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The championship is returning to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico October 2-4 to carve for the Make-a-Wish Foundation of New Mexico. And there's a new twist. This year the Championship pits the highly competitive ECHO Carving Team against the clock and each other.
Mark Colp of Lakeport will compete along with Mike Bihlmaier of Marengo, Ill., Jason Emmons of Branchville, Ind., and Bob King of Edgewood, Wash. have appeared as members of ECHO's national carving team since 2005 when ECHO first formed the team. The company started the ECHO Carving Series and Championship the same year.
This year's championship showcases the ECHO team members to see who will be judged as the superior carver. The four professional carvers will compete for cash prizes and the prestigious ECHO Carving Cup. They have 22 hours to produce masterpiece sculptures under the theme: “The Great American Southwest.”
On Sunday, Oct. 4, the sculptures will be judged and then auctioned, with proceeds benefiting the Make-a-Wish Foundation of New Mexico. The foundation grants "wishes" to children who have a life threatening medical condition. Last year's auction raised $34,700 for the foundation, granting wishes to seven children.
The competition in Albuquerque should be tense. King has won the championship three years in a row. Colp has competed in all four prior Championships, while Mike Bihlmaier has competed in two championships and Jason Emmons two. You can follow the team as the tension ramps up at www.echo-usa.com/carvingcontest or on the team's Facebook page. You may reach their page via the Championship link on the ECHO web site.
ECHO INCORPORATED is a leading manufacturer of professional-grade, high performance hand-held outdoor power equipment for commercial and residential use.
MEET THE TEAM
MARK COLP
Mark is also a member of ECHO's Chain Saw Carving Team and has participated in every ECHO Carving Series Championship. He has been carving for 31 years and has been a professional chain saw carver since high school. He jokes that he has never filled out a job application. You could say chain saw carving runs in his blood. Mark's father is a pro chain saw carver and was one of the pioneers in the trade. "I grew up with chain saw carving," says Mark. "And I still learn a lot from my Dad." Mark lives in Lakeport. His favorite wood is redwood and his favorite subject is nautical, especially carving dolphins. He considers his best work to date three jumping dolphins, which won first place at a Washington competition in 2005.
BOB KING
Bob is a three time winner of the ECHO Carving Series Championship. He won the Championship in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and is a member of ECHO's Chain Saw Carving Team. He is a professional carver and has been carving for almost fourteen years and works at his trade five to seven days a week depending on the weather. Bob lives in Edgewood, WA. His favorite wood is western red cedar and his favorite subject is realistic wildlife. He considers his best work to date the piece he carved at the 2008 ECHO Carving Series qualifying event in Chetwynd, British Columbia, Canada.
JASON EMMONS
Originally from Indianapolis, Jason is a full-time carver now based out of his studio, Bear Hollow, in St. Croix, IN and a member of the ECHO Carving Team. He has been carving for about ten years and credits his wife Cindy, whose family operates a saw mill and lumber yard, as the inspiration to become a chain saw carver. Emmons' most challenging carving project to date is also the one he's most proud of. "I carved a dog memorial for a customer in New York," he recalls. "The project took about 10 hours from start to finish. Because the dog had passed away, it was a very personal, emotional and sentimental project for the customer and so the pressure was really on." He competed in the 2006 and 2007 ECHO Championships.
MIKE BIHLMAIER
Mike, an ECHO Carving Team member, does all his carving and finishing work at his home in Marengo, IL, and considers chain saw carving a labor of love, not a job. Mike, who started out competing in snow sculpting, was inspired to become a professional chain saw carver after seeing carvers at various county fairs. To Bihlmaier, carving is more of an art form than a skill and likens the craft more towards classical sculpture than traditional wood carving. Mike asserts that he hasn't carved his hardest piece yet, but one of his most challenging projects so far was 22-foot red-tailed hawk on a 3-sided pillar that he carved out of white oak for a country club. Mike has competed in 2005 and 2007 ECHO Chain Saw Carving Championships.
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On Feb. 17, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act).
The U.S. EPA manages more than $7 billion in projects and programs that will invest in environmental protection and provide long-term economic benefits to aide recovery efforts across the nation.
More than $517 million in Recovery Act Funds have already been obligated to California, including:
The California State Water Resources Control Board will receive $2.8 Million for water quality management planning. In addition, the Board’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund program will receive $280 million for water quality protection projects.
The California Department of Public Health’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program will receive $159 million to provide low-interest loans for drinking water systems to finance infrastructure improvements and ensuring safe drinking water.
Seven tribes in California will have improved access to vital water services through $8.5 million in Recovery funding. Projects to be undertaken include upgrades to wastewater treatment, upgrades to sewer connections, and expansion of sewer lines.
The California Air Resources Board has been awarded $1.73 million in Recovery Act Funds for clean diesel projects. Eligible projects include engine idling reduction and retrofit technologies, engine replacement, vehicle replacement, and clean diesel emerging technologies.
A cooperative agreement with the California State Water Resources Control Board will be used to distribute $15,577,000 for assessment and cleanup of underground storage tank petroleum leaks.
Over $25,403,971 in Clean Diesel Recovery funds will be used to replace, repower and retrofit engines in buses, heavy-duty trucks, locomotives, agricultural vehicles, construction vehicles, and cargo handling equipment in metropolitan Los Angeles, the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, San Diego, San Joaquin Valley and the Bay Area.
To help clean up sites known as “brownfields” which may be contaminated by hazardous chemicals or pollutants, EPA has awarded $3.3 million from the Recovery Act and $6.8 million from the EPA brownfields general program funding, to help communities in California revitalize former industrial and commercial sites, turning them from problem properties to productive community use.
EPA has awarded $700,000 funded in part through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to the Los Angeles Conservation Corps. The LA Conservation Corp will provide job training for 160 students to learn the latest environmental technologies and prepare them for “green” jobs.
Over $10 million in new funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will be used to accelerate the clean-up at the Iron Mountain Mine Superfund site near Redding, California.
For more info, please visit www.epa.gov/recovery .
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
SB 2 extends, from 2011 to 2016, the Pierce's Disease Control Program within the CDFA, and expands the program’s research component to include designated new pests and diseases affecting grapes grown in California.
The research is paid for by funds which the winegrape growers assess upon themselves.
The Wiggins bill calls for a referendum of the state’s winegrape growers in order to continue the industry assessment.
In the late 1990s, Pierce's Disease, which has been present in California for more than 100 years, threatened to cause sizable damage to grapes due to the arrival of the glassy-winged sharpshooter.
The glassy-winged sharpshooter carries the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, which causes Pierce's Disease in grapes, almonds, oleander, and citrus fruits.
The insect feeds on a plant's water producing elements. When a plant develops Pierce's Disease, its ability to draw in moisture is hindered and the plant will either die or become unproductive.
In response to this threat to the grape industry, the Legislature passed bills that led to the creation of an advisory task force on the Pierce's Disease issue in 1999.
In 2000, the Pierce's Disease Control Program was created as a partnership between the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), county agriculture commissioners, United States Department of Agriculture, University of California, local agencies, industry and agriculture organizations to combat the spread and find solutions for Pierce's Disease and the glassy-winged sharpshooter.
Wiggins, who chairs the Senate Select Committee on California’s Wine Industry, said the program has “proven to be a very successful effort to control the spread of Pierce's Disease and the glassy-winged sharpshooter.
While the program is due to sunset in 2011, the disease and the threat of its spread still remain. By extending the sunset date, the Pierce's Disease Control Program can continue to combat the spread of Pierce's Disease and the glassy-winged sharpshooter.”
Assemblywoman Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), who chairs the Assembly Select Committee on Wine, is principal co-author of SB 2, as is Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro (D-Eureka).
Evans said the Pierce’s Disease Control Program “has not only kept this pest under control, it has resulted in a sustained reduction of the Sharpshooter population. It shows how government and business can work together effectively. This success was the best argument to keep the program going.”
"Ten years ago the glassy-winged sharpshooter posed a serious threat to California’s winemaking industry,” Chesbro said. “The industry came together, and with legislation Sen. Wiggins and I authored, we made the control program a highly successful hedge against the spread of Pierce’s Disease. It’s heartening to see the private and public sectors continue to work together to keep this important program going strong.”
Supporters of SB 2, including the California Association of Winegrape Growers, Family Winemakers of California and the Wine Institute, state that the great inter-governmental and industry coordination through the Pierce's Disease Control Program has proven an excellent model for pest control programs.
By extending the research funding of the program to include other significant pests and diseases threatening California grape growers, they assert, California will be able to build on the success of the Pierce's Disease Control Program to combat other significant pests to grapes grown in the state.
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If so, the Lake County Chamber of Commerce's next 59-minute seminar is for you.
The “Facebook 101” seminar will take place from 6 p.m. to 6:59 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, at the Lakeport City Council Chambers, 225 Park St.
Carol Cole-Lewis, Internet and social media marketing consultant, will lead the seminar.
Cole-Lewis' blog, “So You Have a Website … Now What?” provides resources, tips and tricks to enable small business owners to effectively implement social media as an element in an overall marketing plan.
The seminar's experience level is for “newbies” – people who have just joined, or who are considering joining Facebook.
Participants will learn several important “how to” items, including signing up for a Facebook account and setting up a Facebook profile, finding friends and how to use Facebook to build exposure for your business.
The cost is free to chamber members and $10 for non-members.
Space is limited – make your reservation today. Please RSVP online at www.lakecochamber.com , by phone at 707-263-5092 or via email at