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We were saddened to hear about Jon Bowerman's death on October 19th at his ranch near Antelope. He was 86 years old. Saddened might not be the right word - surprised is probably the emotion I'm looking for. I just saw Jon at a volleyball game in Fossil a couple of weeks ago. Of course, he was sitting courtside in his cowboy hat, conversing with a couple of locals. Jon was one of a kind. His advocacy for youth rodeo and sports in the area will be remembered fondly. Jon was an e...
Sir, Thank you for the opportunity to provide an endorsement for Jeremiah Holmes as a candidate for Wheeler County Sheriff. I met Mr. Holmes this summer while participating on an incident management team managing the Fossil Complex…more specifically, the Service Fire. I observed Mr. Holmes in his role as Wheeler County Fired Defense Board Chief and in his current role in the Wheeler County Sheriff’s office. Over the two weeks I worked with Mr. Holmes, I found him to care deeply for the citizens of Wheeler County. He sho...
"Team work makes the dream work." The City of Arlington would like to take a moment to acknowledge and express our deepest gratitude to Mr. & Mrs. Ted Copher and Mr. & Mrs. Mike Miller of Arlington, OR for their outstanding work in rejuvenating the Columbia View Estates sign. Their dedication and thoughtfulness are evident in the fresh look of the sign, which has not only enhanced the beauty of our community but also instills a sense of pride among residents. Their care and enthusiasm for this project reflect the kindness...
In two prior installments I noted the mild distemper suffered by professional booksellers when encountering the term “flatsigned” as against merely a “signed” book. The owner of “FlatSigned Books”™ and “FlatSigned Press”™, too, the since-deceased Tim Miller, aroused considerable ire. He was many times, justifiably and even publicly, accused of converting mere unsigned modern first editions into, first, “signed” ones (having forged the signatures of collectible authors) and the...
I was saddened to hear of Jon Bowerman’s death last week but oh what an adventurous and colorful life he had! Jon was a longtime Fossil resident and the son of Bill Bowerman, one of Nike’s two founders. The Bowerman family goes way back in Fossil and Jon was somewhat of a legend. He was a Marine, a rodeo rider, an Olympic ski team coach, cowboy poet, horse trainer and a track coach at both Condon and Fossil high schools. I met Jon about 18 months ago at the Wednesday com...
Days of Yore for October 24, 2024 10 years ago— Inducted into the Arlington ‘Larry Jones Tower of Power’ at last week’s Honker Homecoming game was the late Loyd ‘Cap’ Bartlemay. Always an avid supporter of Arlington High, Cap earned this honor, and his family was presented with a certificate of appreciation. C/W Knights named to the Big Sky District All Star first team were Matney Jamieson and Emma Logan. Arlington Honker Joely Patnode was also named to the first team. Gatheri...
Last week, Dear Reader, I introduced you to the telling difference between a book that is “flatsigned” at the title- or half-title page in pen, Sharpie ™ or paint by an author and a book that is “inscribed” also by an author’s short, warm, meaningful note, being sometimes also dated. But them’s fightin’ words—or can be, first about the dubiousness of “flatsigned” versus mere “signed” and second about their putative worth as opposed to inscribed books and third about the diffe...
Days of Yore for October 17, 2024 10 years ago— Carol McKenzie, tournament coordinator, reported a perfect day for the 8th annual Wasco Salmon/Steelhead Tournament with 50 entrants and 17 salmon and one steelhead brought to Wasco for the weigh-in. The overall winning Chinook was 16 pounds, 15 ounces, and was caught by Natalie Schaefer of Oregon City. Rodeo athletes of the Northwest Professional Rodeo Association, which sponsors some 30 rodeos a year, have just selected the S...
One of life’s greatest sensory pleasures is extraordinary food, the kind when after the first bite, all conversation stops and you fully immerse yourself in the deliciousness. Or, if you are by yourself, all thought vanishes and nothing matters but the present. Maybe sometimes even a week later the memory of that meal will drift through your mind in a pleasant reverie. Times like these offer wonderful solace from the craziness of the outside world. For a few fleeting m...
“Dude! I can’t believe it! I can’t believe what I found out there at the Bar-S Ranch yard sale outside of Condon on Saturday!” “What? What did you find? Don’t tell me. You didn’t . . . Tell me you didn’t!” “Dude, I did, I found one, the rarest book of all, the Holy Grail for used book sellers, an UNsigned Lawrence Block.” Okay, that’s a good joke, I don’t care who you are. For those few not in the know, Lawrence Block, author of the wonderful Matthew Scudder and Bernie Rhodenb...
Days of Yore for October 10, 2024 10 years ago— Recently a group of people came together to discuss the future of the Rock Creek Community Center. The Rock Creek Schoolhouse is 102 years old, and Marta Mikkalo is the president of the board overseeing the facility. “Funds are always necessary and welcome to keep the old girl going,” says Mikkalo. Alene Rucker plans to teach classes in the new year in the art of wheat weaving. A grant is being pursued through the Gilliam Count...
Every high school team has one. Or at least, they should. The superfan. Someone who is so invested in the team that win or lose, their devotion is undaunted. While the sporting events change with the season, the superfan is never a fair-weathered follower. So it goes for Fossil's Zach Sperry. If you've been to a Rattlers volleyball or basketball game, you've seen Zach sitting courtside, full of nerves, and cheering the boys and girls teams on. Ready to chase down a loose ball...
Interested in tips and strategies for a healthier lifestyle? The Sherman County Senior Center and OSU Sherman County Extension are partnering to bring another round of free, drop-in nutrition classes to local residents. Join us for "Seniors Eating Well", a 6-week series of classes to be offered at the Rufus City Hall Mondays at 10am-noon October 21 through November 25, 2024. A soup lunch will follow each class. Take better control of your health with lessons on cooking...
With the onset of Fall and cooler weather, there's hope we have reached the end of wildfire season. The community came together in impressive ways to help with everything from laundry for the firefighters to individuals offering their equipment and time to help keep our community safe. It would be impossible to thank everyone individually but please know how much you are appreciated. We know how lucky we are to have such wonderful volunteers. With that in mind, the city will...
Almost every week, my friend who has moved away still helps me edit my columns. We met during the summer of 2021 when we were both staying at the fairgrounds RV park in Fossil. Our friendship developed when we went together to the laundry mat in Condon every couple of weeks. She is a fabulous editor who catches things that I totally overlook, even after I have read and re-read my columns multiple times. I especially appreciate that she spots my really embarrassing errors like...
Days of Yore for October 3, 2024 10 years ago— Some upsetting news for a few residents of Fossil who own chickens is that dogs have been slaughtering chickens in at least two areas of town. Dog owners are encouraged to keep dogs at home. Some who have chickens depend on egg money for part of their income and losing chickens is costly. 25 years ago— From Mitchell Madness by 5th and 6th graders: A few weeks ago the Elsea family’s black lab jumped out of their truck on Highway 26...
This is part 3 of a series that explores the challenges and potential solutions for ambulatory services in Wheeler, Gilliam, and Sherman counties. The global pandemic shook longtime emergency medical service volunteers and healthcare professionals. Increased demand for ambulance services, coupled with a decline in responders has created a crisis in many communities. As we've looked at in this series, the slow erosion of volunteers and an increasing reliance on their services...
Last week’s installment vented more of the knock-on effects of the closing of hundreds of bricks-and-mortar bookshops, the transition from them to bookstore-chain bookstores to superstores that sold books to on-line selling of books via the juggernaut of all juggernauts: Amazon. As we’ve collectively brushed neighborhood bookshops aside we’ve lost another bit of the Commons and, with it, an instant source of bibliotherapy. I might want to mention here the Frankfurt Schoo...
I often speak of the simple little things that add joy to life. We tend to think that bigger is better and capitalism has programmed us to want more, more, more when sometimes less is more. Great beauty can be found in simplicity. One of those beautiful, joyful little things is a gift of food, especially if that food is homemade or grown with a big dose of love. A couple of weeks ago, Maryhelen Peterson of Fossil gave me a jar of her homemade elderflower jelly. Since I had...
Days of Yore for September 26, 2024 10 years ago— The League of Oregon Rural-Frontier Homesteaders will sponsor its first-ever Oregon Rural-Frontier Homesteaders Festival October 11 at the Wheeler County Fairgrounds in Fossil. This one-day event will celebrate the contribution that skills and crafts, considered by many to be from a bygone era, make in the daily lives of 21st century residents of Oregon’s rural-frontier. The 12th annual Shaniko Ragtime and Vintage Music Fes...
Archery Compound Bow, Jr Blake Newton Rch Lavendar Brodie Wright Ch Purple Compound Bow, Int Abigail Chase Ch Purple Compound Bow, Sr Eli Wilks RGC Lavendar Zach Neuburger GC Purple Benjamin Chase Blue Bare Bow, Jr Joel Eaton White Ryan Eaton GC Purple Landon Eaton RGC Lavendar Harper Eaton White Eli Thomas Red Beef Market Charlie Ryno RGC Lavendar Molly Davis Blue Oran Davis Blue Paul Ryno GC Purple Jon Nolan Asher Blue Showmanship Beef Showmanship, Jr Paul Ryno Ch Purple Bee...
Keith Baker, 73, is a Vietnam Veteran and was a highly experienced search and rescue team member with the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. Baker did two tours in Vietnam, where he was trained to be a sniper and a tunnel rat. Whether in the jungles of Southeast Asia or in the pine and juniper trees of Central Oregon, Baker could see a story unfold when tracking people or animals in remote areas. From a young age, Baker would follow his father into the woods and learn how to tra...
Editor's Note: A photo was shared on the "I'm from Condon, Oregon" Facebook page by Debbie Pappas. Jamie Burns correctly identified the photo from a 1948 meeting in Condon. The photo shows four Native Americans outside of the Condon Globe-Times. We tracked down the original photo and article – from the March 5, 1948 edition of The Condon Globe-Times. "Since the Wy-um or Celilo tribe and Pa-wan-putt or Rock Creek tribe of Indians have organized in order to protect their f...
Days of Yore for September 19, 2024 10 years ago— Just a few short months ago, the Arlington Ambulance Service was having trouble fielding all the emergency calls that were coming in. Morale was low and the community was in dire need of emergency medical service providers. Since then, six of eight Arlington residents have finished a First Responder course, all passing, and have now enrolled in the EMT course. 25 years ago— The Arlington Chamber of Commerce has a new off...
In last week’s column I registered the losing streak of the bricks-and-mortar bookstore. I noted that people who say they just love old books and the feel of them in their hands seldom actually buy them, that such pronouncements are kisses of death for a bookseller in a bookshop. I marked the loss of independent bookshops due to Covid-19 and how that affects communities. Bookstore-closings stress libraries in terms of labor, budget and shelf-space. Parents struggle to find h...
