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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 2016)
The HOLIDAY SHOWCASE Blue Mountain EAGLE DANCERS DELIGHT CROWD AT ANNUAL EVENT Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 PAGE A3 W EDNESDAY , D ECEMBER 7, 2016 • N O . 49 • 20 P AGES • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com Off-leash dog kills another in John Day By Rylan Boggs Blue Mountain Eagle FARM TO SCHOOL Contributed photo Students participating in Humbolt Elementary School’s Farm-to-School Academy take an Oct. 14 field trip to Thomas Orchards in Kimberly. From left: Amelia Hall, Grant Hall, Alexander Hoffman, Destiny Pelayo (back) and Jamison Petroski. Students explore local agriculture through Friday academy By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle H umbolt Elementary students were hav- ing a hands-on lesson about the origin of the food on their tables — while dig- ging into pumpkins. Scooping out pumpkin seeds to dry and eat later Nov. 18 was just one of many activities the fi fth- and sixth-grade students have participated in during Humbolt’s Farm-to-School Academy, offered through the South Fork John Day Watershed Council. Program coordinator Elise Delgado of the watershed council said the students have been enjoying the activities. “The feedback from the students has been out- standing,” she said. “There is something for every student to learn.” Academy days have included fi eld trips to a farm and an orchard, as well as planting classroom gardens and baking bread. See FARM, Page A10 “ The students are able to connect with different people in the community, from ranchers to natural resource personnel.” Elise Delgado, South Fork John Day Watershed Council Farm-to-School Academy coordinator The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Cleaning out a pumpkin during a Farm-to-School lesson are, from left, Grant Hall, Ernie Shorts, Amelia Hall and Alici Archibald. The Oregonian seeks $78,000 in attorney fees from Sheriff Palmer News agency says public records lawsuit led to disclosure of previously withheld documents By Sean Hart Blue Mountain Eagle Although the public records law- suit against Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer was dismissed after the records were released, a judge will now decide whether he must pay more than $78,000 in attorney fees to the party that fi led the suit. In a statement of attorney fees fi led in Grant County Circuit Court Nov. 17, attorney Brad Daniels, on behalf of the plaintiff, Oregonian Publishing Com- pany, argued the news organization is entitled to $78,157.50 in attorney fees because the lawsuit prompted the re- lease of public records that had previ- ously been withheld. Daniels said in the statement The Oregonian — and re- porter Les Zaitz, who has since retired from The Oregonian and is now the publisher and editor of the Malheur Enterprise — began re- Sheriff questing public records Glenn from Palmer and the Palmer Grant County Sher- iff’s Offi ce in February 2016, consistent with First Amendment press protections and pursuant to Ore- gon public records law. Daniels said the defendants — Palmer, the sheriff’s offi ce and civil deputy Sally DeFord — did not provide the documents request- ed, including email, phone and other records. In May, the plaintiffs fi led a com- plaint in circuit court requesting a judge to declare certain records to be public records and to compel their disclosure. In August, Judge William D. Cramer Jr. issued a temporary restraining order preventing the sheriff’s offi ce from See PALMER, Page A10 Heart test saves Walker’s life Visiting cardiologist diagnoses problems requiring emergency surgery By Rylan Boggs Blue Mountain Eagle The Eagle/Rylan Boggs Kevin Walker, 38, shows a scar from his recent open heart surgery. A last- minute decision to receive a heart test Walker says he typically would have delayed saved his life. Thirty-eight-year-old Kevin Walker is still getting used to the regular metallic ticks coming from his chest. “It’s a good noise,” his wife, Haley, said. Kevin recently had emer- gency heart surgery to re- place his aortic valve and remove an aneurysm on his aorta. The valve, normally 4.5 centimeters in diameter, had shrunk to less than 1 centi- meter, and the wall of his aor- ta had bulged out, forming an aneurysm. Both conditions were detected when he had an echocardiogram test as part of a physical for a job with UPS. Kevin admitted he nor- mally would have delayed getting the echocardiogram. It did not appear urgent that he receive the test, as he showed no symptoms of heart problems in the weeks leading up to his diagnosis and he had fought fi res all summer for the Forest Ser- vice. However, Dr. Bruce Mc- Lellan, a cardiologist in Bend, was in John Day for a regular- ly scheduled visit and agreed to perform the echocardio- gram for Kevin. The test re- vealed the dire condition of Kevin’s heart, and within a week of receiving his results, Kevin was in Bend undergo- ing open heart surgery. McLellan has been provid- ing medical services to rural communities like John Day for 14 years to assist both pa- tients and healthcare workers. “We do it as a conve- nience for patients who can’t travel easily, particu- larly during the winter,” he said. See HEART, Page A10 Dog problems persist in Grant County, and the latest incident left one canine dead in John Day. Chris Labhart, a current county commissioner and for- mer mayor, said he allowed a Lab mix he was walking as part of his animal care busi- ness off leash at the Seventh Street Complex Nov. 28, and the dog attacked and killed a Schnauzer another man was walking in the park. Labhart said he had walked the dog for two years without incident. He said he was walk- ing two dogs at the time, and he allowed both off their leashes because they had never been a problem before. He has oper- ated his business, Claws and Paws, for about fi ve years with- out any problems, he said. “I’m not trying to hide it,” Labhart said. “It’s a horrible accident.” Labhart was cited for main- taining dog as a nuisance, ac- cording to John Day Police Chief Richard Gray. This incident is only the lat- est in a string of dog problems. Sept. 18 in Canyon City, res- ident Judy Kerr shot a dog she said attacked her while she was walking her own dog. Despite initial claims by the dog owner that it was shot while moving away from Kerr, District Attor- ney Jim Carpenter said the dog appeared to have been shot in the front of its chest. He said Kerr was within her rights to defend herself, and no charges were fi led in the incident. At a Sept. 13 John Day City Council meeting, Tim Unter- wegner said he and his wife carry pepper spray and a base- ball bat in fear of dog attacks. In August, Dayville resident Cindy Bolman received four stitches after jumping in to res- cue a Corgie mix being attacked by a pit bull in John Day. There have been 35 inci- dents of aggressive dogs since July 2015 with more than $3,000 paid in restitution to victims, according to Justice of the Peace Kathy Stinnett. When a dog keeper is cited under Oregon state law, it can lead to multiple hearings where the district attorney, victims as- sistance and court collections get involved because some- one did not maintain their dog properly, Stinnett said. “I think everybody agrees it’s a social issue,” she said. The John Day City Coun- cil considered adopting an or- dinance to try to regulate and enforce aggressive dog activi- ty. However, after receiving a coordinating draft of the ordi- nance, council members decid- ed it would not meet the needs of the city and decided instead to continue education efforts. City Manager Nick Green described the latest incident as “unfortunate” and “totally avoidable.” Green said he would keep the city council apprised but felt he had reached a road- block in the issue he wasn’t sure how to navigate. “Short of an ordinance, I don’t know what measures are available to the city,” Green said, adding a countywide an- imal control solution seemed unlikely.
