News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
A5
Container deposit set to double
John Day
City Manager
Nick Green
and councilor
Lisa Weigum
talk during a
city council
meeting
March 14.
Customers
can cash in
with old cans
By Rylan Boggs
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle
Rylan Boggs
Progress made on dispatch
funding, broadband service
John Day
entertains idea
of lodging tax
By Rylan Boggs
Blue Mountain Eagle
Progress is being made to-
ward funding the 911 dispatch
center and bringing high-
speed broadband to the area.
John Day City Manager
Nick Green recently traveled
to Salem to meet with state
Sen. Ted Ferrioli and repre-
sentatives from the League
of Oregon Cities. Green gave
a report on his trip to the city
council during its March 14
meeting.
“We’re making good prog-
ress toward a public stimulus
package to fund the 911 defi-
cit and create new broadband
options for Grant County res-
idents,” Green said.
The emergency dispatch
center is not fully funded by
state 911 tax revenue, which
leaves John Day residents
to fund a disproportionate
amount of the $200,000 defi-
cit. Green has requested short-
term bridge funding from the
state, but even if it were to be
approved, local action would
still needed to maintain the
center until possible 911 tax
reform during the 2019 legis-
lative session.
A cost-sharing agreement
between cities, a local option
tax to fund the center or out-
sourcing the service to Con-
don are all still on the table.
Fiber-optic access would
boost internet capabilities
and help local residents and
businesses as well as poten-
tially attract new ones. In-
creased connectivity could
also play a critical role in
public safety.
“If we want to recover in
John Day, we need to priori-
tize access,” Green said.
The council commended
Green for his work on the is-
sue.
“We appreciate your ef-
forts and testimony,” Coun-
cilman Paul Smith said.
During the meeting, he
also brought attention the fact
that the city might be leaving
money on the table by not
having a transient lodging
tax. The tax is levied against
those staying in overnight
rentals and would have mini-
mal effect on residents. While
the state and county impose a
tax for those staying in hotels
and motels, the city could col-
lect as much as $40,000 with
a 3-percent tax, according
to Green. This could also be
extended to include Airbnb
rentals. Airbnb is an online
marketplace for short-term
rentals.
“It comes down to: Do
you want to tax your own res-
idents or somebody else’s?”
Green said.
Starting April 1, empty
cans will be worth twice as
much.
Deposits on cans and bot-
tles will jump from 5 to 10
cents in April, and customers
will receive double the de-
posit they paid before the in-
crease.
“As of April 1, 2017 all el-
igible containers will receive
a 10-cent refund regardless
of the amount shown on the
container,” an Oregon Liquor
Control Commission press re-
lease said.
The increase is designed to
improve return rates and pro-
mote recycling.
“We want to make the tran-
sition as smooth as possible
for customers, retailers, and
manufacturers,” OLCC Ex-
ecutive Director Steve Marks
said.
To encourage recycling in
the wake of fewer returns, the
2011 state legislature decreed
if return rates dropped below
80 percent for more than two
consecutive years the deposit
for each container would be
doubled.
Chester’s Thriftway can
process as many as 36,000
containers in a week, accord-
ing to manger Robert Hunt,
who said the store won’t lose
The Eagle/Rylan Boggs
A small mountain of cans in John Day.
money because of the adjust-
ment.
The containers are regu-
larly picked up by the Oregon
Bottle and Recycling Compa-
ny, which compensates retail-
ers such as Chester’s for the
cost of the deposit and ensures
the materials are processed.
Cans and glass are crushed
down and sent to local recy-
clers to create new containers,
while plastic is sent off to be
made into strapping, plastic
clamshells and polyester fiber
for carpet, filler and clothing.
The 5-cent discrepancy be-
tween deposits will be passed
on to distributors like Co-
ca-Cola and Anheuser Busch,
according to Peter Spendelow,
a DEQ solid waste analyst.
Though this could cost them
a few million dollars, Spende-
low said it had been budget-
ed and is just “a little blip for
them.”
He said the return rate had
fallen below 65 percent and
cited the low deposit as a ma-
jor factor. In 1971, when the
bill was enacted, 5 cents had
the same spending power as
31 cents today, Spendelow
said. He pointed to high rates
of return in Michigan and Al-
berta, both of which have 10
cent deposits.
Oregon’s bottle bill helps
ensure containers are recy-
cled, which reduces energy re-
quired to make containers and
greenhouse gases. In 2009,
more than one billion bever-
age containers were recycled
under the bottle bill, which
saved 3 trillion British ther-
mal units of energy, roughly
the same energy as 24 million
gallons of gasoline, according
to the Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality.
The bill has also substan-
tially reduced greenhouse gas-
es and container litter. While
initially successful, returns
eventually declined and by
2009, only about three-quar-
ters of bottles were redeemed,
according to the DEQ.
duties of a driver. Lakeview
Police arrested a 41-year-old
Prairie City resident on two
Grant County warrants.
March 18: Received a re-
port of juveniles drinking
beer while driving. Received
a report of criminal mischief
and a resident’s punctured
tires on Canton Street in John
Day. Arrested a 50-year-old
Canyon City resident for a
restraining order violation on
Main Street in John Day.
• Grant County Sheriff’s
Office
March 13: Responded to
a report of a male subject be-
ing verbally threatening. Re-
sponded with Oregon State
Police to report of a prowler.
Investigated a case of illegal
possession of a controlled
substance.
March 15: Took a report of
a suspicious vehicle in Can-
yon City; investigated a suspi-
cious vehicle on Highway 19.
March 16: Responded with
Oregon State Police to a re-
port of a male subject threat-
ening to assault someone in
Mt. Vernon.
March 18: Responded to a
report of a dispute and physi-
cal altercation.
• John Day ambulance
March 13: Responded
with Prairie City ambulance
for a female patient with se-
vere shortness of breath.
• Oregon State Police
March 14: Responded to a
report of a horse on Highway
26 near Clyde Holliday State
Park.
March 18: Advised of sus-
picious circumstances at Big
Bend Campground.
March 19: Advised of ille-
gal hunting from a helicopter.
• Dispatch
March 18: Received report
of a pickup driving with no
brake lights from a caller in
Canyon City, Colorado. The
call was transferred to the cor-
rect dispatch center.
C OPS AND C OURTS
Arrests and citations in
the Blue Mountain Eagle are
taken from the logs of law en-
forcement agencies. Every ef-
fort is made to report the court
disposition of arrest cases.
Grant County Circuit
Court
• Corey Ray Kingsmith
was convicted of a probation
violation and sentenced to
seven days in jail, 40 hours
community service and fined
$25.
• Kristopher Goodwin was
convicted of a probation vio-
lation, had his probation re-
voked and was sentenced to
90 days in jail.
Oregon State Police
• March 16: Arrested Co-
rey Kingsmith, 29, La Grande,
for driving under the influ-
ence, violating parole, driving
while suspended and driving
uninsured after responded to
assist Grant County Sheriff’s
Office with a report of menac-
ing in Mt. Vernon.
• Scotty M. Ledford, 31,
Prineville, died in a rollover
accident on Highway 26 near
milepost 55. OSP responded
with Wheeler County Sher-
iff’s deputies and Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion at approximately 7:30
a.m. Ledford’s vehicle was
headed east, lost control on a
left-hand turn and rolled mul-
tiple times, coming to rest in
a ditch on the opposite side of
the road. A following vehicle
hit the wreck with little dam-
age.
Grant County Sheriff
The Grant County Sher-
iff’s Office reported the fol-
lowing for the week of March
9-15:
• Concealed handgun li-
censes: 9
• Average inmates: 9
• Bookings: 9
• Releases: 9
• Arrests: 1
• Citations: 2
• Fingerprints: 4
• Civil papers: 16
• Warrants processed: 3
• Asst./welfare check: 2
Mitchel Long, 46, John
Day was cited for exceed-
ing the posted speed, 82/65,
March 9.
Justice Court
The Grant County Justice
Court reported the following
fines and judgments:
Driving Uninsured:
George Drossel, 58, Nampa,
Idaho, Jan. 8, fined $260; Da-
vid James Darling, 42, Can-
yon City, Jan. 17, fined $260;
Lisa Marie Moss, 24, John
Day, Jan. 28, fined $260.
No snow park permit:
Zachary Walter Bailey, 21,
Burns, Feb. 25, fined $30.
Exceeding
maximum
weight limit: Edward Noble
Hicks, 26, Prairie City, Feb.
10, fined $200.
Minor in possession of
marijuana: Jeilen Sayers,
driver’s license suspended for
one year and fined $260.
Dispatch
John Day dispatch worked
155 calls during the week of
March 13-19. Along with
the various traffic warnings,
trespassing, injured animals,
noise complaints and juvenile
complaints, these calls includ-
ed:
• John Day Police
Department
March 13: Responded with
John Day Fire Department
and Oregon Telephone Corp.
to an electrical fire.
March 14: Took a report of
a theft in Prairie City; cited a
28-year-old John Day resident
for second-degree criminal
trespass.
March 16: Arrested a
33-year-old Prairie City resi-
dent and a 32-year-old Prairie
City resident for domestic vi-
olence, assault and disorderly
conduct in the Prairie City
Trailer Park.
March 17: Arrested a
36-year-old John Day resi-
dent for disorderly conduct
at America’s Best Value Inn.
Responded to a report of a
verbal dispute on Main Street
in John Day. Took a report
of harassment in John Day.
Advised of an identity theft.
Received information regard-
ing underage drinking. Cited
a 19-year-old John Day resi-
dent for minor in possession.
Responded to an accident and
cited a 71-year-old John Day
resident for failure to perform