The
26 MEDALS,
7 TITLES,
2 STATE
RECORDS
AND 1 TEAM
VICTORY
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
PAG E B1
EO Media Group/Kathy Aney
Kori Pentzer, of Grant Union,
wins the triple jump Friday
at the State Track and Field
Championships at Hayward
Field in Eugene. Pentzer also
won the long jump Thursday.
TRACK CHAMPIONS
W EDNESDAY , M AY 25, 2016
• N O . 21
• 24 P AGES
• $1.00
www.MyEagleNews.com
Families fi ll a
nurturing need
Foster parents
open hearts,
homes to kids
By Cheryl Hoefl er
Blue Mountain Eagle
It’s no secret that parent-
ing is one tough job.
Most parents would agree
that while the intrinsic re-
wards run high, so do the day
in and day out challenges.
Foster parents respond to
the calling at an even high-
er level, willingly and even
eagerly opening their hearts
and homes to children in
need on a temporary basis.
May is National Foster
Care Month, launched in
1988 to give recognition and
increase awareness .
Children enter into the
foster care system primarily
because they cannot remain
safely in their own homes.
The reasons vary, but usu-
ally it is as a result of their
parents’ actions and not the
child’s behavior.
So just why do some
people sign up to foster a
child — a job that requires
patience, perseverance and
unpredictability? What mo-
tivates them to keep going?
And what is day-to-day life
like, juggling the changing
moods and needs of their
foster child while still man-
aging a household and caring
for other family members?
Kimberly
McManus,
who, with her husband,
Mike, has fostered over 40
children the past 11 years,
said, “It’s all about the kids
and how we can help them.”
“We’re strong advocates
for them,” she said. “They
don’t have a voice.”
She said they used to
mentor children in the He-
ros and Her-os program at
Families First Parent Re-
source Center years ago.
“We have so much to of-
fer and felt like we needed to
do more,” McManus said.
The couple adopted one
foster child, a girl who is
now 9, and are in the process
of adopting another one, a
4-year-old boy.
Among the rewards of
fostering, she said, are seeing
the positive changes later with
children who are doing well
either back in their family’s
home or in an adopted home.
“I would encourage any-
one who has even a little bit
to offer, to consider becom-
ing a foster parent or a certi-
fi ed respite person,” McMa-
nus said. “You’ll love it.”
Certifi ed respite people
are the ones who offer valu-
able relief for foster parents
for all or part of a day. Mc-
Manus said they don’t have
to go through training; only
a background check is re-
quired.
“Even a single mom
could do it,” she said.
Bill and Cammi Co-
penhaver of John Day also
adopted one of their fos-
ter children, Andrew, who
was 13 when he arrived at
their home and is now 18
and graduating from Grant
Union Junior-Senior High
School.
“It feels like he’s been
here forever,” Cammi said.
The Copenhavers have
fostered over a dozen chil-
dren during the past 10
years.
Copenhaver said they
became foster parents after
hearing negative stories in
the news involving foster
homes.
“We would always say,
‘Send them our way!’” she
said. “One day, we just said,
‘Why don’t we do it?’”
She said it’s a job that has
its ups and downs, and they
don’t always agree with the
way things turn out.
But Copenhaver said she
loves seeing the growth in
the kids.
See NEED, Page A12
Eagle photos/Cheryl Hoefler
Julianne Hansen, left, dishes out hot corn, while Kimberly McManus serves up oysters. The Seneca Oyster
Feed menu also includes garlic bread, a variety of salads and beverages. See more photos on Page A12
Oysters don’t mind the rain
Seafood lovers line up at annual feast
Blue Mountain Eagle
SENECA — What’s a little rain and cold to an oyster — or
an oyster lover, for that matter?
Gloomy, damp weather was no deterrent to people lining up
for the 25th annual Seneca Oyster Feed at Seneca City Park last
Saturday. Those attending this year were well-prepared for the
elements.
About 275 oyster dinners were served, while still more
feasted on burgers, hot dogs and fries.
In the raffl e, Renee Scott of Gresham won the Ruger Amer-
ican rifl e, and Andy Radinovich Sr. won the $500 cash prize.
The Chad Howard Construction team from Prineville won
the softball tournament.
Winners in the golf scramble were the team of Brad Arm-
strong, Colt Carpenter, Trevor Simmons and Nathan Long. Each
Nothing — not long lines nor cold, gloomy weather
— deters Seneca Oyster Feed lovers from their
seafood feast.
won a single membership at Bear Valley Meadows Golf Course.
Proceeds from the event go toward maintenance and im-
provements at the golf course.
Palmer’s legal woes Grant County ESD hit
Sheriff responds to record tampering
allegation, is sued to release records
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
The same day Sheriff
Glenn Palmer’s attorneys re-
sponded to an allegation he
deleted a public record, a law-
suit was fi led asking a judge
to force him to release other
records.
On Friday, May 20, Palm-
er’s attorneys, Benjamin Boyd
and D. Zachary Hostetter, re-
leased a statement responding
to a portion of a complaint
fi led with the Oregon police
licensing agency by John Day
Police Chief Richard Gray.
In addition to stating Palm-
er supported
the occupiers
of the Mal-
heur Nation-
al
Wildlife
Refuge and
endangered
Sheriff
the
public,
Glenn
Gray accused
Palmer
Palmer
of
“tampering
with public records” by de-
leting an electronic record of
an incident in 2012 involving
Gray.
Palmer’s attorneys said in
the statement the sheriff fol-
lowed state law: “Although
See PALMER, Page A12
by ransomware attack
County, school
online services
affected
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
A ransomware attack on
Grant County Education
Service District shut down
county and school email
and internet operations last
week.
Superintendent Robert
Waltenburg said services
have been restored, and the
ESD is making changes to
try to prevent further prob-
lems in the future.
“While we have recov-
ered for the most part, we
are in the middle of tight-
ening security as well as
becoming more restrictive
on our fi ltering,” he said in
an email. “We have learned
that while our network is
above industry-standards
with fi ltering, antivrus, and
antimalware, we cannot pre-
pare for every possible out-
come and still have a some-
what usable network.”
Waltenburg said the ran-
somware was a .LOL! vari-
ant, and information tech-
nology departments around
the world have seen large
See ESD, Page A12