The
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
COMPLETE
HIGH SCHOOL
BASKETBALL
COVERAGE
– PAGE A11
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
W EDNESDAY , J ANUARY 6, 2016
N O . 1
18 P AGES
$1.00
www.MyEagleNews.com
/RQJ&UHHNPDQGLHVLQKRXVH¿UH
Wood stove indicated as likely cause
Blue Mountain Eagle
LONG CREEK — A 68-year-old man died
in a house fire early Sunday morning.
At about 4:10 a.m., a house fire was
reported at 122 N. Highway 395 in Long
Creek, according to a press release from
Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer. When
Long Creek Volunteer Fire Department
arrived, the house was fully engulfed in
flames.
Subsequent investigation indicated the
occupant, Ronald Roy Horsman, was not ac-
counted for. Due to the amount of damage to
the structure, cadaver dogs from Deschutes
and Crook counties were called to search
the residence. At about 6:30 p.m., after ex-
cavating the scene, the sheriff’s office, fire
department and the Oregon State Fire Mar-
shal’s Office located Horsman’s body inside
the residence.
Long Creek Mayor Don Porter, who
called 9-1-1 to report the fire, said nine fire
personnel and two engines from the Long
Creek Volunteer Fire Department responded
immediately. Porter said the building was al-
ready “totally engulfed” upon their arrival.
He said it took about an hour to control
the fire, which he called a “tragic event.”
Palmer said in the statement the fire was
likely caused by a wood stove, and the struc-
ture and contents were completely destroyed.
Contributed photo
Fire fully engulfs a home at 122 N. Highway 395 in Long Creek early Sunday
morning.
On the Town
‘IT’S SMALL,
AND IT’S HOME’
Contributed photo
A sign on a car in Burns
this weekend urges
armed protesters to leave.
Armed
standoff
continues
in Burns
Life is Monument-al in northern Grant County town
%\&KHU\O+RHÀHU
Blue Mountain Eagle
By Rebecca Boone
and Gene Johnson
M
ONUMENT —
6HOIVXI¿FLHQF\ LV
a requisite for liv-
ing in Monument.
Given the dis-
tance from the town to larger ones
in the region — about 60 miles
from John Day to the south, 40
from Spray to the west and 56 from
Heppner to the north — Monument
residents often need to rely on their
own resources.
But make no mistake, gas,
food, lodging, groceries and even
a bank machine provide comforts
and amenities for both locals and
travelers.
A spacious and shady commu-
nity park in the heart of town has a
playground, basketball and tennis
courts, horseshoe pits, restrooms
and covered picnic areas. Thomas
Cavender Reservoir just west of
town and Monument River Park
to the south offer opportunities for
nearby water recreation fun.
Monument’s picturesque valley
setting, surrounded by juniper-cov-
ered rimrocks, is an attractive lo-
cale for outdoor activities — hunt-
LQJ ¿VKLQJ KLNLQJ SKRWRJUDSK\
and more. A temperate climate
— Monument sits at about 2,000
feet in elevation — combined with
DORFDWLRQDWWKHFRQÀXHQFHRIWKH
North and Middle forks of the John
Associated Press
The Eagle/Cheryl Hoefler
A picturesque view overlooking the Monument area from above Cavender Pond, which is
just west of town.
Despite being without a mayor at
present, a dedicated team of city
officials and staff keep things
moving smoothly in Monument.
Back, from left, councilor Bill
Turner; Public Works Director
Michael Schafer; councilors
Phil Merricks and Steve Ussery;
Council President Carrie Ussery;
and Councilor Pat McCary.
Seated, from left, Finance
Manager Robert Yukawa; City
Recorder Dorothy Jordan; and
Maintenance Assistant Cinimon
Derowitsch.
See TOWN, Page A3
Contributed photo
BURNS — A pickup truck
blocked the entrance Tuesday
to a national wildlife preserve
where a small armed group
upset over federal land policy
has occupied the frozen swath
of remote Oregon since the
weekend.
From a watchtower, a
member of the group looked
out over the snowy grounds.
The activists who came to
the Malheur National Wild-
life Refuge were bundled in
FDPRXÀDJH HDU PXIIV DQG
cowboy hats in the bleak,
high desert of eastern Oregon
where they seemed more like-
ly to encounter wildlife than
people.
That may be a key reason
why law enforcement has not
taken action against the group
of about two dozen activists
opposing the imprisonment of
father-and-son ranchers who
VHW¿UHWRIHGHUDOODQG
“These guys are out in
the middle of nowhere, and
they haven’t threatened any-
body that I know of,” said
Jim Glennon, a longtime po-
lice commander who now
owns the Illinois-based law
See BURNS, Page A5
New laws take effect in the new year
By Jade McDowell
EO Media Group
With the new year comes a slate
of new laws that went into effect
Jan. 1.
Here’s a look at how they will
affect the lives of Oregonians.
Workplace: Some of the most
notable laws are part of the “fair
shot” package passed by the legis-
lature this summer in an effort to
expand protections and opportuni-
ties for workers.
Every business with more than
10 employees will be required
to provide sick leave for their
workers in 2016 — even those
who are part-time or paid by the
hour.
Sick leave policies can still vary
by employer, but each will be re-
quired to provide at least one hour
Some of the most notable laws are part of the
‘fair shot’ package passed by the legislature last
summer in an effort to expand protections
and opportunities for workers.
of sick leave for every 30 hours
worked, up to 40 hours a year.
Oregon is also “banning the
box” in 2016, making it illegal
for employers to ask on a job ap-
plication whether an applicant
has a criminal history. They can
still ask during an interview, but
the idea is to prevent blanket dis-
crimination of ex-offenders by
allowing them to get a foot in the
door.
Employers will no longer be
allowed to forbid workers to in-
quire about their co-workers wag-
es, or disclose their own salaries.
And employers will be barred from
requiring their employees create
personal social media accounts,
provide the passwords to their ac-
counts or promote the company on
their personal profiles.
Domestic workers such as nan-
nies and housekeepers will be ex-
tended several new protections in
2016, including mandatory breaks,
paid vacation time and recourse
against harassment.
Law enforcement: The legis-
lature also worked to provide in-
creased protections to crime vic-
tims.
The statute of limitations on
rape will double in 2016, allowing
prosecution up to 12 years after
the crime occurred instead of six.
If the crime happened to a minor,
the victim has until age 30 to come
forward.
Secretly filming someone in a
place of “presumed privacy” —
including bathrooms and locker
rooms — will be upgraded from a
misdemeanor to a felony in 2016.
That law complements a slew of
other invasion-of-privacy laws
that came into effect in 2015, in-
cluding a ban on “upskirting” (in-
tentionally photographing up a
woman’s skirt or down her blouse
without permission) and “re-
venge porn” (posting nude pho-
tographs or video of someone on-
line with the intent to humiliate
them).
See LAWS, Page A5