the class of 1941 in Florence, Colo., finishing two years in one after dropping out to work at Black Diamond Coal near Coal Canyon, Colo.

Morlan trapped, farmed and worked at the Black Diamond Coal with his dad. He served in World War II from 1941 through 1945 in the U.S. Navy. He was a gunner’s mate and gunnery instructor. He acquired the nickname “Spike” from his Navy buddy. He was also called “Eagle Eye” and commended on his ability to pick out and recognize obstacles at great distances. Two of the ships he was on were the USS President Monroe and a Liberty Ship, SS Phillip Livingston.

After returning to Wetmore in 1945, Morlan farmed with his younger brother, Jesse, through the early 1950s and worked at CF&I Steel in Pueblo, Colo.

He married Eileen Cox in 1949 and had two children, Ed Morlan and Sharon Morlan Lauriski.
Morlan worked at the mines in Butte, Mont., and Kellog, Idaho. He gave up mining after breaking his legs during a cave-in. He worked at the Colorado Port of Entries then transferred to the Colorado State Penitentiary in Cañon City, Colo.

In 1966, his mother was killed in a car accident, and he bought the home place and 25 head of herefords.  He was a member of Eleven Mile Grazing Association.

In 1972, he sold the ranch and moved to the Western Slope, Revale, Colo. He met Florence Miller and moved to Mancos then Olathe, Colo., and worked with the road maintenance department.

In 1978, they moved to Crane. He worked at Hines Lumber Company while farming approximately 100 acres near Crane until the closing of the mill in Hines.

Morlan was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church and attended every Saturday that he could make it. He lived at this place near Crane until two years ago, when he moved to Burns.

Fran Vancleve was his caretaker for the last few years. His son and granddaughter took him to Colorado to his first wife’s service last July. He also visited several relatives.

Morlan was proud of his family, children and the fact that he had the privilege to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He liked animals, ranching, farming, hunting and living in the country. He also fished a lot during his marriage to Eileen.

Morlan is survived by his children, Ed Morlan of Lovelock, Nev., and Sharon Lauriski of Vernal, Utah; sister, Edna Morlan Dalpiaz of Montrose, Colo.; and brother, Jesse James Morlan of Crane. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Shannon Lauriski of Denver, Colo., Terra Lauriski of Rock Springs, Wyo., Tonya Lauriski of Golden, Colo., and LaDonna Morlan of Lovelock; and three great-grandchildren.

A graveside service was held on Saturday, May 10, at Drewsey Cemetery. Contributions in Morlan’s memory can be made to the Drewsey Cemetery in care of LaFollette’s Chapel, P.O. Box 488; Burns, OR 97720. LaFollette’s Chapel was in charge of funeral arrangements.

The Harney County Farm Bureau meets at the Country Companies Insurance meeting room, 531 North Broadway, the second Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m.

The Harney County Cancer Support Group meets the second Wednesday of each month at Glory Days Pizza, on Highway 20 in Burns, at 4 p.m. For more information, call Tonny Calloway, evenings, at 573-7867.

Harney County Fair Board meets the second Wednesday of each month in the Hibbard Building at the Harney County Fairgrounds at 7 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.

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.

Burns Planning Commission meets the third Thursday of each month at Burns City Hall, 242 South Broadway, at 7 p.m.

Harney County Historical Society meets the third Thursday of each month at the Elks Lodge, 118 North Broadway, at 11:45 a.m. May’s program will be presented by Bill Jennings on the history of the Edward Hines Lumber Co.

The Alternative Energy Club (AEC) meets the third Thursday of each month at Harney County Library, 80 West D Street, at 7 p.m.

Silvies River Spinners meets the third Thursday of each month at 650 East Washington at 7 p.m.

Tween Night is held at the Boys & Girls Club on the third Thursday of each month, from 6-7 p.m. The night is for kids who are told they are too young, or too old, for other activities.

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 & Girls Club holds karaoke each Thursday. Members of all ages are welcome to join Hanna in the education room for a program that promotes the art of singing, as well as a fun way to practice reading skills.

Teen Night is held at the Boys & Girls Club each Thursday, from 6-7 p.m. for all teenagers.

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

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.

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.

Sunrise Garden Club will hold their annual plant sale on Saturday, May 17, in front of the Harney County Senior Center, beginning at 9 a.m. All  money raised will go toward community beautification.

Harney County High Desert Wheelers is hosting a 4×4 show and shine on Saturday, May 17, at the A Parts, Goodies Galore parking lot, from 3-5 p.m. For more information, call Dan or Ann Haak at 541-495-2429, or e-mail peachann1@aim.com.

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

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