Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 2016)
Blue Mountain Eagle ELECTION GUIDE MT. VERNON CITY COUNCIL (Vote for two) FRANCIS KOCIS 1. Position of Canyon City Council is important in making decisions/recommendations and communications to Canyon City residents about issues: • involving water/sewer needs; fi nancial/budget matters regarding city affairs. • future development within city limits. • uses involving museum, city park, and community hall. • safety concerns regarding fi re, lighting, and animals. 2. • To serve all city residents in working and communicating openly in making sound decisions for management of city opera- tions. • Provide a safe and equitable working environment for city em- ployees. • Utilize past years of experi- ence as a City Council Member to work cooperatively with current Council Members, Mayor, and city employees. 3. My wife and I have owned property in Canyon City for the past 40 years and we have resided at our South Humbolt residence for 16+ years. Prior to retiring in 2002, I en- joyed a wonderful career as a Park Ranger with the National Park Service in parks in Texas, Arkan- sas, Oregon, and Washington for 31 years. During those years I gained immeasurable experience in personnel matters, budgeting, serving the public and assisting visitors with their recreational needs while vacationing in the parks. During my 16+ years residency in Canyon City, I was involved in the following community activi- ties: • served on Grant Union School District Budget Committee. • volunteer/member for 8 years with the John Day/Canyon City Lions Club. • served for 4 years on Canyon City Planning Commission. • Board member for past 7 years with “Friends of Kam Wah Chung”. • appointed/served as Canyon City Council Member in 2013 and 2014. 4. • Use past years experience on City Council and by working with current Council Members, the Mayor, and city employees continue to serve the needs of Canyon City residents; maintain integrity for sound fi scal manage- ment for City operations; and ad- dress future updates and needs for the City in water/sewer and street Public Works projects. • Utilize the Canyon City Park for more community sponsored events such as the past “Summer Music in the Park” programs. RACHELLE SIMMONS I am seeking reelection to the position of city councilor repre- senting the Town of Canyon City. I believe that serving the people of Canyon City as a council member is important because it allows me the insight to inter-workings of our community and solving con- cerns of our citizens. I am running for this posi- tion to continue helping with current issues in our city. My background and qualifi cations are in making decisions in bud- get planning, economic develop- ments and ongoing infrastructure projects. I have served the res- idents of Canyon City working with three different mayors over multiple years. During that time we have completed grants for renovating the Community Cen- ter. I have also been a part of the decision making on bettering our water systems, playground equip- ment in the park, and many other improvements. If given the opportunity, I look forward to continue working with our mayor, council members and residents of the community as well as partnering city govern- ments. SHILO BURTON-HARPER 1. As an individual who strives to give back to the community (Grant County in general) and be actively involved making our community the best it can be for its residents, and future residents, I am running for a position on the Mount Vernon City Council. 2. I’d like to be actively in- volved and engaged in the hap- penings of the community of which I live, and where I plan to raise my children. I want to be able to say, “This is how I helped…”, and “This is what you can do …” 3. My family and I moved into Mount Vernon in the spring of 2014. Being a city resident, I’d like nothing more than to have the opportunity to be involved in what goes on in our small town, and involved in making it a healthier, safer, wholesome, high-quality place to live for my children, current residents, and residents for the years to come. Having been born and raised in Mount Vernon, just outside city limits, this is my hometown, and I have no doubt it will be where I live until the day I die. Keeping this town thriving, dy- namic and full of life, clean and safe, functioning smoothly is a passion I have. I have been, and am, active- ly engaged in numerous groups, organizations, and boards with- in Grant County, including the Mount Vernon Cinnabar Moun- tain Rendezvous, and the Cin- nabar Mountain Playdays youth rodeo association in Mount Ver- non. I’ve held the positions of President, Secretary, and Trea- surer on these committees. To be a member of the city council would give me the chance to give back and make a difference, yet again, where it means the most to me. 4. In September, I was elected in to fill in a vacant position on the Mt. Vernon City Council. If elected again, I’d have the op- portunity to continue working toward solutions with items the council is currently addressing. Additionally, I would provide my support to address any other issues that may arise, as well as bring forward proposals to ben- efit the community and its resi- dents. I would engage in the city’s finances, assist in finding and securing funds for updated city park playground equipment, ad- dress and mitigate issues with current “curb appeal” throughout the city, find and secure grants in general to further support the city’s need for an updated wa- ter/sewer system, infrastructure updates, propose ideas to create further revenue within the city, seek ways to make the city a saf- er and healthier place for people of all ages, and to be a voice for residents. MIKE CEARNS SR. I am Mike Cearns Sr. I am run- ning for city council in Mt. Ver- non. I have served on the Budget Committee for 3 years and city council for 2 years in Mt. Vernon. I have been married to Joyce for 37 years we have 2 children and 8 grandchildren that all live in Grant County. I am semi retired and work parttime for Dakom Logging. I am planning to contin- ue to live in Mt. Vernon as Joyce and I own two homes there. I have also served on the Volunteer Fire Dept. for 30 yrs. I am running for Council be- cause I want to see Mt. Vernon to be a safe place to live and raise your children. I also would like to continue to work on sewer plant update and the city park update. Being semi retired I can also assist with problems that happen with daily workings of the city of Mt. Vernon. EVA DOUGHARITY 1. City Council Position I want to be a member of a great group of people working together with goals and projects to improve our city 2. As a city councilor I would like to keep Mt Vernon going forward in a positive direction. 3. Currently Interim May- or, served on council since 2011,Budget Committee 3 years. Long time resident Mt Vernon for over 30 years Been active in our commu- nity, Cinnabar Mt Rendezvous volunteer, numerous charity events 4. I would like to see projects through to completion • Waste water project • City Park Improvement plan • Bringing back communi- ty pride to our city and homes through clean up projects. Up- dating city policies and proce- dures. Candidates DREW HARM- ER and JUSTIN A. MAY did not submit answers to the ques- tions. LONG CREEK MAYOR DANIEL MORROW 1. The Mayor shall be a civ- ic leader and chairman of the Council, presiding over the council members as they fulfill their responsibility and authority to assign Councilors/Mayor for the following responsibilities: Fire Department, City Buildings, Streets & Signs, Water, Sewer, City Parks, Grounds-Keeping, and City Transfer Station. 2. I wish to reclaim a sense of pride in this community through a spirit of teamwork with con- sideration to the individual opin- ions and personal rights of the citizens. Having grown up and enjoyed the positives of Long Creek, I want to give back to the community. 3. I have a lifetime awareness of life in Grant County. Stories of my great grandfather running a freight train into Canyon City and livelihood challenges were observed first hand as I grew up in Long Creek, graduating high school in 1963. Four years of military service, becoming a Vietnam Veteran, marriage and raising four children required relocation. During these years, I coached Little League and Babe Ruth teams, and had em- ployment that involved oversite of fifty employees. Family re- sponsibilities, employment and a metropolitan lifestyle; while providing an education in deal- ing with a diverse population, exemplified the desire to return to the rural Long Creek Commu- nity. Upon retirement in 2002my wife, Dianna, and I returned to Long Creek and built our home that we are able to share with our nine grandchildren, friends and neighbors. I have been an active participant in City Government, Long Creek Historical Society, and Allovars Community House. 4. A. Population Decrease: resulting in social and economic decline. a. Focus on what we have to offer as opposed to what used to be. Seek individuals and agencies within the county and state that are in a position to assist with building a desirable community. B. Inequality of Voting Priv- ileges: resulting in individuals with economic investment in city having no representation. b. Review charter and ordinance with view to amend voter limitations. C. Limited Communication between City Government and Individual Citizens: resulting in non-inclusive, non-productive and sometimes adversarial out- looks. c. Initiate more town hall type gatherings. Outreach by all city officials to citizenry on individual one on one basis. Pro- vide clear and available charter/ ordinance information utilizing internet/social media. Increase participation in city meetings. Establish an arbitration council to address potential issues. D. City government operating on Reactive as opposed to Pro- active basis: resulting in ‘putting fires out, instead of preventing them’. d. Pursue education program for all elected/appoint- ed officials. Encourage individ- ual council members to exercise their duties/responsibilities as leaders. Provide opportunities for each councilman to be ful- ly informed of any issues via pre-meeting agenda and infor- mation packet, and encourage individual council member ex- pression. DON PORTER I’ve been the mayor of Long Creek for over ten years and I’m running for reelection so that I can continue to serve this small community and keep do- ing all I can for its citizens. Being mayor of a small town means I’m usually the first per- son townspeople call on when they need help. Whether it’s a water or sewer issue, an animal control problem, hazardous weather or some sort of safety concern, I work to assure our town runs smoothly. A lot of times that means dealing with regulatory agencies like DEQ, EPA and ODOT, and over the years I’ve built good relation- ships with all of them and a have solid understanding of their requirements. The City of Long Creek is comprised of seven divisions – streets; parks; fire; buildings; sewer; water; and transfer sta- tion. While council members oversee each division, I have professional experience that al- lows me to provide them with the support they need. I did roadwork with ODOT for sev- eral years, and have been fire chief for quite some time with many hours of training. In col- lege I worked in parks and rec- reation, and in the 1980s and 90s I was the water and sewer operator for Long Creek. I care about what happens to Long Creek and the good people who live here. I want to keep doing all I can to at- tract new residents and new businesses, while continuing to support all the great things we already have going for us. Our combined residential water, sewer and dump rates are just $60 per month, with many other small towns charging $90 or more. I will continue working to keep our utilities the lowest in the area. I’ll also keep working with the Oregon State Fire Marshall’s office on our smoke detector program, which has placed over 150 free smoke detectors in Long Creek homes. The goal is to have an- other 350 installed over the next 18 months. I have deep roots in Long Creek and I’m just as deeply committed to its future. Wednesday, October 19, 2016 A11 PRAIRIE CITY CITY COUNCIL (Vote for two) PHILIP “JOE” PHIPPEN 1. I’m running for the position of city councilman for Prairie City. This position is very import- ant because you have a hand in helping make Prairie City a better place to live by working with the mayor, fellow council members and the citizens. 2. I’m running for councilman to help the people of Prairie City. The community has its problems and I want to help solve them. 3. I received my social security card when I was twelve years old, working for the Island Ranch in Harney County. After four years in the navy, 1969-1973, I was a buckaroo for a few years. With a young family to support, I went to Alaska to work in the logging in- dustry. In 1989, I became a devout Christian and still am to this day. I was a co-owner for sev- en years of an adult foster care home. I learned the meaning of really caring and being devoted to the elderly. Prairie City has a lot of retired and needy folks; and I believe I can help them being on the city council. I was president for approximately one year of the Prairie City Senior Citizens and had direct contact with folks ev- ery week. Also, I am a member of the Prairie City budget committee, and a member of the Senior Cit- izens Advisory Board for Grant County. 4. Prairie City is a great city with a lot of community spirit, good schools and caring people. However; there are issues that need to be addressed. People want to know the status of the water and sewer projects. Also, there is a se- rious dog problem that needs to be dealth with. I would work with the mayor and council to be more in- formative to citizens. I am really proud of our museum, parks and our many community events. If elected; I am looking foward to serving on the Prairie City’s council. Candidates GEORGIA PAT- TERSON and FRANK PRI- MOZIC did not submit answers to the questions. GRANITE CITY COUNCIL (Vote for two) Candidates MIKE JAQUES, DAVID MOSTEIT, KATHY MOSTEIT and STEVE D. SMITH did not submit answers to the questions. LONG CREEK CITY COUNCIL (Vote for one) Candidates JOSEPH GIB- SON and BRENT M. NEAR did not submit answers to the ques- tions. LONG CREEK MEASURE 12-64 Should Long Creek prohibit production, processing, wholesal- ing, dispensing and retailing of marijuana within city limits? MyEagleNews.com OREGON CAPITAL INSIDER Get the inside scoop on state government and politics!
