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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 2017)
A18 News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, February 8, 2017 BROWN ROAD Continued from Page A1 Continued from Page A1 said in the release. “By joining Washington, we will be able to share le- gal resources with our neighboring state and at the same time ensure that the voices of Oregonians harmed by the Presi- dent’s executive order are heard.” The governor’s ex- ecutive order expands a 1987 law that prohibits the use of state and local law enforcement resourc- es in federal immigration enforcement. “Oregon’s unique law has succeeded in keep- ing the deportation of immigrants by the fed- eral government sepa- rate and distinct from the enforcement of our state criminal laws by our local police,” said Kimberly McCullough, ACLU of Oregon’s leg- islative director. “We are pleased the governor has extended this important state disentanglement to all state agencies and employees.” It’s unclear how many people headed to Oregon were affected by Trump’s executive order, accord- ing to the ACLU of Ore- gon, which has provided legal support to airport detainees. A 5-month-old Iranian girl who was scheduled to have surgery at Or- egon Health & Science University for a heart condition was one of those not allowed to en- ter the country because of the president’s exec- utive order, according to a report by KATU News. “I find it deplor- able that an infant who was supposed to come to Oregon to receive much needed live-sav- ing care was not able to access that care at Or- egon Health & Science University,” Brown said Thursday. The governor’s exec- utive order does the fol- lowing: • Bars state employ- ees from discriminating against residents for their immigration status. • Prohibits the use of state moneys, equipment or personnel for detect- ing or apprehending peo- ple solely on the basis of their immigration status. • Prohibits the use of state resources to assist or facilitate the creation of a Muslim registry, or any other registry target- ing a religious group. County Court meeting. He asked the commissioners to have the county’s legal coun- sel, Ron Yock- im, review the validity of the ordinance. Webb said the wording in the ordinance was Mark too broad and Webb violated the Constitution and federal stat- utes because it applied to all roads on public land in the county. The ordinance was origi- nally passed to ensure contin- ued access to parts of Grant Count and to aid in emergen- cy and search and rescue op- erations, according to Grant County Judge Scott Myers. The court planned to send it on to Yockim for review, Myers said. The ordinance has come into play a handful of times in dealings with the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. My- ers said he understands res- idents’ concerns about road closures limiting access. Prairie City resident Frances Preston said she believes the way of life in Grant County is threatened and this is a matter of lim- iting access, as well as a systematic at- Frances tempt to con- Preston trol the people by controlling the land. She read from a letter at the meeting, in which she stated she believes states always have rights over the federal government and the sheriff is the chief law en- forcement officer. She said she did not believe the ordi- nance conflicted with laws or state and federal consti- tutions. The Forest Service, how- ever, does not recognize the road ordinance as valid be- cause it conflicts with feder- al law, according to Malheur National For- est Supervisor Steve Bever- lin. He said the Supreme Court was the highest au- Steve thority in the Beverlin country, and the federal government has authority over public federal lands. Beverlin said the Forest Service would gladly work with the county to transfer authority, along with main- tenance and liability costs, to the county. He said roads are some- times closed because of environmental impact on wildlife or waterways. When road closures are made, he said, they try to maintain access to some areas by re- opening closed roads and creating loops with other roads. Beverlin said any pro- posed road closures are brought to the attention of the county court and the gen- eral public before action is taken. “It’s a real open, transpar- ent process that we encour- age anybody to get engaged with,” Beverlin said. “The public are the ones that help us modify our projects to determine what’s really ap- propriate, and we value their opinion.” Contributed photo John Day resident Harsh Patel, center, stands with his teammates Jared Praino (fourth from left) and Kaopod Chantapakul (third from right) as well as members of the Bangkok, Thailand, Rotary. The woman, right of Patel, is affiliated with the Thailand Parliament. “They are taking this photo to show our approval in Thailand,” Patel said. “They welcome our innovation and our new millennial way of thinking.” WATER Continued from Page A1 Feb. 10, in Seattle. If they win there, the young men will compete at the TigerLaunch finals at Prince- ton. Winners receive $30,000 and a chance to meet with top venture capital firms. Patel’s team is renovating the design and building brand recognition. The team bought a water-dispensing machine and recently traveled to Thai- land to visit the factory where it is manufactured, working with designers there to make updates to the machine. Patel said the upgrades in- clude a reverse osmosis pro- cess to remove impurities from the water — it can also desali- nate salt water. “We’re re-engineering the water-dispensing machine to ensure that the consumer gets the cleanest water possible,” he said. They are also refining it with a one-button process and switching out the pipes in the machine with a noncorrosive PVC material. Patel called the innovation a “big movement.” Because clean drinking wa- ter is not readily available in areas such as Thailand, people purchase water bottles, which 911 Continued from Page A1 mind and a secure feeling to know that we can pick up the phone, call 911 and they will be here,” Morgan said. Green said the emergen- cy dispatch center costs local taxpayers roughly $200,000 a year to operate, and the city is spending a massive chunk of its revenue to continue pro- viding emergency response services for the entire county — funds that could be used for improving infrastructure or at- tracting new residents. John Day spends a high- er percentage of its property I found Dad’s remote in the fridge again. …I’m beginning to get worried. IT’S NOT LIKE HIM. cost between seven to 10 Thai bahts (about 21 to 30 cents). “We’re charging one Thai baht — 3 cents — per fill-up,” Patel said. “Our machine saves the consumer a lot of money.” When the opportunity to join the contest came up, Patel said he was all for it. “I like having the entrepre- neur mindset,” he said. When he told his friends Kaopod Chantapakul and Jar- ed Praino about the opportuni- ty, he said, “Now is the time to do it.” “My team and I are dedi- cated to giving clean water to local people,” he said. “Hav- ing the John Day community supporting us and developing countries means a lot. We’re trying to get engaged with the world and trying to improve it, one step at a time.” Although Patel lives in Boston while attending school, he still calls John Day home. His parents Rakesh and Jyotsna Patel live in John Day, as well as his grandparents. “We are very proud of him,” Rakesh said. Harsh invites those who would like to vote for his proj- ect to visit: http://www.tiger- launch.com/seattle-regional. Votes need to be in by 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 10, and the team with the most votes receives $400. Contributed photo The inside of the water filtration and dispensing machine John Day resident Harsh Patel and his college teammates are redesigning to provide clean, affordable drinking water in developing countries. They are competing in the TigerLaunch entrepreneurship competition hosted by the Princeton Entrepreneurship Club. frontiers combined with state tax policies that disenfranchise rural communities, has result- • second lowest median household income in Oregon at ed in structural failure to our $32,614 per household. economy from which we can- • highest unemployment rate in the state at 8 percent. not recover.” • tied with Harney County for highest suicide rate in the He said there are two Or- state with 32 per 100,000 people. egons, both with their own • behavorial crime rate 35 percent higher than state average, problems: the east, character- with DUII rate 116 percent higher and liquor law violations ized by inadequate infrastruc- 138 percent higher. ture, population decline and Information from John Day City Manager Nick Green. dependence on outside subsi- dies, and the west, character- Green appealed to state ized by congestion, soaring tax revenue on public safety than any other city in Oregon, Rep. Cliff Bentz during a Jan. housing prices and hyper-ur- Green said — nearly three 24 John Day City Council banization. Green is calling for times the percentage Bend meeting to help secure fund- tax reform that will work for ing. Bentz said this was a com- smaller, rural communities. spends on public safety. John Day is the home of the The current 911 tax collects mon problem in rural commu- 75 cents a month from all land- nities, but it was the first he had only dispatch center in Grant lines and cell phones and dis- heard about it in Grant County. County. It serves 4,529 square tributes the funds to dispatch He pledged to work toward ac- miles, including 1.8 million centers based on number of quiring funding sources for the acres of public land frequent- ed by hunters and tourists. dispatch center. connections they serve. Green said the minimum “John Day is now in its Green said, for the current 911 tax level to fully fund the third straight decade of popu- cost of staffing the facility John Day Dispatch Center, lation and economic decline,” year-round is $445,000. The Grant County would need to Green wrote in a memo to 911 tax provided $248,982 in increase from 7,185 residents Bentz. “The inability to di- fiscal year 2015. This left the versify our economy into new city, county and other tax ju- to 64,667. risdictions to come up with roughly $196,000 to fund the dispatch center. Tax reform designating the dispatch center as “mis- 541-620-4255 sion essential” and fully New smartphone + old, dumb driver = dropped funding the center would calls. Sorry! allow the almost $200,000 of county taxpayer dollars You never need a taxi until you need one; spent on the center to be put me on speed dial. spent on infrastructure proj- Richie Colbeth/ Owner/Operator ects to improve the commu- nity and attract more peo- 05225 ple, Green said. Grant County by the numbers Val WE CAN HELP. Call us with questions about aging and Alzheimer’s. Din entin Feb ner S e’s ruar pec y 1 0 th ial Plea & rese se cal 541 rvatio l for -44 8 ns -25 26 11 th IB E R ER M T I PR OBS 00 L & $ 35 1-855-ORE-ADRC HelpForAlz.org OREGON DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAM 05257
