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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2017)
A18 News Blue Mountain Eagle VSO Continued from Page A1 him and his family come to the community.” After graduating from Grant Union, Wilcox enlist- ed in the Army as an infan- tryman. After basic training at Fort Benning, he was de- ployed to the Middle East. Following a two-year en- listment, Wilcox worked on a fire crew and then attended Clackamas Community Col- lege, where he studied ele- mentary education. He then reenlisted with the Army and was assigned to the 24th Infantry. During his three-year enlistment, he attended Army Sniper School and competed in the Interna- tional Army Sniper Competi- tion. “I loved it,” Wilcox said of the his decision to reenlist, “just the curse of the old green ma- chine.” After his discharge, he worked in the Grant County Sheriff’s Office and as a rap- peller for the Malheur Nation- al Forest. He then joined the Nation- al Guard as an active-duty sol- dier and served for 15 years while based in Redmond. He retired in March 2015. Since then, he has been traveling and working as a catastrophic insurance ad- juster for State Farm. While doing this, he met his fian- cée, April Petty, who was also working as an insurance adjuster. Wilcox was selected for the job from five applicants. Grant County Human Re- sources Manager Laurie Wright, who was on the se- lection committee, had noth- corner’s HOT SH T EEK OF THE W LEVI BURKE School: Prairie City Grade: 10 Parent: John and Terri Burke Sport: Basketball Position: Forward What I like best about my sport: “I like the atmosphere and having fun with my friends. I want to thank my parents and family and friends for their support.” Coach’s Comment: “We knew going into the season he would be one of the better players. He has a lot of talent, but he wants to see other players succeed — that is a rare talent and shows a lot about his character. He is one of the most coachable kids. I think the sky is the limit for this kid. He’s just at the tip of the iceberg.” -Coach Jonathan Gill BOARD Continued from Page A1 Discussion of rural air ser- vice is planned at the next board meeting scheduled Thursday, Jan. 19. Ferguson said he hopes a plan can be developed to pro- vide more services in Eastern Oregon. He said Grant Coun- ty has no flight instructor or aviation mechanic, which makes hobby flying more dif- ficult. Flying his 1959 model Cessna 182 to backcoun- try airstrips is what Fergu- son loves. He and his wife, Charlene, loaded into the 1,000-pound craft that travels about 150 mph in October to meet other backcountry en- thusiasts who flew in to the Owyhee Reservoir state land- ing strip in Malheur County RAIN Continued from Page A1 river flooding is forecast at this time, this is an evolving fore- cast and should be monitored regularly for updates.” Flooding has become a prominent concern for Can- yon City and John Day resi- dents following the Canyon Creek Complex fire in 2015. A lack of vegetation in the burned area allows rain and snow-melt to quickly descend into populated areas. The burn zone was taken into consid- eration as part of the outlook, though weather service repre- sentatives speculated current snow-pack levels may absorb some of the precipitation in the area. The Eagle/Sean Hart Local pilot Doug Ferguson with his 1959 model Cessna 182 at the Grant County Regional Airport in John Day. Ferguson was appointed to the Oregon State Aviation Board in July, representing Eastern Oregon. to rehabilitate the deteriorat- ing dirt and grass runway. Ferguson said he has more than 30 years of backcountry flying experience. After ob- taining his pilot’s license in 1972, Ferguson worked as a charter pilot in John Day, flew on game counts for the Ore- gon Department of Fish and Wildlife and was a fire spot- ter for the Forest Service and Oregon Department of For- estry. After a 15-year hiatus, Ferguson recently decided to return to the air and was soon selected to serve on the avia- tion board. “I’m just trying to give back to something I love,” he said. Grant County officials pre- pared heavily for the potential of flooding last year and con- tinue to monitor for the possi- bility. “Anytime we have snow- pack above Canyon City, John Day or Prairie City and there’s a possibility of runoff, there’s always cause for concern,” Grant County Judge Scott My- ers said. He said he was not ex- tremely concerned with the warm weather forecast this week because the temperature isn’t predicted to get over 50 degrees. “If we get 55-degree rain and some 50-degree evenings I think we might be in trou- ble,” Myers said. Both the Inland Drive bridge and the Nugget Lane bridge are of concern because they’re so close to the water level. There are still a number of flood mitigation measures leftover from last spring, in- cluding retaining walls and sandbags, Myers said. The county has looked into excavating a portion of the creek behind Grant Union Junior-Senior High School to help protect against flooding. “That creek flattens so much right there that it almost has a negative flow,” Myers said. The county is still working with FEMA and other agen- cies to see if the plan is a via- ble option. Myers said another potential defense available to the county involves purchas- ing a property behind the bus barn to erect a retaining wall. 541-620-4255 Fare: $2 a mile or part of $5 minimum. Or buy big discounts coupon for $1. Debbie Ausmus 245 South Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845 OPEN WED. & THUR. 9 am - 5 pm You never need a taxi until you need one; put my card in your wallet or purse. PROUD SPONSOR OF GRANT COUNTY ATHLETES 100 E. Main • Stoplight in John Day 541-792-0425 ing but praise for Wilcox. “We were impressed with his enthusiasm and how he wanted to serve the veterans in our community,” Wright said. Wilcox knew he wanted to return to Grant County, and he said the job opening was the perfect fit for him. “Being around veterans is something that gets under your skin, and you really en- joy it. I do personally,” he said. He decided to serve vet- erans following the suicides of two men he knew from the Oregon National Guard in the summer of 2016. “We’ve had too many sui- cides lately, and I know that a lot of guys struggle, espe- cially in rural areas like this,” Wilcox said. “Grant County and other places often get overlooked when it comes to any sort of services avail- able for veterans or anyone else.” His job will entail helping veterans navigate state and federal benefit systems, a pro- cess Wilcox has gone through himself. “Without help from groups like the VFW and American Legion, I don’t know how I would have been able to file for veterans disability,” he said. Wilcox described Desert Storm as an “incredibly hard weekend,” but said he can’t fathom what veterans have faced in the Middle East in recent years. He gave the ex- ample of a veteran who served seven tours and won a Bronze Medal for Valor and a Purple Heart. “It’s guys like that I want to help,” Wilcox said. Wednesday, January 18, 2017 Richie Colbeth/ Owner/Operator 05123 541-575-1113 24 hrs/7 days wk debbie.ausmus@ countryfinancial.com 05122 Robbins Farm Equipment - Baker City E VERYTHING YOU NEED to get the job done 3850 10th St. 541-523-6377 Robbins Farm Equipment - La Grande 10218 Wallowa Lake Hwy. 541-963-6577 6 3 333 Robbins Farm Equipment - Burns 33333 1160 S. Egan 333 541-573-6377 3333 Robbins Farm 33 Equipment - 3 Christmas Valley 86812 Christmas Valley Hwy. 541-523-6377 YOU ARE IN GOOD HANDS. Your local Robbin’s Equipment has the parts you need when you need them. Hardware, chain, batteries, tillage, belts, cutting parts. 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