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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 2017)
A18 News Blue Mountain Eagle PALMER Continued from Page A1 paying the attorney fees but, for a price, Hostetter would negotiate the fees on behalf of the county. “(Hostetter) says, ‘Right now, you guys are going to owe $78,000, but I think I can get it down to half of that if you send me a check for $2,000,’” Myers said. “We have no intention of doing that because it’s not a county action we would be defend- ing.” District Attorney Jim Car- penter ordered Palmer and DeFord to produce the records when they were requested by The Oregonian, but the re- cords were not released until the lawsuit was filed. Myers said Palmer’s ac- tions regarding the records were personal, not in his of- ficial duties as sheriff. Oregon law defines a tort as a “breach of a legal duty that is imposed by law ... which results in injury to a specific person or persons for which the law provides a civ- il right of action for damages or for a protective remedy.” Except in cases of malfea- sance in office or willful or wanton neglect of duty, Ore- gon law requires public bod- ies, such as the county court, to defend its officers for acts occurring in the performance of their duties. Myers said the county’s in- surance company has already indicated it will not cover the sheriff in this matter. “They said they will not cover Palmer,” Myers said, adding the court requested the insurance company in- vestigate covering DeFord separately. “We asked them to review whether ... Sally was acting as Deputy DeFord within the scope of her being an employee.” Myers said Palmer offered to pay the fees from the sher- iff’s office budget. Myers said, however, the sheriff’s office does not have the funds. “(Palmer) thinks that be- cause he has saved money in other budget years, he still has access to that money,” Myers said, adding unused funds re- vert back to the general fund. He said the court would have to transfer funds to the sheriff’s office’s budget, but the unused funds from previ- ous years were already reallo- cated. “It doesn’t exist,” he said. A hearing on the request for attorney fees is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. March 9 in Grant County Circuit Court. The Eagle/ Rylan Boggs New Fair Manager Mindy Winegar stands for a photo in the Grant County Fairgrounds office. Winegar took over as manager on Dec. 26 and is looking forward to putting on the county fair and hosting people from around the world during the eclipse. FAIR Continued from Page A1 toward for years, remodeling Keerins Hall and upgrading the pavilion and arena. For the 2017 county fair, Winegar has booked country music artist Ned LeDoux but is still searching for an opener. She wants to continue to im- prove the event and engage the community. The fairgrounds is hosting a slew of events before the fair. The Strawberry Mountain Gun Show & Knife Show in March, the Daddy/Daughter Dance in February and a summer kick- off event are all in the works. Winegar is already pre- paring for the solar eclipse in August and said the 175 camp- sites available are filling up fast. She is looking forward to meeting people from all over the world and said people as far as Norway and France have reserved sites. Winegar decided against holding an event in conjunc- tion with the eclipse. “We decided we were go- Michael B. DesJardin Dentistry, PC ing to be busy enough just po- licing campers,” she said. However, they will provide parking for the predicted influx of people. Winegar is looking forward to taking on new challenges in her position but also has a few worries. “My biggest concern is making events that the com- munity enjoys,” Winegar said, adding having enough vol- unteers is a constant concern. “We can’t exist without our volunteers. They’re very im- portant.” J OIN US ON F ACEBOOK facebook.com/MyEagleNews Wednesday, January 4, 2017 LAWS Continued from Page A1 where the specific job title or government department used by the impostor does not ac- tually exist. Oregon’s previous iden- tity theft law was interpreted by the courts to only apply to impersonations that involved financial fraud, leaving pros- ecutors unable charge those who did so only to intimidate or embarrass. The new law defines “injury” to include physical harm, threats, ha- rassment and intimidation. The crime is a Class A misdemeanor punishable with up to a year in prison and/or a $6,250 fine. (A sep- arate law already in effect makes impersonating a police officer or judge a Class C fel- ony.) Poaching penalties Would-be poachers who get caught unlawfully taking or killing wildlife will face substantially higher fines. The penalty for illegal- ly killing moose, mountain sheep and mountain goats will double from $25,000 to $50,000. A variety of other fees will increase signifi- cantly, including a hike from $1,000 to $5,000 for over- sized sturgeon and from $100 to $1,000 for wild turkeys and sage grouse. Sky lanterns If you kicked off the new year after midnight by releas- ing a glowing Chinese lantern into the atmosphere for good luck, you broke the law. The lanterns (known as sky lanterns, Chinese lan- terns, UFO balloons or wish lanterns) are “mini hot air balloons” made of a paper sack over an open flame that pushes the lantern into the air. House Bill 4140 prohibits the release of the lanterns into Oregon airspace. Oregon fire marshal Mariana Ruiz-Tem- ple called the uncontrolled, open-flame devices an “ex- treme fire hazard.” “Once released you have no control over where they may land,” she said. “They could end up on someone’s rooftop, in a tree, or a pile of debris and cause an unwanted fire.” The Class A violation is now punishable by up to $2,000 in fines. Sex crimes Victims of rape, child abuse or other first-degree sex crimes no longer need to worry about their abusers hiding behind a statute of limitations. Senate Bill 1600 removed the 12-year statute of lim- Preventive, Restorative & Endodontics New Patients Welcome! 208 NW Canton John Day 541-575-2725 mbddental@live.com michaelbdesjardindmd.com Monday - Thursday 7am- 6pm Friday 8am - 5pm Mendy Sharpe FNP the Apppointments available corner’s HOT SH T Mariana Ruiz-Temple Oregon fire marshal itations on first-degree sex crimes in Oregon, as long as the prosecution has corrobo- rating evidence of the crime or multiple victims come for- ward. That law is joined by Sen- ate Bill 1571, known as Me- lissa’s Law, which requires that all sexual assault forensic evidence kits be kept for at least 60 years after collection. It also directs the Oregon State Police to create a posi- tion or group of positions to handle inquiries from victims and other law enforcement agencies about the testing of kits, and prioritizes the test- ing of kits that are connected with active cases in which the victim has agreed to partici- pate in prosecution. Immigration consulting If you’re an immigrant concerned about your status under a new presidential ad- ministration, you’ll be happy to know that fake immigra- tion attorneys preying on worried immigrants will now face charges of obstructing justice if they get caught. House Bill 4128 adds unlicensed immigration consulting “with the in- tent to defraud” to the list of reasons someone can be charged with obstructing governmental or judicial administration. It also adds offering unauthorized notary services “with the intent to defraud.” The new law amends Or- egon’s definition of extor- tion to include threatening to reveal a someone’s im- migration status to law en- forcement if they (or a fam- ily member or friend) do not deliver services or goods or refrain from reporting illegal activity. Obstruction is a Class A misdemeanor, while extor- tion is a Class B felony. Whistleblower protec- tions Handing over evidence of your boss’s corruption, abuse or fraud won’t car- ry the same risks it used to, thanks to the whistleblow- er protections implemented with House Bill 6047. State employees and non- profit workers will be given affirmative defense — which amounts to protection from criminal or civil penalties for the commission of a specific crime — for giving lawfully obtained information about wrongdoing to a law en- forcement agency, regulato- ry agency or manager. Prostitution The definition of “pro- moting prostitution” has been expanded in Oregon, thanks to House Bill 4082. Previously sex trafficking could only be prosecuted if the one “promoting prosti- tution” was receiving money or property in exchange for their role in facilitating the sexual encounter. The charge of promoting prostitution will now apply to receiving “goods and services derived from prostitution” including benefits like shelter or man- ual labor. Postmortem account ac- cess You can now leave your Twitter handle or Instagram photos to someone in your will. The Revised Uniform Fi- duciary Access to Digital As- sets Act addresses a problem for the digital age: People are having difficulty getting companies to give them ac- cess to their loved ones’ digi- tal assets after they die. Oregon’s legislature joined several other states in enacting the law, which requires social media com- panies and other online plat- forms to give access to so- cial media accounts, blogs, online videos, photos stored in “the cloud” and other digital assets to fiduciaries named in wills, or give users an option such as Facebook’s “legacy contact” setting that allows users to name a third party who can access their account in the event of their death. Baker City 2830 10th St. • 541-524-0122 Blue Mountain Hospital EEK Photo by Tanni Wenger Photography Studio What I like best about my sport: “It’s fun, being able to play with friends. We may not always win, but we have a lot of fun doing it.” Coach’s Comment: “He always gives 100 percent. GW is always positive toward his teammates, and is just a nice young man. GW is a pleasure to be around and to coach.” -Coach Jeff Schafer You have seen or heard of Mel Gibson’s acclaimed film, Hacksaw Ridge. Now you can experience “THE REST OF THE STORY” with a FREE 101 minute documentary featuring interviews with Desmond Doss, the hero of the film, and those who served with him. Doss was the first non- combatant to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The documentary will be shown at: PROUD SPONSOR OF GRANT COUNTY ATHLETES Grantville Theater, Canyon City Community Hall 100 E. Main • Stoplight in John Day 7:00 p.m. Saturday, January 14, 2017 541-792-0425 “ Once released you have no control over where they may land. They could end up on someone’s rooftop, in a tree, or a pile of debris and cause an unwanted fire.” OF THE W GW CLARK School: Monument Grade: 12 Parent: David and Toni Clark Sport: Basketball Position: Center EO Media Group file photos New laws took effect in Oregon Jan. 1, including increased fines for poaching, criminal penalties for impersonating military personnel or public servant to intimidate another, a widened definition of soliciting prostitution and the banning of sky lanterns. 170 Ford Rd. • 541-575-1311 05059 05068 Every other Monday at The doctor sp eaks Spanish - El doctor habla Espanol ˜