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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 2015)
A8 News Blue Mountain Eagle ISSUES Wednesday, February 11, 2015 FIRE C APITAL VISIT cooperator status puts the lead agency in charge, with no assur- ance the other jurisdictions will have any power in the discus- Continued from Page A1 sions. Grant County Commis- John George of Bates has sioners Boyd Britton and Chris argued for coordination over co- Labhart also promised a thor- RSHUDWLRQLQDÀXUU\RIHPDLOVWR ough airing of any agreement IRUHVWDQGFRXQW\RI¿FLDOVDQG proposed for the county. through the website for Forest Myers said he expects the Access for All. next step to be a discussion soon “Working under a cooper- ZLWKRI¿FLDOVLQ3HQGOHWRQWRVHH ating MOU does nothing more what an agreement might look than assist the Forest Service to like. Any document resulting check a box and say they met from such talks would be re- the burden of reviewing your viewed by the county’s attorney input,” he told that group. and discussed with the public, He has urged the individu- he said. al counties to press their own The Baker County Press has needs. reported that commissioners “I believe the counties must there recently decided not to sit as Coordinating agencies sign a cooperator agreement. and see our communities needs Access activists are push- aligned in the Forest Plan Revi- ing for “coordination” instead, sion, and anything short of that seeing it as the avenue that is a failure of leadership on the gives counties equal standing part of the commissioners,” he LQUHVROYLQJFRQÀLFWV7KH\VD\ said. Continued from Page A1 Wendel argued the law requires him to sign the in- dictment, but doesn’t specify the timing. He also said the stat- ute of limitations is running out on one count in the indictment, making it important to take ac- tion. Cramer cautioned that the situation could set up an issue for the appellate court. Howev- er, he decided to proceed with the arraignment. The indictment includes two FRXQWV RI DJJUDYDWHG ¿UVWGH- gree theft – one alleging theft of cash with a total value of $10,000 or more, and the other alleging theft of vehicles and property with a value of $50,000 or more. The indictment also lists one FRXQW RI ¿UVWGHJUHH WKHIW RQH count of unauthorized use of a vehicle, one count of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and ¿YH FRXQWV RI PDNLQJ D IDOVH statement in a title application. Wendel asked the court to set bail at $20,000 and order Peterson to have no contact with former board members of the Monument Rural Fire Protec- tion District. The state contends Peterson was heard saying if he had to go to jail in the case, he would shoot three of the men. Hostetter rebutted the threat allegation, challenging the state’s reference to an unnamed witness and the claim of Peter- son’s supposed prowess with a .50 caliber. “Mr. Peterson has never owned a .50 caliber,” Hostetter said. Cramer opted to release Pe- terson on a standard conditional release, along with a no-contact order for the board members and witnesses, calling that “typi- cal” in such cases. Cramer scheduled a session Thursday, Feb. 19, to hear argu- ments on the demurrer. The case stems from an in- vestigation by the Oregon State Police and Oregon Department of Justice that began in May 2013. Police served a search warrant in October 2013 at property in the Monument area DQGVHL]HG¿UHYHKLFOHVDQGHY- idence for the case, but released no other information prior to the indictment. For about a decade, Peterson was a vocal advocate for estab- OLVKLQJDUXUDO¿UHSURWHFWLRQGLV- trict in the Monument area. He was chief of Monument’s city department for a time, and also acted as chief of a rural district that was yet to be formalized. After the district was formed by voters in 2012, the newly installed board and Peterson differed on its management and operation. Noting challenges over meeting procedures, oper- ations, equipment, and leader- ship, the directors resigned en masse in December 2012. With the county’s help, the board was re-established. In 3HWHUVRQ¿OHGQRWLFHWKDW he intended to sue the board and its appointed chief, contending the directors conducted a cam- paign of retaliation against him EHFDXVHRIWKH¿UHHTXLSPHQWKH had obtained over the years. Last October, the board re- signed and asked the County Court to dissolve the district, a process that’s under way now. Their reasons included a lack of volunteers as well the sta- WXVRI¿UHHTXLSPHQWWKDWZDV sidelined at Oregon Depart- ment of Forestry lot in John Day because of the investiga- tion. Contributed photo U.S. Rep. Greg Walden meets with members of the Grant County Safe Community Coalition, who were in Washington, D.C., for the 25th Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America (CADCA) conference. The Grant County delegation included (clockwise from top center) Lisa Weigum of John Day, Russ Comer of Canyon City, Haley Hueckman of John Day and Sheila Comer, Canyon City. Contracting workshop offered be from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 17 at the Forest Super- JOHN DAY – The For- visor’s building, 431 Patter- est Service is offering a free son Bridge Road. workshop to introduce con- The session will give an tractors and businesses to the overview of the agencies, process for doing business policies for small business with the government. set-asides, networking op- The Government Contract portunities and more. Assistance Program will put Pre-registration is encour- on the workshop in Pendle- aged. ton, Baker City, Vale, Burns For information, contact DQG -RKQ 'D\ RQ ¿YH GDWHV Sue LaCroix at slacroix@ during the week of April 13. gcap.org or call 541-786- The John Day session will 7344. Blue Mountain Eagle Ford Cleaners Providing a Quality Dry Clean & Laundry Service New location – pickup & drop off every two weeks at Kings in the John Day Plaza. 1st pickup – Jan. 28th Call 503-522-7794 for more information 3 The Family of Evelyn L. Cates would like to thank everyone who sent cards, flowers and food. The support you have given is greatly appreciated. Also, a very special thanks to Mary Bradley who put on a wonderful dinner in Evelyn’s honor, and to everyone who helped her make it one to remember. 6 PORTER to be a noble role.” “This portrayal is contrary to the record, which shows repeated acts of aggression Continued from Page A1 and assaultive conduct,” the Porter was convicted of ag- board said. gravated murder in the killing, • Faced with consider- which occurred after Ward able information about the was called to a domestic dis- incident and brutal injuries turbance at Porter’s home. Ev- suffered by Ward, Porter min- idence from the case indicated imizes the incident and con- that a drunken Porter fought WLQXHVWRLQVLVWWKDWWKHRI¿FHU with Ward, striking him on was the aggressor. WKHKHDGZLWKDFKXQNRI¿UH- The board also noted a wood. prior crime where Porter as- Porter has since contended serted his wife’s “hysteria” he didn’t know the uniformed caused him to “slap” her, a PDQZDVDSROLFHRI¿FHUDQG characterization that suggests that Ward died because he fell “the narrow reach of his re- DJDLQVW D ¿UHSODFH DQG VWDFN morse for his acts of domestic of wood. violence and his lack of em- Among the key factors cit- pathy for his victim.” ed by the parole board: • The board remains con- • Porter fails to grasp the cerned Porter showed poor circumstances of his crime planning and foresight for and recognize the severity his parole, when he said he of his history of domestic would move to a family ranch violence. The board noted in the Monument. The ruling his insistence that he was said his plan to “live and protecting his family on the work in a remote area does night he killed Ward, por- not account for the high level traying himself as someone of supervision and support he who used violence to protect will require in any transition.” others. While he didn’t re- “He has not yet developed member some things ques- D VXI¿FLHQW UHODSVH SUHYHQ- tioned by the board, he had tion plan, and his presentation “detailed stories of certain GHPRQVWUDWHG DQ RYHUFRQ¿- incidents wherein he was dence regarding the high risk acting in what he perceived of return to alcohol abuse,” the board said. The panel also was uncon- vinced that Porter was think- ing beyond “alcohol issues” to deal with domestic vio- Story Time Come hear inspirational stories of recovery lence and anger issues. The board said Porter needs to “expand his efforts for growth” in all those areas. Porter was represented at the hearing by his attorney, Andy Simrin, and several relatives and friends were on hand. Carpenter and Ward’s widow and brother also spoke to the panel. The hearing also drew law HQIRUFHPHQW RI¿FLDOV IURP across the state, including John Day Police Chief Rich- ard Gray and representatives of departments in La Grande, Troutdale, Baker City, and Crook County. Ward’s widow pleaded with the parole panel to extend Porter’s stay longer than two years – the period since the last release review hearing. Carpenter said he was en- couraged by the board’s deci- sion to keep Porter in prison and to opt for a longer exten- sion than two years. “At some point in time, it is likely that Mr. Porter will be granted parole,” he said. However, Carpenter said a review of the nature of the crime, the impact on victims, the psychological evaluations and Porter’s own statements made it clear he needed ad- ditional time “to meet the demands of justice and to accomplish the objectives set for him by the Board of Pa- role in 2013.” Huge Selection of Rings, stunning Pendants and MUCH MORE ! 10K Something for everyone’s budget! Genuine Ruby & Diamond Pendant STARTING AT $49 00 PC Antiques Prevention Works • Treatment is Effective • People Recover Wed.-Sat. 11am to 5pm February 20th 131 Front Street Prairie City, OR 511-820-3524 6 Cornerstone Christian Fellowship 139 NE Dayton NOW SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS FOR ENERGY ASSISTANCE Community Connection has funds available for utility payment assistance in Union, Wallowa, Baker and Grant counties. Please contact your local office of Community Connect for more information or to schedule your appointment. Funds are limited. Dinner at 5:30 pm Speakers begin at 6 pm 3 Union 1504 Albany La Grande, OR 541-963-3186 Baker 2810 Cedar St. Baker City, OR 541-523-6591 Wallowa 702 NW First St. Enterprise, OR 541-426-3840 Grant 142 NE Dayton John Day, OR 541-575-2949 6