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
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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.
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