The Christian Church of Burns will be honoring couples who have been wed to the same spouse for 50 or more years, during the morning worship on June 28. This will be the 17th annual celebration of this event at the Christian Church. If you know a couple that should be recognized, call the church at 573-2216 with information so they can be invited to participate. A photographer will be on hand to take a picture of the couples, and refreshments will be served.

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

Harney County Library Advisory Board meets the last Monday of each month (except for those dates that fall on national holidays) in the library, 80 West D St., at 6 p.m. The public is welcome to attend. Use the back door to the left. For more information, call 573-7339.

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.

A Merchants Meeting will be held on June 30 at 8 a.m. in the Harney County Community Center to finalize the plans for the Late Night to be held on July 9.

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.

Harney County Farmers Market will set up in Hines Park each Saturday, starting in July

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

With the news that the Harney County Farmers Market will begin its second season on Saturday, July 4, there’s already anticipation of seeing John Watts driving into town in his 1925 TT Ford truck, the back loaded with fresh produce.

Watts, 78, lives in Princeton, and grows a variety of crops on his property. On the gentle sloping hillside next to his house, Watts’ garden is planted with corn, potatoes, lettuce, onions, turnips, parsnips, spinach, beets, cucumbers, dill, tomatoes, melons, strawberries, fruit trees and a whole lot more. “You never know what’s going to do well from year to year,” Watts said. “One year one crop will do really well, and the next year — nothing.”

Watts said he’s able to get a jump on the growing season because where his property sits, “spring comes a month earlier, and fall a month later.”

To water his garden, Watts uses a flood irrigation system of taps and hoses. Watts said he can’t use a sprinkling system because of boron in the water, which burn the plants’ leaves.

Less than a mile away from his home, Watts has a larger growing area planted with blackberries, asparagus, rhubarb, grapes and other crops. There is also an orchard of fruit and nut trees, including apricot, plum, pear, peach, apple, cherry, quince, walnut and butternut.

A tall wire fence surrounds the garden to keep animals away from the plants, but it’s not foolproof. Deer tracks are evident throughout, and Watts pointed out scratch marks on the trees where coyotes had climbed up to reach the fruit. Rabbits, squirrels and insects also damage the crops.

In the other direction from Watts’ home, his neighbor Randy Jackson has built a large greenhouse for growing produce. “I’ve had the greenhouse for the last three years,” Jackson said. “John’s been teaching me about gardening.”

Inside, the rows of crops include beans, swiss chard, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. Outside, garlic plants line rows of corn.

Jackson said he planted most of the crops in April and May, and is looking forward to a good harvest.

Transport

Along with his fondness for growing an abundance of food, Watts also has an obvious liking to transporting his bounty in his Ford truck.

“Henry Ford once said if you buy a new Model T, it’ll last you a lifetime,” Watts said. “This truck is still going strong.”

The bed of the truck is fashioned from seasoned maple, and covered with a cloth canopy. The inside of the cab is pretty much all original parts, except for the gear-shift knobs, which match the maple truck bed.

Watts and his son, Dave, are both avid Model T enthusiasts, and are more than capable of keeping the vintage vehicle in good shape.

They have several other Model Ts on their property and enjoy time spent working on them, as well as attending Model T rallies around the Northwest.

The market

The Harney County Farmers Market volunteer board of directors has announced that there will be a market at Hines City Park every Saturday, July 4 through Sept. 12, from 9 a.m. to noon.

The adult vendor fee is $2 per Saturday or $18 for the entire season, and the student rate (18 and younger) is $1 per Saturday or $10 for the season.

Watts has signed up with the Farm Direct Nutrition Program (FDNP), so seniors who qualify for the program may use vouchers to purchase fruits and vegetables from Watts at the market.

FDNP funds go to low-income, nutritionally at-risk pregnant women and young children enrolled in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and to eligible low-income seniors. Eligible clients will receive these funds as checks in a fixed amount, which they can use from June 1 — Oct. 31 specifically to purchase locally produced fresh fruit and vegetables directly from authorized providers.

Last year, the market eventually grew to include 27 vendors, and the board is hoping to expand that number this year.
To reserve a space, call Kelly Hazen at 573-1809.

Pending contract approval, Bob Sari will oversee Burns, Hines schools

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

The Harney County District No. 3 School Board announced Bob Sari would be the new district superintendent at the June 9 meeting.

Pending contract approval, Sari will start work as current superintendent, David Courtney, leaves at the end of June after eight years in the position.

Sari has previously worked as the interim superintendent for the Crane school district. “I’m very pleased,” Sari said of the job offer. “This is a real challenge for me. I’m really proud to have this job.”

The board started searching for a superintendent earlier in the year when Courtney announced his intent to resign at the end of the school year. A hiring committee composed of board members, teachers, students and community members helped in the initial selection process. The cost of the superintendent search, which took place over three months, was $9,691.

Board Chairman Gordon Mallon thanked Courtney for his years of service. “Thank you Dave for the work you’ve done for us. You’ve brought us through some tough times in pretty good shape,” Mallon said.
In other business:

• Chairman Mallon opened the budget hearing. Tim Colahan asked when a decision would be made on whether or not the district would continue with the Silvies River Web Academy. Mallon said that decision would be made by the Silvies River Web Academy Board sometime in July.

This year’s budget was constructed to include revenue from the Web academy. If the Silvies River board decides to close the Web academy, the district may have to cut up to $200,000 from the budget.

After the budget hearing closed, the board adopted the 2009-2010 budget and approved the necessary appropriations and taxes to be levied;

• during the board comments portion of the meeting, Chairman Mallon dropped the bombshell that he and his family will likely be moving over the summer, so he will probably be leaving the board after the first meeting of the fiscal year in August.

Mallon, an attorney, stated that he will be specializing in death penalty defense cases and the move will allow him to stay closer to his family. Mallon said that as a parting gift, he would be donating money to the student Washington, D.C. trip being organized by Burns High School teacher Eric Nichols. “Thank you for allowing me to serve,” he said.

• teacher Nichols told the board a little more about the Washington, D.C. trip, which is being planned for next October. They plan to take about 20 people, will leave on a Thursday and return on a Monday and will be fund-raising to pay for the trip. It will cost about $1,400 per person;

• Board members Randy Parks and Jackie Shipp (though Shipp was not present at the meeting) were both presented with certificates honoring them for their years of service to the district. Both Parks and Shipp have served for eight years and will step down at the end of this month. At the August board meeting Ralph Dickenson and Dave Calkins, who won their respective seats in the May election, will take their places on the board;

• the board elected Dennis Townsend as the new chairman and Steve Bull as the new vice chair. Meetings will be held the second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. in the district office building;

• Business Manager Petrina White stated that she would be asking the board to transfer money into both the food service and athletic funds so that they would balance at the end of the year. She noted that both funds were holding their own but were borderline and with another half a month to go, she wanted to make sure they would balance.

White also said that the district’s profit from the Web academy totaled about $70,000 at the end of the school year. That was in addition to the software (about $5,000 worth) and laptops ($15,000) that the Web academy gave to the district;

• Superintendent Courtney said that the student population had dropped off at the end of the year, which is common. There were 970 students at the beginning of the year and 928 at the end.

Courtney also said that the district newsletter cost $385 to print and $230 to insert into the newspaper for a total cost of $615, not including the labor to put it together;

• the board approved a motion to allow sixth-graders to play on the seventh grade basketball team in the event that there aren’t enough seventh-graders to field two competitive teams. The traveling squad was limited to 14 players, so that teams would only require a mini-bus rather than a more expensive long bus for travelling to away games;

• Burns High School principal Ron Wassom stated that because the freshmen-only first day worked so well this last year, they would like to do that again for the 2009-2010 school year. He received the board’s approval to do so;

• Parks noted that the high school’s new paint job looked great. “Quite an improvement,” he said. The BHS leadership class painted the building a brick red with brown trim. Parr Lumber donated the paint and several community members volunteered labor;

• during the public comment portion of the meeting district transportation director Scott Franklin commented that he was proud this district didn’t have to cut days this year, as many other districts in the state have. He also noted that he felt the Silvies River Web Academy was a good resource for home-schooled children and commended Superintendent Courtney for finding a unique way to build revenue for the district;

• Bond project manager Bill Renwick stated that the contractor has almost finished work on the Hines gym and the district has received the necessary mechanical permits to begin work on the new boiler at the high school.

Board member Parks asked about the high school’s windows, which were another bond project that was supposed to be completed, however, when the Hines gym roof project unexpectedly came up, the windows were put on hold.

Renwick said that he wasn’t sure if there would be enough money for the window project, however, he thought their might be some stimulus money from the Department of Energy that the district could use for that project;

• the board tabled a decision that would have made an addendum to the Silvies River Web Academy contract regarding the amount sent back to the Web academy students’ home districts. Board member Parks said that the decision should be tabled so that  the new board members, who will be seated at the next meeting, can be included in the process;

• the board acknowledged the retirement of Curtis Eggleston from his position as a custodian.

The next Harney District No. 3 School Board meeting will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 11 at the Lincoln administrative building.

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

Four times a week, members of the All-American Boxing Club meet at their facility on West A Street in Burns to continue training for their next bout.

“Right now we’ve got four kids, ranging in age from 10 to 18, working out,” coach Ervin Peck said. Club members include Joseph Lafferty, James White, Isaiah Smartt and Cain McGee. Lloyd Louie assists Peck in training the kids.

Peck said the club will be going to Twin Falls, Idaho, for their next fights on June 27, and they hope to have an outdoor boxing show in Burns sometime this summer.

The start

The All-American Boxing Club began to get organized in 1999, and was finally completed in 2000. “I worked with the tribe for a number of years, and we were looking for activities that would give the youths something to do,” Peck said.

According to Peck, several community members were instrumental in the formation of the club, including Larry Richards, Herbert Hawley, Dave Dickenson, Avel Diaz, Don Heinz and Clifford Sam, among others.

Peck said the aim of the club is to instill self-discipline through boxing. “Just like any sport, it requires exercise and road work,” Peck said. “The kids get here, get their hands taped and get to working on the bags. You have to be motivated to do it.”

Louie added that Burns has a history of boxing clubs. He had boxed in his younger days, as had many others, and the club had some very successful fighters. “Boxing kind of put Burns on the map,” Louie said. He figured it was in the mid-1950s that the club kind of died out until being revived several decades later.

The club

The club is a member of the USA Amateur Boxing, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., and a member of the Snake River Boxing Association in Idaho.

Peck said they were originally part of the Oregon Boxing Association, but many of the clubs didn’t want to make the trip to Burns in the winter, so they made the switch to the Idaho group.

The club is open to men and women, ages 8 to 35. All members and coaches are insured through USA Boxing for every practice and bout from the time they leave their home until they return.

Peck said the club also has a scholarship program for those wanting to continue their education after high school. “To qualify, all they have to do is to have fought just once,” Peck said.

They are a non-profit organization, and they hold several fund raisers  to help meet expenses, such as travel and equipment. Peck said the Harney County Court has also donated $750 a year for several years, and that is appreciated.

Peck added that the building used by the club was donated by Gary Romine and Leslie Sundet of Prineville.

Along with giving youth another activity to enjoy and learn from, the club also finds ways to give back. Peck said after 9/11, they staged a “Boxing for America” show with 50 percent of the proceeds going to the Red Cross. They also put on an exhibition to benefit Dornbecher’s Children’s Hospital.

The bouts

While making plans for a show, the coaches submit a list of available boxers, who are then matched up by age, weight and experience. “The number of fights is probably the most important factor when you’re matching up fighters,” Peck said. “If one boxer has only four fights, we’re not going to put him in the ring with one that has, say 15.”

The most experienced member of the All-American club is Lafferty. He started with the club when he was 14, and has continued for four years. “He had his first bout when he was 15,” Peck said. “He played other sports off and on in high school, but always came back to boxing.”

Lafferty was in the main event in a recent show in Emmett, Idaho, and with the win raised his record to 4-0.

Smartt, 11, is 1-0 on the year and White, 10, is 2-2. (No record on McGee was available.)

Peck said that at a recent event at the Old Camp Casino in Burns, White’s scheduled opponent was a no-show, so he ended up in the ring against a more experienced fighter. “We talked to him, his mom, the other coach, and they all said OK,” Peck said. “James went toe-to-toe with the other kid, but lost on points. I told him, ‘You know how to fight, now we’re going to teach you how to box,’ ” Peck said.

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 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.

The annual High Desert Fiddlers Country Music Jamboree will be held at the Harney County Fairgrounds June 18-20. For more information, e-mail info@highdesertfiddler.com.

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 Street, at 7 p.m.

Silvies River Spinners meets the third Thursday of each month at 650 East Washington at 7 p.m.

Dr. Tom Fitzpatrick and the Mobile Health Clinic, sponsored by Harney District Hospital, will be in Crane on Thursday, June 18, at the Crane School. Call the High Desert Medical Center at 573-8894 to schedule an appointment and bring your insurance information to assure proper billing.

Tai Chi is held every Thursday at the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center, from 9:30-10:30 a.m. All ages are welcome to participate.

Kiwanis Club of Burns-Hines meets for a no-host luncheon each Thursday at Glory Days Pizza, 690 Oregon Avenue, at noon.

Take Off Pounds Sensibly meets each Thursday at Hines City Hall, 101 East Barnes, at noon. Call 573-2896.

Alcoholics Anonymous meets each Thursday at the Foursquare Church, at 7 p.m.

The annual High Desert Fiddlers Country Music Jamboree will be held at the Harney County Fairgrounds June 18-20. For more information, e-mail info@highdesertfiddler.com.

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.

Alcoholics Anonymous meets every Friday at Foursquare Church at 7 p.m.

The annual Hines 5K/10K Run/Walk will be held on June 20. Registration will begin at 8 a.m., with the race to start at 9 a.m. For more information, call the Kids Club of Harney County at 573-7036.

An AARP driver safety program will be held on June 20, from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. in the Quail Court Meeting Room, 888 S. Imperial, Burns. This program is a classroom refresher course designed especially for drivers 50 years and older, but is open to drivers of any age. You must complete the entire day to receive your certificate which, when presented to your auto insurance company, will entitle person 55 or older a discount on your auto insurance. To maintain the discount, people up to the age of 69 must take the course every three years and people age 70 and over, every two years. To register for the class, call instructor, Karan Gibson in the evening at 573-7104.

Oregon Meat Goat Producers will host the annual Youth Market Animal Jackpot and Boer Goat Shows on  June 20, in Cottage Grove. Market weigh in is at 9 a.m. The show starts at 10 a.m. For more information, call Cary Heyward at 541-895-2989.

Harney County Safe Communities and Safe Kids of Harney County will be having a bike rodeo at Burns High School on Saturday, June 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Helmets will be available for purchase. Busy Bunnies 4-H Club will be selling refreshments. The rodeo teaches bike and road safety. A bike mechanic will also be on site. For more information, call Kim Perlot at 589-1588.

The annual High Desert Fiddlers Country Music Jamboree will be held at the Harney County Fairgrounds June 18-20. For more information, e-mail info@highdesertfiddler.com.

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.