News
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
C OPS & C OURTS
Arrests and citations in the
Blue Mountain Eagle are taken
from the logs of law enforcement
agencies. Every effort is made to
report the court disposition of
arrest cases.
Circuit Court
CANYON CITY — The
Grant County Circuit Court re-
ported the following fines and
judgments:
• Catherine Lee Morris, 36,
was found guilty by jury verdict
of driving under the influence
of intoxicants, committed on or
about Oct. 24, 2015. She was
sentenced to jail for 38 hours,
bench probation for 18 months
and 40 hours of community
service, with possible credit for
time served, and fined $1,300.
Her driver’s license was sus-
pended for one year. She was
found guilty by court verdict of
criminal driving while suspend-
ed or revoked, committed on or
about Oct. 24, 2015, and fined
$220. The court acquitted her of
driving uninsured.
• Anthony Dale Looney was
LETTERS
Continued from Page A4
Was county afraid
to investigate fire?
To the Editor:
The citizens of Malheur
County voted 90 percent “no”
against an Owyhee monu-
ment. The leaders of the coun-
ty actually wanted to know
how citizens felt about the im-
portant issue and called for an
advisory vote.
Did the leaders of Grant
County call for an advisory
vote on an investigation into
the biggest catastrophic event
to befall us? It was obvious
to those attending a packed
courtroom that an investiga-
tion into the early stage of the
fire was warranted.
Some have suggested the
court members may have been
overwhelmed by the prospect
of an investigation. Could it
be they were afraid of the re-
sults of an investigation and
the responsibility they might
have to bear in seeing the is-
sue through?
It is unfortunate our county
court members lack the back-
bone and concern for citizens
that Malheur County leaders
have shown.
Marc O’Dell
Dayville
convicted of failure to complete
community service, failure to
complete Victim Impact Pan-
el and failure to pay financial
obligations. His sentence was
continued with 16 hours of ad-
ditional community service and
extended 12 months to March
14, 2017.
Grant County Sheriff
CANYON CITY — The
Grant County Sheriff’s Office
reported the following for the
week of March 11-17:
• Concealed handgun licens-
es: 14
• Average inmates: 11
• Bookings: 9
• Releases: 15
• Arrests: 1
• Citations: 1
• Fingerprints: 11
• Civil papers: 16
• Warrants processed: 2
• Asst./welfare check: 6
• Search and Rescue: 1
• Travis Palmer, 25, Mt. Ver-
non, was cited for driving while
suspended-violation and driving
uninsured.
Sheriff Palmer
should resign
To The Editor:
The following is a partial
quote from Sheriff Palmer,
speaking about the upcom-
ing election: “This isn’t
about me. It isn’t about who
I am. I want the job back as I
believe the Office of Sheriff
needs to be run by the people
of this county and by some-
one who will and has kept
THEIR best interests at heart
and ...”
We believe he is wrong.
This election is definitely
about him and who he is.
It’s about who he has chosen
as sheriff to align himself
with. It’s about leadership
he is expected to provide for
a position that is supposed
to represent all citizens of
Grant County, without bias
or the influence of only those
who share his personal polit-
ical belief. The fact that he
stated in the above quote he
believes his office needs to
be run “by the people of this
county” is very concerning. It
begs the answer to the ques-
tion “Who exactly is running
his office?” He was elected
with the expectation that he
would provide the leadership
necessary to enforce laws,
work together with all agen-
cies in the county, be it gov-
Justice Court
CANYON CITY — The
Grant County Justice Court re-
ported the following fines and
judgments:
• Failure to drive within lane:
Maria Oralia Rubio, 47, Walla
Walla, Wash., Jan. 18, fined $220.
• Driving uninsured: Jus-
tin Alan Scheidegger, 21, John
Day, Feb. 10, fined $260.
• Violation of the basic rule:
James A. Gordon, 60, New
Pine Creek, 75/55 zone, March
4, fined $160; Joy Ann Van
Cleave, 34, Mt. Vernon, 75/55
zone, Feb. 27, fined $160; Alys-
sa Shae Bruce, 27, Bend, 67/45
zone, Feb. 26, fined $260.
• Austin D. Salvey, Mt. Ver-
non, was convicted of third-de-
gree criminal mischief. He was
sentenced to 20 hours of com-
munity service and fined $485.
Dispatch
John Day dispatch worked
130 calls during the week of
March 14-20. Along with the
various traffic warnings, tres-
passing, injured animals, noise
ernment or law enforcement,
work to keep Grant County a
safe, welcoming place to vis-
it and live, and provide open
and honest answers to any
citizen when hard questions
need to be asked. None of
these expectations have been
realized.
This is not “Sheriff bash-
ing.” Sheriff Palmer’s own
words, actions and his inabil-
ity to meet these expectations
are well documented.
The social media evidence
is abundant that he is still
building a support base of
militia-minded people both
locally and across the coun-
try, which could easily lead
to more dangerous incidents
such as the recent arrest of Mr.
Willingham.
These concerns are not
about his civic contribu-
tions to the community,
which he could easily con-
tinue as a private citizen,
but the lack of leadership
and trust he provides as
sheriff.
Grant County cannot af-
ford either economically or
emotionally to continue with
Sheriff Palmer in office. For
the greater good, we would
ask that he resign.
Steve Schuette
Judy Schuette
John Day
Refuge occupier
arrested in Mt. Vernon
March 16 threatened
to shoot federal agents
complaints and juvenile com-
plaints, these calls included:
• John Day Police:
March 15: Arrested a John
Day man for a domestic situa-
tion.
March 19: Cited a Prairie
City man for driving without a
license.
• Grant County Sheriff:
March 14: Report of crimi-
nal mischief on Apple Road.
March 15: Theft reported on
South Humbolt Street; arrested a
Mt. Vernon man for DUII.
March 18: Trespassing re-
ported on Bragga Way.
• John Day ambulance:
March 14: Dispatched for an
elderly man who collapsed; re-
sponded for a young child with
a high fever and a seizure.
March 17: Responded for a
90-year-old man with a possible
fracture.
March 19: Responded for a
72-year-old man with shortness
of breath and chest pain.
• Mt. Vernon Fire Dept:
March 19: Grass fire report-
ed on River Estates Lane.
Voters should
question forest
commission
candidates
To the Editor:
I am writing in support
of Frances Preston’s letter in
last week’s paper (March 16).
The voters of Grant Coun-
ty need to be asking some
very pertinent questions of
those that are running for a
position on the Public Forest
Commission.
When you have five
members of the Blue Moun-
tains Forest Partners run-
ning to get on the Public
Forest Commission, it looks
as though you are trying to
stack the Public Forest Com-
mission (an elected body of
commissioners) with people
who have an agenda from
an outside organization that
is opposed to the interest of
the voters of Grant Coun-
ty. I have heard that Mark
Webb receives about $50,000
to $60,000 a year to be the
chairman of the Blue Moun-
tains Forest Partners, so it
might not be a legal conflict
of interest, but it sure looks
to me like a moral conflict of
interest, to you the voters of
this great county. The inter-
est of the two organizations
are diametrically opposed to
Blue Mountain Eagle
A man arrested in
Mt. Vernon the evening
of March 16 reportedly
threatened to shoot federal
law enforcement agents.
Scott Willingham said
he would begin shooting
federal law enforcement
agents Thursday morning
if he was not taken to jail,
according to a press re-
lease from Grant County
District Attorney Jim Car-
penter.
Willingham was arrest-
ed at the Blue Mountain
Lodge in Mt. Vernon. He
produced a rifle and am-
munition, which are being
held as evidence, accord-
ing to the release.
each other. Here are the five
names that you need to be
looking at: Mark Webb, Dave
Hannibal, Russ Young, along
with current members of the
Public Forest Commission
that are members of the Blue
Mountains Forest Partners,
King Williams and Larry
Blasing. These five individu-
als, if elected, would tip the
power to the agenda of the
Blue Mountains Forest Part-
ners. Think about it!
By the way, I’m still hear-
ing that Chris Labhart is
saying that the Public Forest
Commission is self-appoint-
ed. Please remember, you,
the voters, are the ones that
Unclaimed money could be yours
Oregonians can search on a free database website
Blue Mountain Eagle
SALEM — Over a
half-million dollars.
That’s how much the state
of Oregon is safekeeping in
unclaimed assets — $564 mil-
lion to be exact — and State
Treasurer Ted Wheeler is urg-
ing Oregonians to find out if
they can claim a slice of that
monetary pie.
“My message to Orego-
nians is simple: Come and get
it. This money could belong
to you,” said Wheeler.
Oregon maintains a free
database website that allows
anyone to learn if they have
unclaimed money and prop-
erty. The search form is at
https://oregonup.us/upweb/
up/up_search.asp.
Wheeler cautions people
to avoid so-called “finders”
who charge to do a search.
It’s not only free to search,
but free to retrieve any un-
claimed assets.
“The state is safekeep-
ing these assets on behalf of
rightful owners, and I want
to see more going to Oregon
families that it belongs to,”
Wheeler said.
We wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our
many friends and family for the overwhelming
amount of support during this difficult
time. We are so appreciative of the
numerous phone calls, prayers,
hugs, cards, food and flowers.
We are so grateful of those who
helped organize Mary’s service;
it was a beautiful tribute of her
life and we could not have done it
without you. We are also so grateful
for the special friends/neighbors that
fed our cattle and watched over our
heifers while we were away. Our hearts
may be sad, but we realize how truly
blessed we are with love and friendship,
and for that we thank you!
Pat, Joe & Micki Burke
Contributed photo
Grant-Harney Training Association
President Roy Peterson, left, presents
the 2016 Instructor of the Year Award
to Ed Studtmann of the Long Creek
Fire Department.
children and several grandchildren. Over the
years, they have fostered several foreign stu-
dents who attend the Long Creek School.
FS solicits Title II proposals
The Wallowa-Whitman,
Umatilla and Malheur na-
tional forests are soliciting
year two proposals to be
funded under Title II of the
Secure Rural Schools Act.
The proposal request is
in response to the two-year
reauthorization by Congress
of the Secure Rural Schools
and Community Self-Deter-
mination Act in April 2015.
Proposals will be accept-
ed through Friday, April 1.
New Title II projects must
be initiated by Sept. 30,
2017, and all Title II funds
must be obligated by Sept.
30, 2018.
Nonprofits, local gov-
ernments and others are
encouraged to propose proj-
ects that restore watersheds,
decommission or main-
tain roads, control noxious
weeds or otherwise improve
the condition of the forest.
Projects do not need to be im-
plemented on Forest Service
lands, but must show a benefit
to national forest resources.
Application forms, in-
structions and submission
guidelines can be found online
at www.fs.usda.gov/main/wal-
lowa-whitman/workingtogeth-
er/advisorycommittees.
ticketed the box on the ballet.
This then appears to me to
be a blatant false statement!
There is no way that the Pub-
lic Forest Commission is
self-appointed. That leaves
me wondering what Mr.
Labhart has on his agenda
that he would be making that
kind of statement, or is he
just out of touch with the vot-
ers of Grant County? Doesn’t
it seem a bit strange to you,
the voters, as well?
Nicky A. Sprauve
Grant County Public
Forest Commissioner
position #2
Canyon City
T hank Y ou
Blue Mountain Eagle
Blue Mountain Eagle
He was
arraigned
Thursday
on a felo-
ny charge
for unlaw-
ful use of
Scott
a weapon
Willingham and a mis-
demeanor
disorderly conduct charge.
Prosecutors
requested
he be held without bail,
or with bail of at least
$50,000. The court or-
dered Willingham held on
$35,000 bail.
According to The Or-
egonian/OregonLive,
Willingham participated
in the occupation of the
Malheur National Wildlife
Refuge.
Pro Saw
Shop and
a Whole
Lot More
Long Creek fire instructor honored
LONG CREEK — Ed Studtmann of the
Long Creek Fire Department has been named
2016 Instructor of the Year by the Grant-Har-
ney Training Association.
Studtmann joined the Long Creek fire
crew about a year after moving to Long Creek
in 2008. At that time, he was pastor for the
Long Creek Community Church, and in 2013,
he became pastor of the newly formed New
Life Bible Church. His duties with the fire de-
partment include serving as the fire chaplain,
an unusual position for such a small depart-
ment to have.
In 2011, after his coaching position with
Dayville-Monument ended, he became a vol-
unteer driver for the Long Creek Ambulance.
He works part time at Juniper Ridge Acute
Care Facility and volunteers with Heart of
Grant County.
Studtmann and his wife, Linda, have six
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