News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
A3
Show of hands says ‘No’ on marijuana
PC residents
discuss pot
issue at meeting
Blue Mountain Eagle
PRAIRIE CITY – A show
of hands at a recent Prairie
City town hall spoke volumes
about residents’ sentiments on
the pot business issue.
The Prairie City City
Council hosted the Sept. 9
town hall meeting to discuss
“opting out” of Senate Bill
460, early sales of marijua-
na within the city limits, and
hear citizens’ opinions on the
topic.
The gathering drew a
crowd of about 50 residents,
¿OOLQJWKH6WUDZEHUU\*UDQJH
Hall.
Mayor Jim Hamsher told
those attending the city had
several choices – to allow
either, neither or both recre-
ational marijuana businesses
and medical dispensaries to
Prairie City
Mayor Jim Hamsher
to determine now just how
much money is at stake.
Hamsher pointed out there
are other ways for the town to
raise revenue.
but added, “a lot of issues Hamsher said.
Sandi Rennels said, “We
haven’t even been addressed
He said prospective mar- cannot allow this just because
yet.”
ijuana business owners can’t of money.”
The city council has cho- even apply for a license until
“What’s it going to cost
VHQWRZDLWDQGVHH¿UVWZKDW July 2016.
to implement?” Carla Teague
other regional and statewide
2QH EHQH¿W LV VDOHV WD[HV asked, suggesting Prairie City
towns do, with the intent to the city would reap; however, “let the dust settle and let oth-
save the city money spent that percentage is based on er towns be the guinea pigs.”
unnecessarily on legal fees, SRSXODWLRQPDNLQJLWGLI¿FXOW
Chris Lewallen said peo-
Eagle photos/Cheryl Hoefler
The majority of those attending the Sept. 23 town hall in Prairie City raise their
hands to a question by Mayor Jim Hamsher (standing) on whether the town
should “opt out” of allowing marijuana businesses with the city limits.
operate in town.
Hamsher said Prairie
City could say “no” and still
opt back in later, but if they
choose to opt in now, there
would be no going back later.
He said the city would be able
to say where and when such
establishments could operate,
FIRE
WKH SUR¿WV IURP WUHH VDOHV WR
fund restoration efforts.
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acres
in the Strawberry Moun-
Continued from Page A1
tain Wilderness and there will
agency also plans to conduct not be any salvage activities
salvage logging operations within that area because it
as quickly as possible, said needs to be managed as wil-
Dave Halemeier, district derness, Halemeier said.
ranger for the Blue Mountain
7KH ¿UVW WKLQJ SULYDWH
Ranger District.
landowners who are planning
Forest Service salvage ef- to conduct salvage operations
forts will be focused in mod- need to do is contact their Or-
erate to high intensity burn egon Department of Forestry
areas and in areas that are (ODF) stewardship forester,
reasonably close to a road.
said Ryan Miller, an ODF
:KLOHWKHUHDUHQRGH¿QLWH stewardship forester in John
estimates yet, Halemeier said Day.
the Forest Service anticipates
Private landowners also
about 4,000 to 5,000 acres QHHG WR ¿OH D QRWL¿FDWLRQ RI
will be available for salvage operations with the ODF at
efforts.
least 15 days prior to start-
The emphasis will be on ing salvage work, but people
conducting salvage opera- planning to conduct salvage
tions quickly, he added.
activities should call the de-
“We need to have the SDUWPHQW¿UVWWRPDNHVXUHWKH
wood cut and off the land- proper process is followed,
scape by June; otherwise, the Miller said.
wood will have no value,” he
“ODF needs to be aware
said.
of any forest operations,” he
The goal of the Forest Ser- told people at the Mt. Vernon
vice salvage operations will meeting. “The main point I
be two-fold, Halemeier said: want to make is, call us.”
To reduce hazards and use
Miller said the department
needs to ensure any resource
concerns are addressed and a
re-forestation plan is in place,
EXW KDV ÀH[LELOLW\ WR ZRUN
with landowners to accom-
plish that.
“Work with us and most
of the time we can come to a
reasonable solution,” he said,
DGGLQJ2')KDVWKHÀH[LELO-
ity to “make that happen in a
common-sense manner.”
Landowners can contact
an ODF stewardship forest-
er in John Day at (541) 575-
1139.
Bob Parker, an Oregon
6WDWH 8QLYHUVLW\ H[WHQVLRQ
forester in Baker City, said
the university has a host of
resources and information to
help people assess the surviv-
ability of burned trees.
“If you’d like, I’d be more
than happy to come out and
look at the ground with you,”
he said.
Parker can be contacted
DW DQG SHR-
SOHFDQDOVRFDOO268¶V*UDQW
&RXQW\ RI¿FH DW
1911.
Lorraine Vogt, a Natural
Resources Conservation Ser-
vice district conservationist
in John Day, said that agen-
cy has a program that can
reimburse landowners for
SRVW¿UH HURVLRQ FRQWURO DQG
seeding efforts. She is taking
applications through Oct. 16.
Vogt can be reached at
H[W
*UDQW&RXQW\'HSXW\6XU-
YH\RU-DVRQ+DW¿HOGVDLGWKH
¿UHGDPDJHGDORWRIVHFWLRQ
corner monuments and bear-
ing trees, which provide crit-
ical evidence for the location
of property boundaries and
FDQEHH[SHQVLYHWRUHHVWDE-
lish.
Because these monuments
and bearing trees are now
PRUH GLI¿FXOW WR LGHQWLI\
they are now susceptible to
further damage or destruction
E\ SRVW¿UH DFWLYLWLHV VXFK
as logging, construction and
IHQFHEXLOGLQJ+DW¿HOGVDLG
If anyone suspects a mon-
ument or bearing tree is in
jeopardy, they should contact
WKHVXUYH\RU¶VRI¿FHDW
575-1251.
Blue Mountains Forest
Partners also plans to conduct
a salvage research project that
seeks to “develop new man-
agement practices that pro-
vide economic recovery in a
more ecologically informed
manner to avoid lawsuits,”
VDLG H[HFXWLYH GLUHFWRU 0DUN
Webb.
“We plan to work with
SOH VKRXOG UHDOL]H WD[ PRQH\
the town would receive from
marijuana businesses is de-
signed to help with regulatory
and administrative costs and
“isn’t entirely free money.”
Councilor Les Church
reminded the crowd of the
“black market” pot business,
and said not allowing mari-
juana businesses to operate
legally in town, would be like
saying “I want the black mar-
ket to proliferate.”
6RPHFRQWLQXHGWRH[SUHVV
concerns it would “change the
face of our community” and
“be a distraction and deter-
rent.”
Near the end of the discus-
sion, Hamsher asked those
present who would prefer the
town opt out. Hands shot up
from the majority of those
present.
Regardless of the decision
on marijuana sales and busi-
nesses, people are able to le-
gally possess and grow up to
four plants for personal use in
Oregon, effective July 1.
researchers to develop treat-
ments informed by science
WKDW PHHW VSHFL¿F ZLOGOLIH
needs, identify low-impact
treatment areas and moni-
tor these efforts over time to
evaluate their effectiveness,”
he said.
Michael B. DesJardin
Dentistry, PC
Preventive, Restorative & Endodontics
New Patients
Welcome!
208 NW Canton
John Day
541-575-2725
mbddental@live.com
michaelbdesjardindmd.com
R EGIONAL NEWS
Minimum
wage to stay at
$9.25 in 2016
PORTLAND,
Ore.
(AP) — Oregon workers
who make the minimum
wage will not be getting a
raise in 2016.
Oregon’s
minimum
wage is re-calculated each
year because of a state law
passed by voters in 2002
that ties the minimum
ZDJHWRLQÀDWLRQ
Labor Commissioner
%UDG$YDNLDQVD\VLQÀDWLRQ
as measured by the federal
&RQVXPHU3ULFH,QGH[ZDV
not high enough to trigger
an increase in pay for 2016.
Oregon’s minimum-
wage workers will contin-
ue to make $9.25 per hour.
Avakian says the CPI
does not capture cost in-
creases such as skyrock-
eting rents in Portland. He
says it’s time for the state
Legislature to boost the
minimum wage, perhaps to
$13.50 an hour.
Horse killed by elk raises eyebrows
gist with ODFW in Enterprise.
The horse was initially
found by elk hunters in a 20-
When a horse turned up DFUH SDVWXUH RQ WKH *URXVH
dead earlier this month in rural &UHHN 5DQFK DERXW PLOHV
Wallowa County after an ap- upriver from the town of Im-
parent bloody struggle, wolves naha. ODFW arrived the same
were investigated as the prima- day to investigate, noticing the
ry target.
carcass was mostly still intact
The evidence, however, H[FHSW IRU D SLHFH RI LQWHVWLQH
soon pointed to a much more on the ground 40 yards away.
unlikely suspect.
After surveying the scene,
:LOGOLIH RI¿FLDOV GHWHU- +DQVHQVDLGWKH\LGHQWL¿HGHON
mined the horse, which was and horse tracks indicating the
IRXQG GHDG 6HSW LQ D SDV- animals had been in a tussle.
ture along the upper Imnaha There was a single half-inch
River, had actually been gored cut on the horse’s nose, a deep
by a bull elk — a scenario they puncture wound into the groin,
DGPLWLVH[WUHPHO\UDUHWKRXJK and scrapes on its side match-
not entirely unheard of.
ing the size and space of elk
The unusual ruling is tough antlers.
for some local ranchers to be-
The horse struggled and slid
lieve in an area where suspicion down the hillside, Hansen said,
of wolves runs high. But the before it died of internal bleed-
Oregon Department of Fish & ing. There were no predator
:LOGOLIH VD\V LWV H[DPLQDWLRQ tracks of any kind in the area,
clears the predators this time, and no sign of wolf bite marks.
and places the responsibility on
Roblyn Brown, ODFW as-
the antlers of a feisty elk.
sistant wolf program coordina-
“It is breeding season for tor, said elk attacks on livestock
elk. Bulls are very aggressive are very rare but have happened
this time of year,” said Mike before. She cited an incident
Hansen, district wildlife biolo- several years ago in southwest
By George Plaven
(20HGLD*URXS
Are you
part of a
Oregon where a young spike
bull charged a heifer and punc-
tured the cow’s lungs and liver.
“All we can do is follow our
investigation protocol,” Brown
said.
Despite the conclusion,
several ranchers have their
doubts. Eric Porter, who owns
the ranch where the horse was
killed, said the location of inju-
ries were typical with those of a
wolf bite.
7KLV ZDVQ¶W WKH ¿UVW WLPH
Porter was disappointed with
the outcome of an investiga-
tion. In May, one of his calves
was killed on the property, with
wolf tracks spotted nearby and
*36FRRUGLQDWHVSODFLQJDFRO-
lared wolf in the area.
Yet even with that evidence,
Porter said ODFW ruled the in-
cident a “probable” wolf attack
since bite marks appeared to be
from a coyote.
2830 10th St., Baker City, OR
541-524-0122
EVERY OTHER TUESDAY
Lovely Homes at Affordable Prices
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in Grant County?
We need your help!
The Blue Mountain Eagle is working to create
a master list of non-profits in Grant
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the NAME of the non-
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if available to be added to, or
updated on the list for this
year’s Grant County Giving
Back section, coming out in
October.
Either call the information into
the Eagle Office at 541-575-0710 or email
kristina@bmeagle.com
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John Day
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