The 26th annual Chris Miller Memorial Steens Mountain Rim Run/Walk will be held on Aug. 2. Registration forms and information are available by calling Nick Miller at 541-413-1997, Amaya Zabala at 541-231-7485, Tara Martinak at 573-4519, or the Harney County Chamber of Commerce Office at 573-2636. Pre-registration is required.

The annual Frenchglen Jamboree will be held on Aug. 2. Arena events will include kids events, cowboy polo, team branding, team doctoring and more. Concessions will be available all day at the arena. At 5 p.m. live music will accompany dinner by Smokin’ Pit Barbecue at the Frenchglen Hotel.

Diabetes Support Group meets at the Harney County Health Building, 420 North Fairview, the first Saturday of each month at 2 p.m.

Alanon holds an open meeting each Saturday at Foursquare Church at 7 p.m.

The second show of the 2008 Great Basin Saddle Club Buckle Series will be held Aug. 3 at the Harney County Fairgrounds.  Sign up is at 8 a.m. and the show will start at 9 a.m.  Elaine Sink will be the judge.  For more information and pre-entries, call Lisa at 493-2273 or 589-2336.

St. Andrew’s Episcopal/Peace Lutheran Church invites everyone to attend a youth-led service on Aug. 3, at 10 a.m.

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

Medicare Assistance Program, through the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center is held the first Monday of each month from 1-3 p.m. Call 573-6024 to make an appointment.

Harney County Search and Rescue meets the first Monday of each month at Hines City Hall, 101 East Barnes, at 7 p.m.

Masonic Lodge meets the first and third Monday of each month at the Burns Masonic Lodge, 1210 West Taylor, 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 Club 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.

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.

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

Medicare D assistance is available on the first Tuesday of each month, from 1-3 p.m., at the Harney County Senior Center. If you need help before that date, call 573-6024.

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 Ave., 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.

Boy Scout Troop 440, sponsored by the Burns Lion’s Club, meets each Tuesday from 7-8:30 p.m. at the LDS Church in Hines. Boys ages 11-18 are welcome to join.

The Boys & Girls Club holds a cooking class, open to all members, each Tuesday.

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

Communities within Harney and Grant counties have a lot to be proud of this summer.

This year’s 13-15-year-old Babe Ruth all-star team just finished up play in the District 3 and North Oregon State baseball tournaments. Comprised of players from Dayville, Prairie City, John Day, Burns and Hines, the team included 10 14-year-olds and just two 15-year-olds. The majority of the opposing teams were made up of strictly 15-year-olds.

The Harney/Grant team came out of the District 3 tournament in third place, but was still invited to the state tournament because the state director felt they could compete at the higher level.

At the state tournament, the Harney/Grant team faced opponents from Southeast Portland, The Dalles, Treasure Valley and Baker City. They did compete well at the state tournament even though they were outscored in each contest.

The young men represented themselves and their communities quite well and were awarded the North Oregon State Sportsmanship trophy for their efforts.

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

One of Cheryl Hancock’s dreams was to be the director of a small, rural library.

“This fit the bill nicely,” she said of the Harney County Library.

Hancock recently took on the director role as Jolyn Wynn left to be closer to family in Wyoming. After a few weeks in the position, Hancock said she feels as though she has been warmly welcomed to the community.

Hailing from Prineville, Hancock had been with the Crook County Library for 18 years. She worked her way up from shelving books part-time to being a full-time reference librarian.

Hancock grew up on the west side of the state, but has a soft spot in her heart for Southeastern Oregon as this is where she met her husband. They were both getting summer college credit at the Malheur Field Station when they met for the first time.

In fact, they both liked the High Desert so much, they eventually found themselves in Prineville, where they both found jobs — Hancock at the library and her husband with the Forest Service.

The couple still has their house in Prineville, where they raised their four children, and Hancock has been commuting to Harney County during the week and driving to Prineville on the weekends. One of her passions is gardening, so she returns home not only to see her family, but to tend to her garden.

However, she said that they will be buying some property in Harney County soon.

One of Hancock’s first priorities at the Harney County Library is to de-crowd the shelves.

The staff will be working on moving some of the worn out, older books off the shelves to sell in a book sale to be held within the next few months.

Hancock said she will also continue to offer educational programs for community members.

She would like to thank the community for making her feel at home here in Harney County. “There are a lot of people out there who really support the library,” she said with a smile. “That’ll make my job easier.”

Court receives update on Blue Mountain Forest Plan

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

Eastern Oregon forests and logging were once again topics of discussion at the Harney County Court meeting held on Wednesday, July 16.

Harney County Judge Steve Grasty updated the court on the Blue Mountain Forest Plan, which includes the Malheur, Wallowa-Whitman and Umatilla forests. Grasty said the plan  was to be a collaborative effort between forest supervisors and nine counties to deal with environmental, social and economic impacts as they pertain to forest management.

Grasty handed out copies of the latest draft of the plan  and said, “Everything done so far has been environmental. We need the social and economic impacts addressed as well.”

Commissioner Dan Nichols wondered if the nine counties that were on board had some kind of recourse. “This is hogwash that the counties have been circumvented in the process,” Nichols said. “We’ve been lied to and left out of the process for the past year.”

Grasty said the counties are still working to have the social and economic impacts addressed in the plan. “We are going to have a plan when we get done,” he said. “We’re not going to walk away from the table.”

“I’m not advocating leaving the table,” Nichols said. “I’m saying take a big stick in with you when you go.”

Grasty then talked about the forest management proposal brought forth by Sen. Ron Wyden. “According to Ron, it’s a middle-of-the-road proposal,” Grasty said. “But it prohibits all old-growth logging, the cutting of any trees over 20 inches in diameter, and I have other concerns, as well.”

Commissioner Jack Drinkwater said that sort of management really didn’t make much sense. “How are you going to maintain, whatever it is,  by keeping the old and getting rid of the young?” he asked. “I mean if they kept all the old guys like me around and got rid of the young ones, pretty soon there isn’t going to be any population.”

Grasty said he believes the whole forest needs to be managed, not just one particular aspect. “The numbers show that old-growth on the east side of the state is dwindling, and it’s not because of logging.”

Harney County Economic Development Coordinator Mark Maliwauki was in attendance to give the court an update on projects he has been working on.
Maliwauki said they plan to have more micro-business trainings available to hopefully attract more young entrepreneurs.

There was some discussion on possible renewable energy projects, including wind, biomass, solar and geothermal. Maliwauki added that the juniper bundling demonstration went well, with the results exceeding expectations.

There is continued interest from out-of-state residents in locating a dairy in Harney County. Maliwauki said the interested party will be bringing a consultant to the area for a feasibility study, and they’ll see where it goes from there.

In other business:

• the court reviewed the single bid they received on July 2 for asphalt, and voted unanimously to reject the bid;

• the court discussed the roads that were temporarily closed after the Egley Complex fire last summer. The court agreed that the roads should be re-opened, and they will work on that;

• there was discussion on the county mileage rate, and the court decided to leave it at 50.5 cents per mile;

• Grasty suggested that the court look into possibly purchasing a camera and television to use for tele-conferencing. “If we could use it instead of driving to meetings around the state, it will save us money,” he said.

The next county court meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Aug. 6 at the courthouse.

Paper takes second in General Excellence

The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association (ONPA) presented its 2008 Better Newspaper Contest and Associate Member Publications Contest awards during the association’s annual Summer Publishers Convention, held July 18 at Salishan Spa & Golf Resort in Gleneden Beach, and the Burns Times-Herald walked away with five awards.

The most coveted award for Oregon newspapers is the General Excellence award. Winners of the Elmo Smith Award for General Excellence for nondaily newspapers were divided into three circulation divisions. The Burns Times-Herald won second place in its division for weekly papers with a 3,500 or less circulation. The Creswell Chronicle was first, and third place went to the West Linn Tidings.

In other awards the Burns Times-Herald won three first-place awards and one third-place award. Editor Debbie Raney won first place in the Best Editorial Page category. Reporter Randy Parks won first place in the Best Local Column category. Reporter Lauren Brown won first place in the Best Educational Coverage category and third place for Best Section Front or Inside Page Design.

Of the 88 ONPA general member newspapers, 55 submitted entries in the 2008 Better Newspaper contest. A total of 2,003 entries were submitted for the contest, of which 450 won awards. The contest was judged by members of the Colorado Press Association.

All of the winning entries, plus award summaries for each newspaper, are posted on the ONPA web site at www.orenews.com. Choose “Contests” from the Members tab.

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

Dr. Kevin Johnston of the High Desert Medical Center recently received the 2008 Carpenter Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Ambulatory Setting.

The award is presented annually to a community family physician who is a volunteer faculty member of the Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU) Department of Family Medicine, actively engaged and committed to teaching. Selection of the recipient is based on student nominations and continuity of service to the Department of Family Medicine.

Johnston joined the High Desert Medical Center in 2002 and since then, has worked with five or six medical students each year.

Johnston said that while students may not end up in a rural setting such as Harney County, the experience usually receives favorable reviews. “This site always receives one of the highest ratings from students,” he said. “The community is very accepting of students, and that’s important.”

Johnston said that students who are enthusiastic and eager to learn are the best to work with. “It brings back the feeling of awe you have at the beginning,” he said. “Sometimes the paperwork and bureaucracy can weight you down, and working with students can help motivate you again.”

In his third year of medical school, Johnston himself worked at the High Desert Medical Center with Dr. Tom Fitzpatrick. “We all remember how frustrating it was at first. It’s like playing doctor, never being the doctor,” Johnston said. “You have to envision ever getting to that position. Then when you get the confidence, you tell yourself, ‘Hey, I can do this.’ ”

Watching students gain that confidence is one of the best parts about teaching Johnston said. “It’s not only seeing them become a better doctor, it’s becoming a doctor, period.”

Johnston was also nominated for the Carpenter Award in 2005 and 2007.

Lisa G. Braughton of La Pine died on July 2 as a result of a rafting accident on the Deschutes River in Central Oregon.

Braughton was born on Dec. 29, 1960.

Braughton loved the outdoors, camping and spending time with her family. She lived in Burns from 2001 to 2003 and was employed at Dairy Queen.

Braughton is survived by her parents, Joyce Endicott and John Braughton; her son, West Micheal Braughton of Burns; siblings, Jeff Braughton, Rease Braughton, JR Perkins, Byron Tucker, Jimmy Hoaglen, Kayrene Hoaglen, Jadee Rand, Scott Rano, Guy Garretson and Vicki Garretson; numerous aunts and uncles, several nieces and nephews and many loved ones.

A memorial service was held Thursday, July 10, at Pringle Falls in La Pine.