Local students earn advanced degrees

CORVALLIS — A pair of students from John Day were among the more than 7,300 students scheduled to receive academic degrees during Oregon State University’s commencement ceremonies on June 11.

Katharine Nicolato earned a master’s degree in sustainable forest management from OSU, and Justin Thorson earned a master’s in fisheries science.

Mt. Vernon man graduates academy

FORT BLISS, Texas — Command Sgt. Major Steven Baldwin, a Mt. Vernon resident, graduated on June 9 from the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy in Fort Bliss, Texas, according to a news release from the Army’s 10th Mountain Division.

Baldwin maintained a 3.7 grade point average during his studies and has published several articles on mission command and military tactics in the Non-Commissioned Officer Journal.

Command sergeant major is the highest rank an enlisted service member can achieve. Fewer than 1% of service members are nominated to attend the Sergeants Major Academy and approved by the Army’s Headquarters Department, according to the news release.

OTEC bills get

a new look, for now

BAKER CITY — If your electric bill looks different this month, don’t worry — it’s only temporary.

Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative has started mailing out monthly billing statements in brown envelopes after running out of the usual white ones due to a supply chain issue, OTEC said in a news release.

It seems the company that prints and mails the co-op’s bills ran out of white paper for the envelopes, and it’s not clear when it will be able to get more.

In the meantime, the vendor has stocked up on brown envelopes and will use those until white paper becomes available again.

The brown paper envelopes will probably be used for at least two monthly billing cycles, OTEC said.

— Blue Mountain Eagle