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