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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 22, 2015)
A8 News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, July 22, 2015 DERBY Continued from Page A1 Photo by Karen Roganov Malheur National Forest Range Program Manager Ernie Gipson (center) describes to Forest Service leadership, M.L. Smith (to his right) and Allen Rowley (to his left), the benefits of using the solar-powered electrical pumps that feed water from the creek into cement troughs that enhance forest utilization and protection of threatened fish habitat. National Range Director sees community partnership up close Blue Mountain Eagle JOHN DAY – The Mal- heur National Forest team showcased Forest Service and community collabora- tive efforts to Allen Row- ley, the National Director of Rangeland Management and Vegetation Ecology during a two-day site visit Tuesday and Thursday last week. “The exceptional com- munity and Forest Service partnership efforts here are impressive,” said Rowley. “One can’t help feel a sense of pride and enthusiasm for the Malheur when witness- ing the attention to the bal- ance of ecological health and economic sustainability.” The Blue Mountain and Prairie City districts hosted the field visits to the Mur- derers Creek, Little Crane and Summit Creek allotment areas for Rowley along with M.L. Smith, the Regional Office Director of Natural Resources and Tom Hilken, the Regional Office acting Assistant Director of Natural Resources. Of interest were two live- stock fencing and a water supply project. Along the North Fork of the Malheur River, the North Fork John Day Watershed Council and Oregon Youth Conservation Corps in part- nership with the Forest Service built a four-strand barbed wire fence. The newly-constructed fence reduces conflicts with livestock grazing and critical fish habitat. “The project also provid- ed seasonal employment for teenagers and young adults, who learned key building skills from technical experts and took part in managing our natural resources,” said Steve Beverlin, Forest Su- pervisor, Malheur National Forest. A TTENTION G RANT C OUNTY V ETERANS : Did you know a service-connected disabled veteran is entitled to FREE use of Oregon State Parks? See your Grant County Veteran Services Officer today for more information, located at Grant County Courthouse. Open Mon, Wed, & Fri, 10 am - 4 pm, Appointments available . Call 541-575-1631 Michael B. DesJardin Dentistry, PC New Patients Welcome! Along Summit Creek, southwest of Prairie City, a buck and pole log fence also made it possible for cat- tle to graze near bull trout habitats. Inmates from the Powder River Correctional Facility in Baker City pro- vided the labor to construct the fence. Another area of interest during the site visit was an extensive livestock water distribution facility near Lake Creek, south of Prairie City. Solar-powered electrical pumps fed water from the creek into cement troughs to enhance forest utilization and protection of threatened fish habitat. The troughs allow cattle easy access to water so they can graze land to which they would not normally venture. “The Grant County Soil and Water Conservation Dis- trict funded the infrastruc- ture, improving livestock distribution and fish habi- tat,” said Beverlin. “This is community resource stew- ardship at its best.” The Forest Service re- mains hopeful for oppor- tunities for similar future projects, according to Bev- erlin. “We look forward to continuing to build effective working relationships with the Grant and Harney Coun- ty agricultural community.” Nodine walked away with two other awards. He was ¿rst place in the second heat winning $250, and he won the “beau- ty contest” for best-looking vehicle. “It’s awesome just to have that crowd out to watch,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about – without that crowd, we wouldn’t be out here.” The best part for him, he said, was “hearing that car start up at the end (of the sec- ond heat).” Steve Patterson of Prairie City was nicknamed “Grand- daddy of the Derby” by an- nouncer Mark Bagett. Patterson, who placed sec- ond in the second heat, said there is a lot of ego involved in the sport. “We’re all friends outside the arena, but inside, it’s game on,” he said. “It’s all about playing the game.” Voted Most Aggressive Driver, Nick Dieter of Burns said he hadn’t driven in a der- by for 16 years. He earned the title for push- ing driver Wayne Saul up on the logs at the perimeter in the ¿rst heat – Saul won second HALL Continued from Page A1 Kirby Nagelhout Con- struction Co., of Bend, is the general contractor on the proj- ect. The company will subcon- tract much of the work to more Grant County HEALTH Department 528 E. Main, St. E, John Day Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm 541-575-2725 mbddental@live.com & michaelbdesjardindmd.com Services Provided: Karen Triplett, FNP Don’t Forget to Floss Demolition Derby results First place: Eric Johnson, Walla Walla, Wash., $1,500 Second place: Jason Ward, Burns, $1,000 Third place: Tyler Nodine, John Day, $500 +eat 1, ¿rst place: NicN Dieter, Burns, $50 Heat 1, second place: Wayne Saul, $50 Heat , ¿rst place: Tyler Nodine, $50 Heat , second place: SteYe 3atterson, $50 0ost $JJressiYe DriYer: NicN Dieter, Burns, $50 cash aZard IroP True 9alue Hard /ucN Trophy: Dustin 5anJe, Burns, Iree 01 entry Beauty Contest: Tyler Nodine, trophy DriYers draZinJs NydaP¶s $ce HardZare 3ortaEle MuPp start: Tyler Stout oI John Day ToZ strap: $nthony Ellis oI Burns The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Winners of the Whiskey Gulch Gang Demolition Derby are, from left, second-place winner Jason Ward of Burns, Most Aggressive Driver and winner of Heat 1 Nick Dieter of Burns, and third-place winner and first place in Heat 2 Tyler Nodine of John Day who also won the “beauty contest” trophy. First- place winner of the derby was Eric Johnson of Walla Walla, Wash. The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Your Rural Fa mily Health Clinic • Primary Care • Acute Care • Women’s Health Exams • Men and Children Exams • Immunizations • Family Planning • Contraception “There is a lot of volunteer work that goes into this.” No. 77 Ed Moulton of Burns, left, No. 57 Tyler Nodine of John Day and No. 338 Nick Dieter of Burns get aggressive in Saturday’s Main Event at the demolition derby held at the Grant County Fairgrounds. Preventive, Restorative, & Endodontics 208 NW Canton, John Day place in that round and came back for the Main Event. “This was my ¿rst one com- ing back,” he said. “You just have to go and drive – don’t worry about a strategy and just go.” “It was a very successful demolition derby,” said derby board member Leslie Traylor, noting that the City of John Day and L&L Excavating pro- vided water trucks, and John Day City Police provided se- curity as well as many other helpers behind the scenes. “We couldn’t do it with- out everybody,” said Traylor. • 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 specialized companies. Gray said initial bids from subcon- tractors were coming in higher than expected, but none had yet been ¿nalized. The entire project is expected to come in at $1.8 million, which includes the cost to purchase the prop- erty and demolish the original building. Smith said requirements to follow both state and feder- al wage rules means the $1.2 million approved by taxpayers wouldn’t go as far as it would on most local building projects. “I understand it’s great for the workers,” said Smith “But giving $75 an hour to someone who usually makes $25 is hard to do in such a poor county ... It’s hard when the majority of your dollars go toward labor, when you want to do as much as you can for a building that is go- ing to be here for a long time.” The El Cocinero Mexican restaurant, which operated at the site of the new ¿re hall, located at 316 S. Canyon Bou- levard, closed June 19. Last week, the John Day Public Works Department made short POT Continued from Page A1 City Manager Peggy Gray ex- pects the ordinance to be present- ed to the city council in August for its consideration and public comment. The ordinance, which requires only one reading, could be passed the evening of the meeting and with the inclusion of an emergency clause, could go into effect immediately, accord- ing to Gray. The city council has up until Dec. 27, 2015 – 180 days from June 30 – to act, but John Day looks to adopt an ordinance sooner than later. After that date, localities throughout Oregon meeting the 55 percent standard and wishing to “opt out” will have to do so by means of a general election. Meanwhile, HB 3400 has been a subject of conversation at the Grant County Court. The county could also choose to “opt out” but doing so would disallow Grant work of taking down the old building, once home to an A & W Drive-In. Asbestos-con- taminated materials were trans- ported to the dump at Arlington. Less dangerous materials were dispatched locally, according to Smith. The ¿re hall itself is just phase one of the project. A community meeting room will be part of the facility too, but it may not begin construction until February, or when fundraising is complete. So far, over $220,000 in grants have been secured for the project, the latest a $9,170 grant from Trust Management Ser- vices, LLC in early July. Pend- ing full funding of the commu- nity room, the Ford Foundation will kick in $200,000. Other grants awarded include $20,000 from the Oregon Community Foundation and another $1,000 from the Shelk Foundation. “We still have a couple more grants we have applied for still out there,” the potential for another $240,000, said Gray. The budgeted amount for the community room is $450,000. County from having a local tax or receiving state revenue, according to District Attorney Jim Carpen- ter, who was on hand at the July 8 meeting of County Court to brief Judge Scott Myers and commis- sioners Chris Labhart and Boyd Britton. While HB 3400 primarily addresses the commercialization aspects of the new law, one thing that won’t change is the Measure 91 provision that went into effect July 1, 2015, allowing Oregonians to grow limited amounts – up to 4 plants – of marijuana on their prop- erty and to possess personal limited amounts – up to 8 oz. per residence – of recreational marijuana for per- sonal use. In addition, medical marijuana dispensaries, under HB 3400, reg- istered or applied to be registered on or before July 1, 2015 or have successfully completed a city or county land use application pro- cess would not be subject to a local ordinance. No medical marijuana dispensaries currently operate in Grant County.
