News
FLOOD
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Àows of 1,500 cfs.
Because of the loss of
vegetation caused by ¿re, “a
10-year storm would be dev-
astating, according to (BAER)
¿gures,” )erguson said.
The BAER team included
hydrologists and engineers and
)erguson said the methodolo-
gy they used to arrive at those
numbers is sound.
“The reasonableness of
their (calculations) is evident,”
he said.
)erguson is now working
with BAER team members,
Army Corps of Engineers of¿-
cials and other agencies to pro-
duce a map that shows exactly
how the creek would react af-
ter a 10-year storm and at what
spots the damage would likely
occur.
He expects to have that
done in about two weeks to a
month.
)erguson has been tasked
by Grant County Court with
helping coordinate all the var-
ious restoration efforts by lo-
DUMP
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“This action strikes the right
balance between public safety
and protection of natural re-
sources,” Pedersen stated in a
news release.
One of the rules that was
waived allowed the DEQ on
Sept. 23 to issue Grant County
a special permit to dig a trench
speci¿cally for ¿re-related de-
bris.
The permit for this so-called
“limited purpose trench” is
good for six months and can be
renewed one time for an addi-
tional six months if necessary,
said Susan Christensen, DEQs
natural resource specialist.
The department also waived
the $500 fee the county other-
wise would have had to pay for
the permit.
Clark’s Disposal contracts
with the county to operate the
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
cal, state and federal agencies
aimed at mitigating the danger
of a catastrophic Àood.
Grant County Court Com-
missioner Boyd Britton said
the county is trying to be very
proactive about preparing for
such a Àood and he would
rather play the role of Chicken
Little and be wrong than not
prepare properly and have a
disaster.
“I’d like to be real proac-
tive about this as much as pos-
sible,” he said.
)erguson said a lot of ef-
fort is gong into addressing
the issue — “A lot of powerful
people are working on this. It
hasn’t gelled yet but I feel like
it’s going in the right direc-
tion.”
But, he added, there’s little
that can be done right now to
prevent a catastrophic Àood
from occurring if a major
storm hit the area today.
Such a Àood would bring
a lot of debris with it and if
that debris didn’t get cleared
out rapidly, it could quickly
take down bridges near Can-
yon City, he said. To prepare
for that scenario, the county
plans to move excavators into
strategic areas so debris can
be cleared quickly to prevent
bridges from plugging up.
An alarm system to alert
people to imminent Àooding,
which the BAER team recom-
mended, is another thing the
local community can do quick-
ly to prepare for Àooding, )er-
guson said.
Canyon City Mayor Steve
)ischer said the BAER esti-
mates are a worst-case scenar-
io “but if it even comes close
to the worst-case scenario, the
potential for property loss and
damage could exceed what the
¿re did.”
)ischer has discussed the
issue with )erguson and city
council members and has been
told the county court is wait-
ing for permission to remove
50,000 yards of material out
of the creek bottom to mitigate
the Àooding potential.
Canyon City will assist the
court on that effort, he said, in-
cluding contacting all property
owners along the creek and
getting their permission for
people conducting the creek
debris removal to enter their
property.
John Day City Manager
Peggy Gray said the possibility
of a disastrous Àood is a major
concern and the city is focus-
ing on informing the public
about the danger and urging
them to get Àood insurance.
The city included informa-
tion in this month’s utility bill
directing residents where to
¿nd more information about
Àood insurance.
City of¿cials will also walk
up and down Canyon Creek
and identify hazards, Gray
said.
“Anything we think could
be a hazard, we’ll try to elimi-
nate that hazard prior to spring
and runoff,” she said. “We
want to be prepared for what
could come down the creek
and the public needs to be
aware of what the risks are.”
According to a BAER team
report, it will take about ¿ve
years for vegetation to recover
in watersheds affected by the
¿re.
“)lood potential will de-
crease as vegetation re-estab-
lishes, providing ground cover,
increasing surface roughness
and stabilizing and improving
the in¿ltration capacity of the
soils,” the report states.
transfer station outside John
Day and normally hauls refuse
on large trailers to Boardman.
The property where the transfer
station sits used to be a land¿ll,
which closed in 1995.
The trench, which has al-
ready been dug, is located on
the old land¿ll site. Transfer
station staff will direct people
to the trench and there is no
cost for disposal of ¿re debris,
Christensen said.
Pieces of scrap metal in-
cluded in the ¿re damage will
be recycled through the transfer
station.
There are already about four
dump truck loads of ¿re debris
stockpiled near the trench and
it will quickly be pushed in,
said Grant County Court Judge
Scott Myers.
The trench is 80 feet long,
24 feet wide and 10 feet deep
and will hold about 2,800 cubic
yards or 280 dump truck loads,
he said.
While there is an estimated
4,000 cubic yards of ¿re-re-
lated debris throughout the
area where the 110,000-acre
Canyon Creek Complex ¿re
burned, the county anticipates
the trench will be more than
large enough to hold the ¿re de-
bris that actually makes its way
there, Myers said.
The county will be reim-
bursed up to $75,000 by the
state for the cost of creating the
trench and disposing of the ¿re
debris, Myers said.
The DEQ also waived a fee
associated with septic systems
and the management of asbes-
tos. A site evaluation is required
to reconnect a septic system
following ¿res to ensure major
components are not damaged
and the fee for this service can
reach $750.
The department is not
charging this fee to landowners
affected by the wild¿res and is
expediting the evaluation pro-
cess, said DEQ Public Affairs
Specialist Greg Svelund.
“These people have lost
so much already, it just didn’t
seem right to charge them that
fee,” he said.
The department has already
conducted about a dozen site
inspections for septic system
reconnections in Grant County
and will continue to respond
rapidly as more landowners call
for this service, Svelund said.
Grant County Court worked
with state of¿cials on the clean-
up issue from the beginning of
the Canyon Creek Complex ¿re
and Myers said the results are
positive for county residents.
“It’s been a great deal all the
way around,” he said. “Every-
body’s done yeoman’s work on
this one.”
Contributed photo
Medical appointment or just errands? Whatever
the outing, Julia Haney is ready to hit the road.
HANEY
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“The tricky thing with
brain injuries is that there
are a lot of unknowns, and
they just don’t have all the
answers,” she said.
One thing all the doctors
have agreed on, Cammie
said, is that children are re-
silient, and that Julia has
been a good candidate for
having a great recovery.
Julia loves all foods, and
enjoys listening to music and
being sung to.
“Her favorite toys are any
that make or play music,”
Cammie said.
The Haneys are grateful
to their family, friends and
others in the community
for their thoughts, prayers,
cards, packages and dona-
tions.
“We wouldn’t have been
able to make it through
such a dif¿cult time without
them,” Cammie said.
Also high on the family’s
gratitude list are Julia’s cur-
rent doctors and therapists.
Cammie said, “Because
of them, she continues to
improve a great amount each
week.”
She added they give spe-
cial thanks to Dr. Ginger
Vaughn and the Blue Moun-
tain Hospital staff who were
on duty the night they rushed
Julia to the emergency room.
“There is no doubt that
their quick and skillful ac-
tions, along with the won-
derful treatment she received
at St. Luke’s in Boise, saved
her,” Cammie said.
Pro Saw
Shop and
a Whole
Lot More
WANTED
Information leading to conviction of
trespassers and/or poachers on Silvies Valley Ranch
$2,500
00
REWARD
Approximately the first of September, a nice mule deer buck was killed
and left to rot on our ranch. Last year, four poachers were caught and
prosecuted, and four other dead elk were found rotting. Please help us
catch trespassers and poachers who have no respect for private property
rights and who give all hunters a bad name. If you legally wound an ani-
mal that comes onto any of our property, please come to ranch headquar-
ters at Bridge Creek and we will help you find and clean it at no charge.
Otherwise, do not go onto our property unless accompanied by a Silvies
Valley Ranch associate. We will press charges, sue for damages, and are
actively patrolling our property with ATVs, by horseback, and videocams.
CALL
Silvies, Oregon
A5
02131
Blue Mountain Eagle
Sheriff Glenn Palmer 541-575-1131
Sheriff Dave Ward 541-573-6156
Colby Marshall 541-573-5150 x110
www.silviesvalleyranch.com
1-800-SILVIES