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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 2015)
Chamber gives fi re relief funds at annual dinner The Blue Mountain Page A12 $7200 , EAGLE Donated Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 W EDNESDAY , S EPTEMBER 16, 2015 • N O . 37 • 22 P AGES • $1.00 :KDWWKH¿UHEXUQHG By Sean Ellis and Tim Trainor Fire updates in the region as of Tuesday, Sept. 15 Blue Mountain Eagle JOHN DAY — The Can- yon Creek Complex contin- ues to burn, but many people are already asking whether the blaze would have been less severe had the forest been managed better. Dave Traylor, a member of the Grant County Public Forest Commission, is one of many voices questioning whether enough thinning and slash cleanup was done in past years on the 1.7-mil- lion-acre Malheur National Forest. “We’ve got to make some changes because we’re los- ing our forest,” he said as the blaze reached 110,000 acres. “What we’re doing is not working.” Perhaps surprisingly, Malheur National Forest Supervisor Steve Beverlin agrees. “We do need drastic change,” he said. Even Aron Robertson, communications director for environmental group Oregon Wild, thinks there are ways to GHFUHDVH ZLOG¿UH ULVNV ZLWK precise thinning practices. But overall, their pre- scription for change is vastly different. Traylor thinks the forest needs more active manage- C DQ\RQ&UHHN The Eagle/Sean Ellis Bob Vidourek, a retired Bureau of Land Management forester in the John Day area, stands in front of some of the 2,500 acres of BLM land on Little Canyon Mountain that was thinned and cleared of heavy slash buildups several years ago. • The Burned Area Complex fire Emergency Response Size: 110,422 acres (BAER) team is done with Containment: 90% initial evaluations and is Personnel: 186 working on implementing Weather forecast: A mitigations. low-pressure system is • Parish Cabin and Starr VLWWLQJ RYHU WKH 3DFL¿F Ridge Campgrounds are Northwest bringing lower open to the public. Forest temperaturers and higher Service Road 15 and the KXPLGLW\WRWKH¿UHDUHD$ QRUWKZHVWFRUQHURIWKH¿UH stronger system is moving area west of Highway 395 through Wednesday and is open to the public. Thursday of this week with See FIRE, Page A5 a chance of rain. FOHDQXS ZDV D VLJQL¿FDQW factor in the size and severity of the Canyon Creek Com- SOH[ ¿UH VD\V 3UDLULH &LW\ resident Levi Voigt. PHQWLQFOXGLQJDVLJQL¿FDQW “The only control you increase in grazing and log- KDYHRYHUDZLOG¿UHLVWRUH ging. duce the amount of fuel in the “That means cattle in the forest,” he says. “I believe woods eating grass down and a reduction in the amount of not letting it just dry up and fuel out there would have re- become fuel, and we need GXFHGWKHVHYHULW\RIWKH¿UH´ to do some logging. Not It was Voigt who asked clear-cutting, but spacing out Beverlin during a community trees and taking out dying ¿UH XSGDWH PHHWLQJ LQ 3UDL trees. We can provide jobs rie City Aug. 31 whether the and create a healthy forest &DQ\RQ &UHHN &RPSOH[ ¿UH WKDWLV¿UHUHVLVWDQWDQGSUR would serve as a learning les- tects the water.” son in forest management. A lack of proper forest Beverlin said it would. management, including thin- There is no denying that ning, salvage sales and slash IRUHVW ¿UHV DUH LQFUHDVLQJ in frequency and intensity across the American West, and it’s no different on our local forests and rangeland. But Beverlin says that is mainly because we’ve been VR JRRG DW ZLOGODQG ¿UH ¿JKWLQJIRUVRORQJ+HVDLG before European settlement arrived in Oregon pre-1860, historically 100,000 acres burned on average each year on the Malheur National Forest — roughly the acre- age burned up this year by the Canyon Creek Complex. %HYHUOLQVDLG¿UHVFDUVLQWKH rings of virgin timber have VKRZQ KRZ RIWHQ ¿UH FDPH through the area. See BURN, Page A5 D IGGING IN FOR A NEW FIRE STATION The Eagle/Cheryl Hoefler Representatives from John Day city, fire department, and rural fire board dig in during the Sept. 15 ground breaking ceremony for the new John Day Fire Station on South Canyon Boulevard. Excavation for the new facility is set to begin Monday, Sept. 21. From left, Fire Chief Ron Smith; city councilors Donn Willey, Paul Smith and Greg Haberly; rural fire board member Dale Stennett; city manager Peggy Gray; Mayor Ron Lundbom; city councilor Louis Provencher; firefighters Carl Metler and William Edward Reffett; rural fire board member Dean Elliott; rural fire board chairman Bill Wilcox; and firefighters Stephen Stinnett and Ronda Metler. S TUDENT ART “Kindergarten pup” Prairie City School Teacher: Becky Sharp Tirico cleared of all charges Acquittal ends 2 years of uncertainty for ex-chief Blue Mountain Eagle CANYON CITY – For- mer John Day Police Chief Richard Tirico has been cleared of official miscon- duct in a trial that ended even before the defense put on its case. Grant County Circuit Judge William D. Cramer Jr. issued his ruling for a directed verdict of acquittal just four hours into testi- mony in the Sept. 8 jury tri- al, after the state had called several witnesses and rest- ed its case. Defense attorney J. Rob- ert Moon moved for acquit- tal, charging that the state had failed to produce any evidence to support the charges. The acquittal ends two years of legal limbo for Tirico, who resigned the chief’s job in October 2013, as a state Department of Justice investigation was underway in the local department. In September 2014, a Grant County grand jury indicted Tirico on two counts of official miscon- duct, a Class A misdemean- or. He pleaded innocent to the charges last February. Moon said his client was relieved at the outcome, ac- knowledging it was “a very difficult two years.” “He wants to thank the community, his family, and especially his wife Cindy, for their support during that time,” Moon said. The state alleged po- lice work was improperly charged to a drunken-driv- ing enforcement grant ob- tained by Tirico for the City of John Day. The grant in question came from a program ad- ministered at that time by the Oregon Association Chiefs of Police. Of the $2,000 awarded to John Day, the state’s case fo- cused on about $800 in ex- penditures claimed by the police department. However, Moon says the parameters of the DUII grant were never spelled out, and there was no train- ing to guide what could, or could not, fall under the grant. “It was never clear to anybody what the scope of the grant was,” he said. “And Rich felt what he turned in was appropriate.” Moon said officers working under Tirico had no guidance, either. “He was completely in- nocent,” said Moon, noting that the city had obtained the grants in prior years and Tirico felt his actions were in concert with past grant operations under pre- vious chiefs. Moon stressed there was never any suggestion of personal gain by Tirico. Further, he said, the grant program paid the money to the city without question and never request- ed additional paperwork or any reimbursement. The questions arose lat- er, as DOJ began interview- ing officers who apparently mentioned uncertainties about how the grant was charged or reported. Assistant Attorney Gen- eral Colin Benson, present- ing the state’s case at trial, called two police officers to the stand during the tri- al. One told the court Tiri- co had done much good for the community, and said he felt the trial was a waste of time. Another testified only after being given immunity in the case, concerned that if Tirico’s grant reporting was found to be wrong, he could face prosecution for changing a time card sub- mitted for the DUII grant. Cross-examined by Moon, the officer confirmed he didn’t have a full under- standing of guidelines for the grant. Cramer, in his decision, agreed with the defense contention that there was nothing to show the terms required for the grant re- porting, nor was there ev- idence of any training for grant performance. He issued what is called a “directed verdict” for acquittal, meaning a rea- sonable jury would not reach any other conclu- sion based on the evidence presented. Motorcycle camp application rejected Last June Ake was gearing up for a Fourth of July weekend opening for his John Day Motorcycle Campground, when it ran into neighborhood opposition. The project FDPHWRDKDOWZKHQRI¿FLDOVWROGKLPKH couldn’t open the business without going through the planning and zoning process. of the proposal, but about 15 people spoke against it, in a tense and emotional session. The commission deliberated on provi- JOHN DAY – Robert Ake said Sunday sions of the code that might apply in this he isn’t sure what’s next for his proposed case, ultimately deciding that the camp- motorcycle camp, now that the Grant ground should not be allowed. The unani- County Planning Commission has rejected mous vote was to deny the conditional use his application for a conditional use permit. permit. He’s got a week or so to One factor in the decision decide whether to appeal the They saw the first word, motorcycle, ZDVD¿QGLQJWKDWWKHRSHUDWLRQ commission’s Sept. 10 de- and their minds were made up.” would adversely impact the liv- cision to the Grant County ability of the surrounding area. Court. However, he said he’s 5REHUW$NH Ake acknowledged there not sure he has the stomach seeking conditional use permit was opposition, but said he also IRUWKH¿JKW had encouragement from people “I’m not sure whether I’ll Hilary McNary, county planning direc- as he made his plans. He was disappointed pursue it or not,” he said in a phone inter- view. “I’m still digesting it all. But I guess tor, said the county received 11 complaints that only family members showed up to sup- I’m leaning toward just letting it go. I’m about the campground, even though it was port him at the hearing. He said his critics hadn’t given the plan not yet in operation. Area residents cited WLUHGRI¿JKWLQJRYHULW´ Ake was seeking the permit to develop FRQFHUQVDERXWLQFUHDVHGWUDI¿FDQGQRLVH a chance. ³7KH\ VDZ WKH ¿UVW ZRUG PRWRUF\FOH 25 dry camping sites for motorcycle and bi- ¿UHGDQJHUVHZDJHDQGJDUEDJHSURSHUW\ cycle tourists on 5 to 6 acres of his 19 acres YDOXHVDQGFRQÀLFWVZLWKWKHUHVLGHQWLDOQD and their minds were made up,” he said. Ake said he still plans to get an extension on Trafton Lane, west of John Day. The ture of the area. At the hearing, Ake answered questions of city water to his property, now served by a property is zoned suburban residential with a 1-acre minimum, and would need county but was represented by consultant Sharon well, but he said he would do that regardless 0RJJ$FRXSOHRISHRSOHWHVWL¿HGLQIDYRU of the fate of the motorcycle camp. approval for the campsite use. %OXH0RXQWDLQ(DJOH “ Nora Donathan www.MyEagleNews.com