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.