Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
LETTERS
Continued from Page A4
Governmental
overreach in
the courthouse
To the Editor:
Federal prosecutors are showing
a personal and political vendetta
against the patriots that helped pro-
tect protesters while Cliven Bundy
rescued his cattle from Bureau of
Land Management impoundment.
These men took an armed stand to
protect protesters because the Bu-
reau of Land Management had snip-
ers in position above the protesters.
The third retrial, in the Tier 3
group retrial of USA v. Bundy for
the Bunkerville, Nevada, standoff,
if kept separate from the next two
tiers of the Bundy trial, will delay
all the other participants still in the
Pahrump Detention Center by many
months. Many have been incarcerat-
ed for over 20 months already.
With so many of the Bundys and
supporters being acquitted, it looks to
me as if the prosecutors are using the
retrial of Eric Parker and Scott Drex-
ler as a ploy to keep the members of
the Bundy family and their support-
ers incarcerated as long as possible
before their trial, because they know
that many will be acquitted.
The third trial for Eric Parker and
Scott Drexler is currently scheduled
for Sept. 25 at the Nevada Federal
District Court in Las Vegas. It is pos-
sible that the prosecution could ask
for an extension of that date.
Terry Noonkester
Myrtle Creek
Helping parks
helps businesses
To the Editor:
I applaud Jim Hammett’s recent
opinion piece for shining a light on
the important economic role John
Day Fossil Beds National Monu-
ment plays in supporting communi-
ties and businesses in the surround-
ing area. Mr. Hammett mentions
that Fossil Beds visitors spent $10
million in our region. I wanted to
let our friends and neighbors know
specifically what that means to our
communities and how important the
national monument is to the Oregon
Hotel.
The Oregon Hotel was first built
in the late 1800s. While we are rel-
atively new owners, we know that
throughout the decades many visi-
tors have come to the hotel to expe-
rience the Fossil Beds. We are only
nine miles west of the Painted Hills
Unit of the Fossil Beds, and hikers,
photographers, painters and geolo-
gists have all stayed under our roof.
The monument is such a draw for
our business that we have it featured
prominently on our website. Visitors
to the Fossil Beds support our hotel,
and they support other Mitchell busi-
nesses.
Former Superintendent Hammett
is right to encourage Oregon’s mem-
bers of Congress to support mea-
sures like the National Park Services
Legacy Act that will help Fossil
Beds address the $1,565,383 million
it faces in backlogged repairs. Sim-
ply put, if the park cannot keep up
with visitors, businesses like mine
will suffer.
The Oregon Hotel supports our
national parks because national
parks support us. If Congress helps
national parks address the billions
in backlogged repairs, they will be
helping businesses like mine.
Waunita Reed
Mitchell
‘We will never
forget John Day’
To the Editor:
Grant County provided the ul-
timate experience of a total eclipse
on Aug. 21. Your community was
so welcoming and prepared for this
event, you made it a truly memora-
ble visit.
We expected the worst with the
crowds in such a small town, and
we received the best. From the mo-
ment we arrived on Friday, shopping
for last minute forgotten supplies,
setting up camp at Tom and Al Ol-
son’s place and fixing our first meal
on a brand new camp stove, we were
impressed with the community. We
spent the weekend touring Fossil,
the Painted Hills and the Paleontol-
ogy center, enjoying the beautiful
scenery and weather and building up
anticipation for the eclipse.
And, oh my, what an eclipse.
There truly are no words to convey
the experience, but the town seemed
to stand still in that moment with
everyone sharing the same sense of
awe. We live on an amazing planet
in an amazing solar system, so little
known but enough to appreciate the
majesty of it all. And regardless of
your faith, politics or personal cir-
cumstances, for that one moment all
was forgotten except the ability of a
small rock called the moon to block
out the awesome power of our sun.
What a beautiful experience.
Your town is to be congratulated
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
on hosting so many strangers and be-
ing a part of the biggest event of the
decade. And now, back to normal for
you and your community.
After a nine-hour drive on Mon-
day (that only took seven hours on
Friday), we are also back to normal.
But we will never forget John Day,
Al and Tom Olson, your Chamber of
Commerce who graciously provided
Wi-Fi access so we could reach fam-
ily and all the merchants and resi-
dents who welcomed people from all
over the world. And of course, the
strange colored light, beautiful coro-
na and diamond ring, from an eclipse
which we hope we have a chance to
see again some day.
Debbie and Kent Treen
Sammamish, Washington
Grant County
‘welcoming and
gracious’
To the Editor:
We would just like to say that
Grant County and its people are awe-
some! Everyone was so welcoming
and gracious, opening homes and
property to visitors from far and
wide to share in the experience of the
eclipse that just happened to cross
your special place, taking time to
talk to us, responding patiently and
generously to questions about where
to go and what to do.
We spent several days, enjoy-
ing the hospitality of a local motel
(Dreamers Lodge) on our first night,
great food and friendly hosts at the
Outpost and Squeeze In and the
fantastic views, bird life (so many
hawks! mountain bluebirds!), forests
and geology of Eastern Oregon.
We are from California and had
some worries about how we would
be received, showing up without
a real plan (honestly, we tried, but
even in March there were no hotel
rooms available).
The Chamber of Commerce was
helpful, and finally, driving around
and talking to people led us to the
perfect spot (Dan and Cheryl’s field
on Dixie View Road outside Prairie
City, where we pitched our tent Sun-
day afternoon). We sincerely hope
that the influx of people proved to
be a benefit for the businesses of
Grant County, and that the services
required to get us all safely in and
out were not too burdensome.
We will be forever grateful that
you made it possible for us to have
such an amazing experience. Be-
yond the eclipse, we enjoyed the
Cove Cherry Fair, the Eastern Ore-
gon Beer Festival, the Malheur and
Hart Mountain refuges and the spec-
tacular vistas of the high desert. We
look forward to coming back.
Ruth Norris and John Shores
Santa Clara, California
‘A house divided
cannot stand’
To the Editor:
I once served in a war with men
that ran the spectrum of red, yellow,
tan, black and white.
No one was concerned my
great-grandfather was a Confederate
soldier, or someone’s predecessor
was made a slave in Africa by other
blacks and sold overseas, land taken
from someone else and settled was
eventually lost to other settlers or
Native Americans, Europeans mur-
dered each other from the get go. It
was history, and hopefully one can
learn from it, not still bicker and
fight over what is long done. We
soon discovered the only color we
were interested in was red, the col-
or of everyone’s blood, and we were
keen in keeping each other’s backs.
The world is a perilous place.
We can ill-afford to bicker and fight
among ourselves. We best realize
that united as Americans is the only
course we pursue. Abraham Lincoln
stated, “A house divided cannot
stand.” True when spoken and just
as true today.
Dave Traylor
John Day
Confederate flag
‘a proud symbol of
American history’
To the Editor:
According to a letter to the editor
in the Blue Mountain Eagle on Aug.
23, celebrating and honoring a symbol
of our history is now racist and depicts
white supremacy? The Confederate
flag is part of our history.
During the Civil War, men fought
and died for what they believed in and
both Confederate and U.S. flags were
flown during confrontations. Perhaps
the individual objecting to the pres-
ence of the Confederate flag during a
parade would also consider the Amer-
ican flag as racist? Both blacks and
whites fought and died — who was the
racist here? Blacks had black slaves
— who were the racists or white su-
premacists here? Do their headstones
of north and south Civil War soldiers
lend credence to racism? Tobacco is
racist. Cotton is racist. Sugar cane is
racist. All were part of the history of
the South, and the list goes on.
A5
Perhaps that individual who al-
lowed racism to raise its ugly head
within our county should return to the
liberal world that spawned him and
take his message of hate with him. I
did not realize that hired liberal ex-
tremists were inhabiting our small,
rural communities and seek to infect
other inhabitants with their hypocrisy.
Grant County does not need this
sort of herniated intellect or philistine
predilections visited upon us. By the
way, the U.S. Supreme Court deter-
mined that burning and desecration of
the American flag, once a punishable
crime under Title 18, Part 1, Chapter
33, 700, was now freedom of speech.
However, Oregon Revised Statute
166.075 still holds that abuse of the
flag is a crime.
Don’t you suppose honoring the
Confederate flag, a proud symbol of
American history, deserves equal con-
sideration? Early in American history,
white Irish indentured servants, who
were virtually slaves, outnumbered
black slaves and endured worse treat-
ment at the hands of their masters. Per-
haps we should be eyeing shamrocks,
the color green, blarney stones, red-
heads and Irish whiskey for brainless
destruction — and ignorance and hy-
pocrisy continues unabated.
Judy Kerr
Canyon City
‘Great job,
Grant County!’
To the Editor:
I am so proud of the people of
Grant County! From the reports we
are receiving, our eclipse visitors
were very impressed with our com-
munities.
They say we were organized,
prepared and very friendly. Many of
them have indicated that they plan
to return. Great job, Grant County! I
love the way we pull together when
we need to and put our best foot for-
ward. I would like to give a shoutout
to Irene Jerome, Sally Bartlett and
Eloise Boren for the beautiful new
Grant County map.
We handed out hundreds of them.
I am so glad we will have them even
beyond the eclipse. They are not only
beautiful, but a fantastic resource when
trying to point people in the right di-
rection. My hope going into this huge
undertaking was that the benefit we all
received would outweigh any incon-
venience we might have experienced.
Many people have told me that it did.
Yay, Grant County!
Tammy Bremner, manager
Grant County Chamber
of Commerce
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
Christopher Joseph Ortega
was found guilty of delivery of
methamphetamine, menacing
and resisting arrest and was
sentenced to 150 days in jail,
and fined $550.
Oregon State Police
Arrested Ryan David Hall,
39, for driving under the influ-
ence of intoxicants, tampering
with evidence and refusing a
breath test Aug. 20.
Responded to a single-ve-
hicle crash on Highway 26 and
issued a juvenile female a cita-
tion for failure to drive within
lane Aug. 23. Counts of pos-
session of methamphetamine,
attempt to commit a class B
felony, recklessly endangering
another person, harassment,
driving under the influence of
intoxicants and reckless driv-
ing were dismissed.
Thomas E. Pfeifer was
found guilty of falsifying drug
test results and was sentenced
to 24 months probation, 30
hours community service and
20 days in jail, and fined $100.
He was also found guilty of
manufacture of methamphet-
amine and sentenced to 24
months probation, 60 hours
community service and 20
days in jail. Charges of posses-
sion of methamphetamine and
possession of oxycodon were
dismissed.
JT Lee Knutson was found
guilty of unauthorized use of
a vehicle, possession of meth-
amphetamine and attempting
to elude police officers and
was sentenced to 30 days
in jail, 54 months probation
and 160 hours of community
service, and fined $20,658.
Charges of criminal mischief,
attempting to elude a police of-
ficer and reckless driving were
dismissed. He was also found
guilty of first-degree failure
to appear and sentenced to 24
months probation and 20 days
in jail, and fined $200.
Grant County Sheriff
The Grant County Sheriff’s
Office reported the following
for the week of Aug. 18-23:
• Concealed handgun li-
censes: 2
• Average inmates: 17
• Bookings: 14
• Releases: 14
• Arrests: 3
• Citations: 25
• Fingerprints: 1
• Civil papers: 5
• Warrants processed: 5
• Asst./welfare check: 14
• Search and Rescue: 1
Cited Spencer Leifheit,
41, Mt. Vernon, for disorderly
conduct Aug. 21.
Arrested Alexander Rick-
mond, 28, Los Angeles, for
driving under the influence
and failure to signal turn Aug.
21.
Justice Court
The Grant County Justice
Court reported the following
fines and judgments:
Driving while suspended:
Talia Christine Maloy, 41,
Prairie City, April 14, fined
$435.
Driving uninsured: Tami
Dawn Stringam, 45, Ontario,
July 3, fined $130.
Failure to drive within lane:
David Lee Palmer, 58, Baker
The Juniper Arts Council
is offering training on applying for small grants and the Juniper Arts Council Shelk
Community Grant Application.
THURSDAY, SEPTEM2ER 14, 2017
5:30 - 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room at the John Day Fire Hall
Why should your organization attend?
• Your organization needs a small grant
• Your organization is looking for grant application training
• Your organization would like to apply for a Juniper Arts Council Shelk Community Grant
(maximum grant awarded: $1,000) *
For more information, contact Kris Beal at 541-932-4892.
APPLICATIONS ARE DUE NOVEM2ER 2, 2017 2Y 5 P.M.
* The Juniper Arts Council is pleased to be partnering with the John and Linda Shelk Foundation to offer
community grants in Grant County. The trainer will use the Juniper Arts Council Shelk Communty Grant
application and budget as a model at the training with extra points added to your grant application when it is
scored just for attending.
City, July 28, fined $220.
Dispatch
John Day dispatch worked
224 calls during the week of
Aug. 21-27. Along with the
various traffic warnings, tres-
passing, injured animals, noise
complaints and juvenile com-
plaints, these calls included:
• John Day Police Depart-
ment
Aug. 21: Received a report
of a hit and run that happened
between four and five days be-
fore near Chester’s Thriftway.
Aug. 22: Took a report of
second-degree theft at the fair-
grounds.
Aug. 23: Responded with
Oregon State Police to a report
of trespassing at a vacant house
on Canyon Boulevard. Minis-
terial aid was given to a family
that ran out of fuel in John Day.
• Grant County Sheriff’s
Office
Aug. 21: Responded to a
report of trespassing on High-
way 395 north. Responded
to a report of trespassing on
Keeney Road.
Aug. 22: Received a re-
port of lost puppies near
Forest Service Road 31. Dis-
patched to a report of a miss-
ing juvenile at the site of the
Rainbow Gathering.
Aug. 24: Responded to
a homicide on Dog Creek
Road with Oregon State Po-
lice, John Day Police and the
John Day ambulance.
Aug. 26: Responded to a
grass fire on the hill behind
Juniper Ridge Acute Care
Center with the John Day
Fire Department, Canyon
City Fire Department, Ore-
gon Department of Forestry
and John Day Police De-
partment.
Aug. 27: Advised of
someone speeding through
livestock on Schoolhouse
Lane.
• John Day ambulance
Aug. 23: Responded to a
single-vehicle crash near the
Carter Ranch with Oregon
State Police, Grant County
Sheriff’s Office and John Day
police.
• United States Forest
Service
Aug. 21: Dispatch called
AAA for a vehicle with a hole
in its oil pan. Received a re-
port of fuel leaking from a ve-
hicle on the highway near Mt.
Vernon.
Aug. 23: Received a re-
port of a forest fire on Vester
Creek Road.
Aug. 27: Grant County
Sheriff’s Office and Sen-
eca Fire Department were
advised on a fire on County
Road 16.
• Dayville Fire Depart-
ment
Aug. 25: Responded for
a report of a fire on West
Franklin Avenue.
Thank you!
The Grant County Fairgrounds extends our
thanks to all our sponsors, volunteers,
staff, board members and attendees.
We could not do it without you.
save the date:
September 8 & 9, 2017
NPRA Rodeo
at the Fairgrounds