Candidates’ Night for the candidates running for the Harney District Hospital Board of Directors will be held on May 4 at 6 p.m. at the Harney County Community Center, 484 N. Broadway, in Burns.

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.

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.

The Hines Volunteer Fire Department meets at the Hines Fire Hall each Monday at 7 p.m. (except the last Monday of the month). Prospective members may contact Fire Chief Bob Spence at 573-7477 or 573-2251.

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.

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

Medicare D and Health Plan assistance is available on the first Tuesday of each month, from 1-3 p.m., at the Harney County Senior Center. For an appointment, 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.

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.

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

Lesley Richman and Matt Bixby raise goats on 89 acres of property just east of Burns

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

Kidding during the month of April means more to Lesley Richman and Matt Bixby than just practical jokes on April Fools’ Day.

Richman and Bixby run a meat goat operation on 89 acres a few miles east of Burns, and April is the time for their approximately 300 breeding does to have their babies, or kids.

“April is definitely a busy time,” Richman said. “We have a barn that will hold 60 moms and their babies, and we’ll fill it up four-and-a-half times over a two week period.”

The pregnant does are kept in a pasture near the newborn barn, protected by five guard dogs and under the watchful eyes of Richman and Bixby.

Once the kids are born,  they’re taken, with their mother, into the barn, where they remain for about three days. From there, the does and kids are let out into a mixing paddock so the kids can get used to being around the other goats.

There are six mixing paddocks, and each one holds 12-15 does. The goats stay in the mixing paddocks for a week to 10 days, after which they’re let out into another large pen that serves as more or less a playground for the kids.

It then takes about five or six months to get the kids up to butcher weight (80-85 pounds), and they are then shipped off to market.

The goats

The breed of goats raised by Bixby and Richman are Boers, which is a South African breed whose name means “farmer.”

While the goats are not purebreds, they are anywhere from 3/4 to 15/16 Boer. “We picked this breed because they have a big frame, good bone structure and a well-muscled carcass,” Richman said. She added that they usually get above 50 percent carcass yield on their animals.

One remarkable thing about goats is that they are a natural weed controller. Richman said they use their goats to help combat Russian knapweed and other noxious weeds. “Goats aren’t that big of a grass eater,” she said. “They’re browsers and can pick out a highly nutritious diet.”

Their digestive systems  also have the ability to de-toxify weeds, such as knapweed and leafy spurge, which are toxic to horses and cattle.

Using the goats to control weeds is the reason why Richman and Bixby have their does kid in April. By the time they’re ready to be put out into the fields, the weeds are susceptible to being grazed. The goats eat the weeds, which allows grasses to grow.

The meat

While goat meat ranks No. 1 as the most eaten meat around the world, and is 97 percent cholesterol free, the market in the U.S. is constantly changing.

Bixby said that some buyers want goats ranging from 80 to 100 pounds, and others may want smaller sizes. “It’s not consistent, and that’s because of the people who are buying,” he said.

Richman and Bixby are currently working with high-end restaurants in California to supply their meat. “It’s range-fed, we don’t use any hormones or antibiotics, but it’s still pretty seasonal,” Richman said.

They are also working with several agricultural organizations to produce better ways to market goat meat around Oregon.

Each year, about 500 kids are shipped to market and 60 to 80 are kept as replacements.

Trials and tribulations

Even though Richman has been raising goats for more than 30 years, there’s never a routine day.
To begin with, because of the high quality of feed the does get, there is an abnormally high rate of triplets and quadruplets born.

The range can only feed two kids adequately which means Bixby and Richman can try to graft the other kids to does with only one kid, or they work with others in the community to take the bummer kids.

With the kidding occurring in April, weather also becomes a factor. “We always hope for good weather, but you know there’s going to be two bad weekends — Easter and the bird festival,” laughed Bixby.

Getting water to the goats requires some ingenuity. “We can’t use a deep trough, because they’ll jump in and drown,” Richman said. The solution has been to install shallow troughs that look like small culvert pipes sawn in half. However, because the shallow troughs are susceptible to freezing, heaters had to be put in.

With no rocks in the pastures to wear down the goats hooves, they can grow really long, and the trimming job has to be done by hand. Once a year, the goats are led to a special table for trimming.

“We used to do it with hand clippers, and we could do about 40 a day,” Bixby said. “Then we bought an electric trimmer, and we did up to 91 in one day.”

Predators can also be a problem, but that has been solved with guard dogs and a guard llama. “We have two maremmas, which is an Italian-bred dog, two pyrenees and one pyrenees cross,” Richman said. “You look at them and they look like they’re just lazing around. But if other dogs or coyotes come near, they’ll kill them.”

To protect the pen of billy goats, there’s a guard llama.

Even though every day is an adventure, it’s easy to see Richman and Bixby take great pride in their operation. “It’s all about management,” Richman said.

Residents remind commissioners that this area has a lot to offer

By Debbie Raney
Burns Times-Herald

Harney County has a lot to offer and, contrary to recent state and national reports, is very much alive and kicking. That was the message several members of the community voiced to the Harney County Court last week.

Citing recent comments and statements made in a Fox News report and a story in the Bend Bulletin, those in attendance at the court meeting said they believe it is up to the members of the local government to keep the record straight and curtail the bad publicity the area has been given.

“We’re not looking at the positive,” said Lyle Stratton. Stratton owns Soft Tail Development, and is the vice president of the chamber of commerce board. He listed the new Veteran’s Administration building, the new hospital, the new Community Center on Broadway, the strong real estate market and the recently started project of the Paiute Tribe Building on Broadway as positive elements that show the county is not fading away.

“There are a ton of people that are doing well in this town.” He said he believed the court should focus more on the good things that members of the community are doing, rather than always pointing out the negative.

Rader Heck, echoed Stratton’s position. “People are listening to what you’re saying. There are folks putting money into businesses that don’t need this [negative remarks regarding the economy]. There are people pushing forward and making things happen.”

Heck and Stratton both remarked that it’s tough to get new investors into the area when the county’s not being portrayed as worthy of an investment.

After receiving comments from the audience, Judge Steve Grasty said, “The message you have delivered is right on. It’s a reality check.”

Chamber of commerce president Patty McNeil asked how the rest of the community could help the court move forward with a more optimistic approach, as well as reduce any roadblocks the county faces in economic development. The first suggestion from the court was to help take on the environmental community, which consistently hinders every attempt to get back into the forests and restricts the agriculture industry from making advancements.

“One person can put a stop to all discussions,” said Grasty. He asked that more people become involved during NEPA comment periods, so the commissioners are not making the only pro-timber and pro-agriculture comments.

Burns City Mayor Len Vohs commented on the collaborative efforts being made by the cities of Burns and Hines and the county. “We are making baby steps, and there are good things on the horizon.”

Stimulus funds will be used to pay Lorin Tanner’s salary for 2 years

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

The Harney County District No. 3 School Board voted to approve the new position of a district psychologist and approved the hiring of Lorin Tanner for that position.

Geoff Robinson, student services director, presented the board with the proposal to hire a psychologist with $224,000 in stimulus funds. According to federal guidelines, the money must be spent on something new to the district and this can include a new position.

In the past, the district has had an evaluator to monitor and test students who are having problems in school. Robinson said that it will be a great benefit to the district to have an in-house psychologist who can perform the needed tests, rather than hire someone out of district to do it. He noted that eventually, the state will require every district to have its own psychologist.

The stimulus money will fund the position for about two years. After that, Robinson said the district will have to decide how to proceed. However, he estimated that the district could actually save $127,000 over two years by using the stimulus money this way. “We will have to make the transition to a psychologist sooner or later,” he said.

Robinson said that he also had commitments from the Crane school district and possibly a few other sources to help fund the position for an exchange of a certain number of reports. Tanner’s annual salary will be about $85,000.

In other business:

• the board discussed offering teachers an early retirement incentive of $15,000. Superintendent David Courtney said that over a five-year period, the district could save about $103,000 on one salary. It would not be mandated. It would simply be another option for teachers to consider. Jimmy Zamora, a Burns High School teacher and the district representative for the teachers’ union, said that having talked with a few  teachers, they would rather have extended insurance benefits than a lump sum of money.

Acting board chairman Randy Parks asked Zamora to come up with another option, perhaps a combination of insurance benefits and a lump sum, for the board to consider at the next school board meeting;

• the board approved district transportation supervisor Scott Franklin to proceed with the purchase of two activity vehicles. Franklin told the board that through a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stimulus program he could possibly buy two busses for the price of one with money from the Yellow Bus Fund;

• the board discussed the parental teacher request policy at Slater Elementary School and found that a previous letter sent out to parents telling them they could no longer request teachers was against school policy. Slater principal Gayle Mackey said that she would send a new letter out to parents letting them know requests are fine as long as they get them in by June 1;

• newly hired Burns High School football coach John Yeakey told the board he had concerns about the upcoming school calendar. He said the Aug. 24 school start date did not provide adequate conditioning time for the football team. He said his players will have half the practice time of any other program in the state, and there will be no time for daily doubles. His greatest concern is for the athletes’ safety and asked the board to take another look at the school calendar. Acting board chairman Randy Parks thanked Yeakey for his concern;

• Tim Colahan addressed the board regarding the average daily membership representation regarding the Silivies River Web Academy. Colahan stated that at previous meetings, district administrators stated they had contacted Michael Wiltfong, State School Fund Coordinator for the Oregon Department of Education, regarding how much money they district would receive back from the state. Colahan said that after contacting Wiltfong himself, he found there to be some inconsistencies in what had previously been reported. He encouraged board members and others to contact Wiltfong themselves to get the real story;

• Bond project manager Bill Renwick stated that while neither the high school boiler or the Hines gym roof were completed over spring break as originally planned, the roof could still be completed during the spring school term. The district will wait to complete installation of the boiler until after school lets out in June;

• the board decided that board member Parks will hand out diplomas at the Burns High School graduation ceremony on June 5 and board member Jackie Shipp will hand out diplomas at the Hines Middle School ceremony on June 10;

• the board approved the appointments of Gordan Mallon and Dennis Townsend to the negotiating team;

• the board approved coaching recommendations for the 2009-2010 school year.

The next school board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. May 12 at the Lincoln administrative building.

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

The Burns Hilanders started their Eastern Oregon League (EOL) season off with a bang on Friday, April 17, sweeping the Riverside Pirates 16-3 and 19-0 in Boardman.

Burns wasted no time getting their offense going, scoring eight runs in the first three innings of the opening game.

Leading 9-3 after six innings, the Hilanders exploded for seven runs in the top of the seventh to cruise to the easy win.

Caleb Feist of Burns finished with three hits, including a home run, five RBIs and two runs scored. Zach Dobson added three hits, including a double, with two RBIs and two runs, and Zach Adams had three hits, two RBIs and three runs scored. Dobson and Adams each had three stolen bases as well.

Austin Piper had two of the Hilanders’ 14 hits, two RBIs and two runs scored.

Dobson pitched a complete game, giving up three earned runs on six hits in seven innings with 15 strike outs, one walk and one hit batter.

Casey Thein pitched the shutout for Burns in the nightcap, giving up just four hits with six strike outs and no walks over five innings.

The Hilander offense was relentless, scoring in every frame until the game was called after five innings because of the 10-run rule.

Feist had a four-hit game, with two RBIs and three runs scored. Landon Hanner had three hits, three RBIs and scored once. Nolan Stampke, Dobson and Josh Van Dyke each had two hits, and Adams led the team in RBIs, with five.

With the game well in hand, head coach Kevin Feist brought in some of his bench, who responded well. All in all, 12 players had at least one hit in the game.

“We played two great games,” coach Feist said. “I’’m proud of our team and their performance in this doubleheader. It’s a great way to start the league season.”

After the first weekend of EOL play, Burns now sits alone in first place with a 2-0 record (7-11 overall).
League favorites Grant Union and Vale split their doubleheader, as did Nyssa and Umatilla.

The Hilanders continue EOL play this Friday, April 24, when they host Grant Union at Corbett Memorial Field. The first game of the twinbill starts at 1 p.m.

Other EOL match-ups this weekend include Riverside at Nyssa on Friday, and Vale hosting Umatilla this Saturday, April 25.

First game
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  R  H  E
Bur  2  4  2  0  1  0  7  16  14  1
Riv  0  0  3  0  0  0  0   3   6  5
Second game
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  R  H E
Bur    6  3  1  4  5  x  x 19 19 0
Riv    0  0  0  0  0   x  x   0  4  3

•••

Baker scored five runs in the top of the fifth and went on to a 10-5 comeback win over Burns on Tuesday, April 14, at Corbett Memorial Field.

Baker grabbed an early lead in the non-conference game, scoring three runs in the top of the first, but the Hilanders came right back  in their half of the inning to tie the game on a bases-clearing triple by Casey Heinz.

Burns broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the fourth when N. Stampke drew a bases loaded walk.

The Bulldogs’ bats came to life the next inning as they regained the lead, and then added one more run in the seventh.

C. Feist led the Hilanders hitting attack, finishing with three hits, including a double. Hanner had a single and a double, one RBI and scored once.

Starting pitcher Dobson threw four innings and gave up three earned runs on three hits, with one walk, one hit batter and one strike out. Van Dyke came on in relief and was tagged with the loss as he surrendered five earned runs on five hits, with four walks in two innings of work. Gus McConnell pitched the final inning.

“We had a one run lead after four innings, but Baker hit the ball well in the fifth, and we couldn’t overcome their big inning,” coach  Feist said. “Baker is a good team and playing them will help us prepare for our league season.”

1  2  3  4  5  6  7   R H E
Bak  3  1  0  0  5  0  1  10 8  1
Bur  3  0  1  1  0  0  0   5  6  2

Arthur O. Evans died at his home on April 14.

He was born on Aug. 5, 1925, in Culver to Otis and Mary Evans.

As a child, Evans lived in Bend, and in November, 1943, he left high school and voluntarily entered the United States Navy. He experienced a world war at a very young age. He was directly involved with being a part of the Greatest Generation. When the allies took control of Omaha Beach, Evans was there. He made great sacrifices for his country and was proud to have served. He was discharged as an Electrician’s Mate 2C in May 1946. Evans then moved with his family to Burns, where he returned to high school and graduated in 1947.

In 1948, with his father and brother, Evans opened a tire shop, the OK Rubber Welders. He also traveled throughout the west working as a sheep shearer. He spent time in Utah, Montana, California and Idaho. It was during this period that he met his wife of 44 years, Marjorie. They were married in Vancouver, Wash., on Sept. 14, 1953. They made their home in Burns, where they raised five girls.

From a very young age, Evans developed a strong work ethic. His dedication led to his successful family businesses — Jiffy Wash which opened in 1959, and upon earning his electrical supervisors license in 1964, Jiffy Electric. He owned Jiffy Electric until January of this year, when he sold it to his grandson, Matt Radinovich. Even after the sale of Jiffy Electric, he continued to go to work doing what he loved.

Evans is survived by his children, Noel Houck and husband, Scott, Alison Evans, Cheryl Radinovich and husband, Kevin, Gay Walker and husband, Jimmy, and Caryn Ellis; sisters, Agnes Blair and Edna Timms and husband, Gene; 10 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Marjorie; grandson, Jaron; and brother, Ernest.

Services for Evans were held on April 18. He was laid to rest next to his wife and grandson in the Burns Cemetery.

Ethel Wickizer died on April 14.

She was born at the Llamb Ranch near Drewsey on Oct. 30, 1906, to Charles S. Oard and Bertha E. (Parker) Oard.

Wickizer attended school  in Crane, graduating at the head of her class in 1925. She went on to complete a one-year teaching program at Monmouth and then returned to Harney County for her first assignment at Frenchglen. She boarded at the Frenchglen Hotel and taught school in the back part of Bradeen’s store, until the new building was completed. During her first year of teaching she met a local ranch hand, Jinks Harris. The school board agreed to replace her in the second school year when she married Harris and moved to Blitzen in Catlow Valley.

After marrying, she and her husband worked and lived on several area ranches — Three Mile and Home Creek, and then to Alvord and Mann Lake. Two daughters, Julia and Kathryn, were born during these years. A third daughter, Lynn, was born several years later, in Burns.

When her husband took a job with the Civilian Conservation Corps, she spent the next few years living near the Malheur Refuge Headquarters during its construction. They also stayed at camps at Hart Mountain and in the mountains during the summers.

To accommodate their daughter’s school needs, the family moved to Burns, and eventually purchased a hardware store. Wickizer worked at Tiller’s Grocery, and did some of the bookkeeping at the hardware store, as well as a small amount of substitute teaching for Henry Slater.

After her husband’s death in 1972, she kept busy working with the Head Start program; as well as playing a big part in the group that founded the Senior Center. She traveled to Alaska, Hawaii, Southern California, Missouri and Mississippi.

In 1977, she married Leo “Wick” Wickizer. They enjoyed a few Arizona winters returning to Burns, where he was involved in haying for several ranches. Wickizer became her husband’s caregiver when he became ill, and took excellent care of him until his death.

Wickizer continued to enjoy traveling with her family for a few more years, until her health failed.

Wickizer saw her first motorized vehicle at about the age of 5. She walked and rode in covered wagons when her family moved to California for work in 1916. About 60 years later, she went on her first jet airplane trip. On that same trip she also rode on a snowmobile, and in a float plane.

Wickizer joined the Rebekah Lodge and worked through all the offices. She attended several Grand Lodge meetings and received the honor of the Degree of Chivalry.

She joined the Presbyterian Church in April 1950 and was an active member for many years. She served as both a trustee and a deacon, as well as working on fund raisers. Wickizer was also an active member of the Burns Mothers Club, and was instrumental in forming “The Friendly Hour,” a social event for elderly and shut-in women in Burns.

“Tootie,” as her family members called her, loved to hunt, fish and be outdoors. She liked to watch the stars and moon phases, and saw every eclipse visible in the Northwest during her lifetime.

Wickizer was honored as Queen Mother at Harney County’s Pioneer Day in 1988.

Her last years were spent at Aspen Groves Apartments, with her oldest daughter, Julia, eventually becoming her full-time caregiver, with help from Jane Shackleford.

Wickizer is survived by her daughters, Julia Milleson, of Hines, Kathryn Hill, of Anchorage, Alaska, and Lynn Mims and husband, Dwight, of Hines; stepson, Wayne Wickizer and family, of Utah; stepdaughter, Elizabeth Pelham and family, of Washington; sister, Ruby Baird and husband, Hale, of Burns; and sisters-in-law, Thelma Buckmeyer, of Burns, Marie Harris, of Portland, and Terry Oard, of Albany. She is also survived by six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and extended families.
A service for Wickizer was held on April 21.

Georgia Crow, 95, died on April 12.

She was born on April 11, 1914, to George Creswell and Effie Wilbur Creswell in Seymour, Conn.

In 1917, her family moved to Corvallis, where her father took classes in orcharding at the college, which was then called Oregon Agriculture College (OAC). From Corvallis they moved to Hood River, where she grew up on her family’s apple ranch.

Crow graduated from high school in 1934, and went to Monmouth Teachers College and graduated in 1936. She came to Harney County to teach at the Voltage School.

She met John Crow after moving to Harney County.  They were married on March 26, 1937, in Burns at the Lutheran Church. They spent more than 30 years together on their cattle ranch in the Sod House area, and then sold the ranch to Fred Briggs from Lakeview. Crow’s retirement years were spent in Burns.

Crow loved to help out during the Harney County Fair in the exhibit booths, and volunteer at the Senior Center. She enjoyed fishing and hunting.  One of her great past times was sewing.  She made every baby who was born at the hospital Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls.

Crow is survived by her nephew, Tom Gilchrist of Dallas, Ore.

Graveside services for Crow will be held on Saturday, April 25, at 10 a.m. in the Burns Cemetery.

Contributions in Crow’s memory may  be made to the 4-H Scholarship fund, Harney County Senior and Community Services Center or the EMS ambulance fund, in care of LaFollette’s Chapel, P.O. Box 488; Burns, OR 97720. LaFollette’s Chapel is in charge of funeral arrangements.

Norma I. Davies died on  April 17.

Recitation of the Holy Rosary will be held on Monday, April 27, at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Crane at 7 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be on Tuesday, April 28, at 11 a.m. at Holy Family Catholic Church in Burns.

Davies is survived by her sons, Martin Davies and wife Andrea; and Lou Davies and wife Mary Jo. She was preceded in death by her husband, Maurice Davies.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Davies’ name may be sent to the Virginia Valley Scholarship at Crane Union High School.