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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 30, 2016)
THE EASTER ELK An elk joined the fun at Dayville’s Bunny Hop 5K Saturday. He completed the course on South Fork Road, keeping pace with the other participants, all the way into Dayville City Park but stopped just short of crossing the finish line. See the full story and more photos on Page B1. The Eagle/Cheryl Hoefler W EDNESDAY , M ARCH 30, 2016 The • N O . 13 • 20 P AGES • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com Blue Mountain From Cambodia, with love EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 Palmer deputizes man awaiting trial on felony theft charges Court date moved to August for former fire chief who pleaded not guilty By Sean Hart Blue Mountain Eagle One of Grant County’s newest deputies is awaiting trial on felony charges. On March 1, Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer deputized Roy Peterson, who was set to begin trial March 28 in Grant County Circuit Court on theft charges stemming from the acquisi- tion of equipment for a ¿ re district. However, state prosecutors requested a continuance for a family emergency, and the trial is now scheduled to begin Aug. 22. The state’s attorney, Senior As- sistant Attorney General Daniel P. Wendel, mentioned that Peterson had been deputized at a pretrial conference March 24. Wendel said he wanted an order prohibiting Peterson from arriv- ing to court with a ¿ rearm or in uni- form. Peterson’s attorney, D. Zachary Hostetter of Enterprise, said if such a motion were ¿ led, he would want a hearing on the matter, because Peter- son was part of the county search and rescue team. Palmer’s of¿ cial deputy appointment of Peterson mentions “Search & Rescue” and “Radio Tech/ Communications,” though the document also says Peterson Sheriff is appointed “to do Glenn and perform any act Palmer which (Palmer) might perform as Sheriff.” At a hearing March 18, Wendel brought up a potential conÀ ict of inter- est in that Hostetter’s ¿ rm represents Palmer, who was also listed as a po- tential witness in the case. Wendel said he did not plan to call Palmer to the stand as a witness, as the Oregon De- partment of Justice is investigating a complaint ¿ led against the sheriff. Hostetter said he did not intend to call Palmer as a witness and that there was no possibility of a mistrial due to a conÀ ict. At the same hearing, Wendel said the state’s case against Peterson was down to four counts, instead of the original 10 in the grand jury indict- ment Feb. 18, 2015. At a hearing Aug. 6, 2015, Peterson pleaded not guilty to all of the orig- inal charges: two counts of first-de- gree aggravated theft and one count each of first-degree theft, unautho- rized use of a vehicle and possession See PALMER, Page A10 Young Canyon City woman offers hope to orphan children By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle C ANYON CITY — Emily Mosley spent time holding hands of orphaned children in the slums of Cambodia, sharing songs, games and a gospel message. The 2015 home school graduate from Canyon City said the two-month mission to the third-world country was an eye-opening experience. While encouraging the poverty-stricken and mis- treated children she met, Mosley said she also discov- ered who she is. She began her service attending Youth With A Mission (YWAM), a discipleship training school in Lakeside, Montana. The school is a worldwide program, which the YWAM website says includes “Christians from many cultures, age groups, and Christian traditions, dedi- cated to serving Jesus throughout the world.” The ¿ ve-month program included three months of training in Montana and two months, Dec. 7 to Feb. 7, overseas. She joined the team of 11 traveling to Cambodia. “Our main purpose was children’s ministry, work- ing with a lot of kids, teaching music, games, skits and dancing,” Mosley said. She spent the ¿ rst three weeks in the capital city Phnom Pehn, working with at-risk children in a building where they were welcome every day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Two nights a week, they held a program attended by 200-300 children. “Some kids were orphans running around in the street. Some were mistreated by their families,” Mosley said. Contributed photos A young Cambodian girl, nicknamed “Pearl,” enjoyed holding Emily Mosley’s hand. Mosley, who served a mission in Cambodia from Dec. 7 to Feb. 7, called her “saatna,” meaning beautiful girl. They visited with the children, made crafts with them and also served lunch to 40 children which the organization sponsored to attend public school. See MOSLEY, Page A10 Emily Mosley, back center, with her Youth With A Mission team which served orphan children in several areas of Cambodia from Dec. 7, 2015, to Feb. 7, 2016. County unemployment decrease best in state February rate best since 1990 By Sean Hart Blue Mountain Eagle The labor market in Grant County has improved significantly since last year. The unemployment rate improved more than any other county in the state, from 10.2 percent in Feb- ruary 2015 to 8 percent in February 2016, according to information released Monday from the Oregon Employment Department. Grant County Economic Development Coordinator Sally Bartlett said when she came to the county about eight years ago, the unem- ployment rate was close to 20 percent. She said the new numbers are encourag- ing. “I think it’s a good sign that we can rely on for now,” she said. “It gives us hope for the future.” Grant County’s season- ally adjusted unemploy- ment rate for February was the best for the month since 1990, according to the em- ployment department. The county gained an estimated 30 jobs over the year. Private sector gains and losses balanced out for no net change. The public sector added about 30 jobs from local and state govern- ment. Although Grant County is still among the highest unemployment rates in the state — and much higher than the statewide rate of 4.8 percent and the national rate of 4.9 percent — Bart- lett said rural economies differ from larger areas. “These little rural com- munities like we’re in don’t pop back as quickly as ur- ban areas do with a lot more opportunities,” she said. “That’s why Oregon’s un- employment rate is down, and that’s why we can’t compare ourselves to urban areas or more populated places, because it’s just dif- ferent out here.” Other Eastern Oregon counties also improved. Harney County’s unem- ployment rate fell from 8.3 percent to 6.6 percent, and Malheur County’s rate fell from 6.9 percent to 5.6 per- cent. Bartlett encouraged any- one with business ideas to stop by the Economic De- velopment office for help with business plans and fi- nancing or technical assis- tance. The office is at 530 E. Main St., Suite 4, John Day. EXPLORE GRANT COUNTY VISITOR GUIDE INSIDE