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The Oregon National Guard brought both to Lakeview High School on Wednesday, May 1, and Thursday, May 2, as part of their Physical Health and Adventure Tour (PHAT) program.

Included in this interactive presence was a 25-foot climbing wall as well as a gymnasium filled with an inflatable obstacle course and other fitness-related equipment.

“It’s a good opportunity for the Guard to get out in front of students,” said Anthony Bond, an Army National Guard recruiter for the Klamath Falls and Lakeview areas.

Students took turns at climbing the simulated rock wall in the basketball courts just west of the Daly Middle School building.  Inside the gym, there was a massive 110-foot long by 25-foot tall obstacle course that pitted student against student.

The obstacle course features multiple slides, tunnels and ladders

A pugil pit served as an American Gladiators-type contest in which students stood on inflatable pods and attempted to knock each off with large, padded mallets, of sorts.

This activity helps students develop balance as well as endurance.

Sgt. First Class (SFC) Jarred Morgan noted that the Guard runs the mobile events tour throughout the state, with recent stops ranging from Coos Bay on the coast to Pendleton in the northeast corner.

Four weeks out of the month, they bring the tour to high schools throughout Oregon, he said, but they also attend other events, such as rodeos and miscellaneous community-based events.

“We’re here to promote physical fitness and confidence-building in the students,” Morgan said, noting that team-building exercises and providing an entertaining atmosphere for fitness are among the goals.

Morgan said that the tour reflects the community-based philosophy of the National Guard.

“This is one way we can give back to the community…,” he said, “plus the kids really seem to enjoy it.”

After originally opening its doors to the public on April 17, Dir. Monica Lawson reported that the museum had to close by April 24 until the museum received inspection approval.

The building first had to pass its inspection test with the state and prove that it was in compliance with current safety and hazard regulations.

Oregon officials sent Supervising Deputy for the Fire and Safety Service, Dave Fields, to examine the Schminck. Much to the pleasure of both Lawson and the general public, the museum passed with flying colors. Fields, who inspected the museum independent of any other presence, local or otherwise, reportedly completed his inspection in a brief amount of time due to the well-kept nature of the building. Of particular interest to Fields was the issue of a fire hazard, and there were no cluttered items to block the hallway.

For more information on business hours, contact the Schminck Memorial Museum at 541-947-3134.

Boggs, a glider pilot by trade, made waves at the airport, which he says has been more than amenable to his cause.

Boggs started flying 35 years ago and was one of the founding members of the Willamette Valley Soaring Club. Shortly after receiving his instructor’s license 11 years ago, Boggs moved to Hood River to give flying lessons and tours.

“I do mostly rides,” he said. Teaching people how to fly is different and takes longer, according to Boggs.

It’s a time-consuming process with no exact science, which is noted by the variance in lessons it takes for one to completely familiarize his or herself with the process.

“I estimate that somewhere between 20 and 40 lessons, they can do it on their own,” he said.

The science of glider planes is not unlike that of a balloon.

The analogy Boggs gives is that of blowing up a balloon and dropping it down a distance, that’s how slow glider planes fall from the sky once in the air.

Getting them in the air requires either a towing plane or a towing truck, both of which Boggs owns.

Towing planes and trucks have spools of wire with a hook at the end that the glider planes are latched onto.

Once the tow reaches optimal speed and the gliders are high enough to manage on their own, which occurs at about an altitude of higher than 700 ft. for longer flights, the tow releases and the planes soar.

In addition, he also owns four glider planes, investments he made once he retired. Make no mistake about it: glider planes are not for transportation, but for recreation.

They result in a thrilling ride and their fun nature is the reason thrill-seekers keep going back. Boggs, O’Donnell, and Cooper were kind enough to take me for a ride. While it certainly isn’t an adventure for the faint of heart, it also isn’t as bad as one might fear.

Truth be told, it was scarier driving in the bed of the towing truck and racing down the runway at maximum speed than it was being strapped into the backseat of a glider plane. It’s more exciting than it is scary, and it’s something everyone should do at least once.

“This is pure fun,” said Boggs. “That’s the only reason to fly a glider.” Boggs, O’Donnell and Cooper have been at the airport for almost two weeks.

For more information, call Boggs at 541-490-5557

Coach and father Keith Reed was more than happy with the way she competed at the state level, noting that she did well for not ever having played the course.

In golf, knowing the green is half the battle. Reed went into the tournament without ever having played at Eagle Crest golf course, but did her best and came away with a more than respectable score.

In addition to battling the green, she also had to battle nerves. Playing at the state level can be intimidating, but Reed handled herself with great aplomb, representing the Town of Lakeview well.

“She played pretty darn good golf,” said coach Reed.

The Lady Broncos clinched this year’s 1A/2A track and field championships at the district meet held on Saturday, May 18, at OIT in Klamath Falls.  They narrowly edged out Gilchrist, winning the championship by one point, 101 points to Gilchrist’s 100 points.

“The kids performed wonderfully,” said head coach Mark Douglas. “It was really something to see.”

He noted the upset against Gilchrist was particularly significant, given that Paisley was viewed as the underdog in this case.

A total of five Paisley athletes qualified for competition at the state championships, which will be held in Eugene at Hayward field, starting Thursday, May 23.

The 4×400-meter relay team of Krysta Colahan, Julia O’Leary, Priscilla Norris and Tess O’Leary took the overall win with a time of 4:24.72.

In addition, Tess O’Leary won no less than three other events, qualifying thus for the state champs. O’Leary won the pole vault (8’6”), triple jump (33’4”) and 800-meter events (2:32.11).

“She was the only four-event winner (at the meet),” Douglas said.

Colahan took runner-up in the triple jump (32’7”), which marked a personal record by a margin of two feet, Douglas said.  She also placed fourth in the 100-meter high hurdles (19.48) and fourth in the 400-meter event (1:08.68).

Julia O’Leary took second place in the pole vault (7 feet even) followed by Jessica Arrington in third (6’6”).

The men finished eight out of 11 teams competing in the 1A division, with 24.8 points.

For the men, a highlight included a second-place finish by sophomore Camden Jones in the 110-meter hurdles (19.07).

The Cowboys were forced to declare students ineligible for competition per rule 8.5 of the Oregon School Activities Association, which deals with school representation and student grades.

OSAA officials would not specify which statute was specifically violated, directing questions to the school in question. North Lake was cautious not to divulge information that would point to the student or students’ names, but Supt. David Kerr, whose first official day on the job was April 22, did state that the forfeitures were a result of numerous erroneous assumptions; assumptions made by the school(s) involved and parents.

Coach Dan Ward said it was brought to his attention early on game day that the student or students in question had not yet registered with the Lake County ESD, which deemed them ineligible.

That was later confirmed and the playoff win that would have sent North Lake onto the next round was then forfeited.

Since the OSAA is in the middle of redistricting, they sent out questionnaires to classify enrollment. They were due back by May 31, and their goal is to determine the average daily membership of each school, which is then used to determine what classification the school will fall under.

The list revealed a rules violation, which led to the discovery of student(s) ineligibility.

According to Ward, nobody ever checked on the student or students’ statuses. Ward reported the violation to the OSAA after having the information confirmed on the morning of Wednesday, May 15. “If people do their jobs, things go well,” he said. “But mistakes were made and my boys paid the price.”

When news of ineligibility trickled down the brass, Kerr called for a team meeting with both coaches present, and informed the team. Tempers flared, feelings were hurt and a few students even stormed out.

“It’s very upsetting, and the boys are very upset,” said Ward. “This should have been checked during the basketball season.”

Lakeview District BLM Associate District Mgr. Heather Whitman and Lakeview District BLM/Fremont-Winema National Forest Interagency Staff Officer Joe Reinarz announced the decision at a special county commissioners meeting on Monday, May 13.

A formal press release was issued later that same day by the Forest Service.

Whitman affirmed that the consolidation of the two centers would create local job opportunities.  Hiring would occur not only from within the agency but also from the public at large, she said.

“The single most important factor in making the decision was the socioeconomic factor,” Whitman said.

At present, Lakeview Interagency Fire Center (LIFC) employs five Forest Service positions, two Oregon Department of Forestry positions and four BLM positions.  Whitman noted these are not all permanent positions, as the numbers include seasonal workers.

“It’s going to provide opportunities in Lakeview,” she said.

Positions within the dispatch center will range from radio responders checking on the status of engines responding to an incident, all the way up to a fire manager at the upper echelon. Whitman said there would be opportunities for motivated individuals to move up the ladder.

In Klamath Falls, there are three permanent positions that would be impacted.  These employees would have the opportunity to transfer to Lakeview or elsewhere, Whitman said.

The organizational structure is hoped to be finalized by early July, which will then allow officials to move toward full implementation within the next year.

As the BLM and Forest Service are entering the 2013 fire season at present, the goal is to have the consolidation complete by this time next year, Whitman said.

Whitman said that the decision stemmed from internal meetings within the last six months, but the process started in 2011.

At that time, a study examining the options of combining both centers in either Lakeview or Klamath Falls commenced.

“By combining resources, this single dispatch center will be better able to provide faster, more efficient response in the event of a wildfire and improve the safety of fire fighters and efficiency of fire operations,” said Fremont-Winema National Forest Supervisor Fred Way.

Lake County Commissioner Ken Kestner noted the employment opportunities (see related story for additional details) would be a boon to the local populace, as well as afford them to remain in the community.

“We’re hoping our citizens who live here can remain here,” he said.

Similarly, Town of Lakeview Mayor Mike Patrick voiced similar support for the decision, and its positive future impacts.

“It’s really appreciated,” he said.  “We really appreciated locating it here in Lakeview.”

Additional comments from local government agency officials affirmed the logistical benefits to the decision.

“There are a lot of moving pieces in play during a fire season and it makes sense to direct resources from one location,” said Lakeview District BLM Mgr. E. Lynn Burkett.  “Our goal is to have the new combined Interagency Dispatch Center completely staffed and ready for the 2014 fire season.”

Larry Morrison, who is doing business as Klamath Soil Amendments, said that the permit’s alteration would allow for the use of yard debris and vegetables for composting materials.

Earlier in the permit application process, the classification would have allowed for the use of commercial food waste, but Morrison said that this waste would be biomassed by Lane Forest Products in Lane County.

“They’re going to take all that so we don’t have to deal with it,” Morrison said. “We plan on keeping that promise to them.”

Lake County’s Planning Commission issued a continuance on KSA’s application for a conditional use permit for the project during their April 16 meeting. The commission held a public meeting in Christmas Valley on this matter on Tuesday, May 21.

The project’s siting is tentatively set for the former kitty litter plant on Oil Dri Road.  The property is owned by Chuck Nofziger.

Morrison said that discussions with Nofziger revealed a need for composting materials to replenish area fields.  He said that composting is an all-natural and cost-effective option that can bring back nutrients of farmland.

He also said that there is considerable misinformation on the reality of what is being proposed.

“That’s been the hardship, trying to convince people its not body parts or hospital waste, or any of that stuff,” Morrison said.

Typical materials that would be composed at the site would include corn and tomato plants, and other natural materials, Morrison said. The vast majority of composting materials would be yard debris, he said.

Rumors circulating the site being used as a haven for toxic waste disposal have spiraled out of control, he said.

An information meeting hosted by Nofziger and Morrison was held on Tuesday, May 7, to provide an overview of the project.

More than 40 locals attended the meeting, Morrison said, expressing the belief that the majority had reshaped their previously negative opinions of the project.  The site would likely serve as a source for multiple jobs in the future, he said.

“It’s something that they need over there,” Morrison said.  “It’s a natural.  It’s a straight-forward deal.”

Should the planning commission approve KSA’s CUP application, the state DEQ will then set stipulations of the permit’s implementation, which could be a 60 to 90 day process, he said.

Morrison said he has about five years of experience with composting. Regarding issues of wind-driven odor locally, he said that the Oil Dri property sits in a hole where the majority of wind passes over its top.