The
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
LONG CREEK
TEEN IS
RODEO
CHAMP
– PAGE A8
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
W EDNESDAY , M ARCH 16, 2016
N O . 11
16 P AGES
$1.00
www.MyEagleNews.com
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11 John Day firefighters respond
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Marissa Williams
A roadside memorial
for LaVoy Finicum on
Highway 395 where
he was shot and killed
by police Jan. 26.
Finicum’s
9-mm
was a
gift from
stepson
JOHN DAY — A house
fire at a home in the 400
block of Hillcrest Road in
John Day March 9 caused
thousands of dollars of
damage, but John Day Fire
Chief Ron Smith said it
could have been a lot worse.
The fire was reported
at 5:20 a.m., and John Day
Volunteer Fire Department
responded with two engines
and 11 firefighters.
All occupants of the
home escaped the blaze
without injury. One fire-
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — The Amer-
ican Red Cross is looking for
volunteers to help install free
smoke detectors in Grant Coun-
ty homes.
There will be a training
meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday,
March 17, at The Church of Je-
sus Christ of Latter-day Saints
in John Day. The meeting be-
gins with a potluck dinner.
See SMOKE, Page A16
SCIENCE FAIR
THEORIES OF
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
Authorities have re-
leased more than 500 pages
of documents related to the
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cer-involved shooting that
killed LaVoy Finicum.
Finicum was shot by Or-
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when they say he reached
for a weapon after attempt-
ing to elude authorities that
set up an operation to arrest
the leaders of the occupa-
tion of the Malheur Nation-
al Wildlife Refuge Jan. 26
on Highway 395 north of
Burns. Ammon Bundy and
other occupation leaders
were en route to a commu-
nity meeting in John Day.
According to the docu-
ments, a Ruger SR9 9-mm
fighter sprained his thumb.
Smith said he’s fairly cer-
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electrical short.
“When we arrived, we had
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house above a pantry in the
area of the water heater,” he
said. “It did a lot of structur-
al damage to the house, and
smoke damage.”
He said most of the dam-
age was in the laundry room,
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
pantry and water heater areas.
As an early estimate, Smith A fire damaged a home in the 400 block of
guesses damage to the home Hillcrest Road in John Day the morning of
March 9. John Day Volunteer Fire Department
is $25,000.
responded with two engines, and all occupants
See FIRE, Page A16 escaped the blaze unharmed.
Red Cross seeks
help installing
smoke detectors
EVERYTHING!
See REPORT, Page A16
Long Creek
voters may
decide
pot issue
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
The fate of a potential
pot-growing operation in
Long Creek is still uncer-
tain.
Long Creek City Coun-
cil members did not take
action at last week’s meet-
ing on a conditional use
permit application from
a prospective grower, be-
cause the council president
was absent for medical
reasons, Mayor Don Porter
said after the meeting.
Porter said about 30
people showed up at the
See POT, Page A16
Eagle photos/Sean Hart
Dawson Quinton, right, explains his science fair project, “Does Ultraviolet Radiation Affect the Biomass of
Green Algae?” to judge Dr. Anthony Tovar, an associate professor of physics at Eastern Oregon University,
March 10 at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School.
Grant Union High School students attend science fair
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
T
he next generation of scientists at Grant Union High
School tackled important issues affecting the community
for their science fair last week.
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isms to sage grouse mating rituals, the students delved
into real-world issues that impressed the judges.
Jessica Carter, a junior, won best of fair and a gold rating for her
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FKRVHWKHWRSLFDIWHUODVW\HDU¶VFDWDVWURSKLFZLOG¿UH
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applicable to the people of Grant County, and it was accessible for
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EDFNVEXWLWDOVRKDVLWVEHQH¿WV´
See SCIENCE, Page A16
Jessica Carter, left, explains her science fair
project, “The Effect of Wildfire on Soil Properties,”
to judge Amy Stiner of the South Fork John Day
Watershed Council.
May ballot features mostly contested county races
will run against Prairie City Mayor
Jim Hamsher.
In the race for Public Forest Com-
Grant County voters will determine mission No. 3, current commissioner
the outcome of many contested races Tad Houpt, a Republican from Can-
on the upcoming ballots this year.
yon City, will compete against former
Of the open positions, only survey- County Judge and current Blue Moun-
or, assessor and Public Forest Com- tains Forest Partners Executive Direc-
mission No. 1 will be uncontested. tor Mark Webb, an Independent from
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surveyor, and David Thunell, Canyon
Jim Boethin, a Republican from
&LW\ ¿OHG IRU DVVHVVRU 7RQ\D &DWHV Canyon City, and Howard Gieger, a
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withdrew from the race. Dave Traylor, for Public Forest Commission No. 5
a Republican from John Day, is the against current commissioner King
only candidate for the forest commis- Williams, a Republican from Canyon
sion No. 1 position.
City.
For county commissioner No. 2,
For Public Forest Commission No.
current Commissioner Chris Labhart 7, Jim Sproul, a Republican from Can-
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
yon City, will run against current com-
missioner Larry Blasing, a Republican
from Prairie City.
Dave Hannibal, a Democrat from
Mt. Vernon, will run against current
forest commissioner Mike Smith, a
Republican from Prairie City, for for-
est commission alternate No. 1.
Russ Young, a Republican from
Canyon City, and Sam Palmer, a Re-
publican from John Day, will compete
for forest commission alternate No. 2.
Four people have entered the race
for treasurer: Tandi Merkord, Kimber-
ly; Doug Carpenter, John Day; Mary
Weaver, John Day; and Julie Ellison,
Canyon City. All four names will ap-
pear on the May primary ballot. If one
candidate receives a majority of the
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alone will be nominated to appear on
the November general election ballot.
If no candidate receives a majority in
May, the two candidates who receive
the most votes will be nominated for
the November ballot.
Current Sheriff Glenn Palmer will
run against former Undersheriff and
current Parole and Probation Director
Todd McKinley for the sheriff posi-
tion, but not until the general election
in November.
Voters may also see partisan pre-
cinct committee person positions on
their May ballot, but fewer people
applied for these than the number of
open positions for both the Democrat
and Republican parties.