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

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

The Harney County Health Department will be available at the Harney County Senior Center, 17 South Alder, to check blood pressure the fourth Monday of each month from 1-3 p.m. There is no charge for the clinic and results can be forwarded to a physician or nurse practitioner at your request.

Order of Eastern Star meets the second and fourth Monday of each month at the Burns Masonic Hall, 1210 West Taylor, at 7:30 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.

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.

A breast cancer support group meets the fourth Tuesday of each month in the Harney District Hospital conference room, from 5:30-7 p.m. For more information, contact Sonni at 573-5750.

Harney County Chamber Music Society Choir meets the second and fourth Tuesday, September-November and January-March. The choir meets in the Burns High School band room, from 7-8:30 p.m., with Marianne Andrews directing. Singers ages 13-up are welcome.

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.

Residents have a chance to question those running for local offices

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

Harney County residents had the chance to hear candidates for city and county positions answer their questions at a Candidates’ Night held Thursday, Oct. 9, at the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center.

Fred Flippence served as the moderator for the event, which was attended by approximately 50 citizens.

Candidates in attendance included Hines Mayor Ruth Schultz, who is running unopposed; Burns City Council candidates Bill Renwick and  Terri Holt (Seat No. 2), Darwin Johnson (Seat No. 3 unopposed) and Dan Hoke (Seat No. 1 write-in); Burns mayoral candidates Yvonne Warden, Len Vohs and Loretta Carter; County Clerk Maria Iturriaga, who is unopposed; and Harney County Sheriff Dave Glerup.

Harney County Commissioner Dan Nichols (unopposed) had a previous commitment and couldn’t attend, and Tim Alexander, who is running against Glerup for sheriff, was also absent.

The first question and answer session began with the Burns City Council candidates, followed by the candidates for Burns mayor. Iturriaga then introduced herself and offered to take questions from the audience, as did Glerup.

Responses from the candidates on several topics are as follows:

Burns Mayor

Q: Rather than have a city manager, do you think it’s possible for the council and mayor to do the city’s business and hire a grant writer when needed?

Carter: “We need a city manager who’s a grant writer. If we hired one, he wouldn’t know our city.”

Warden: “We need to go back to a strong mayor position. We don’t need a city manager. City Clerk Dauna Wensenk is an invaluable resource for the city, and unless we have a huge increase in population, we don’t need a city manager.”

Vohs: “The city clerk’s job is over-burdened now. We need to realign and redefine operations within city government. I vehemently disagree that the council could take over departments. If they’re directly involved, they can’t look at it from the outside. We need a system of checks and balance.”

Q: What are you going to do about the city streets?

Vohs: With the loss of timber receipts, the streets have suffered. In 2010 or 2011, Highway 20 will be re-structured. The timber payments were just re-authorized and the city will realize money from that. We need to go after the streets we can save now and keep our eye on the ball. Funds are going to be available, but we have to be prepared.”

Warden: “I live in an area of town where the streets aren’t good. The Oregon Department of Transportation is helping with the highway project, and we have to look at different transportation options. Global markets through the Internet are an option, and that wouldn’t require transportation.”

Carter: “The streets are a problem. We need someone who’ll dig into it for grants. I’d be willing to roll up my sleeves and do that. We need truckers to roll through here. Tourists that pass through are our advertisement. They pass through and say, ‘Burns is a nice little town.’ We need to get the roads fixed.”

Q: What can we do about the high gas prices in town? It seems we’re much higher than other towns.

Carter: “I heard gas trucks don’t want to come out this far. Get a petition up and take it to the people responsible. When we go to Bend, prices are about 40 cents less. We’re not just some hick town out in the desert, we need to go to the source, go to the governor or whoever.”

Warden: “I talked to a friend of mine in Virginia who said she just paid $2.45 a gallon for gas. Prices in the state are high because we have a lot of taxes on them. I don’t have a solution.”

Vohs: “Anybody who had a solution would have enacted it by now. I guess write to your legislators.”

Burns City Council

Q: What will you do to repeal the invasive ethics disclosure law?

Johnson: “We need to write letters to urge the legislators to repeal it. I believe that it serves a purpose for certain officials, but we’re a small community. It’s ridiculous.”

Hoke: “We have nothing to hide, and the League of Oregon Cities is an asset we can use.”

Holt: “I think we have to respect people’s privacy, but we should have nothing to hide.”

Renwick: “I agree with the concept, but there’s a lot on the forms that I don’t think needs to be answered, so I just leave those blank.”

Q: What should the city’s top priority be for the next 12 to 18 months?

Johnson: “We need to replace the city manager. We need to progress as a community and create jobs.”

Hoke: “We need a clearly defined vision for where we’d like to go. I’d like to see goals and objectives from department heads.”

Holt: “As a community, we need to pull together. We need more involvement from citizens.”

Renwick: “We need to hold to the things that we’ve been doing for the past three years, focus on process and procedure. As a council, we may not agree on everything, but we need to work together.”

Q: How can the city get to be fiscally sound to keep the services we have in these economic times?

Renwick: “The city runs on taxes and when the valuations go down, revenues are going to decrease. Some services are funded by user fees. Projects that come up may be funded with grants. Streets, there’s just not enough money. And there are two things that I call “tax-eaters,” the cemetery and the airport. As a council, we are trying to be fiscally conservative.”

Holt: “We need to look at the budget, bring in more business and be more conscious of where money is going.”

Hoke: “Maybe a coalition between the cities of Burns, Hines and the county for services. Have the city manager be a grant writer. As for the cemetery, there was a trend several years ago toward cremation. A possibility would then be an urn garden, we need to look at ways to bring in more money.”

Johnson: “I’d like to stress that Bill Guindon as interim city manager is doing a good job looking at the city departments, and we have to make sure a new city manager keeps on top of things. Also businesses re-investing money in their business for improvements.”

Q: I’ve heard there has been a decrease in the number of volunteer firefighters. Are there enough to handle a fire?

Renwick: “I don’t know exact numbers, but we do have mutual aid with Hines, and we’re working with the tribe for that as well. I think we’re in great shape.”

Holt: “That’s a pretty sensitive subject for me because as I said before, I worked on the fire department for six years. I have a strong resentment against Bill Guindon. There are new recruits coming in, but they’re not trained. Our department is lacking.”

Hoke: For the areas just outside of town, maybe a program like Air Life where people could purchase fire coverage. I think there needs to be an aggressive training program.

Johnson: “We need an adequate fire department, but awareness is important too. Cleaning up the city can help prevent fire hazards like abandon buildings and dead grass. Concerned citizens should talk to Bill Guindon.”

Q: Taxes went up last year. Can we look for tax cuts this year?

Johnson: “Maybe we could consolidate the fire chief position like we did the police chief. Just look at how the city’s money is spent.”

Hoke: “The tax base isn’t growing and prices are rising. We need to try to maintain the level of service.”

Holt: “That’s beyond my level of expertise.”

Renwick: “Taxes went up because of valuation. As valuation drops, taxes are going to have to be raised to maintain services. I’d love to see taxes and costs go down, but there’s a tough time ahead of us for a while.”

H.C. Sheriff

Q: If elected, would you serve the entire four years?

Glerup: “Yes. I wouldn’t run if I wasn’t planning on serving for four years. There were rumors that I was going to turn it over to a certain individual partway through the term, but it doesn’t work that way. If I were to step down, the county court would appoint someone until the next general election.”

Q: If the population grows, are you going to work to keep the bad elements out?

Glerup: “We work every day to keep the bad elements out. Over the past several years we’ve taken down 10 meth labs in our area.”

Q: What possible changes do you see in the next four years?

Glerup: “With the economy, maybe layoffs which would result in less services. The OYA (Oregon Youth Authority) is talking about doubling in size, and that would mean good jobs.”

Q: With the current jail becoming overloaded at times, do you foresee a new jail anytime in the future?

Glerup: “With only about 3,000 people in the county that pay taxes, that’d be tough. We have a new hospital, a school bond measure, and a new jail would cost about $7 million. I’d love to have one. We used to average about six prisoners a night, and now it’s 21 or 22. We do have a matrix system at the jail and when we’re full, we let the least of the worst go.”

Q: What about the ballot measures for harsher penalties?

Glerup: “On the surface they sound good, but measures 57 and 61 would end up costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars. It’s a great idea to make these people pay for their sins, but we’d end up paying for their sins.”

H.C.Clerk

After introducing herself and giving a job description, the audience had no question for Iturriaga.

She did remind citizens that Oct. 14 is the last day to register to vote and the ballots will go out on Oct. 17. They must be back in the clerk’s office by 8 p.m. Nov. 4.

“Please register to vote,” Iturriaga said. “If you don’t vote, you can’t gripe.”

Rural Oregon benefits from renewal of county payments, but county court disagrees with the way it was done

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

While the Harney County Court was pleased that Congress renewed the Secure Rural Schools and Self Determination Act for the next four years, the way it was done didn’t set well with court members.

At the court’s regular meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 8, Commissioner Dan Nichols said he was opposed to the amount of “pork” that was thrown into the $700 billion bailout bill passed by Congress recently. “The bailout was expensive enough without another $100-200 billion thrown in,” Nichols said. “We need to write a letter to our congressional delegation and tell them to quit playing politics.”

Harney County Judge Steve Grasty said the Secure Rural Schools Act passed the Senate as an “almost stand-alone” bill a week or so ago, but it was voted down in the House. “We need the act, but it shouldn’t have been put in the bailout,” Grasty said.

The court agreed to write a letter to the Oregon delegation expressing their concern.

In addition, Grasty said because the act had passed, the court would receive approximately $2.2 million in January and that amount is not in the current budget. “We’ll have to put the new numbers in the road department’s budget and see where we go from there,” Grasty said.

Although the act has been re-authorized for the next four years, the amount the counties receive will decrease each year. “We’re going to have to start cutting back sometime and now’s the time to start looking at that,” Nichols said.

Tony Dickman of R&W Engineering presented the court with a report on the feasibility of replacing the oil furnace in the courthouse with a wood pellet heating system.

Dickman explained the different systems available and the cost and savings associated with each. “There are a number of options and possibilities,” Dickman said. “If you’re serious about converting, you need to get some of the (wood pellet) boiler manufacturers on board.”

Grasty said that he heard enough to pique his interest and suggested the court invest a little more money to investigate further. He added that if the county as a whole used approximately 10,000 tons of wood pellets each year, a wood pellet manufacturer had expressed interest in placing a mill in the area. “Not only could it save the county money,  it could also create jobs in the county,” Grasty said.
The court agreed to have Dickman put together a detailed plan with more specifications for both the courthouse and jail for their review.

Watershed Council Coordinator Karen Moon was in attendance to ask the court for letters of support regarding grants she was applying for through the Oregon Water Enhancement Board (OWEB).

Moon told the court the first grant she was applying for was a technical assistance grant in the amount of $12,000 to $15,000 for the action plan on the Donner und Blitzen sub-basin.

Two other grants Moon was applying for were regarding the Harney Basin Groundwater Study. One was for landowner outreach and the other to gather information regarding the variability of the aquifers across the basin, the interaction between surface waters and ground water, the overall ground water budget, protection of senior water right holders and the sustainability of future development in the Harney Basin.

The court expressed concern about who would be doing the research and the possible effects of the research on citizens.

“Wouldn’t we rather have a study done now to find out what’s down there before someone spends a lot of money to drill a well?” Moon asked.

In other business, the court:

• discussed the possibility of renewing an Intergovernmental Agreement with Lake County for mental services with Chris Siegner of Harney Behavioral Health. Siegner told the court there were benefits to both counties with the agreement, but both he and Vern Brown were spending about a fifth of their time in Lake County helping them.

“Is it affecting our program at home?” Commissioner Jack Drinkwater asked.

“That’s the question,” Siegner said.

Grasty recommended that he meet with Siegner and a representative from Lake County to get an agreement in writing. “We need to let them know what the time commitment is on our end and that we don’t want it to interfere with what we’re doing here. We’ve got too much invested,” Grasty said. He added that he wanted an agreement ready to sign by the next court meeting on Oct. 22;

• agreed to the Contract Out of District with Treasure Valley Community College and a minimum annual supporting fee of $8,000 for delivery of educational programs offered in Harney County;

• set a public hearing for 1 p.m. Dec. 3 to discuss the legalization of a portion of Penland Road;

• reviewed the Bureau of Land Management proposed range improvement projects;

• discussed a report received from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regarding the air quality index for the city of Burns. Grasty explained that a chart showed the city exceeded the particulate matter (PM) allowance several times in 2007. A summary by the DEQ stated that the city is on the verge of “Nonattainment” status which could mean restrictions on industry and possible federal transportation money restrictions.

The court said they need to make citizens more aware of the situation and discussed ways to possibly correct the problem with the cities of Burns and Hines;

• acknowledged the Natural Resources Conservation meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14, and Drinkwater said he would attend.

City has six-month time frame in which to hire new city manager

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

The Burns City Council appointed three members to be part of the city manager hiring committee at the Oct. 8 meeting. Councilors Dan Hoke, Linda Johnson and Bill Renwick will serve on the committee.

The last city manager, Justin Boone, submitted his resignation in September. The council now has six months to complete the hiring process for a new city manager. On Sept. 29, the council appointed Burns Fire Chief Bill Guindon to be the Interim City Manager.

At the Oct. 8 meeting, the council appointed Burns resident Jan Cupernall to be part of the newly formed committee and is searching for one more resident to participate as well. Residents interested in being on the committee can address letters of interest to the City Manager Recruitment Committee and send them to 242 S. Broadway, Burns, OR 97720 by 5 p.m. Oct. 22.

The committee will determine the job description for the position and conduct interviews with applicants.

In other business:

• the council heard an update from Public Works Director Dave Cullens on the West Monroe Street sidewalk project. Cullens said the project is essentially finished, although there are a few fixes the contractor has agreed to complete before the project will be entirely finished. “Everything looks good,” he said.

The council then discussed some landscaping that will be done in the future. PRIDE, a local group dedicated to community beautification projects, will purchase trees that will be eventually planted where the decorative bricks were installed.

Also, a local effort to raise funds for streetlights along the new sections of sidewalk has failed to raise enough money to purchase even one streetlight, which run about $2,000 each. One local business had agreed to buy one, but wanted to know if the “arms” on the streetlight would be strong enough to hold a basket of flowers. The lights that line Broadway in downtown Burns do not have arms sturdy enough to hold such baskets. Cullens said he would look into the issue;

• City Clerk Dauna Wensenk gave the council an update on the moving of the fuel farm at the airport, which she said was going really well. The project has come in under budget and will be completed sooner than expected.

Airport managers Walt and Pat Sitz were also present to comment on how well the  project has gone;

• the council directed Interim City Manager Guindon to arrange a time when the Burns City Council can meet with the Burns Paiute Tribe’s council to discuss a new agreement concerning the sewer system;

• the council will send a set of rules for the council to operate by to the city attorney for review. The rules were developed during a council work session with a representative from the League of Oregon Cities;

• Councilor Bill Renwick said that he felt the council needed to set up an emergency executive session to discuss potential litigation.

The next Burns City Council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, at Burns City Hall.

By Debbie Raney
Burns Times-Herald

The Jordan Valley Mustangs, Huntington Locomotives and Ukiah Cougars were the last three in a season-long list of casualties downed by the Crane Mustang varsity volleyball team.

Jordan Valley and Crane were at the top of the High Desert League, both playing with unmarked league records prior to last Tuesday’s match. It went to five games, with Crane winning the deciding fifth to push into the lone leader position in the league.

The games went back and forth, with Jordan Valley winning the first and third, 25-21, 25-18, and Crane winning the second and fourth, 25-23, 25-16. For the match, Crane took game five with a score of 15-4. Lily Valentine served 12 straight points in the fifth game.

The Mustangs’ league victories over Huntington and Ukiah had Crane winning both in three straight games.

Crane defeated Huntington 25-8, 25-8, 25-5. Serve return was minimal, with the Mustangs recording 20 ace serves in the match — Brooke Nyman, Hannah Buermann, Valentine and Natalie Bentz dropped five aces to the floor apiece.

The Ukiah Cougars lost to Crane 25-6, 25-9 25-12. The Mustangs ran the board with unreturned serves. Nyman served 14 straight in game one, Valentine served seven in a row and Bentz six in game two, and Valentine downed seven straight at the top of the third game adding six more on the next rotation.

Crane will finish league play this weekend, traveling to Adrian on Friday and competing in the Dayville Tournament on Saturday. The High Desert League District Tournament will be held in John Day on Oct. 25.

Meredyth Ries Fox died on Oct. 11 at her home surrounded by family and friends after a 10-month battle with lymphoma.

She was born on April 12, 1929, in Visalia, Calif., to William Cyril (Cy) Ries and Bertie Elizabeth (Card) Ries.

Fox grew up in Visalia. She attended Visalia grammar school, then moved to Half Moon Bay with her father and step-mother.  She later returned to finish high school in Exeter, Calif., graduating in 1947. Fox maintained many of her friends from her school days in Visalia, and each year through 2007, she returned in the fall to attend both of those schools’ annual class reunions.

In Exeter, following a brief first marriage to Darrell Wineman, she lived with her aunt and uncle and worked as a legal secretary.  She then began work at Exeter Memorial Hospital, where she helped establish the medical records department. At the hospital, she met her future husband.  When David Fox was called to Oregon for a hospital job, he asked Meredyth to accompany him.  They were married in Carson City, Nev., on May 26, 1961, on their way to Oregon.

The couple moved from Toledo to Springfield and finally to Burns in December 1969. Fox worked at the clinic in Burns as a medical transcriber. She continued to work in this field until she retired.

Fox and her husband were avid golfers and were members of the Valley Golf Club in Hines. When her husband died in December 1980, Fox chose to continue to live in Burns. She continued working, playing golf and staying active in the Presbyterian Church. She worked tirelessly at many activities in Burns at the golf club and her church.

Fox’s faith and her church were very important comforts and causes in her life. She was an Elder in the church and also served in multiple roles at both the local church level and at the Presbytery level. She served as a Lay Commissioner to the General Assembly of the national level meetings of the Presbyterian Churches, USA.

In June each year, she made the trek south to visit her family members in Visalia and also the Fox family in Southern California for their annual family reunion and golf tournament.

A Celebration of Life service will be held for Fox on Saturday, Oct. 18, at 11 a.m. at Pioneer Presbyterian Church, with a luncheon to follow the services. All of her friends are invited to the Valley Golf Club at 2 p.m. to “toast” her life.

Clifton Kieth Ramsay died on Oct. 8.

He was born on March 3, 1938, in Oregon City to Frank Kieth Ramsay and Virginia Jones Ramsay.

Ramsay was among the last class to graduate from the old Bend High School, in 1956. From the late 1960s through the 1970s, he was an early developer and builder in the Bend area. He also worked in the commercial fishing industry and sales.

Ramsay was in the Oregon National Guard, as well as being a member of the Moose Lodge, the Elks Lodge, the Bend Golf and Country Club and the Juniper Golf Club.

He enjoyed music, flying, fishing, hunting, golf and antique cars.

Ramsay is survived by his wife, Tammy Ramsay of Burns; son, Rick Ramsay of Bend; daughters, Ondi Hibbs of Bend and Bryn Hodge of Camas, Wash.; many grandchildren; and Judi Ramsay, the mother of his children.

He was preceded in death by his parents F. Kieth Ramsay and Virginia Ramsay.

A celebration of life will be held on Oct. 18 at Cafe3456, at the Bend Airport, from 4-6 p.m. Contributions in Ramsay’s memory may be made to the Bend Community Center, 1036 N.E. Fifth St., Bend, OR 97701. Baird Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.