News
Blue Mountain Eagle
ROAD
of you say, ‘you can close this
road’ or ‘you can’t close this
road?’” she asked.
She said the Forest Service
Continued from Page A1
is decommissioning roads to
He said that process is meet a quota, and the Court
“working much better than it should take a stand.
has in the last 25-30 years.”
Sam Palmer said he’s get-
However, road advocates ting the sense the Court is an-
say the conversation is still swering to the Forest Service,
coming too late in the process not the people. He urged them
– after decisions are proposed to send a letter to the Forest
and through the comment pe- Service, and the public, saying
riod.
they will not allow another road
Myers said the Court is closure– and that all roads will
monitoring the forest projects be considered open until docu-
and proposals.
mentation is provided to justify
“We’re sorry if it appears a change.
things are moving slowly, but
Palmer also said there has
things are moving,” he said.
been talk in the past about the
However, people in the au- Forest Service giving the roads
dience said they are in the dark over to the county.
about the Court’s position on
“I think we should take
URDGVGHVSLWH¿YHRUVL[PHHW- them. That’s our infrastruc-
ings that focused on the issues. ture,” he said.
“None of us have any idea
Howard Gieger said the
where you stand,” said Rod Court should realize that clos-
Smith, noting the ordinance ing just one road may “lock up
requires the Court to either sup- a lot of land.”
port or reject closures proposed
He suggested the Court
by the Forest Service.
should send a “cease and de-
Billie Jo George echoed that sist” on roads, and also ask for
frustration, noting that when VSHFL¿F1DWLRQDO(QYLURQPHQWDO
)RUHVW 6HUYLFH RI¿FLDOV PDNH Policy Act (NEPA) documents.
presentations to the Court,
Sproul noted that “access is
“there’s never any result.”
a real hot-button issue, and our
“At what point do the three access in our county is at a turn-
ing point … And it’s getting
worse, not better.”
He raised concerns about re-
cent talk that pressure on roads
will jeopardize logging and
timber work on the forest, com-
ments the group took as a threat.
“That’s childish,” he said.
“Don’t do it any further.”
Myers said he didn’t be-
lieve the Court had made such
threats, and noted that com-
ments may have been taken out
of context.
The threat concern also
came up in a previous Court
session, drawing a response
from Russ Young of Iron Trian-
gle. He said he felt a comment
by Malheur Forest Supervisor
Steve Beverlin had been “spun”
and misunderstood.
He said the comment came
in a broader context about the
way working together creates
solutions while disputes over
issues like roads could bog
down the progress under way
on the forest.
Gieger said the threat talk is
still circulating in the county,
and he and others attributed it
to Commissioner Boyd Britton.
Some said it was recorded on
tape, which prompted Myers to
caution that he hoped such tap-
ing was done legally.
JOB
and Holliday. Board member
Cronin also said the board
Tracie Unterwegner was ab- discussed those options and
sent, on a trip with Grant Union nothing is off the table, and that
students to the Ashland Shake- at some point that type of ar-
Continued from Page A1
spearean Festival.
rangement might be necessary.
Gerry was one of four appli-
According to preliminary She added the district has cut
cants interviewed for the Grant minutes from the meeting, administration over the last 10
Union job, including Grant during the public forum por- years, and at this time additional
Union teacher Didgette Mc- tion, John Day resident Chuck reductions are not necessary.
Cracken, Vale School District Amling requested the salary and
Salary for the new Grant
superintendent Matthew Haw- EHQH¿WSDFNDJHVRIERWKWKHVX- Union principal position is
ley, and Crane School District perintendent and principal posi- $89,500 a year. Current enroll-
superintendent and principal tions as well as their educational ment at Grant Union, the largest
Gail Buermann.
EDFNJURXQGDQGTXDOL¿FDWLRQV
school in the county, is 584.
The interview team for the
He suggested the district
The Prairie City School
position included Shelley, Witty, could save money by combining Board has scheduled an emer-
board chair Chris Cronin, board the two positions, and use the gency meeting, with an execu-
member Ben Holliday, Kim savings to bring back programs tive session to discuss personnel
Smith, Andrea Combs, Jason such as home economics.
issues, at 6:30 p.m. this Wednes-
Miller, Sandy Brown, Randy
Larson replied that the board day, April 22, in the school li-
Hennen, and Matt Jones.
looked at those combinations brary.
Witty said the process of and didn’t believe it was feasi-
The meeting is expected
choosing the best person for ble at this time, adding that such to touch on the superintendent
the job was highly competitive, an arrangement could be over- resignation, along with a social
adding the team felt Gerry was whelming to a candidate new to studies position and the 2015-16
WKHPRVWTXDOL¿HGRXWRIDSRRO a position.
master calendar.
of quality candidates.
Gerry’s teaching and admin-
istrative career has been at Prai-
rie City, where he has been su-
perintendent the last three years.
He taught there for 13 years,
Educators play an extremely important role
including seven years at the el-
in our community and are often underappreciated.
ementary level and six at junior
high level. He also has been ath-
This year, Doug’s Motor Vehicle Repair is saying
“Thank you, educators” by honoring an
letic director the past nine years.
“Educator of the Month.”
Gerry earned his master’s
Each month one local educator will be highlighted in
degree at Oregon State Univer-
the Blue Mountain Eagle and will receive a $50 gift
sity and received his initial ad-
certificate from Doug’s Repair. Educator of the Year will
receive $1,000 to be donated to school of their choice.
ministrative license at Universi-
Nominate your Local Hero by picking up a nomination form at the
ty of Oregon.
Blue Mountain Eagle or Doug’s Repair, or download a copy from the
The vote to hire Gerry was
Blue Mountain Eagle’s website –www.bluemountaineagle.com.
unanimous among school board
members at the meeting, includ-
ing Cronin, vice chairman Zach
Williams, Mike Cosgrove, Gor-
10
don Larson and Kelly Stokes
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
A11
C OMMUNITY V OICES
Grange active in community
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
In honor of “Grange
Month” this April, Mt. Ver-
non Grange No. 659 is ex-
tending an invitation to all
Grant County residents to
consider joining this com-
munity service organiza-
tion.
Mt. Vernon Grange be-
gan in 1925 in Mt. Vernon.
In 1949 the building burned
to the ground – when it
burned, it was the first fire
responded to by the new
Mt. Vernon fire truck.
In 1953, the Grange was
rebuilt at its present loca-
tion, across Highway 26
from Clyde Holliday State
Park. The land was donat-
ed by the Holland family
and the building was built
by donated labor of Grange
members.
In October of 2014,
members discovered that
the septic tank had failed.
After many months of get-
ting the permits to replace
it, the new septic is fin-
ished. The Grange offers
its appreciation to all of the
members and local busi-
nesses that helped with ev-
erything it took to get this
done.
The Mt. Vernon Grange
is a very casual group, not
as structured as some larger
Granges.
The Grange meets on
the second Friday of each
month, beginning with a
potluck at 6:30 p.m. and
the general meeting at 7:30
p.m. It’s guaranteed to be a
great meal every month.
Anyone who would like
to check out the Grange be-
fore joining can come to a
meeting as our guest. For
information call Grange
master Ron Dowse, at 541-
575-4268, or secretary
Jean Sagert, at 541-575-
1007.
Among the activities
the Mt. Vernon Grange is
involved in are two yearly
fundraisers: a pancake feed
in January and the Christ-
mas Bazaar on the second
Saturday in November.
The Grange also sponsors
a candidate night during
election years.
The Grange Hall has
donated to 4-H for their
achievement awards din-
ner, to families for funeral
dinners, and to local ditch
companies for annual meet-
ings.
The Grange also donates
money to fundraisers for
cancer patients, victims of
fires (including the Lostine
Grange), renovations at the
Grant County Fairgrounds,
Glenn and Rose Ann Palm-
er’s annual community
Christmas dinner, and the
Grant County Food Bank,
and gives fresh fruit to the
Blue Mountain Care Cen-
ter.
The Grange also is in-
volved in supplying the dic-
tionaries for third-graders
in Long Creek, Monument
and Dayville and helps the
Ellis Tracy Legion Auxil-
iary in giving to Humbolt
and Seneca students. These
dictionaries are given to the
students to keep.
The Grange also rents
its hall for $55 a day. Rent-
ers include two churches,
and it also is available for
parties – retirements, birth-
days, anniversaries – and
groups that need a meeting
place.
We invite people to
come check out the Mt.
Vernon Grange!
– Submitted by Jean
Sagert, Grange secretary
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ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his
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ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person
hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his
non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE.
Then it’s too late.
AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK?
DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE
Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it!
Blue Mountain Eagle
MyEagleNews.com
Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710
Nominate Your
Educational Hero
COUGHLIN & LEUENBERGER
welcomes
DAVID R. AUXIER, Attorney at Law
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