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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2016)
News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, September 7, 2016 A3 Sweet sorrow Kam Wah Chung curator promoted to supervisory state role By Rylan Boggs Blue Mountain Eagle The Eagle/Rylan Boggs Newly appointed mayor Eva Dougharity converses with council member Jan Lowry during a city council meeting Thursday, Sept. 1. New Mt. Vernon mayor steps up for short term Council discusses old hotel, wastewater system Kam Wah Chung Museum Curator Christy Sweet has been promoted to help su- pervise all Oregon Parks and Recreation Departments heri- tage and museum sites. Sweet says she is excited about the promotion but leav- ing John Day is bittersweet. “It’s a great job,” she said. “I hate to leave it, but this is a great opportunity.” The Kam Wah Chung Mu- seum was originally a Chi- nese medical clinic, general store, community center and residence run by two Chinese immigrants, Ing “Doc” Hay and Lung On. The museum has been kept almost exactly as it was found by historians. Sweet moved to John Day nearly a decade ago for the curator job at Kam Wah Chung after working in Ne- The Eagle/Rylan Boggs Curator Christy Sweet gives a tour of the Kam Wah Chung Museum Friday, Sept. 2. braska for the National Parks Service. Taking a tour from Sweet, it’s apparent that she loves her job. She knows the his- tory of almost every artifact in the museum. She excitedly tells a couple traveling from Boise that a container con- taining “dragon bones” are actually ground up dinosaur bones labeled as such by the Chinese. “It’s been a lot of fun,” Sweet said. “I love working with the objects and showing them off to people.” Despite showing people the same artifacts during each tour, Sweet says she never gets tired of giving the tour as she can cater to each group’s interests. Kam Wah Chung has gained national and inter- national attention during Sweet’s curating. She has worked hard to publicize the museum and facilitated piec- es done by the Oregonian and Oregon Public Broad- casting. Unemployment decreases but remains above national, state averages By Rylan Boggs Blue Mountain Eagle Blue Mountain Eagle Eva Dougharity was sworn in as mayor of Mt. Vernon Thursday, Sept. 1. Dougharity accepted the title during a casual city council meeting held in Mt. Vernon’s City Hall. Dougharity, the former council president, replaced former Mayor Andy Ander- son after he stepped down because of personal and health issues. As the president, Dougharity was required to step up and become the may- or. “That’s part of being council president,” Doughar- ity said. She has been a Mt. Ver- non resident since 1981 and on the city council since 2011. Before that, she lived in Prairie City and has family scattered across Grant Coun- ty. Though she is will- ing to step up temporarily, Dougharity says she is too busy with her full time job as a park ranger in the Clyde Holiday State Park to con- sider becoming a permanent mayor. The mayor position is up for election for a two-year term in November. Kenny Delano is the only candidate who fi led to run. During the city council meeting, Dougharity and the council focused discussion on a Community Devel- opment Block Grant from the state that would be used to update their wastewater treatment facility, as well as County unemployment rates are improving but are still above the national and state unemployment rates. Grant County’s seasonal- ly adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 8.6 per- cent to 7.9 percent between July 2015 and July 2016. Grant County gained an estimated 50 jobs over the last year, with 40 in the private sector and 10 in the public. Broken down by indus- try, wholesale trade, finan- cial activities, mining and logging and manufacturing increased, while construc- tion, leisure and hospital and local government de- creased. Over the same time peri- od, Harney County’s unem- ployment rate dropped from 7.1 percent to 6.4 percent, and Malheur has dropped The Eagle/Rylan Boggs Eva Dougharity was appointed as mayor of Mt. Vernon Thursday, Sept. 1. 1809 First Street • Baker City • (541)523-5439 BARGAIN MATINEE IN ( ) Adults $7 ALL FILMS $6 ON TIGHTWAD TUESDAY MOVIE SCHEDULE SEPTEMBER 9-15 ry also proposed approach- ing the Oregon Department of Transportation about re- locating a road sign that was misdirecting people traveling to Pendleton into the cul de sac where she lives. Lowry said that mov- ing the sign a hundred yards down the road would solve the problem, but they couldn’t act because it was state property. from 6.6 percent to 6.1 per- cent. Harney County gained an estimated 100 jobs, and Malheur County gained an estimated 210 jobs. All three counties are still above the state aver- age of 5.2 percent and the national average of 4.9 per- cent. Vacant Council Position The City of Mt. Vernon has a vacant position on the Council. The Council is accepting applications to ill this vacancy until September 13, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. The term of this vacancy ends December 31, 2016. A trio of thieves break into the house of a blind man who isn’t as helpless as he seems. FRI & SAT (12:45) (4:20) 7:20 9:40 (12:45) (4:20) 7:20 9:35 SUNDAY MON-THURS (12:45) (4:10) 7:20 9:35 The applicant must be at least 18 years of age, a registered voter and citizen of Mt. Vernon for 1 year or more. HILLARY’S AMERICA PG-13 Filmmaker analyzes the history of the Democratic Party and what he thinks are Hillary Clinton’s true motivations. FRI & SAT (12:45) (4:10) 7:10 9:30 SUNDAY (12:45) (4:10) 7:10 9:35 MON-THURS (12:45) (4:10) 7:10 9:35 FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS PG-13 Applications are available at: Mt Vernon City Hall Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Meryl Streep. The story of a New York heiress who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice. FRI - SUN (12:45) (4:00) 7:10 9:45 MON-THURS (12:45) (4:10) 7:00 9:35 BAD MOMS R Three under-appreciated moms ditch their conventional responsibilities for a jolt comedic self-indulgence. FRI & SAT SUNDAY (12:45) (4:00) 7:00 9:35 (12:45) (4:10) 7:00 $9 Adult, $7 Senior (60+), Youth 04371 working with residents to keep their properties tidy and other city maintenance proj- ects. They also discussed what was to be done with the Mt. Vernon Motel, which was destroyed in a propane ex- plosion two years ago. The motel has yet to be cleaned up and is still sitting in a state of destruction. Councilwoman Jan Low- DON’T BREATHE R Contributed by Oregon Employment Department acebook FACEBOOK . COM /M Y E AGLE N EWS BREAK YOUR ADDICTION NOT THE BANK Help is FREE, CONFIDENTIAL and it WORKS Call 877-MY-LIMIT (24 hour help line) OR chat t us o with online e at www.1877mylimit.org 528 E MAIN ST. • JOHN DAY 5415751466 Mon-Fri 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Serving Morrow, Wheeler, Gilliam and Grant counties Every other Monday in John Day at Blue Mountain Hospital 170 Ford Rd. • 541-575-1311
