NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Thursday, October 14, 2021
John Day to suspend police department Oct. 31
Federal grant to fund police
remains possibility; city
also looks at deal with Grant
County for police services
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — The John Day Police
Department will cease to exist by the end of
the month — even though the city has yet to
work out an agreement with Grant County to
provide law enforcement services through the
sheriff’s office.
The John Day City Council voted on Tues-
day, Oct. 12, to suspend the department’s
activities at midnight Oct. 31 in the face of an
insurmountable budget shortfall. The vote was
unanimous, with Councilor Gregg Haberly
absent.
The decision came in the wake of a failed
ballot measure during the summer that would
have raised enough money to fund the depart-
ment for the next five years. The proposed
local option levy actually attracted more yes
votes (284) than no votes (169). But the Aug. 17
special election required a double majority for
the levy to pass — a majority of votes cast plus
a majority of registered voters casting ballots
— and a low turnout doomed the measure.
The council referred the measure to the
voters after determining the city did not have
enough money to continue funding police
services and still balance its budget.
“This is a sad day,” City Manager Nick
Green told the council at the Oct. 12 meet-
ing. “We fought and fought and fought and we
tried and tried and tried, but with the budget
the way it is, we just can’t sustain operations.”
City officials had hoped to keep the depart-
ment going at least until the end of the year
while they pursued a three-year grant from the
Department of Homeland Security that would
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle, File
A sign in John Day supports voting to approve a five-year levy to fund the John Day Police
Department. The Aug. 17, 2021, ballot measure, which required a double majority, failed due
to low turnout even though it got more yes votes than no votes.
provide partial funding for law enforcement
services in the city limits. But the grant deci-
sion has been delayed, Green said, forcing the
city to move up the timetable for halting law
enforcement operations even though it’s still
in the running for the federal funds.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty around that,”
he said. “That’s the reason I’m using the term
‘suspend’ instead of ‘dissolve’ or ‘disband.’”
The department already was down to about
half-strength, with just two full-time officers
and no chief (Chief Mike Durr retired earlier
this year).
The department’s two remaining full-
time employees, Sgt. Scott Moore and officer
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
FRIDAY
| Go to AccuWeather.com
SATURDAY
Mostly sunny with
a shower
Clouds and sun
59° 39°
66° 41°
65° 41°
68° 38°
SUNDAY
Pleasant with sun
and clouds
MONDAY
Not as warm;
breezy in the p.m.
58° 35°
65° 40°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
73° 40°
63° 37°
67° 42°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
60/52
46/38
61/38
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
57/45
Lewiston
58/49
66/46
Astoria
59/49
Pullman
Yakima 59/42
57/47
53/42
Portland
Hermiston
58/48
The Dalles 65/41
Salem
Corvallis
61/41
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
52/36
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
63/42
60/35
55/34
Ontario
59/31
Caldwell
Burns
60°
44°
68°
40°
80° (2015) 18° (1928)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
60/40
0.04"
0.04"
0.29"
2.71"
2.00"
5.96"
WINDS (in mph)
57/33
54/21
0.04"
0.06"
0.41"
5.06"
9.26"
9.62"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 50/32
60/43
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
59/39
61/43
54°
41°
66°
42°
83° (1898) 22° (1899)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
57/48
Aberdeen
48/40
56/43
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
55/50
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
66/38
Fri.
WSW 7-14
WSW 7-14
SW 4-8
W 4-8
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
57/24
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Feds sue Oregon over Upper
Klamath Lake water releases
By MATEUSZ
PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
More sun than
clouds
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
74° 44°
Travis Piercy, will transition into new jobs
with the Public Works Department.
Moore, who attended the meeting, said he
and Piercey had been working long hours to
patrol the city but couldn’t keep up that pace
indefinitely.
“It’s just reality right now,” he said. “With
just the two of us, it’s just not feasible. … It’s
just not safe.”
Several councilors expressed dismay that
the city could no longer keep the department
running.
Heather Rookstool said she didn’t want to
suspend the police department but didn’t see
any alternative. With such a small force, she
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
7:10 a.m.
6:11 p.m.
4:09 p.m.
12:15 a.m.
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said, officer safety is compromised.
“I hate this, but with only two (officers), I
don’t see this as something we can do,” she
said. “I don’t want to be the reason for some-
thing bad happening to one of them.”
Grant County Sheriff Todd McKinley also
was in the audience at the meeting. He said
suspending the police department would place
a heavy burden on his deputies, who would
have to take on added patrol duties.
“I understand the spot you’re in, but you’re
also putting us in a spot because you’re going
to put us down four officers as soon as you do
this,” he told the council. “I look at my people
and it’s going to saddle them with a nightmare
… so thank you.”
Mayor Ron Lundbom said city officials had
done everything they could to persuade voters
to support the levy and predicted many resi-
dents who voted against it or didn’t vote at all
would be appalled at the sudden reduction of
law enforcement services.
“I think they’ve got no one to blame but
themselves,” he said.
Councilors Shannon Adair and Paul Smith
said the city and county now have to work
together to find a way to provide adequate law
enforcement resources for all of Grant County,
including John Day.
Green said “conversations are progress-
ing” toward a law enforcement services agree-
ment with the county, but no deal has yet been
reached. He said the city had offered to turn
over its entire share of property tax revenues,
around $300,000 a year, to the county.
“That’s more than enough to cover three of
four officers,” Green said.
But County Commissioner Sam Palmer,
sitting in the audience, responded the county
would have to shoulder other costs besides
salary and benefits, such as training, vehicles,
firearms and other equipment.
“It’s going to cost a lot more than $300,000
to take it over,” he said.
K LA M AT H FA LLS
— The U.S. government is
challenging an order from
Oregon water regulators that
forbids water releases from
Upper Klamath Lake to boost
flows in the Klamath River.
The legal dispute pits the
enforcement of state water
rights against the federal
government’s obligation to
operate the Klamath irriga-
tion project in compliance
with the Endangered Species
Act.
To improve stream condi-
tions for threatened salmon
in the Klamath River, the
U.S. Bureau of Reclama-
tion releases water through
its Link River Dam under an
operations plan for the irriga-
tion project.
In April, the Oregon
Water Resources Department
issued an order prohibiting
Reclamation from making
releases that would drain
water from Upper Klamath
Lake to which irrigators hold
water rights.
Since then, OWRD has
twice issued notices of viola-
tion to the federal govern-
ment for releasing water
contrary to the order. The
federal government claims
officials from the state agency
also threatened to impose
civil penalties or take other
enforcement actions.
The U.S. government is
now seeking a declaration
in federal court that OWRD
lacks the authority to stop
water releases from Upper
Klamath Lake, as well as an
injunction against the state
agency’s enforcement of the
order.
“As an Oregon state body,
OWRD has jurisdiction that
extends solely to the admin-
istration of Oregon state
water rights,” according
to the federal government.
“OWRD has no jurisdic-
tion or authority to deter-
mine the existence, nature,
or extent of a federal agen-
cy’s obligations under any
federal law or regulation, or
to issue an order or directive
that limits or interferes with
a federal agency’s ability to
comply with any federal law
or regulation, including but
not limited to the federal ESA
and its implementing regu-
lations.”
Aside from preventing
Reclamation from operat-
ing its facility consistently
with the Endangered Species
Act, the state agency’s order
would interfere with the
water rights of the Yurok and
Hoopa Valley tribes downRi-
ver in California, the federal
government claimed.
Under legal precedent set
by the U.S. Supreme Court,
the federal government must
conform with state water law
— however, state water law
“must cede to federal author-
ity” when it conflicts with
federal statutes, such as the
ESA, according to the federal
government.
By forbidding Recla-
mation from releasing the
stored water, “the Challenged
Orders are contrary to the
ESA and therefore preempted
under the Supremacy Clause
of the United States Constitu-
tion,” the federal government
alleges.
Re p r e s e nt a t ive s of
OWRD could not be reached
for comment as of press time.
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 97° in Zapata, Texas Low 7° in Potomac, Mont.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Former Baker City business
co-owner convicted of theft
BAKER CITY — A jury convicted a
former Baker City man of felony theft for
stealing money in 2017 from a local assisted
living center he co-owned.
Jeremy Gale Thamert, 49, was convicted
on Oct. 8 of three counts of first-degree theft,
a Class C felony, and one count of second-de-
gree theft, a Class A misdemeanor, after a
five-day trial in Baker County Circuit Court.
The jury also acquitted Thamert, who
moved from Baker City to Prineville in 2017,
of one count of first-degree theft and one
count of second-degree theft.
One count of first-degree theft and one
count of second-degree theft were dismissed.
Circuit Judge Russell B. West, who
presided over the trial after Judge Matt
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
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Shirtcliff recused himself due to a conflict,
sentenced Thamert on Oct. 8 to 10 days in the
Baker County Jail and two years of probation,
and ordered him to pay $10,565 in compen-
sation and restitution to his former business
partner, Robert Whitnah of Baker City.
Thamert, who waived a delay in sentencing,
also has to pay $300 in court fees and fines.
Thamert was charged in August 2019
with stealing about $100,000 from Beehive
Homes, the Baker City assisted living center
he formerly co-owned with Whitnah.
Thamert and his former wife, Traci, were
business partners with Whitnah and his
former wife, Krischele Whitnah. Beehive
Homes opened in 2014.
Robert Whitnah is now the sole owner
of the business, which he renamed Memory
Lane Homes.
—EO Media Group
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