Blue Mountain EAGLE The LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO? Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 W EDNESDAY , S EPTEMBER 23, 2015 • N O . 38 Fire shines light on need for emergency position By Sean Ellis and Nancy McCarthy Blue Mountain Eagle JOHN DAY — The Can- yon Creek Complex ¿ re has re-ignited the question of whether Grant County should add a full-time emergency manager position. Sheriff Glenn Palmer be- lieves it should and has asked Grant County Court commis- sioners during recent meet- ings to create an emergency management coordinator po- sition. The Canyon Creek Com- plex ¿ re highlighted the need for such a position but “there has been a need for this posi- tion for a long time,” he told the Blue Mountain Eagle. Besides ¿ re threats, an emergency manager would also address the dangers of winter weather, À ooding and other issues, he said. “There’s a need for this (position) year-round,” Palm- er said. The county used to have an emergency manager but coun- ty of¿ cials said the position was eliminated several years ago for budgetary reasons. Grant County Court Judge Scott Myers said the court has looked into the issue follow- ing Palmer’s recent request to re-instate the position but there is currently no funding in the budget to do that at this time. “It’s not something that’s going to happen right now,” he said. The issue comes up every budget season and it’s likely to be raised again this next year, Myers said. The county has $15,000 in its budget for emergency sit- uations but the creation of a full-time emergency manager position would require a sig- ni¿ cant increase in funding that’s not currently available, he added. Myers said the county has been exploring the possibility of sharing an emergency man- ager with other counties and is also looking at different fund- ing mechanisms. Dayville resident Dana Brooks, who worked for the county when it still had an emergency manager, support- ed the idea of re-creating the position during the court’s Sept. 9 meeting. • 24 P AGES – PAGE A9 • $1.00 A RAINBOW OF FUN More stations, goodies at this www.MyEagleNews.com Fire team offers immediate action plan By Sean Ellis For the Blue Mountain Eagle year’s ‘Color Me Free’ event Oct. 3 Contributed photo/Tanni Wenger Photography Studio Tia Gibson of Vancouver, Wash., and her daughter, Teagan, are all grins during Heart of Grant County’s ‘Color Me Free’ Fun Run last year. They are planning to participate in the family friendly event again this year on Saturday, Oct. 3. %\&KHU\O+RHÀHU Blue Mountain Eagle J OHN DAY – It’s time to run – or walk – with the colors again. Heart of Grant County’s “Color Me Free” Fun Run, which kicks off Domestic Vi- olence Awareness month, is coming up Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Industrial Park in John What: Second annual Day. ‘Color Me Free’ Fun Run Registration is at 8 a.m. When: 8 a.m. Saturday, and the event starts at 10 a.m. Oct. 3 This is the second year for Where: Industrial Park, the colorful, family friendly John Day community event which pro- Cost: $20 a person; $40 motes wellness and healthy per family lifestyles. Individuals, fam- ilies and organizations are welcome to participate. People can run, walk or even skip if they wish at their own pace, and don’t even have to complete the course. Along the way, they’ll have packets of colored powder to throw at participants, and will themselves get “showered” at color sta- tions. Participants can look forward to more of everything this time around – color stations, goodies and packets of Hippie Powder. It’s the Hippie Powder that puts the “color” in the event, and sets it apart from other running and walking events. A brand of Holi powder – often used during Holi, a Hindu religious spring festivals – it’s basically just colored corn- starch. It’s also non-toxic and environmentally safe. See RUN, Page A14 If you go Participants in the 2014 ‘Color Me Free’ Fun Run get off to a sunny start at the Industrial Park in John Day. Participants in this year’s ‘Color Me Free’ Fun Run on Oct. 3 will get a stash of goodies. See NEED, Page A5 CANYON CITY — A spe- cialized U.S. Forest Service team that has been studying the damage caused by the Canyon Creek Complex ¿ re for two weeks has recom- mended several treatments to mitigate imminent post-¿ re threats to life, infrastructure, recreation areas, ¿ sh and the environment. They in- clude mulch- ing treatments on hillsides to absorb and slow runoff, repairing and Rob modifying Tanner culverts, re- conditioning drainage ditches and repairing drainages along miles of rec- reational trails. Those treatments will be- gin immediately after funding is secured from the national Forest Service of¿ ce, which should occur within two weeks, Burned Area Emer- gency Response (BAER) team leader Rob Tanner told about 35 people at the Canyon City Community Hall Sept. 21. “We want to jump right into implementation, prior to the ¿ rst big storm event,” he said. “That could be any day so the urgency to get things on the ground is now.” The BAER team, which includes specialists in hydrol- ogy, soils, ¿ sheries biology, botany, engineering, range, recreation and satellite map- ping technology, predicted that the damage caused by the ¿ re would result in stream À ow levels increasing dra- matically following a major rainstorm. Before the fire, a 10- year storm — there is a 10 percent chance of this type of storm occurring in any given year — would have See FIRE, Page A3 COMING NEXT WEEK How salvage operations connected to the Canyon Creek Complex fire will proceed. Prairie City council mulls pot options Other topics include fire safety, water levels, helmet program Blue Mountain Eagle PRAIRIE CITY – Pot is a “front burner” topic in Prairie City. The Prairie City City Council ad- dressed the issue of whether or not to allow recreational marijuana busi- nesses to operate within the city lim- its, or “opting out” of Senate Bill 460, at the city council’s Sept. 9 meeting. SB460 allows medical marijuana dispensaries to sell up to one-quarter ounce of marijuana and four mari- juana plants to people not registered with the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program starting Oct. 1. Sen Ted Ferrioli was present at the meeting, offering background infor- mation on the subject and answering questions from councilors and com- munity members in attendance. Ferrioli reminded the council they need to make decisions “that reÀ ect your community values.” He added if they do choose to allow sales of mari- juana within the city limits, “You still control the time, place and manner.” People in Oregon have already been able to possess and grow up to four plants for personal use, effective July 1. Ferrioli noted one medical dispen- sary has opened up in Harney County. Before taking it to a vote, the council is seeking public input on the subject at a town hall scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, at the Strawberry Grange, 204 N. McHaley St., Prairie City. Residents are encouraged to attend the town hall, learn more about the is- sue, and voice their opinions. In other business, Prairie City Fire Chief Marvin Rynearson and Public Works Director Chris Camarena also offered thanks and information on the town’s cooperation and support during the Canyon Creek Complex ¿ re, speci¿ cally during the weekend, Aug. 29-30, when it encroached upon the town. Rynearson said he is looking into a program that could provide free smoke detectors installed in every home within the Prairie City area, in addition to other ¿ re precautionary measures. Camarena discussed how danger- ously low the water levels dipped in the town’s reservoir during that time, which set the water system’s alarms off round-the-clock. He also ex- pressed appreciation to residents for their cooperation. City recorder Taci Philbrook also offered an update on the town’s “Lids for Kids” campaign, which is striving to provide new helmets for bicycling and skateboarding children who can’t Prairie City Town Hall When: 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23 Where: Strawberry Grange, Prairie City Topic: Recreational marijuana business within the city limits of Prairie City Residents are encouraged to attend and learn more about the issue of recreational marijuana. The city council seeks the commu- nity’s input on the subject of the cultivation, processing and sales of recreational marijuana within the city limits. afford them. Donation containers are at City Hall and participating Prai- rie City businesses for anyone who wants to contribute to the cause.