W EDNESDAY , D ECEMBER 28, 2016
• N O . 52
• 18 P AGES
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www.MyEagleNews.com
ON TO STATE
OCCUPATION ENDS
Land management issues persist
Three area teams head to playoffs
See Page B1 for complete coverage
By George Plaven
EO Media Group
A
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
The
Blue Mountain
The Eagle/Cheryl Hoefler
The sun rises over the Silvies Valley
just south of Seneca near the border
of Grant and Harney counties. The
standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife
Refuge near Burns ended after 41 days.
EAGLE
W EDNESDAY , F EBRUARY 17, 2016 • N O . 7
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Picketers stand in the back of the room during a meeting in John Day Jan. 26 where refuge occupiers were
expected to speak before being arrested en route. Grant County is considering a resolution condemning the
occupation to deter militia from relocating.
County residents speak
out against armed militia
County Court considering resolution condemning illegal occupation
and he did not want that to be Grant County.
“It’s the logical procession, to some, in that
our courthouse is 67 miles from there,” he
said. “I think concern and awareness should
be heightened.”
Myers said minor revisions are being made
to the draft resolution, but he and the other
two County Court members said they would
vote to adopt the ¿ nali]ed version, likely at
the next meeting Wednesday.
Many residents attended the Feb. 10
meeting to discuss the initial draft. The vast
majority of those who spoke out praised the
By Sean Hart
E
ven after the remaining refuge occu-
piers surrendered Thursday morning,
*rant &ounty of¿ cials plan to contin-
ue working on a resolution condemn-
ing the occupation.
County Judge Scott Myers said he was
pleased the 41-day occupation of the Malheur
1ational :ildlife 5efuge had ¿ nally ended.
He said, however, he was concerned militants
might be considering a new location to target,
THE EASTER ELK
“
• $1.00
File photo
Blue Mountain Eagle
fter 41 days, 25 indictments
and one man killed, the armed
occupation of a federal wildlife
refuge near Burns has come to
an end.
The four remaining holdouts surrendered
peacefully Thursday.
The underlying issues of rangeland man-
agement, however, won’t be going away any-
time soon.
John O’Keeffe, president of the Oregon Cat-
tlemen’s Association, said things are far from
perfect between ranchers across the West, the
Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest
Service. Environmental regulations are mak-
ing it harder to get rangeland improvement
projects done quickly. Wildfires are getting
bigger and hotter,
We have
scorching
hun-
dreds of thousands
a lot of
of acres. Noxious
issues to sort
weeds continue to
spread, choking
out with the
out native vegeta-
agencies, but
tion for gra]ing.
Yet O’Keeffe
we absolutely
was quick to con-
intend to do it
demn the militants
who came mostly
through legal
from out of state
channels.”
to the Malheur
National Wildlife
John O’Keeffe,
Refuge,
where
president of the Oregon
they protested the
Cattlemen’s Association
sentences of Har-
ney County ranch-
ers Dwight and
Steven Hammond and called for federal land
to be returned to private citi]ens.
“What happened in Burns is outsiders coming in
and occupying a refuge illegally,” O’Keeffe said. “We
have a lot of issues to sort out with the agencies, but
we absolutely intend to do it through legal channels.”
O’Keeffe runs cattle on about 75,000 acres of
public land near the tiny community of Adel in iso-
lated south-central Oregon — an average si]e fam-
ily ranch, he says. His operation includes gra]ing
permits with both the BLM and Fremont-Winema
National Forest.
Ranchers understand the need to support multi-
ple uses on public land, such as recreation and wild-
life habitat, O’Keeffe said. But he worries further
restrictions might become too much to take.
“There’s no guarantees,” O’Keeffe said. “Should
these government regulations become too burden-
some, ranchers could go away. That would create a
whole new set of problems.”
commissioners for considering the resolution,
and many said the language should be even
stronger. Janine Goodwin, Prairie City, said
the word “illegal” should be added when de-
scribing the occupation. She said the county
should emphasi]e that militia groups would
not be welcome here.
“There has in fact been considerable chat-
ter openly on the Internet — and, of course,
who knows how much behind the scenes —
about Grant County as a possible next target,”
she said.
See SPEAK, Page A18
The
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
By Cheryl Hoe er
Blue Mountain Eagle
to the citi]ens of Grant County
greatly appreciated,” McKinley
said.
McManus has been on the
Corrections staff since Septem-
ber 2014, a job previously held
by Jim Gravely. He worked
at the Harney County Jail for
seven years, and prior to that,
the Grant County Jail for ¿ ve
years.
Other corrections staff mem-
bers include Cindy Tirico, juve-
nile counselor; Roni Hickerson,
administrative secretary and
case aid; and Charissa Palmer,
community service supervisor.
McKinley, a 1990 graduate
of Mt. Vernon High School, be-
gan his law enforcement career
in 2000 as a reserve deputy with
the Grant County Sheriff’s Of-
¿ ce, and was hired as a full-time
deputy in 2001. He had been the
undersheriff since 2008.
McKinley said he pursued
the job at Community Correc-
tions because he wanted to get
hands-on knowledge of how
this side of the criminal justice
system works.
So far, he’s learned that it’s
a busy position, one that values
the support of the community.
“We are all working together
to have a safer, better function-
ing society,” McKinley said.
“Positive input into individu-
al lives is a must, as continual
negative input is counterproduc-
tive.”
McManus, who graduated
from high school in Halsey, ¿ n-
ished from the corrections acad-
emy in 2003 and the probation
academy in October 2015.
Community Corrections
is responsible for supervising
felons, misdemeanants, regis-
tered sex offenders and juve-
nile offenders and supervised
bench community service.
See TEAM, Page A18
Managing
retirement
Peggy Gray
plans to travel,
visit family, take
walks, sleep in
JOHN DAY — The next
item on the agenda for Peggy
Gray is ...
Retirement.
Gray, who has been the
John Day city manager since
2001, will retire July 1. She
said her time
with the City
has
been
“great ... and
a real educa-
tion.”
“My job
has been to
Peggy
make
the
Gray
council look
good,”
she
said, adding she hopes she ac-
complished a few good things
along the way.
Gray said the thing she
will miss most is the people.
“I love working with the
employees, especially when
we get projects done,” Gray
said.
One of the most memo-
rable accomplishments for
the city during her time is a
recent one — the long over-
due construction of a new
fire station in John Day.
“It was a community
effort,” Gray said, adding
it was the overwhelming
support from everyone in-
volved that made it finally
happen.
“It’s great to see it finally
go up,” she said.
See ISSUES, Page A18
Contributed photo
Prairie City resident Brian Johns suffered serious
injuries after a welding accident on Thursday. He was
flown to a Portland hospital. Those wishing to help
with medical expenses can contribute at the Brian
Johns Medical Fund account at GoFundMe.com.
Chief, dispatch manager complain sheriff’s support of militia endangered the public
By Sean Hart
John Day’s police chief and dis-
patch manager’s complaints that the
Grant County sheriff’s support for the
militia occupying the Malheur refuge
endangered the public have been sent
to the justice department for further in-
vestigation.
Chief Richard Gray and Dispatch
Manager Valerie Luttrell were among
at least eight who fi led formal com-
plaints against Sheriff Glenn Palmer
with the state Department of Public
Safety Standards and Training, which
licenses Oregon police offi cers. The
department sent the complaints to the
Oregon Department of Justice recom- Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer.
mending an investigation.
Palmer said in an email Friday ceived a packet from DPSST,” he said investigation “for numerous felonious
morning he is being represented by an in the email. “Other than that, I am not crimes.” She said Palmer’s support
attorney, but he declined to discuss the discussing anything further.”
placed other law enforcement offi cials
complaints.
Luttrell said in her complaint Palm- and the public at risk, because he was
“As of this morning, I have not been er was openly supportive of the militia not trusted.
contacted by the DOJ but I have re- and met with members who are under
As the FBI and Oregon State Po-
lice planned to arrest the leaders of the
refuge occupation on Highway 395 en
route to a meeting in John Day Jan. 26,
she said, they opted not to inform city
and county law enforcement offi cials
in Grant County out of concern Sher-
iff Glenn Palmer might be a “security
leak.”
Even though militia supporters and
Palmer were awaiting the meeting in
John Day, she said Chief Richard Gray
was unable to obtain information about
the law enforcement action unfolding
on Highway 395.
“Sheriff Palmer’s blatant disregard
for the potential consequences of push-
ing his personal agenda over the wel-
fare and safety of the general public that
he is sworn to protect is at the very least
an ethical transgression,” she said in the
complaint. “... This became a serious
safety issue for our (Dispatch) Center
and local Law enforcement during the
events on January 26th.”
Resolving the refuge resolution
Discussion about condemning occupation continues today
By Sean Hart
discussion to the Feb. 24 meeting
when a larger room could be pro-
cured. Discussion is scheduled to
resume at 11:30 a.m. today, Feb.
24, upstairs in the Circuit Court
room at the Grant County Court-
house.
At the fi rst meeting, Feb. 10, the
majority of people who spoke out
were in favor of the resolution.
The crowd seemed more evenly
split Feb. 17 before the commis-
sioners decided to table the issue
until the next meeting.
Several people, some of whom
spoke at the fi rst meeting, offered
their support for the resolution.
Mark Cerny said the resolution
was well written and necessary to
address concerns people have that
militia members might come to
Grant County.
See REFUGE, Page A10
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
C
By Sean Hart
One of Grant County’s newest
deputies is awaiting trial on felony
charges.
On March 1, Grant County Sheriff
Glenn Palmer deputized Roy Peterson,
who was set to begin trial March 28
in Grant County Circuit Court on theft
charges stemming from the acquisi-
tion of equipment for a ¿ re district.
However, state prosecutors requested
a continuance for a family emergency,
and the trial is now scheduled to begin
Aug. 22.
The state’s attorney, Senior As-
sistant Attorney General Daniel P.
Wendel, mentioned that Peterson had
been deputized at a pretrial conference
March 24. Wendel said he wanted an
order prohibiting Peterson from arriv-
ing to court with a ¿ rearm or in uni-
form.
Peterson’s attorney, D. Zachary
Hostetter of Enterprise, said if such
a motion were ¿ led, he would want a
hearing on the matter, because Peter-
son was part of the county search and
rescue team.
See SHERIFF, Page A10
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Sean Hart
Young Canyon City woman offers hope to orphan children
Blue Mountain Eagle
Fatal crash
near Pilot Rock
seriously injures
two from PC
Blue Mountain Eagle
www.MyEagleNews.com
• $1.00
EAGLE
Court date moved
to August for former
fire chief who
pleaded not guilty
“
A proposed resolution condemn-
ing the occupation of the Mal-
heur National Wildlife Refuge has
drawn large crowds at the last two
Grant County Court meetings.
At the Feb. 17 meeting, with
people lined up in the hallway un-
able to enter the room, the com-
missioners decided to postpone the
• 20 P AGES
Blue Mountain From Cambodia, with love
Two people from Prairie City are
recovering after being seriously in-
jured in a fatal crash Friday near Pilot
Rock.
Alexxyss L. Therwhanger, 20,
was pronounced dead at the scene of
a head-on wreck at about 4 p.m. on
Highway 395 south of Pilot Rock, ac-
cording to Oregon State Police.
The Kennewick woman was driv-
ing a 1998 Buick Century sedan when
it failed to negotiate a left hand curve
in the roadway. The Buick, which was
traveling northbound, crossed over
into the southbound lane and collided
with a 1994 Lincoln Continental.
Francis (Frank) Charles Wimber-
ley, 60, of Prairie City, the driver of
the Lincoln Continental, was trans-
ported to Kadlec Regional Medical
Center, Richland, Washington, by
air ambulance with serious injuries.
A passenger in Wimberley’s vehicle,
Donnetta Marie Kulis, 54, of Prairie
City, was transported by ambulance
to St. Anthony Hospital, Pendleton,
also with serious injuries.
Wimberly’s daughter, Crystal, said
in a Facebook post both are fine. She
said it would be a long road to recov-
ery, but they are fighters.
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
ANYON CITY — Emily Mosley spent time
holding hands of orphaned children in the
slums of Cambodia, sharing songs, games
and a gospel message.
The 2015 home school graduate from Canyon
City said the two-month mission to the third-world
country was an eye-opening experience.
While encouraging the poverty-stricken and mis-
treated children she met, Mosley said she also discov-
ered who she is.
She began her service attending Youth With A
Mission (YWAM), a discipleship training school in
Lakeside, Montana.
The school is a worldwide program, which the
YWAM website says includes “Christians from many
cultures, age groups, and Christian traditions, dedi-
cated to serving Jesus throughout the world.”
The ¿ ve-month program included three months of
training in Montana and two months, Dec. 7 to Feb.
7, overseas. She joined the team of 11 traveling to
Cambodia.
“Our main purpose was children’s ministry, work-
ing with a lot of kids, teaching music, games, skits
and dancing,” Mosley said.
She spent the ¿ rst three weeks in the capital city
Phnom Pehn, working with at-risk children in a
building where they were welcome every day from
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Two nights a week, they held a program attended by
200-300 children.
“Some kids were orphans running around in the street.
Some were mistreated by their families,” Mosley said.
Palmer deputizes
man awaiting trial on
felony theft charges
Sheriff Palmer’s blatant disregard for the potential consequences of pushing his
personal agenda over the welfare and safety of the general public that he is sworn to
protect is at the very least an ethical transgression.” — Dispatch Manager Valerie Luttrell
Cody Wilson stands in the doorway for the crowded Grant County Court session Feb. 17
and discusses a proposed resolution condemning the occupation of the Malheur refuge.
John Day Police; Prairie City Volunteer
Fire Department, including Fire Chief Mar-
vin Rynearson; and John Day Ambulance
responded.
Damon Rand of JDPD said, among other
injuries, the blast caused significant damage
to Johns’ lower jawbone area.
McClung said Johns was flown to a Port-
land hospital.
Donations may be contributed to the
Johns Family Medical Fund at GoFundMe.
com which was set up by McClung.
“Anyone that knows Brian, knows he
is an outstanding member of the commu-
nity,” McClung wrote on the donation
website. “He is the kind of guy that would
give the shirt off his back to anyone in
need.”
• N O . 13
www.MyEagleNews.com
See GRAY, Page A10
Prairie City man injured
in welding-related blast
PRAIRIE CITY — Brian Johns of Prairie
City was injured after a 55-gallon drum he
was welding exploded at about 5 p.m. Thurs-
day outside his Bridge Street home.
Prairie City resident Chase McClung,
who was staying next door, said several
neighbors came to assist.
One neighbor, who didn’t want to be
named, pulled Johns out of the fire, and
Dean Hicks used a fire extinguisher to put
out the flames.
• $1.00
Blue Mountain Eagle
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Cheryl Hoefler
Blue Mountain Eagle
• 20 P AGES
Police licensing agency recommends
the DOJ investigate Sheriff Palmer
By Cheryl Hoefl er
The Grant County Community Corrections staff,
from left, Cindy Tirico, juvenile counselor; Roni
Hickerson, administrative secretary/case aid;
Charissa Palmer, community service supervisor;
Todd McKinley, director; and Mike McManus, adult
probation officer.
By Angel Carpenter
• N O . 8
The
Building relationships
The BLM manages gra]ing permits and leases
on roughly 14 million acres in Oregon and Washing-
ton. That breaks down to a total of 951,000 permits
for the region.
Of those, about 20 belong to Jacob Ferguson.
Ferguson is a rangeland management specialist
for BLM Vale District in southeast Oregon. His area
encompasses 850,000 acres south of Jordan Valley
and east of the Owyhee River. From May through
October, he travels usually once per week to visit his
permittees and monitor conditions on the ground.
Donation account
set up for Brian Johns
The Eagle/Cheryl Hoefler
W EDNESDAY , M ARCH 30, 2016
W EDNESDAY , F EBRUARY 24, 2016
New faces join Grant County corrections team
CANYON CITY — Two
new faces have recently joined
the Grant County Community
Corrections staff.
Todd McKinley, former
Grant County undersheriff, is
the new director at the depart-
ment, and Mike McManus is
the adult probation of¿ cer.
McKinley began his new
job on Dec. 28. The position
was vacated by Dean Hooden-
pyl, who retired on Dec. 1.
“He (Hoodenpyl) will be
missed and his time committed
An elk joined the fun at Dayville’s Bunny Hop 5K Saturday. He
completed the course on South Fork Road, keeping pace with the
other participants, all the way into Dayville City Park but stopped
just short of crossing the finish line. See the full story and more
photos on Page B1.
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
Palmer’s of¿ cial
deputy appointment
of Peterson mentions
“Search & Rescue”
and “Radio Tech/
Communications,”
though the document
also says Peterson
Sheriff
is appointed “to do
Glenn
and perform any act
Palmer
which (Palmer) might
perform as Sheriff.”
At a hearing March 18, Wendel
brought up a potential conÀ ict of inter-
est in that Hostetter’s ¿ rm represents
Palmer, who was also listed as a po-
tential witness in the case. Wendel said
he did not plan to call Palmer to the
stand as a witness, as the Oregon De-
partment of Justice is investigating a
complaint ¿ led against the sheriff.
Hostetter said he did not intend to
call Palmer as a witness and that there
was no possibility of a mistrial due to
a conÀ ict.
At the same hearing, Wendel said
the state’s case against Peterson was
down to four counts, instead of the
original 10 in the grand jury indict-
ment Feb. 18, 2015.
At a hearing Aug. 6, 2015, Peterson
pleaded not guilty to all of the orig-
inal charges: two counts of first-de-
gree aggravated theft and one count
each of first-degree theft, unautho-
rized use of a vehicle and possession
Contributed photos
A young Cambodian girl, nicknamed
“Pearl,” enjoyed holding Emily Mosley’s
hand. Mosley, who served a mission in
Cambodia from Dec. 7 to Feb. 7, called her
“saatna,” meaning beautiful girl.
They visited with the children, made crafts with
them and also served lunch to 40 children which the
organization sponsored to attend public school.
See MOSLEY, Page A10
Emily Mosley, back center, with her Youth With A Mission team which served orphan
children in several areas of Cambodia from Dec. 7, 2015, to Feb. 7, 2016.
See PALMER, Page A10
County unemployment decrease best in state
February rate
best since 1990
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
The labor market in
Grant County has improved
significantly since last year.
The unemployment rate
improved more than any
other county in the state,
from 10.2 percent in Feb-
ruary 2015 to 8 percent in
February 2016, according
to information released
Monday from the Oregon
Employment Department.
Grant County Economic
Development Coordinator
Sally Bartlett said when she
came to the county about
eight years ago, the unem-
ployment rate was close
to 20 percent. She said the
new numbers are encourag-
ing.
“I think it’s a good sign
that we can rely on for
now,” she said. “It gives us
hope for the future.”
Grant County’s season-
ally adjusted unemploy-
ment rate for February was
the best for the month since
1990, according to the em-
ployment department.
The county gained an
estimated 30 jobs over the
year. Private sector gains
and losses balanced out for
no net change. The public
sector added about 30 jobs
from local and state govern-
ment.
Although Grant County
is still among the highest
unemployment rates in the
state — and much higher
than the statewide rate of
4.8 percent and the national
rate of 4.9 percent — Bart-
lett said rural economies
differ from larger areas.
“These little rural com-
munities like we’re in don’t
pop back as quickly as ur-
ban areas do with a lot more
opportunities,” she said.
“That’s why Oregon’s un-
employment rate is down,
and that’s why we can’t
compare ourselves to urban
areas or more populated
places, because it’s just dif-
ferent out here.”
Other Eastern Oregon
counties also improved.
Harney County’s unem-
ployment rate fell from 8.3
percent to 6.6 percent, and
Malheur County’s rate fell
from 6.9 percent to 5.6 per-
cent.
Bartlett encouraged any-
one with business ideas to
stop by the Economic De-
velopment office for help
with business plans and fi-
nancing or technical assis-
tance. The office is at 530
E. Main St., Suite 4, John
Day.
EXPLORE
GRANT
COUNTY
VISITOR
GUIDE
INSIDE
2016
YEAR IN REVIEW
Blue Mountain
The
EAGLE
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
From the Malheur refuge standoff to local and national elections, from community
events to dog problems, here are some of the headlines from the past year.
Dayville students create mural for the park
By Cheryl Hoe er
Blue Mountain Eagle
D
heryl Hoefler
The Eagle/C
n
ga, Faith Brow
Kendall Hettin the mural.
lle students
n of
From left, Dayvi n work on the sectio
Brow
and Destiny
W EDNESDAY , A PRIL 6, 2016
AYVILLE — Visitors to Dayville will soon see
what students at the school have been up to.
With assistance of visiting artist-in-residence Carol
Poppenga, students in all grades have been creating a “Wel-
come to Dayville” mural — a 30x10-foot Dayville-style depic-
tion of the four seasons — to be mounted at Dayville City Park.
The mural will replace one with handprints that has graced a wall
at the tennis courts since 2001.
• N O . 14
See MURAL, Page A9
• 20 P AGES
www.MyEagleNews.com
• $1.00
The
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
RESTORING
THE FOREST
Blue Mountain
Race for
President
Trump leads
late Tuesday
night
Blue Mountain Eagle
As of publication
time Donald Trump had
secured 254 electoral
votes compared to Hilary
Clinton’s 215, according
to Fox News.
CNN reported that
Clinton had 209 while
Trump had 238.
Clinton won Califor-
nia, Washington and Or-
egon, according to CNN,
while Trump took Flori-
da, Texas and North Car-
olina, according to Fox.
More Election results
Palmer wins bid
for re-election
Early election results show Gov. Kate Brown
leading her GOP challenger Dr. Bud Pierce. Ac-
cording to early election returns. Page A10
Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer won a close race for re-election
Tuesday evening.
Final unoffi cial results released by Grant County Clerk Brenda Per-
cy showed Palmer earned 2,208 votes, while challenger Todd McKin-
ley earned 2,065.
Palmer was fi rst elected to offi ce in 2000. He could not be reached
for comment Tuesday evening.
Palmer faced scrutiny from some for meeting in John Day with
some of the people who occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Ref-
uge in Burns earlier this year. Although some pleaded guilty to conspir-
ing to impede federal employees, the leaders of the occupation, Am-
mon and Ryan Bundy, and fi ve others were recently found not guilty
of the crime by a jury.
Palmer is still the subject of an ongoing state Department of Justice
investigation into complaints fi led after he met with the occupiers.
Palmer lives in John Day with his wife, RoseAnn, and the couple
host an annual Christmas dinner for the community.
W EDNESDAY , N OVEMBER 9, 2016
• N O . 45
By George Plaven
EO Media Group
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
E
fforts by diverse stakeholders to reach consensus
on contentious forest management issues has paid
off — again.
Instead of the $2.5 million in annual funding
it has received for several years, the collaborative
coalition working to implement restoration projects on the
Malheur National Forest recently learned it will be awarded
$4 million this year, the maximum allowed in the Collabora-
tive Forest Landscape Restoration program.
As long as Congress continues to fund the CFLR program,
the collaborative could continue to receive the full $4 million
each year for the remainder of its 10-year project, which be-
gan in 2012. The funding, intended to encourage ecological
and economic sustainability and reduce the risk of catastroph-
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of restoration projects.
Malheur National Forest Supervisor Steve Beverlin said
See FOREST, Page A10
The Eagle/Sean Hart
Trent Seager, a Ph.D. candidate at Oregon State University
and a Blue Mountains Forest Partners science adviser,
speaks at the Forest Partners meeting March 17 in John Day.
The U.S. Forest Service is crafting two new
alternatives for its revised Blue Mountains
Forest Plan, based on a year’s worth of feed-
back from the public.
Details are sketchy, but supervisors on the
Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman and Malheur
national forests say these alternatives will em-
phasize restoration in order to keep the woods
healthy and lower the risk of potentially devas-
WDWLQJZLOG¿UHV
Each alternative will be fully analyzed in
WKHDJHQF\¶V¿QDO(QYLURQPHQWDO,PSDFW6WDWH
ment, due out later this fall. A draft EIS for the
Forest Plan was released in 2014, which was
so thoroughly criticized that the feds spent all
of 2015 re-engaging with local communities
on how to improve the documents.
Tom Montoya, Wallowa-Whitman forest
supervisor, said a recurring theme in those
See PLAN, Page A10
Four Imnaha Pack wolves killed
By Eric Mortenson
Capital Bureau
Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife shot and killed four Imnaha
3DFN ZROYHV LQYROYHG LQ ¿YH FRQ
¿UPHG OLYHVWRFN DWWDFNV LQ WKH SDVW
month.
The “lethal take” order, adamantly
opposed by a key conservation group,
involves a Wallowa County pack with
a long history of attacks on cattle and
VKHHSDQGDQHTXDOO\VLJQL¿FDQWLQÀX
ence on the growth of other wolf packs
in the state.
ODFW wolf coordinator Russ
Morgan said the four wolves includ-
ed an aging alpha male, OR-4, and an
alpha female, OR-39, that has limped
with a back leg injury for the past cou-
ple years. The male is nearly 10 years
old, which Morgan said is “very old
for a wolf in the wild.”
Courtesy photo/ODFW
This May 2011 photo of Imnaha
pack alpha male OR-4 was
taken moments after wildlife
agency personnel refitted him
with a new GPS collar.
Morgan said it’s possible the male’s
age and the female’s disability caused
the wolves to turn on livestock instead
of deer and elk. Two younger wolves,
possibly yearlings, were believed to
be traveling with them. The four ap-
peared to have split off from the rest
of the Imnaha Pack, which numbered
at least eight at the end of 2015.
According to a press release from
ODFW, the animals were killed on pri-
vate property.
In March alone, the group led by
OR-4 has struck multiple times on
private pastures in the Upper Swamp
Creek area of Wallowa County. A calf
was killed March 9; a sheep on March
25; two calves were attacked on March
26, with one dead and the other eutha-
nized due to bite injuries; another calf
was found dead March 28; and a sheep
was found injured March 30, accord-
ing to ODFW depredation reports.
Morgan said Imnaha Pack mem-
bers commonly visit the area of the
attacks but it’s unusual for them to
remain there, as the four have this
time. That suggests there’s been some
change in the pack dynamics, he said.
Morgan said the agency is follow-
ing guidelines of the state’s wolf man-
agement plan, which is up for review
this year.
He called the decision unfortunate,
but said it is a necessary response to
the pack’s chronic livestock attacks.
“The (wolf) plan is about conserva-
tion, but it’s also about management,”
Morgan said.
ODFW had not killed any wolves
since May 2011, when two Imnaha
Pack members were dispatched for
livestock attacks. The agency sought
to kill two more pack members in Sep-
tember 2011, but conservation groups
won a stay of the order from the Ore-
gon Court of Appeals.
See WOLVES, Page A9
PAG E B1
• Voters rejecting Measure 97
in early results
EO Media Group/Kathy Aney
Kori Pentzer, of Grant Union,
wins the triple jump Friday
at the State Track and Field
Championships at Hayward
Field in Eugene. Pentzer also
won the long jump Thursday.
Voters appear to be rejecting Measure 97,
the controversial corporate sales tax measure,
according to early vote totals. Page A10
• Pot in Long Creek
Long Creek residents overwhelming voted
to prohibit commercial marijuana operations
within city limits, with about 75 percent in
favor. Final unofficial results Tuesday eve-
ning showed 79 votes for prohibition and 25
against.
Sheriff Glenn Palmer
• 20 P AGES
• $1.00
Eagle file photo
Alternatives proposed
for Forest Plan
EAGLE
• Gov. Brown leads Pierce
in early results
www.MyEagleNews.com
TRACK CHAMPIONS
W EDNESDAY , M AY 25, 2016
The
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Dick Ray served
in the Navy from
August 1943 to
March of 1946.
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter,
from the collection
of Dick Ray
• N O . 21
• 24 P AGES
• $1.00
www.MyEagleNews.com
amilies ll a
nurturing need
Foster parents
open hearts,
homes to kids
By Cheryl Hoe er
Blue Mountain Eagle
A view of the Strawberry Mountains
from Keeney Fork Road on the Malheur
National Forest in Grant County. An
additional $1.5 million — for a total of $4
million this year — has been awarded by
the federal government for Collaborative
Forest Landscape Restoration projects
on the Malheur forest.
Collaborative awarded $4M in federal
funding to treat thousands of acres
26 MEDALS,
7 TITLES,
2 STATE
RECORDS
AND 1 TEAM
VICTORY
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
The
PAINTING THE TOWN
It’s no secret that parent-
ing is one tough job.
Most parents would agree
that while the intrinsic re-
wards run high, so do the day
in and day out challenges.
Foster parents respond to
the calling at an even high-
er level, willingly and even
eagerly opening their hearts
and homes to children in
need on a temporary basis.
May is National Foster
Care Month, launched in
1988 to give recognition and
increase awareness .
Children enter into the
foster care system primarily
because they cannot remain
safely in their own homes.
The reasons vary, but usu-
ally it is as a result of their
parents’ actions and not the
child’s behavior.
So just why do some
people sign up to foster a
child — a job that requires
patience, perseverance and
unpredictability? What mo-
tivates them to keep going?
And what is day-to-day life
like, juggling the changing
moods and needs of their
foster child while still man-
aging a household and caring
for other family members?
Kimberly
McManus,
who, with her husband,
ANSWERING
Mike, has fostered over 40
children the past 11 years,
said, “It’s all about the kids
and how we can help them.”
“We’re strong advocates
for them,” she said. “They
don’t have a voice.”
She said they used to
mentor children in the He-
ros and Her-os program at
Families First Parent Re-
source Center years ago.
“We have so much to of-
fer and felt like we needed to
do more,” McManus said.
The couple adopted one
foster child, a girl who is
now 9, and are in the process
of adopting another one, a
4-year-old boy.
Among the rewards of
fostering, she said, are seeing
the positive changes later with
children who are doing well
either back in their family’s
home or in an adopted home.
“I would encourage any-
one who has even a little bit
to offer, to consider becom-
ing a foster parent or a certi-
¿HGUHVSLWHSHUVRQ´0F0D
nus said. “You’ll love it.”
&HUWL¿HG UHVSLWH SHRSOH
are the ones who offer valu-
able relief for foster parents
for all or part of a day. Mc-
Manus said they don’t have
to go through training; only
a background check is re-
quired.
“Even a single mom
could do it,” she said.
Bill and Cammi Co-
penhaver of John Day also
adopted one of their fos-
ter children, Andrew, who
was 13 when he arrived at
their home and is now 18
and graduating from Grant
Union Junior-Senior High
School.
“It feels like he’s been
here forever,” Cammi said.
The Copenhavers have
fostered over a dozen chil-
dren during the past 10
years.
Copenhaver said they
became foster parents after
hearing negative stories in
the news involving foster
homes.
“We would always say,
‘Send them our way!’” she
said. “One day, we just said,
‘Why don’t we do it?’”
She said it’s a job that has
its ups and downs, and they
don’t always agree with the
way things turn out.
But Copenhaver said she
loves seeing the growth in
the kids.
See NEED, Page A12
THE CALL
Eagle photos/Cheryl Hoefler
Julianne Hansen, left, dishes out hot corn, while Kimberly McManus serves up oysters. The Seneca Oyster
Feed menu also includes garlic bread, a variety of salads and beverages. See more photos on Page A12
Oysters don’t mind the rain
Seafood lovers line up at annual feast
Blue Mountain Eagle
SENECA — What’s a little rain and cold to an oyster — or
an oyster lover, for that matter?
Gloomy, damp weather was no deterrent to people lining up
for the 25th annual Seneca Oyster Feed at Seneca City Park last
Saturday. Those attending this year were well-prepared for the
elements.
About 275 oyster dinners were served, while still more
feasted on burgers, hot dogs and fries.
,QWKHUDIÀH5HQHH6FRWWRI*UHVKDPZRQWKH5XJHU$PHU
LFDQULÀHDQG$QG\5DGLQRYLFK6UZRQWKHFDVKSUL]H
The Chad Howard Construction team from Prineville won
the softball tournament.
Winners in the golf scramble were the team of Brad Arm-
strong, Colt Carpenter, Trevor Simmons and Nathan Long. Each
Nothing — not long lines nor cold, gloomy weather
— deters Seneca Oyster Feed lovers from their
seafood feast.
won a single membership at Bear Valley Meadows Golf Course.
Proceeds from the event go toward maintenance and im-
provements at the golf course.
Palmer’s legal woes
Sheriff responds to record tampering
allegation, is sued to release records
By Sean Hart
er supported
Blue Mountain Eagle
the occupiers
of the Mal-
The same day Sheriff
heur Nation-
Glenn Palmer’s attorneys re-
al
Wildlife
sponded to an allegation he
Refuge and
deleted a public record, a law-
endangered
Sheriff
VXLW ZDV ¿OHG DVNLQJ D MXGJH
the
public,
Glenn
to force him to release other
Gray accused
Palmer
records.
Palmer
of
On Friday, May 20, Palm-
“tampering
er’s attorneys, Benjamin Boyd with public records” by de-
and D. Zachary Hostetter, re- leting an electronic record of
leased a statement responding an incident in 2012 involving
to a portion of a complaint Gray.
¿OHG ZLWK WKH 2UHJRQ SROLFH
Palmer’s attorneys said in
licensing agency by John Day the statement the sheriff fol-
Police Chief Richard Gray.
lowed state law: “Although
In addition to stating Palm-
See PALMER, Page A12
Grant County ESD hit
by ransomware attack
County, school
online services
affected
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
A ransomware attack on
Grant County Education
Service District shut down
county and school email
and internet operations last
week.
Superintendent Robert
Waltenburg said services
have been restored, and the
ESD is making changes to
try to prevent further prob-
lems in the future.
“While we have recov-
ered for the most part, we
are in the middle of tight-
ening security as well as
becoming more restrictive
RQ RXU ¿OWHULQJ´ KH VDLG LQ
an email. “We have learned
that while our network is
above industry-standards
ZLWK ¿OWHULQJ DQWLYUXV DQG
antimalware, we cannot pre-
pare for every possible out-
come and still have a some-
what usable network.”
Waltenburg said the ran-
somware was a .LOL! vari-
ant, and information tech-
nology departments around
the world have seen large
See ESD, Page A12
Journey
through Grant County and beyond
INSIDE
The
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
Blue Mountain
Ray leaves logging
to repair World
War II submarines
By Angel Carpenter
EAGLE
W EDNESDAY , J ULY 27, 2016
• N O . 30
The Eagle/Sean Hart
Lake Creek at Murray
Campground, which is about
three miles north of Forest
Road 16 on Forest Road 924.
• 26 P AGES
• $1.00
Astronomers say local area
is a prime viewing spot
Blue Mountain Eagle
R
The submarine on which Dick Ray taught
new Navy recruits. Here the submarine is
at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittey,
Maine, near Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter, from the collection of Dick Ray
Van Voorhis cooks with C4,
delivers baby during Tet Offensive
By Rylan Boggs
Blue Mountain Eagle
F
or a sparsely populated
area, Grant County is
home to a high rate of
veterans.
Of the roughly 7,200 res-
idents, more than 10 percent
have served their country —
809, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau.
One of those veterans,
Ret. Army Staff Sgt. Bob
Van Voorhis, said rural Grant
County residents have always
answered the call to serve.
“This county and Eastern
Oregon in general has con-
tributed an awful lot to the
freedoms and everything else
in this country,” Van Voorhis
Ret. Army
Staff
Sgt.
Bob Van
Voorhis
said. “This
county has
always been
one of the
fi rst to step
up
when
there’s been
a call. It says
something
about
the
way we’re
raised and
the way we
do things.”
Van Voorhis was born
and raised in Grant County
and enlisted in the Army as
an infantryman in January
of 1967. During his service,
Van Voorhis received two
bronze stars, a purple heart
and an air medal.
Van Voorhis typically
carried C4 while in Vietnam,
something he said greatly
increased his quality of life.
A hot meal was never far
away when he could light a
thumb-sized piece of C4 to
heat his breakfast or coffee.
“I lived pretty good,” Van
Voorhis said.
He explained C4 will only
explode if there is an internal
explosion, which is why a
cap is used to detonated it.
He said it was import-
ant to let it burn out and
not stomp it out because it
would burn a hole in the bot-
tom of your boot — some-
thing they’d tell a new guy if
they liked him.
See TET, Page A7
epairing submarines in Hawaii during
World War II was quite an “about-
face” from Dick Ray’s logging back-
ground.
The John Day resident served in
the U.S. Navy from August 1943 to March 1946,
achieving the rank of motor machinist third class.
Growing up during the Great Depression,
Ray’s family moved from place to place, follow-
ing logging jobs and living in logging camps.
Ray was attending Coquille High School when
WWII broke out. He took a pickup load of
seniors to Portland to the air base to regis-
ter for the Air Force.
“I was the only one who didn’t pass —
because I was colorblind,” he said.
He went back to working in the woods
with his dad, but one day called the recruit-
ing offi ce to ask why he hadn’t received any Dick Ray
draft papers.
“They said my dad requested a six-month
deferment to work,” he said. “I wasn’t having any of
that. The next day, I received my draft notice.”
Ray joined the Navy with boot camp at Farragut
Naval Training Station in Bayview, Idaho, and die-
sel mechanic school at Iowa State College in Ames,
Iowa.
“I volunteered for submarine service and was
sent to school in New London, Connecticut,” he
said.
He later traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii, ship-
ping out from Treasure Island Naval Training Sta-
tion in San Francisco Bay, California. There were
5,000 soldiers and 100 sailors as well as Coast
Guardsmen on board, he said.
“Most were heaving before they got out of San
Francisco Bay,” he said. “I kept my lunch.”
He said some of them were sent to Majuro Air-
fi eld, others to Midway and the rest to Honolulu,
which was his stop. There, he worked on a subma-
rine base for a year. His high school classmate went
on three successful war patrols in the Navy.
See RAY, Page A7
H OT E L S
A L R E A DY B O O K E D F O R
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
M
anager Jenny Shaw’s
phone has been ringing
off the hook at the His-
toric Hotel Prairie in
Prairie City.
It’s a little over a year away, but an
Aug. 21, 2017, solar eclipse is creating
Tuite a buzz, and city and county of¿ -
cials, business owners and others are
making preparations.
Shaw said they received their ¿ rst res-
ervation for the event in 2011 and were
booked for that weekend in 2014.
When she received the ¿ rst reserva-
tion in 2011, Shaw said she thought the
person was crazy.
“I wish I had a dollar for every per-
son I turned away,” she said. “I’d have
at least $1,500, and that’s not exagger-
ating.”
She has 25 people on a waiting list at
the hotel on Front Street.
Last Wednesday, she received another
request for a room reservation during the
eclipse.
“He thought he was ahead of the
game,” she said.
A couple of John Day hotels that don’t
hold reservations more than a year out are
expected to book up next month.
So why is an astronomical event
more than a year away generating so
much attention?
Shaw said one astronomer who plans
to stay at the hotel said the Grant County
area is a prime spot for eclipse viewing
due to the elevation, clear skies and the
remoteness, with fewer city lights.
Tammy Bremner, Grant County
Chamber of Commerce manager, said
the heavenly event is expected to be the
most widely viewed total eclipse.
The full eclipse will start, locally, at 10:22
a.m., lasting for two minutes, six seconds —
the partial phase begins at 9:08 a.m.
See ECLIPSE, Page A16
SOLAR
ECLIPSE
2017
John Day
planning for
the influx
of visitors
www.MyEagleNews.com
Lost boy found
7-fear-old spends night
alone in the forest
By Sean Hart
cers on scene determined
Blue Mountain Eagle
several vehicles had been
seen in the area and at-
Seven-year-old Dylan tempted to locate them in
Beede spent Saturday night case Dylan had been ab-
alone in the Malheur Na- ducted. Searchers from the
tional Forest after becom- sheriff’s office, the Oregon
ing separated
State Police and
from family and
volunteers from
friends camped
the public be-
at
the
Elk
gan to search for
Creek Camp-
Dylan but could
ground near the
not find him
Saturday.
Grant-Baker
Addition-
county line.
al
resources
After
a
from
Baker,
search
and
Deschutes and
rescue effort,
Crook counties
Dylan
was
were called for
found
Sun-
the second day
day
morning
of the search,
unharmed ex-
but as they were
cept for minor
on
scrapes
and
Contributed photo arriving
scene, Dylan
bruises to the Dylan Beede was
was
located
relief of his welcomed by
family,
who friends and family about 1.5 miles
northwest from
live in Bend.
after spending
where he was
“God is so the night alone,
last seen.
good!” Dylan’s lost in the forest
“At about
mother, Juana near Elk Creek
7:30 a.m. on
Beede,
said. Campground.
July
24th,
“Jeremy and
Dylan was lo-
I were so, so
God is
cated by Ore-
blessed by the
so good!
gon State Po-
amazing com-
lice Trooper
munity. We felt
Jeremf and
Pat McKosker
your prayers
and
brought
I were so,
and love, and
back to the Elk
we can’t even
so blessed
Creek Camp-
put into words
ground where
what it meant
bf the
Dylan was re-
to us. All of
amazing
united with his
the officers,
family,”
Palm-
volunteers, ev-
communitf.”
er said in the
eryone, thank
Dylan’s mother, release. “Dylan
you again for
Juana Beede underwent
a
everything.”
medical exam
The Grant
on scene by
County Sher-
iff’s Office responded to paramedics from the Blue
the report of the missing Mountain Hospital and
boy at 3 p.m. after a fami- (was) released to his fam-
ly member drove to Seneca ily.”
As a parting gift, Dylan
to call 911, according to a
press release from Grant was given a hat embla-
County Sheriff Glenn zoned with the Grant
County Sheriff emblem.
Palmer.
As search and rescue His mother said he loves
personnel were respond- the hat and wears it all the
ing, law enforcement offi- time.
“
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Manager Jenny Shaw said the Historic Hotel Prairie
is booked for the weekend of Aug. 21, 2017, for a solar
eclipse and said some have told her Grant County is a
prime viewing area for the event.
Owyhee legislation
Sen. Wfden’s bill would prevent mining but not a monument
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Sean Hart
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, speaks at a
town hall meeting in Canyon City July 20.
When asked whether the U.S.
Senate would support a proposal
passed in the House of Represen-
tatives to prevent funding to cre-
ate a national monument in Mal-
heur County, Sen. Ron Wyden,
D-Oregon, instead touted a bill
he introduced that would not pre-
vent a monument.
Speaking July 20 in Grant
County at his 778th town hall
meeting since taking office, the
senator said his bill, co-spon-
sored by fellow Oregon Dem-
ocratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, re-
sponded to concerns raised
by residents in more than 50
meetings with Wyden’s staff.
Wyden said residents were
opposed to a proposed 2.5 mil-
lion-acre national monument that
would cover 40 percent of Mal-
heur County. He said they were
also concerned about foreign
mining in the area and wanted
to strengthen the ranching econ-
omy and preserve the ranching
way of life.
“I have pointed out to the
(President Barack Obama) ad-
ministration very clearly that
there is very strong opposition
in Eastern Oregon to a monu-
ment on the Owyhee,” he said.
“And so I’ve actually intro-
duced a piece of legislation that
I think responds to what I’ve
heard in Eastern Oregon.”
Wyden introduced the South-
eastern Oregon Mineral With-
drawal and Economic Preserva-
tion and Development Act June
10, and it was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture, Nu-
trition and Forestry.
“The bulk of the bill is about
strengthening the ranching econ-
omy and the ranching way of
life,” he said. “This, of course,
No. 2, is not a monument; this
would be a piece of legislation,
so it would have to be consid-
ered by the Senate, it would have
to be considered by the House.
Third, because there’s been big
See OWYHEE, Page A16