News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
A9
County residents raise concerns at Merkley town hall
Owyhee, fire,
healthcare costs
among topics
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — The pro-
posed creation of an Owyhee
Canyonlands national monu-
ment was a concern shared by
many audience members at
Sen. Jeff Merkley’s town hall
meeting Saturday at Grant
Union Junior-Senior High
School in John Day.
When Merkley asked the
50 or so Grant County res-
idents in attendance if they
were concerned about the is-
sue, more than half the hands
shot up.
Rancher and retired high
school teacher Roger Ediger
brought up the topic during
the question and answer ses-
sion.
Ediger said people in the
county have a more vested
interest compared with “a
person on the 54th loor of a
townhouse” and agriculture
uses for that land, such as
livestock grazing, would be
removed with a monument.
Merkley said the commu-
nity’s worries would need to
be reconciled, including graz-
ing and ire concerns.
He said he’s heard the U.S.
Department of Interior is not
planning a process to create a
monument this year.
After the meeting, Merk-
ley said he’s been in regular
communication with the sec-
retary of the interior.
“My argument has been
that, if they’re going to have a
monument process, they need
to be in full dialogue with
the community, and I want to
present all the feedback I’ve
gotten like access, ire man-
agement, grazing rights and
juniper, for example,” he said.
“My impression is that there
is not currently a process un-
derway.”
He noted the proposed
project is in the hands of the
executive branch, and they
could change their mind.
A wide range of topics were
raised at the meeting, which
was Merkley’s eighth visit to
Grant County, his 275th over-
all town hall.
Merkley started the meet-
ing by giving a lag that had
lown over the Capitol to Lisa
Weigum, a founding member
of the Grant County chapter of
New Hope for Eastern Oregon
Animals.
He thanked Weigum for the
organization’s work, which
Sen. Jeff Merkley spent about two hours with an
audience of about 50 Grant County residents
during Saturday’s town hall in John Day.
Mt. Vernon rancher and retired high school teacher
Roger Ediger raises concerns about the proposed
Owyhee Canyonlands national monument at Sen.
Jeff Merkley’s Saturday morning town hall meeting
in John Day.
Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter
Sen. Jeff Merkley answers questions during
Saturday’s town hall meeting held at Grant Union
Junior-Senior High School in John Day.
has helped over 500 animals
with food, shelter and homes,
as well as funding assistance
with spay and neuter surgeries.
Before taking questions,
Merkley covered a few of the
issues he supports, including
national funding for STEM
and career tech education,
such as shop classes.
“Often kids grow up with
game controllers in their
hands, instead of tools,” he
said. “I push for inclusion of
those programs.”
Merkley also said a major
expansion of the Water Infra-
structure Finance and Innova-
tion Act (WIFIA) is possible.
WIFIA establishes a new i-
nancing mechanism for water
and wastewater infrastructure
projects and provides low in-
terest rate inancing for large
dollar-value projects, accord-
ing to the EPA’s website.
Looking at the May 17 Or-
egon election, the senator said
Grant and Harney counties had
“the best turnout in the nation.”
Oficials at the Grant Coun-
ty Clerk’s Ofice said Grant
County had 72.07 percent
participation and Harney had
71.95 percent.
Merkley also pledged to do
The Grant County Road Department
announced County Road 9, Fox Round Basin
Road, will be closed due to road construction.
This closure will begin at the junction of County
Road 9 and County Road 25 and continue to the
end of County Road 9. This closure began May
23. Work schedule will be Monday - Thursday,
7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for approximately 2 weeks.
For further information regarding this closure,
please contact the Road Department
at 541-575-3783.
all he can to keep the mill in
John Day open.
He said the long-term
stewardship contract has not
been without its glitches but
has signiicantly increased the
amount of timber coming off
the forest. He added the Blue
Mountains Forest Partners
Collaborative “has not had a
single project in court.”
“It’s a relection of folks
working together for that,” he
said.
He also said pending leg-
islation could improve for-
est health by preventing “ire
borrowing,” when agencies
are forced to use funds intend-
ed for ire prevention to ight
large blazes.
Jim Boethin asked about
ire in the county.
“Global warming in Grant
County is summer — right
now the county is a tinder-
box,” he said. “What can we
do about this? Where does it
end?”
Merkley said the unthinned
forest remains “a mess,” and
he thinks coming together and
developing a plan is the best
course of action.
“Oregon is the most suc-
cessful in the nation for de-
veloping a collaborative,” he
said. “We need to get people in
the same room and develop a
strategy.”
Glenn Johnston, a member
of the Blue Mountains Forest
Partners, told Merkley he ap-
preciates his support.
“I think we’re moving in
the direction Jim (Boethin)
wants,” Johnston said. “We
have a lot more we agree on
than we disagree on. (We need
to) ind a way to work through
our differences, and we want
people like Jim to join us in
our collaborative.”
Dan Driscoll said an indus-
try has been built from ires.
He asked how incentives
to put the ire out could be of-
fered when ires are used as an
opportunity for employment.
Merkley said he hadn’t
heard of ires being started
on purpose and that keeping
funds in forest health for thin-
ning and hazard fuels reduc-
tion would be the closest he
could come to for an answer.
Sarah Russ asked about the
rising cost of health care.
The senator said one as-
pect driving the high costs is
prescription medication.
He said one way to combat
the problem would be to not
allow the drugs to be sold for
more in the U.S. than the price
overseas, and if they cost
more in the U.S., there should
be ways to import them.
Grant Union freshman
Tanner Elliott asked how the
absence of a Supreme Court
judge, which leaves eight
seated, will affect the court’s
decisions.
Merkley said, if there is
a tie, the case would go to
a lower court. He consid-
ered it a “huge dereliction of
duty” when President Barack
Obama’s choice for the posi-
tion was blocked.
Grant Union sophomore
Dante Valentine asked what
issues the senator inds most
crucial, and Merkley pointed
out his four focal points: the
role of money in the political
system, global warming, col-
lege costs and living-wage
jobs.
Merkley spoke with sev-
eral from the crowd after the
meeting and said it was a
great town hall meeting.
“We have diverse issues,”
he said, “and it helps guide me
on where I need to spend my
time and energy ighting for
Oregon.”
We Will Never Forget...
03806
John Day River Veterinary Center proudly
welcomes Dr. Christopher Kelly to its
staff. Dr. Kelly enjoys all aspects of
veterinary medicine, with
interests in emergency medicine
and livestock. In his free time,
he enjoys archery, fishing, hunting
and reading. Christopher is excited to be
a part of the John Day community and Grant
County. He received his
Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine
from Colorado State University.
W elcom e to
the T eam !
We have all the
supplies you need to
celebrate and honor our
veterans this Memorial Day.
637 W. Main, John Day
541-575-1233
59989 Hwy. 26 • John Day
541-932-4428 • www.johndayvet.com
Mon.–Sat. 9 a.m.–7 p.m.
Sun. 10 a.m.–5 p.m .
2016
o u n t a i n R e n d e
M
r
a
b
z v o u
n a
n
i
s
C
M AY 27 TH - 29
TH
TH
M T . V ERNON , O REGON
L ET ’ S B RING T HE T IMBER I N
IDAY , May 27th
5:30 pm
Potluck, bingo Mt. Vernon Community Hall.
Bring hot or cold dish & table service.
SATURDAY , May 28th
Every other Monday at
170 Ford Rd. • 541-575-1311
The doctor sp eaks Spanish - El doctor habla Espanol
˜
Kids Day Begins
Horseshoe Tournament
EVENTS AT THE CITY PARK FOLLOWING PARADE
Horseshoe Tournament directly after the parade
Golden Spike Scavenger Hunt - $200 prize
12:30-3:30
Teen Scavenger Hunt
1:00 pm
Axe Throw - Men’s and Women’s
2:00 pm
Frying Pan Throw - Women’s
2:30 pm
Horseshoe Throw - Women’s
3:00 pm
Choker Setting - Men’s
4:00 pm
Bore & Buck (bring your own saw)
There will be a burger stand open from 1:00 - 4:00
8:00 pm
Social gathering at the Mt. Vernon Community Hall
All around prizes will be awarded for Saturday’s events. To win you
must participate in all events for your gender.
Men’s prize is a $250 gift certificate from Frontier Equipment and Rental
Women’s prize is a $150 gift certificate for Bar WB.
Raffle tickets for a 50/50 raffle and tickets to win either a Spotting
Scope, an outdoor propane fireplace or a surprise item are available at
the following locations:
OK Garage • Boyer’s Cash Store • Dayville Mini-Mart • Shiny Thimble
• Suds Pub • Frontier Equipment • ACE Hardware • True Value
• Grant County Building Supply • Prairie Hardware & Gifts
11:00 am
Blue Mountain Hospital
11:00 am
12:00 pm
For more information, contact:
Drew Harmer: 541-792-0393
Karen Hinton: 541-932-4111
Kristin Nodine: 541-620-8384
** Grand Marshals - Roy & Evelyn Cates**
10:00 am
Baker City
2830 10th St. • 541-524-0122
SUNDAY , May 29th
EVENTS AT THE CITY PARK
Parade lineup at the Mt. Vernon Community Hall.
Youngest Rider Awards (must ride by their self to qualify)
Parad e
