HOME, GARDEN & OUTDOORS SPECIAL SECTION
The
– PAGES A8-A11
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
W EDNESDAY , M AY 18, 2016
• N O . 20
• 24 P AGES
• $1.00
www.MyEagleNews.com
Hamsher elected county commissioner
Ellison secures more than half the vote for treasurer
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant County will welcome a new
county commissioner in 2017.
Prairie City Mayor Jim Hamsh-
er received 63 percent of the votes,
1,964, over incumbent Chris Labhart,
New
airport
manager
selected
who received 1,115 votes, according
to the fi nal unoffi cial results released
by County Clerk Brenda Percy Tues-
day evening.
The ballot initiative to overturn the
county’s ban on marijuana businesses
was much closer, but the ban will re-
main in place: 1,689 people, 53.5 per-
Jim
Hamsher
Julie
Ellison
New fi re hall provides room
for engines, fi refi ghters
Blue Mountain Eagle
See MANAGER, Page A5
See ELECTION, Page A14
HOME IMPROVEMENT
By Angel Carpenter
JOHN DAY — Haley
Walker has been hired as
new manager of the Grant
County Regional Airport in
John Day.
W a l k -
er officially
starts work
T h u r s d a y,
May 26, re-
placing Pat-
rick Bentz,
who
has
Haley
been
man-
Walker
ager
since
July of 2012
and
plans
to move to
Washington
state with his
family.
H e ’ l l
Patrick
spend
the
Bentz
next
week
training the new manager.
Walker brings 10 years
of experience in the airline
business, working at Hori-
zon Air’s Kalispell, Mont.;
Boise, Idaho; and Seattle lo-
cations.
“I’m excited about in-
volving the community in
the facility — it’s a beautiful
facility — and continuing to
pursue the rural commercial
service, working with the lo-
cal government, the airport
patrons and the Forest Ser-
vice,” she said.
Continuing a strong focus
on safety is her first priority,
she added.
Grant County Court Judge
Scott Myers describes Walk-
er as having a high-spirited,
exciting personality and be-
ing a good fit for promoting
the airport.
County Airport Commis-
sion chairman Ron Lund-
bom said he was happy with
the selection and described
Walker as a “go-getter.”
cent, voted against the initiative, and
1,469 voted for it.
Julie Ellison was the decisive
winner in the four-way race for trea-
surer. Ellison received 56.6 percent
of the votes, 1,771, and will be the
sole candidate moving onto the No-
vember ballot because she received
more than half the votes.
Treasurer candidate Mary Weaver
received 964 votes. Doug Carpenter
received 244, and Tandi Merkord re-
ceived 147.
In the partisan races for Pub-
lic Forest Commission positions to
determine which representatives
from the Republican, Democrat and
The Eagle/Sean Hart
Tidewater Contractors employees, including Prairie City resident Hal Gilliam, right, finish paving the parking lot for the new
John Day fire hall on South Canyon Boulevard May 10. The new facility features more bays and more area for firefighters to
perform maintenance and safety checks on the equipment.
“
A conveniently located and well-organized training facility for these firefighters
is critical in providing the community with best level of fire protection possible.”
Peggy Gray, John Day city manager
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
A
fter risking their lives to save others,
John Day fi refi ghters will soon have a
new home worthy of their service to the
community.
Instead of the current 61-year-old
building that is too small to house all of the fi re en-
gines, fi refi ghters will soon be pulling into a modern
facility with far more capacity.
With six bays, two more than the old hall, the
new building will be able to accommodate two brush
fi re trucks that have previously been stored outside,
which required timely draining and winterizing and
then refi lling before they could even respond to a call.
Instead of blocking off Dayton Street to perform
necessary vehicle cleaning, maintenance and safety
checks, the new hall is large enough to allow fi re-
fi ghters to comfortably work on the vehicles — and
to get in and out of them safely.
And to top it off, fi refi ghters will be able to im-
prove their skills and education in the new facility’s
50-person training room.
See FIRE HALL, Page A14
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
The kitchen at the new fire hall is set up and ready for use.
Saturday hailstorm hits Seneca, Dale
Some residents lose
power in John Day
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — A thunderstorm
last Saturday afternoon, which in-
cluded dime to nickel-sized hail,
pounded areas of Grant County, in-
cluding Seneca and Dale.
The stormy weather moved from
the south to northeast, and caused
the cancellation of a Grant Union
baseball game in John Day.
“It was one of the worst hail-
storms I’ve ever seen,” said Winnie
Browning of Seneca.
She said dime-sized hail accumu-
lated 2 to 3 inches in a short period
of time in her yard, with a 1 foot pile
near their door where it was sliding
off the roof.
“As soon as it quit hailing, there
was a downpour of rain,” she added.
See HAIL, Page A2
Dime-sized hail
followed by a
downpour of
rain hit Seneca
last Saturday as
shown in this
photo sent in by
Seneca resident
Winnie Browning.
Contributed photo
Winnie Browning