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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2015)
SPRING FOR IT! Athletes on track for new season – PAGE A11 Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 W EDNESDAY , M ARCH 18, 2015 Malheur supervisor revisits 2014 road order Beverlin: New orders will take site-specific tack By Scotta Callister Blue Mountain Eagle CANYON CITY – Ac- knowledging the past pro- cess was confusing, Malheur National Forest Supervisor Steve Beverlin last week an- nounced he’s taking a new approach to road closure en- forcement orders. Beverlin, meeting with the Grant County Court March 11, said he will re- scind a September 2014 order signed by then-Su- pervisor Teresa Raaf and review decisions covered by it, project by project. He expects the review to look at projects dating back at least ¿YH\HDUV He plans to produce new HQIRUFHPHQW RUGHUV VSHFL¿F to each of the projects he re- views, rather than taking the omnibus approach that has been used up to now. Each new order will be presented to the county for review by the Court and Sheriff, he said. The September 2014 or- der sparked protests last fall from residents and members of the county’s Public Ac- cess Advisory Board, who charged the Forest Service was closing roads in Grant County without bringing the FKDQJHV WR WKH FRXQW\ ¿UVW A 2013 county ordinance requires county involve- ment when access changes are proposed on the public lands. In response, Beverlin pledged to review the order, identify any roads it covered in Grant County, and deter- mine when they were closed. He presented his draft re- sults last week, including a map with the road changes marked. Tags attached to the map cited project names and National Environmen- tal Policy Act decision dates for each project area. The dates ranged from 1991 to more recent large-land- scape projects including Jane, from a 2010 decision; Soda Bear, from 2011; and Marshall-Devine, 2012. See ROAD, Page A10 • N O . 11 • 18 P AGES • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com FOOD for thought A treasure trove of ag memories for this Ag Day less than 40 acres. Of the ag land, the Census says 64 percent was in pasture, SHUFHQW LQ ZRRGODQG DQG SHU JOHN DAY – It’s not only a life- cent, crops. style – agriculture is big business in Livestock sales outproduced crop Grant County. VDOHVE\DERXWSHUFHQWUHÀHFWLQJWKH The numbers tell the tale. county’s climate, terrain and soils. Sally Bartlett, the county’s econom- But whether local folks grow hay, ic development coordinator, points to peaches, cattle or sheep, agriculture has the latest Census of Agriculture avail- long been an integral part of the com- able, for 2012, showing the county pro- munity and its economy. ducing about $26 million in the market Shana Northway, Oregon State value of agricultural products sold. University Extension Service agent Per farm, the market value was up for the county, says in our modern to $64,000 for that year, from about world, many people don’t realize the ¿YH\HDUVHDUOLHU important role that agriculture plays. Bartlett notes other key facts: The One reason: Statistics indicate that a number of farms stayed the same in the tiny percentage of the nation’s popula- ¿YH\HDUFRPSDULVRQLQDQG tion – about 2 percent – produces food 2007. About a third were large – 110 of and other ag products for the rest. them over 1,000 acres – but the range “So people become disconnected, goes down to about nine farms with in their daily lives, from where their By Scotta Callister Blue Mountain Eagle The Eagle/Scotta Callister Cattle dot the winter pastures near Prairie City, with Strawberry Mountain as a scenic backdrop. food comes from,” she said. “Even here.” In addition, many people are un- aware of the work that rural landown- ers do to protect and nurture the natu- ral resources. “People never seem to see the stewardship that ranchers and farm- ers do to preserve the land,” she said. She said raising awareness in those areas is a goal for programs of the Extension Service. The agency also chronicles the challenges, accomplishments and trends in local agriculture. For nearly a century, the university has tasked its county agents with annual reports that tracks progress, contacts and more. In recent years, Northway said, production of these reports has gone digital, but the old bound journals OLYHRQLQWKH([WHQVLRQRI¿FHDWUHD sure trove of ag history in the county. In recognition of National Agri- FXOWXUH 'D\ 0DUFK WKH (DJOH LV publishing excerpts from those jour- nals for its readers – as a tribute to those who toil the land and a remind- HUWRWKRVHZKREHQH¿WIURPWKHLUOD bors. See Page A7. Dancers dazzle crowd Showcase deemed a success By Angel Carpenter J Blue Mountain Eagle OHN DAY – Dancers from varied levels of expertise leaped into the hearts of their au- dience at last Thursday’s Spring Showcase. More dancers than ever participated in the program, and the stands were packed at the Grant Union Junior-Senior High School gym. “We had a great evening,” said event coordinator Shannon Adair. “It was great to see all the kids having fun performing and to see some young kids picking up those skills.” Dancers from the youngest Level 1 team to the Grant Union var- sity team participated with large group performances as well as small group and solo routines. The Grant Union Gold seniors were recognized ZLWK ÀRZHUV LQFOXGLQJ $P\ /DOODWLQ /XFUH]LD Noseda, Auna Waldner, Jenny McCloskey, Carli Gardner and manager Charli Bowden. See DANCE, Page A10 S TUDENT A RT Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter The Level 2 dance team dancing to “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” at the Spring Showcase. Top photo: Taking the audience to a jungle setting, the Level 3 dance team roars onto the stage. Photo at left: Varsity dancer Jenny McCloskey takes the stage solo at the Spring Showcase. Visit MyEagleNews.com for more photos. Walker tops Republican straw poll At Dorchester, party eyes ways to stay relevant By Katherine Lacaze EO Media Group Betty Wilson Prairie City School Grade 4 Teacher: Sue Thompson SEASIDE – About 300 people gathered to deliberate the future of the Oregon Re- publican Party at the 51st an- nual Dorchester Conference last weekend at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center. The main event was Sun- day’s presidential straw vote, a conference tradition where attendees selected their top candidate for the Republican Party in the 2016 presidential election. The winner of the 2015 Dorchester straw poll was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker with 39 votes. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was the run- ner-up with 22 votes. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was third. A few attendees, before the vote, suggested Jeb Bush could be a problematic can- didate for his last name alone See GOP, Page A10 EO Media Group/Katherine Lacaze Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., Second District, was the keynote speaker for the 51st annual Dorchester Conference in Seaside, held Friday through Sunday.