By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

If you envision yourself as a master chef of the outdoor barbecue, you’ll have a chance to show off your skills at this year’s Harney County Fair.

The Oregon Fryer Commission Big Cluck Grill-off Competition will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 3, and offers a grand prize of a Traeger wood pellet grill.
Each county fair’s winning entry will also automatically qualify for the Oregon State Fair Championship.

Carrie Winstead, assistant fair manager, said she hopes the event will attract local civic groups. “This is a chance for the Lions, Kiwanis, the Elks or some other group to win a new barbecue for their organization.”

Some of the competition guidelines are as follows:

• Each contestant or team will need to supply their own charcoal, gas or pellet grill and racks for grilling.

• Contestants must bring their own ingredients and dishes for preparation.

• Each contestant will be supplied with six thigh cuts of Oregon-grown chicken for grilling.

• Grilling teams must enter through the Oregon Fryer Commission’s Web site:
www.oregonchickens.com

• Grilling teams will be selected to participate in the Oregon Fryer Commission Big Cluck Grill-off based on a first-come, first-served basis.

The competition will consist of a minimum of four teams and a maximum of eight. Both individuals and teams may compete, but the teams may consist of no more than three members.

The grand champion will receive a Li’l Tex Traeger wood pellet grill valued at more than $700. Reserve champion will receive a 22 Mag manual wood pellet grill valued at more than $185. Third place receives a knife set, and fourth place will receive a grill accessory set. Each placer will receive a ribbon.

For a complete listing of rules and guidelines, visit the Oregon Fryer Commission’s Web site.

Airport manager contract bid comes in $12,000 over amount budgeted

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

The Burns City Council awarded the bid for the cemetery/park maintenance contract to Bob Novak for $35,600 at the July 23 meeting. The bid amount happened to match the exact amount the city had budgeted for the contract. Only one bid was received.

A decision on the airport manager contract, which was opened at the same time, was tabled because the bid by Eagle Wings, Inc., owned by Walt and Pat Sitz, came in at $42,000 — $12,000 more than the $30,000 the city had budgeted for the airport. Only one bid was received.

Walt and Pat Sitz were present at the meeting. They currently manage the airport and run their own business out there. They reminded the council that they are required by the city to purchase insurance, which costs about $10,000. “If you figure it out, it’s not even minimum wage,” Pat Sitz explained. She also noted that they are responsible for the airport 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Acting mayor Len Vohs suggested that the council table the matter and negotiate with the Sitzes at another time. “I don’t know any other way to handle this,” he said.

Councilor Linda Johnson said that perhaps the city could pay for the required insurance. Johnson also thanked the Sitzes for the number of years they have put in at the airport. “Pat and Walt have been out there for 20 years and have done an excellent job,” she said.

Councilor Craig LaFollette said he agreed with Vohs in tabling the issue and stated that more research needed to be done on the matter.
In other business:

• the council approved the Oregon Department of Aviation (ODA) agreement for 2008 pavement maintenance. Every three years, the ODA does an evaluation of the Burns Airport. The ODA determined that the Burns Airport needs pavement maintenance at a total cost of $109,420. The city is responsible for a 10 percent match ($10,942.04). The contractors are scheduled to be in Burns Sept. 13-23.

While the project was not originally budgeted for, there is about $11,000 in the Airport Contingency fund and an equal amount in the General Equipment Reserve.

• Melodi Molt was in attendance to ask the city to sponsor a buckle for the Harney County Racemeet, which is part of the Harney County Fair. The council decided to sponsor a buckle at a cost of $150;

• the council awarded the bid for the 25-acre agricultural lease to Payuktwitsi Trust for $125 annually. Councilor Bill Renwick recused himself from the vote because he has personal interest in the Payuktwitsi Trust. The city received two bids all together. The other bid was submitted by Kim Perlot in the amount of $100 annually;

• the council voted to turn over the Community Development Block Grant Housing Rehabilitation program, which began in 1996, to the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center. The program, administered by the senior center, provides money to seniors and those with low income who need to make home improvements but don’t have the funds to do so. The City of Burns was the original grant recipient for the program.

The city will de-federalize the funds by turning them over to the senior center, which is a non-profit agency. Ann Lessar, director of the senior center, was present to answer questions and stated that the senior center planned to administer the fund as it was originally set up for low-income seniors residing in Burns. “We would hire local contractors to keep the program in Harney County,” Lessar said;

• Councilor Linda Johnson provided the council with a report from the safety committee meeting. She reported that the rural fire district is in the process of regrouping; the Burns Fire Department was awarded a grant for radios; the fire department is working on a campaign to get residents to put their addresses in a visible place outside their houses; the police department is working on coordinating code enforcement operations; and the police department noted that the first human case of West Nile virus this season had been reported in Harney County;

• the city will hold an ordinance workshop session on July 30 at city hall to go over the city’s criminal code. Call 573-5255 for more information;

• Karla Bird was present to talk about local efforts to set up a farmer’s market. One was held in Hines Park on July 26 and more will be held there on Aug. 2, 9 and 23.

More than 50 youngsters from Harney County took part in the Portland Trail Blazers “Make It Better” Statewide Summer Tour basketball camp in Burns on Thursday, July 24.

The original plan was to have the camp held at the Boys & Girls Club of Harney County, but because of the number of registrants, the camp was moved to Slater Elementary School.

Former Portland players Kevin Duckworth and Jerome Kersey were part of the Blazers contingent who taught basketball fundamentals to the campers.

Kersey and Duckworth were both starters for the 1990 and 1992 Western Conference Champion Trail Blazers. Both players now reside in Portland, where they serve as ambassadors to the Trail Blazers organization.

The Trail Blazers “Make It Better” Statewide Summer Tour, presented by Kia Motors, is visiting 19 communities throughout Oregon and Washington, covering more than 2,000 miles in a 2008 Kia Sedona to host free kids’ basketball clinics and visit with fans, broadcast affiliates and corporate partners.

Anna Lorraine Parker, 89,  died on July 9 with her family by her side.

She was born on Sept. 7, 1918, up Butter Creek out of Echo to John and May Deardorff.

In the mid-1920s, she moved with her family to the Powers area in Coos County, where she spent her growing up years. She met Walt Parker there, and they were married on Oct. 20, 1938.

Parker lived almost all of her life in Oregon, with only a brief time away. In 1961, the couple moved to Drewsey, where they worked on cattle ranches until her husband began work on county road maintenance. In order to escape the harsh winters of the high desert, they moved to Sixes in 1986, and lived there until her husband’s death in 1988. In May 1991, Parker moved to the  Mennonite Village in Albany, where she stayed until her move to La Grande in September 2005.

Parker believed that “idle hands are the devil’s workshop” and was always busy doing something. She spent many hours with some sort of handwork until the final year of her life. She mostly knit, crocheted and tatted, and made hundreds of items in thread and yarn over her lifetime. While living in Albany and La Grande, she crocheted dozens of blankets for the children at the ABC House in Albany.

Parker began painting in her 50s, and her landscapes are now scattered around the country in the homes of her children and grandchildren. She was also very musical, and taught herself to play the piano, organ, accordion violin, guitar, banjo, ukulele and harmonica. She could sing soprano, alto or tenor. She was an avid reader and always had hundreds of books on her shelves, believing that a book was just a bit more important than dust.

Parker had a rock solid faith in Jesus Christ and was a regular church participant all her life. She read her Bible through several times each year, and this was her handbook for how to live her life.

The main focus of Parker’s life was always her family. She rarely worked outside the home and lent a real sense of security to her children by always being there.

Parker is survived by her children, Shirley Stewart of Haines, Alaska, Peggy Tudor of Albany, Walt Parker of Council, Idaho, Paul Parker of Marsing, Idaho; Bertha Thompson of La Grande,  and RJ (Ray) Parker of Republic, Wash. She is also survived by 18 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild, with another on the way.

Parker was preceded in death by her husband, Walt, of 50 years; sister, Georgia; and an infant son and an infant daughter.

A memorial service was held July 12 and a burial service will take place later this summer, when her ashes will be interred next to those of her husband in Lebanon.

In lieu of flowers or contributions, the family asks that her favorite flowers, the yellow rose bush, be planted in her memory.

Mary Teresa “Tess” Osa died on June 30, of cancer.

She was born on May 21, 1927, in Ontario to John and Mary Mollahan Keegan, who were immigrants from County Leitrim, Ireland.

She married Marcelino Osa of Burns in 1947. Together they operated the air mail service, taxi service and the Palace and Pine Room cafes in Burns. Later, the Osa’s purchased the Tijuana Club Restaurant and Bar, where they were in business for approximately 25 years.

Osa was also an active member of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Burns.

Osa is survived by her daughters, Patty Osa of Eugene, Dana Landis of Jefferson and Juli Osa of Portland; son, Matthew of Minden, Nev.; sisters, Rose Tighe of Olympia, Wash., Eileen Keegan of Anchorage, Alaska, and Donna Lugo of Cibolo, Texas; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Osa was preceded in death by her husband, Marce and her grandson, Brett Osa.

A mass for the celebration of the life of Osa was held on Saturday, July 5, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Corvallis. Father Lucas Laborde, SJS, conducted the ceremony. A graveside service will be held in Burns at a yet to be determined date.

Contributions in Osa’s memory may be made to St. Vincent de Paul, in care of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 501 NW 25th St, Corvallis,  OR 97330; or Benton  County Hospice Service, 2350 NW Professional Drive, Corvallis, OR 97330.

Greta B. LaGrange of Encinitas, Calif., died early Saturday morning, July 19, at the age of 88.

LaGrange was born in Seattle, Wash., on Jan. 8, 1920. She was the daughter of Frank and Bertha Hossman and the granddaughter of Mart Brenton, a Harney County Pioneer.

In 1924, she then moved to Burns, where she grew up and attended local schools, graduating from Burns Union High School in 1937.  She attended Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Eastern Oregon University in La Grande and the University of New Mexico. She taught music for three years in Burns and one year in Pendleton.

LaGrange married her husband, Hobart G. LaGrange, of upstate New York in 1947. They traveled many places statewide and overseas before settling in Encinitas, Calif., where she had since resided for the last 37 years. Hobart preceded her death in death in 1977.  She leaves various cousins in Harney County, including Imogene Reinkemeyer of Burns, as well as  long-time friends in Oregon and California.

At LaGrange’s request, there will be no funeral services.

Ralph J. McLain, 59, died on July 21.

He was born on June 5, 1949 in Burns, to John D. McLain and Rose Marie McLain.

McLain attended Burns Union High School, where he enjoyed and received awards for the wrestling team.
He married Loretta R. Hickey on June 28, 1968.

McLain joined the Marines 2nd Battalion, 26th Marine in 1968 and served until 1970. His decorations included National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal with device, Rifle Expert Badge, Vietnam Service medal and Combat Action Ribbon. His specialty title was Rifleman.

When McLain returned home from the Marines, he was welcomed by his wife and new baby girl. He worked for Edward Hines Lumber Company for 14 years. When Edward Hines closed their doors, he furthered his education by attending truck driving school. The remaining time of his career he drove truck and, including driving for John and Doris Patton.

McLain was an outdoor man and was very serious and dedicated to hunting and fishing; but his real passion was the freedom he felt when he was out on the open road with his Harley.

McLain had many friends and always made more every place he traveled.

He is survived by his ex-wife, Loretta R. Hickey of Burns; daughter, Peggy Yarbor and husband Paul of rural Burns; granddaughters, Tiffany J. Yarbor, Steffany L. Yarbor both of rural Burns, and Cassandra M. Yarbor of Caldwell, Idaho; father, John D. McLain of Burns; brother, Allan McLain and wife Vickey of Hines; sisters, Sandra Schatz and husband John of Eugene and Patsy Klawuhn and husband Carl of Bonney Lake, Wash.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

McLain was preceded in death by his mother, Rose Marie McLain.

Graveside services were held on Tuesday, July 29, in the Burns Cemetery. Contributions in his memory can be made to Oregon Disabled Veterans in care of LaFollette’s Chapel, P.O. Box 488, Burns, OR 97720. LaFollette’s Chapel is in charge of funeral arrangements.

Burns Sportsman Club will present Twilight Trap Practice every Wednesday night, from 5-7 p.m. at the shooting facility on Radar Hill. Members and non-members are welcome to participate.

Storytime at the Library is on hiatus Aug. 6, 13 and 20.  The program will resume on Aug. 27.

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.

A book club for kindergarten through fourth-grade students is held each Thursday at the Harney County Library, from 10:30-11:15 a.m.

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.

Veteran Service officer Guy McKay will be at the Drewsey Cafe in Drewsey, from 10 a.m. to 2 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.

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.