Sorted by date Results 201 - 225 of 315
To the Editor, I am writing in response to the letter to Gilliam County from Rachel Boyer in last week’s Times Journal. Gilliam County is audited yearly. These audits are kept in the Gilliam County Clerk's Office for public view. You will find no adverse findings. As an elected official, I welcome the investigation of “several” agencies. Rachel, I wish you the best in your future endeavors. —Ellen Wagenaar, Condon...
By Trysten Lofthouse, 4-H Student Reporter The “Super Swine” 4-H hog club met on March 21 at 6pm at the 4-H pavilion. All swine club members were present. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Clyde, 4-H Pledge by Zane. Who has pigs? Trysten, Marie, Mark. We passed out the Barn Bible and talked about daily work with pigs, and learned how to properly brush the pig’s hair. We discussed getting our ideas started for next meeting. We learned about nutrition and played Swine Jeopa...
April 4, 2024 10 years ago— Senator Ron Wyden will be back in Fossil to conduct his 700th town hall in the seat of Wheeler County, where by the way, he conducted his first town hall session as a United States Senator in 1996. The C-W Knights girls’ basketball team was invited to the Portland Trailblazer game for their ‘State Champions Night’. The team was given tickets in the 100 level to enjoy the game against the New Orleans Pelicans. All 14 members of the JV and Varsity teams were able to attend, along with their coaches....
Dear Editor, It is disheartening to witness a recurring trend in our political landscape: individuals seeking elected positions with no intention of fulfilling their terms. This unethical practice not only undermines the trust of the electorate but also deprives voters of their rightful voice in governance. Whether it's judges, sheriffs, county commissioners, or other officials, the decision to run for office knowing that one will not complete their term is a betrayal of public trust. Elected positions are not stepping...
Letter to the Editor: I have been reading and listening to the comments made by the Elected County Court members and other folks about a total County shutdown if the recall is successful in removing some of the officials. Basically, the lights will have to be turned off and everyone will need to go home due to not having an operational budget in place! This is totally avoidable, I call on the Elected County Officials to step up and do the job duties of your station and move forward with implementing an emergency budget or...
Judge Elizabeth Farrar Campbell presented a million dollar (actually $1,143,600) contract for Court approval on February 7th. It was NOT approved. But if it had been, more than a million dollars would have gone to a Portland firm in exchange for 9,500 hours spent consulting 10 county organizations over the next three years. When asked, Judge Campbell was either unwilling or unable to identify the targeted organizations. Seems like a lot of money for an extraordinary number of hours. More disturbing is the fact Campbell’s p...
The Wingin’ It Poultry 4-H Club met March 11, 2024 at 5:40 at the Gilliam County Fairgrounds. Leader Aubrey Gibson discussed the upcoming field trip to Spring Classic at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond on April 27th. We also talked about dates to get turkeys and meat chickens for fair. The last item of discussion was the Small Animal Clinic being held at the Gilliam County Fairgrounds on April 19th. Maggie Justice will be sharing her knowledge of chickens, t...
BY OLIVIA BURBANK 4-H Student Reporter The Terrific Tomatoes 4-H Gardening Club met on March 18 at 6pm at the Extension office. Attending were: Erin, Isaiah, Sebastian, Avery, Andrew, Sara, Evan, Aeden, Olivia. Excused: Kinley, Roper, Harley. Pledge of Allegiance by Avery, 4-H Pledge by Sebastian. What we did during the meeting: talked about different family families and how plans diseases can spread to other members of that family, talked about what plants are in each...
I met another dead man this week. Actually, I met his three lovely children this week in beautiful Loudonville, New York. I definitely met his books, 5,541 of them, if truth be told, and several piles of ephemera (Life magazines, W.W.I.I.-era newspapers, signed posters and the like). After about nine months of back-and-forth by e-mail and Facebook Private Messenger spent in the making of nicey-nice and in anticipation I flew into Albany, rented a car and pulled up eventually t...
March 28, 2024 10 years ago— Sherman County Historical Society Board of Trustees has announced that the museum has received a generous grant from the Sherman Development League. It was obvious there wasn’t enough work space for work being done with photos and artifact collections. With the grant the volunteers redesigned their space, and added a computer workstation. A crowd of about 120 Arlington area residents gathered at the Arlington Grade School cafeteria to learn more about investigations into recent arson and cri...
To the Editor: I am working on my family history and two of the best years of my life were spent at 636th Radar Station in Condon, Oregon in the years 1968-1970. Back when your great paper was the “Condon Globe Times.” Many articles from then fill my scrapbook. I am feeling nostalgivc and wanted to write and let you know how much I loved your little town and my time at Condon High School. It was with such sadness that I had to leave before my Senior year when the base closed. I don’t know how many of my friends are still...
Thinking about the past week. Last week began in Salem participating in two Zoom interviews with applicants for a new Gilliam County position. Monday afternoon at AOC for the Health and Human Services Summit #5. Rushing home Tuesday morning and a telephone meeting while on the road with Trever Berry from CCS discussing best use for BHRN funding in Gilliam County. MCEDD meeting at 1:00 in the Gronquist Building and discussed adding the County to the MCEDD Strategic Plan becoming part of their economic development district....
Dear Editor: I believe I feel the same way many of your readers do. It is time to stop polishing the “what’s wrong” and get on with, “beginning to fix.” I suggest the following, at least, to get solution-thinking started. If something like this is already in the works. I apologize, and plead, my ongoing concern for a place I care about deeply. The existing County Court has the ability to begin that process. 1. They can appoint a volunteer Commission ( or any title they choose) of citizens to begin the process of Rebuildin...
Dear Gilliam County, I am writing to encourage the citizens of Gilliam County to ask some critical questions of your incumbent elected officials, including those who are going to be on your ballot for the May primary election. I have been the Finance Director at Gilliam County since July 10, 2023. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA), and I am a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). I have over 20 years of experience in Accounting/Finance and spent the last 8 years try...
To the Editor The Elizabethan Era was when many historic plays and tragedies we all studied in school were written. Gilliam County is now nearing the end of our own tragedy (play) with our own Queen Elizabeth Farrar Campbell. Her court Jester has been Commissioner Pat Shannon, playing the lead role. First year Lady in Waiting Leah Watkins, with only a little over a year's experience, has played an excellent supporting role. Commissioner Leah Watkins appears to be changing her role, however, from Lady in Waiting to Aspiring...
To the Editor and Gilliam County Voters, Yesterday, I filed paperwork with the Gilliam County Clerk’s Office requesting the voters allow me to continue serving them as Gilliam County Judge through the remainder of my term, which ends in January. Today, I am asking for your help in defeating this divisive and reckless waste of taxpayer resources by voting “no” on the recall election. One of the Chief Petitioners, Ms. Parm, has stated this effort is driven by her belief the people of Gilliam County should be able to “voic...
To the Editor, Currently recall petitioners have gathered enough signatures to submit to the County Clerk. A special recall election could potentially remove 2 of the 3 court members. The following are facts voters should consider as they cast their ballots, the effects of which could be devastating and long lasting for our county. If the recall is successful it will result in an emergency shut down of all county services, including furloughing all county employees. Elected Officials may choose to open their respective...
To the Editor, My name is Jim Hassing and I am running for Gilliam County Judge. I have lived in Gilliam County most of my life. Spent three years in U.S. Army, six-time Exalted Ruler of the Condon Elks Lodge. I am going on ten years as Mayor of Condon. Right now with the way the county tax percentage distribution schedule is setup, there is a large difference between the North and South. Which is the Health, School, and Fire District. I feel the county can make up the difference so they are both equal between the north and...
One of my favorite memories of growing up was going to Mrs. Eden’s house for the annual Easter egg party. Mrs. Eden and her husband were retired and they loved kids. We loved every minute of making a big mess in her kitchen. When we were finished decorating the eggs, we ate a rabbit cake that had a pink gumdrop nose, licorice eyes and coconut fur. Down the street we went with a basket full of colorful hardboiled eggs. After Easter comes and goes, your fridge might overflow wit...
There has been a question asked, Why not RECALL Leah Watkins? Our answer, She's only been in her job for 1 year and we were hoping she might become an effective Commissioner. And the reason why we're still recalling The County Judge Farrar and Commissioner Shannon is they’ve been working on Radical changes to our County Court structure with little to no input from the public. They would still have the remainder of 2024 in the office to do more irreversible and costly damage to our County. There have been seventeen employee t...
Last week I left you hanging by a thread. What would happen to this unique “cut-and-paste” Bible? How on earth was $3,277 too high a cost to publish such a masterpiece of bricolage? As do many good ideas, it died on the House floor. When Iowa Congressman John Fletcher Lacey took to it in defense of his proposal in joint with Professor Cyrus Adler, his fellow Republican, Charles H. Grosvenor of Ohio, rose to complain, but Lacey replied, "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth...
It’s been brought to my attention that maybe some have no idea that there are two 6 bedroom homes in Condon that are set up for transient work forces. We have been housing workers for nearly 5 years. The average cost per person with just 5 people is 480$ a month. These rent for $2,400 for 5 persons to $3,000 for 6 persons a month with ALL utilities, fully furnished, linens, cookware and paper products. Garbage and wifi also. We were happy to host Jessica Lynch and family the first month they were here in a smaller unit u...
My friend Jerry makes the best fish and chips ever! Since I live in the middle of nowhere, I can’t run down to the local Skippers or beach fish house every time I want to eat those. So, I asked Jerry to teach me how to make them. Fish and chips are incredibly easy to cook and there are just a few dishes to wash. Jerry has a Fry Daddy deep fat fryer made by Presto which makes deep fat frying remarkably easy. There is no temperature control to fiddle around with and it’s sim...
To the Editor and Gilliam County residents, Rural counties across America are fortunate to be relatively peaceful places in a country increasingly divided by opposing viewpoints and even violence. But what is it that sets us apart? I believe it comes from a deeper tolerance of our differences and personal accountability to each other. In rural areas there are fewer of us to get the job done and make things work. Small counties and towns survive because we are communities of volunteers who pull together regardless of our...
Home values in Oregon have been some of the most expensive in the country for many years. High value homes have traditionally been confined to the Portland metro area, the Willamette Valley and along the Oregon Coast. But in rural areas of the state, average home values have typically been much lower. Affordable land, housing, and a cheaper cost of living have attracted people to the region since the time of the pioneers. But with home values growing exponentially in Central...
