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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 2015)
Saturday, October 10, 2015 OFF PAGE ONE FOREST: Deputies and sheriff have close ties with Citizens for Public Access Page 10A East Oregonian Continued from 1A Commissioner Chris Labhart said they are seeking an opinion from their attorney, and criticized Palmer for a lack of transpar- ency. “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.” Palmer declined to comment to the East Orego- nian on the plan, saying he would have to confer with his appointed deputies before speaking about its purpose and scope. Coordination is a law that requires the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Manage- ment to work together with local governments on how their public lands are managed. Cities, counties and tribes can all coordinate, but the question is whether the sheriff has the same authority. The Forest Service has no regulatory de¿nition for local governments, though the state of Oregon de¿nes them as “... all cities, counties and local service districts located in this state, and all administrative subdivisions of those cities, counties and local service districts.” As a rural sheriff and the head of search and rescue, Palmer told the commis- sioners in a public meeting that his job depends on active forest management — which his resources plan emphasizes as a way to reduce ¿re fuels. As an example, he pointed to the Canyon Creek Complex, which burned 110,000-plus acres and destroyed more than 40 homes south of John Day. “I want a seat at the table,” Palmer told commissioners. “The people I represent are not getting heard. I’m not getting heard.” To do that, Palmer deputized 11 people to write the Grant County Public Lands Natural Resources Plan, modeled after the same plan in neighboring Baker County. The deputies appointed were: Todd Smith, Elaine Smith, Mike Smith, Brooks Smith, Judy Kerr, Billie Jo George, Terry George, Dave Traylor, Roger McKinley, Jim Sproul and Frances Preston. Many of the members are associated with the special interest group Citizens for Public Access, which according to the group’s Facebook page is “dedi- cated to the retention of all forms of public access in Grant County and Eastern Oregon.” Also, six of the deputies are members of two families — Mike and Elaine Smith are the parents of Todd Smith, and Frances Preston is the sister of Billie Jo George, who is married to Terry George. The plan the group crafted out of the existing Baker County plan identi¿es management policies for things like cattle grazing, public access, logging, mining and recreation. “Grant County will not support federal and state agencies on land manage- “While I appreciate the sheriff’s desire to invoke coordination status and would encourage the county court to exercise its right to coordination status, the fact remains the sheriff does not have that right.” — Mark Webb, former county judge ment decisions when the social and economic impact is not carefully considered,” it reads. But others argue the plan doesn’t represent the county at all. Former county judge Mark Webb said it appears Palmer didn’t follow the county’s procedures for appointing an advisory committee, nor did the committee follow Oregon’s public meeting laws. “While I appreciate the sheriff’s desire to invoke coordination status and would encourage the county court to exercise its right to coordination status, the fact remains the sheriff does not have that right,” Webb said. Commissioner Boyd Britton said he doesn’t know how the committee can claim to represent all of Grant County, and despite asking several times, nobody can tell him what exactly coordi- nation looks like. He compli- mented the existing Blue Mountains Forest Partners, a collaborative working group that he said has accomplished a lot of active management on the forest. “Other communities are jealous of what we’re doing,” Britton said. “By golly, we’re treating more acres and we’re moving forward.” While the county court is hesitant, the Grant County Public Forest Commission did approve support for the sheriff at a meeting Wednesday night. The public forest commis- sion is an elected body that provides input on manage- ment issues. Four of the sheriff’s appointed deputies — Roger McKinley, Dave Traylor, Brooke Smith and Mike Smith — also serve on the commission, and took part in the vote. The decision wasn’t unan- imous. Larry Blasing voted against it, admitting he was kind of in the dark about the process. “There were a couple of us that were blind,” Blasing said. “My thought was before we jump into this, let’s make sure everything is correct.” At the meeting Commis- sioner Labhart questioned why Palmer’s plan claims to speak for the people of Grant County, but wasn’t presented as an agenda item or open to public comment. Palmer was not at the meeting, but Preston, one of the 11 appointed deputies, responded, “Because you don’t have to. To invoke coordination you do not have to be transparent, you have to be an elected of¿cial that wants to invoke coordina- tion.” Traylor, a longtime resident of the county, said Trio used stolen gun to rob, kill two in California SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Three young transients used a handgun that was stolen from an unlocked car to rob and kill a backpacking Canadian tourist in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and then a yoga instructor two days later on a hiking trail north of the city, author- ities said. The handgun was reported stolen on Oct. 1 from the Fisherman’s Wharf neigh- borhood in San Francisco, police commander Toney Chaplin said on Friday. “We believe the same weapon was used in both crimes,” Chaplin said, adding that it appears robbery was the motive in the two killings. The body of Audrey Carey, 23, was found Oct. 3 in Golden Gate Park. She had been shot in the head. Yoga instructor Steve Carter, 67, was discovered dead on Monday near a popular hiking trail in Marin County across the Golden Gate Bridge. He had been shot multiple times while walking his dog. Authorities identi¿ed the suspects as Morrison Haze Lampley, 23; Sean Michael Angold, 24; and Lila Scott Alligood, 18. They were being held without bail in Oregon, and it was unclear if any of them are represented by a lawyer. They were arrested Wednesday at a soup kitchen in Portland, Oregon. San Francisco police say the stolen gun was recovered during the arrest, and they believe it’s the weapon used to fatally shoot Carey and Carter. San Francisco police also said the suspects were in possession of Carter’s car and some of Carey’s camping gear was found inside it. Valerie Chapman, administrator of St. Francis Church in Portland, said she had to admonish the three for smoking in a no-smoking area just outside the dining hall. Some of the regular diners told her the three suspects were asking if anyone wanted to buy a Volkswagen Jetta station wagon, Chapman said. CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT CLASS Oregon - Utah - Valid 35 States HERMISTON Best Western: 2255 Highway 395 South October 10 th • 1:00 pm Walk-Ins Welcome! OR/Utah: (Valid in WA) $80.00 or Oregon only: $45 www.FirearmTrainingNW.com • FirearmTrainingNW@gmail.com 360-921-2071 MONOTHON 2015 M ONOTHON , October 9 - 11, is a three-day monotype printmaking The suspects waived extradition proceedings in Portland and will be returned to the San Francisco Bay Area to face charges in the shooting deaths, Marin County sheriff’s Lt. Doug Pittman said. He declined to say how they will be trans- ported but said they will not return this weekend. “They can’t go anywhere until we come get them,” he said. Every Third Friday of the Month October 16 • 9:00 - 11:00am GSMC Education Department ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE THE 10 WARNING SIGNS FREE presentations by Jennifer Baus from the Alzheimer's Association. If you or someone you know is experiencing memory loss or behavioral changes, it's time to learn the facts. Learn the 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer's disease. October 15 • 6:00-7:00pm GSMC Conference Room Center 1 BREASTFEEDING CLASSES One class covers breastfeeding benefits, pumping and much more. Come to this FREE class taught by a certified lactation consultant, and learn techniques that make for a successful experience. Free, but please pre-register. October 7 • 12:00pm - 1:30pm GSMC Conference Center 3 & 4 For information or to register for a class, call (541) 667-3509 or email healthinfo@gshealth.org Join us for Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, 2015 in the East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald, as we honor the men and women of the U.S. Military. Their courage, hard work and sacrifice are the backbone of our nation, protecting freedom, liberty, justice and all we hold dear. PRICES 1x4 - $ 40.00 2x3 - $ 55.00 Full Color Included Private Party Only Bring in or call 1-800-522-0255 with a photo and message to your hero to give them a special thanks. DEADLINE Wednesday, November 5 th 1x4 EXAMPLE For more information call Paula at 541-278-2678 or 1-800-522-0255 or Hermiston Herald at 541-564-4530. 2x3 EXAMPLE We are so proud of you for serving your country. SALE BEGINS AT 12 NOON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11 Love Evelyn, Joe and Cheryl Special thanks to our generous sponsors: Employees of Cayuse Technologies, Integrity Design & Copyworks, Read & Bose, Mari Sams Tester, and Walters Photographers. 4 8 0 0 4 S t . A n d r e w ’s R o a d | Pe n d l e t o n , O R 9 7 8 0 1 | 5 4 1 - 2 7 6 - 3 9 5 4 HEALTHY FRIDAYS Free health screenings: blood pressure checks, weigh ins, body mass index, cholesterol and glucose. They’ve served our country with courage and honor. They’ve left behind loved ones to risk their lives in protecting their country. They’ve defended our freedoms and ideals. They make us proud to be Americans. marathon by many renowned NW artists and a flash sale of their generously donated artwork. This biannual fundraiser supports Native American artist residencies and educational programming at Crow’s Shadow. Please join us for this exciting fundraiser and take home your own unique print from a NW artist! w w w.crowsshadow.org the committee of sheriff’s deputies will bring their plan forward to the county for a vote next spring as an initiative. He is con¿dent it will pass by a wide majority. “I’ll gladly debate anyone who wants to come in and say coordination isn’t good,” Traylor said. “It’s what we should have been doing all along.” Gil Riddell, policy director for the Association of Oregon Counties, said he is not sure if the sheriff needs approval from the county court to invoke coordination. However, he said the associ- ation already has agreements with the Forest Service and BLM to coordinate for counties. “It’s early sharing of information,” Riddell said. “It’s happened historically in many of our counties already.” Steve Beverlin, forest supervisor on the Malheur National Forest headquar- tered in John Day, said the agency will discuss Palmer’s request. The forest works closely with the Grant County Court, he said, and believes they have a solid process of engagement. Beverlin said he wants to establish relationship with Palmer, and has tried dili- gently to communicate with him through letters, emails and phone calls. “He’s declined to engage with me at all,” Beverlin said. Beverlin said he’d love to have a coordinated search and rescue plan throughout the forest, and said a part- nership with the sheriff’s of¿ce is extremely important for the health and safety of residents. “We’re trying very hard to engage proactively, and have an open dialogue about how lands are managed in the county,” he said. ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0825. J OSEPH B. D AVIS J OSEPH S MITH Thank you for your service! Love always Marcy, Julie & Emily
