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.