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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 2016)
The Blue Mountain EAGLE EARLY DETECTION SAVES LIVES BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SPECIAL EDITION W edNesday , o ctober 12, 2016 Sherif in deposition contradicts statements about emails • N o . 41 • 20 P ages • $1.00 MyEagleNews.com IN THE FIGHT OF HER LIFE Palmer asserts Fifth Amendment 51 times By Les Zaitz The Oregonian Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer says he “never reviewed” a state policy that he has cited as justiication for destroying govern- ment emails. In a recent deposition, Palmer also contra- dicted his earlier claim that it was practice in his ofice to print emails, ile the hard copies and then delete the electronic versions. Under oath, he said his ofice has no such policy and he never told his employees to handle emails that way. He also testiied that he released cellphone records only after redacting personal calls, including calls to people associated with a militia. Palmer’s disclosures came under questioning by a lawyer for The Oregonian as part of a lawsuit seeking public records. In May, The Oregonian/OregonLive sued Palmer and his ofice Palmer after he ignored or declined several requests for records dating to February. That included police re- ports, cellphone records, emails, his calendar and records of handgun licenses. Oregon law generally makes such material open to the public. Palmer acknowledged in subsequent court ilings that he had no electronic versions of emails to turn over because he routinely delet- ed them from his primary account. He has yet to produce any hard copies of emails. Emails have become a crucial resource for the public and the press to monitor the con- duct of public oficials such as Palmer. They can document how government decisions are made and who is inluencing public oficials. During the deposition in late September, the sheriff asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 51 times when questioned about his email practices. Palmer already is under criminal inves- tigation for an allegation that in 2012 he de- stroyed an electronic copy of a police report. In the deposition, Palmer said: • He considered calls to or from those as- sociated with the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to be “personal” so they didn’t have to be disclosed to the public. • Records of his government-issued cell- phone show “many” personal phone calls — a potential violation of state ethics law prohib- iting personal use of government equipment. • He frequently “conided” in a man re- cently convicted in Grant County of the theft Contributed photo Mary Weaver receives encouragement from her daughter Mandy, left, and niece, Jennifer Lawson. Quick, safe test saves lives Women 40 and older should consult their doctor about mammograms By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle N By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Danielle Hunt’s goal at the Blue Mountain Hospital mammography department is to help women feel comfortable as they are screened for breast cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer deaths for women. She walks the patients through each step of the process, which only takes 10 to 15 minutes. “After having a mammogram for the irst time, they leave more relaxed,” she said. “I’ve heard them say ‘Wow, that was easy.’” See PALMER, Page A10 See TEST, Page A10 Weaver battles second round of cancer The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Mammographer Danielle Hunt places a soft pad on the mammography unit last Thursday in preparation for an appointment at Blue Mountain Hospital in John Day. ot much slows Mary Weaver down, but over the past three months she’s been ighting for her life — for a second time. In weeks and months leading up to the Grant County Fair in John Day, Weaver can be seen jumping from task to task, jug- gling the duties that come with managing the fairgrounds. This year, diagnosed with stage four cancer, she missed the event she worked so hard to help prepare. Her battle with cancer began three years ago. In 2013, she found a lump in her breast through self-screening. Breast cancer was oficially diagnosed after an ofice screen- ing, mammogram and biopsy. From there, Weaver underwent a lumpectomy at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, followed by radiation for 33 days straight at a Portland hospital. In the following three years, Weaver was in remission and adopted a healthier lifestyle. See WEAVER, Page A10 Red lights, stop sign mean STOP School bus violations lead to police action By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Red lights on school buses from Grant School District No. 3 have been violated 16 times from Aug. 29 through Sept. 29. So far, at least one driver who ran red lights on a school bus received a ticket from a police oficer. The cost for the Class A violation starts at $435. National School Bus Safety Week is Oct. 17-21. With 400 students riding the district’s school buses each day, trans- portation coordinator Cyndi Nelson said she would like to highlight safety concerns. “I’d like to heighten the awareness of bus safety lights,” she said. She said there is a common misconception when it comes to bus lights. “The amber lights are a warning the bus is going to stop,” she said. “My advice is for trafic to stop in all di- rections. Don’t try to beat the light.” Nelson said the amber lights lash while the bus driv- er checks trafic to make sure it’s safe for students to load or unload. The red lashing lights and stop sign on the bus activate once the school bus door opens. “Never assume children are only coming or going from the right side of the bus,” Nelson said. “They may cross in front of the bus, to cross the street.” She said, although they con- duct bus safety training for stu- dents twice a year, children can be unpredictable. “They may drop a book or see a family member at the bus stop and not wait for the driv- er’s signal,” she said, adding the universal signal is a thumbs up to show it’s safe for children — and parents or guardians walking with them — to cross the street. One trouble spot on the routes includes the area west of Chester’s Thriftway and Ace The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Grant School District No. 3 students unload at a bus stop on West Main Street in John Day. Hardware in John Day. Nelson said some drivers mistakenly assume they can pass by the bus because there is a center lane on Main Street. “Trafic needs to stop in all directions, and no entering or exiting business driveways,” she said. “Trafic in the oppo- site direction needs to stop, even if there is a center turning lane.” See STOP, Page A10
