A16
News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Eagle file photos
Trails, boating, fishing and camping await outdoor adventurers at Olive Lake, about 13 miles west of
Granite.
GRANITE
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available for those seeking
a daylong outdoor respite or
a longer mountain vacation.
A 2-mile trail encircles the
crystal blue lake.
RECALL
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in county government after
incumbent
Commissioner
Chris Labhart lost his bid for
reelection against Prairie City
Mayor Jim Hamsher in May.
“I think with a change in
the two new commissioners,
that will bring about a big dif-
ference in the way the county
is run,” Preston said.
But Britton, who has served
nearly 14 years, said he will
defend himself vigorously. In
February, he voted along with
Commissioner Labhart and
Judge Scott Myers against
funding an investigation into
History buffs will also en-
joy exploring the area, which
was founded on the mining
industry.
Gold was discovered there
on July 4, 1862 — a date
which also gave the new town
its irst name, Independence.
Years later, after learning that
name was taken by another
town in the state, the commu-
nity was christened Granite
for the rocks in the area.
The Historic Fremont
Powerhouse, built in 1908
to provide power to local
towns and gold mines, is
also not to be missed. Lo-
cated between Granite and
Olive Lake, and recently
restored by the Oregon Na-
tional Guard, the property is
listed on the National Reg-
ister of Historic Places. The
site also includes a two-story
caretaker’s cabin, available
for vacation rentals.
About 13 miles west of Granite, Olive Lake offers
cool mountain respite and adventure in the
summertime.
the Canyon Creek Complex,
which burned more than
110,000 acres and destroyed
nearly 40 homes.
Five months later, Britton
said he still feels that was the
right decision.
“We needed to move on
and start healing,” he said.
“It’s a tragedy, but I really felt
it was in the best interest of
Grant County.”
The Malheur National
Forest previously detailed its
response to the blaze, which
started as two smaller ires
that merged and spread amid
dry and windy weather. The
Grizzly Bear Complex and
Cornet-Windy Ridge ires
also made big runs on the
same day, Aug. 14, of last
year.
Britton said he did what
he could in the immediate af-
termath to help residents start
rebuilding their homes by
reaching out to agencies and
streamlining regulations.
“We were really able to
help all those people out,” he
said.
The petition also claims
that Britton violated a 2013
county ordinance requiring
all roads, trails and byways
across public lands remain
open unless authorized by
the county court and sheriff’s
ofice. That ordinance was
passed in order for the Forest
Service to heed county input
on road closures, Britton said.
Steve Beverlin, supervi-
sor on the Malheur National
Forest, said he consulted with
the U.S. Department of Agri-
culture’s Ofice of the Gen-
eral Counsel last year, which
determined the ordinance is
illegal and unenforceable.
However, he said the forest
continues to consult with the
county court on all projects
where access might be im-
pacted.
“Particularly,
Commis-
sioner Britton has been very
willing to sit down and have
those discussions,” Beverlin
said.
On the other hand, Bever-
lin said Sheriff Glenn Palmer
has never agreed to be a part
of those meetings. A letter
from Beverlin to Palmer on
Feb. 17, 2015, shows the
sheriff was previously invited
to discuss emergency protocol
on the forest, and attend coun-
ty court sessions where for-
est projects were considered.
Palmer declined to discuss the
issue any further when con-
tacted last week.
Britton said he doesn’t
recall the court ever denying
permission for the Forest Ser-
vice to close any roads, which
are done on a project-by-proj-
ect basis.
The third complaint in the
petition argues that Britton
failed to recuse himself “in
decisions with agencies and
individuals of which he has
not only beneited personal-
ly, but inancially.” Britton,
who owns a welding shop in
John Day, said he works on
Forest Service trucks and rigs
from time to time, averaging
$4,200 in payments each of
the last ive years — far from
his largest account.
Britton said he doesn’t
understand how he stands to
beneit by being involved in
county government and re-
viewing projects.
“That, to me, is baseless,”
he said.
Finally, the petition alleges
Britton misrepresented his
intentions of attending a com-
munity meeting Jan. 26 where
Bundy and refuge occupiers
were scheduled to make an ap-
pearance. That was the same
night oficers arrested Bundy
and four others on Highway
395, and shot and killed Rob-
ert “LaVoy” Finicum.
Britton said he attended
that meeting at the request of
others in the community who
were uneasy about attending
themselves.
Commissioner
Labhart and Judge Myers also
attended the meeting, during
which none of them addressed
the crowd.
Judge Myers said he pre-
pared a statement in case he
was asked to speak, but other-
wise isn’t sure what people ex-
pected them to do. Myers said
he feels the recall against Brit-
ton is unfounded, and believes
it will fail as Grasty’s did.
Britton said he feels there
are similar issues at heart be-
tween the two efforts, and said
he hopes Grant County resi-
dents will feel the same way as
Harney County.
“Everything I do ... is about
what’s in the best interest of
the people of Grant County,”
he said.
In his justiication state-
ment, Britton said he has par-
ticipated in county successes,
including tripling the timber
harvest, actively managing
federal lands to ensure infra-
structure remains, creating
Bates State Park, supporting
Lake Creek Youth Camp,
bringing “millions of transpor-
tation dollars” to the county,
keeping the county “iscally
strong” and writing the Com-
munity Wildire Protection
Plan.
For the remaining two and
a half years of his term, Britton
said in the statement he plans to
work on expanding protection
from loods on Canyon Creek,
engaging the Forest Service on
access issues, developing new
water storage sites and protect-
ing the agricultural community
from outside intervention.
BATES
irst meeting’s agenda, and the
goal is to ind a path forward
maximizing the interests of all
the stakeholders.
Myers said multiple al-
ternatives will be discussed,
from removing the dam and
the pond to creating a diver-
sion around the pond for ish
to deepening the pond and im-
proving the ish ladder.
“I don’t see a win-win if
we have to compromise and
allow the pond to be perma-
nently drained,” he said. “I
think we will ight that op-
tion.”
A variety of people, groups
and agencies have been in-
vited to collaborate at the
meetings as stakeholders:
landowners Pat Voight and
Melanie Dejong; Friends of
Bates State Park; conserva-
tion groups, the Native Fish
Society and the North Fork
John Day Watershed Coun-
cil; local government, Grant
County Court and Grant
County Soil and Water Con-
servation District; tribes, the
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
and the Warm Springs Tribe;
state agencies, the Department
of Environmental Quality, the
Department of Fish and Wild-
life, the Parks and Recreation
Department and the Water
Resources Department; and
federal agencies, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration, the U.S. Forest
Service and the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
Myers said meetings are
also scheduled for Aug. 18
and Sept. 15, but he was un-
sure of the times and places.
While all the meetings are
open to the public, only 15
minutes will be allotted at
each meeting for public com-
ments. Myers encouraged
county residents to submit
their written comments to him
at the courthouse or by email,
myerssw@grantcounty-or.
gov, so he could provide them
to the work group.
Let our family of Pharmacists
serve you!
Give us a call today
541-676-9158 - Heppner
541-384-2801 - Condon
Continued from Page A1
We welcome the opportunity to visit with
you about our services!
The department’s master
plan for the park focuses on
water quality, ish habitat, cul-
tural resources, recreation and
stewardship, according to the
Cowboy Chapel H our
KJDY,
Sunday, 7 a.m.
Heppner & & Condon
Heppner
Condon
Don’t Miss
“Just Do It”
Whiskey Gulch Gang’s
D EMOLITION D ERBY
Sat., July 23, 2016
Grant County Fairgrounds
Top Prize: $2000
Pre-Sale Tickets: $10 adults,
$6 12 & under
At The Gate: $12 adults,
$8 12 & under
Children under age 6 are
FREE
For more info call Hugh Farrell
at 541-575-0329,
visit www.grantcountyfairgrounds.com
or email farrellhugh@yahoo.com
Debbie Ausmus
245 South Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845
OPEN WED. & THUR.
9 am - 5 pm
541-575-1113
24 hrs/7 days wk
debbie.ausmus@
countryfinancial.com