News
Blue Mountain Eagle
A9
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
A passion for helping children
CASA volunteers
are a ‘voice’ in
the system
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Blue Mountain Eagle
Contributed photo
Tracey Blood is the new executive director for Grant-
Harney County CASA.
It’s a community-based
program, Blood said, with lo-
cal staff and volunteers work-
ing to help local children.
She stressed that the chil-
dren served are in the system
through no fault of their own.
The Court Appointed Spe-
cial Advocate program began
every child it serves.
Blood works 30 hours per
week between Grant and Har-
ney counties.
While in her new posi-
tion for only a few months,
Blood’s interest in CASA was
sparked back in 2004, when
she was a CASA volunteer.
Blue Mountain Eagle
Contributed photo
Homeschoolers Kate Hughes, left, and Katie Johnson of Mt. Vernon visited
with Sen. Ted Ferrioli on April 16 when the two 12-year-olds served as honorary
pages in the Oregon State Senate.
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JOHN DAY – The Blue
Mountain Hospital Board of
Directors will hold a series of
meetings Thursday, June 18,
board meeting at 5:30 p.m.
The regular meeting is
scheduled to have an exec-
utive session regarding em-
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employee or agent at the end.
at the hospital.
The sessions include a bud-
get review at 3 p.m.; the an-
nual budget meeting, with op-
portunity for public comment,
at 4:30 p.m.; and the regular
MT. VERNON – In ad-
dition to its regular meeting
Thursday, the Blue Mountains
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trip to the South Fork Complex
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this Wednesday.
The tour follows a work-
shop, held Tuesday at the Mt.
Vernon Community Center,
to examine the current sci-
ence surrounding snags on the
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woodpeckers, soil impacts, and
management actions to en-
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Speakers scheduled were:
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researcher and post-doctoral
scholar at Oregon State Uni-
versity; Ari Cowan, a master’s
student in forest ecosystems at
OSU’s College of Forestry; and
Vicki Saab, a research wildlife
biologist with the Forest Ser-
vice’s Rocky Mountain Re-
search Station.
The Partners’ regular meet-
ing will be at 4 p.m. June 18 at
the Grant County Regional Air-
port in John Day.
The group will hold a sec-
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Blue Mountain Eagle
PENDLETON – Kevin
Martin, Umatilla Nation-
al Forest supervisor, has a
new job as fire and aviation
management director for
both the Pacific Northwest
and Alaska regional offices
of the U.S. Forest Service.
Martin said he was ex-
cited about the new oppor-
tunity. He reports to his
new job July 12.
He succeeds David Sum-
mer, who retires in July.
Martin has been a mem-
ber of the agency’s Na-
tional Line Officer Team
for several years and is a
coach for agency adminis-
trators at the National Fire
Training Center, which he
helped create. He current-
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plans for transition
GM for 8 years
plans to retire in
February 2017
Blue Mountain Eagle
BAKER CITY – Oregon
Trail Electric’s Board of Di-
rectors named a new slate
of officers this month and
also began planning for a
staff change in command in
2017.
Officers picked at the
June 2 meeting are George
Galloway of Union County,
chair; George “Austin” Bin-
gaman of Union County, vice-
chair; and Charlene Chase of
Baker County, secretary/trea-
surer.
At a strategic planning
session June 1, the board dis-
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vation, distributed generation,
renewables, rate redesign and
succession planning. As part
of that discussion, Werner
Buehler, general manager at
OTEC, announced his plan to
retire at the end of February in
2017.
Buehler, 61, has been in
the electric utility business for
over 44 years and has been
general manager of OTEC for
the past eight years.
“I want to give the
board enough time so they
can adequately search and
go through the long vet-
ting process. I’m honored
to help them with that,” he
said, promising the transi-
tion would be as seamless as
possible.
hunting.
Community health is also a
major interest for Blood.
“I enjoy working with other
health-minded people toward
the common goal of improving
the overall health of our com-
munity,” she said.
Blood said CASA is in need
of new advocates, and there
will be training for volunteers
coming up this summer. She
encourages anyone interested
to give her a call or stop by the
ESD building at 835 Canyon
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is located, to talk with her.
It’s certainly a service about
which she is passionate.
“I love working together
with other community mem-
bers to improve the quality of
living for the children who are
such an important part of our
community,” Blood said.
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a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Call 541-575-5574 or email
to casa@grantesd.k12.or.us.
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Blue Mountain Eagle
for the balance of the expenses
involved.
“Even if you are unable to
act as a child advocate, vol-
unteers can help the program
with fundraising and outreach
events for CASA, or by mak-
ing a donation to the program,”
she said.
Blood is a Grant County
native, and a 1999 graduate of
Grant Union High School. She
has a bachelor of science de-
gree from Portland State, with
a major in health science and a
minor in psychology.
Blood previously worked
as a mental health specialist
at an acute psychiatric facility
for two years before starting at
CASA.
She and her husband, Da-
vid, live in Mt. Vernon with
their two teenage children,
Kade, 15, and Tyler, 13.
Her hobbies include enjoy-
ing outdoor recreational activ-
ities with her family, such as
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ly is a leader in reworking
national fire management
leadership.
The promotion was an-
nounced Friday by Jim
Peña and Beth Pendle-
ton, regional foresters for
the Pacific Northwest and
Alaska regions, respective-
ly.
Nominate Your
Educational Hero
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19, to the Camp Lick project 6XSHUYLVRU¶V 2I¿FH SDUNLQJ
area. Participants should meet lot.
Your Rural Fa mily Health Clinic
Grant County
HEALTH
Department
528 E. Main, St. E,
John Day
Monday - Friday
8am - 5pm
Karen Triplett, FNP
Services Provided:
JOHN DAY – A new ex-
ecutive director is at the helm
of the Grant-Harney County
Court Appointed Special Ad-
vocate program.
Tracey Blood oversees
volunteers in both counties
who are trained to advocate
for abused and neglected chil-
dren going through the depen-
dency system.
CASA’s mission, Blood
said, is to recruit, train and
support people who can be
a voice for children in court,
and educate the community
regarding that responsibility.
The program’s goal is to
advocate for a safe, perma-
nent and nurturing home for
in Seattle in 1977, the idea of
Juvenile Court Judge David
Soukup. Ten years later, the
Oregon legislature mandated
that all abused or neglected
children should have an ap-
pointed CASA representative.
Grant-Harney
County
CASA was launched in 1999.
Blood said there are four
volunteer advocates in Grant
County and two in Harney
County, who are able to serve
about 50 percent of the chil-
dren who come into care.
“Our goal is to have enough
CASA volunteers to serve 100
percent of the children in care
in our community,” she said.
According to Blood, the
cost to serve one child going
through the judicial system
is about $1,500. She said al-
though CASA is a state-man-
dated program, the state only
funds 30 percent of the need
for Grant-Harney CASA.
CASA depends on commu-
nity support and grant funding
• Primary Care
• Acute Care
• Women’s Health
Exams
• Men and
Children Exams
• Immunizations
• Family Planning
• Contraception
• Pregnancy Testing &
Referrals
• HIV Testing &
Referrals
• Cacoon
• WIC
• High Risk Infants
• Maternity Case
Management
Grant County Health Department does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin,
disability, or age in admission, treatment, or participation in its programs, services and activitie s, or in employment.
Appointments
available
Call and schedule your
appointment today!
TOLL FREE
888-443-9104
or 541-575-0429
MEETING NOTICE
NORTH & MIDDLE FORK JOHN DAY
RIVER AGRICULTURAL WATER QUALITY
MANAGEMENT AREA PLAN
The Third Meeting for the Biennial
Review of the North & Middle Fork John
Day River Agricultural Water Quality
Management Area Plan will be held on
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2015 at 6:00pm at
the Monument Senior Center at 269
Main Street in Monument.
Educators play an extremely important role
in our community and are often underappreciated.
This year, Doug’s Motor Vehicle Repair is saying
“Thank you, educators” by honoring an
“Educator of the Month.”
Each month one local educator will be highlighted in
the Blue Mountain Eagle and will receive a $50 gift
certificate from Doug’s Repair. Educator of the Year will
receive $1,000 to be donated to school of their choice.
Contact Steve Ussery at 541-934-2141
with any questions.
02123
Nominate your Local Hero by picking up a nomination form at the
Blue Mountain Eagle or Doug’s Repair, or download a copy from the
Blue Mountain Eagle’s website –www.bluemountaineagle.com.
Recruiting Volunteers
10
FRIDAY, JUNE 26TH
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Old West Federal Credit Union
The event is open to the community with
Secure Shredding provided by Accu shred
of La Grande
Seven members serve four
year terms and meet monthly to promote public awareness and
support of library services, receive public input, review and
update library materials, and coordinate activities with the Grant
County Library Foundation. Membership is limited to one re-
appointment.
Seven members
(including two consumer representatives) serve three year terms
and meet no less than quarterly to facilitate the provision of
quality mental health services to county residents and enhance
community knowledge of available programs and services. Acts
as the Local Alcohol and Drug Planning Commission and
Developmental Disabilities Advisory Board.
Seven members serve three year
terms and meet as needed to make recommendations on major
and annual road decisions such as construction schedules, road
vacations, budgeting and policy development, and to participate in
hiring staff.
As a Type-A
Area Agency on Aging, five members serve a three year term and
meet quarterly to define the needs of older adults, promote
special interests and local community involvement, and represent
senior citizens as an advocate to the local, state, and federal
government and other organizations. Membership is limited to
one re-appointment.
Nine members serve three
year terms and meet as needed to discuss issues regarding big
game management and make recommendations to Oregon
Department of Fish & Wildlife, including tag allocation and
hunting season structure as they relate to population and damage
of property.
02177