The Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 W EDNESDAY , O CTOBER 14, 2015 N O . 41 20 P AGES $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com Sheriff’s deputies create own forest plan By George Plaven Blue Mountain Eagle Contributed photos/Eric Sines Tucker Garinger, left, and Charles Kreamier get ready to dig into their tacos during a Sept. 25 fundraiser in Long Creek for fire relief. Long Creek rallies Ior ZilG¿ re relieI Taco feed, bottle recycling efforts raise over $2,500 Blue Mountain Eagle LONG CREEK – Small in size and number but not in power, the community of Long Creek raised $2,538 from two recent fundraisers for the Canyon Creek Com- plex Fire Relief Fund. The Long Creek School Booster Club cashed in the cans and bottles ¿ lling its “Kans for Kids” trailer for a hefty sum of $1,163, which they donated to the fund. Following that success, the community rallied for a by-donation taco feed fund- raiser on Sept. 25, raising another $1,375. The Relief Fund was es- tablished by Old West Fed- eral Credit Union to assist those who lost homes or were otherwise impacted by the wild¿ re. Unhappy with the U.S. Forest Service after a summer of devastating wild¿ res, Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer has made his own natural re- sources plan to inÀ uence the management of public lands. Palmer deputized 11 county residents to write and adopt the local plan, though it remains unclear whether they have legal standing to coordinate with the feds. The move caught county commission- ers off guard at a Sept. 30 meeting, Sheriff where Palm- Glenn er declined to Palmer put his plan on the agenda and instead brought it up during public comment. He said he is invoking coordination through the sheriff¶s of¿ ce, and asked WHAT DO YOU THINK? We value your opinion and want to hear what you think on this issue. Write a letter to the editor. for the commissioners’ support. “I ask for things from the Forest Service to do my job, and I get the door shut in my face,” Palmer said at the meet- ing. “I’m having a heck of a time getting out to do my job.” Commissioner Chris Labhart said they are seeking an opinion from their attorney, and criticized Palmer for a lack of transparency. “No other citizen of Grant County has seen this document at all,” Labhart said. “Those (deputies) are the only people who had access to this before it was presented to the court, out of the blue.” See PLAN, Page A9 ‘GRATEFUL FOR MY DANCE WITH CANCER’ Q&A Contributed photo Blue Mountains Forest Partners formed in 2006 to help address natural resource challenges in Grant County. The group works with the Malheur National Forest to identify and prioritize areas that need treatment. Group works to restore forest, communities Blue Mountain Eagle In 2006, the Blue Moun- tains Forest Partners (BMFP) was formed in Grant County by a diverse group of in- dividuals who wanted to restore and sustain the Mal- heur National Forest and the communities it supports. The collaborative now in- cludes loggers, ranchers, en- vironmentalists, landowners, elected of¿ cials and other stakeholders who are work- ing together to maintain the forest as both an ecological and economic asset. Supporters of the forest collaborative say prior to the group’s establishment, man- agement of the forest was mired in litigation brought by stakeholders with com- peting interests. The group has worked with the Forest Service to de- velop vegetative management See Q&A, Page A10 INSIDE Contributed photos The Moore family at Thanksgiving in Phoenix in 2010. The family was undergoing a period of uncertainty with Ruthie’s (center) breast cancer diagnosis, and chose a ‘pink’ celebration to brighten up the holiday. Ruthie underwent a lumpectomy four days later. to kick.’ tt bu er nc ca e m so d an do ‘I had things to ‘In this of¿ ce everyone is facing death right sTuare in the face ’ S ome moments you just don’t ever forget. Ruthie Moore of Day- ville says she remembers as if it was yesterday – the moment she got the “dreaded phone call” from her doctor relaying the breast cancer diagnosis. That was almost ¿ ve years ago, Oct. 19, 2010 – at 3:21 p.m., to be exact. Today, Moore is celebrating good health and “¿ ve years of surviving and thriving” Dayville woman survives, thrives ¿ ve years later By Cheryl +oeÀ er Blue Mountain Eagle “I really cannot even imagine what my life would be like right now without the ‘Big C,’” Moore said. “It may have tried to take my life, but what it actually ended up doing was give me back far more than it took. I know that because of this cancer journey I’ve been on, I am a much better person today than I was ¿ ve years ago.” Moore was diagnosed with stage one invasive breast cancer. Her tu- mor was eight centimeters with clear margins and no cancer in her lymph nodes. It was caught early, due, she said, to the short time span between mammograms – only 15 months. See RUTHIE, Page A3 Local McDonald’s restaurant closes Oct. 31 – PAGE A10 Ruthie Moore, second from the left, enjoys a ‘girls weekend’ with, from left, her daughter, Kristi Moore of Phoenix, Ariz., granddaughter, Alcie Moore, and daughter, Kalli Wilson of Springfield. October is National To schedule your mammogram today, call: 541-575-4163 Month See page A9 for more information