The
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
W EDNESDAY , D ECEMBER 23, 2015
N O . 51
36 P AGES
$1.00
Grant County’s
newspaper
since 1868
MyEagleNews.com
AWAY IN A
MANGER
The Eagle/Sean Hart
From left, Grant County Judge
Scott Myers, Commissioners
Boyd Britton and Chris Labhart
listen to public testimony about
an ordinance banning commercial
marijuana operations Dec. 16.
Myers and Britton signed the ban
into law after the hearing.
– IN JOHN DAY
County says
no to pot
businesses
Attorney consult causes
brief dispute among
commissioners
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
Contributed photos
The lighted Nativity in Jim and Beth Spell’s front yard is even more dazzling at night.
Family heirloom heralds the holiday for 60 years
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Blue Mountain Eagle
J
OHN DAY — A great sight has been seen by
travelers to the east — side of John Day.
The large Nativity set in Jim and Beth (McK-
rola) Spell’s front yard on East Main Street has
been a seasonal sight for nearly 20 years — in that lo-
cation.
However, the heirloom display belonging to Beth’s
family has been a ¿ [ture in
John Day — in one form or
another — every Christmas
season for 60 years.
This is the scene’s “third
incarnation,” according to
Beth, a lifelong Grant County
resident.
The ¿ rst was a set of an-
gels Beth’s brothers, Dale,
then about 13, and Dan,
about 11, made out of card-
Beth and Jim Spell
board and glitter. That was
when they and their parents,
Leo “Duce” and Kathryn McKrola, lived on Northwest
Bridge Street in John Day, across from the Grant County
Fairgrounds. Beth was 3 years old at the time and used
one of her dolls to stand in for baby Jesus.
Her father constructed a building for the Nativity,
the one currently used, in the early 1950s. Beth said she
used it as a playhouse most of the year, until December
rolled around when it was needed for the Nativity.
See MANGER, Page A3
Beth (McKrola) Spell’s father, Leo “Duce” McKrola, takes
a photo of his five grandchildren in the Nativity display in
the family’s front yard in December 1982. At that time, the
McKrolas lived on Northwest Bridge Street in John Day,
across from the Grant County Fairgrounds.
Marijuana businesses will not be al-
lowed to operate in Grant County.
After public hearings during the past
three weeks, an ordinance banning medi-
cal marijuana dispensaries and processors
and recreational marijuana producers, pro-
cessors, wholesalers and retailers in unin-
corporated areas of the county was signed
into law Dec. 16.
County Judge Scott Myers and Com-
missioner Boyd Britton signed the or-
dinance. Commissioner Chris Labhart
did not but said he would have signed it
if marijuana producers — or growers —
were not prohibited.
Before the members of the Grant County
Court deliberated on the issue, public hear-
ings continued for the third day in as many
weeks. During the ¿ rst two, people opposed
to the ban far outnumbered those who spoke
in favor of it. The opponents offered a vari-
ety of arguments, including the county gov-
ernment should not regulate farmers’ crops,
the county could generate revenue through
fees on marijuana growers, a regulated pot
market would be safer and medical mari-
juana patients would be forced to leave the
county for their medicine.
See POT, Page A5
From left, Dale, Dan and Beth (McKrola) Spell with
the family’s first Nativity set in December 1953,
when the McKrolas lived on Northwest Bridge
Street in John Day. Dale and Dan created the angel
figures themselves.
The Eagle/Sean Hart
First-graders tip hats to Valley View
Young and old share
Christmas cheer
Flood mitigation
work continues
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Humbolt Ele-
mentary’s Christmas Hat Parade last
Wednesday was a hit at Valley View
Assisted Living.
Students in Peggy Murphy and
Mandy ,pson’s ¿ rst-grade classes
paraded at the facility, showing a
wide array of creative, homemade
hats.
“I loved it,” said student Alayna
Scott. “I felt e[cited and happy when
we walked around shaking hands and
saying, ‘Merry Christmas.’”
Other students agreed.
“I think it was nice to make the
hats and get to meet new people,”
said Rowdy Wilson.
The students sang two Christmas
songs in the foyer where they had
an audience, and they also paraded
Grant County Emergency
Management Coordinator
Ted Williams, left, and County
Commissioner Chris Labhart look
at maps for a flood mitigation
project at a town hall meeting Dec.
16 in Canyon City.
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Makenna Forrester gives
her great-grandma, Jeanette
Walker, a hug during last
Wednesday’s Christmas Hat
Parade event held at Valley
View Assisted Living Facility.
down the hallway to spread cheer
to residents at the Memory Care
Unit.
“My favorite part was seeing
First-graders Sophia Shaw,
from left, Everett Vardanega
and Nevaeh Bratcher show
their imaginative hats.
all the people at Valley View,” said
Huntur Wright.
Dominic Lee said he enjoyed
creating the hat with his family.
Murphy has coordinated the event
since 2003, taking the tradition from
time she spent teaching in England
on a Fulbright Scholarship.
See Page A6 for more photos.
After the Canyon Creek Comple[ ¿ re
destroyed homes and acres of vegetation,
work continues to mitigate the risk of
À ooding e[acerbated by barren landscape.
Grant County Emergency Management
Coordinator Ted Williams said low-ly-
ing areas near Canyon Creek could be at
increased risk of À ooding for about ¿ ve
years until new vegetation establishes it-
self within the watershed.
He said an early warning system that
could send mass alerts to people in a des-
ignated area could be approved as soon
See FLOOD, Page A8