News
Blue Mountain Eagle
ACCESS
Continued from Page A1
road closures are changing their way
of life and history.
Dennis Lynch of Prairie City said
there are roads he’s used for hunting
in the past that are closed, and he
feels he has to “know every nook
and cranny of the law” to know
where he’s allowed to travel, adding
he’d like his kids and grandkids to
enjoy the forest.
Many took the view that the
system for closing roads is broken,
including Larry Blasing of Prairie
City, a Grant County public forest
commission member. “We need a
system that is more user friendly,”
he said.
While agreeing with Blasing,
Grant County Commissioner Chris
Labhart of John Day added, “All I
want is a civil discourse, and I feel
we have that with the new forest su-
pervisor.”
Public Forest Commission mem-
POOL
ber Jim Sproul of Canyon City, and
fourth-generation family rancher,
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Forest Service, and hasn’t received
a reply. “The Forest Service works
for us. County people need to stand
up,” he said.
Several others around the room
also complained their emailed com-
ments had not been answered.
Midway through the meeting,
Dennis Dougherty, recreation plan-
ner for the Forest Plan Revision
Team, gave an overview of some of
the history of forest planning.
Southworth then asked, “What’s
one thing the Forest Service can
do to make you feel you’ve been
heard?”
Among the replies:
“Answer my question, whose
forest is it?”
“Show us respect, and be active
listeners.”
“Just tell us the truth.”
Beverlin, in reply spoke next.
“Whose forest is it (you ask)?
It’s Grant County’s forest; it’s the
forest of the citizens of the United
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
States. We manage it in trust for
(them),” he said.
Mark Webb of Mt. Vernon, ex-
ecutive director of Blue Mountain
Forest Partners, said the Forest Ser-
vice should do more to develop a
relationship with the locals to gain
insight in the decision-making pro-
cess. “You might have a better reso-
lution,” he said.
Howard Gieger of John Day
said he’s seen a lot of changes with
the Forest Service over the last 50
years. “In the 70s you saw them
communicate – they let you know
what was going on,” he said. “The
forest is our forest – we’re respon-
sible.”
The Grant County Ordinance
2013-01 pertaining to public road
closures was also part of the discus-
sion; it states the Forest Service will
not close roads without consent of
County Court and the sheriff. There
was some talk as to whether it’s en-
forceable.
“If we have an ordinance in
Grant County and it’s not legal,
let’s forget it – if it is legal, abide
by it,” said Mike Moore of Bear
Valley.
“Our attorneys do not believe the
Grant County ordinance is legal,”
Beverlin said.
Added Robert Armbruster of
Sumpter, “Decisions are best made
at the local level. Freedom of access
is imperative to a mountain way of
life.”
After the meeting, Stadler com-
mented, “I think the message is loud
and clear that we need to get out
there and engage with the public.
They wanted to feel heard and by
doing these sessions we have the op-
portunity to listen to them – I think
the conversations are helping us to
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Stadler emphasized that the For-
est Plan Revision and Travel Man-
agement Planning are two separate
planning processes. Subpart B of
the Travel Management Rule (Des-
ignation of Roads, Trails and Areas
Open to Public Motor Vehicles) will
begin after the Forest Plan Revision
is complete.
She added a response to the com-
“Even if the recreation dis-
trict gave us the pool back, we
couldn’t afford to run and main-
mayor, Don Dolven.
tain it,” said Lundbom. Instead,
- Dan Gleason, a noted public of-
Lundbom would like to see oth-
fi cial, had been the mayor of John
er local entities, like the hospital
Day in the mid-1920s, as well as
and school district for instance,
chief of police, deputy sheriff and
city marshal. He also worked on the
join the conversation.
John Day fi re, water and mainte-
“We all know this pool isn’t
nance departments.
going to last,” he said. “It would
- According to Bill Smith, John
EHQLFHLIZHFRXOG¿JXUHVRPH
Day Councilman, expenditures at
thing out. We don’t need a Taj
the pool from June 7, 1958 to July
Mahal and a lot of extras, just
26, 1958 were listed as: Wages,
a simple pool housed in a metal
$2,200; fuel, $700; and lights, $75;
building would be adequate.”
or a total of approximately $3,000.
With the city in the midst of
Business during the two months
EXLOGLQJ D QHZ ¿UH VWDWLRQ WKH
netted a profi t of about $800. Over
9,000 swimmers were listed as pool
subject of pool replacement isn’t
users during the period.
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are well aware of the challenges
make the pool a valuable asset the recreation district has with
to the community.
managing the pool.
Lundbom agrees. “It’s im-
As for Ward, she too would
perative we have a pool,” he like to see other entities along
said, but he stops short of en- with community members to
dorsing the idea of the city get- begin laying the groundwork for
WLQJ LQYROYHG ¿QDQFLDOO\ LQ WKH a new pool and wouldn’t mind
building of a new pool. Other hearing from interested parties.
municipalities have and are los- She can be reached during the
ing money.
day at 541-575-9930.
A brief history of Gleason Pool:
Continued from Page A1
continues to deteriorate that it’s
time to look to the future,” said
Ward.
The Parks and Recreation
District was formed in 1989 to
reopen and manage the pool af-
ter it had been closed for a period
of time, according to Ward. The
effort was aided by proponents
who wanted to see the pool be-
come a viable resource for the
community once again and the
city was delighted it no longer
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of running the pool, said Mayor
Ron Lundbom, who was a city
council member at the time.
In addition to managing the
pool, the parks and recreation
district in subsequent years
developed and runs the youth
sports program and also man-
ages the 7th Street Complex. In
an agreement with the city of
John Day, the district leases the
- Opened on June 7, 1958, under
the name John Day Municipal Pool.
- Cost to open was $60,000, oper-
ated by the City of John Day.
- First pool manager was Lynn
Pryse, with Lyle Willden assisting
and Betty Jo Wyllie as chief life-
guard.
- By the end of June 1958, John
Day/Canyon City Chamber of Com-
merce sponsored a competition to re-
name the pool. Harry Don Moody,
7, of John Day won the contest and
$5, as well as two coupon books of
swim tickets.
- In a dedication ceremony July
11, 1958, the pool was re-named to
honor the late Dan Gleason by then
pool and, with the lease set to
expire in 2020, Ward and others
believe now is the time to begin
serious discussions about build-
ing a replacement pool.
“The town needs a pool,”
said Ward. “Kids still have a
blast at the pool. It’s a safe alter-
native to rivers and lakes.” Sum-
mer swim lessons, Ward adds,
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Environmental Impact Statement.
Myers was pleased with how the
meeting went. “It was a good oppor-
tunity for people to speak their mind,
and I think they did a pretty good
job,” he said. “It was also a good
opportunity for the Forest Service to
listen to what the public’s concerns
are in relation to access – the abil-
ity to use the forest as they’ve his-
torically been able to – and for the
Forest Service to say why things are
done the way they are.
“Jim Pena (region forester) want-
ed to put travel management on hold
pending the completion of the Forest
Plan,” Myers added. “It is dishearten-
ing – it appears to some they’re trying
to close roads project by project in-
stead of waiting for the rewrite to be
completed. The public needs to get
involved and stay involved. They need
to take advantage of the opportunity.”
The two listening sessions re-
garding grazing and pace and scale
of restoration work on the Malheur
National Forest have been sched-
uled, to be announced.
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Two Rivers Run
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Departs from Elgin
at 4:30 p.m.
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See the full season schedule online.
Kids take over emergency services as Chiefs for the Day
Blue Mountain Eagle
EPHRATA, WA – Jenny
Boyer of Moses Lake, Wash-
ington was recently honored
as the Chief for the Day by
the Washington State Patrol
in Ephrata, Washington. Jen-
ny is the daughter of Richard
and Charity (Dark) Boyer, and
granddaughter of Rusty and
Peggy Dark of Monument,
Oregon, and Richard Boyer
and the late Mary Boyer of
Canyon City, Oregon.
Audible sirens could be
heard from a large number
of law enforcement motor-
cade vehicles approaching, as
a crowd of about 200 people
gathered in front of the Grant
County Courthouse, in Ephra-
ta, Wash.
Grant County Undersher-
iff Dave Ponozzo who was in
charge of the ceremony said
disabled children and chil-
dren with health challenges,
and their parents and fami-
lies face obvious obstacles in
the world, but their ability to
move forward is beyond what
most people in the world are
capable of doing.
Jenny was born with Down
syndrome in September 2005.
She has had the normal chal-
lenges facing children with
Down’s. Her health challenges
began at birth. Jenny contin-
ues to make the most of life
though, competing in Special
Olympics basketball this win-
ter and track this spring, win-
ning several awards for her
skills. Jenny attends school in
a general education classroom
where she reads near grade
level, spells at grade level.
Each of the 10 Chiefs for
the Day were appropriately
suited in the uniform of the
agency they were command-
ing for the day. Once they
reached the Courthouse they
were greeted by agency rep-
resentatives and escorted to
seats and welcomed applause
from the crowd. The smiles
each Chief was wearing
brightened every crowd mem-
ber’s day. Each Chief was
then individually honored by
the leadership of the respec-
tive agency and given a badge
and plaque to commemorate
the special day.
)ROORZLQJ WKH RI¿FLDO
swearing in of the little
Chiefs, the Board of County
Commissioners presented a
proclamation honoring the
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day for the “Chief for the Day”
ceremony.
Contributed Photo
Jenny Boyer, shown here with Grant County
Undersheriff
Dave
Ponozzo, was one of
10 Chiefs for the Day
in a ceremony held in
Ephrata, Wash.
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B CONTEST
Debbie Ausmus
245 South Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845
OPEN WED. & THUR.
9 am - 5 pm
541-575-1113
24 hrs/7 days wk
debbie.ausmus@
countryfinancial.com
C
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P HO
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W ith two kly or grand prize
wee G o fishing in G rant C ounty, and
send in photos from your experience.
You Could
WIN $10 WEEKLY OR
$100 GRAND PRIZE
Open to all amateur photographers.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has stocked
some big ones in local lakes and waterways this summer.
This is your chance to catch supper and maybe win a
prize, in the 2015 Best Fishing Photo Contest sponsored
by the Blue Mountain Eagle, Boyd Britton Welding and
Prairie Springs Fish Farm.
• Photos will be judged for quality, content, viewer appeal.
Remember, it’s not the biggest fish – but the best fishing
photo that takes the prize!
• Photos must be taken this summer in Grant County.
• Digital format is best - e-mail to kristina@bmeagle.com or bring
in a disc to the Eagle office, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day.
• Deadline for submissions: Sep. 21, 2015 for the grand prize.
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Fisherman’s Name:__________________________________________
Where the fish was caught:____________________Date taken: _________
Fish Species:____________________Weight & Length________________
Contact phone number:_______________________
Contact e-mail address:________________________________
For more info, call the Eagle, 541-575-0710 – and happy fishing!