BLUE MOUNTAIN EAGLE’S ANNUAL
HISTORY SPECIAL SECTION – INSIDE
The
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
John Day
cop killer
may soon
be freed
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
The man who pleaded
guilty to killing a John Day
police offi cer in 1992 may
soon be freed.
Sept. 21, the Oregon
Court of Appeals over-
turned the Board of Pa-
role
and
Post-Prison
Supervi-
sion’s deci-
sion to post-
pone Sidney
Dean Por-
ter’s pris-
Sidney
on release
Dean
date, stat-
Porter
ing
the
b o a r d
lacked authority to rescind
a planned release date “ab-
sent a timely hearing,” ac-
cording to the court opin-
ion.
In his appeal, Porter ar-
gued the parole board erred
in rescinding a planned re-
lease date, in postponing
the release date and in re-
convening an exit interview
after the planned released
date had passed.
In its opinion, the Court
of Appeals agreed the board
committed legal errors and
reversed the board’s deter-
mination, stating that Por-
ter was entitled to a timely
hearing on rescinding the
release date, that the board
did not provide a statutorily
valid reason for postponing
the planned released date
and that the board could
not rely on information
received later to justify a
prior postponement of the
release date.
The board has the right
to appeal the decision to
the Oregon Supreme Court,
but Porter will be released
unless this decision is over-
turned.
Porter had pleaded
guilty to aggravated mur-
der for the April 8, 1992,
killing of John Day Police
Offi cer Frank Ward.
The recent court opin-
ion states Oregon law at the
time required the imposi-
tion of a life sentence with a
30-year minimum period of
incarceration. The law also
required the board to hold
a hearing after 20 years “to
determine if the prisoner
is likely to be rehabilitated
within a reasonable period
of time” if the prisoner re-
quested it, which he did.
See PORTER, Page A5
• N O . 39
Mou
ntain
Eag
le
Wed
nesd
ay, S
epte
mbe
r 28
, 201
6
POL
IC
RES E FOR
C
C
AFT UE COR ED TO
ER F
P
U
NER SE
DES
AL
CEN
By R
DS I
Blue ylan B
NTO
og
Mou
ntain gs
Eagle
Tho
RIOT
life is ugh Jo
largel well do aquin M
C1
‘Th
coun e greate
s
try h
as ev t liar this
er pr
oduc
ed’
two be
and M gan exch
visit iller even anging le
were her in Cap tually w tters,
his ar married e Blanco. ent to
moon, rival. For three days They
to Eug they rode their ho after
which ene thro on hors ney-
ple m gave bo ugh the S eback
Des
ierr
th
ater
pite
The ial for th of them am as,
coup
bein
their
-
le eir po
a fug
g
Maud, fi rst chil gave bi etry.
d, a
rth
itive
in
It w the sum girl nam to
and
ed
their as afte mer of
a co
18
r
ch
m
th
63
moved ild th
e bi
.
plete
Mille to Can at the rth of
lack
His m r worked yon City, couple
of le
gal
defens ost notabl as a la where
educ
was e of Wil e case w wyer.
ation
Grant the second liam Kan as his
J
,
o
e,
C
a
w
quin
of a m ounty man hu ho
ng in
an na for th
M
e
med
iller
took
Sulli murder
van.
M
up w
in 18 iller ran fo
or k
as a
until 66, was el r county
lawy
Canyo 1870. The ected and judge
er
al, M n City w family’s served
and
then
neglec iller was sa as less th life in
a
ring tful of hi id to have an ide-
to sp
end hi s wife, been
s tim prefer
e wri
ting,
himse y docum cumented, iller’s
ented
lf.
by M it is
A
iller
ator, n incorrig
freque Miller w ible ex
entire ntly stre as know agger-
As su ly fabric tching, n for
any in ch it is ne ating, the if not
with formatio cessary to truth.
er Am a grain of n about take
“the brose Bie salt. The Miller
has ev greatest li rce called writ-
ing to er prod ar this co him
online Literar uced,” ac untry
mous compe y Travele cord-
Cont
ndium
w
r, an
ribut
ed ph
The riters.
of fa
oto/
fi ghte
self-s
-
Histor Grant Co
un
ical
slinge r, horse tyled
Mus ty
eum
tled in r is know thief and Indian “I cooked
and Canyon n to have gun- and every all winter
well worked as City for set- spring,” man was for 27 men
ac
1870 as a judg a law a time Traveler. cording alive in th ,
to Lite e
Miller
his be . His cabi e from 18 yer as
rary
served longings n and m 66 to down an is said to
Histo by the have been any of in an un invitation have turn
City. rical Mus Grant C pre- expeditio authoriz to take pa ed
n to
ed m
eum
ounty claim
rt
in Can
s th
ili
N
yon country. at he had icaragua tary
Born
He w
bu
fo
as forc ught in th t
Cinci
less th
e
nnatus
ed to
an fl at
leave
Hiner
tering
poetry
abou
t
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
W EDNESDAY , S EPTEMBER 28, 2016
Blue
• 26 P AGES
• $1.00
www.MyEagleNews.com
The
to be fi rst time
fi ghtin he w
g alon as alle
ge
gside
Nativ d
e
Brown, Pierce clash on rural issues
By Claire Withycombe
Capital Bureau
In their fi rst public sparring, Ore-
gon Gov. Kate Brown and Republican
gubernatorial candidate Dr. William
“Bud” Pierce went head to head on
three topics: the economy, land use
and the “urban-rural divide.”
The debate Saturday in Bend was
intended to focus on rural Oregon.
Although the candidates agreed
that rural communities needed a say in
land use issues, better access to health-
care and more jobs, they disagreed on
taxes and state expen-
ditures.
“We cannot cut our
way toward a better
Oregon,” Brown said,
summarizing a key
difference in messag-
Gov. Kate ing between the two
Brown
campaigns.
Brown reiterated
her support for Ballot Measure 97,
the proposed tax on certain corporate
gross sales receipts, saying that addi-
tional investment was needed in ba-
sic services, while Pierce said more
was “fi
tracto
r
in a fi
ve ring
s.”
eld.
His
famil
y’s fi
rst
She fi
led fo
r divo
rce, de
stroy-
ter in
Eugen
broadly that promot-
ing prosperous rural
economies
would
have ripple effects in
areas such as educa-
tion and healthcare.
In her opening
Bud
statement, Brown said
Pierce
her vision for the state
encompassed improv-
ing educational outcomes, investing
in infrastructure and preserving “the
beauty and bounty of Oregon.”
She touted her administration’s
“progress” in the past year and a half
a fi le
, allo
wing
him
to ea
rn his
e. His
infl am
ma-
Mille
r fi rs
t
read
the po
etry
to fi nd
in implementing automatic voter reg-
istration and passing legislation to
convert Oregon from coal to clean
sources of energy.
Pierce’s criticism of Brown began
with his opening statement, in which
he said Brown was “distant from the
people” and seldom visited rural areas.
He said he also wanted to address edu-
cation, and also said improving mental
healthcare, the state’s rural economies
and homelessness were central to his
platform.
a publ
isher
for
the bo
ok
tracto
r,
See ISSUES, Page A9
Vibrant event sheds
light on domestic
violence awareness
R
ac h
blast e Me
n
to
h
g
e Color
ke Clau
and Lu alk during th t County
ie
ll
y
W
h
red c
R e itta
e Gran Sept. 24.
ith colo
lk at th
othe r w Run and Wa on Saturday,
n
k
F ree Fu Industrial Par
t
r
o
p
ir
A
By Rylan Boggs
Blue Mountain Eagle
oughly 80 walkers, runners
and dancers took part in the
third annual Color Me Free
Fun Run and Walk on Satur-
day.
Participants young and old were blast-
ed with color throughout the mile long
course at the Grant County Airport Indus-
trial Park.
Volunteers at six different stations,
each with a different colored chalk, threw
color onto participants as they passed.
Many participants, including a few dogs,
began the mile with white T-shirts and
fi nished covered in every color of the
rainbow.
The Color Run website states, “The
color powder used at The Color Run
event is all certifi ed non-toxic and free of
any heavy metals. Our bright colors are
a combination of cornstarch, baking soda,
and FD&C dyes.”
Despite deep gravel in some parts of
the course, Jessica Renfro completed
the course in her wheelchair. She said,
whenever she was having trouble, her
friends didn’t mind giving her a little
push.
See COLOR, Page A10
gs
lan Bog
otos/Ry
h
Eagle p
Jessica Renfro wh
eels her way throug
gravel during the
h
Color Me Free Fun
Run
and Walk at the Gr
an
Industrial Park on t County Airport
Saturday, Sept. 24
.
ra
Sena Raschio, Sa
From left to right:
lie
yl
W
a
itt
don and Re
Burns, Gage Bran e during the Color Me
nc
throw chalk and da
unty
alk at the Grant Co
W
d
an
n
Ru
n
. 24.
Free Fu
pt
Se
,
ay
rk on Saturd
Airport Industrial Pa
“
We do this event to help our victims of violence, which
includes stalking victims, teen dating violence, rape and
sexual assault and any kind of abuse whether it’s emotional
or verbal.” — Shelly Whale-Murphy, Heart of Grant County executive director
GCSO investigates its own special deputy for shooting dog
By Rylan Boggs
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Grant County Sher-
iff’s Offi ce investigated an in-
cident this week where one of
its sheriff deputies shot a dog
she said attacked her.
Canyon City resident Judy
Kerr — who was deputized by
Grant County Sheriff Glenn
Palmer with a public lands pa-
trol designation May 6, 2014,
and with a natural resource
committee designation Sept.
29, 2015 — called John Day
dispatch at about 6 a.m. Sun-
day, Sept. 18, to report she
shot a dog that attacked her
while she was walking her
dog in Canyon City.
“
I’m just really too old to run, and yes, I defended
myself the only way I could at that time.”
Judy Kerr, Canyon City resident
The dispatcher relayed the
information to Undersheriff
Zach Mobley, who reported
back to dispatch a few min-
utes later that he had spoken
with Kerr and would follow up
when he came on duty.
Kerr told the Eagle two pit
bulls came out of a Washing-
ton Street residence and ag-
gressively approached her on
the street. She said one came
at her, while the other circled
around her, and she shot the
dog approaching her once,
causing it to back away.
“I’m just really too old to
run, and yes, I defended my-
self the only way I could at
that time,” Kerr said. “I don’t
feel I had a choice. My wel-
fare was threatened.”
The owner of the dog,
Rick Thomas Taylor, called
dispatch at about 8:15 a.m. to
report his dog had been shot
in the shoulder and was en-
couraged to seek veterinary
care. The dispatcher told him
to address his concerns to Un-
dersheriff Zach Mobley when
he came on duty.
Taylor called dispatch
again at about 11:15 a.m.,
stating he took his dog to the
vet, where it would have to
remain overnight, and that the
dog was shot while heading
away from the shooter.
Taylor told the Eagle
Kerr’s dog had been un-
leashed and came up his
driveway onto his property.
He said his dogs had gotten
out a side door and were not
contained by his fenced yard.
He said he heard a gunshot
and went outside to fi nd one
of his dogs wounded and Kerr
and her dog gone.
Taylor said his dog sur-
vived the gunshot, but he ex-
pressed dismay at Kerr’s use
of force against his animal.
“You can’t just take the law
into your own hands,” he said.
Grant County Sheriff
Glenn Palmer said he did not
have any information about
the incident, but that the re-
port may not yet be written,
and referred further questions
to the Grant County District
Attorney’s Offi ce.
See DOG, Page A6