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
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