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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2016)
News Blue Mountain Eagle LAWS BURNS Continued from Page A1 Continued from Page A1 enforcement training organi- zation Calibre Press. “There’s no hurry. If there’s not an im- mediate threat to anyone’s life, why create a situation where there would be?” No one had been hurt and no one was being held hos- tage. The takeover puts fed- eral officials in a delicate position of deciding wheth- er to confront the occupiers, risking bloodshed, or stand back and possibly embolden others to directly confront the government. Many observers com- plained, suggesting the gov- ernment’s response would have been swifter and more severe had the occupants been Muslim or other mi- norities. “There seems to be somewhat of a reluctance to think white people are as dangerous as people of color,” said Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups. The activists seized the Federal laws ban- ning those convicted of domestic violence or subject to a restraining order from owning fire- arms were only enforce- able by federal agents in the past, but starting in 2016 other law enforce- ment will also be able to remove guns from convicted abusers. A new law also protects someone who seeks med- ical help for the victim of a drug overdose from be- ing arrested or prosecuted based on evidence only ob- tained because the person sought help. Police also will be able to break into a vehicle and free an animal if they be- lieve temperatures inside the vehicle are endanger- ing the animal’s life, and calling in a bomb threat or other false report about a hazard in a public building will be a Class A misde- meanor. Education: Most of the education bills passed in 2015 don’t take effect until the new school year starts next fall, but a “student bill of rights” pertaining to standardized testing will take effect in January. The law allows par- ents to opt their child out of standardized test for any reason, and requires schools to send parents in- formation about each test and their right to opt their student out. Miscellaneous: Start- ing in January, drivers will be able to pump their own gas from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in counties with fewer than 40,000 people, which in- cludes Grant County. It will be illegal to use unmanned aerial vehicles IRUKXQWLQJRU¿VKLQJ Using an electronic cig- arette, also known as vap- ing, will be banned in of- ¿FHVUHVWDXUDQWVDQGRWKHU places where smoking is already banned. Pharmacists will be al- lowed to prescribe birth control directly to women, saving them a trip to the GRFWRU¶V RI¿FH DQG LQVXU- ers will be required to cov- er up to a 12-month supply in one purchase. And in March, the speed limit will increase to 70 miles per hour on Inter- state 84 east of The Dalles. refuge about 300 miles from Portland on Saturday night as part of a decades-long fight over public lands in the West. They said they want an inquiry into whether the government is forcing ranchers off their land after Dwight Hammond and his son, Steven, reported back to prison Monday. The Hammonds were convicted of arson three years ago for fires on fed- eral land in 2001 and 2006, one of which was set to cov- er up deer poaching, accord- ing to prosecutors. The men served no more than a year until an appeals court judge ruled the terms fell short of minimum sen- tences that require them to serve about four more years. Their sentences were a rallying cry for the group calling itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, whose mostly male mem- bers said they want federal lands turned over to local authorities so people can use them free of U.S. over- sight. The group is led by two of the sons of Nevada ranch- er Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a high-profile 2014 standoff with the gov- ernment over grazing rights. The activists sent a demand for “redress for grievances” to local, state and federal officials. “We have exhausted all prudent measures and have been ignored,” Ammon Bundy said. The group, which includ- ed a couple of women and some boys and girls Mon- day, did not release a copy of its demands, and Ammon Bundy would not say what the group would do if it got no response. President Barack Obama said federal authorities were monitoring the situ- ation, but agents made no apparent moves to surround the property or confront the group — an approach that reflected lessons learned from bloody standoffs at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and Waco, Texas, in the early 1990s. The group was embold- ened by the government’s Wednesday, January 6, 2016 failure to hold Cliven Bundy or his supporters account- able in 2014 after hundreds of armed anti-government activists rallied to his de- fense when federal authori- ties started seizing his cattle over more than $1 million in unpaid grazing fees, ac- cording to Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Michael Barkun, an emeritus professor at Syr- acuse University who has studied extremist groups, said not confronting the Or- egon group could embolden others. “You can say, well, a ne- gotiated settlement embold- ens them,” he said. “But by the same token, it deprives them of a confrontation that some of them want.” The Hammonds have dis- tanced themselves from the protest group. Many locals, including people who want to see federal lands made more accessible, don’t want the activists here, fearing they may bring trouble. Seeds of the dispute date back decades in the West, where the federal govern- A5 ment owns about half of all land. In the 1970s, Nevada and other states pushed for local control in what was known as the Sagebrush Rebellion. Supporters wanted more land for cattle grazing, min- ing and timber harvesting, and opponents wanted the federal government to ad- minister lands for the wid- est possible uses, including environmental and recre- ational. The refuge established in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt to protect birds from hunters selling plumes to the hat industry has ex- panded to 300 square miles over the years. The valley rimmed by distant mountains contains lakes and marshland and now surrounds the ranch Dwight Hammond bought with his father in 1964. Hammond said his fam- ily resisted pressure to sell the ranch as the federal government chipped away at his grazing allotments and increased fees on other lands. ODOT seeks input on bike plan Blue Mountain Eagle PENDLETON — The public is welcome to offer input on the draft Oregon Bi- cycle and Pedestrian Plan at an open house from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13, at the Eagle file photo A master plan for improvements at Phil Boyd Park is one of the items on the agenda for the town of Mt. Vernon in 2016. Mt. Vernon to update park plan the City Park Master Plan. Proposed improvements at Phil Boyd Park include up- grading the play equipment and adding a walking path. Existing features include tennis courts, horseshoe pits, restrooms and a cov- ered group picnic area. The park is the site of communi- ty events such as the annual Mt. Vernon Easter Egg Hunt and the lumberjack contests during the Cinnabar Moun- tain Rendezvous during Memorial Day weekend. Blue Mountain Eagle MT. VERNON — Two improvements are in the works for the community of Mt. Vernon during 2016. According to City Re- corder Tami Kowing, the city plans to pursue funding for an upgrade to the town’s wastewater system. Resi- dents were surveyed several months ago to solicit their input on the issue. The other topic for the new year is to complete City of Pendleton, 500 S.W. Dorion Ave., in Pendleton. The open house is hosted by the Oregon Department of Transportation. Those unable to attend can read the draft plan and visit the open house online at http:// tinyurl.com/OregonBike- Plan. ADA accessible ac- commodations are provided upon request at least a week in advance. For more information, call 503-986-4105 or 503- 986-3510. OPRD’s rec trails grant cycle open Blue Mountain Eagle The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department an- nounces the opening of the 2016 Recreational Trails Program Grant cycle. RTP is a federally fund- ed reimbursement grant program designed to help fund motorized and non- motorized recreational trail projects, including new trail construction, trail restoration, develop- ment and rehabilitation of trailhead facilities and acquisition. Workshops are available to assist with writing a suc- cessful grant. They will be held Jan. 12 in La Grande, Jan. 19 in Springfield and Jan. 26 in Portland. The application pro- cess is now entirely online. Those interested need to first request an account at oprdgrants.org, and then log in to the application site at www.oregon.gov/ oprd/GRANTS/Pages/trails. aspx. Firewood, post and pole permits on sale intended for the collection of ¿UHZRRG LQ WKH 0DOKHXU 1D- 3HUVRQDO¿UHZRRGDQGSRVW tional Forest and not other and pole permits for 2016 will forest products. go on sale starting Monday, 7KH FRVW IRU D ¿UHZRRG Jan. 11. permit is $5 per cord, with a Firewood permits issued four-cord minimum purchase. for 2016 will expire on Dec. 7KH SHUVRQDO XVH ¿UHZRRG 31, 2016, whether or not all program allows for a maxi- ¿UHZRRGKDVEHHQUHPRYHG mum of 16 cords per house- Personal use permits are hold, per year. Blue Mountain Eagle Post and pole permits are for the harvesting of post and poles in designated locations. The minimum purchase is $20. To learn more, visit http:// www.fs.usda.gov/main/mal- heur/passes-permits. For more information, call WKH01)RI¿FHLQ-RKQ'D\DW 541-575-3000. C OPS & C OURTS Oregon State Police Dec. 16: At about 11 a.m., police received a report of an elk carcass dump on Trout Road in the Meadow Brook area. Dec. 19: At 8:55 a.m., po- lice located a partially butch- ered elk carcass dumped off the side of Forest Service Road 36. Dec. 20: At about 2 p.m., responded to a reported single vehicle rollover crash on High- way 395 near milepost 80. Po- lice cited Joshua Jordin Kaivo, 27, Montesano, Washington, for careless driving-accident involved, and transported him to Blue Mountain Hospital in John Day. Dec. 26: Arrested Michael Woodrow Wenzel, 50, of Day- ville, at his home for probation violation. He was lodged in Grant County Jail. Grant County Sheriff CANYON CITY — The Justice Court CANYON CITY — The Grant County Justice Court re- SRUWHGWKHIROORZLQJ¿QHVDQG judgments: Dog as a public nui- sance: Janelle Martens, 26, 3UDLULH &LW\ ¿QHG ZLWK 6-month diversion, to be dis- missed if there are no further convictions before June 30, 2016. The Grant County Justice Court provided this summary RI FDVHV ¿OHG LQ WKH FRXUW LQ 2015: 7UDI¿F Weigh master: 9 Crimes: 122 Ordinance violations: 9 Small claims and civil: 91 Miscellaneous: 55 Total: 866 Cases dismissed: 168 Dispatch John Day dispatch worked 132 calls during the week of Dec. 28-Jan.3. Along with WKH YDULRXV WUDI¿F ZDUQLQJV trespassing, injured animals, noise complaints and juve- nile complaints, these calls included: John Day Police: Dec. 30: Reported theft at Blue Mountain Hospital; cited a John Day man for no driver’s license and no insur- ance. Dec. 31: Arrested a John Day man on a detainer war- rant. Grant County Sheriff: Dec. 28: Report of a ve- hicle tipped on its side in the Marysville Road area; arrest- ed a Prairie City man for do- mestic assault. Jan. 1: Theft reported at Blue Mountain Mini Mart. Jan. 3: Responded to a UHSRUWHG KRXVH ¿UH LQ /RQJ Creek. John Day Fire Depart- ment: Jan. 3: Responded to a re- SRUWRIDÀXH¿UH John Day ambulance: Dec. 30: Responded for a person who was unrespon- sive but breathing. Dec. 31: Responded to Monument for a 37-year- old woman with high blood pressure and chest pain. Jan. 2: Responded for a 55-year-old woman with ex- treme pain in her legs. Seneca ambulance: Dec. 31: Responded for a 94-year-old woman with shortness of breath and chest pain. Jan. 1: Responded for an 86-year-old man who fell. Pro Saw Shop and a Whole Lot More 02131 *UDQW&RXQW\6KHULII¶V2I¿FH reported the following for the week of Dec. 25-31: Concealed handgun li- censes: 27 Average inmates: 7 Bookings: 6 Circuit Court Releases: 8 Andrew Timothy Nelson, Arrests: 2 33, pleaded guilty to two counts Citations: 3 of fraud-credit card/$199 and Fingerprints: 9 up. For each count, he was Civil papers: 21 sentenced to supervised pro- Warrants processed: 5 bation for 18 months and 20 Asst./welfare check: 8 hours community service, or- Brandon Lambeth, 23, dered to have no contact with John Day, cited for driving un- WKHYLFWLPDQG¿QHG7KH insured. court dismissed one count of Lucas Forrest, 30, Long fraud-credit card/$199 and up, Creek, cited for harass- and disposed one count for ment-domestic violence. unlawful possession of meth- A male juvenile from amphetamine on conditional Bend was cited for violation of discharge. the basic rule, 85/55 zone. Arrests and citations in the Blue Mountain Eagle are taken from the logs of law en- forcement agencies. Every ef- fort is made to report the court disposition of arrest cases. Cancer Awareness Ribbons Keith Thomas, MD, FACS Board-Certified General Surgeon Best Wishes to the people of Grant County for peace, happiness and health in the New Year! NO ONE KNOWS YOUR EQUIPMENT BETTER. Your AGCO Parts Dealer has the parts you need when you need them. Hardware, chain, batteries, tillage, belts, cutting parts. We have the quality parts you need to keep your AGCO equipment running smoothly during the demanding harvest season. Highly trained service personnel at AGCO Parts make it all come together, so you can rest easy. Visit your AGCO Parts Dealer and get the parts and services you need to “Keep you in the Field” this season. Find out more at agcoparts.com. Blue Mountain Surgery