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As Oregon faces a record-breaking wildfire season, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has reached out to hunters, expressing concerns about the significant impacts on wildlife, habitats, and the upcoming fall hunting opportunities. In a recent communication to current hunting license holders, ODFW acknowledged the challenges posed by the fires and outlined steps being taken to address them. For many hunters, the anticipation of the fall hunting season is the...
School is back in session in Arlington, Fossil, Spray, Mitchell, and in Sherman County – and will start in Condon next week. Parents and kids are getting back into the routine, and many kids are starting in their first year of Kindergarten. Enrollment numbers for the schools are fairly consistent with those in previous years. Sherman County, which is a combined school for all students in the county, eclipsed 200 students in the grade school and junior high this year – wit...
Is there anything better than a "coffee" sign for the weary driver or sleep deprived worker or parent? Coffee drive-through huts are seemingly everywhere in cities like Bend and in thoroughfares like Sisters. Throughout the Northwest, motorists que up in their cars, waiting to place their order. Now, folks looking to get a caffeine fix in Condon can do so at Conaway Coffee, located just off of Main Street and Highway 206 by Oregon Street. Sarah Conaway has thought about...
Senator Ron Wyden returned from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last week to hold townhalls in Enterprise on Friday and in Condon on Saturday. Senator Wyden, who started his career in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1981, and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996, was introduced by Condon City Councilman Tom Fatland. Wyden began by saying that he has been committed to visiting every county in Oregon and that holding townhalls to engage with constituents...
Gilliam County Sheriff Gary Bettencourt attended the Sheriffs' Association of Texas 2024 Conference in Fort Worth over July 22-23rd. Sheriff Bettencourt was elected as the Western States Sheriffs' Association President this spring. While at the conference in Texas, Sheriff Bettencourt gave an award to Texas Governor Greg Abbott to recognize his work on border security. In addition to highlighting issues at the southern border, the conference also worked on a number of...
Oregon State University's Extension Service in Gilliam County has welcomed a new addition: Skyler Palmer, who was hired as the new Agriculture Outreach Coordinator earlier this summer. But Palmer is not a newcomer to the area. Skyler, who grew up between Condon and Heppner near Hardman, was raised on a cattle ranch and wheat farm. He worked with his dad and learned about agriculture. After graduating from Heppner High School, Skyler moved to Idaho and received a bachelor's deg...
Part 2 of a series that explores the challenges and potential solutions for ambulatory services in Wheeler, Gilliam, and Sherman counties Last week we covered the crisis unfolding in Fossil with its volunteer ambulance crew. In Fossil, the two remaining Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) resigned in July. The Fossil City Council oversees the volunteer ambulance and has been searching for answers. Similarly, in Spray, fewer people have stepped up to volunteer with Emergency...
A beloved boat thought to have been built in 1938, sank quickly in Arlington on August 14. "The Mermaid" had been docked in the Port of Arlington's Marina for about eight years. Its owner, who lives in Goldendale, is thought to have taken it out the day before. Local residents first noticed that the wooden boat was taking on water early on August 14th. Within hours, the ship had noticeably dipped below the water's surface. The boat hung onto the side of the marina's boardwalk,...
Grant Wilkins has been juggling a lot of things in the past couple of months. In May, Wilkins won the primary election for Gilliam County Commissioner #2. Just weeks before the primary, a recall election ousted Pat Shannon from office. Wilkins knew that he'd be pushed to start his term before January of 2024. This came to fruition when he was appointed to the role in mid-June. As a Control Operator with Portland General Electric, where he has worked for the last 24 years, Wilk...
At a public hearing at Arlington City Hall last week, the Arlington City Council shared that a buyer had offered $10.1 million to purchase approximately 375 acres of land near the airport, at the Mesa above Arlington. The property, located at 801 Airport Road, has been zoned for industrial use, but no information about the potential buyer was offered at the hearing or at the city council meeting that followed. The council sat tight-lipped as several members of the public...
The Arlington City Council met on Wednesday, August 7, 2024. In addition to the public hearing for the proposed sale of property at the Arlington Mesa Industrial Park, several other topics were discussed by the council. Marta Mikkalo shared that the Arlington Public Library is considering moving under the umbrella of the county, and potentially calling itself the Gilliam Co. North End Library. Mikkalo noted that the Gilliam County Library budget in Condon got $48K more for...
TONED OUT: Emergency Medical Services Part 1 of a series that explores the challenges and potential solutions for ambulatory services in Wheeler, Gilliam, and Sherman counties. The Wheeler Co. Fair and Rodeo was held last week in Fossil, and people throughout the area traveled to the Wheeler County Fairgrounds for the time-honored tradition. By all appearances, everything went off without a hitch. But behind the scenes, volunteers with the fair board were scrambling to find an...
The Lone Rock Fire is one of the largest wildfires to ever burn in Central Oregon. It burned 137,222 acres and required support from local volunteers, fire districts, and state and federal fire agencies. The heroism of local volunteers prevented the destruction of Lonerock and Spray. Dozens of homes and ranches were saved as a result. In the coming weeks, the impacted areas will continue to be monitored for flare-ups. Although most firefighters have left the area, the work for...
Volunteers with the Condon Food Pantry are celebrating this week as they have moved to a new location in Condon. For about 30 years, the Condon Food Pantry has been housed inside St. John Catholic Church's parish. Due to an increasing demand for food for families in the area, the food bank has struggled with limited space inside the parish hall. Kolona Martin, President of the Condon Food Pantry Board, was smiling ear to ear on Monday of this week, as volunteers helped to...
An Emergency Medical Technician with North Gilliam Medic was tragically killed in a car accident on July 16. Richard Hernandez, a 34 year old man from Boardman, was on his way to work at his second job in Morrow County when he was in a head-on collision on Bombing Range Road near Boardman. He passed away at the site of the crash. Hernandez had been with North Gilliam Medic for about eight months. Hernandez grew up in Boardman and graduated from Riverside High School. North...
One of the largest responses to wildfires in the region is winding down. Firefighters and logistics personnel from the Lonerock Fire are moving on to other fires that are ravaging Oregon and the West. The U.S. Forest Service Incident Management Team will be demobilizing the Incident Command Post in Condon over the next few days. The Gilliam County Fairgrounds has served as the command center for the Lonerock Fire since it burned out of control on July 13. At one point, more...
A few years ago Dr. Matthew Green published London: a travel guide through time, a guide to travel guides in fact, in this case to London’s high-point architecture and its soft-underbelly of vice and depravity. I have a book in my inventory, Trivia: or, the art of walking the streets of London, published first in 1712, my copy having been published in 1716. It’s a book that was penned in various forms and editions by “Mr Gay,” Mr. John Gay (1682-1732), the author of several...
The Wheeler County Fair kicked off this week in Fossil and people near and far are turning out to celebrate. The fair began in 1914 and is now a hallmark of North Central Oregon. This year's them is Growing Generation to Generation. The 2024 Grand Marshal is Painted Hills Natural Beef. Now one of the most recognizable brands in Oregon, Painted Hills Natural Beef started in the mid-1990's in living rooms of area cattle ranchers who were concerned about their livelihood....
The Lonerock Fire was brought under control after a harrowing two weeks that tested federal, state, and local fire response. As of press time, the fire is at 77% containment and has burned 137,221 acres. For many local volunteers who worked days on end to protect homes and property, some much-needed sleep and time with family awaits. For firefighters, it is off to the next blaze – as Oregon and Washington are now using half of the nation's firefighting crews. As of July 28, t...
Organizers of the 50th Annual Shaniko Days are excited to welcome people to Oregon's favorite ghost town this Friday through Sunday – August 2nd – 4th. But maybe it's time to drop the "ghost town" title – as the town has seen a significant amount of investment and cultural developments in recent years. There's no doubt that Shaniko used to be a big deal. The little town that sits just off of Highway 97 north of Madras was once a boom town and was positioned to be one of the la...
The Port of Arlington's A-Town Throwdown 3 on 3 basketball tournament and the Port of Arlington's Show 'N Shine Car Show was held last Saturday. It was a pinch yourself, I might be dreaming kind of day as temperatures hovered in the low 80s with an overcast sky. Both events had a smaller turnout than last year, but organizers were expecting as much due to the wildfires in the area. The A-Town Throw Down 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament was played on the basketball courts by the Po...
The old Condon Baseball field housing development saw a burst of activity in July – as foundations for two more developments were poured and a duplex completed framing and roofing work. A sidewalk was also finished on Jefferson Street. The old baseball field was gifted to the City of Condon from the Condon School District in 2021. The city sold the property, six lots in total, to developer Amy Coy, who built one house and sold the other five lots. The city required d...
The cool temperatures provided relief to fire-stricken communities last week, but the hot weather is set to return, starting this Thursday. The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings for the region on Tuesday, and temperatures will hover near 100 degrees by Friday. In Spray, temperatures will climb to 102 degrees on Thursday and 104 degrees on Friday, before dipping back to the mid 90s on Saturday and Sunday. In Fossil, forecasts call for temperatures around...
What began as a small fire on grassland just outside of Lonerock in Gilliam County has become one of the largest wildfires in Oregon's history. The Lonerock Fire has now burned more than 130,000 acres of grassland, pastures, timber, and structures – carving a swath of destruction through Gilliam, Wheeler, and Morrow counties. The fire has surpassed the Archie Creek Fire from 2020 and is Oregon's 20th largest wildfire. As of press time, the Lonerock Fire has burned 131,407 a...
The Eastern Oregon Pioneers Association has canceled the annual Pioneer Picnic, which was scheduled for this Saturday, July 27. The annual event was established in 1900 by a group of pioneers and their descendants. Due to the wildfires in Wheeler County, organizers decided to cancel this year's picnic. Held at the Julia Henderson Pioneer Park in Wheeler County, the Pioneer Picnic is steeped in tradition and history. In its early years, the Pioneer Picnic was also a sleepover....
