First responders speak out in support of Ron Copeland

By Dylan Thompson
Burns Times-Herald

The Harney County Health District Board of Directors met on July 28, focusing on the difficulty surrounding the recent firing of Emergency Medical Technician Ron Copeland and the looming issues enveloping the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) department of the hospital.

However, rather than originating within the board, the big splashes concerning the issue came from public commentary.

The first to speak up was First Responder Bill Otley, who wished to show his support for Copeland, who was previously in charge of training EMTs and first responders. Otley stressed that he believed Copeland was doing a great job, and that the training he provided was more than adequate.

More public expression came toward the end of the meeting when First Responders Laura Sword and Barbara Howard, both from Drewsey, reiterated previous letters by stating their distress. Like Otley, both communicated their support for Copeland.

Sword continued to say she felt issues had blossomed when the new EMS manager canceled regular meetings until the problems with the First Responder training had been addressed. She explained that she, and others within the First Responders, felt threatened when the new manager challenged their training. Both Sword and Howard went on to say that they didn’t think anyone within the department felt undertrained.

After the public’s comments had been heard, Chief Clinical Officer Ron Wulff invited the public to come in and discuss issues with him personally.

In other news:

• Dr. Holland Haynie gave the Chief of Medical Staff Report, stating that he was currently working with the Veterans Association (VA) and VA clinic manager Steve Bull to ease problems, especially with patient flow. He also explained that work was being done to take care of issues with patient care regarding the VA and the emergency room;

• the board approved the credentials of Nurse Anesthetist William Edwards and radiologists William Wheir, John Stassen and Robert Hogan.

• the board approved bonds for new Digital Mammography, Swing Bed and EMS Equipment;

• the board also voted on next year’s board officers. Tim Smith was retained as chairman, Sam Caizza was retained as treasurer and Ann Vloedman was appointed as secretary. All three were appointed unanimously by acclamation;

• Chief Financial Officer Catherine White reported that June was a good month in which the hospital had good patient revenue and a positive net income of $34,000;

• Toni Siegner reminded the board of the upcoming community appreciation event that will be held Friday, Aug. 6, between the Burns Elks Lodge and the Desert Theatre, from 5:30 to 10 p.m. There will be a band and food will be provided.

• CCO Ron Wulff reported that the hospital’s respiratory procedures had increased in the last month and that the EMS had increased runs. He also stated that the BLM offered to coordinate with the First Responders, which would increase the First Responders coverage. The BLM First Responders are equally trained;

• finally, Denise Rose reported that the hospital had begun to treat its first chemotherapy patients. She said the patients are pleased with getting care locally.

The next Harney District Hospital Board meeting will be at 6 p.m. Aug. 25 in the downstairs meeting room at the hospital.

Radio station changes hands and call letters

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

On Friday, July 16, Leighton (Linc) Reed-Nickerson and his wife, Joan, became the new owners of the local radio station and the changes were almost immediate.

The AM station call letters were changed from KZZR to KBNH and the FM went from KQHC to KORC-FM. The formats, contemporary country and Classic Hits, have remained the same so far, but Reed-Nickerson said they are still deciding what changes they will make there.

Reed-Nickerson took over manning the microphone for now, but said he is hoping to find someone to take over as newscaster.

Reed-Nickerson has a long history in the broadcasting industry, having gotten his ham radio license at age 14 and his first class broadcasting license when he was 17. “When I was 17, I wanted to either be an engineer or an English teacher,” Reed-Nickerson said. “I visited a radio station and decided right then that’s what I wanted to do.”

Reed-Nickerson said he hasn’t worked on the air so much as the engineering side of both radio and television.

His career began in Massachusetts, and through the years he worked in a variety of states until he ended up working for Tektronics and living in Camas, Wash. He left Tektronics in 1998, but stayed in the telecommunications industry, working for Rohde & Schwarz and Qualcomm until he retired in 2009.

Reed-Nickerson said he soon became bored with retirement, bought a station in Waldport that had gone dark and got it back on the air in March as KORC-AM.

While he had no plans to expand as a radio station owner, Reed-Nickerson said he received word that the Burns station was for sale. “We came over, checked it out and decided we could make it work,” he said.

Reed-Nickerson added that Joan is actually the majority owner of KBNH and KORC-FM and plans to spend about three days a week at the station. “She has her own business, rebuilding steam locomotives and steam tractors,” Reed-Nickerson said. He noted that her projects usually end up as movie stars, having been used in the films “Stand By Me,” “The Changeling” and others.

While changes are imminent at the local station, Reed-Nickerson said he wants to get input from the public before making any final decisions. “We’re going to be very open with the community, listen to what they’d like to hear and make it a local station,” he said.

Reed-Nickerson added he’d like to have news blocks at 6, 7 and 8 a.m., noon and 5 p.m. as well as expand local sports coverage and live shows.

While they have yet to decide on music formats, Reed-Nickerson stated it’s important to have a consistent sound.

Although most of Reed-Nickerson’s time has been spent inside the studios since he took over, he’s anxious to get out and meet people. “I think it’s important to  share thoughts and yourself with the community,” he said. “Listen to what they have to say.”

And for those who wonder if this is just a passing fancy, Reed-Nickerson has no plans on a quick re-sale. “I love it here. This is the kind of country I love, and we’ll be here for a while.”

Court recognizes the importance of supporting local veterans

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

Harney County may once again have a full time Veteran Service Officer.

At the Harney County Court meeting on July 21, Judge Steve Grasty proposed that the county make up the difference to bring the position back up to full time.

Currently, the position filled by Guy McKay is a half-time position, though in the past year it was a full time position.

The Veteran Service Officer’s office resides at the Harney County Senior Center and is paid for mainly through state funds. With recent state budget cuts, the position was cut to slightly less than half time.

Judge Grasty noted that with the National Guard members recently returned from the Middle East and the Veterans Administration Clinic opening here in Burns, veterans are using more services than ever.

He said he would like the county to step up and fund the position at a cost of $25,000 to bring it back to full time.

Grasty said the county has money in the general fund to make this happen. He has heard from several local veterans on the issue. “The need is apparent,” he said.

Audience member Linda Johnson said that Harney County has one of the highest ratios of veterans in the state, and that veterans are a segment of the population that need support. She complimented McKay on all the work he has done for local veterans. “He’s brought the awareness way up,” she said.

Grasty said he would draw up some documents and come back to the court with some more solid numbers at the Aug. 3 county court meeting.

•••

The court discussed a letter from Wayne Baron asking the county to forgive the debt owed by 4R Recycling and to give Bill Wilbur back a $5,000 cleaning deposit.

Baron stated that he felt 4R provided a community service and showed locals the benefits of recycling.

County Treasurer Nellie Franklin said that 4R owed the county more than $6,000 in taxes, deferred rent, building rent and baler rent. She also noted that 4R was a private business and didn’t feel the county should subsidize it. She pointed out that C&B Sanitary also provides recycling and the county doesn’t subsidize it. “This is not the way to do business,” she said.

Judge Grasty pointed out that Baron did clean up the building and grounds before moving out. “I think one of the important things to recognize here is that an incredible service was performed for this community for a time,” he said.
Grasty said he would collect more information to present to the court at the next meeting before they make a decision on whether or not to forgive 4R’s debt and return the cleaning deposit.

•••

The court approved an intergovernmental agreement between Eastern Oregon counties. Grasty said being part of the agreement that includes Baker, Grant, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union and Wallowa counties will help the Eastern part of the state band together on issues regarding sage grouse habitat and wind energy.

Commissioner Dan Nichols worried that the way the agreement was written might encourage power plays between counties.

However, Grasty said that Harney County can decide whether or not it wants to participate on any given issue.
Grasty and Commissioner Jack Drinkwater voted in favor of the agreement, while Commissioner Nichols voted against it.

In other business:

• the court discussed whether or not the county should approve part-time benefits for employees in the Home Health and Hospice department.

Grasty said it was hard to find nurses to provide hospice care, and that allowing two employees to go from full time to part-time would not increase what the county currently pays for insurance.

There were concerns about the precedent this would set and the court felt more discussion was needed. It will be on the agenda for the next meeting;

• Sue Licht, a preservation architect for the Oregon State Parks Department, gave a presentation on work at the Pete French Round Barn and the Frenchglen Hotel.

The court wanted to know why local contractors had not been used for the projects.

Licht replied that they would love to use local workers, however, preservation work requires certain qualifications and techniques that are often learned at field schools. But she noted that project contractors will often sub-contract out work to local contractors and that can provide a learning opportunity as well;

• the court discussed selling the former Crane landfill. Someone has expressed interest in the property. Grasty said that the county would need to advertise the sale and that some restrictions would likely need to be placed on the property;

• the court moved the date of the next county court meeting from Aug. 4 to Aug. 3 to accommodate Commissioner Nichols’ schedule;

• the court approved the sale of 140 acres to Roaring Springs Ranch for $15,000;

• the court appointed Wayne Evans and Stacy Davies to serve on the Harney County Planning Commission;

• Assessor Ted Tiller gave a presentation on the Department of Forestry’s tax for providing fire protection for privately owned forest land. Tiller said that this is a tax that originates from outside the county, so the county has no control as to the rate, which has jumped significantly in the last couple of years.

The court decided to contact a representative from the Department of Forestry to further explain the increased tax rate;

• the court signed the Oregon Jobs and Transportation Act of 2009 Local Agency Agreement for Fund Distribution between the Oregon Department of Transportation and Harney County. The county will receive $4.1 million as a result of the agreement;

• the court approved donations to the Harney County Opportunity Team in the amount of $5,000 and the High Desert Partnership in the amount of $20,000. Both donations were included in this year’s budget;

• Judge Grasty said that with the publication of the Bureau of Land Management’s North Steens Transmission Line Draft Environmental Impact Study, he would like the county to do everything in its power to make sure the comment period is not extended, as he anticipates the environmental groups will attempt to do. He said perhaps the county should write a letter discouraging that from happening.

The next county court meeting will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3, at the courthouse.

Heated discussion on 50/50 rule splits board vote

By Dylan Thompson
Burns Times-Herald

The Harney County School District  No. 3 Board of Directors met on July 20 in an attempt to settle the uprising animosity that has been circling around issues over the contract between the school district and Silvies River Web Academy, also known as the Silvies River  All-Prep Academy (SRAPA).

Katie Baltzor, the charter school’s newly appointed principal, began the conversation with a detailed presentation on the school’s determination to set off in a new direction. She explained that, contrary to the words of Tim King, the school’s former director, the school would no longer be advertised as a “money-maker,” but instead as a “viable solution to educating students in a non-traditional way.”

Baltzor explained that the school didn’t intend to target students already attending regular public school within the district. The school would, however, aim to provide education to students already being home-schooled or those who would naturally perform better in a charter school environment.

Controversy peaked when the discussion turned toward the 50/50 rule, a law designated to control the percentage of out of district students a charter school can claim. According to the law, over 50 percent of a charter school’s enrollment needs to come from within the school’s supporting district, allowing for the rest to be pulled from communities out of district.

Contrary to the law, however, the Silvies River Web Academy plans to enroll the same out of district students that finished last year’s school year with the academy, a total that exceeds 50 percent. Baltzor, and SRAPA Board Member Stacy Davies explained to the board that the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) had already signed off to allow the academy to proceed into next year’s school year with the disproportionate student ratio. At this time, the Department of Justice, who is currently investigating the legalities of the web academies’ past actions, has not.

A third party, the adhoc committee, composed of members of both the school board and the SRAPA, as well as concerned members of the public, had previously been created to study the pros and cons of continuing a contractual agreement between SRAPA and school district No. 3.

Tim Colahan, a member of the committee, was cautious about rushing into another agreement with the charter school. Quoting Spanish philosopher George Santayana, he said, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” referring to the swift way the board had made an agreement with Tim King back in the 2008-09 school year.

Tammy Wheeler of the adhoc committee agreed with Colahan, and sternly advised the committee to seek legal council before agreeing to the action plan.

Still, the final decision to allow the academy to go against the 50/50 rule remained in the hands of the school board.

Baltzor presented the board with an action plan that, if approved by the board, would temporarily allow the academy to operate outside of compliance with the law. Despite objections from board member Ralph Dickenson, who argued that the board should keep in compliance with the law, and vice-chair Steve Bull, who echoed the adhoc committee’s previous advice to seek legal council, the  rest of the board voted to pass the action plan 3-2.

A second motion was carried unanimously to reopen the contract with the charter school based on a recommendation from ODE. The board stated that they would work with ODE, the SRAPA, and legal representation from the Oregon School Board Association to renegotiate the contract.

The school board thanked the adhoc committee for all of their work.

In other news:

• business manager Petrina White gave a preliminary report on the budget for the upcoming school year.

Superintendent Bob Sari explained that the budget is pending on the outcome of House Bill 4899.

• Nancy Walker stated that the new playground equipment at Slater Elementary School was up and will be ready by the start of the school year. She thanked Steve Hoyt and Andy Root for their donation of machinery and materials. She also thanked the community volunteers who helped erect the structure;

• Burns High School Principal Ron Wassom reported that the windows at the high school were coming along nicely, and that the Eagle Scouts had done a great job of painting the football field bleachers;

• The board unanimously passed motions to maintain the organization of the board, retaining Dennis Townsend as Chair, and Steve Bull as Vice-Chair. The organization of the new fiscal year was also unanimously maintained;

• The board then approved the hirings of Tami Postles and Rachel Akins as the new dance team head coach and volunteer coach respectively. They continued to approve the 2010-2011 spring coaching recommendations;

• Finally, the board approved the confidential and supervisory contracts.

The next Harney County School Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug 10, though a meeting to readdress the issues with the charter school was discussed to be scheduled for the week of July 25 – July 31.

Deadline is noon Aug. 4

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

At their regular meeting on Wednesday, July 14, the Burns City Council agreed to put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the airport manager position.

City Manager Don Munkers provided the council with a copy of the RFP and said they would advertise it by way of newspaper, the city’s website, on the radio, employment office and mailings to those who had submitted a written request.

The RFP outlines the airport management services that would have to be provided, and the city must receive the RFPs by noon Aug. 4.

The council also voted to extend the current airport manager’s contract by 90 days. City Manager Munkers said the contract expired on July 1 and the extension would allow them time to receive the RFPs. The extension includes a 10-day cancellation clause in case the airport manager position is filled.

In an update on the Airport Runway 12-30 Rehabilitation Project, Munkers told the council mobilization on the project would begin on July 19, and construction would get under way July 26. At that time, Runway 12-30 would be closed for aircraft use and the west half of the terminal apron will be closed for reconstruction shortly thereafter.

Munkers reported that he had made a short presentation to the Oregon Department of Aviation, and it looked like the city would be receiving about $1.65 million for three other airport projects. “Some of the funding requires matching funds of about $280,000 that we would have to come up with, so we’ll have to find a way to do that,” Munkers said. He noted that with the additional funding, the city will be putting about $4 million worth of improvements into the airport in the next few years.

Dave Cullens, head of Public Works, reported on the street improvement projects under way. He said the old pavement was ground up and pulverized so as to be used for the base for the new pavement, and added the new paving should get under way next week.

The council reviewed the latest correspondence from their legal council regarding the formation of rural structural fire protection program.

The program would be a subscription model and Phil Kessinger, a member of the committee working on the program, said they are looking at models already in place in Hines and Vale, as well as a model previously proposed for Burns.

Kessinger said the committee was asking the council for the go-ahead to keep working toward their goal, and the next steps would be a budget, business plan and public outreach. “How do we do outreach? How do we get this sold and communicate to the public?” Kessinger asked. “We’re not going to just have it here in the office and hope folks walk in.”

According to the proposal, individuals owning improved real property within a certain distance from the city limits would have the opportunity to contract with the City of Burns for structural fire protection services. The proposed contract term would be one year and cost the individual owner $100 per address, plus $30 for multiple structures at the same address. Individual owners would also pay the city $100 per hour for each fire protection response required.

Individuals within the proposed area who do not contract with the city would pay $300 per hour, the city’s estimated actual cost, for each fire protection response made.

The committee estimates about 120 individuals within the proposed area would contract with the city, and with an estimated three to five fire calls each year, the city would realize a net gain of $26,100 over five years.
There was also some discussion about possibly altering a contract if a structure couldn’t be accessed at certain times of the year because of road conditions.

The council agreed by consensus that the committee should keep pursuing putting the plan in place.

In other business:
• the council approved two street closures. The first was for Harney District Hospital who requested Madison Street from Alvord to Broadway be closed from 4 to 10 p.m. Aug. 6 for a Community Appreciation Dinner.
The second request was from Burns Ford who requested Alvord Street from Madison to Jefferson be closed on July 31 for their 100th anniversary celebration;

• Councilor Linda Johnson asked where the city was with residents who had been asked to clean up their property. Johnson said she had been looking at the 2005 Strategic Plan and one of the key issues then was the nuisance properties, and it still is now.

Munkers said they had sent letters out, and some have made an effort to clean up and others haven’t. He added that the property owners were asked to submit a written time frame to clean up, and some haven’t met the time frame.

“That’s the problem, the council hasn’t done anything,” Johnson said. “We need to move forward to the next step.”

The council agreed to go move forward according to policy;

• Councilor Bill Renwick announced that the seats currently held by Johnson and Craig LaFollette as well as the seat vacated by Cody Hodges, would be up for election this November. LaFollette said he does plan on running again, while Johnson will not, as she has thrown her hat in the ring for the county commissioner’s race.

The next council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 28, at city hall.

By Dylan Thompson
Burns Times-Herald

The Hines Common Council met Tuesday, July 13, to continue the discussion over the Crack Seal Project.

At last month’s meeting, the council agreed to look over the streets of Hines to decide which streets were in the most need of repair.

After the inspection, the council reported that the 200, 300 and 400 blocks of North Saginaw, the first block from the highway of West Conley, and the section of Hilltop behind Hines Middle School were the most problematic streets.

Ron Williams of TopLoc stated that with the $40,000 budgeted toward the project, all of the streets considered a priority, as well as most of the streets in the original report, including East Barnes and Hanley, can be repaired.

The meeting’s new business was piloted by Yummy Meats and their request for a business license within the city of Hines. Yummy Meats home delivers meat and seafood that is USDA approved.

Based in Boise, Idaho, Yummy Meats claims that if a customer has any problem with packaging, they can call and get free exchange of meats. A representative of Yummy Meats stated that the company guarantees freshness, stating that all of the seafood originates from the northwest.

Police Chief Randy Cook gave his report, stating that his department has to reapply for a grant that would pay to add another officer, because there were mistakes in the original application.

Hines Volunteer Fire Chief Bob Spence also gave a report continuing to ask for the public’s vote to grant the Hines VFD a new truck. Citizens can vote at www.E-one.com.

Earl Hofman reported that his department had to clean a dead skunk out of the pipes around the sewer ponds, and that there were some problems with broken sprinklers at the parks.

In other business:

• the council received and filed Crimson Presley’s petition to keep chickens within city limits;

• the City of Hines agreed once again to sponsor the Red S Memorial Race during the Harney County Fair, Rodeo and Race Meet;

• the City of Hines would also like to remind the public to push the crosswalk button just outside City Hall before crossing Highway 20;

• Becky Cunningham of Rimrock Recycling issued a letter of intent to provide recycling bins for merchants;

• West Bank Church donated $100 to the new gazebo as a thank you for letting their band use Hines Park. The concert was a success;

• councilors Presley, Ray Breshears and Tom Choate were all notified that they would be up for re-election soon and that they needed to turn in their applications to be eligible.

The next Hines Common Council meeting will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 27, at city hall.

Taft Franklin recounts his Peace Corps experience in South America

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

Joining the Peace Corps may not be for everyone, but it turned out to be a pretty good fit for Taft Franklin.

Franklin returned to Harney County this past April after spending 27 months in Paraguay, and the experience provided him with a new perspective of what other Americans might view as an under-developed nation.

“People down there are really proud,” Franklin said. “They don’t see themselves as needing help. They’re hard-working and proud of it. They didn’t see me as someone who could come in and teach them  how to do things in a better way. They went about their daily routines with another foreigner, me, in their community.”

After graduating from Burns High School in 2002, Franklin earned his degree in microbiology from Oregon State University (OSU), graduating in 2007. Soon thereafter, Franklin signed on with the Peace Corps and in February 2008, he was on his way to Paraguay.

Along with the other Peace Corps volunteers assigned to the country, Franklin spent three months in Las Piedras, in the department (or state) of San Pedro for training.

Following training, the volunteers were then dispersed around the country to various towns and cities, and Franklin’s destination was Calle 10,000 Santa Teresa. “It was a town of about 200 people, and about 15 miles down a dirt road from any substantially sized town,” Franklin said. “The road was so bad, it would take about an hour and a half to go by bus  to the bigger town. In good weather, I could ride my bike to the other town in the same amount of time.”

Even though Franklin had studied the equivalent of four years of Spanish in high school and college, it didn’t really prepare him for his stint in Paraguay. “Ninety percent of the people speak Guaraní, the indigenous language,” Franklin said. “A lot of them speak Spanish too, but Guaraní is used for everyday conversation.”

Franklin added that Guaraní is basically a spoken language and has only recently been put into print.

Not being able to carry on an everyday conversation was one of the hardest obstacles Franklin encountered during his stay. “It was like being 2 years old again. Pointing at things because I didn’t know the word,” he said. “It took about six months before I was speaking it OK, and in about nine months I felt pretty comfortable speaking the language. It was nice when the people complimented me.”

Calle 10,000 Santa Teresa

Upon arriving in their destination cities, the volunteers were paired with a community leader, and for Franklin that meant staying with Ramon Pereira for a couple months before moving out on his own.

Franklin’s degree from OSU had qualified him as a rural health and sanitation volunteer in the Peace Corps, and that meant some of his duties would include teaching dental health, nutrition and parasite prevention in the school.

His main project however, turned out to be building cooking stoves, or ovens in the residences around town. “Most families used open fires in their homes,” Franklin said. We built the ovens, which made it healthier because the didn’t have all that smoke in their home, and it enabled them to bake in the houses.”

Franklin said they shaped the ovens’ bricks from dirt, which was then baked in the sun and then in an oven.

For the mortar, they dug down about a foot or so into the soil until they found clay. “Mixed with water, the clay made a good mortar,” Franklin said. “It wouldn’t have stood up if it was outside, but indoors for the ovens it worked great.”

When he wasn’t working, Franklin said some of his time was spent reading books and visiting neighbors. “It was just kind of a custom to visit other homes in the community every couple of days or so,” he said.

Because Calle 10,000 Santa Teresa is in a rural area, everybody in the community was involved in agriculture.

Franklin said homes sat on five-to-10 acre plots, made with wooden planks that had been hand-hewn with a chain saw, with roofs of tile, tin or grass.

While the infrastructure may be viewed as primitive by some, one technology that has permeated Calle 10,000 Santa Teresa is cell phones. Franklin said that just about every family has a cell phone that allows them to stay in touch with family and friends. “They don’t use it to chat for hours, but you do see them everywhere,” Franklin said.

Food and beverages

Getting used to another country’s cuisine is always a bit of a challenge, and so it was for Franklin in Paraguay.

Franklin said his first morning in Calle 10,000 Santa Teresa, when he was with Pereira, they butchered a cow, and “sold the meat. We kept the innards, made blood sausage and ate the tongue. Nothing goes to waste. I ate everything because I didn’t want to hurt their feelings.”

One of the main staples is the manioch root, which Franklin said is similar to a potato and served with almost every meal. “It’s like Paraguay’s national symbol, and I got to like it after a while,” he laughed.

Other common foods included pineapple, banana and corn. Franklin said they would buy their meat fresh and milked their own cattle.

Other staples, such as vegetables, flour, sugar and eggs were available at markets.

The traditional drink is yerba maté, a Paraguayan tea. Franklin said it was usually enjoyed hot in the early morning, and served cold later in the day. “Served cold, it’s called tereré,” Franklin said. “And the people are so knowledgeable about herbal medicine, they would put the herbs in the tereré that would help if you had a problem.”

New language, new foods, new people might have presented challenges to Franklin, but he walked away with a host of experiences and a new outlook on other countries. “I think it gave me a different perspective of the world. Everybody thinks the rest of the world is just like where they’re from and it’s not,” he said. “They don’t know what they don’t have, they emphasize and use what they do have. They may be poor by some standards, but they’re proud and appreciate what they have. There’s a difference between needs and wants.”

After spending more than two years away from home, Franklin plans to spend the summer in Harney County and move to Portland in the fall, where he has applied for medical school at Oregon Health Sciences University.

Members of the public have 45 days to review and comment

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a Draft Environmental Impact Study (EIS) evaluating the transmission line and related Greater Echanis Wind Projects visual and general impacts on the environment and wilderness experience. The Draft EIS notes that the projects — on private land — will only be visible from a tiny fraction of the Steens wilderness area. Turbines from the permitted Echanis Project would be visible from just 0.4 percent of the 170,000-acre Steens Wilderness.

The BLM’s impact study of the Harney County projects evaluates:

• Direct impacts of the transmission line across federal lands;

• Indirect impacts of a permitted 104 megawatt wind farm on private land; and

• Cumulative impacts of three additional wind farms proposed for private land.

The Draft EIS is available at www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns/index.php BLM’s Burns District website.

“Our projects will help the region move forward on renewable energy while protecting one of Oregon’s special places,” said Chris Crowley, CEO of Columbia Energy Partners, developers of the renewable energy projects.

“Today’s study from the BLM offers the first comprehensive analysis of how our projects minimize their visual and environmental impacts on the Steens while bringing economic vitality to one of the most depressed regions in the state.”

The Greater Echanis projects will produce enough renewable energy to power more than 120,000 homes while driving $1 billion of private investment into an area struggling with near Depression-level unemployment.

No wind turbines will be placed inside the Steens Mountain Wilderness or on restricted public lands. The projects will comply with all environmental laws and safeguards while remaining out of sight from all but a handful of locations in the 175,000 acres of Steens Mountain Wilderness.

The wind projects are located on private property outside of the Steens Wilderness. Last month, Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Council unanimously rejected efforts by project opponents to add new restrictions on private lands adjacent to the wilderness area. Judge Steve Grasty of Harney County stressed that the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protective Act of 2000 protects the Steens area while explicitly allowing responsible economic development on private property outside the area.

“The Steens Wilderness was designed to fit natural boundaries created by the terrain,” Judge Grasty said.

“That’s how these projects can help Harney County create green jobs without sacrificing our natural heritage.”

The Greater Echanis projects offer a county facing 18.9 percent unemployment an opportunity to become part of the renewable energy economy.

“These projects will help expand Oregon’s pool of trained green-collar workers,” said Clif Davis, business manager and financial secretary of IBEW Local 48. “And they will harness some of the best wind resources in the state while driving economic benefits into one of its poorest counties.”

The public will have 45 days to review and comment on the Draft EIS. After the comment period, the BLM and cooperating agencies will work with the independent contractor responsible for the study to analyze and respond in a Final EIS (FEIS). The BLM expects to issue the FEIS in the fall.

Clean Water Act mandates pollution control targets

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

After about four years of testing and research, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has come up with a plan for reducing water pollution in the Malheur River Basin and Middle Snake-Payette Sub-basin.

John Dadoly from the DEQ in Pendleton attended the Harney County Court meeting on Wednesday, July 7, to discuss the plan with the court and answer questions.

The federal Clean Water Act requires DEQ to develop a plan with goals and pollution control targets for improving water quality in watersheds where water quality standards are not met. Dadoly explained that the standards are set by establishing limits known as Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for each pollutant entering the water.

Dadoly discussed how TMDLs of temperature, bacteria and phosphorus can affect water quality and what steps can be taken to reduce TMDLs.

When asked about how the DEQ would go about enforcing measures to improve water quality, Dadoly said it was a voluntary basis for now, and any regulatory action would have to come from the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

The court asked how different conditions, such as drought, extended high temperatures and hot springs, might affect the water quality.

The court also had concerns that once the plan had been adopted, the intent of the plan might be twisted by environmental groups to curb agriculture in some areas.

The court did want to submit comments on the plan and agreed they would get something drafted to submit before the plan is approved.

Malheur National Forest District Ranger Elaine Kohrman and Drewsey rancher Jeff Hussey were present to ask the court for assistance in monitoring grazing allotments in the Malheur Forest.

Both Kohrman and Hussey said the monitoring was key to withstanding a lawsuit by the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) against the grazing permittees.

Kohrman said staff had been cut this year, and they were asking for funds to help pay for monitoring. “We need to have five years of data to show the court things are improving on the ground,” Kohrman said.

Hussey stated that he wanted to get people from ONDA, as well as experts out to the sites to show them the improvements resulting from what the ranchers are doing.

Kohrman added that the merits of their case would be  decided on this year’s results.

Kohrman said they were asking for $5,000 split between Harney and Grant counties.

Harney County Judge Steve Grasty said his concern was that if they let the monitoring go away, there could be three more area ranchers facing court challenges.

“We’d not only be helping these guys out, but helping the industry,” Commissioner Dan Nichols said. “We need to continue to help our resources.”

The court voted to donate $2,500 to be used for the ranchers’ monitoring.

The court discussed Resolution No. 2010-14 regarding the sale of county land by private sale.

The sale would involve two small tax lots in the North Broadway area which border private property. Judge Grasty said if they used lot-line adjustments, they could sell off the land to the contiguous landowners.

The court approved the resolution and said they would contact the landowners to see if they could work out the private sale.

In other business, the court:

• appointed John Copenhaver and Virginia Tabor to the Harney County Commission on Children and Families and approved the commission’s by-laws;

• approved the application from Richard and Marilyn Musser for an approach off Sunset Valley Lane;

• held a discussion regarding the possibility of Oregon State University (OSU) restructuring Extension services. Grasty said it would appear that the new OSU president is moving away from some of the school’s rural focus, and there was the possibility that OSU would ask experiment stations to come up with 25 percent of their funding locally. “Once again, it’s urban versus rural,” Grasty said.

“This is a joke if they think rural areas are going to come up with 25 percent of funding,” Commissioner Nichols said;

• reviewed a draft of a resolution requesting Oregon’s Congressional delegation to stop any and all action on new wilderness until such time as the issues associated with proximity to wilderness are resolved. The court agreed to move the legislative concept ahead.

The next county court meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 21, at the courthouse.

Historic preservationist enjoys repairing structures that provide link to past

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

The best compliment one can pay historic preservationist John Platz is to not notice his work.

Platz and his wife, Lorraine, run Pilgrim’s Progress, a business that strives to preserve historic buildings. They are currently working on restoring the roof at the Pete French Round Barn. Subcontractors include Rainbow Contracting out of Hillsboro and Budd Landon Masonry out of Kuna, Idaho.

Platz noted that the hardest part of historic preservation work is trying to find appropriate materials with which to repair the rotted or deteriorated originals.

For example, the 80,000 shingles on the round barn roof came from a mill in Washington that produces perfection grade shingles, which have no knots. Platz noted that roof and rafter repair on the round barn has not been done since the late 1800s.

In addition to replacing the roof, masons are also working on repairing some of the structure’s stone walls.

They had to test 30 samples of adobe-style mortar to find the right color and consistency specific to the round barn. In fact, they ended up using soil for the mixture that was not far from where the round barn sits.

Platz has done quite a bit of work on the Pete French Round Barn, as well as other barns in Harney County.

He did the initial stabilization work back in 1995. The current project started on June 24 and Platz expects the crews to be done with work by the end of July. The entire project will cost about $241,000.

Platz truly enjoys historic preservation. He grew up in a family of builders and has a civil engineering background, which he utilized as a forest architect for the Forest Service. Along the way, he discovered the Secretary of the Interior standards for historic preservation, and it sparked his interest in the field. He put together a team of people and became one of the only historic preservation services in the nation. “The credo that we adhere to is that we repair rather than replace,” he said. “The greatest compliment a historic preservationist can receive is for visitors to come look and say, ‘I don’t know what you did,’ ” Platz said.

Platz and his wife have also provided instruction for college master’s students in field schools. He said that over the years, they have trained more than 1,500 students in historic preservation techniques.

He estimates that in total, he has spent a total of one year and nine months on various projects at the Pete French Round Barn. “It’s a wonderful building,” Platz said. The structure has lasted more than 130 years on the high desert thanks to the dry climate. “Over in the valley, this kind of building would last 60 to 70 years tops,” he said.

It’s fun for Platz and his fellow workers to speculate on the round barn’s original purpose. He noted that he has heard that it was used for training horses in the winter, hay storage and animal husbandry. He wonders if there used to be any other outbuildings that simply deteriorated over the years.

Platz said that he enjoys the collaboration of historic preservation. He has known Bob Schmaltz of Rainbow Construction for more than 40 years. “The common thread is that people do care about preservation,” he said.

Pilgrim’s Progress is a dream job for Platz. “We have a lot of fun,” he said. “For my wife and I, it’s an honor to work on these structures.”