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