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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 2016)
GRANT COUNTY HUNTING JOURNAL INSIDE The Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 W EDNESDAY , A UGUST 31, 2016 Jury: Peterson guilty on 3 felony charges • N O . 35 • 16 P AGES • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com COOL FOR SCHOOL Grant County educators, students hit the ground running By Sean Hart Blue Mountain Eagle A 12-person jury convicted IRUPHU 0RQXPHQW ¿UH FKLHI Roy Richard Peterson on three felony counts related to theft IURPWKH¿UHGLVWULFW The jury found Peterson JXLOW\ RI ¿UVWGHJUHH WKHIW ¿UVWGHJUHHDJJUDYDWHGWKHIWDQG possession of a stolen vehicle Friday in Grant County Circuit &RXUW DIWHU D ¿YHGD\ WULDO +H was found not guilty of another FRXQWRI¿UVWGHJUHHDJJUDYDWHG theft. The charges stem from Pe- terson’s acquisition of resources — money and equipment — for ¿UH SURWHFWLRQ LQ 0RQXPHQW and his subsequent refusal to turn over the resources to the Monument Rural Fire District, which was formed by voters in November of 2012. The state prosecutor, Senior Assistant Attorney General Daniel P. Wendel, said in his FORVLQJ DUJXPHQW WKH ¿UVWGH gree theft charge was for sub- mitting fraudulent invoices in excess of $1,000 with a grant application to the Oregon De- partment of Forestry on or about Feb. 15, 2013. Wendel said Pe- terson used white out to submit the same invoice on different grant applications in 2011 and 2012. Wendel said Peterson dis- played a “pattern and practice” of fraud even before 2012 by submitting invoices and then canceling the order. He said Pe- terson also paid for repairs to his SHUVRQDO YHKLFOH ZLWK ¿UH GLV WULFWIXQGVDQGZURWH¿UHHQJLQH numbers on the memo line of those checks. He said Peterson XVHGWKH¿UHGLVWULFWDV³KLVSHU sonal piggy bank.” “From 2008 to 2012, the de- fendant took every opportunity he could to steal money from the state by submitting fraudu- lent invoices,” Wendel said. Peterson’s attorney, D. Zach- ary Hostetter, said Peterson reallocated the funds to cover attorney fees incurred rather than purchasing the equipment listed on the invoices. He said Peterson also deposited his own IXQGV LQWR WKH ¿UH GLVWULFW DF count. Hostetter said, for all of the charges, Peterson acted under an honest claim of right, be- lieving he was entitled to the See GUILTY, Page A16 The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Students at Humbolt Elementary in Canyon City rush to their classes on the first day of school. Classrooms open doors as summer ends By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle S tudents in Grant County stepped back into the class- room this week and last, ready to get back into the swing of reading, writing, arithmetic and much more. Educators were ready for them, after completing training over the summer and preparing their rooms. Prairie City School District Prairie City School’s Superinten- dent/Principal Julie Gurczynski said, “It seems like just yesterday that I was wishing everyone a happy summer” and now she and the school staff have their “boots on the ground and run- ning.” She said they are welcoming two new teachers, Nate Barber for grades 7-12 social studies and Amelia Harmon for grades kindergarten through 12 art. See SCHOOL, Page A3 The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Humbolt second-grade teacher Jan Curtis welcomes students Monday morning. Kandice Bowe and her daughters, kindergartner Kiah (to her left) and second- grader Kirra, look at the new school books, along with Silvie Holliday, left, and Kadence Smith. Smells like savings City manager proposes progressive solution to wastewater problem By Rylan Boggs Blue Mountain Eagle John Day City Manager Nick Green has proposed an in- novative solution to upgrading the city’s out-of-date wastewa- ter treatment plant. Green has proposed a hy- droponic treatment plant that would use reclaimed wastewa- ter to help grow cash crops to offset the cost of the facility. Hydroponic waste water plants are currently in use in Europe and the United States. The Waterhub system in At- ODQWD*HRUJLDLVWKH¿UVWLQWKH nation and uses hydroponically grown plants to recycle up to 400,000 gallons of water a day. Built by the company Sus- Eagle photos/Rylan Boggs City Manager Nick Green poses for a photo next to one of the holding ponds for the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The pond’s close proximity to the river is raising concerns that contaminants may make their way into the river. tainable Water, this type of reality, it would be the second SODQWFRXOGEHVFDOHGWR¿WWKH of its kind in the country. needs of John Day, Green said. The system involves grow- If the plant were to become a ing vegetation over a series of bioreactors so roots hang into the reactors providing a habitat for microbial organisms that consume organic waste. The plants grown could be any number of cash crops in- FOXGLQJEDPERRÀRZHUVODY ender, ornamental grasses and medicinal herbs that could be regularly harvested and sold to offset the cost of the facility. Additionally, reclaimed water from the plant could be used for irrigation, landscap- ing and utility operations. The current mechanical treatment plant on North- west Seventh Street was built in 1949 and last updated in 1978. The plant is currently under administrative review from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. “Because of our proxim- ity to the (John Day) river, our current facility will most likely not meet the more strin- gent permitting requirements,” Green said, describing the fa- cility as “very, very overdue” for an update. The hydroponic plant from Sustainable Water could be funded in one of two ways. The city could privatize waste- water management by allow- ing Sustainable Water to build, operate and maintain a facility like Waterhub and pay off the cost of the facility over a 40- year period, while purchasing See WASTEWATER, Page A16 PC School shuts off water to lead-ridden fountains Prairie City had several water sourc- es exceeding the Environmental Pro- tection Agency limit. Although Neil- son Research Corporation in Medford, By Sean Hart which tested all the local samples, lists Blue Mountain Eagle an EPA limit of .02 micrograms per li- ter, the EPA currently recommends ac- Prairie City School District is en- tion at .015 mg/L or more. FRXUDJLQJVWXGHQWVWREULQJUH¿OODEOH After a June 22 test showed high water bottles after high lead levels lead — .0945 mg/L in the old gym were found in several drinking foun- boys locker room and .0526 mg/L tains. in the new gym boys locker room All local school districts tested — Prairie City Superintendent Julie for lead this summer after high lev- Gurczynski shut off the water to those els were found in Flint, Michigan, IRXQWDLQVÀXVKHGWKHV\VWHPDQGRU city water and water at some Portland dered another test of the fountains that showed high levels. schools. State board adopts lead testing rules The Eagle/Rylan Boggs A Prairie City School water fountain that tested over the acceptable limit for lead contamination. In the second test, the fountain in the girls locker room of the old gym tested at .0285 mg/L. The drinking fountain in elementary room 2 tested at .0266 mg/L. The fountain in the el- ementary hallway tested at .0244. The fountain in the elementary library tested at .0178. All other areas tested below the limit. “When I received the results from the June 22 test, I immediately shut the water off to the locations where we tested over the legal limit to minimize the exposure to students,” Gurczynski said. See LEAD, Page A16