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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2016)
RALLY FOR THE CURE GOLF SCRAMBLE The – PAGE B1 Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 W EDNESDAY , O CTOBER 5, 2016 • N O . 40 • 20 P AGES • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com Peterson sentenced to jail, probation Grant County Court approves medical marijuana dispensaries By Rylan Boggs Blue Mountain Eagle The Grant County Court voted to pass Amended Ordinance 2015-01, which will allow patients to purchase medi- cal marijuana at dispensaries in Grant County. The ordinance was passed as an emergen- cy to take effect immediately. “In the interest of those who need medi- cal marijuana, legal recipients of marijuana, I feel that it’s necessary to bring this forward in a timely fashion,” County Judge Scott Myers said. The amended ordinance would only allow medical marijuana, not recreational, dispensa- ries. Myers said many Eastern Oregon counties that originally voted against medical marijuana are changing their minds and allowing it. When opened up for comment, no one from the public spoke out against allowing medical marijuana into the county. The issue of recreational marijuana was brought up during the meeting by a community member. Antonio Roberts questioned the deci- sions of the court to continue to ban recreational marijuana when the county was missing out on large tax benefi ts that could be put into educa- tion and policing for the county. Myers responded by saying that he believed allowing recreational marijuana shouldn’t be seen as revenue issue but as an ethical issue. County Commissioner Chris Labhart said that they would revisit the issue of recreational mar- ijuana in the future. awarded to her by the U.S. State Department. Each year, over 600 appli- cants, ages 15-18, vie for one of the 64 scholarships. Pettit was informed in April of this year that she was selected for the program. “I heard about the program through my dad,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to do a foreign exchange since junior high.” Pettit is the daughter of Earl and Nittaya Pettit. The YES Abroad program was founded after the 9/11 at- tacks in 2001. See SOPHIA, Page A10 See PETERSON, Page A5 Thinkstock.com A marathon of new trails planned By Rylan Boggs Blue Mountain Eagle A See TRAILS, Page A2 T HE TRAIL WOULD BE ANCHORED BY A BMX AND MOUNTAIN BIKE FLOW COURSE BUILT NORTH OF THE COMPLEX . The Eagle/ Rylan Boggs Forest Service recreation planner Eric Amstad, left, Dwayne Meadows and City Manager Nick Green survey a potential trail near Magone Lake. Monument student broadens horizons — in Bulgaria Sophia Pettit learns it’s a ‘small world’ By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Monument School soph- Contributed photo omore Sophia Pettit is step- Sophia Pettit and others visit the U.S. Embassy in ping into a new cultural Sofia, Bulgaria. Pettit is in Bulgaria attending school experience through a study through a Kennedy-Lugar YES Abroad Scholarship, abroad program to Sofi a, awarded to her by the U.S. State Department. Bulgaria. She began her journey Aug. a public school of 60 to a pri- herself in a new country and new language — Bulgarian 29, traveling from a town with vate school of 900. For the next several — through the Kennedy-Lu- a population of about 100, to a city of 1.5 million — from months, Pettit will immerse gar YES Abroad Scholarship Blue Mountain Eagle Roy Peterson was sen- tenced to 60 days in jail, 2 years probation, to pay $8,998 in restitution to the Oregon Department of Forestry, a $600 fi ne and 300 hours of community service not to be served in a fi refi ghting or hunters education capacity. Additionally, he is to have no contact with for- mer board members of the Monument Rural Fire District, to not participate in any formal or develop- ing fi refi ghting organiza- tion, and to not manage grants through volunteer- ing or employment. Judge Paul Crowley de- scribed Peterson’s actions as “plain old thievery,” and told Peterson he had no one to blame but him- self during the sentencing on Monday, Oct. 3. A 12-person jury found Peterson guilty of fi rst-degree theft, fi rst-de- gree aggravated theft and possession of a stolen vehicle Aug. 26 in Grant County Circuit Court af- ter a fi ve-day trial. He was found not guilty of anoth- er count of fi rst-degree aggravated theft. In a Sept. 29 memo to the court, the state prose- cutor, Senior Assistant At- torney General Daniel P. Wendel, recommended the judge impose a sentence of four years of probation for the fi rst-degree theft charge and a total sentence of 18 months in prison for the fi rst-degree aggravated theft and possession of a stolen vehicle charges. Although Peterson had no prior convictions, the state argued Peterson committed the fi rst-degree theft charge before the others and should be sen- tenced as having a prior felony record for the other two charges, which would support a longer sentence. The state also argues fi ve enhancement facts — persistent involvement in similar offenses, violating public trust, multiple vic- tims, lack of remorse and risk to public safety — apply to each count and support the recommended sentence. Peterson’s attorney, D. Zachary Hostetter, argues in a Sept. 28 memo to the court Peterson should face a presumptive probation period of two years and requests the court deny the state’s request for lon- ger sentencing due to the enhancement facts. Hostetter asked the court to consider Peter- son’s background and personal history, which he detailed in the memo. Hostetter also included two affi davits with six letters from people who spoke highly of Peterson. The letter writers were his wife; Robert Watt, a John Day business own- er; Ralph Gano Miller, who owns property near Peterson’s; Gordon Fos- ter, a former Oregon Department of Forestry employee in John Day; HIKING AND BIKING city manager, a forest service em- ployee and a bike shop owner walk into the woods. It’s not the begin- ning of a bad joke, it’s the beginning of a new trail system centered around Magone Lake. The City of John Day is partnering with the For- est Service and private groups such as the Central Oregon Trail Alliance, or COTA, to help approve and build 26 miles of trails. “The trails will be designed and maintained by local nonprofi t organizations and will be for use by mountain bikers and hikers. Trails will have varying diffi culties that will follow the International Moun- tain Bike Association,” City Manager Nick Green wrote in an email. The trails will be designed in three phases, start- ing around the lake and expanding outward. Fos- sil Shift Bike Shop owner, Russ Comer of Canyon City, was excited about the trails and eager to begin work in the spring. The Forest Service plans on completing a NEPA approval in October for the portion of the trails By Sean Hart and Rylan Boggs
