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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 2016)
ON TO STATE Three area teams head to playoffs See Page B1 for complete coverage The Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 Blue Mountain EAGLE W EDNESDAY , F EBRUARY 24, 2016 Managing retirement Peggy Gray plans to travel, visit family, take walks, sleep in JOHN DAY — The next item on the agenda for Peggy Gray is ... Retirement. Gray, who has been the John Day city manager since 2001, will retire July 1. She said her time with the City has been “great ... and a real educa- tion.” “My job has been to Peggy make the Gray council look good,” she said, adding she hopes she ac- complished a few good things along the way. Gray said the thing she will miss most is the people. “I love working with the employees, especially when we get projects done,” Gray said. One of the most memo- rable accomplishments for the city during her time is a recent one — the long over- due construction of a new fire station in John Day. “It was a community effort,” Gray said, adding it was the overwhelming support from everyone in- volved that made it finally happen. “It’s great to see it finally go up,” she said. • 20 P AGES • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com Police licensing agency recommends the DOJ investigate Sheriff Palmer Chief, dispatch manager complain sheriff’s support of militia endangered the public By Sean Hart Blue Mountain Eagle By Cheryl Hoefl er Blue Mountain Eagle • N O . 8 John Day’s police chief and dis- patch manager’s complaints that the Grant County sheriff’s support for the militia occupying the Malheur refuge endangered the public have been sent to the justice department for further in- vestigation. Chief Richard Gray and Dispatch Manager Valerie Luttrell were among at least eight who fi led formal com- plaints against Sheriff Glenn Palmer with the state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, which licenses Oregon police offi cers. The department sent the complaints to the Oregon Department of Justice recom- Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer. mending an investigation. Palmer said in an email Friday ceived a packet from DPSST,” he said investigation “for numerous felonious morning he is being represented by an in the email. “Other than that, I am not crimes.” She said Palmer’s support attorney, but he declined to discuss the discussing anything further.” placed other law enforcement offi cials complaints. Luttrell said in her complaint Palm- and the public at risk, because he was “As of this morning, I have not been er was openly supportive of the militia not trusted. contacted by the DOJ but I have re- and met with members who are under As the FBI and Oregon State Po- lice planned to arrest the leaders of the refuge occupation on Highway 395 en route to a meeting in John Day Jan. 26, she said, they opted not to inform city and county law enforcement offi cials in Grant County out of concern Sher- iff Glenn Palmer might be a “security leak.” Even though militia supporters and Palmer were awaiting the meeting in John Day, she said Chief Richard Gray was unable to obtain information about the law enforcement action unfolding on Highway 395. “Sheriff Palmer’s blatant disregard for the potential consequences of push- ing his personal agenda over the wel- fare and safety of the general public that he is sworn to protect is at the very least an ethical transgression,” she said in the complaint. “... This became a serious safety issue for our (Dispatch) Center and local Law enforcement during the events on January 26th.” See SHERIFF, Page A10 “ Sheriff Palmer’s blatant disregard for the potential consequences of pushing his personal agenda over the welfare and safety of the general public that he is sworn to protect is at the very least an ethical transgression.” — Dispatch Manager Valerie Luttrell Fatal crash near Pilot Rock seriously injures two from PC Blue Mountain Eagle See GRAY, Page A10 The Eagle/Sean Hart Cody Wilson stands in the doorway for the crowded Grant County Court session Feb. 17 and discusses a proposed resolution condemning the occupation of the Malheur refuge. Resolving the refuge resolution Discussion about condemning occupation continues today By Sean Hart Blue Mountain Eagle A proposed resolution condemn- ing the occupation of the Mal- heur National Wildlife Refuge has drawn large crowds at the last two Grant County Court meetings. At the Feb. 17 meeting, with people lined up in the hallway un- able to enter the room, the com- missioners decided to postpone the discussion to the Feb. 24 meeting when a larger room could be pro- cured. Discussion is scheduled to resume at 11:30 a.m. today, Feb. 24, upstairs in the Circuit Court room at the Grant County Court- house. At the fi rst meeting, Feb. 10, the majority of people who spoke out were in favor of the resolution. The crowd seemed more evenly split Feb. 17 before the commis- sioners decided to table the issue until the next meeting. Several people, some of whom spoke at the fi rst meeting, offered their support for the resolution. Mark Cerny said the resolution was well written and necessary to address concerns people have that militia members might come to Grant County. See REFUGE, Page A10 Two people from Prairie City are recovering after being seriously in- jured in a fatal crash Friday near Pilot Rock. Alexxyss L. Therwhanger, 20, was pronounced dead at the scene of a head-on wreck at about 4 p.m. on Highway 395 south of Pilot Rock, ac- cording to Oregon State Police. The Kennewick woman was driv- ing a 1998 Buick Century sedan when it failed to negotiate a left hand curve in the roadway. The Buick, which was traveling northbound, crossed over into the southbound lane and collided with a 1994 Lincoln Continental. Francis (Frank) Charles Wimber- ley, 60, of Prairie City, the driver of the Lincoln Continental, was trans- ported to Kadlec Regional Medical Center, Richland, Washington, by air ambulance with serious injuries. A passenger in Wimberley’s vehicle, Donnetta Marie Kulis, 54, of Prairie City, was transported by ambulance to St. Anthony Hospital, Pendleton, also with serious injuries. Wimberly’s daughter, Crystal, said in a Facebook post both are fine. She said it would be a long road to recov- ery, but they are fighters.
