Articles from the September 12, 2024 edition


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  • Firefighters turn corner on Shoe Fly Fire near Mitchell

    Updated Sep 13, 2024

    MITCHELL, Ore. – Crews on the Shoe Fly Fire continue to work into the interior of the fire from the perimeter, creating an area of cold black adjacent to the fireline. The fire has reached 65% containment with significant portions of the fire in patrol status and all areas with a minimum of 100 feet mopped up from the perimeter into the interior of the fire. Today, crews will focus on areas with larger fuels that may still be holding heat and fire. With the return of warm w...

  • ODOT proposes closing Condon, Spray facilities

    Stephen Allen|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    Road crews with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) provide essential services in the region. Winter conditions require local ODOT crews to manage remote and dangerous state highways. But recently, ODOT leadership released preliminary plans to close maintenance facilities in Spray and Condon. Those plans are now under scrutiny and are getting pushback. During the Gilliam County Court meeting on September 4, Gilliam County Judge Cris Patnode said that ODOT's...

  • House Republicans call for changes to wildfire prevention policies

    Press Release|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    SALEM, OR - House Republican Leader Jeff Helfrich (R-Hood River) and state Representatives Ed Diehl (R-Stayton) and E. Werner Reschke (R-Klamath Falls) are calling for legislative action to improve wildfire prevention and suppression efforts next session. Oregon has recently experienced severe wildfires, covering over 1.5 million acres - the largest area in the United States. "Lives, property, and livestock are lost when fires ravage our state. This is the direct consequence...

  • Young Mitchell resident found shot

    Mac Stinchfield|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    From the Times-Journal, September 29, 1994 A 23-year old Mitchell man has died from an apparent gun-shot wound in southern Wheeler County, according to Wheeler County District Attorney Thomas Cutsforth. James Phillip Brooks went for a horseback ride on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 20. He was reported missing Wednesday afternoon, and the Sheriff's Search and Rescue team commenced a search of the remote area which continued throughout the night. Additional resources,...

  • Gilliam Co. Court weighs childcare investment fund structure

    Stephen Allen|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    Helping early learning centers and ensuring that quality childcare is available to people in Gilliam County is a key goal for the Gilliam County Court. The previous Gilliam County Court created a resolution to create an investment fund for childcare centers in the county. At last week's Gilliam County Court meeting, the court discussed how this effort would be structured and what role the county should play in managing the funds. In 2022, the Gilliam County Court began...

  • Merkley, Wyden: $16.1 million federal investment will jumpstart economic development, job training in Eastern Oregon

    Press Release|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that $16,100,000 is coming to Baker and Union counties to support communities located near a proposed new transmission line in Eastern Oregon. The funds will support job training programs, as well as economic development projects for housing, business development, and improved regional infrastructure. "This critical funding will help ensure that Eastern Oregon's electricity needs are met for...

  • Wildfires ravage Wheeler County

    Stephen Allen|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    Cooler temperatures and favorable weather are on the way for Wheeler County, giving hope to firefighters and locals who have confronted multiple wildfires this summer. More than 10 fires are burning in parts of Wheeler County as of press time. Nearly 160,000 acres have burned in Wheeler County, starting with the Lone Rock Fire in July. New fires, including the Buckhorn Fire which began on Monday, have sprung up and fires from neighboring counties have spread into Wheeler...

  • Gilliam County gives $150K for virtual fencing to fire impacted producers

    Stephen Allen|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    Cattle producers in Gilliam County got a show of support from the Gilliam County Court, which has pledged $150,000 to help pilot a virtual fencing technology for producers impacted by the Lone Rock Fire. More than 300 miles of fence burned during the Lone Rock Fire. Cattle ranchers have had to move livestock to other areas and to buy extra feed. The Natural Resource Conservation Service district is working with the federal government to get funds to those impacted by fires...

  • Oregon High School Rodeo kicks off fall season

    Updated Sep 11, 2024

    Oregon High School Rodeo kicked off the 2024 fall season in Yoncalla on August 23 & 24. The Columbia Basin High School Rodeo Club was well represented by a small but mighty contingent. On Saturday, Reagan Martin of North Powder lead the way with a third place pole bending run of 22.163. Arlington's Colt Gronquist finished seventh in the team roping with Paxton Otley, turning in a 14.07 time. He also placed ninth in the tie down roping. Molly Davis tied her goat in 9.56, good...

  • Oregon embarks on new drug rehabilitation program

    Press Release|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    Oregon City, OR - On Sunday, Oregon will take a significant step in addressing its drug crisis with the launch of the Oregon Drug Intervention Program (ODIP) following the passage of House Bill 4002 earlier this year. This new law, championed by Rep. Annessa Hartman (D-Oregon City and Gladstone), represents a balanced approach to combating substance abuse by recriminalizing small drug possession while prioritizing treatment and recovery over incarceration. "I've spoken with...

  • Gilliam County approves drug deflection program with CCS

    Stephen Allen|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    Gilliam County is moving ahead with a deflection program in partnership with Community Counseling Solutions – but Sherman and Wheeler County have opted out of this new program. After Measure 110 was rescinded and hard drugs were recriminalized under HB 4002 – funds that were dedicated to drug treatment were kept in place. The structure outlined in HB 4002 gave counties the option to participate in deflection programs, which would provide treatment options in lieu of jail tim...

  • Feds approve $11.5 million for literacy instruction

    Alex Baumhardt - Oregon Capital Chronicle|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    Oregon's highest needs schools that are focused on revamping literacy instruction and boosting student reading proficiency will get federal financial help next year. The U.S. Department of Education announced last week that it will send Oregon schools $11.5 million next school year, and could potentially allocate up to $57 million over the next five years to help the state's Early Literacy Success Initiative. That initiative was passed by the Legislature in 2023 with an...

  • Oh, I just love the smell of old books, Part One

    Lawrence J. Hammar|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    No, you don’t. “I have a Kindle, but I like the physical book in my hands.” Right. “I’ll be back.” No, you won’t. “Is that your best price?” Do you price-haggle in Two Boys Meat & Grocery? Never have I sold a book to such persons, and they darken the doorways of my open-shop bookseller friends, too. Such persons, if they buy books at all, buy them from an Amazon warehouse, not from an independent bookshop. They believe (because they have heard) assertions that the Covid-19...

  • Dawn's Power Bars

    Isabel Montclaire|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    I recently ate one of Dawn Garcia’s yummy power bars, a healthful cookie packed full of nutrient-dense superfoods. You can eat these cookies with a guilt-free conscious, knowing you are providing your body with true nourishment. One of the reasons I like this recipe is because there is only one bowl to wash. Power Bars 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup brown sugar ½ cup sugar 2 large eggs 2 tbsp heavy cream or half and half 1 tsp vanilla ½ tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda ½ cup almo...

  • Days of Yore: September 12, 2024

    Days of Yore|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    Days of Yore for September 12, 2024 10 years ago— Lee and Karen Kaseberg celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary August 19. They celebrated this momentous occasion with a cruise through the Inland Passage in Alaska accompanied by their children and grandchildren. Sherman County author Jane Kirkpatrick has been named a finalist in the 2011 Willa Literary Awards. The award was named for outstanding American author Willa Cather and recognizes outstanding literature featuring wo...

  • City of Condon draws a red line for Condon Community Pool

    Stephen Allen|Updated Sep 11, 2024

    The Condon Community Pool has provided people from Condon and the surrounding area with a quality source of entertainment and exercise for many years. But after several years of climbing costs to maintain the pool, the Condon City Council is asking for significant upgrades to be made. The Condon swimming pool was built sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s. It is owned by the Condon School District. In 2011, the City of Condon established a partnership with the Condon...