While in Bend a while ago I read an article about the opioid problem. I was surprised to read that Eastern Oregon is a hotbed of opioid abuse. I knew there was some problem but when I read that Safeway pharmacy in Enterprise ranked third in pill sales per county resident per year 2006 to 2012 I was taken aback. Safeway sold 35 pills per person in the county each year. This amounts to 245,000 pills a year and 1,470,000 for that time period. I am now surprised we didn’t lose a bunch of people to overdose. Safeway was way behind Howard’s drugs in Lakeview who sold 68 pills per county resident. Baker City was no slouch with 3 pharmacies in the top 20 selling a total of 46 pills per county resident. It begins to look like some prescriptions have been issued for pain as small as a hangnail.

On a brighter note I saw on the internet that a lady in Joseph was pleasantly surprised by a couple of boys about 8 or 10 years old who came by and without being asked stacked a pile of wood she had in her yard. I don’t know who you two boys are but you are on the right track. You boys need to thank your parents for bringing you up to think like you do. I love this County.

Fred Steen has run the timed event end of CJD rodeo for the last several years. I occasionally help, mostly in an advisory position, so I can get in free and hang around with the pretty girls Fred recruits. A few years ago a couple of young non-resident guys, one about 10 and the other in his teens, asked if they could help. Horatio the teen has relatives in the county and shows up every year to help. Cassius, who we call Cash, stays with his grandparents, shows up every year and the two of them have almost become indispensable. For a couple of city kids they have quickly learned to handle cattle and keep the rodeo moving along. These guys show up at slack and all performances and do a great job.

One day before slack Horatio asked if he could ride my palomino mare. I asked him if he just wanted to ride around the arena a little and he did. I asked Horatio if he could ride and he replied that he couldn’t rope but could ride pretty good. I might have made a mistake by telling him the mare was pretty light in the mouth and not to pull on the reins too much. We went to the trailer got the horse and Horatio mounted up and we headed for the arena. My mare is pretty gentle but will wake up if something needs doing. As we entered the business end of the arena my mare woke up and wondered if we were there for some kind of event. About then Horatio, to my surprise turned his toes out and drove his heels into the mare. Game on! The mare hit top speed in about four jumps and raced for the far end of the arena. Horatio had one hand on his hat and the other on the saddle horn and seemed to have forgotten the reins were the brakes and steering gear. The mare made the corner going flat out and picking up speed headed our way. My first instinct was to close the back gate to contain the stampede. I started but realized I wouldn’t make it. The mare flew by with Horatio still on and briefly slid to a stop at the back wall before taking off to the right behind the pens and headed for the tractor parking area. She stopped there just long enough for me to scream at Horatio to get off. He complied quickly and the mare settled down. I should have realized the mare knew this was a place of competition and it was the timed event end. I was pretty relieved there was no wreck and the kid was OK. I guess Horatio was a pretty good rider since he stayed on even though he had lost both stirrups during the trip.