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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2017)
TRACK ATHLETES POST PERSONAL RECORDS – PAGE B1 The Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 W EDNESDAY , A PRIL 26, 2017 The Eagle/Rylan Boggs U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden speaks about health care during a town hall meeting at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School Tuesday, April 18. Wyden addresses health care, privacy at meeting • N O . 17 • 20 P AGES RAPPELLERS DESCEND ON JOHN DAY Over 100 firefighters from five states visit for recertification By Rylan Boggs Blue Mountain Eagle By Rylan Boggs he John Day Airbase hosted over 100 veteran rappellers during a weeklong training last week. The training ensured fire- fighters from five states in the north- west were familiar with rappelling pro- cedures by running a number of drills and live rappels from helicopters. John Day rappeller Darin Toy said it was his first year at the recertification training and that it seemed less intense than the initial training. Rappellers are expected to come with a base knowl- edge of fundamentals. Toy said he was attracted to rap- pelling because of the independence it offers. “Usually we’re on more remote fi res. The helicopter inserts you, and you’re kind of just on your own at that point,” he said, adding it’s also “just a really cool way to get to the fi re.” Toy said the trial runs in the helicopter were just like the real thing. To stay cer- tifi ed, rappellers had to rappel once every two weeks. Toy said he’s rappelled onto two fi res in his career, one on the Ansel Adams Wilderness and one on the Crater Lake National Park. Rappellers typically go into a fi re with food and water for three days, as well as chainsaws and other survival and mainte- nance gear. The mandatory recertifi cation train- ing determines whether or not rap- pellers will work during the coming fi re season. “With experience comes confi - dence, so part of this training is to instill confi dence in the equipment so that when we go out and staff fi res in the summer everything is fl uid and practiced and precise,” Jer- emy McIntosh, equipment program man- ager at the John Day Airbase, said. Everyone is held to the same standard during the training. “Part of what they’re doing is building muscle memories based on hand signals given from the spotter to the pilot,” he said. Rappellers start on either a 50-foot tower or a decommissioned UH1 helicop- ter. The tower is used to practice rap- pelling from a fixed position, while the helicopter hull is used to practice the use of hand signals with a spotter who communicates between the pilot and rappellers. Once rappellers have successfully completed both portions, they must complete three helicopter descents from as high as 250 feet. Idaho rappeller Ben Mouser de- scribed being in the helicopter as “peaceful,” and rappeller Chandler Melton said “flying around in a heli- copter just feels like riding around in the back seat of a school bus.” Melton admitted his first time rap- pelling was a little scary, but he grew used to it fairly quickly. “It’s a lot of fun and a great oppor- tunity,” Melton said. “It’s good train- ing, so I’m glad to be here.” T Blue Mountain Eagle U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D- OR) fi elded a variety of ques- tions from residents, including Grant Union students, during a town hall meeting in John Day April 18. He addressed issues rang- ing from health care to infra- structure and committed to making a bipartisan effort to repair failing infrastructure in Oregon. Grant Union students asked questions about future NASA funding, foster care and tax reform. Wyden said he was in favor of increased NASA funding and opposed to tax reform that would only benefi t the upper class. He told students about the Family Stability and Kinship Care Act which he introduced to expand services and re- sources available to keep chil- dren at home or with another family member instead of in foster care. Susan Christensen, the ex- ecutive director of the Greater Eastern Oregon Development Corporation, called on Wyden to address failing infrastruc- ture, for the continuation of EPA grants and state loan pro- grams benefi ting rural commu- nities and to streamline regula- tory requirements so her offi ce can spend more time working and less time dealing with reg- ulations. Wyden said improving roads, bridges and broadband connectivity was a top priori- ty of his and said, “Big league quality of life needs big league infrastructure.” He urged Christensen to contact him with specifi c examples of gov- ernment regulations that made her job harder so he could work to streamline the process. • $1.00 A rappeller descends from a 50- foot tower at the John Day Airbase as part of a training exercise on April 19. See WYDEN, Page A10 Eagle photos/Rylan Boggs Colby Richmond watches a rappeller adjust his gear inside the hull of a retired UH1 helicopter during a simulation at the John Day Airbase on Tuesday, April 18. The simulation was part of a recertification class for firefighting rappellers. Rappellers coil rope after a successful descent from a helicopter as part of a Forest Service training exercise. www.MyEagleNews.com Commission reviewing state’s wolf management draft plan By Eric Mortenson EO Media Group Oregon’s wolf manage- ment plan is up for public re- view as the ODFW Commis- sion once again attempts to balance the restoration of an apex predator with the havoc they can cause in rural areas. The commission took comments on a draft conser- vation and management plan during an April 21 meeting in Klamath Falls, and will repeat the process May 19 in Portland. The commission eventually will adopt a fi ve-year management plan; no date Contributed photo OR42, the is set yet. R u s s breeding M o r g a n , female of the O D F W ’ s Chesnimnus wolf pro- Pack in gram man- northern ager, said the Wallowa draft man- County in agement plan February. builds on what wildlife biologists have learned over the years. When the fi rst management plan was adopted in 2005, there were no documented wolves in Oregon. The fi rst pups were discovered in 2008, and by the end of 2011 there were 29 confi rmed wolves in Ore- gon. The state documented 64 wolves at the end of 2013, and a minimum of 112 by the end of 2016, including 11 packs and eight breeding pairs. Morgan said the plan cou- ples state data with “tons of research” that’s been done on wolves in Oregon and else- where over the years. “This plan still maintains a very active conservation approach, it doesn’t change in that regard,” Morgan said. Oregon classifi es wolves as a “special status game an- imal.” The draft plan allows ODFW to authorize hunters and trappers to kill wolves in two specifi c “controlled take” situations: Chronic livestock depredation in a localized area, and declines in wild ungulate populations, princi- pally deer and elk. The draft plan does not allow a general hunting season, a prohibition that would hold for fi ve years after the plan is adopted. “I can’t predict what will happen to wolf management years and years out, but during this planning cycle, absolutely not,” Morgan said of a possible sport hunting season on wolves. Livestock producers and wildlife activists don’t like aspects of the draft plan. The Oregon Farm Bureau and Oregon Cattlemen’s As- sociation said it makes it hard- er for ranchers to protect their animals because it increases the number of confi rmed at- tacks required before allow- ing lethal control of wolves. The draft plan requires three confi rmed depredations or one confi rmed and four “probable” attacks within a 12 month period. The previous standard was two confi rmed depredations or one confi rmed and three attempted attacks, with no time period set. See WOLF, Page A10