A18
News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
’62 DAYS
Continued from Page A1
The Eagle/Rylan Boggs
Grant County School District No. 3 Superintendent
Curt Shelley addresses the audience during a
Wednesday, June 7, school board meeting.
HUMBOLT
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students. She expressed
concern the blend wouldn’t
work at Humbolt and de-
scribed it as a “social ex-
periment.”
Mark Croghan de-
scribed the board as os-
triches with their heads in
sand and said Smith can’t
handle the staff she has
now, let alone a third- and
fourth-grade blended class.
Board member Gor-
don Larson denounced
Croghan’s remarks as “un-
professional” and assured
those present the adminis-
tration has children’s best
interests in mind.
“Folks, there is nothing
maniacal about this. There
is no conspiracy,” Larson
said. “We’ve got people
that are dedicated to the
welfare of our students,
and they’ve done excep-
tional jobs.”
Smith has faith the
school can make this work.
“Our whole intent is to
ensure academic success
for all students,” Smith
said.
School board member
Zach Williams also has a
child affected by the deci-
sion and expressed support
for the administrators at
Humbolt.
“As a parent, I have con-
cerns,” he said. “But as a
school board member, I am
very confident the adminis-
tration is making the right
decision for our kids.”
He said the board was
open to constructive crit-
icism and pledged the dis-
trict would learn from this
and work to improve com-
munication.
The district has dis-
cussed blended classes for
the last decade and decided
to enact it due to contin-
ued declining enrollment,
Grant County School Dis-
trict No. 3 Superintendent
Curt Shelley said.
“I endorse this,” he said.
“It is my idea. I support it.”
Shelley said the blend
will not increase classroom
size, no programs would be
lost and more instructional
time would be offered in
science and social studies.
“This is not something
that has been taken light-
ly,” he said. “We have
discussed this throughout
the school year. We need
to finish our school year
strong and offer students
the ability to complete
the school year before we
jump into the next school
year publicly.”
The festivities, organized by
the Whiskey Gulch Gang, cel-
ebrate Canyon City’s past, in-
cluding the discovery of gold in
1862.
Spirits weren’t dampened
when rain started to pour Satur-
day afternoon.
People gathered for a hanging
re-enactment outside the old Sels
Brewery with Joe Radinovich
playing the villain who met the
awful fate.
Sels, which was built during
the gold rush era, was open for
drinks and live music both Fri-
day and Saturday.
Friends made a mad dash in
the rain as six teams competed
in the bed racing event. The re-
lay race had two team members
pushing another on a bed on
wheels, up and down Washing-
ton Street.
Food booths included man-
goes on a stick, tamales and
elephant ears and more. Other
vendors sold various wares, and
an art show featured the work of
local talent.
A fast draw shootist competi-
tion on Friday and Saturday add-
ed to the old-time flare of events.
Hugh Farrell, treasurer of the
Whiskey Gulch Gang, said the
’62 Days event went well.
“We had a pretty good turnout,
and people seemed to have a good
time,” he said. “Everything went
smoothly, other than the rain.”
Farrell said the Gang’s next
event is the July 22 Demolition
Derby in John Day, and plans are
underway to host an event for the
Aug. 21 solar eclipse.
RAINBOW
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will work with local law en-
forcement and the communi-
ty, according to Stearly.
Stearly said the Forest
Service requires groups larg-
er than 75 people to acquire
a special use permit. He esti-
mated the gathering could be
between 10,000 and 25,000
people.
The Montana Standard
newspaper reported the total
GRUB &
GROG
COME AND ENJOY MUSIC,
YARD GAMES, FOOD AND BEER!
Friday, June 23, 2017
DONATIONS
ONLY
(proceeds go towards
JD/CC Parks & Rec)
Belshaw Fields
7th Street
Complex,
John Day
Gate opens at 4:30
• 1188
• Suds Pub
• Little Canyon Food Cart
• Veraci Pizza • And More..
Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter
Groups of friends compete in the bed races at the ’62 Days celebration on Canyon
City’s Washington Street. See more photos from the event at myeaglenews.com.
Boy Scouts of America Troop 800 are color guard for
Saturday’s ’62 Days parade. From left: Levi Carpenter,
Scout leader Greg Floyd (back), Jesse Randleas, Max
Bailey and Will Carpenter.
Boyd Britton, left,
announcer of Saturday’s
’62 Days parade in Canyon
City stands with parade
organizer Leslie Traylor at
the start of the event.
cost for the U.S. Forest Ser-
vice relating to a Rainbow
Family gathering near Jack-
son, Montana, in 2013 was
$573,361. Roughly $400,000
of this was spent on law en-
forcement.
The Eagle archives state,
during the 1997 gathering on
the Ochoco National Forest
in Crook County, garbage
disposal, increased traffic
and low levels of fecal co-
liform and giardia present
in streams used as water
sources were concerns. Also
included were reports of
overdoses, drug and alcohol
charges and a recovered sto-
len vehicle.
Local artist and Prairie
City resident David Sea-
cord, who has attended these
gatherings in the past, said
there could be both benefits
and drawbacks to having the
gathering in the area.
“Any community that has
a gathering in the area is go-
ing to be benefited economi-
cally,” Seacord said.
He said the influx of
people would boost the lo-
cal economy. However, like
many events, he said the
gathering could attract unde-
sirables. As a whole, he said,
the event was peaceful and
respectful, but sometimes
opportunists will take advan-
tage of a free, public event
that welcomes everyone.
The gathering is made
possible entirely through
volunteers who build the in-
frastructure to support tens
of thousands of people from
scratch and then entirely re-
move it, according to Sea-
cord.
“They are committed to
leaving land in impeccable
condition, and they have
a history of that being ac-
knowledged,” he said.
He said people unsure
about the gathering should
see what it is like for them-
selves before passing judg-
ment.
STABBING
Road 3980 located the sus-
pect, who came onto the road
from the brush when officers
approached.
Noah James Anthony
Destefano of Stockholm,
Sweden, most recently of San
Diego, was taken into custo-
dy and transported to Blue
Mountain Hospital, where he
was treated for a knife wound
to the upper right calf. He was
lodged in the Grant County
Jail. The incident remains un-
der investigation.
Todd said in a social media
post she was stabbed while
intervening in an altercation
between two people who
were not Rainbow Family
members, who were under the
influence of LSD and alcohol.
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Palmer, Smith, Vandehey,
Undersheriff Zack Mobley
and John Day Police Depart-
ment Sgt. Damon Rand re-
sponded to the scene of the
stabbing.
Officers traveling Forest