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Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
W EDNESDAY , A PRIL 22, 2015
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Schools back to routine after lockdown
Police say caller
threatened violence
Blue Mountain Eagle
PRAIRIE CITY – Grant County
schools went back to normal Mon-
day after an anonymous threat trig-
gered emergency response at three
campuses last week.
Sgt. Damon Rand of the John Day
Police Department said the events be-
gan about 1:35 p.m. Thursday, when
Prairie City School received an anon-
ymous call saying someone was com-
ing to the school to shoot some of the
kids.
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put the school on lockdown, telling stu-
dents to stay in their locked classrooms.
A short time later, the students
were sent to the gym, where they
were told to call their parents to pick
them up from school. The school
also sent word to parents to pick up
their children immediately.
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sumed it was a drill, but realized there
was a threat as the lockdown continued.
The school was cleared and po-
lice searched the building, but found
nothing of alarm, Rand said.
The situation also triggered a
precautionary external lockdown at
John Day’s Grant Union Junior-Se-
nior High School and Humbolt Ele-
mentary in Canyon City.
All the lockdowns ended without
incident.
Rand said an initial investigation
traced the phone call to an IP address,
indicating it came from a computer.
That means the caller could have been
local – “or from anywhere,” he said.
Rand said that while it could be
someone’s idea of “a very bad joke,”
police were continuing the investi-
gation. He said the caller, if found,
would face charges.
John Day Police were joined by the
Oregon State Police and Grant County
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folding situation at the three schools.
Sheriff Glenn Palmer said that
while there was no threat at the John
Day campuses, the lockdown was
done as a precaution.
The activity brought an early end
to the four-day school week.
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Union athletic practices and activities
Thursday afternoon, as a further pre-
caution.
The Special Olympics vs. Law En-
forcement basketball fundraiser game,
which was going to be held that night
at Grant Union, also was canceled. Or-
ganizers said this week they are work-
ing on a new schedule for the event.
Group
orders
Court
to act
on roads
Board hires
new GU
principal
Ryan Gerry, now
at PC, starts
new job July 1
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY – Prairie
City’s Ryan Gerry will take
the helm at Grant Union Ju-
nior-Senior High School on
July 1.
Members of the Grant
School District No. 3 School
Board voted
to hire Gerry
for the prin-
cipal’s job at
their April 15
meeting, held
at
Seneca
School.
Ryan
He
will
Gerry
succeed Curt
Shelley, who is becoming
district superintendent in
July – replacing Mark Witty,
who is leaving for the su-
perintendent’s post in Baker
County School District.
Gerry is the current su-
perintendent and princi-
pal of Prairie City School
District, and he was a 1995
Prairie City High School
graduate.
He said this week he’s
looking forward to the “op-
portunity and challenges that
come with being part of a
larger district.”
“Grant Union Junior-Se-
nior High School has a lot
of good things going on that
are both exciting and en-
couraging,” he said. “Prai-
rie City School District has
been a great place to work
over the past 16 years, and
I believe there are a lot of
great things going on in this
district as well, which has
made this decision a very
difficult one.”
Frustrations rise
in road debate
By Scotta Callister
Blue Mountain Eagle
Eagle photos/Cheryl Hoefler
Prairie City resident Karla Teague, accompanied by her son, Anthony, on guitar, sings the Bette Midler
ballad “The Rose.”
LET US ENTERTAIN YOU!
An array of performers
shine in annual show
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Blue Mountain Eagle
PRAIRIE CITY – Like a good ol’ family potluck, the April 18 “Evening of
Entertainment” offered something for everyone.
With whimsical poetry, comedy skits, a patriotic reading, and a variety of
musical performances, local entertainers dazzled the nearly packed house at the
Prairie City Community Center.
The evening kicked off with young Riley Gregg belting out “The Star-Span-
gled Banner.”
Musicians on the bill included Joy Waterhouse playing a medley of “golden
oldies” on the piano; Karla Teague singing “The Rose,” accompanied by her
son, Anthony; guitarists Les Church and Bill Evans, each offering a couple of
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Joseph Haydn; and a piano quartet of “When the Saints Go Marching In” by
Karla and Kimberly Teague, Joy Waterhouse, and Rose Coombs.
Les Church rouses the crowd with
See SHOW, Page A12 Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl.”
The Prairie City Easter
Ensemble reprised their
musical offertory from the
Prairie City Easter service.
From left, Karla Teague, Rose
Coombs, Chris Lewallen,
Maxine Day, Carolyn
Bertalotto, Vonnie Blasing
and Virginia McMillan.
See JOB, Page A11
S TUDENT ART
See ROAD, Page A11
JD says no to ban, but limits pot shops
Blue Mountain Eagle
Jaynee Cave
Grade 8
Long Creek School
Teacher: Cindy Wimer
CANYON CITY – Mem-
bers of a public lands access
group issued an ultimatum to
the Grant County Court last
week, reiterating their stand
against any road closures on
the national forest.
Jim Sproul told the Court
people are unhappy with the
current state of discussions
about roads and access on the
Malheur National Forest.
“We’re sick and tired of you
sitting on your hands and doing
nothing,” he said. “By June 1,
there will be action out of this
Court, or we will take it to the
next step.”
He said that was a “solemn
promise,” not a threat.
Sproul and others complain
the Court is not heeding the
county ordinance passed in
2013 that requires agencies to
get access changes approved by
the Court and the sheriff. They
also referred to a 1995 vote to
keep all roads open.
Ron Phillips asked, “When
are you going to get behind the
people who elected you?”
He and others took um-
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described them as “a vocal mi-
nority.”
Asked about the commis-
sioners’ position on access,
County Judge Scott Myers said
the Court is having discussions
with the Forest Service about
roads, and following the ordi-
nance.
JOHN DAY – The John Day City
Council backed off from a proposed
ban on medical marijuana dispensa-
ries last week.
In a 4-3 vote at its April 14 meet-
ing, the council voted against estab-
lishing an outright ban.
The council approved a com-
panion ordinance that will limit the
hours, location and manner of op-
eration of such businesses in the
city.
That measure needs slight revi-
sion, however, because it referred to
the ban.
The ordinance will be up for final
approval at the April 28 council meet-
ing. It is proposed as an emergency
measure, which would make it effec-
tive immediately.
The city is one of 142 across the
state that adopted one-year mora-
toriums on medical marijuana dis-
pensaries, a delay allowed by the
Legislature. Those moratoriums ex-
pire May 1, however, and most of
If you have questions about your rights as a victim of crime, please call the Grant
County District Attorney’s Office Victim Assistance Program at 541-575-4026.
For more details, see page A10.
the cities were considering restric-
tions on such businesses as their next
step.
Among other things, the mea-
sure will bar medical marijuana out-
lets within 1,000 feet of a school
or a site used for “youth develop-
ment activities” – a category in-
cluding sports, music lessons, and
tutoring.
Such businesses also will face a
city application process and require-
ments for bookkeeping and back-
ground checks.