Retired scientist Dave Ganskopp honored during the day-long festivities held at experimental range headquarters

By Josie Davies
Burns Times-Herald

The 2009 Range Field Day held on June 24 was dedicated to recently retired range scientist Dave Ganskopp, who has been at the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center (EOARC) since 1982. The field day was held at the Northern Great Basin Experimental Range (NGBER) headquarters.

According to Tony Svejcar, research leader and rangeland scientist, Ganskopp has made several contributions to the EOARC program. Through his research, he has improved the understanding of rangelands and livestock behavior. However, Ganskopp still enjoys his line of work and will not give research up entirely.

Svejcar and Dave Bohnert, range animal nutritionist welcomed everyone and made the opening remarks for the field day.
Research projects and experiments were presented by several range scientists from the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center as well as visiting scientists.

Range scientist Pat Clark from the Northwest Watershed Research Center in Boise, Idaho, presented his research involving cattle and wolf interactions. His project objectives were to evaluate factors influencing habitat with the use and activity patterns of range cattle under varying wolf presence and cattle productivity responses under varying wolf presence.

Marty Vavra, a disturbance ecology and management team leader at the Pacific Northwest Station Forestry and Range Sciences Lab in La Grande,  talked about cattle, deer and elk interactions.

After a break, Doug Johnson, a professor in the department of rangeland ecology and management at the Oregon State University, presented his work on riparian grazing. His research was focused on his experiment on the Catherine Creek near Union.

Then Ganskopp, presented his research findings on his experiments involving pre and post burn cattle distribution in sagebrush steppe. He runs the cattle on the butte in the NGBER and tracks them with GPS collars. He uses the three largest areas on the butte with the lowest elevation of 4,500 feet and the highest at 5,500 feet.

The newest member at the EOARC, Reinaldo Cooke, is an assistant professor and beef extension specialist. His presentation focused on beef cattle temperament and performance.

Lunch was provided for all attending.

After lunch, Cooke and Bohnert gave a demonstration of cattle temperament and assessment at the butte handling facilities.
Range scientist, Jon Bates, Ganskopp and Svejcar ended the field day with a look at the post-burn cattle distribution and veg recovery above range 7, which is the stock water site.

For those who have questions regarding these topics,  call the EOARC at 573-8900 for more information.

By Debbie Raney
Burns Times-Herald

When the vote to approve funding for Measure 57 fell four votes shy of passing on June 19, Representative Cliff Bentz didn’t have to wonder what the constituents of his district were thinking about his “no” vote — the phone calls, e-mails and face-to-face comments said it all. But Bentz said he had to vote “no” in order for the bill to go back into discussion.

“The bill as crafted,” said Bentz, “had serious problems — it needed not to pass. I decided to ask the district attorneys and sheriffs for some direction that would make it work.”

Measure 57, which voters approved last November, would require mandatory minimum sentences for people convicted of certain nonviolent crimes. If the funding bill failed, the Eastern Oregon Youth Correctional Facility in Burns would have been on the list of cuts, and the facility was slated to be closed.

The top priority for Bentz in the passage of the bill was safety, with economics next on the list. The problem, said Bentz was everything that had been attached to the funding bill, such as raising the amount of methamphetamine that one could possess before it became a felony.

When the funding bill failed, it went back into reconsideration, and the negotiations began. On Wednesday, June 24, at about midnight, Bentz said the two sides came to an agreement that everyone could live with. The bill, HB 3508, went to the Ways and Means committee on Thursday, and on Friday a new vote was taken with the amendments, and funding was approved on a vote of 40-19, with Bentz voting “yes.”

In addition to the Burns OYA facility remaining open, Bentz said the bill will save about 40 positions with the Oregon State Police, including a crime lab in Malheur County.

Harney County Judge Steve Grasty said the people of Harney County are to be commended for making their voices heard in Salem. “The people in this area deserve a real pat on the back — they got real involved and everyone there [in Salem] knew what the impact would be for Burns,” Grasty said.

July 9 event will include a Q & A session on grants and scholarship programs

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

For local non-profits in need of grants, an opportunity to learn about grant writing will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday, July 9, at the Jefferson County Library Rodriguez Annex, 1134 S.E. E St. in Madras.

The grantseeker workshop will be hosted by Jeff Anderson, who is a senior program officer for the Oregon Community Foundation (OCF). The event is geared specifically toward non-profit organizations in Harney, Jefferson, Crook and Wheeler counties.

Workshop topics will include the OCF community grant program, essential tips for grantseekers and a question and answer session regarding advised funds, grants and scholarship programs.

Carolyn Bauer, of Harney County non-profit Dollars for Scholars, said that she originally contacted the Oregon Community Foundation  in Central Oregon in an attempt to raise more money for local scholarships.

She said that the OCF’s intent is to help match non-profits with other organizations that offer grants. In fact, the Oregon Community Foundation held an event in Harney County at the downtown community center in March to bring area non-profits together for a community philanthropy event.

Susan Schneider, a charitable gift planner with the OCF, said the March event was a great success as there were about 50 participants in attendance. “Out of the counties in Oregon, Harney is one of the best endowed, per capita, now with 17 funds at OCF with a total of $5,351,958 at year end,” Schneider said. “The primary participants in our scholarship programs are the Burns Lions Club and the Harney County Dollars for Scholars.”

She noted that the Harney County Historical Society and Harney County Library both have endowments with the OFC, and the Robert Burns Masonic Lodge No. 97 is in the process of creating one.

According to its Web site (www.oregoncf.org) the OCF’s mission is to improve life and unite Oregonians through philanthropy.

Specifically, its focus is to make wise financial investments for its donors and effective grant investments to communities; bring fresh approaches to solving tough issues in communities; and connect resources to needs, organizations to organizations and people to people.

“There are many non-profit things to celebrate in Harney County. Our goal is to grow these endowments, both in number and in dollar value as a permanent endowment for Harney County,” Schneider said.

For more information the July 9 grantseeker workshop, contact Melissa Hansen by e-mail at mhansen@oregoncf.org or by phone at 503-227-6846.

Teague Motor Company will continue to be a Chrysler dealership but not GM

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

For Teague Motor Company, the bankruptcy restructuring of Chrysler and GM was a case of “win one, lose one.”

After Chrysler was forced into federal bankruptcy protection in early May, the decision to close 789 Chrysler dealerships around the country soon followed.

Fortunately for Harney County, Teague Motor Company in Burns was allowed to keep their dealership, which they’ve had for 43 years, and they will continue to sell and service Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brand vehicles.

Peggy Asmussen of Teague’s said she believes they kept their dealership because of customer service and location. “We’re pretty much always at 100 percent in customer service,” Asmussen said. “And we sell a lot of Dodge trucks.”

However, Teague’s will not retain their GM dealership, along with about 1,100 other dealers in the country. “It could happen as far out as October 2010, but I think it’ll be sooner,” Asmussen said.

Where the loss of the dealership will be felt the most, according to Asmussen, will be warranty work. “If somebody has a GMC vehicle that needs warranty work done, they’ll have to travel 145 miles to Payette, Idaho,” Asmussen said. “I guess that’s what upset me the most is that our customers won’t be able to get warranty work done here.”

She stressed the fact that they can do all other service work and have ordered a new machine that will allow the service department to work on just about every make of vehicle. “We’re here to take care of our customers,” Asmussen said.

Because GMC was the only dealership Teague Motor Company had from GM, they aren’t expected to see a big drop in sales, and believe they can make up the difference with Chrysler vehicles, such as Dodge pickups.

“Chrysler wasn’t that far in the hole, so they’ve come through pretty good,” Asmussen said. “But I don’t know if GM will make it.” She added that the Chrysler workers are doing what they can to make the company successful by taking pay cuts.

There may also may be changes in the vehicles offered by Chrysler, as most of their assets were sold to a new company run by the Italian car manufacturer Fiat. “I expect them to maybe integrate some of their engineering ideas into the Chrysler vehicles,” Asmussen said.

From the time the business started, Teague Motor Company has also sold Studebaker, Rambler, American Motors and Datsun models at one time or another, and they look forward to continue serving Harney County residents. “It’ll be 48 years in August, and we expect to stay here,” Asmussen said.

Energy grant would provide money for construction

Doug Gochnour, Malheur National Forest Supervisor, announced approval of a wood to energy grant for $5 million dollars to design, permit, and construct a pellet plant in Harney and/or Grant County. This grant is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which was released by USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan on June 11. This project is among 30 wood-to-energy grants and biomass utilization projects funded at $57 million located in 14 states.

“These projects are in keeping with President Obama’s interest in innovative sources for energy and will promote the development of biofuels from wood and help private sector businesses establish renewable energy infrastructure,” said Merrigan. “Additionally, hazardous fuels reduction projects utilize biomass from forested lands that, when left untreated, increase wildland fire risks to communities and natural resources.”

The $5 million grant will be competitively advertised through a Request for Proposals (RFP) through the Oregon Economic Community Development Department (OECDD) within the next couple of weeks. OECDD will select a technical evaluation board to review proposals and choose a recipient or recipients to award the grant funds to. The process is anticipated to take 30-45 days from advertisement of the RFP.

Location of a pellet plant within Harney and/or Grant County would provide a facility to utilize the growing backlog of biomass that needs to be treated across the Malheur National Forest. Removal of biomass for utilization would provide the benefit of reducing hazardous fuels, therefore decreasing risk of wildfire. Funds derived from the sale of biomass would stay on the Malheur National Forest and be used to accomplish additional fuel reduction projects.

These ARRA funds may help to create markets for small diameter wood and low value trees removed during forest restoration activities. The work will result in increased value of biomass, the removal of economic barriers for using small diameter trees and woody biomass, and the generation of renewable energy.  In addition, funds may help communities and entrepreneurs turn residues from forest restoration activities into marketable energy products.

Information on Forest Service ARRA projects can be found online at: http://fs.usda.gov.

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.

Catherine Fine and Ted Campbell will take their thrones Saturday, June 13, for the Pioneer Day festivities

Queen Mother Catherine Fine

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

“It took me 86 years to become a queen,” said Catherine Fine, who was named the Queen Mother for the annual Pioneer Day celebration to be held Saturday, June 13, at the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center.

Fine hails from Frenchglen and has lived there for the majority of her 86 years. She and her brother, Finley, spent their childhood helping their folks, Joe and Jennie McDonald, run the Frenchglen Hotel. “Things were very primitive in the hotel in those days,” Fine said. There were no flush toilets. She remembers when it cost $.75 for a room, $.50 for a family-style meal and $1 to board your horse.

Fine attended grade school in Frenchglen and high school at St. Francis in Baker City. She lived in a dorm and rode the train back and forth from school to home, though students were only allowed to go home for holidays. While in high school she played basketball but noted that “there wasn’t much stuff for girls to do in those days.”

After high school, Fine wanted to go on to veterinary school. “But they wouldn’t accept women, so I got married. Next best thing, I guess,” she said.

She and her new husband, Jack, worked for Roaring Springs Ranch until they saved enough money to buy their own ranch.
The couple had four children, Annette, Joe, Susan and Ross.

Jack died in 1963 in a gun accident, and Fine chose to raise the four children and ran the ranch herself. Both daughters grew up to be registered nurses. Joe works in mining and Ross was in the Marines.

With her children grown, Fine turned her attention to creating a new business, Joe Mamma’s, an espresso stand in Frenchglen. Her son Joe built the drive-thru building, and Fine said the original idea was to help her grandsons (she has seven and one granddaughter) run the small business. “Then they grew too big and grew out of it. It was just me,” she said.
When she’s running Joe Mamma’s, Fine drives the 70 miles to Burns about once per week for supplies. Occasionally, she’ll get requests for odd coffee drinks. “Some of them I don’t know, but I just tell them (customers) to tell me how to make it, and I’ll do it,” she said.
Joe Mamma’s offers a wide array of espresso drinks, but that’s not what draws in the locals. “Hamburgers is what we specialize in. Big ones,” she said.

When she’s not running Joe Mamma’s, Fine enjoys watching the Portland Trail Blazers (“They finally shaped up and got their heads out of their butt this year,” she said) and once in a while likes to visit the casino.

Fine looks forward to seeing her family and friends during the annual Pioneer Day festivities on June 13 at the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center.

 •••

Pioneer President Ted Campbell

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

This year’s Pioneer President Ted Campbell’s history with Harney County actually began before he was even born.

Campbell said his grandparents were living in Missouri when they hired a “land locator” from Silver Lake to find them a place to live in Oregon. After rounding up the money to purchase the land, Campbell’s grandfather sent it off to the land locater, and the family headed west.

When the family, including Campbell’s father Edward, arrived in Burns, they discovered that the land locater had received their money, as well as money from others, and then had fled the country.

With no land and no money, the family went to John Day, where a rancher gave them a place to live.

Campbell’s mother, Ruth Winn, and her family were  living in La Grande at about the same time, and her parents decided to try their hand at homesteading in the Catlow Valley. “People told them there was water near-by, but what they didn’t tell them it was 300 feet down,” Campbell laughed.

The Winns then moved to Voltage, where Ruth’s father  freighted wool for the sheepmen.

They decided to move back to La Grande, but made it only as far as John Day before their stock wore out. As luck would have it, Edward Campbell would meet Ruth Winn and the two married and moved to Seneca in 1926 to work for a rancher.

The early years

Ted Campbell was born June 15, 1927, in Prairie City with a midwife present. “My birth certificate has Seneca listed as my official birth place, and Seneca wasn’t even a town until 1932, I think it was,” Campbell said.

While in Seneca, Campbell’s father drove a tie-truck for the railroad. “But he wanted to be a hunter,” Campbell said. “His friend Sam Wade had a cabin, and the two of them went hunting coyotes.”

His mother, however, decided cleaning coyote hides was, “no way to make a living,” and wanted them to get their own place. Campbell said his parents contacted Milt Davis, who lived near Drewsey, and leased some land about three miles past the present-day Pine Creek School.

In January 1928, Campbell’s family loaded up their Willys Knight touring car, crossed a snow-covered Bear Valley, and moved into a two-story house on Davis’ property, where they lived for more than six years.

After deciding to homestead on nearby property,  the Campbells lived in a tent while building a log home. “I was 7 years old and was peeling the logs,” Campbell said. “Back then, if you could get to the table to feed yourself, you could work.”

Campbell’s brother Jack was born when Ted was 7, and two sisters, Virginia and Charlotte, came along in 1937 and 1945, respectively.

For elementary schooling, the Campbells rode about 10 miles on horseback to Wolf Creek, and in 1941, Campbell enrolled at Crane. “My junior year my dad pulled me out of school,’ Campbell said. “He thought that once a kid was educated, they wouldn’t work.” Campbell did eventually return, and graduated from Crane High School in 1947.

“Two years later, my dad and I had a disagreement, so I loaded up my car, had $20 in my pocket, and went to Portland to seek my fortune,” Campbell said.

It was a tough job market in 1949, but Campbell was able to land a job with Superior Cheese Co., a subsidiary of Safeway.

Campbell said the company had just one opening and there were a number of applicants. “I went in for the interview, and the guy asked me when I could start,” Campbell stated. “I told him I could go to work right now, and he said, ‘You’ve got the job.’ He handed me some keys and told me to open in the morning.”

The military calls

Hearing the Forest Service had a job opening, Campbell moved back to Harney County, and married Jeanette Frost in June 1950. Later that year, Campbell went to work at a ranch near Prineville.

“In 1951, with the Korean War going on, the U.S. military decided they operated without me for as long as they could,” Campbell smiled. He went to Portland for a physical, and then signed up for the Air Force before his draft notice could show up.

Campbell went through basic training at Laughlin Air Force Base (AFB) near Del Rio, Texas, was sent to Wichita Falls, Texas, where he graduated from aircraft and engine school, and then received orders to go to Korea. “Korea must have a lot of diseases because when I was told I was going there, I got I don’t know how many shots,” Campbell said. “But I was No. 11 on the list of those trained in our field to go, and they only needed 10.”

So rather than making the trip overseas, Campbell was sent to B-36 bomber school, and received orders for Korea a second time. “But there weren’t any B-36s in Korea, so they asked me where I wanted to go. I said, ‘Home?’ ” Campbell joked. “They gave me a choice of Spokane (Wash.) or Rapid City (S.D.), and because I wanted to be closer to home, I told them Rapid City. They did what I expected and shipped me to Spokane.”

Campbell arrived in Spokane in October 1951, where he served as Crew Chief, and was later promoted to Staff Sergeant.
In July 1954, his son Bruce Wayne Campbell was born at Fairchild AFB, and a year later, Campbell was released from active duty, and he returned to Burns.

Campbell worked as a police officer for several months until he got an offer from his dad. “My dad bought a bigger outfit and wanted me to help run it,” Campbell said. “He said if I helped, when my brother, Jack, got out of the Navy, he’d sell the place to us, which he did.”

Moving on

In 1966, Campbell sold the ranch to Buck Taylor, and moved to Seneca, where he took over the Standard Oil dealership. After he and his wife divorced, Campbell moved to Bend and went to work for Mid-Oregon Iron as a pre-fab man.

In December 1973, Campbell married Lavonne Mattis, and then took the manager’s job at Fort Rock Ranch, where he stayed for 10 or 11 years.

Looking for some long-term security for he and his wife, Campbell bought a home in Payette, Idaho, and began driving truck for Ore-Ida.

After two-and-a-half years in Payette, Campbell landed a job with the Bend Park and Recreation District, where he remained before retiring in 1993.

Campbell and his wife then purchased their home in Burns, where they reside today.

“That’s the quick version of my life,” Campbell said. “I can tell you a whole lot of other stories, like the time in 1966 when we were roping horses and one of them rolled over on me. I had a skull fracture, broken leg and numerous lacerations, abrasions and contusions.”

Campbell is honored to have been selected as Pioneer President and is ready to share his tales with everyone. “I’m at that age where there’s very few left that can contradict me,” he laughed.

•••

PIONEER DAY

WHAT: Annual event that honors community pioneers with a program and potluck.
WHEN: Saturday, June 13; registration begins at 10 a.m., the potluck at noon and the program at 1 p.m.
WHERE: Harney County Senior and Community Services Center, 17 S. Alder

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

Emily Mues can’t remember anything about Oct. 12, 2007, but it’s likely a day she’ll never forget.

On that particular Friday in the fall, Mues, who was attending University of Portland, was driving back home to Burns for a week-long break from school. One mile east of Sisters on Highway 20, Mues was involved in a serious crash. “I don’t remember the accident, or even driving that day,” Mues said.

Having suffered severe head injuries, Mues was taken by helicopter to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, where she was placed in the critical care unit. “I had a traumatic brain injury, which caused swelling in the brain, so they had to remove part of my skull,” Mues said. “And doctors said from here down (pointing to just above her eyebrows), my face was pulverized.”
Mues was placed in an induced coma to keep her motionless while the swelling subsided. She remained in the critical care ward for 10 days before being transferred to intermediate care.

Twelve days after the accident, Mues regained consciousness. “I woke up in the middle of the night and thought I was in Corvallis at a friend’s house,” Mues said. “I had to go to the bathroom, and I started to get out of bed. My dad was there, and had his hand on my arm, and he woke up when I started to move.”

Her dad, Dave, then had to try to get her to stay in the bed, as well as explain to her where she was, and what had happened. “It’s a good thing he was there because I probably would have just headed for the bathroom with all these tubes attached,” Mues laughed.

Mues was released from the hospital on Nov. 12, but the reconstruction of her face and rehabilitation continued. After 12 surgeries, Mues now sports titanium cheeks, a titanium chin, titanium left eye socket with a nylon plate that supports the eyeball, a titanium plate above her left eyebrow and titanium plates throughout her skull. “I’m sure I’ll set off the alarms in an airport,” she said with a smile.

Mues still has two more surgeries coming up to implant three of her front teeth.

Mues said she has chronic headaches, double vision, which is corrected with prisms in her eyeglasses, and has pretty much lost her sense of smell. “I put a lot of spices on my food,” she said.

Mues stated the support she received during her time in the hospital, and when she returned home, was special. “The community was great,” she said. “The hospital even had to kind of change their visitation rules a little. There were only supposed to be a certain number of visitors in a room at a time, and then the whole volleyball team comes in at once.”

Because flowers weren’t allowed in her room while she was in critical care, her mom, Debbie, took photos of every bouquet she received and then passed the flowers on to another patient.

Mues returned to the University of Portland campus in the fall of 2008 to continue her pursuit of a nursing career. “It’s kind of funny, I’m getting better grades now than I did before the accident. All ‘A’s for the fall semester, and ‘A’s and a ‘B-plus’ this semester,” she said.  She has also been officially accepted into nursing school.

While some people might feel overwhelmed by such an experience, Mues has shown her character by taking it in stride. “It’s just something that happened, just another step you have to take in life,” Mues said with her unwavering smile. “You have to appreciate everything you have.”

The Kids Club of Harney County is set to open on June 15 with new director at helm

Formally known as the Boys & Girls Club, the Kids Club of Harney County will open its doors on June 15.

Ater many hours of meetings and soul searching, the board of directors decided that it was in the best interest for Harney County to break away from the national organization and form their own private club. “The Boys & Girls Club of America is an excellent organization and is truly dedicated to kids and giving them opportunities and a safe place to go after school and during the summer,” said board member Ron Wulff. However, living up to the minimum standards and paying the yearly dues was becoming increasingly difficult financially, which ultimately resulted in closing the doors until more additional funding came in.

The board now feels they have a sustainable operational plan that should relieve a lot of stress on both the board members and the community. They will now be able to open the club with a much lower operating budget, and still provide all the programs and activities the kids love to do. The monthly operating expenses will be a fraction of what they were last year due to the changes put in place.

Carrie Winstead was selected to be the executive director of the club. Winstead was chosen because of her experience with working with children and the business aspect she brings to the club.

Board member Wulff said, “Winstead has a great deal of passion for the kids and is determined to make the club a success and provide a welcoming environment for the kids to come and enjoy themselves.”

Winstead has already been working on an operation plan that will rely more on volunteers and less on paid staff members. She has been spending a great deal of time talking to various educational programs that require internships of the students to obtain work experience. So far, there has been a tremendous number of inquiries of people wanting to volunteer their time to be part of the club.

The club will open Monday, June 15, and provide a safe place for the kids to go and interact with one another. Winstead plans on having a weekly theme to give the kids focus. She hopes to introduce them to a wide variety of activities and learning experiences. “Many of the programs will be structured but there will be plenty of time for the kids to just be kids and have a good time,” Winstead said.

By the time the doors open, the club will have a new look. New fencing has been put up; there are plans of landscaping the premises, including planting trees and bushes. A new logo for the club has been chosen, and a fresh coat of paint should make the place look like new.

The board is very excited about this new beginning. This year’s Diamonds in a Glass fund raiser raised enough money to pay off all of the club’s debt and put some money into the bank. Thanks to some additional donations from various community members, and especially the Commission on Children and Families, enough money has been raised to get the club through the summer after which the next big fund raiser starts.

The Kids Club has taken over the Burns/Hines 5K walk/run race which will be held Saturday, June 20, and with the support of Valley Golf Club, a golf tournament will be held July 10. Winstead is currently taking classes to learn how to write grant requests, and she is also working with grant writers from out of the area to obtain funding to grow the club.

The board of directors would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the club. The board would like to bring on additional board members and is asking for people who are interested and willing to making the Kids Club grow and prosper to contact Winstead and express your interest.

The Kids Club office is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The public is encouraged to stop by or call 573-7036.