Clearwater Power

Story of War-Torn Family Journey Ends in MiracleThe Bartels' faith and values prevail during World War IIBy Lori Mai

Connie Burgess, of Craigmont, Idaho, has a family memoir with all the ele-ments of a timeless story: strong charac-ters, conflict, a turn of events and a bit of divine intervention.

Connie’s family story begins in 16th century Holland, where her Mennonite ancestors fled to avoid religious persecu-tion during the Reformation. Mennonites are a group that separated from the Lutherans because they did not believe in governmental influence in their church.

Mennonites are a peaceful people who live simply and condemn war, harmful ambition and political oppression.

In Holland, they learned how to drain ocean-soaked lowlands to make them fertile. Prussian nobles had tried for decades to drain the lowlands of the Wistula Delta in their country. When they saw the Mennonites’ success in Holland, they invited them to Prussia to help. The Mennonites accepted.

The Mennonite farmers built dams, windmills and pumps to fix the river that flooded fields. In return, the Prussians granted them protection. For many years, the Mennonites enjoyed peace and pros-perity in their communities.

Connie’s great-great-great-grand-parents were part of the early Dutch Mennonite settlers in Prussia. Their farm was located on 150 acres of wetland, 40 miles from the Baltic Sea. The farm was passed down to her grandfather, Heinrich Bartel, who lived there with his 12 children and their families, includ-ing Connie’s father, Johannes (John), and mother, Anna. In the caste system, John was heir to the farm.

“It was a beautiful estate,” Connie says. “There were 15 bedrooms with a large, double-decker veranda facing toward a half-acre formal garden with walkways, rose gardens and a hedge toward the river.”

There were 10 houses for workers, a blacksmith shop, stables and barns. Heinrich hired maids and laborers from the villages to keep as many from poverty as possible.

“My grandfather was always very generous,” Connie says. “One time, a young man named David Rempel and his family came to him from Russia with a dream of going to Canada to start his own farm. Grandfather employed him for a while and then paid their way to go.”

During the early 1930s, Prussia was part of Germany. It was mandatory for young men to enlist in the army for three years’ service. Adolf Hitler was just beginning his rise to power, promising economic stability for his people.

John knew he would have to enlist. He also knew that as a member of a horse riding club with excellent horsemanship skills, he would be drafted into the Secret Service division of the German army—Hitler’s “elite.”

John wanted to avoid the SS, so he devised a way to volunteer for the army by going to a neighboring community and enlisting as a private. Such an act was considered treasonous, but he some-how evaded punishment.

Not long after John began serving, World War II started. He was forced to remain with Hitler’s army for the dura-tion of the war. As a faithful Mennonite, John refused to kill men, take govern-mental oaths or assume a position of

From top, the Bartel family home in Reichfelde, Prussia; John and Anna Bartel; the Bartel farm in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada; and the Bartel family in 1953, from left, Ursula, Gertrude (Trudy), Peter, Anke, Anna, Connie (on lap), John Jr., John and Christiane.Photos courtesy of Connie Burgess

4 M A R C H 2017

high responsibility in war. Time after time, he watched others

executed for the same beliefs, but he was spared.

In September 1944, John wrote a letter to his wife, Anna, warning that the col-lapse of the German army was inevitable and they were not going to win the war. In it, he said, “Take the children and as many of my siblings who will go, and travel to your sister’s place in Austria.”

“It was dangerous for Dad to write this letter,” Connie says. “If his superiors would have opened it, he would’ve been shot for treason.”

Connie says in those days it was also considered treason to be caught packing, let alone leaving.

“The mayor told my mother that if she left, she would never be allowed to return,” Connie says. “Since Dad was heir to the farm, that was a difficult decision.”

Of the 22 women, 45 children and John’s father living on the farm, only Anna, her five small children and John’s sister, Gretel, took the train to Hirschegg, Austria, where Anna’s sister, Maria Kroeker, owned a hotel. The rest of the family remained at the farm in Prussia.

Four months later, in January 1945, Russia invaded Prussia, and the Bartel family was given 24 hours’ notice to evacuate.

“Get ready to flee!” John’s sister, Hannah, wrote in her diary on January 23. “The Russian army is coming closer! In the distance, one can already hear the cannon thunder. This is not the time to get soft, hard times are now! The last suitcases are on the wagon. All is ready!”

In the dead of winter, the family said goodbye to their homestead. Along with others from Reichfelde, they fled through the only open route near the Polish bor-der in the unoccupied region of Danzig, across the frozen Vistula Lagoon, head-ing toward southern West Germany. About four miles down the road, they looked over their shoulders and saw the Russians drive into their yard.

The Reichfelde crew trekked through minus 20 degree cold, traveled mostly at night and relied on the generos-ity of strangers. Along with the brutal

weather, they were shot at by fighter-bombers, their carts sank in frozen craters that opened up to the icy water, and many people and horses died.

The evacuation began with 40 wagons. It ended three months later with only 11 when the group reached West Germany.

In September 1945, the war officially ended, and John was in a British zone as a prisoner of war. Once again, luck was on his side. Despite an agreement that German POWs would be returned to the Russians, British generals allowed the POWs to go free.

John joined his wife and children in Austria and reunited with the extended family, which trekked to West Germany. They rented a farm for five years while they waited to be relocated.

While in West Germany, a man named Cornelius Klassen with the Mennonite Central Committee relief organiza-tion came to visit John. He convinced John that Canada would be a good place for the family to relocate, and he would petition the Canadian government to get them there.

The Canadian government agreed to take the extended family if it could acquire a local sponsor.

“Cornelius went to a random church in Canada and asked if any farmers would be able to sponsor one of the many Bartel families,” Connie says, “and a farmer came forward and said, ‘I will sponsor them all.’”

That farmer was David Remple, the young man who had asked John’s father for money to start a farm in Canada, whom they had not heard from since. He was now a wealthy landowner. He put deposits on several farms in British

Columbia’s Fraser Valley for the Bartels. He had never forgotten the kindness Heinrich Bartel had shown him.

“I always cry when I get to that part of the story,” Connie says. “God is so good.”

The Bartel family arrived in Canada on May 6, 1951, aboard the Beaverbrae ship, and traveled to their new home by train. The entire David Rempel fam-ily greeted them at the train station and helped them settle into their new life.

Even though the farm was not as grand as their former estate in Prussia, John and Anna did not complain. After everything they had been through, they were thankful for a new start.

Connie, whose full name is Cornelia, named after Cornelius Klassen, was born in Canada, where she lived until she moved to Idaho 11 years ago.

Anna died at 71. John lived to be 103. n

Connie Burgess of Craigmont, Idaho, peruses photos from her family’s journey during World War II.Photo by Lori Mai

M A R C H 2017 5

West Oregon

West Oregon Electric, like most utilities across the country, has a specific process it follows when it restores electric service, regardless of the size of the outage.

The process is proven. It is efficient, calculated and, most importantly, safe. West Oregon’s first and foremost mission is safety for public and employee alike. Compromise is not an option.

A host of things must be taken into consideration when big storms hit WOEC territory. It is not safe, nor prudent to react without careful thought. It takes a plan, and plans of this magnitude take time to develop. They must be strategic in nature to be effective in their execution.

The graphic above shows how and why storm restorations are done the way they are.

When a storm is predicted by weather experts such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and local media, key staff get together and develop a plan based on the situation.

No two outages are the same. Whether large or small, the process does not change. It goes something like this:

• Situation analysis. Before a plan can be developed, the co-op has to have “eyes in the field” to collect and analyze infor-mation. It is important to understand that this initial effort takes time. Hours in some cases; days, in others.

• Damage assessment. Once intelli-gence is gathered from the field regarding the location and extent of the damage, the co-op is able to formulate an efficient and effective restoration plan. This takes time,

too. Generally hours, not days.• Plan development. This piece of the

restoration puzzle requires input from a host of different departments within WOEC’s organization. Generally, this pro-cess is fairly short; about one to two hours.

• Resource deployment. Once steps one, two and three are complete, the co-op can deploy crews to the field. Crew assignments are based on levels of dam-age and numbers of members without electricity in different areas. Larger crews are dispatched to heavy-hit areas, and smaller crews are deployed to other areas. When a crew cleans up an area, it moves to the next area and begins repairing the damage.

Note: While it seems logical—on the surface, at least—that crews would move

D E C E M B E R 2015 76 D E C E M B E R 2015

the

Transmission towers and lines that supply power to one or more transmission substations rarely fail. However, when damage does occur—usually due to high winds or ice buildup—these towers and lines must be repaired before other parts of the distribution system are inspected because they serve thousands (or tens of thousands) of people.

1.

A utility usually has several local distribution substations, each serving hundreds or thousands of consumers. When there is a major outage, these substations usually are checked � rst to see if the problem is in the transmission system to the substations or the substations themselves.

2.

If the problem cannot be isolated at a distribution substation, the next step is to check the distribution lines that carry power to groups of consumers, such as towns or housing developments.

3.

The � nal step in repairs is for isolated outages—for example, those caused by a damaged service line between a transformer and an individual home.

5.

Farms

Restoring the power after a severe storm involves much more than just flipping a switch at a substation or pulling a fallen tree off a downed power line. Highly trained workers from local utilities and crews from neighboring states work together around the clock to restore service.

Shown here are the steps utilities follow to restore power. At each stage, the primary goal is getting the greatest number of consumers back online in the shortest time possible.

After an Outage

Make sure you report any outage to your utility, even if you think a neighbor already has called. This will help line crews isolate and repair the problem as soon as possible.

If you or a family member depends on life-support equipment, call your utility immediately. Your utility can try to prioritize power restoration to you or advise you to take shelter elsewhere.

Do not connect a generator directly to household wiring. The power from a generator can backfeed to power lines and injure or electrocute lineworkers making repairs.

Line crews work on outages that are more localized by inspecting the � nal supply lines—called tap lines—that carry power to utility poles or underground transformers outside small businesses, schools and homes.

4.LOCAL DISTRIBUTION LINES

LOCAL DISTRIBUTION SUBSTATIONS

SMALL BUSINESSES

Storms Can Bring Power to a Stop

4 M A R C H 2017

“next door” or “just down the street,” it is not that simple. In many—if not most—cases, multiple circuits serve a specific area.

What that means is that even though you live next door to someone, your home might have power and your neighbor does not. Your home might be fed by a circuit that has not been affected.

Your neighbor’s home, on the other hand, might be served by a circuit that has been damaged, and their lights are off.

Simply stated, that is why you might see lights on across the street while you are in the dark. Without getting into sys-tem design and engineering, it is the way electric distribution systems are built and operate.

Following resource deployment, West Oregon follows specific steps to restore electric service.

Power is restored in the following order:

1. High-voltage transmission lines.2. Local distribution substations.3. Local distribution lines.

4. Taps and branch lines.5. Individual services.6. Services that sustained damage and

require the services of an electrician. These homes are energized once repairs

have been made and the service inspected. West Oregon Electric is forbidden, by law, from reconnecting repaired services with-out an inspection or an electrician’s letter of approval. n

During recent winter storms, West Oregon Electric Cooperative crews faced a variety of challenges throughout WOEC’s service teritory.Photos by Andy Larson

M A R C H 2017 5

Blachly-Lane Electric

By Pam Spettel

“Today’s book is called, ‘A Story, A Story,’” says Territorial Elementary School Volunteer Librarian Wendy Thelander, to the first-graders on the car-pet before her. “It is a Caldecott Medal winner, which means that its pictures are wonderful.”

On a turquoise globe beside her, she traces the long path between Oregon and Africa to show the students where the story takes place. She begins to read the folktale aloud in a sing-song African cadence.

Funding for a librarian at the school was cut nine years ago. Territorial Elementary relied heavily on the use of classified staff and parent volunteers to fill the gaps in library services, says Principal Dina Marschall.

Wendy started volunteering in her children’s classrooms and in the library when she and her family moved to the area in 2011.

“I was lucky that another mom had put together a binder of how to enter books into the system,” says Wendy. “At first, I came in to enter new books and to help with checkout, and it grew from there. Last year, we started teaching

library lessons as part of our school improvement efforts in reading.”

In the past several years, the school’s site council identified math as a prior-ity for schoolwide improvement, says Dina. The effort has paid off, as students have shown noteworthy gains in math

achievement. Now the school is shifting its priority to reading. One of many strat-egies the school uses to promote reading is to have students spend more time in the library.

“Each class now has a half-hour a week in the library,” says Wendy. “Library

Making Library Time Fun AgainTerritorial Elementary School fosters the love of reading in its students

After Wendy Thelander reads a story to first-graders, they have lots of questions.

4 M A R C H 2017

time is built into the schedule.” Wendy has California teaching creden-

tials and has been tutoring, coaching or teaching kids since she was in the sixth grade.

“Kids are like sponges,” she says. “When given the opportunity to learn new things, they get interested in new things.

“When I started here, there were some challenges getting fifth-grade boys inter-ested in checking out books. We added books about pilots, planes, tanks, WWII military, and service animals to our shelves, and now the boys are checking them out.”

Last year, Wendy convened a stu-dent reader’s council to increase student engagement with reading. The kids dis-cussed what they were reading, and what they would like to read.

Funding for the reader’s council was provided by an Emerald Empire Reading Council of the Oregon Reading Association grant, which also provided financial resources to add books mean-ingful to the students on the library’s

shelves.“Our determination to build skills

and improve reading achievement levels includes encouraging students to read outside of core instruction,” says Dina. “Our goal is not only to see growth in student achievement toward grade-level reading standards, but also to foster a lifelong love of reading and books in our students.”

The school is undertaking a Little Free Library project to give their stu-dents access to books year-round. Wendy applied for a $100 donation from Blachly-Lane’s 80 Acts of Kindness program on the school’s behalf, with the money going toward the construction of a small, free-standing enclosed box outside of the school’s fenced driveway. The Little Free Library offers an hon-ors-system book checkout available to kids on weekends, school holidays and vacations.

The “take a book, leave a book” con-cept means the students will have regular access to books, filling a gap for some of the rural school’s families who may not be able to visit a public library.

“Wendy has been a tremendous asset to Territorial,” says Dina. “She has the skills of a school librarian along with a

passion for reading and books. Wendy has worked tirelessly to support library operations, managing weekly check-in and check-out, repairing and shelving books, and organizing and staffing the annual book fair.

“She has adapted our book collection to meet the needs of our students and staff, and has gone so far as to pick up coveted titles at garage sales and thrift shops so the books the students want to read most are available to them.”

Now Wendy is teaching weekly library skills.

“The impact of her dedication has been tremendous,” says Dina.

As Wendy finishes reading the book to the first-graders, all eyes are on her as she walks to a special shelf in the library.

“Here,” she says to the children, “is where we keep stories from other places in the world,” as she lays handfuls of the books on the tables for them to explore themselves.

Wendy says she wants to help libaries regain their position in young readers lives.

“I love to read, and I love kids. I love the idea of sharing knowledge with them and being a resource. Books rock.” n

Above and right, Wendy has added books to the collection that appeal to boys, who initially were not interested in checking out items.

“Kids are like sponges.When given the opportunity to learn new things, they get interested in new things.”

—Wendy Thelander

M A R C H 2017 5

Idaho County

By David Rauzi

The 2017 Youth Rally Scholarship application deadline is Friday, April 7. This is the 25th year Idaho County Light and Power Cooperative has made this opportunity available to members’ sophomore- or junior-age children who will pursue college or technical school education after graduation.

A scholarship of $750 will be awarded to three recipients who also will receive an all-expense-paid trip to attend a youth educational and leadership camp conducted by the Idaho Consumer-Owned Utilities Association.

This year’s ICUA Youth Rally, which draws students from seven states (Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Alaska), will be July 10-15 on the campus of College of Idaho in Caldwell.

Youth Rally participants engage in a variety of educational

and social activities during the week, such as learning about the history and purpose of rural electric cooperatives, on basic understanding of electricity, motivational speakers and activi-ties, field trips and insight into potential career paths.

To enter the scholarship competition, participants need to fill out an application and complete a 400-word essay on the topic: “An accomplishment or some adversity I have experienced and how it affected my life.” Authors of the top eight scoring essays will be interviewed by a panel of judges in mid-April, and com-bined essay and interview scores will determine the winners.

Contact the ICLP office at 983-1610 or email at iclp@iclp.coop for information and an application.

Last year’s recipients were Sydney Andrews, Kally Arnzen, Maicee Conner and Nicole Poxleitner. They shared their experi-ences about the Youth Rally, and the relationships, learning and fun that extended beyond the weeklong experience.

Firsthand Accounts of Youth RallyLast year’s participants encourage students to apply

Last year’s Youth Rally participants, from left, Nicole Poxleitner, Kally Arnzen, Maicee Conner and Sydney Andrews. In 2016, these students won a $750 scholarship and an all-expense-paid trip to the event at the College of Idaho in Caldwell.

4 M A R C H 2017

“I wanted to apply for this scholarship because I really wanted to get a jump start on prepar-ing for college and going for scholarships,” says Kally Arnzen. “I thought that this particular one would be good for me because my fam-ily has been involved with the company for so many years.”

Kally plans to pursue engineering at the University of Idaho.

She says the rally was enjoyable for many reasons, including meeting new people, doing

fun activities such as rollerblading, bowling and the waterpark, while learning a lot.

“What stands out to me from the trip are the friends I made there,” Kally says. “I got a lot closer with people I already knew, and also made new friends from other places I still even talk to from time to time.”

For those thinking of applying, “be excited for the opportunity, not scared of the process,” Kally says. n

“I wanted to apply for the ICLP scholarship for college,” says Nicole Poxleitner. “My par-ents were the ones that actually talked me into applying, but I learned that it was about so much more than that. I got to experience peo-ple who changed my life, people that I wanted to look up to, and I made so many friends, that were all genuine people.”

Nicole plans to attend the University of Idaho to pursue an animal science degree.

In her essay, Nicole wrote about being the 2015 Grangeville Border Days Queen.

“I chose this topic because it was a big event

in my life, and I learned many valuable lessons from the experience,” says Nicole.

She says the Youth Rally experience was dif-ferent from other youth retreats.

“It was like we were a big family, even right from the start when we didn’t even know each other,” says Nicole.

Give application a shot, Nicole says.“You may not think you’re good enough or

that you have time, but it’s worth every second you spend working on it. Also, the interview isn’t that bad because everyone is very nice at the ICLP office.” n

“It seemed like a great opportunity to earn scholarship money and have a blast while doing it,” says Maicee Conner.

Maicee plans to pursue psychology, then get a degree in occupational therapy.

“On my essay, I wrote about how I was diagnosed with hemihypertrophy, a condi-tion where one part of the body grows more than the other, causing asymmetry, and what I have had to overcome because of it,” Maicee says. “The countless doctor appointments, hav-ing ultrasounds every three months until my

thirteenth birthday and three knee surgeries has made me learn to appreciate everything I am capable of doing today.”

For her, the rally was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“The highlight of the week was undoubtedly the people,” says Maicee. “Everyone there was so kind and ready to jump out of their comfort zones. I still talk to some of the friends I made at the youth rally every single day; others every week.” n

“I was very interested in the scholarship pro-vided by the ICLP co-op, as I had just kicked off my search for college scholarships,” says Sydney Andrews. “I was even more interested in applying when I found out about the rally. I love opportunities to experience new things, and meet new people, and wanted to apply for these reasons.”

Sydney plans to pursue English with an emphasis on creative writing at Brigham Young University—Idaho in Rexburg.

“In my essay, I wrote about my experiences

breeding and raising pigs, and the resulting difficulties and heartbreaks that are sometimes, it seems, unavoidable in a venture such as rais-ing animals,” says Sydney.

Standouts for Sydney on the rally included the activities, workshops on the industry and science of electricity.

“Everyone was very accepting; open to talk and interact with each other,” says Sydney.”All the kids I got to know were driven, kind and enthusiastic about life.” n

Kally Arnzen, 16Grangeville High School juniorDaughter of Jerry and Janell Arnzen

Maicee Conner, 18Grangeville High School seniorDaughter of Ken and Sherri Conner

Sydney Andrews, 17Homeschooled senior, KooskiaDaughter of Rachel and Sean Andrews

Nicole Poxleitner, 17Prairie Junior-Senior High School seniorDaughter of Glenn and Loretta Poxleitner

M A R C H 2017 5

4 M A R C H 2017

Midstate Electric

By Craig Reed

When Midstate Electric Cooperative has an outage, getting the power restored quickly is a goal for the crews, but getting the job done safely takes priority.

Fallen and unstable trees on power lines and poles, loose soil, rough and uneven terrain, the weather and electric-ity itself are some of the hazards MEC’s crews face as they approach a variety of problems and repairs.

There is shared responsibility. It is a group effort as a three- or four-man crew analyzes the situation and decides what the consequences will be as it proceeds to solve the problem.

For more than 450 days, outside crews as well as employees at MEC’s home facil-ity in La Pine have safely done their jobs. The cooperative has not had a lost-time accident in that many days.

“We preach safety 100 percent of the time,” says Steve Hess, MEC’s operations/engineering manager. “We have safety meetings once a month, and there is always a different subject discussed.”

Dave Schneider, MEC’s general manag-er, says the co-op is proud of its employ-ees and their safety record. He says dur-ing the past five years, the number of workmen compensation claims have gone way down, and is about 30 percent of the industry average.

“I think it is the culture and how we regard safety,” says Dave, who has been with MEC for 22 years, the last four as general manager. “It is in the forefront of everybody’s mind. It is something we talk about consistently. We say all the time, ‘Everybody gets to go home safely at night.’”

MEC has 54 employees. Of those, 12 journeymen lineman, one apprentice line-man and one groundman face the outside elements on a daily basis. They maintain and repair problems on more than 750 miles of underground distribution lines, 1,400 miles of overhead distribution lines and 30,000 power poles spread out across the 5,600 square miles of MEC’s service territory.

Steve has worked for the co-op for 37

years, the last two as operations/engineer-ing manager. He has been a journeyman lineman, so he knows what line crews face when they venture out.

Gary Green is a journeyman lineman who has worked for MEC for 14 years. He, like Steve, is confident in the skills of the outside crews.

“We’ve got a really good bunch of guys here who look out for each other,” Gary says. “When we get a work form, the guys

Around-the-Clock DiligenceSafe practices keep Midstate Electric’s crews out of harm’s way

MEC linemen Mike Hess, Gary Green, Chad Wearin, Dillon Lohner and Orrin Ledgerwood work together to string transmission line near Benham Falls.Photos by Evergreen Safety

M A R C H 2017 5

get together and go over it together. They make sure they’re not missing something before they go to work. Every crew works as a group. They’ve got each other’s back.”

Steve says he understands there may be days when somebody “doesn’t bring their ‘A’ game to work” because of possi-ble issues outside of work. On those days, working as a group becomes even more important.

“When somebody says something that doesn’t sound quite right, it’s, ‘Hey, hey, hey, hold on a minute,’” he says. “Time is then taken to reassess the problem and correct it. What stands out to me is the guys’ ability to work together, to commu-nicate with each other, to care for each other and to make sure everybody gets home safe.”

While there may be more hazards out along the power lines, there are some at the main facility as well.

During the cold, snowy winter, the parking lot and sidewalks can be slip-pery. There have been slips, falls, injuries and several worker comp claims filed in the past. But since 2008, the co-op has provided its employees with shoe chains. With employees using those, there has only been one claim in the past six years, according to Dave.

In the office, employees who monitor MEC’s power system play an important role in workers being safe because they can digitally see where there is a power outage, if a fallen tree is involved and the type of terrain that needs to be negoti-ated to reach the problem area. They can communicate those hazards to line crews in advance, making everyone more aware of what to expect.

Out in the warehouse and in the shop, workers and mechanics are aware of heavy items, and use forklifts and hoists to eliminate physical strain.

MEC has a safety committee with six members. All departments in the co-op are represented on the committee.

“Every person here at MEC, inside and outside the office, is involved in safety training,” Steve says.

The committee conducts monthly meetings, including scheduling visits by an outside consultant—a former line-man—who provides safety advice and discusses updated requirements.

In the everyday work routine and in the safety meetings, Steve and Dave say employees are encouraged to speak up and bring to the attention of the staff situations that have the potential to be dangerous for their co-workers.

“We encourage open dialogue,” Dave says. “We’ve never taken actions against somebody for speaking out. It’s a col-laborative effort here. We work together as a team, so we want to openly discuss safety.”

Steve says there have been no major outages so far this winter because the snow that has fallen has been light and fluffy, and hasn’t weighed down trees and branches.

Gary notes that rights-of-way for the power poles and lines have been greatly improved since last year, thanks to the work the tree crews did last summer clearing potentially hazardous trees and branches. The cooperative is working to get on a seven-year rotation schedule for keeping the rights-of-way cleared.

Steve says the heavy, wet snow that fell in December 2015 caused major line damage and power outages, but the crews worked through the problems without a lost-time accident.

“That’s a testament to our safety cul-ture,” Dave says. “You have to give the credit to Steve and the operations group. Safety is important to me, but the credit for our record is attributed to the con-scious efforts of the group to always work safely.” n

Left, MEC crew repairs equipment damaged in an automobile accident.Above, Lineman Jason Slaven practices pole-top rescue skills.

Northern Wasco PUD

By Kathy Ursprung

Like other galleries, The 506 Gallery displays colorful works of art from a number of artists in varied styles and mediums. Also like other galleries, the art is for sale. But until visitors spot paint-spattered tables and chairs at the back of the display gallery, they might not realize that most of the art on the walls is created onsite.

The 506 Gallery and its Art Connect program are an arm of Opportunity Connections—an organization that helps people with developmental disabilities live, work and enjoy life as independently as possible within their own communities throughout the Columbia Gorge.

Art Connect started in The Dalles about four years ago, modeled after similar programs around the country, says Art Coordinator David Lameoreaux.

David used to be a skills trainer at Opportunity Connections. He has a background in art.

“We thought it would be a great thing to try,” he says.

Art Connect has become one of Opportunity Connections’ most popular activities.

“Ask what is their favorite thing, and 95 percent say it’s art, even some of the nonverbal ones,” says Deb Ponath, site manager. “They all love doing it. Some are really serious. Others for fun and a group activity.”

The 506 Gallery was started a few years after the Art Connect program was created.

“The gallery came about because we

had so much art,” David says. “We were sending a bunch of art to houses. We had this whole big building, so we decided to use the front as an art gallery and display the art with pride and acceptance.”

The gallery also displays works of community artists. Currently, the often-celestial works of Ryan Mosby are featured. Ryan volunteers at the gallery and donates much of her gallery sales back to the art program.

“We try to get people who aren’t being shown elsewhere and give them a

chance,” David says. “We’d also like to get folks in the community—veterans and seniors—to where they’re here doing art as well. The life we take for granted—a lot of times they don’t get a chance to go out and live life in the community.”

David’s methods as art coordinator have changed since Art Connect began.

“It’s been a learning process,” he says. “When I first started, I was all Mr. Instructor. I had lesson plans. I had to really change my outlook. It’s more about fun and creativity. It’s more about

Welcome to The 506 GalleryPopular program displays and sells artwork with pride and acceptance

Teri Bolton creates a background for her next piece of artwork during Art Connect.

4 M A R C H 2017

expression. To me, we’re still scratching the surface.”

David hopes to get into photography and documentary production, as well as clay, textiles and mosaics.

The 506 Gallery provides a front entrance for the variety of Opportunity Connections activities staged from the downtown building. For many clients, it is their gateway to the community.

“For a lot of folks, this is their primary day support,” Deb says. “We try to get them out in the community. That’s what we do all day long, coordinate folks in integrating into the community.”

Opportunity Connections staff members support clients as they work in jobs at local businesses. Often they do what is called “job carving.”

“Maybe an employer has something that doesn’t get done on a regular basis or their employee is working on something,” David explains. “Or we try to work on jobs that maybe need extra help and make those into positions for our people.”

Staff members maintain a monthly calendar of events from which clients can choose activities—even things like a lunch out on the town.

“Our goal is to take them places so

they can interact with the community,” Deb says.

Wes Williams oversees employment resources and public relations for Opportunity Connections. He hopes the community will get to know the artists better through their art.

“Every single member of the community, no matter who, has inherent value,” Wes says. “Our job at Opportunity Connections in every facet of our services is to enhance that value. The art program you see here—when we take that out to the community—shows the skills and amazing talent we have here.”

The 506 Gallery also can serve as part of someone’s vocational rehabilitation. With the exception of a small gallery fee, the money from art sales is paid to the artist.

Wes firmly believes Art Connect artists can display their work proudly alongside that of any artist. His goal is to tell the artists’ stories in the community to help bring more people to the gallery and more awareness of Opportunity Connections.

The artists are featured on The 506 Gallery website, www.the506Gallery.com, and on Facebook. Biographies and photos

are also posted on the wall next to each artist’s exhibit.

“We have one artist who lost his sight, much like Monet did when he painted ‘The Water Lillies,’” Wes says. “We have another artist who works at Home at Last. She is a radiant lady who can do any media. We have another artist who treats it like work. He has a better work ethic than many people do on a daily basis. He wants to do his work right.”

A variety of events have been organized around the Art Connect program and its artists. A traveling exhibit is featured Friday, March 3, and Saturday, March 4, at the Columbia Center for the Arts in conjunction with the Sprout Traveling Film Festival. The film festival also features the work of creators with developmental disabilities.

The program relies heavily on business sponsors, including Starbucks, Lilo’s Hawaiian Barbecue, Grinders Coffee, Route 30 Bottles & Brews and Zim’s Brau Haus.

“We couldn’t do it without them,” Wes says. n

The 506 Gallery is at 506 E. Second St. in The Dalles. Call (541) 298-4188 ext. 7016, or email the506gallery@opportunityconnections.org.

Artists at The 506 Gallery work in a variety of mediums, which are displayed and often sold. Robert McDonald enjoys the creative process.

M A R C H 2017 5

Lost River

By Dianna Troyer

With infinite patience, Steve Pease carves a block of wood into a lifelike fish that looks as if it could swim away.

“It’s great to have a woodcarving made of a special fish because you can take photos, release the fish, and keep both the memory and the fish alive,” says the 42-year-old Mackay resident.

Steve says one of his most memorable and gratifying projects was commis-sioned by a man whose brother had died.

“He wanted a carving of a big fish his brother had caught when they went fish-ing together for the last time,” says Steve, who has been carving fish for clients for more than two decades.

An unforgettable fish Steve carved for himself won a prestigious award.

“It was a replica of a 17-inch brook trout, the first one I caught on a fly in Yellowstone in 2007,” he says.

In 2008, he entered it in the World Taxidermy and Fish Carving Championships. Steve won third place at the intermediate level in the decorative life-size division.

Judges at the show criticized his fish for being too perfect.

“They said the colors were too real-istic and should be brighter,” says Steve. “I painted the fish to look like it does naturally. I’m taking their advice for the next show.”

To enter the prestigious championship contest in May in Peoria, Illinois, Steve is carving a 21-inch bass. With painstaking precision, he uses a wood-burning tool to replicate thousands of tiny scales on the bass.

“It takes about nine hours to cut in an inch-wide section of scales,” says Steve, while working at a small table in his liv-ing room. “There are thousands by the time I’m done. I have hundreds of hours in each carving.”

Instead of entering the fish in the intermediate level again, Steve plans to compete in the open level for professionals.

He was encouraged to move up a level after winning several awards at the 2015 Idaho Artistry in Wood Show, sponsored

by the Idaho Woodcarvers Guild. Steve’s 23-inch rainbow trout was selected for Best of Division, Best of Show and First Place Overall.

To begin a carving, Steve starts with a solid block of wood, then sketches directly on it or draws the fish on paper and transfers it.

Using a band saw, grinders and sand-ers, he gives the fish its general shape. He then uses smaller knives to carve the details. Finally, Steve paints it with an airbrush and acrylics, and attaches it to a plaque or places it in a natural-looking setting.

“In my pieces, the only thing that isn’t carved from wood is the glass eye of the fish,” he says. “People are always sur-prised the rocks, plants and driftwood

Wooden Sculptures Inspired by NatureSteve Pease’s lifelike fish carvings win recognition

Wood chips fly as Steve Pease carefully sculpts a leaping trout.

4 M A R C H 2017

are wooden because they look so realistic.”

For Steve, woodcarving and living in Mackay are the fulfillment of longtime goals.

“Since high school, all I ever wanted to do was to carve wood and live in the West,” he says.

A native of Johnson City, New York, near the Pennsylvania border, Steve learned woodcarving in high school.

“I had a great teacher who taught me everything he knew,” he says. “After peo-ple heard about me by word-of-mouth, I probably carved and painted more than 100 fish during high school.”

Steve attributes his artistic talent to his parents.

“They were both creative,” he says. “My dad painted in oils, and my mom preferred watercolors.”

After graduating from high school, Steve joined the Air Force and was even-tually stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base in southwestern Idaho, where he fueled jets.

A co-worker and friend introduced him to his fiancé, Sarah, who was living in Mackay at the time.

“I was at her brother’s house one

weekend when she hap-pened to visit him,” Steve recalls.

He eventually moved to Mackay, and fortuitous events began to unfold.

A new art center opened, where Steve exhibited his work and began taking orders for customized carvings.

An artist at the center, Ruth Sauerbreit, introduced him to her husband, Nolan, who happened to have a shed with stacks of bass wood, the type Steve prefers for carving.

“He told me to come and get it,” Steve says.

As work slowed down on the carvings, Steve, also a talented carpenter, was hired to help build custom homes locally.

“After I started, I found out the con-struction company has built stores for Bass Pro Shops,” he says. “I’d love to have my pieces in there.”

Steve not only carves fish for indoor decor, he also uses a chainsaw to sculpt large outdoor replicas of wildlife.

He is putting the finishing touches on a twisting snake with the Marine Corps’ motto, Semper Fi, on it. Other pieces awaiting his attention include a squirrel, bear, eagle and a leaping trout.

“It’s funny because sometimes I start

carving an animal, and by the time I’m done it’s completely different,” Steve says.

He planned to carve an 18-inch-tall pheasant, but the wood seemed more suited to becoming a squirrel. A deer ended up being a fox.

“I’d love to carve full time, but there isn’t quite enough demand locally to earn a steady income,” Steve says. “Still, I’m glad to be doing what I love and to live here.” n

See more examples of Steve’s work at www. woodenrivercarvings.weebly.com.

Clockwise from top, Steve’s 23-inch rainbow trout won several awards at the Idaho Artistry in Wood Show. Steve burns scales on 21-inch bass. A walleye hangs from his living room wall.

M A R C H 2017 5

Tillamook PUD

By Denise Porter

A group of adults and children walks along the edge of Netarts Bay Road laugh-ing and chattering. It is a clear winter day. The road rims the water, providing a breathtaking view of bobbing crab boats.

A woman points to the seals playing peak-a-boo, rising above and then dart-ing below the waves. The smell of salty spray permeates the air, beckoning visi-tors to explore the wild nature of the rug-ged Oregon coastline.

In fact, the bay is the reason for the group’s visit. A mix of locals and tour-ists, they are here for a workshop hosted by the Friends of Netarts Bay Watershed, Estuary, Bay and Sea—known to locals as WEBS. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to sustaining and preserving Netarts Bay through education.

“Each class is pretty hands-on and intimate,” says Christine Smith, execu-tive director of WEBS. “We build in the opportunity to get out in nature, explore and connect.”

Every WEBS class features the Netarts Bay, she explains. All lessons are open to locals and tourists, adults and children, and are free. A goodwill donation is appreciated.

Just down the road, the group enters

the driveway at Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery. Here, with the bay directly behind them, Christine introduces the 20 group members to Mark Wiegardt, owner of the hatchery, who is working outside the facility’s front door.

Today’s WEBS tour showcases the bay’s oyster industry. Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery is one of the largest oyster hatcheries on the Pacific Coast. Mark and his wife, Sue Cudd, supply tiny oysters, known as seed stock, to

commercial oyster farmers on the West Coast—including Netarts Bay farmers.

Inside the hatchery, row after row of enormous tanks bubble with millions of microscop larvae. Christine’s husband, Alan Barton—a biologist and the pro-duction manager at the hatchery—leads the tour. He guides the group, answer-ing questions and stopping to let chil-dren and adults peer at larvae through a microscope.

After touring the hatchery, the group

Down By the

Bay

Christine Smith, center, walks the oyster tour through Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery.

Friends of Netarts Bay offers series of classes and tours promoting area

4 M A R C H 2017

walks back to its tour van, where driver Brian Cameron with Tillamook Eco Adventures provides free transportation to the next stop.

“The oyster tours don’t always happen the same way,” Christine explains.

Sometimes the second stop on the oyster tour is to JAndy Oyster Co. in Tillamook. Sometimes the group visits Pacific Seafood in Bay City. Both com-panies show the group how they process oysters on-site.

This tour ends at JAndy. Todd Perman tells the group about JAndy’s oyster beds at the bay. Oysters, he explains, grow in oyster beds on the bay floor. It takes three to five years for them to mature.

He deftly gives an oyster-shucking demonstration. Group members munch on smoked oyster as they observe.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the oyster tour, Christine says, is that it

gives local businesses a chance to show-case their product while group members can ask questions of the business owners directly.

The oyster tour is one of several tours and classes offered by WEBS, says Christine. Each class showcases a differ-ent aspect of the bay ecosystem.

“We hope people get sandy and wet, and to taste, touch and experience what the bay offers,” she says.

WEBS was created and endowed by the late Jim Mundell, a longtime Netarts resident. The group is led by a 10-mem-ber volunteer board of directors.

Jim dreamed of an organization that would raise awareness, provide learning opportunities, and encourage stewardship for the natural and cultural resources of the Netarts Bay area. Mostly, he wanted people to be engaged in the bay in a way that meant they would feel owner-ship and a sense of pride in preserving it, Christine says.

Each winter, the WEBS board brain-storms class ideas for the following year. Funding for their classes comes from the Oregon Community Foundation and other local partners.

“We talk as a group about topics we feel are interesting,” Christine says of the WEBS board’s decision-making process regarding their classes and tours. “The big question always is, ‘How can we help people learn about the bay so that they are conscious about sustaining it?’”

In 2016, WEBS offered two art classes. The first was an outdoor acrylic paint-ing class at Terimore Lodging by the Sea. The location overlooks the mouth of the bay, and class members spent a few hours creating their own painting of the water.

The second art class featured creating a themed piece of pottery using shells and sea from the bay as inspiration.

Christine says two of the most popular classes are a kayaking trip and a clam-ming demonstration—each led by expe-rienced guides.

Rockhounds gravitate toward the geo-morphology class. Its numbers can be upward of 40 students, Christine says. In this session, a geology expert shows the class fossil beds and rock formations native to the bay area.

Animal lovers tend to sign up for the birding and invertebrate classes. Common to the bay are cormorants, murres, per-egrine falcons and bald eagles.

“We post all of our events on Facebook and have online registration,” Christine explains. “The word’s getting out and it’s pulling people from all over.”

Christine has not tracked the ratio of in-county and out-of-county class mem-bers, but she believes about 25 percent travels to the coast for class.

“A small percent are from out of state,” she adds.

The WEBS board should have this year’s class lineup finalized this month. Christine advises anyone interested in a class to sign up early.

“They fill up fast,” she says. nLearn more about WEBS and its offerings at www.netartsbaytoday.org.

Above, workers at Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery knock sea debris from oyster shells. Left, tour members taste smoked oyster samples.

M A R C H 2017 5

Plumas-Sierra REC

Liberating the nursery-stock juniper from its wooden crate, John Sciborski steps backward. Gnarled branches twist and jet in every direc-tion. The tree bares new growth, and possesses a strong trunk and solid root structure—a fine specimen with great potential.

John and his wife, Marian—having moved to San Francisco from the midwest in the early 1960s—have always loved garden-ing. The young couple fre-quented Chinatown and Japantown on weekends, savoring the lush growth the Mediterranean-like climate offered. It is here they discov-ered decades-old trees thriving in min-iature pots—stunted perfections of their life-size counterparts living in the wild.

Bonsai (pronounced “bone-sigh”) is the Japanese tradition of shaping and training trees over time to stay small and live in containers.

John became facinated with this ancient art form and went to a local nursery where a friend was training a juniper in the bonsai manner. The tree had been pruned and wired and was beginning to take shape.

John bought a similar juniper and began ceremoniously pruning roots, and manipulating branches by shaping and wiring them.

When he was done, he reasoned it looked fairly comparable to his friend’s tree. John’s juniper, however, did not sur-

vive the rigors of his styling session. He had much to learn. He would later appre-ciate the phrase “art takes time,” as it is especially fitting with respect to bonsai.

“Some trees are fussy. The trick is learning what does well where you live, and what does not.”

—John Sciborski

The Sciborskis later moved to Santa Rosa and met friends through their church who also enjoyed working with the little trees. About a dozen of them came together and formed the Redwood

Empire Bonsai Society (REBS) to learn bonsai.

REBS invited instructors from across the United States for workshops, shows and demonstrations. Members collected trees, learned from each other, taught others and grew in numbers.

After a tree-collecting excursion to Mammoth Lakes in 1993, John and Marian took a side trip to Plumas County. They discovered Graeagle and decided to retire there.

The couple—and most of their 50-plus bonsai—lived in a 24-foot travel trailer for four months while contractors built their new home. “We had everything we needed—plants, water, TV,” John says with a laugh.

John remembers one tree in particu-lar—a jade plant—that became the con-

Mastering the Art of PatienceStory and photos by Donna Mills

John Sciborski shows off a Linden tree he acquired and trained in the Japanese tradition of Bonsai for 30 years.

4 M A R C H 2017

tractor’s everyday living nightmare as John moved it from place to place, out of harm’s way.

Everywhere contractors needed to work on a particular day, there was the jade.

It survived the home’s construction project plus the next 20 years before it died.

The Sciborskis care for their trees’ every need as if they are their own chil-dren. They equate the Japanese practice of bonsai with mastering some of life’s lessons regarding relationships, balance and patience.

John’s skills acquired throughout decades of practice are evident in his creations today. He no longer rushes to make a tree do what he wants. He has learned through trial and error when to prune, pinch, wire or re-pot differ-ent trees, and how much stress they can endure.

“Some trees are fussy,” he says. “The trick is learning what does well where you live, and what does not.

“If you work with bonsai, you will lose a few along the way,” says John.

He recently lost a Trident maple grove he planted on a stone slab. The miniature

landscape thrived for more than 25 years and then died.

“The slab is in my shop,” he says. “I’m growing more trees for it,” pointing toward a planter filled with seedlings.

Though John is visibly saddened his maple grove is gone, he accepts this part of the experience and moves on.

The Sciborskis’ bonsai collection today includes decades-old maples, elms, linden, yew, pomegranate, crabapple, flowering peach, hornbeam, ginseng, ninebark, lilac, wisteria, cedar, pine, fir, juniper and more. Upwards of 100 trees encircle their deck in Graeagle and spread throughout the yard.

John has worked with a number of notable bonsai masters through the years, such as John Naka, Bill Hashimoto, Roberta Walters and Masāki Imaizumi. He possesses an extensive research library of rare, autographed books.

“Everyone has all kinds of rules,” he says, referring to right and wrong approaches to bonsai. “It depends on the kind of tree you are working with, but mostly,” John smiles and holds a finger to a winking eye, “it’s what looks good to your eye.” n

Bonsai Information and Upcoming Events

XRedwood Empire Bonsai Society www.rebsbonsai.org XREBS 34th Annual Bonsai Show—August 26–27

For a comprehensive listing of North American and Canadian bonsai clubs, news and events please visit:

XAmerican Bonsai Society www.absbonsai.org

Northern California garden centers specializing in bonsai:

XMaruyama Bonsai Nursery Sacramento, CA(916) 421-6888 XGrove Way Nursery Hayward, CA (510) 537-1157

John instructs a bonsai student on wiring and shaping techniques for her Korean Hornbeam.

M A R C H 2017 5

Valley ElectricLooking Ahead - Leading by Example

TONOPAH — Each afternoon, Marlena Dufour reports to work at a place that looms in many people’s nightmares: She is the night clerk at the Clown Motel.

The lobby is filled with clown figures from around the world; big and small, wooden and porcelain. They stand on shelves, keeping a cold eye on the 59-year-old as she goes about her work. They are bearded, makeup-smeared, smiling, often leering.

Clowns scare many people.“Every night, they’re all here, staring at

me,” says the soft-spoken Marlena.Many people have donated clown fig-

ures from their late-grandmother’s col-lection, unable to stomach their presence, Marlena says. Still, many later return to visit the impish characters.

With their colorful clothing and exag-gerated footwear, clowns have walked flat-footed among us for what seems like forever. Based on the “rustic fool” from Greek and Roman theater, the clown per-sona was designed to draw laughs. The English word “clown” was first recorded around the year 1560 (clowne or cloyne), meaning “boor or peasant.”

Recent decades have not been kind to the clown.

Today, the character’s modern identity has morphed into the tradition of the cir-cus clown, which entertains large crowds at a distance. But many circus-goers – including impressionable children – have gotten a bit too close to clowns, with their lined faces, goofy smirks and reced-ing hairlines.

There’s even a phobia known as “coul-rophobia,” or the fear of clowns.

The clown’s reputation has not been

helped by last fall’s nationwide clown-scare. People in at least a dozen states reported scary or suspicious incidents involving people dressed as clowns. Two schools on Long Island beefed up secu-rity after alerting police of clown reports, and hundreds of university students gathered for several nights after so-called clown sightings.

The novelist Stephen King, the cre-ator of the malevolent clown character “Pennywise,” has even urged Americans alarmed by a flurry of threatening clown incidents that it’s “time to cool the clown hysteria.”

For many, that is like hearing Peter Benchley, author of the book “Jaws,” fea-turing a killer white shark, say that it’s time to get back into the water again.

Still, the phenomena has been good for business at the Clown Motel, because many guests check in here to deal with their fear of the creatures.

“I see them standing at the door, white-faced,” Marlena says. “They’ve come to face their fears and their fam-ily or friends are pushing them through the door, saying ‘They are just a bunch of porcelain clowns. It’ll be all right.’”

Marlena knows all about the nonsen-sical fear of clowns. She once suffered herself.

Unique Hotel Theme Good for BusinessGuests get intothe clown spiritBy John M. Glionna

Owner Bob Perchetti tripled the collection of clowns after buying the hotel it in 1996.

Clowns go back to Greek and Roman theater.

28 M A R C H 2017

“There was something about them,” she says. “They were just creepy to me.”

Marlena walks around from behind the check-in desk to confront a gallery of hundreds of clowns.

She motions to a small doorstopper figure with red hair standing up straight with a perpetual expression of surprise.

“Look at this creepy little guy,” she laughs. “Most people don’t like him.”

She points to a flashlight with a clown visage. “I call this one Mr. Creepy.”

And the handmade female clown? “She’s creepy, creepy,” says Marlena.

The Clown Motel opened in 1981. A brother and sister who thought it would be a good idea to bring their col-lection from home and create a clown theme. They bought land next to the old Tonopah cemetery, where their father was buried after he died in the 1911 Belmont mine fire.

Owner Bob Perchetti added more

clowns after buying the business in 1996.“I’ve tripled the collection,” he says.

“I’ve never had a problem with clowns.”Each hotel room door bears a clown

figure, and many rooms have clown pic-tures on the wall.

There are even two clown suites with more images and figures.

“People still come in and ask me ‘Were you once a clown or something?’ ” Bob says. “And I tell them “All my life – just not the circus variety.’ ”

The other day, Anaheim resident David Smith rode his motorcycle up to the motel just to commingle with his favorite cultural creatures. “I’ve always loved clowns,” he says. “Scary? That’s stu-pid — they’re entertainment.”

The Yelp reviews of the motel range from the curious to the downright amazed.

“Holy Carp — it’s a clown hotel!” one passerby wrote. “I really thought, at this

point in my drive, that I was hallucinating.”

The motorist stopped and checked in. And he was glad he did.

“Let me tell you, cousin, this place is great,” he wrote. “Rooms are cheap. Rooms are clean. Proprietors are friendly.”

He added that he slept “until the pink elephants stopped giv-ing me traffic updates from Mars. If you’re on a long haul, and you’re starting to have conversations with things that don’t exist, take a nap at the Clown. You’ll thank me later.”

Marlena says that not everybody gets

into the clown spirit.Not long ago, a cable TV crew looking

for paranormal events came to the Clown Motel looking for ghosts. The producer was so afraid of clowns, he did not sleep for three days, she says.

As Marlena talks, she reaches out toward one clown on the shelf.

“He’s a creepy little fella, isn’t he?” she says. “He used to have hair. But some-body stole it.”

Something else has gotten lost at the Clown Motel: Marlena’s fears.

These days, she is developing a soon-to-be-launched website for the motel that will encourage guests to send in their favorite Clown Motel photographs, draw-ings and stories.

“When I came here eight years ago, I had to face it,” says the New Hampshire native. “My daughters are still afraid of clowns. But they don’t bother me any-more. Now I think they’re kind of fun.”

She points out a painting of a clown figure whose eyes seem to follow a visitor wherever they go.

“I love this one,” Marlena says. “Isn’t he great?” nReviews of the hotel range from curious to amazing.

A website is in the works.

M A R C H 2017 29

Valley ElectricLooking Ahead - Leading by Example

In 2014, soccer star Sydney Sladek traded her Pahrump Valley High School Trojans jersey for Trojan cardinal and gold at the University of Southern California. That decision paid off when the Women of Troy defeated top-ranked West Virginia to win the NCAA women’s College Cup championship in December.

Sidney returned home to Pahrump for winter break eager to share the victory with her family and friends.

“We all got together for a team Christmas party,” Sydney says. “I was able to see people I played high school with and people I played club with. It was really cool. I had my championship story. Some of my friends are engaged, others are married, others have graduated from

college. It was really cool to have a bunch of life stories.”

Sydney’s story has been all about soc-cer from the time she was 4.

“It was a sport she just loved,” says her father, Joe. “Soccer became year-round when she turned about 8.”

For 10 years Joe – a State Farm insur-ance agent – made time to help coach his daughter’s club teams and even her

Pahrump’s Sladek enjoys soccer gold at USC

Courtesy USC Athletic Department

Sydney Sladek and the Women of Troy defeated West Virginia in December to win the NCAA women’s College Cup.

2016 was a special year for the Trojans, and 2017 is looking even stronger

By Ginger Meurer

6 M A R C H 2017

high school team. He had played football and baseball growing up, but soccer was new.

“I had friends in Las Vegas who grew up in England and taught me a whole mess about the game,” Joe says.

Sydney was named the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year in 2013 and Nevada State MVP in 2011, 2012 and 2013. She and her teammates won state high school tourna-ments and more.

“The same group of girls that I coached won region-als when they were playing club, and went to nationals and were one of the top four teams,” Joe says. “It’s not just Sydney, it was a group of about a dozen of them, and about half of them are still playing in college. Sydney just happened to be really, really talented and was able to go to USC, but I’ve got girls playing everywhere who are from Pahrump.”

Sydney says while there weren’t as many girls to pack the rosters in Pahrump, that didn’t hold them back.

“I feel like we weren’t at a disadvan-tage because we were so close,” she says. “We grew up in the same town, went to the same middle school and high school. We were constantly with each other. We all knew each other’s lives. We all shared everything together. I felt like that bond off the field made us stronger on the field.”

“They were more sisters than friends,” Joe says. “They spent countless, thou-sands of hours training and traveling.”

Sydney says leaving that bond to go to USC was a challenge.

“I would call and say, ‘I miss you guys so much.’ It was rough at first. But after I started meeting girls, it reminded me of what I had with my past teammates. But nothing will ever change the bond I had with my teammates from back home.”

Sydney appreciates continued support from family and friends in Pahrump. Her father has been to almost every game. After the championship she was flooded with texts and tweets of congratulations.

“It’s really cool to see the bond that Pahrump has in supporting each other,” she says.

At USC, Sydney worked with coaches as new as she was to help rebuild the program.

“I remem-ber last year, looking at my coaches and say-ing, ‘Wow, this is the year.’ And unfortunately, we only made it to the Sweet 16,” she says. “But then this year I remember saying the exact same thing to them. And you could tell dur-ing preseason everyone felt the same way. Everyone just had that vibe that this was going to be the year.”

There is no telling if next season, with

several senior starters graduating, will again be “the year,” but Sydney has high hopes.

“I think we are all going to come back a lot stronger,” she says. “It already looks like pretty much everyone is excited to keep going. We know that we lost those girls, but we know that we have big shoes

to fill so we want to keep improving.”

Sydney says all the work has been worth it, and she is striving to continue playing after college.

“I feel like every single

good memory I have had, every friend-ship I have created, has been through soccer,” she says. “So I don’t feel like I have missed anything. Maybe I’ve missed a dance here or there, or I wasn’t able to go to a friend’s house, but I wouldn’t change anything.” n

Sydney’s Pahrump teammates, seen here at a Christmas break get-together, are more like sisters than friends.

“It was rough at first. But after I started meeting girls, it reminded me of what I had with my past teammates. But nothing will ever change the bond I had with my teammates from back home.”

M A R C H 2017 7

Lincoln County

By Dianna Troyer

At the Pine Tree Inn and Bakery, Carol Mathews is car-rying on a tradition of hos-pitality exemplified by her late mother-in-law, Lorene Mathews.

For her friendliness and volunteerism, Lorene was known as “Grandma” to Panaca residents—whether or

not they were family. “We want guests to feel

welcome, like family,” says Carol, who opened the four-bedroom, five-bathroom bed-and-breakfast in the Mathews family home in 2008.

Lorene’s husband, Lester, who died in 1989, built the family home in the 1940s.

“My parents would be glad to see what we’ve done,” says

Carol’s husband, Robert, who grew up in the house at 412 N. Third St.

He and Carol live two houses away, making it con-venient to walk there to check in guests.

Robert laughs and says he has become the “part-time janitor and handyman here,” whenever he is not ranching in partnership with their son

Shane.“The family vibe is still

very much alive here,” Sydney Martinez, content manager for TravelNevada, wrote in a recent online review. “It’s easy to feel like you yourself are a relative, staying at your own grandmother’s house.”

Carol began running the inn after retiring as the Family and Consumer Sciences

The World at Their DoorstepMathews family tradition of hospitality lives on at Panaca bed-and-breakfast

The Pine Tree Inn and Bakery serves homemade treats to guests made by, from left, Larissa Frehner, Carol Mathews and Jenny Mathews.Photo courtesy of Mathews family

4 M A R C H 2017

teacher at Lincoln County High School.

She says the family business has been gratifying for her, Robert and relatives who help run it, mainly daughter-in-law Jenny Mathews and niece Larissa Frehner. Daughter-in-law Teresa Mathews, who lives in Hiko, helps when needed.

“We really like visiting with international travelers,” says Carol. “A lot of Europeans stop by because they’re driv-ing from Yosemite up to the national parks in Utah. They want to hear stories about the railroad and mining history of nearby communities.”

Jenny loves meeting people from around the world.

“A lot of guests like a bed-and-breakfast better than a

hotel because it’s more person-alized,” says Jenny. “When I cook, I always ask if they have any requests or allergies or food restrictions.”

Larissa says when she works at the inn, she remi-nisces about her grandmother Lorene’s friendly and fastidi-ous habits about her home.

“She used to iron the sheets before putting them on the bed, which Carol still does,” says Larissa. “Outside, even in her 80s, she’d sit down and weed along the sidewalk. She always had wonderful home-made food, too, for anyone who stopped by to visit.”

Like Lorene, Carol is known for her homemade meals, especially baked goods.

“When I worked at the

high school, twice a month my culinary arts class would take orders for baked goods and then make, package and deliver them,” says Carol. “When I announced my retirement, people asked me to keep baking.”

She takes online or phone orders for rolls, breads, muf-fins, pies, cookies and cakes, baking them in the commer-cial kitchen at the inn.

“We do catering, too,” says Carol. “We usually get a lot of orders for pies and din-ner rolls at Thanksgiving and Christmas. For church events, I’ll bake 200 cookies at a time.

“People like my pies, too, especially the crust, so I share my recipe for it. Even though we use the same recipe, peo-ple tell me a pie tastes better when I make it.”

The idea to run a bed-and-breakfast as a retirement busi-ness first occurred to Carol when she was talking to a friend in Cedar City.

“She had one and liked it, so I thought it would be fun for me,” says Carol.

She looked around town for a historic house in an ideal location, and realized the Mathews family home was both. Lorene had died in 2006, so Carol and Robert bought the property from the family estate and remodeled it a year later, designing each bedroom with a private bath-room and TV.

“It’s a great location because we’re near Cathedral Gorge State Park and Panaca Warm Springs,” says Carol.

Since the original remodel, the family has done more upgrades. Carol planted a row of pine trees to supplement the three spruce trees Lorene planted years ago.

During summer, a garden with lush squash, tomatoes and pumpkins thrives beside the driveway.

In the backyard, the Mathews built a 500-square-foot, one-room cabin with a kitchen and bathroom. Last summer, they erected a gazebo and made a fire pit above ground for a daughter’s wedding reception.

“We’d like to promote the inn for weddings, reunions, parties and other events,” says Carol.

She says she could not run the inn without family support.

“I was surprised at how time-consuming it really is,” she says. “We’re about as busy as we want to be. Usually from Memorial Day to Labor Day, one of us is cooking breakfast for guests every morning.”

Carol, who recently cele-brated her 70th birthday with friends and family, foresees herself running the business at least another five years.

“I’m enjoying it,” she says. “I’ll see how I feel when I’m 75.” n

Carol’s Never-Fail Pie CrustMix 1 teaspoon salt and 5 cups flour. Cut in 2 cups shortening. Mix 1 egg and 3/4 cup milk and add to flour mixture to form dough. Yields 5 equal portions.

Top, a homemade breakfast is served every morning. Above, the inn is designed to be cozy, like visiting grandmother’s house.Photos by Sydney Martinez, TravelNevada

M A R C H 2017 5

Four local students have been selected for the Washington Youth Tour trip in June 2017. Each year, Graham County Electric Cooperative provides an opportunity for a weeklong all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C.

The competition requires students to take a written test and write a 350-word essay on an

assigned topic. This year, students wrote on “How to balance free speech with respect to our national symbols; such as the American flag.”

Finalists are interviewed by a panel of judges. Juniors selected for the 2017 trip are Thatcher High School students Alyson Wakefield, Kayla West and Leisel Griffin; and Pima High School’s Dillon Jones.

Graham County

Washington BoundThe Arizona delegation from the 2016 youth tour trip in front of the Capitol building.

4 M A R C H 2017

Alyson WakefieldAlyson Wakefield is the daughter of Shawn and Candace Wakefield. She is involved in many activities. She loves backpacking, camping, playing basketball, volleyball, the ukulele, piano and doing puzzles with her family. Being a member of National Honor Society and Student Council has taught her to be a leader and helped her gain confidence.

Alyson has a fondness for elderly people and loves to serve them. She helped raise money for the Remembering Russell Race, singing at a nursing home, helping clean up Thatcher Cemetery and helping an elderly neighbor.

“I’m honest, friendly, happy, good at problem solving and easy to get along with,” she says. “I enjoy meeting new people and learning about new things.”

She plans to attend Dixie State University or Northern Arizona University to become a pediatric dental hygienist.

Leisel GriffinLeisel Griffin, attends Thatcher High School and is the daughter of Wayne and Antoinette Griffin. Playing sports is Leisel’s favorite thing to do. She is on the varsity soccer team, runs cross coun-try and track, and participates in swimming and weight lifting. She is in the high school show choir, Drama Club, Knowledge Bowl, and was selected for National Honor Society.

Leisel helped the Bureau of Land Management move rocks to prevent erosion, in addition to gathering and stacking firewood for the U.S. Forest Service.

One of Leisel’s goals is completing the sports medicine program at Eastern Arizona College. She is CPR and first aid certified, and is a certified lifeguard.

Leisel is excited about representing Graham County Electric Cooperative and loves learning about the civil war in history at school.

“I am a hard worker with job experience and good people skills,” she says. “I am friendly, and I try to always treat everyone with kindness and respect.”

Kayla WestKayla West is the daughter of Jennifer West. She loves spending time with her family. She is a driven and motivated student athlete with a desire to learn and grow.

Kayla is a forward on her high school soccer team, in addition to playing softball and running cross country. Kayla’s mother started teaching her to play the piano at age 4. She plays in her high school orchestra and also sings in the choir.

Through her membership in National Honor Society, Kayla contributes to many community projects. She has not finalized college plans, but is interested in Stanford with a major in biomedical sciences with specialized study in cardiothoracic surgery or joining the Air Force.

“I strive to give 100 percent to every task put in front of me,” she says.

Dillon JonesPima High School Junior Dillon Jones loves play-ing games, football, wrestling, tennis, Knowledge Bowl, sightseeing, traveling and listening to music. The son of Sam and Rane Jones, Dillon has been involved in Future Business Leaders of America, Student Council, and was Link Crew leader and Homecoming Committee president.

“Besides my love for history and travel, I feel I would make a great representative because I am personable,” says Dillon.

Dillon says he loves to travel and plans to become a commercial airline pilot and earn his bachelor’s degree in business.

These students will travel to Washington, D.C., in June with a delegation of 50 from Arizona and southern California, where they will join another 1,500 students from across the United States to learn about our nation’s government. n

Our Ambassadors Each of these students is involved in the community and wants to make a difference. It was a difficult decision for our judges to pick only four, but these youth will be great ambassadors for Graham County Electric Cooperative in fighting for our electric issues. They will learn the importance of being active participants in our democracy and how they can contribute to rural America. Congratulations, recipients, and have a great trip in June.

Alyson Wakefield

Leisel Griffin

Kayla West

Dillon Jones

M A R C H 2017 5

Down the LineNews From Arizona G&T Cooperatives

By Geoff Oldfather

The agenda may have changed, but the reason for being at the state Capitol in Phoenix was the same: rural electric cooperatives need to be heard in the halls and offices of the state legislature.

The challenge of having co-op voices heard is greater than in previous years, as a third of state lawmakers are freshman, many of whom know little or nothing about Arizona’s rural electric cooperatives.

Adding to that challenge is two legislators from legislative district 14 (LD-14)—the district that includes Arizona G&T Cooperatives and the Apache Generating Station at Cochise, south of Wilcox—were term-limited and did not return to office: David Gowan, former Republican Speaker of the House; and David Stevens, also a former senior Republican House member.

State Sen. Gail Griffin, also a senior lawmaker, was re-elected to a two-year term and was elected by her caucus to serve as majority whip. She will be a

Turnover at State Capitol a Challenge for Rural Electric CooperativesFreshman legislators get a crash course on electric cooperatives

Above, Phil Bashaw, left, GCSECA director of Government Relations and Grassroots Advocacy, discusses the legislative schedule with, from left, Harold Burdick, Anza Electric Cooperative; and Rusty Sherman and Steve Hooper, Graham County Electric Cooperative.

28 M A R C H 2017

strong voice for cooperatives.More than 50 people from Arizona’s electric

cooperatives, including managers and CEOs, board members and key staff, visited with state lawmakers during the annual meeting and legislative summit held by Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association, January 23 to 25.

The co-op representatives were divided into 15 three- to five-member teams, and each team was assigned a roster of state representatives and sena-tors to visit. Another team visited with the five members of the Arizona Corporation Commission.

A key piece of legislation the teams discussed with lawmakers was SB1129 Electric Nonprofit Cooperatives, a bill introduced by Griffin with 20 bipartisan co-sponsors. The legislation authorizes electric cooperatives to use unclaimed capital cred-its for financial assistance to students, education institutions, low-income cooperative members and other charitable purposes.

Phil Bashaw, GCSECA director of Government Relations and Grassroots Advocacy, said there are many reasons to visit with state legislators besides advocating for specific legislation.

“The priority is, of course, to make sure they know about our electric cooperatives and the unique perspective we bring,” Bashaw said.“When we are able to show them the cooperative difference, how we return margins to the members in the form of capital credits, and how we put members first and contribute to our communities in other ways, it helps set us apart.

“Another important reason for being there is to thank those lawmakers who supported us in the past. A simple thank you and a recognition of past support has a real impact when we ask for their sup-port again.”

The math also shows why educating state law-makers about co-op issues is critical: There are 90 legislators. Only nine legislative districts and the 27 legislators from those districts have electric co-op service territory in their districts.

The bottom line is, less than a third of state law-makers have a direct connection to electric coopera-tives and the neighbors, businesses and communities that rely on an electric cooperative to deliver safe, reliable and affordable power.

“Educating lawmakers, regulators and most of all, our members, is critical if we’re going to continue providing safe, reliable and affordable rural electric power,” Bashaw said. n

Your Vote MattersRemember, rural voices matter! For more information on voter registration or voting, visit www.vote.coop.

“The priority is, of course, to make sure they know about our electric cooperatives and the unique perspective we bring. When we are able to show them the cooperative difference, how we return margins to the members in the form of capital credits, and how we put members first and contribute to our communities in other ways, it helps set us apart.”

—Phil Bashaw GCSECA director of Government Relations and Grassroots Advocacy

State Rep. Rebecca Rios, (D-LD27), top center, reviews a summary of SB1129, a bill that would allow electric cooperatives to use unclaimed capital credits to support students, schools, community organizations and charities. Representing Arizona G&T Cooperatives on the legislative visit are, from left, J.D. Wallace, Jon Martell, Shane Sanders and CEO Patrick Ledger.

M A R C H 2017 29