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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2015)
TRACK TIME GU’s Jozie Rude makes a winning throw – PAGE A10 Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 W EDNESDAY , A PRIL 15, 2015 • N O . 15 • 18 P AGES • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com Judge rules Seneca pot search illegal that they entered without knowing whether Martin and Walters had the thority to grant consent. authority let them in. The ruling brought an end to the In a letter supporting his decision, state’s prosecution against Joy Max- Cramer said law enforcement video ine Graves, Raymond Martin, and a presented in the motion hearing did WKLUGPDQ.HQQ\:DOWHUVZKRÀHG not show Martin consenting to the at the start of the case. search. Attorneys for Graves and Martin “At one point, Sheriff Palmer successfully challenged the war- engages him in conversation, asks rantless search. In a hearing earlier if there is a gate, goes to the gate, this month, they argued that Grant opens it and steps through the gate County Sheriff Glenn Palmer and a onto the property,” Cramer wrote. deputy didn’t get clear permission to “At this point, no permission to enter enter the property for the search, and or search has been given.” Decision leads to dismissal of three cases By Scotta Callister Blue Mountain Eagle CANYON CITY – Three con- troversial marijuana cases were dismissed last week after the Grant County Circuit Court judge tossed out evidence from a search last June in Seneca. In his April 9 order, Judge Wil- liam D. Cramer Jr. said the search was illegal because neither person on the property at the time had au- Cramer also addressed the issue of authority to consent, and he found WKHRI¿FHUVGLGQRWHVWDEOLVKWKDWDX thority before the search. He found that Palmer provided no basis for his conclusion that Walters and Martin were living on the property. The judge said the crux of the issue came down to whether law enforcement must determine the person’s authority before entering the property, or if they can rely on facts established during or after the search. He said the case law that ad- dresses that issue indicates it must be HVWDEOLVKHG¿UVWRUWKHEDVLVIRUWKH VHDUFKLVLQVXI¿FLHQW In this case, Graves, the property owner, was not at the site at the time. &UDPHU KHOG WKDW WKH RI¿FHUV GLGQ¶W ³VXI¿FLHQWO\ LQTXLUH DQG HVWDEOLVK´ whether the two men were living on the property and had authority. Cramer wrote that interviews and VWDWHPHQWV VXJJHVW WKH RI¿FHUV KDG information to establish probable cause for a warrant, but “that cannot justify a warrantless search.” See POT, Page A8 T HE $20,000 QUESTION Payment rumor hovers over forest plan work Shelly Whale, Heart of Grant County executive director, leads people on the walk to the Grant County Library. AWARENESS SHINES Folks of all ages turn out for annual ‘Light up the Night’ candlelight vigil %\&KHU\O+RHÀHU J Blue Mountain Eagle OHN DAY – People of all ages turned out last Sat- urday, April 11, to shine the light on domestic abuse awareness at the “Light up the Night” candlelight vig- il. Most of those attending walked with candles and glow- sticks from The Corner Cup at the stoplight in John Day to the Grant County Library, and back. Participants also plant- ed pinwheel “Prevention Gardens,” representing a brighter future for families, in several locations. The annual event promotes awareness of sexual assault and child abuse, and is sponsored by Heart of Grant County and Grant-Harney County CASA. For information about Heart’s programs, call 541-575- 4335. Contributed photos/Colleen Clark People gather around a fire pit in front of The Corner Cup prior to last Saturday night’s walk. A group of children recite the “Hands are not for Hurting” pledge prior to the Candlelight Vigil walk. Court urged to take stand on roads By Scotta Callister Blue Mountain Eagle CANYON CITY – Residents pressed the Grant County Court to take a stand against forest road clo- sures last week, with one hinting at a petition to change the face of county government. “People expect to be represented by this Court, for you to follow the ODZVDVWR\RXURDWKRIRI¿FH´VDLG Jim Sproul, leader of a road access advocacy group, told the Court. “Ei- ther you’re going to follow them, or you’re not.” Sproul was among some 60 resi- dents who attended the Court’s April 8 meeting, held in the larger Circuit Courtroom to accommodate a larger than usual crowd. The initial draw was a presen- tation by Malheur National Forest Supervisor Steve Beverlin, who unveiled his draft decisions for two major forest projects, Elk 16 It takes 191 signatures for a recall. Here’s 2,000,” he said. Asked if that was a threat, he replied, “It’s not a threat. I don’t give idle threats.” “ Jim Sproul Leader of a road access advocacy group DQG%LJ0RVTXLWR Both proposals are now in 45-day objection periods, when people who commented earlier in the process PD\ SUHVV VSHFL¿F REMHFWLRQV 7KH documents for the projects are post- ed on the Malheur’s website. Both are landscape-scale projects that include a mix of commercial and noncommercial harvest, thin- QLQJ DQG RWKHU ¿UH IXHOV UHGXFWLRQ efforts, habitat and riparian improve- ments, and more. Each includes some road changes, which were the lightning rod for public discussion after Beverlin and his Forest Service team left the meeting. Sproul said the Court has not ad- dressed the public’s concerns over access. He waved a sheaf of papers he said represented more than 2,000 signatures – many from a petition drive on travel management several years ago and others that are more recent. “It takes 191 signatures for a re- call. Here’s 2,000,” he said. Asked if that was a threat, he replied, “It’s not a threat. I don’t give idle threats.” See ROAD, Page A8 By Scotta Callister Blue Mountain Eagle CANYON CITY – Rumors that the County Court is paying $20,000 to an outside group to write a new Blue 0RXQWDLQ)RUHVWV3ODQDUHXQWUXHRI¿ cials said last week. “That did not take place,” County Judge Scott Myers told people attending the April 8 Court meeting. “It is misin- formation.” The story began to spread after Commis- sioner Boyd Britton, at a Feb. 18 Court meet- ing, proposed an idea to draft a forest plan revision to replace the widely unpopular al- Boyd ternatives proposed last Britton year by the Forest Ser- vice. Britton presented a letter to the rest of the Court, proposing that the county enlist the Blue Mountains Forest Partners to write a plan Scott VSHFL¿FDOO\IRUWKH0DO Myers heur National Forest. The Partners group is a local collaborative, formed nine years ago, that has been active in plan- ning for increased restoration and tim- ber harvest activity on the Malheur. Britton wanted to ask the Partners to draft a new forest plan revision, and he suggested covering up to $20,000 in the cost of that work with county road funds. The Court didn’t discuss the pro- posal in detail – or decide to spend any money – at that meeting. Myers and Commissioner Chris Labhart did give Britton the go-ahead to approach the collaborative with the idea. Since then, several residents have complained in letters to the Court, some assuming the alliance and the money were a done deal. The subject arose again last week in the Court meeting. Howard Geiger, echoed E\RWKHUVTXHVWLRQHGZK\WKH&RXUWZDV “farming out” the plan revision to what he termed an environmental group. Myers denied farming out the plan to anyone, and said members of the Court DUH VWLOO ZRUNLQJ ZLWK RI¿FLDOV LQ +DU ney and other counties to tackle the for- est plan revision. See PLAN, Page A8 S TUDENT ART Ashlie Tipton Grade 4 Humbolt Elementary Teacher: Sophie Cosgrove