News & Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
LETTERS
Continued from Page A4
Town hall
would put to
rest ‘baseless’
allegations
To the Editor:
If the recall for County
Commissioner Boyd Britton
is “baseless,” why did over
500 county citizens opt for
the measure? And as many
again that did not sign say
with a wink, “But I will
vote.”
The recent paid ad in the
Eagle listing supporters of
Britton is important by the
absence of many people
that do not support his bid
to stay in office.
The debate at a town
hall meeting to which Mr.
Britton has been invited to
participate should provide
answers for both sides of
the recall issue. Questions
and answers should put to
rest the “baseless” allega-
tions. If Mr. Britton intends
to stay in office, he should
explain publicly concerning
any challenges. Those who
support the recall will pro-
vide proof for their reasons
in promoting the action.
A recall is part of the
elective process in our re-
public intended as a last
resort to resolve issues with
those who have taken a
sworn oath to represent “we
the people.” Though rife
with contention, it is often
necessary.
Ron Ballard
Mt. Vernon
Valley View
Drive a safety
concern for
pedestrians
To the Editor:
Valley View Drive abso-
lutely needs to have white
pedestrian safety lines
painted on the wide sections
of road. In the 11 years I’ve
lived here, I’ve almost been
creamed twice. Once by a
little old lady from John
Day who obviously couldn’t
see past her headlights in
the middle of the day, and
the second time by a ruffian
party kid who lived up top.
The second time was at
night, and I was walking my
black dog (with his reflec-
tion collar and leash). I had
on a white reflective safe-
ty vest and my very bright
head lamp streaming five-
by-five. Needless to say, the
little old ladies at the rest
home heard some expletives
that I had forgotten about
since becoming a Christian,
and I didn’t think my re-
deemed vocal chords were
capable of de-harmonizing.
If this fairly inexpen-
sive and very valid safe-
ty concern is swept under
the carpet by the new city
manager, someone is sure
to be creamed up here and
go immediately to heav-
en or worse. The “caution
children playing” sign isn’t
going to cut the cream
for much longer, and both
their luck and the city’s
will run out as the city of
John Day faces a costly,
very time-consuming and
well-deserved lawsuit under
their front doorstep wel-
come mat. This fix should
not cost any city worker his
or her job! Right? I know, I
know, raise water and sewer
rates to cover the cost. The
money has to come from
somewhere, right?
Scott Cotter
John Day
Sheriff Palmer
above reproach
To the Editor:
Glenn Palmer was ap-
pointed sheriff of Grant
County in November of
2000. Since this time he
has made the citizens of
Grant County his top pri-
ority. Sheriff Palmer is a
man who is experienced in
much more than just law
enforcement, and he truly
cares about not only the
letter of the law, but the
spirit of the law as well.
Let us compare and
contrast
with
Todd
McKinley; he is opportu-
nistic, and does not care
about the letter, or the
spirit of the law.
He only cares about
his own agenda, and will
break the law to further
his cause. I was inves-
tigated by McKinley in
2007, and he violated ORS
165.540 during this inves-
tigation by recording me
without my knowledge or
consent. Don’t you want
your Sheriff to be above
reproach?
Speaking of reproach,
incumbent Sheriff Palmer
is currently under inves-
tigation by the Depart-
ment of Justice for his
alleged ties to the Citi-
zens for Constitutional
Freedom group that oc-
cupied Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge in Harney
County earlier this year.
While this is unfortunate,
I believe that justice will
prevail in this case. Sher-
iff Palmer did nothing
wrong. This is just being
used by the people who
have always been against
him; I know how propa-
ganda works!
McKinley didn’t waste
any time in attempting to
further his cause. As soon
as this story broke, he was
issuing statements insinu-
ating that Sheriff Palmer
has never cared about the
law and has only cared
about his own agenda!
Sorry, but the record is
against McKinley. Fur-
thermore, the burden of
proof is on the accuser,
not the accused! Not to
mention that I find it odd
that one county official is
allowed to comment on
the alleged misdeeds of
another county official,
but we won’t get into that.
Sheriff Glenn Palmer
has been a duly-elected
Sheriff for four terms; un-
less I’ve overestimated the
intelligence of the citizens
of Grant County, he’s going
to have a fifth term as well!
I support Glenn Palmer!
James Tibbets
Pendleton
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
A5
John Day man dies
after falling from cliff
Blue Mountain Eagle
A 59-year-old John Day
man died after falling from a
cliff in Murderer’s Creek Sun-
day.
Donald Earl Elliott and
friends were riding all terrain
vehicles and stopped to look
at a rock formation about 2
miles northwest of the Mur-
derer’s Creek Guard Station,
according to a press release
from Grant County Sheriff
Glenn Palmer.
“Elliott walked out onto
the rock formation and lost his
balance and fell nearly 50 feet
to the ground,” he said in the
release. “One of the persons
in the group made it around
and down off the cliff for-
mation and got to Elliott and
determined that the fall had
killed Elliott.”
Members of the Grant
County Sheriff’s Ofice
Search and Rescue team, Ore-
gon State Police, Blue Moun-
tain Hospital ambulance and
several people in the area
helped extricate and pack El-
liott to an awaiting vehicle.
Crews respond to ire near Magone Lake
Blue Mountain Eagle
Multiple engines from the
Malheur National Forest and
Oregon Department of For-
estry, along with air resourc-
es, responded to a reported
wildfire on Sunday after-
noon approximately 3 miles
west-northwest of Magone
Lake, near Thompson Creek,
according to a Forest Service
press release.
The fire was reported to
be 2 acres in size and be-
lieved to be a holdover fire
caused by lightning that
passed over the area last
week.
As of Monday afternoon,
the fire was contained, and
crews were in the process
of mopping up (extinguish-
ing or removing burning
material near control lines).
Ground crew efforts were
assisted by helicopter bucket
work (the dropping of wa-
ter from specially designed
buckets slung below a heli-
copter).
Dry and hot weather con-
ditions will prevail through
the week, with high tempera-
tures forecast in the mid-90s.
Use caution while outside
working or recreating.
To report a wildfire, call
John Day Interagency Dis-
patch Center, 541-575-1321,
or Burns Interagency Dis-
patch Center, 541-573-1000.
C OPS & C OURTS
Arrests and citations in
the Blue Mountain Eagle
are taken from the logs of
law enforcement agencies.
Every effort is made to re-
port the court disposition of
arrest cases.
Circuit Court
CANYON CITY — The
Grant County Circuit Court
reported the following fines
and judgments:
• Fritz Michael Voigt
pleaded guilty July 21 to
one count of possession of
methamphetamine. He was
sentenced to 18 months su-
pervised probation and 80
hours of community ser-
vice. He was fined $600.
The offense date was Dec.
24, 2015.
Grant County Sheriff
CANYON CITY — The
Grant County Sheriff’s Ofice
reported the following for the
week of July 15-21:
Concealed handgun li-
censes, 3; average inmates,
10; bookings, 8; releases, 11;
ingerprints, 5; civil papers, 9;
warrants processed, 3; Asst./
welfare check, 5.
Justice Court
CANYON CITY — The
Grant County Justice Court
reported the following fines
and judgments:
• Open container of al-
cohol: David Harig, 28,
Prairie City, July 8, fined
$220.
• Minor in possession:
Camden Rhinehart, 18, John
Day, June 18, fined $260,
one year Oregon driver’s li-
cense suspension (minimum
90 days).
• Dog as a public nui-
sance: Abigail Teel, 26,
Prairie City, June 28,
fined $260, will be dis-
missed with six-month
diversion, if no further
convictions.
• Exceeding speed lim-
it: Dakota Andrew Clark,
20, Portland, June 20, fined
$260.
• Violation of basic rule:
Bonell May Barber, 44, La
Pine, 75/55, June 8, ined
$160.
• No operator’s license:
Joshua Wayne Haskins, 32,
Prairie City, June 13, ined
$260.
WWW.MYEAGLENEWS.COM
W E S UPPORT G RANT C OUNTY
V OTE NO ON R ECALL
Kristin Long
Bill Long
Kelsey Long
Darla Long
Shelby Long
Kip Mortimore
Nancy Viggers
Mike Springer
Jason Hatfield
Bob Bagett
Sarah Russ
Matthew Goodwin
Janine Goodwin
Rick Minster
Pam Minster
Jim Spell
Beth Spell
Truman (Andy) Anderson
Carla Anderson
Jennifer Carter
Mat Carter
Lynn Larssen
Ken Larssen
Mary Rowell
Vic Pike
Zola Pike
Mark Cerny
Adele Cerny
Jan Keil
Jennifer Barker
Lance Barker
Kris Beal
Roy Beal
Jerry Barrow
Elaine Mezzo
Sheilah Mezzo
Kathryn Latham
Amy Charette
Kyle Cline
King Williams
Barbara Williams
Linda Gingrich
Oran Wyatt
Lindsay Rausch
Susan Church
Tom Winters
Brad Armstrong
Mary Armstrong
Mytchell Mead
Jan Mead
Tim Unterwegner
Tracie Unterwegner
Chris Labhart
Kris Labhart
Dave Hannibal
Ken Holliday
Pat Holliday
Eva Harris
Sharon Livingston
Sophie Cosgrove
Mike Cosgrove
Bubba Lindley
Tom Sutton
Dan Becker
Joe Clarke
John Aasness
Diane Aasness
Dean Nodine
Joyce Nodine
Dan Cronin
Chris Cronin
Jerry Cowger
Bruce Strange
Larry Vote
Leon Skiles
Clarence O’Leary
Sheila M Bruce
Leslie Stillwater
Jim Soupir
Lana N Abarr
David M Abarr
Danielle Page
Matt Jones
Charlene Morris
Micah Wilson
Bruce Ward
Mark Crissman
Barbara L Clarke
Dennis Reynolds
Julie Reynolds
Dillon Winters
Gail Enright
P.L. Gerstner
Shirley Enright
Bob Phillips
Alysia Hafer
Sherri Webb
Mark Webb
Vicki Waters
Helen Bogart
Kay Scheurer Steele
Terry Steele
Silver Kelley
Richard Randleas
Vicki Thompson
Richard Thompson
Chris Lewallen
Dave Lewallen
Carolyn Hoeffner
Dr. James Johnson
Jim Hammett
Patti Hammet
Chris Kennedy
Tonya Wood
Terry L. Whitten
Sregon Gabriel
Greg Moon
Robert Warrington
Justin Lafata
Isaiah Bradford
Travis Goddard
Kevin Duvall
Derek Magnan
Robert Larkin
Alicia Whitten
Ernie Smith
Brett Reed
Kelly Ashmead
Claude Baker
Bobetta Baker
Judy Schuette
Steve Schuette
Molly Finley
Larry Finley
Amy Hoppe
Sherry Nehl
Ryan Nehl
Zach Williams
Gail Beverlin
Brenda Lovell
Doug Lovell
Billi Newman
Gregg Smith
Jeff Thomas
Heather Rookstool
Sean Kelley
Jeanne Strange
Tim Holly
Carole Holly
Chris Bravos
Shannon Bravos
Join us in supporting our County Commissioner
Boyd Britton by voting NO on RECALL!
Paid for by Vote No on Boyd Britton Recall, PO Box 64, John Day, OR 97845 • (541) 575-0435
Lynn Larssen, Treasurer
