Evan Franulovich opens new martial arts school in downtown Burns

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

On April 12, Evan Franulovich opened the doors to Martial Arts America-Burns, Oregon at 405 North Broadway in Burns.

Franulovich said he has gotten a very enthusiastic response since opening, with more than 20 students signing up for classes.

The facility has affiliation with Martial Arts America schools in Junction City and Boise, Idaho, and Franulovich said he has pretty much adopted the curriculum of those schools. “It’s a family-focused curriculum,” he noted.

Franulovich said his martial arts training began with judo classes when he was a high school exchange student in Belgium. He has since studied other styles, and recently earned his black belt in Tae Kwon Do. “My wife works for the Bureau of Land Management, and we’ve moved around because of that, so I didn’t stay at one school long enough to work up to a black belt,” he said.

The school offers classes in Tae Kwon Do as well as other styles of self-defense, and cardio kick boxing. Diane Rappaport also offers Tai Chi classes.

Classes for children ages 3 to 6 are a half-hour long, while classes for older kids and adults last 45 minutes. They are held in the afternoon and evening hours on a staggered schedule Monday through Thursday. “People are busy doing other things, so I’ve tried to make the schedule flexible,” Franulovich said.

While most people acknowledge the benefit of self-defense in taking a martial arts class, there are other aspects which shouldn’t be overlooked. “It improves overall fitness, balance, flexibility and coordination. Plus it gives a person confidence,” Franulovich said. “And research shows that kids become focused, and adults can reduce stress.”

Franulovich added that if a child is interested in studying martial arts, it shouldn’t reduce his/her participation in other activities, but rather enhance it. “Whether it’s baseball, basketball, wrestling, football or whatever, these classes can help a child’s reflexes, strength and agility,” he said.

The average time it takes to earn a black belt in Tae Kwon Do is three to four years, and if a student accomplishes the feat, it also demonstrates dedication on their part.

The school has a pro shop selling uniforms and other gear, and offers both single and family plans for classes. Franulovich has set the price of classes lower than comparable schools around the state, and said it’s somewhat difficult to put a money figure on what a person receives. “It’s hard to gauge the value of what you achieve,” he said. “It’s a positive culture, you learn leadership skills and become trained in a life-long art.”

Those interested may also attend out-of-town competitions, and Franulovich is planning on hosting a competition locally in the future.

While Franulovich is happy with the initial response, he would like to double the number of students enrolled. “With more people, we can do more fun drills and activities,” he said. “It’s a worthwhile activity, and I’d like to see more people involved.”

For more information, call 541-573-KICK (5425).

Judge and commissioners strategize to counter petition

By Debbie Raney
Burns Times-Herald

Harney County may have won one battle against the Oregon Natural Desert Association’s attempt to petition Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Council, but the fight is far from over, as another petition lies in waiting.

After denying a petition to amend rules regarding single facility energy generation projects, the Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) now has another Oregon Natural Desert Association’s  (ONDA) petition waiting for action. This petition asks the EFSC to add the The Steens Cooperative Management and Protection Area (SCMPA) to the list of protected areas, off limits to industrial scale energy development. The Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area was established by the United States Congress in the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act of 2000.

In reviewing a petition for rule making, the EFSC considers the following six points:

(a) The continued need for the rule; (b) The nature of complaints or comments received concerning the rule from the public; (c) The complexity of the rule; (d) The extent to which the rule overlaps, duplicates or conflicts with other state rules or federal regulations and, to the extent feasible, with local government regulations; (e) The degree to which technology, economic conditions or other factors have changed in the subject area affected by the rule; and (f) The statutory citation or legal basis for the rule.

During the Harney County Court meeting of May 5, Judge Steve Grasty and Commissioners Jack Drinkwater and Dan Nichols discussed a strategy for the county to address the petition in writing prior to the council’s June 11 meeting, as well as during testimony at the meeting. Judge Steve Grasty commented that though it was a “home run” for the hearing to be scheduled for Burns, it was essential that Senator Ted Ferrioli and Representative Cliff Bentz be present at the hearing, and that Congressman Greg Walden, Senator Ron Wyden and Senator Jeff Merkley be represented as well.

Before the hearing, the EFSC has requested meetings with a federal employee who was part of the SCMPA planning and a representative from the legislative side of the planning. Grasty suggested contacting Lindsey Slater, a former member of Walden’s staff who participated in writing the original act, and Tom Dyer who was employed at the Burns District Bureau of Land Management at the time the act was established.

A venue site for the hearing was also discussed, with several suggestions made. The court was in consensus that the best place for the meeting would be at the Harney County Senior Center and Grasty will request the use of the facility on June 11.

The court also discussed the need for the entire community to be involved in letting the EFSC know how the county feels about changing the SCMPA, whether through letters or by attending the hearing. Written testimony can be addressed to Oregon Department of Energy, EFSC, 625 Marion St. NE, Salem, OR 97301-3737, or e-mail to energy.in.internet@state.or.us.

Grasty told the court, “Their job (EFSC) is to implement policy, they are not policy makers.” He continued that ONDA is trying to take the decision-making away from those who have a stake in the land, and give it to a group who has no experience and no investment in the outcome.

•••

In other county court business on May 5, Jerry Hensley Emigrant Creek District Ranger, discussed Title II project funding and prioritization. The four projects, in order of priority will be long term stewardship, Harney County Forest Opportunity, aspens restoration and small tree thinnings. The total funding amount would be $433,000.

•••

Dan Jordan gave the court an update on property and liability insurance claims. He reported that auto claims have increased over the last five years and suggested that the county have a safety seminar with all employees.

Jordan said the cost of general liability insurance would  be improving as six claims from the 2004-05 fiscal year would be removed from the county’s history this year. Worker’s compensation claims had also gone down in the past year, according to Jordan.

•••

One bid was open for a pickup for the road department. Teague Motor Company was awarded the bid for a 2010-11 Dodge Ram 2500 regular cab pickup for $24,232. A trade-in allowance of $4,500 brought the total down to $19,232. A second bid came into the office after the 5 p.m. May 4 deadline, and was not opened.

•••

Charley Otley requested that the court find out if ONDA could use the Antiquities Act to make Steens Mountain a national monument. Otley said he had heard rumors that this was possible and wanted clarification.

On Tuesday, April 20, Harney County residents east of Burns experienced a severe thunderstorm that took down 52 power poles, destroyed outbuildings and tore shingles off roofs.

While early reports suggested that the 70-75 mile per hour winds took the shape of funnel clouds, the official report from the National Weather Service in Boise, Idaho, called the event a “very strong thunderstorm with a strong down burst.”

Slater students learn how to play the fiddle with artist-in-residence

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

Students at Slater Elementary School have been busy just fiddling around.

As part of the Artist-in-Residence program, Kelly Thibodeaux has been spending time teaching the classes how to play the fiddle.

On this particular day, Thibodeaux is spending time with Beth Davis’ first grade class. After handing out a fiddle to each child, Thibodeaux teaches the students how to properly hold the bow, and then the fiddle. In his humorous and conversational manner, Thibodeaux moves through the students, making slight adjustments to their positions.

Thibodeaux then shows the students how to place the bow on the top two strings, how to draw the bow across, and within seconds the room is filled with the sound of music.

“This isn’t orchestra quality, but I can get them to play within two days,” Thibodeaux smiled.

Thibodeaux shows the students how the length of a bow stroke produces different sounds and invites them to play along. The results are a little chaotic, but judging from the smiles on their faces, the students are having the time of their lives.

Before long, time is up and Thibodeaux asks the class to put their fiddles away. A collective sigh of sadness is heard throughout the room along with comments such as, “I could stay here forever,” and “Can I take the fiddle home?”

Originally from Louisiana, Thibodeaux is a self-taught musician who has been playing for more than 30 years. He now lives in Oakridge and has been part of the Artist-in-Residence program for about four years. “Because I’m self-taught, I know what would trip these kids up,” Thibodeaux said. “I keep it simple and let the kids have fun while they’re learning.”

Thibodeaux explained that the next class coming in would be Karen Klus’ fourth-grade class, and it would be their third time with the fiddles in their hands. “I’ll give each student a chance to play a little solo while I play guitar with them,” he said.

Judging from the results, one would never guess it had only been three days of teaching the kids.

Staff at Slater said the experience has been a positive one for the students, and also wanted to thank the Comfort Inn in Hines for housing Thibodeaux during his two-week stay.

Who knows, the next Charlie Daniels might come from Harney County.

 By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

Each year Harney County School District No. 3 honors the hard work of three Educators of the Year, one each from Slater Elementary School (SES), Hines Middle School (HMS) and Burns High School (BHS). The staff members at each school nominate and then vote on the honorees. The 2009-2010 Educators of the Year are: Stephanie Lardy, fifth-grade teacher at SES; Dave Mues, language arts/American literature teacher at BHS; and Diane Ashton Rollins, language arts/home economics teacher at HMS.

Stephanie Lardy

This is Stephanie Lardy’s fifth year teaching in the Burns-Hines school district, but her first as a fifth grade teacher at SES.

Born and raised in Harney County, Lardy is thrilled to be teaching in the very community that educated her. In fact, her kindergarten teacher was none other than Diane Ashton Rollins, another educator of the year honoree. Lardy  and her husband, Chris, live in Hines with their two children, Carter and Trask.

Lardy knew she wanted to go into education early on. “I believe it was in third grade that I came home and told my mom that I wanted to be a teacher,” she said.

She went to college at Western Oregon University and completed her student teaching in Canby. She noted that students in the bigger cities are a lot different from the students here. “They didn’t do 4-H or any of that,” Lardy said. Rural communities seem to be closer knit, she commented thoughtfully. “They are always pulling together when someone is in need,” she said.

Lardy experienced this firsthand this year as she and her students have been fund raising for an overnight field trip to Salem. “I know this community has been fund raised to death,” she said. But even so, they had a large turnout for a spaghetti feed and Harney District Hospital gave them a grant of $250. So far they have raised $2,700, and in May the class is looking forward to two full days of sightseeing in the state capitol. Lardy said that they’ll also hit the High Desert Museum and the lava beds on the way back.

Another aspect of teaching in her hometown that Lardy enjoys is knowing the families of her students. Come parent conference time, she already has a rapport with the parents.

She is honored to be the Slater Educator of the Year and said it is a reflection of the great teamwork she experiences working with other teachers in her building. “It’s nice to be able to come back to a community I had ties with and where I had such a wonderful childhood,” she said.

Dave Mues

As a freshman English teacher at Burns High School, Dave Mues enjoys introducing students to the plays of William Shakespeare, specifically “Romeo and Juliet.” It’s often their first immersion into the language of Shakespeare, and one of the ways Mues attempts to remove students’ blinders to show that there is a big world out there beyond what is in Harney County.

“One of the things I just remind my students of constantly is that those four years of high school go by so quickly,” he said.

Throughout those four years, he stresses the importance of having the ability to read, write and communicate with others, as well as exploring society and oneself through reading and writing.

Having grown up in Burns, it’s relatively easy for Mues to put himself in his students’ shoes. After graduating from Burns High School 1977, he went to Mt. Angel Seminary College for a year a half before attending Oregon College of Education in Monmouth. He intended on going into language arts and leaving Oregon altogether.

However, Mues’ life took an unexpected turn. After graduating from college, Mues was planning to go to Wyoming and Colorado for job interviews. However, he found himself stuck in Burns when he hit a horse on the highway, totaling his pickup.

He then happened to get a call from Jim Courtney, who was then the head of the Education Service District in Burns. Courtney wanted him to fill in for another teacher working with developmentally disabled students.

Mues spent the next 16 years teaching special education in Harney County.  He then decided it was time to return to language arts, and he has been teaching language arts and American literature at Burns High School ever since.

Along the way, he met and married his wife, Debbie, who teaches in Burns as well. They raised two daughters, Emily and Sarah. He noted that it was a treat seeing his daughters grow up in the very school system he grew up in. “Hitting that horse was a fortunate thing in many ways. It changed my life,” he said.

While Mues feels it is a blessing to work in the same community he grew up in, he didn’t realize the full generosity and compassion of this community until October 2007 when his daughter, Emily, was severely injured in a car accident.

While Emily has miraculously recovered from her traumatic head injury, in the days immediately following the accident, things were touch and go. It was during that time that Mues said he and his family felt the love and support of the people here in Harney County. “I have such an appreciation for this community for what they’ve done for us,” Mues said.

As for his job at the high school, Mues is happy in his teaching position. “I made the correct career choice. I love my job,” he said. Mues also enjoys the camaraderie among his colleagues at the high school. “Any one of those folks could be named Educator of the Year,” he said.

Diane Ashton Rollins

One of Diane Ashton Rollins’ favorite classes to teach is home economics, where the focus is on sewing and cooking. However, if HMS students think home economics will be an easy ‘A,’ they’d better think again. “I always tell them, if you’ve come to make cookies, try another class,” Ashton Rollins said with a laugh.

She likes home economics because it teaches students life skills. In addition to cooking nutritious meals and working within a budget, students make fleece hats, socks, quilts, aprons and pillowcases.

Ashton Rollins grew up in McCall, Idaho, later moving to La Grande and then went on to college at Western Oregon University in Monmouth when it was still called Oregon College of Education. In her 25 years with the Burns-Hines district, she has moved through the grade levels teaching kindergarten, first grade, third grade and now eighth grade language arts and Title I reading for all reading levels at Hines Middle School.

She and her husband have raised three boys, who have gone through the Burns-Hines school system.

To keep her students awake and motivated, Ashton Rollins said “I sing and dance.” When she taught kindergarten, she said the kids would sing along with her. Eighth graders tend to just sit and stare. “I think learning should be fun,” she said, noting that hand gestures and funny facial expressions help to make lessons more interesting.

Some activities she does with her Title I reading students include writing and illustrating their own books and readers’ theater. She encourages her students to branch out and try new genres.

Ashton Rollins is proud that her fellow teachers named her Educator of the Year at the middle school. “As a team, we’re all educators of the year,” she said. “It’s a team effort.”

Joint project between Malheur wildlife refuge and BLM raises ire in Frenchglen

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

If you’ve driven to Frenchglen in the last year or so, about five miles outside the small community, you’ll likely have noticed hillside after hillside littered with cut juniper trees.

There seem to be two perceptions of those downed trees. Some see an eyesore, loss of wildlife habitat and a distinct deviation from the natural landscape. Others see an area saved from invasive juniper that is spreading far beyond a naturally occurring trend.

The juniper cutting occurred in December 2008 and involved about 1,400 acres. The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and the Bureau of Land Management teamed up to cut the junipers on refuge and BLM land along Highway 205 and Frenchglen and on BLM land northwest of Savoy Lake and west of Peanut Lake.

Wildfire reasoning

Chad Karges, refuge deputy project leader, said that the juniper cutting was funded through a community wildlife fire protection project. The area selected to be cut consisted of acreage that had been identified as “high hazard” in the county’s wildfire protection plan back in 2001.

According to a document found on the BLM Web site under the Steens Mountain recreation plants/animals heading, the refuge and the BLM have been using the county’s recommendations to plan Wildland Urban Interface projects on federal lands, and both agencies received funding to carry out the juniper removal project near Frenchglen in 2008.
Because the project involved refuge land, an Environmental Impact Statement was not required. The refuge and BLM were also not required to hold meetings to publicize the project.
Perhaps this is why when work began in December 2008, some Frenchglen residents were upset. John Witzel lives in Frenchglen, just a hop, skip and a jump from the juniper removal site. “The tree areas here are a novelty,” Witzel said. “They’re cutting down what many of us think is part of the landscape. These trees should be there.”

Dan Ridenour, a fuels specialist with the Burns district BLM, said that no one is arguing that juniper are native to the area. He said that research conducted by the BLM and the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center indicates that the juniper are expanding beyond their natural range. The juniper also use a lot of water and some argue prevent native grass and shrubs from growing. “We’re not trying to eliminate every juniper off the landscape,” he said.

John Ross runs the Frenchglen Hotel and said he gets questions from visitors about all the downed juniper frequently. “The thing that a lot of us were upset about was that they had a meeting to talk about it after they started cutting.”

Indeed, after much of the project was completed, representatives from the refuge and the BLM held a public meeting in Frenchglen in December 2008 to explain what was going on. Much of the rationale for the project lies in the theory that the juniper trees present a fire hazard.

However, Witzel argues that the downed juniper, which for the most part has been lying where it was cut for more than a year, presents an even greater fire hazard.
The refuge and the BLM have opened the area to those who want to cut firewood. Karges said that there have been 11 permits issued by the refuge to those who would  want to use the cut juniper. Permits can also be obtained though the BLM.

“We’re allowing firewood cutting so people can get some utilization out of that juniper,” Ridenour said.

For permit information, call the BLM at 541-573-4400, or download a permit application from the refuge Web site at www.fws.gov/malheur/management.html.

Wildlife and weeds

Witzel said he also suspects that the refuge and the BLM have an ulterior motive for cutting down the juniper: It creates a better habitat for big horn sheep. He noted that big horn sheep tags sell for a lot more than deer tags.

Witzel worries that all this is at the expense of the other wildlife in the area. He said that mule deer used to winter among the juniper. However, he hasn’t seen any deer in the area since the cutting.

Karges admitted that the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife did transplant some big horn sheep in the Frenchglen area a few years ago, but said that if the cutting of the juniper benefits the sheep habitat, it’s secondary to the wildfire protection plan.

On a tour of the juniper cutting, Witzel pointed out areas where noxious weeds such as perennial pepperweed and cheat grass have popped up among the downed junipers. “We’ve gotten rid of a truly indigenous species and replaced it with two non-indigenous,” he said.

Karges said that the refuge is concerned about noxious weeds moving in to the project site. As a result, the refuge has placed restrictions on when people can go in and cut the wood, avoiding muddy times of year. He noted that they also only conduct juniper burning during the winter when the ground is frozen.

Natural evolution

Witzel is passionate about the landscape in Frenchglen, having been raised there and now raising his own children there.

His great grandfather settled there in 1876. The early settlers had to use the juniper trees for fire wood and fencing. Witzel believes that the area has always been home to juniper trees, many of which were cut down when the country was first settled.

With the advent of oil and electric heating, people didn’t need the fire wood so badly. So the trees grew back, and as wildfires were suppressed, they flourished. Witzel believes the trees are just re-establishing where they used to be. “We really might need this wood someday, and we’re just cutting it all down,” he said.

What upsets Witzel is that there was no public discussion regarding the project. “They never mentioned any adverse effects at all,” he said.

Witzel worries about the effect on wildlife, grass and shrubs. He noted that the barren hillside will likely be much hotter in the summer without the benefit of the juniper trees’ shade.

Costs involved

The BLM and the refuge held a public meeting just last month to go over the cutting with local residents. They reiterated their stance that juniper increases the fuel loading and intensity of fire and that the cutting was necessary for wildfire protection.

Other juniper tree concerns listed in a document from the BLM Web site include increased soil erosion, reduced stream flows, reduced forage for wildlife, changes in plant community composition, structure and biodiversity and the replacement of sagebrush steppe communities with woodlands.

According to Ridenour  the funding breakdown of the project is as follows:

• $34,358 — cutting 717 acres
• $15,900 — cutting 313 acres
• $21,996 — cutting 433 acres
• $15,000 —  hand piling 25 acres around Frenchglen
• $2,400 hand piling on 22 acres west of Frenchglen

Ridenour said the project totaled more than $89,000.

The original project was supposed to involve more cutting. Both Ridenour of the BLM and Karges of the refuge said there will be no more cutting for now.

Witzel is worried about how this cutting will effect the Frenchglen landscape for years to come. “If I don’t speak up then there’s going to be nothing but a bare hillside,” he said.

Open house will be one of several held around the state

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

An open house to discuss Oregon’s Integrated Water Resources Strategy will be held Tuesday, May 25, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Community Center in Burns.

The open house is one in a series being held around the state this spring to receive public input on water quality, water quantity and other water-related topics.

Ivan Gall with the Water Resources Department told the county court at their meeting on Wednesday, March 17, “This is a big deal. There hasn’t been anything like this in recent decades.”

Gall said it was critical to get local involvement in the strategy process and people shouldn’t be shy about stepping forward with their concerns. “In Baker County, some people are scared of this. It’s being sold as a grab on water rights, and it’s not our intention to gut Oregon water laws,” Gall said. “There are those who are scared or skeptical of the process, and I don’t want that to happen. We want to know what people see as issues and what are the solutions. What it could turn into, I don’t know. Depends on the input we receive.”

Judge Steve Grasty said he would like to see things stay flexible, but it seems that rules and regulations keep getting tighter.
Grasty added that he had concerns about the “anti’s” having better strategies to present their side of the discussion. “How do you integrate those that make less of a presentation to be heard?” Grasty asked. “How do we tell our story better?”

Commissioner Jack Drinkwater said some people he had talked to were concerned with measuring water. “If it’s measured off to what their water right says, they’re afraid they won’t get what they need,” he said.

Gall explained the measuring might actually allow people to receive more water. “Some aren’t getting what they deserve,” Gall said.
Commissioner Dan Nichols felt the state should be working on some sort of statewide water storage.

Gall and Tony Rutherford, Harney County Watermaster, discussed the Silvies River-Foley Slough issues, and said they are moving toward a solution. “Our goal is to take a limited resource and spread it as far as it will go,” Gall said.

Rutherford also reported on the snow pack for this yea. There is about 91 percent of average for the Harney basin. “We should have more water than last year,” he said.

State Representative Cliff Bentz was in attendance to visit with the court about the state legislature as well as county issues.
Bentz told the court he would like them to come up with a list of issues they would like him to work on in the legislature.
Grasty wondered why the state isn’t on board with some of the issues the county has to deal with.

Nichols stated the legislation continues to raise the angst of citizens over and over again. “When is the legislature going to look at the business of running the state?” Nichols asked. “There are always more fees, increased taxation and more regulations. Every six months or so, something else comes up.”

As for the state’s economy, Bentz said at this time it looks like the state will face a $2.5 to $3 billion shortfall in the next biennium.

In other business:

• Economic Development Coordinator Mark Maliwauki told the court he had submitted his resignation, effective May 31.
Maliwauki also presented a proposal from World Economic Development Alliance (WEDA) and discussed how WEDA had benefitted the county in the past.

The court agreed to a 12-month proposal from WEDA at a cost of $4,950 and directed Maliwauki to pursue it further;

• Joan Suther and Christi Courtemanche of the BLM were in attendance to give an update on the Steens Mountain Advisory Council (SMAC). They discussed the current vacancy on the council and the upcoming nominations. The court would like to stay involved with SMAC and asked to be kept informed;

• the court passed a motion to keep moving forward with a new computer system for the clerk’s and tax assessor’s offices.

• the court opened two bids received for a new pick-up truck to be used for community corrections. Burns Ford submitted a bid for $26,237.65 and Teague Motor Co. a bid of $28,450. The bids were turned over to the sheriff to see if they met specifications, and a decision would be made later;

• the court opened five bids received for the window and door replacement project at the Harney County Library. Bid amounts are: 2L Construction  $77,952, Cole Wensenk $77,375. Philip Sitz Construction $84,535, Lyle Stratton $49,973 and Rise & Run Construction $89,158. The court instructed the bids to be turned over to Anderson-Perry & Associates to make sure they met specifications, and the court would award the bid at their next meeting on April 7.

Kristy Athens, the 2010 Harney County Writer-in-Residence, along with the 2009 Writer-in-Residence, Angela Allen, will participate in the March 27 SWAN (Support Women Artists Now) Day at the Harney County Library by reading from their published works.

Athens arrived in Harney County on March 1 and has been busy at schools in Frenchglen, Crane and Diamond.  During spring break, she will have a workshop at the Kids Club, then teach Suntex and Double O students the following week.

Along with being a published freelance writer and editor, Athens was a long-time coordinator of the Oregon Book Awards (OBA) Author Tour and has come to Burns many times with the OBA authors. She has worked with people of all ages via SMART (Start Making a Reader Today), Writers in the Schools, Write Around Portland and workshops for adults.

Workshop dates and times for the general public to interact with the writer-in-residence are listed below. Watch for workshops scheduled through Treasure Valley Community College Outreach Center, also in April. A theatrical “read-around” is in the works as a pro-active fund raiser for the Harney County Writer-In-Residence program.

Athens’ schedule is as follows:

• Friday, March 26, 2-4 p.m., at Kids Club of Harney County.

• Saturday, March 27, noon to 4 p.m. Harney County Library during the SWAN event.

• Tuesday, April 6, 2-5 p.m., Workshop Part 1 of 2 at the Harney County Library.

• Saturday, April 10, 1-3 p.m. at Triangle Park, Burns. Outdoor workshop with focus on En Plein Air writing.

• Tuesday, April 20, 2-5 p.m., Workshop Part 2 of 2 at the Harney County Library.

• Friday, April 30, 5-8 p.m. Farewell party and readings by  Athens at the Community Center.

For more information about the Harney County Writer-in-Residence program and workshops, contact coordinators Carolyn Koskela at 541-493-2404 and Kate Marsh-Copeland at 541-573-7204.

Wes Davies of Frenchglen is currently serving an LDS mission in Concepcion, Chile. He offers a first-hand account of experiencing the 8.8 earthquake that struck last month.

Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010, 3:32 a.m. — I woke up to my bed shaking only to remember that I don’t have a bed, I sleep on the floor on a mattress. I quickly realized what was happening — an earthquake.

About when I realized what was happening my companion, Elder Huggans, rolled over on his bunk bed above me and reached out to hold up the dresser that sits perpendicular to my bed.  The bottom drawers fell out anyway, but he held the top one in and kept the entire thing from falling over on top of his other luggage.

I pulled my blankets up on the left side of my head because by this time it was shaking so violently that I thought the house was going to tip over. To my left, our second-story house, made of wood, is supported by the neighbor’s house, who happen to be the owners as well.  But on my right there is only the street to catch our fall. It was shaking so hard that I honestly was waiting for and braced to receive the blow of the wall on my left as the house fell over.

As I looked up at Elder Huggans, who also remained in his bed, we exchanged a few words. The only thing I can remember was him saying, “Yeah, this is strong … phone … where is the phone?”

“Next to me,” I responded.

“Call the zone,”  he said.  I then proceeded to call Elder Hatch in Avenida Alemania as Elder Huggans yelled to the other room for Elder Lettieri to call his district.

It was still shaking pretty hard when Elder Hatch answered the phone yelling, “WOW! This is CRAZY.”

“You OK?” I asked.

“Yeah, fine,” he responded.

“OK I’m gonna call Nacimiento.”

I hung up the phone and called Hermana Holt who answered almost immediately.

“You OK?” I asked.

“Scared,” she responded. I told her to stay with her companion and stay strong. I am not sure how the conversation ended but as I hung up I realized that it had stopped shaking.

Elder Lettieri had been able to call his district so we had a full report of the whole zone and within four minutes the phone lines collapsed. It wasn’t until then that we got out of our beds to see what exactly had happened.

Our wood house made so much noise when it shook that we hadn’t been able to hear the prison. We live about one block away from the city prison and the prisoners at some point during the earthquake began to scream bloody murder.  They screamed from 3:30 a.m. until the sun came up at around 7:30 a.m.

The first damage we could see was that the electricity was cut and most of the lightbulbs from the streetlights had fallen out and so there was glass all over the streets. Almost immediately the police had the prison lit up with spotlights and the noise continued all morning. Prisoners lit their cells on fire so the guards would have to take them outside where they could try to escape. Many of the bars on the windows had fallen out during the quake so a lot of them were jumping out of the windows. The police were firing shots and yelling. It was a mess.

We however went back inside to try to get some sleep before the sun came up. Like that was going to happen. I counted 29 smaller earthquakes that shook the house hard before the sun came up.

It wasn’t until then that we realized what had happened. But luckily the only thing that happened to our house was that we had an excuse for the mess.

As a member of a 25-person team, R.N. Melanie Thomas treated earthquake victims who were in desperate need of medical care

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

On Jan, 12th, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake jolted southern Haiti, and one of the hardest hit areas was the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Buildings were reduced to rubble, leaving millions injured, homeless, and struggling to survive. The expected death toll was estimated at more than 200,000.

Medical Teams International (MTI), formerly known as Northwest Medical Teams, immediately began sending disaster response medical teams of doctors, nurses and other health professionals to help those injured in the disaster. The first team arrived in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 15.

On Jan 20, Melanie Thomas of Burns, a registered nurse and a volunteer on the Disaster Response Team, received the call to go join the Disaster Team for three weeks in Port-au-Prince, and 24 hours later she was on a flight to Florida.

Because of the damage to the Port-au-Prince airport, only military and private aircraft were allowed to fly in and out of Haiti.  Thomas and four other medical volunteers flew to Fort Lauderdale, where they then flew to Port-au-Prince on Howard Hedinger’s private Leer jet.

Hedinger is the Chief Executive Officer of American Industries and donated his jet to fly medical teams back and forth for a week to Port-au-Prince, and his employees donated the money to pay for the fuel.

Thomas was on a medical team of about 25 people working in various locations throughout Port-au-Prince, giving medical aid to thousand of Haitians.

King’s Hospital was a hospital created after the earthquake, as it was one of the few buildings structurally safe. The medical team of orthopedic surgeons, physicians, anesthesiologists, and nurses hit the ground running, giving medical care and operating on Haitians injured in the earthquake. “When the destruction is that overwhelming, the priority for us as a team was to help every person we could medically,” Thomas said. “There was rubble everywhere. Nothing was straight. All the buildings were leaning or fallen over. It was like driving through Universal Studios or a movie set, except it was real.”

Medical teams would also go out in mobile teams of four to five people to areas outside of Port-au-Prince that had not yet received medical care, including Carrefour, the epicenter of the earthquake.

A refugee camp of 17,000 people on five acres, all living under sheet tents with no running water, electricity, or bathroom facilities is where Thomas and others camped for days and nights giving medical care to anywhere between 300 and 500 patients a day. All of those people in the camp lost their homes, belongings, and even family members in the earthquake. “Sleep was overrated, and so often we were very busy, that as a team, we were constantly reminding each other to drink water, and eat something,” Thomas said.

The injured
Thomas stated that as word spread that medical help was available, the injured began to arrive in droves. Most injuries the team saw were broken and crushed bones, and open wounds, but also included pneumonia, scabies, respiratory problems, malaria and typhoid fever.

Thomas said one boy came in and pulled off his shoe, and half of his foot was gone. A woman limped in with a fractured femur. “Eight days she had had that fracture. That’s how long it took her to get to medical care,” Thomas said.

Another patient who arrived was a 12-year-old girl who had run out of her home when the quake hit, ran back in to pick up something she forgot, and as she ran back out, was struck by a car. The girl got stuck under the car and suffered third degree burns on her face from the muffler. Because the medical team had limited resources, the girl was flown to Miami for better care.

With every aftershock, the Haitian people would run from whatever building they were in to an open area. “People are still sleeping in the streets out of fear of another building coming down on them,” Thomas said.

The relief effort
There were several other organizations in Haiti to help with the disaster. They included World Relief, U.S. Army and Marines and Red Cross. This was the biggest medical team Thomas had been on, and even with the elite medical personnel she had the privilege to work with, there were no ego or control issues. “It was great teamwork,” she stated. “We decided we were going to do whatever it takes, and the cohesiveness among all of us could not be outdone. We were sweaty, dirty, hungry, exhausted and yet every team member had an encouraging smile, a heart full of compassion and the desire to help.”

Three weeks and thousands of patients later, Thomas arrived back in Harney County. “There were so many people who needed help,” Thomas said. “And everybody had a story.”

This was Thomas’ fifth trip to Haiti, and she plans to return again for 10 days with a medical team on June 17.

Often asked why she goes on these short term medical trips Thomas said, “I’m a firm believer in pay it forward, and if I can help just one person with the kindness I’ve been shown in my life, then the whole experience is worth it.”