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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 2016)
News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, June 22, 2016 A5 Unemployment rate continues to drop Grant County still highest in Oregon Blue Mountain Eagle New John Day city manager takes the helm Blue Mountain Eagle Nick Green started his new job as John Day city manager Monday, June 20. John Day City Coun- cil members unanimously voted to approve Green’s employment agreement with an annual salary of $65,000 at the regular meeting Tuesday, June 14, retiring City Manager Peg- gy Gray said. The council also reached consensus to sell the old fire hall, Gray said, but agreed to de- lay the sale to honor Fire Chief Ron Smith’s re- quest for additional time to move items to the new hall. Monument man dies in crash Blue Mountain Eagle MONUMENT — Seth Blakeslee, 19, of Monument, was killed and Colton Win- ters, 21, of Dayville, was in- jured in a single-vehicle ac- cident near Monument early Saturday morning. The Grant County Sher- iff’s Ofice reported the ve- hicle, a red 1993 Dodge four- wheel-drive pickup, driven by Blakeslee, with Winters as passenger, was headed south on County Road 3, when it entered a left-hand turn near milepost 75. According to witness statements, the vehicle veered to the right and Blakeslee over corrected, causing the truck to cross into the oncoming lane, leave the roadway and climb an embankment. The vehicle rolled several times and both Blakeslee and Winters were ejected. Blakeslee was pronounced dead at the scene. Neither was wearing a seat belt. According to the report, Winters ran into Monument, nearly a mile and a half away, for help. He was transported by pri- vate vehicle to Blue Mountain Hospital in John Day. The Sheriff’s Ofice re- ceived the call at 3:27 a.m. The case is under in- vestigation by Deputy Ken Olson and Sheriff Glenn Palmer. Anyone with information on the crash is urged to con- tact the sheriff’s ofice at 541- 575-1131. C OPS & C OURTS Arrests and citations in the Blue Mountain Eagle are taken from the logs of law en- forcement agencies. Every ef- fort is made to report the court disposition of arrest cases. Circuit Court CANYON CITY — The Grant County Circuit Court reported the following ines and judgments: • Tony Duane Hand, 55, was convicted by court ver- dict of possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, and ined $250. The court acquit- ted him of counts for driving under the inluence of intoxi- cants and failure to renew ve- hicle registration. Grant County Sheriff CANYON CITY — The Grant County Sheriff’s Ofice reported the following for the week of June 10-16: • Concealed handgun li- censes: 5 • Average inmates: 17 • Bookings: 7 • Releases: 7 • Arrests: 1 • Citations: 2 • Fingerprints: 10 • Civil papers: 13 • Warrants processed: 2 • Asst./welfare check: 3 • Melvin Teal, 37, Rapid City, S.D., cited for violation of open container law. • Gregory Wynn, 64, Port- land, cited for violation of the basic rule, 78/55 zone. Justice Court CANYON CITY — The Grant County Justice Court reported the following ines and judgments: • Violation of the basic rule: Jeremy Lynn McCarty, 42, Prineville, 71/55 zone, April 23, ined $135. • Exceeding the speed lim- it: Arnold Leroy Young, 54, Mt. Vernon, 55/30 zone, May 27, ined $135. • Driving while suspend- ed: Harvey Askew, 57, Prairie City, June 4, ined $370; Wes- ley James Bolin, 31, Mt. Ver- non, April 5, ined $435. • Failure to install igni- tion interlock device: Harvey Askew, 57, Prairie City, June 4, ined $370. • Driving uninsured: Wes- ley James Bolin, 31, Mt. Ver- non, April 5, ined $260. • No operator’s license: David Ritchie Kirby, 72, Gladstone, April 22, ined $260. • Ryan Gene Gunn of John Day was convicted of sec- ond-degree disorderly con- duct and sentenced to proba- tion for 12 months and 120 hours of jail, to be suspend- ed if the 40 hours of com- munity service and all ines of $450 are paid within 90 days. Dispatch John Day dispatch worked 160 calls during the week of June 13-19. Along with the various trafic warnings, trespassing, injured animals, noise complaints and juvenile complaints, these calls includ- ed: • John Day Police: June 14: Arrested a Prairie City man for driving under the inluence of intoxicants and driving suspended; responded to a report of theft of med- ication at Riverside Mobile Home Park. Contributed images This Oregon Employment Department unemployment rate graph shows the downward trend is continuing. This Oregon Employment Department graph shows Grant County’s unemployment rate improved from 9.1 percent in April 2015 to 7.8 percent in April 2016. Pro Saw Shop and a Whole Lot More 02131 Contributed photo John Day City Council members unanimously approved an employment agreement with Nick Green, who will begin his job as John Day city manager June 20 with an annual salary of $65,000. His wife, Morgan, is the daughter of Tom and Ginger Haney, John Day. The couple has two children, Kaden, 10, and Penelope, 2. The unemployment rates in Grant County and the rest of the state are continuing to fall. Although Grant County still has the highest season- ally adjusted unemployment rate in Oregon at 7.8 per- cent, the rate has improved from 9.1 percent at this time last year, according to the latest economic indicators released by the Oregon Em- ployment Department. This is the county’s low- est rate for the month of April since 2007. The 1.3 percentage point reduction ranked in a six- way tie for 15th among Ore- gon counties. Grant County had an es- timated net gain of 40 jobs from April 2015 to April 2016. Mining and logging add- ed 20. Retail trade added 20. Professional and busi- ness services added 10. And private education and health services added 10. Construction and local government each lost 10. Over the same time frame, Harney County add- ed an estimated net gain of 60 jobs, reducing its unem- ployment rate from 7.3 per- cent to 6 percent. Malheur County added 120 jobs, from 6.4 percent unemployment to 5.4 per- cent. Oregon’s statewide un- employment rate is 4.5 per- cent, and the national rate is 5 percent. Member APPRECIATION DAY June 24 th 11:30 am - 2:00 pm June 15: Advised of theft of companion animal at Riv- erside Mobile Home Park. June 18: Criminal mischief reported on South Johnson Street in Prairie City. • Grant County Sheriff: June 17: Responded for a motorcycle accident on the Izee-Paulina Highway. • John Day ambulance: June 13: Dispatched for an elderly woman. June 17: In separate in- cidents, responded for a 57-year-old woman, a per- son who fell, a 78-year-old woman and a 56-year-old woman. June 18: Responded for a 91-year-old man. Please stop by and join us in celebratin g enjoy Please come ks. chips & drin hamburgers, O L D W E S T FEDERAL CREDIT UNION 650 W. Main | John Day B lue M ountain E agle E arly D eadline For July 6t h Edit ion Ad, Cla ssifie d & L e g a l D e a dlin e Th ur sda y, Jun e 30 b y 5pm . O ff i c e w i l l b e c lose d July 4t h 7:00-9:00 7:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00 10:00 am am am am am am am pm pm pm pm pm pm pm pm Pancake Breakfast - Senior Center * Top Road Challenge 5K Run ** Horseshoes Booths Open Parade ** Baking Contest ** Family Games - Frisbee Golf Carnival Watermelon Eating Contests ** Auction Lip Sync Corn Hole Chili Cook Off Bingo - Senior Center Fireworks over the River *Entry fee - **Prizes If you have questions, please call Lonnie: 541-934-2696, Lorna: 541-934-9871 or Heather: 541-934-2690