A Holiday Craft Bazaar will be held at the Old Camp Casino Event Center, Nov. 28-30. Table reservations are required. Call 573-1500 for more information or to reserve a table.

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.

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 the Harney County Courthouse basement meeting room 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.

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.

PRIDE meets the first Tuesday of each month, at 8 a.m. in the Harney County Courthouse basement meeting room.

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 Basin Writers meets at the Harney County Library the first and third Tuesdays of each month, from 2-4 p.m.

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.

Patient Assist, Needy Med Program trained volunteers will be at the Harney County Senior Center each Tuesday, from 1-4 p.m. For appointments, call the Senior Center at 573-6024.

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.

Tim Bodeen recently served as administrative officer for the Peace Corps in West Africa

Tim Bodeen has been selected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as the new Refuge Manager of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (NWR).

Bodeen has worked for the USFWS for more than 20 years. He started as a Biological Technician at Bozeman Fish Technology Center in Montana. He then moved onto an Assistant Refuge Manager position at Fergus Falls Wetland Management District, where he served as the Director of the Prairie Wetland Learning Center in Minnesota.

Since then he has served as a Supervisory Park Ranger at Neal Smith NWR in Iowa, Refuge Manager  for the proposed Grand Kankakee Marsh NWR in Indiana/Illinois, Refuge Manager at Midway Atoll NWR in Hawaii, Refuge Manager at Ridgefield NWR Complex in Washington and as the Assistant Refuge Supervisor for the Pacific Region in Portland. For the past two years, Bodeen served as the Administrative Officer for Peace Corps in Gambia, West Africa.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to manage Malheur NWR with its diverse fish and wildlife resources and pleased to have such an experienced and welcoming refuge team to help meet the refuge’s land management opportunities and challenges,” Bodeen said.
Bodeen promotes an open-door policy and encourages folks to stop by to share their thoughts. “I look forward to meeting and working with our refuge constituents.”

His appointment to the refuge manager position at Malheur NWR began in October and filled the position vacated by Donna Stovall in June.

Burns resident received call that granddaughter was in trouble and in need of money

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

The elderly are known to be targets of con artists and one of their more popular ploys for the past few years is known as the “Grandparents Scam.”

The scam involves a phone call to a grandparent from a person who identifies themself as a grandchild who has gotten into some sort of trouble and needs money to help them out.

Playing on the heartstrings of grandparents has resulted in the victims being scammed out of thousands of dollars, and it almost happened to a Harney County resident.

On the morning of Sept. 17, Carol Sawyer of Burns received a phone call from a female who identified herself as Sawyer’s granddaughter, Desi, who lives in Portland. “She told me she and a friend had flown to Vancouver (Canada) and rented a Budget car,” Sawyer said. “Then she said they were driving down the freeway, hit the median and crashed. She said they were OK, but they were at the police station and the police wouldn’t allow them to return to the U.S. until they paid $5,000 for damage to the vehicle.”

Sawyer said she detected a slight accent in the caller’s voice, but when asked about it, the Desi impersonator said it was probably because she was shook up from the accident. “And she said, ‘You’re the only one that can help me with this,’ ” Sawyer said.

The caller then handed the phone over to an “Officer McKinley,” who confirmed, “We won’t release her until we get $5,000.”

Sawyer said she was then instructed to wire the money  to an address she was given. After telling the presumed officer $5,000 was a lot of money, Sawyer asked if she could get a reduced amount. “They said I could pay half now, and they would let Desi come back to the U.S. with a promissory note for the other half,” Sawyer said.

Sawyer then went to the bank, withdrew the amount needed and headed to Safeway to send the money via Western Union. “Kat (Pentecost) at Safeway handled the transaction and she was extremely helpful,” Sawyer said. “She told me she couldn’t find a Budget Rent-A-Car in Vancouver, but we went ahead and wired the money to the address I was given.”

Sawyer said she then returned home, but was bothered by, “the whole thing.” To satisfy the nagging feeling that something wasn’t right, Sawyer then called her granddaughter’s number in Portland, but no one answered.

Just minutes later, Sawyer’s phone rang and it was Desi on the line, wanting to know why she had called. Sawyer asked her if she was in Canada and Desi replied, “In Canada? No, I’ve never been to Canada. I’m at home getting ready to go to work.”

Realizing she was a victim of a scam, Sawyer immediately called Pentecost at Safeway. “Kat told me the money had been sent, but not picked up yet, so she was able to get it back for me,” Sawyer said. “Kat was very instrumental in getting the money back for me, and I’m very grateful.”

While Sawyer’s story had a somewhat happy ending, others aren’t so fortunate. according to the Web site Scambusters.org, “scammers have bilked the elderly out of hundreds — or thousands — of dollars by posing as their ‘needy’ grandchildren.

Officials say that oftentimes the caller will say something like, “This is your favorite grandson,” only to have the grandparent answer with, “Arnold?” which provides the scammer with a name.

Their recommendation to expose the fraud is to not fill in any “blanks” for the scammer. For example:

“Do you know who this is?”

“No, I don’t. Who is this?”

“It’s your granddaughter.”

“Really? Which one?”

Sawyer said the scammer who called her already had the name of her granddaughter, as well as the name of her great-grandson, and just wants people to be aware of the scam. “If my story helps even one person from losing money, it’ll be worth getting the word out,” she said.

Council debated whether to deal with issue now or at the end of the fiscal year

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

The Burns City Council voted to pay Interim City Manager/Fire Chief Bill Guindon for 266 hours of comp time at the Nov. 12 meeting.
At the Oct. 22 meeting, Guindon said that the hours were accrued while he was serving strictly as fire chief, and that he now felt the city’s comp time policy was an unfunded liability. He noted that while city is currently saving money on the city manager’s salary, it would have the money to pay him $6,301.54 for the 266 hours of comp time. Guindon said now that he is serving as interim city manager, it would be impossible for him to take the time off.

The council decided to see if other city employees wanted to cash in their comp time hours as well.

At the Nov. 12 meeting, Guindon presented the council with three different comp time policies that he found in the city’s records. One of the policies advocated waiting until the end of the fiscal year to see if there was enough money in the budget to pay for comp time that employees were unable to use. He also said that at this time the only other city employee with a substantial amount of comp time was City Clerk Dauna Wensenk, and she did not want to cash in her hours.

Audience member and Burns resident Steve Cupernall told Guindon that from his perspective, as a department head, Guindon should have had the foresight to take time off during slow weeks, when he knew his comp hours were stacking up. “You have the say as to whether or not you work,” Cupernall said.

Guindon said that because of circumstances above and beyond his control, he was unable to take the time off. He also said that the city’s comp time policy is inconsistent and as interim city manager, he is trying to correct that. Guindon also said that the previous city manager failed to keep an eye on the comp time issue. “There’s no such thing as a 40-hour work week as a department head,” Guindon said.

Councilor Linda Johnson agreed with Guindon and said that he stepped in to help the city when the previous city manager resigned in September. She also said that the council should have taken more interest in the comp time hours accrued by department heads.
Mayor Laura Van Cleave said that the previous fire chief accrued a lot of comp  time as well. She said that Guindon has put several policies in place at the fire department to help his volunteers run the department while he is filling in as the interim city manager.

Councilor Darwin Johnson said he did not agree with paying Guindon at this time. He felt the city needed to wait until the end of of the fiscal year in June to see whether there would be enough money in the budget to pay for the 266 hours. He maintained that if Guindon could take the time off from being the fire chief to be interim city manager, he could probably take the necessary amount of time off when he is no longer the city manger and when activities slowed down with the fire department.

Guindon appeared visibly upset at this point. “Councilor Johnson I think you are uneducated on the fire department,” he said. “You don’t know what I do.”

Councilor Darwin Johnson said he wasn’t saying Guindon didn’t deserve to be paid for the work he’d done, he simply wanted to wait until the end of the year, as the city has done in the past. He said that he felt he was speaking up for many people in the community who felt the same way.

Linda Johnson then moved to pay Guindon $6,301.54 for 266 hours of comp time. Councilor Dan Hoke seconded and the council voted to approve the payment with Hoke, Linda Johnson, Van Cleave and Sean Wilson voting in favor. Councilor Darwin Johnson was the lone nay vote, and councilors Bill Renwick and Craig LaFollette were absent.

In other business:

• the council approved the advertisement for the city manager position as well as the job description, which the hiring committee developed.  The job will be advertised with a salary range of $40,000 to $53,000 and applications need to be in by Dec. 12. Councilor Darwin Johnson abstained from the voting as he is interested in the position;

• the council heard from resident Sam Kaser on issues regarding the Oregon Department of Transportation’s plans for changes to downtown Burns as well as changes to the Monroe Street intersection near Teague Motor Co. He had concerns regarding curb extensions, islands, bike lanes and access to local businesses. Councilor Linda Johnson allayed many of those concerns by saying input from the community has corrected many of those problems. She also noted that ODOT currently does not have the money to go forth with these projects. These are simply conceptual plans that could be referred to at some point in the future;

• Interim City Manager Guindon said that the late-night event at city hall went well. On Oct. 30, city hall stayed open until 9 p.m. so that residents could come in and chat with city employees about city issues. Guindon said the city will likely have another late night event, though perhaps only until 8 p.m. rather than 9 p.m.;

• the council gave Guindon the go-ahead to proceed with the planning of the city’s Christmas party, as long as no city funds were used to pay for it. Rhojo’s will cater the event at the Bistro, and city employees will pay for their own meals;

•   the council heard from resident Fred Graham who had some complaints regarding last year’s snow plowing. He said the city had piled plowed snow in his and his neighbor’s driveway, making them impassable. Mayor Van Cleave referred the issue to Public Works Director Dave Cullens, who said he would look into the matter;

• the council approved an ordinance regarding criminal background checks;

• the council approved a $100 donation to the annual Harney County Hospice Wine and Food Festival, which took place on Nov. 15 at the Burns Elks Lodge;

• Councilor Bill Renwick arrived near the end of the meeting to talk about a letter he had received from Scotland from a man involved with the Robert Burns Society. In Scotland, they will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of the famous poet. They would like to recognize the City of Burns and the origin of its name. Renwick said he would send the requested documents to Scotland;

• Councilor Wilson gave a report on the airport committee, which discussed the moving of the fuel farm at the airport. They are also looking at replacing one of the runways;

• Councilor Linda Johnson gave a report on the safety committee and said the fire department is currently training new volunteers and has issued 160 burn permits. Both the police and fire departments participated in Red Ribbon Week at local schools, and the police department has received good feedback on the law enforcement partnership with Hines. There will be an open house on Dec. 10 at Burns City Hall to recognize the contributions of both the Burns and Hines police officers and firefighters. The reception will be from 5 to 6 p.m. and cake will be served;

• Councilor Darwin Johnson said that a community get-together with dancing and entertainment at the Memorial Building on Nov. 1 was a great success and that he is working with multiple groups within the community to organize more such events.

The next Burns City Council meeting will be at 6 p.m. Dec. 10 at  Burns City Hall.

By Debbie Raney
Burns Times-Herald

One mistake is too many during a state quarterfinal football game; and more than that can prove to be fatal. The Imbler Panthers took advantage of the Crane Mustangs’ mistakes last Saturday, and the Panthers earned the right to advance to the semi-finals of the 1A OSAA state championships with a 58-38 win over Crane.

Along with Imbler, the four remaining teams in contention for the state title are Dufur, Perrydale and Joseph. Both semi-final games will be held on Nov. 22 at Wilsonville High School. The first game will begin at 11 a.m., between Joseph and Perrydale. Dufur and Imbler will kickoff at 2:15 p.m.

Crane’s loss to Imbler on Nov. 15 began with the Mustangs setting a rapid pace. Two plays and 22 seconds into the game, Crane had scored on a 43-yard Dallen Davies run behind Raymond Thompson blocks. The duo paired up again for the conversion, and the Mustangs were immediately in an 8-0 lead.

The Panthers were stopped on their first possession with a stripped ball recovered by Crane’s Milton Merritt. The Mustangs couldn’t capitalize on the turnover, and ended up giving possession back to Imbler on downs, at the 50-yard line.

Imbler’s first play was a pass from Bryan Mills to Dalton McDaniel. McDaniel outran all of Crane’s defense up the middle of the field, and went untouched into the end zone. The Mustangs stopped the conversion run attempt, and the score stood 8-6 with 8:42 on the first quarter clock.

Crane upped their lead on their next offensive drive, going 65 yards in four plays. Davies ran the ball to the Panther 18, and then Royal Henricks took two handoffs for the remaining 18. At 6:42, the score had Crane leading 14-6, as Imbler stopped the Mustangs’ two-point try.

The Panthers picked up three first downs — two on the ground and one from a Mustang penalty — when they went back to offense. At Crane’s 28-yard line, Mills passed to Bryson Ricker for another Imbler touchdown, keeping the score at a two-point difference, 14-12.

In spite of a Pete Joyce kick return that gave the Mustangs field position at the 41, Crane went nowhere on their next possession and had to give the ball up at their own 45-yard line.

Two plays in, the Panther’s Nick West got out of two Mustang tackles and passed to Ricker downfield for a touchdown that put Imbler into the lead. With a conversion pass adding two more, the score had Crane trailing 20-14 as the first quarter ended.

Receptions by Joyce and Henricks from Davies had the Mustangs moving the ball from their own 37 to Imbler’s 3. A 15-yard Crane penalty put the Mustangs into a third and goal situation, on the 18. Davies dropped back to pass and had to scramble for his life.

Henricks kept mobile in the end zone, and the two eventually connected for the tying touchdown. Joyce gave an extra effort stretch on the conversion run, and Crane went to the lead, 22-20.

Thompson intercepted a Panther pass three plays later, but the Mustangs didn’t capitalize on the possession. Davies was dropped for a loss of five yards, and then another penalty moved Crane backward five yards further, and the Mustangs eventually had to punt. The next Imbler possession also ended with a punt, and then Crane turned the ball over on a fumble with just over three minutes remaining in the first half. The Panthers were deep into the Mustang territory, with the line of scrimmage at Crane’s 21. Four snaps in, Zack Philips broke free and ran to the end zone for a 28-22 lead over the Mustangs.

The Panthers came down with an intercepted pass to end the second quarter.

Imbler had possession to start the third quarter, and were on the move, picking up first downs on the ground and from a Mustang penalty. At Crane’s 43, Mills tried to connect with Ricker, but the Mustangs’ Ryan Opie picked off the pass. With his return, Crane had the ball on their own 21-yard line.

After getting three first downs, the Mustangs started moving the wrong way. Two five-yard penalties pushed them backward, and then Davies was dropped for a loss of 12 yards on a broken pass play. At their own 47, Davies passed downfield, and was picked off by the Panthers’ McDaniel.

Imbler went four and out,   and Crane regained possession. Another scramble for a loss of yards pushed the Mustangs back to their own 27. A low snap on the Mustangs’ punt attempt resulted in Imbler taking over on downs at Crane’s 14. The Panthers took advantage of the break, and scored on a Mills run, pushing their lead to 36-22 to end the third quarter.

On the very first play of the fourth, Davies was intercepted again, setting up another Panther scoring drive. At the 45-yard line, West broke free straight up the gut, running 55 yards for the touchdown. He cleared the end zone for the conversion run as well, and Imbler pulled into a 44-22 advantage with 10:50 to play in the game.

After another penalty, the Mustangs had the line of scrimmage at their own 43. Opie pulled down a Davies pass for a 30-yard gain, and then Davies moved the ball to the one. Thompson powered through the middle for the last yard and the touchdown. Blake Steeves ran in the two-point, and Crane closed the gap to a 44-28 score.

After forcing the Panthers to punt, Crane was on their own two-yard line. Davies was pressured in the end zone by Imbler, and threw an errant underhand forward pitch, straight into the arms of the Panthers’ Jace Eisiminger. Eisiminger needed only two steps into the end zone, and Imbler again upped their lead.

The momentum of the game was all in the Panthers’ favor.

On the ensuing kick, Imbler booted an onside to Crane’s 44. The Mustangs were slow to get on the ball, and the Panthers were once again in possession. With Crane giving them the first five yards on another penalty, Imbler was in the end zone in only four snaps. At the Mustangs’ 29, West slipped through two tackles and made it to the left end zone for six more points and a 58-30 score with three minutes remaining in the game.

Crane scored one more time, beginning the final drive of the game and season at their own 33. Opie picked up the first 26 on a pass from Davies, and then Thompson and Davies ran the ball to the Imbler 20. Max Miller caught a Davies pass 10 yards downfield, broke a tackle, and went to the left pylon. With 51 seconds to play, T.J. Potter caught a conversion pass, and the game ended in a final score of 58-38.

Harney Partners for Kids and Families meets on the third Wednesday of each month at noon, at Glory Days Pizza. Lunch is provided, please RSVP to Michelle Bradach, president.

Babe Ruth meets the third Wednesday of each month in the courthouse basement meeting room, 450 North Buena Vista, at 7 p.m.

Oregon Hunters Association is for all hunters, whether rifle, bow, shotgun, muzzle loader or other. The local chapter meets at Linda’s Thai Room, the third Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m and is followed by a board meeting.

Storytime for preschoolers is scheduled at the Harney County Library, 80 West D St., each Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Contact the Harney County Library for more information at 573-6670.

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.

Harney Soil and Water Conservation District will hold their regular meeting on Thursday, Nov. 20, at the USDA Service Center, at 3:30 p.m. The meeting is open to the public, and is handicap accessible.

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.

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

The Chamber Music Society Bell Ringers meet each Thursday at 6:30 p.m., at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. For more information, call Carol Sawyer at 573-6886.

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 (TOPS #630) meets each Thursday at Hines City Hall, 101 East Barnes, at noon.  Anyone who has pounds to lose is welcome. 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.

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.