Articles from the May 16, 2024 edition


Sorted by date  Results 1 - 17 of 17

  • District Attorney Report for Wheeler County

    Gretchen Ladd, Wheeler County District Attorney|Updated Jun 24, 2024

    On September 8, 2023, Katen Von Blalack of Prineville, Oregon, pled guilty to Reckless Driving, a Class A Misdemeanor committed on March 28, 2023. The matter was investigated by OSP Trooper David Sprouffske, with assistance from OSP Troopers Blood, McCosker and Timko. The matter occurred on Highway 26, about 5 miles east of Mitchell. Judge Olson sentenced Mr. Blalack to 24 months' probation, suspended his driver's license for 90 days, ordered him to complete an Oregon...

  • DAYS OF YORE: May 16, 2024

    Updated May 22, 2024

    Days of Yore for May 16, 2024 10 years ago— A group of fun-lovers from throughout the Northwest made their 25th spring time pilgrimage to Shelton Park in Wheeler County recently. Without a place to carry out their sport of bowling ball shooting, park hosts Larry and Susan Snyder took the gang to their Gilliam County ranch southeast of Condon where the home-built black powder cannon was touched off 12 times, each time launching a bowling ball, approximately 3500 feet. They call their trip their annual Fossil Camp Out. This y...

  • Condon wins first District Track and Field Championship in 53 years

    Stephen Allen|Updated May 22, 2024

    The Condon Blue Devils made history last week, as the boys Track and Field Team won the 1A - District 3 Championships held in Maupin. It marked the first District Championship for the Condon Men's Track and Field Team since 1971. The Blue Devils didn't look back and dominated the competition in Maupin and are well positioned going into the State Track Championships in Eugene this week. With a score of 84.5, the Blue Devils boys team easily bested South Wasco (68), Trout Lake...

  • Your Vote: Primary Elections May 21

    Stephen Allen|Updated May 22, 2024

    It's election season and people in the tri-county area must finalize their primary ballots and have them mailed or submitted by May 21. County Clerks in Wheeler, Gilliam, and Sherman are preparing for the primary elections and several pivotal races will determine the future of each county. In Gilliam County, voters will cast ballots for County Judge and Commissioner #2. This comes on the heels of the recall election that was held on April 30, which ousted Judge Elizbeth...

  • Book drive underway

    Press Release|Updated May 22, 2024

    The Oregon Women Lawyers Coffee Creek Book Drive will take place May 13-29. There will be collection boxes near the court clerks' offices in each of the 7th Judicial District Courthouses (511 Washington St.,3rd Floor, The Dalles; 309 State St, Hood River; 221 S. Oregon St, Condon, 500 Court St., Wasco, and 701 Adams St, Fossil). The book drive is to benefit the library at the Coffee Creek Women's Correctional Facility. Both hard and soft cover books are acceptable. Books on...

  • Merkley, Wyden celebrate $24M coming to Oregon to strengthen and defend communities from wildfire

    Press Release|Updated May 16, 2024

    Washington, D.C. — Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service (USFS) is investing $24,063,442 in 13 projects across Oregon to make at-risk communities’ homes, businesses, and infrastructure more resilient to wildfires. This funding allocation is part of the Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program (CWDG), funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to protect communities and Tribal lands across...

  • Calley Freedom of Rufus named to SNHU Dean's List

    Press Release|Updated May 16, 2024

    MANCHESTER, NH - Calley Freedom of Rufus has been named to Southern New Hampshire University's Winter 2024 Dean's List. The winter terms run from January to May. Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.500 to 3.699 for the reporting term are named to the Dean's List. Full-time status is achieved by earning 12 credits over each 16-week term or paired 8-week terms grouped in fall, winter/spring, and summer. Southern New Hampshire Unive...

  • Sherman Extension wins state health award

    Press Release|Updated May 16, 2024

    MORO, OR - Oregon State University Sherman County Extension was recently honored with a state health award to at the OSU Spring Family Community Health Conference in Bend, Oregon. Sherman Extension faculty member Cindy Brown received the "Innovation in Programming" award which recognizes innovation and accomplishment in the design and implementation of a family/community health program in Extension. Brown is a 4-H Youth Development and SNAP-Ed Program Coordinator for Sherman...

  • 2024 Spray Rodeo Grand Marshals: Mike and Traci Mordell

    Joni Kabana|Updated May 16, 2024

    When Traci and Mike Mordell found and purchased property in Spray, they realized a long held dream of owning and developing a property for their family to enjoy for generations to come. The Mordells purchased the property from Elva Dell McGough in 2006 and began making improvements in 2007. Much to their delight, they moved into a newly rebuilt house in 2008 near Traci's father, Jerry Barber, who had retired to Spray in 2002. The Kahler Basin property they purchased was...

  • Sherman 4-H Food Preservation Club meets

    4-H Student Reporter|Updated May 16, 2024

    By Avery vonBorstel, 4-H Student Reporter The Put It Up food preservation 4-H club met on May 10 at 12:25pm at the Extension Office. Attending were Kynlie, Olivia, Erin, Aly, Ruby, Isaiah, Roper, Sebastian, Avery, leaders Brown and Ingram. Pledge of Allegiance by Sebastian, 4-H Pledge by Roper. What we did during the meeting: ate dried apple chips, cut up apples to pieces to dehydrate, used a jerky shooter to make raw meat into jerky, strawberry fruit leather, and wrote in...

  • Merkley announces townhalls in Eastern Oregon

    Press Release|Updated May 16, 2024

    Washington, D.C. – Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley announced today he will be holding nine in-person town halls for Eastern Oregon counties in May: Malheur, Harney, and Grant counties on Friday, May 17; Baker, Union, and Wallowa counties on Saturday, May 18; and Umatilla, Morrow, and Gilliam counties on Sunday, May 19. The events continue Merkley's 2024 town hall tour of Oregon, where he is holding a community conversation for each of the state's 36 counties....

  • Healthcare screenings hosted by Asher CHC

    Press Release|Updated May 16, 2024

    Asher Community Health Center works hard to bring higher resources to Wheeler County for our patients and residents. Through partnerships with OHSU Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Lions Eyeglass Assistance Program (LEAP), and St Alphonsus Mobile Mammography, we are hosting two important local screening events. VISION SCREENING On June 28th-29th, Asher Clinic will again be hosting a vision screening by Casey Eye Institute, and there is zero cost to those screened! There will be a...

  • Youth and adult ATV riders urged to prioritize safety

    Press Release|Updated May 16, 2024

    With Memorial Day Weekend and the onset of summer recreation swiftly approaching, the focus turns to safety for ATV riders traversing Oregon's picturesque forests and BLM public lands. In anticipation of the upcoming season, authorities in Wheeler County are issuing a critical safety reminder for all riders to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Operating motorized recreational vehicles on public lands, including Forest Service and BLM territories,...

  • Letter to the Editor: Jordan Maley

    Updated May 15, 2024

    As a public employee for the past 25+ years, I am familiar with how public employee benefit systems work. Vacation and sick leave is accrued at a fixed number of hours every month, and those hours are documented in an employment record keeping system, where both the employer and employees know monthly what their vacation and sick leave accruals are. Sick leave balances are forfeited when leaving public employment. Vacation balances are limited to a fixed number of hours that will be compensated for when leaving public...

  • Letter to the Editor: Susan Hyde

    Updated May 15, 2024

    Something beautiful happened last Thursday at Summit Springs Village and our whole community need to know about this. These young kids (all locals 5-7 years old) had matching little green t-shirts and they called themselves The Cloverbuds. They came into our rooms and delivered spotted sedums from their projects. We were all thrilled and everyone was reliving their own young days in 4-H and all the character it gave us. We remember all the responsibility we had, and how to get through bitter cold winters and protect our...

  • Letter to the Editor: Mac and Jan Stinchfield

    Updated May 15, 2024

    Having the administrative progress this county has made over the past three years turned upside down is disturbing and disappointing. Had the recall petitioners and their followers paid attention and listened to the platform on which Elizabeth Farrar-Campbell and Pat Shannon ran when they were elected back in 2020, they would have known exactly what to expect, rather than claiming to be alarmed now by the action of the court. The petitioners could have been a positive part of the process then and along the way, rather than...

  • Northern Lights thrill locals

    Stephen Allen|Updated May 15, 2024

    Considered to be a bucket list event in the lower-48, Aurora Borealis has dazzled people since the dawn of humanity. Each year, more than 300,000 people travel to Alaska to see Aurora Borealis, which is known more commonly as the Northern Lights. While the light show it produces is common in Alaska and Canada, rarely is there an opportunity to see Aurora Borealis outside of the Arctic. But last weekend, locals in Gilliam, Wheeler, and Sherman County got a very rare treat – a...