News
Blue Mountain Eagle
TOWER
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site is too close to the school
and a residential area. Miller
agreed it would be too close
to the school.
Phippen was also con-
cerned about how the tower
would hold up in windy con-
ditions.
Katy Nelson, in the audi-
ence, said she lives between
Prairie City and John Day
and pays a lot for only a little
cellphone coverage.
“We desperately need to
have a choice,” she said.
After the council voted
against the proposal, Miller
said, “I don’t think we would
not want it in our area, as
long as it’s not in a highly
populated area.”
Primozic added, “We
would love to have the tow-
er. It’s just the location they
picked couldn’t be worse
from an aesthetic stand-
point.”
After further discussion,
the council unanimously
voted to approve of the cell
tower, if it could be placed in
the area of the city’s industri-
al park.
Malone said she would
look into the new proposed
site.
City considers joining
broadband coalition
The city council meeting
included a presentation from
John Day City Manager Nick
Green about the $1.82 mil-
lion in broadband funding
awarded to John Day.
The funding from the
state legislature will be used
to run a 75-mile, 144-strand
fiber cable on power poles
from Burns to John Day.
So far, John Day, Canyon
City and Seneca are prepared
to adopt the Grant County
Digital Network Coalition
agreement and ordinance.
Patterson asked why Prai-
rie City would want to be a
part of it.
“We wanted to give every
city the opportunity,” Green
said. “When you have one
provider, you may not be in a
good position five to 10 years
from now.”
He mentioned price con-
trol and no competition as
downfalls to not joining the
coalition. Green said the city
could join now or later, but
there may be a cost to join
later once the coalition is es-
tablished.
“My goal is to take the
county from the second
worst to the second best (in
the state),” Green said.
John Day Police Chief
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Tracey Malone, a zoning
specialist from Faulk &
Foster of Grand Rapids,
Michigan, speaks about
the proposed plans for
a U.S. Cellular cellphone
tower, including positive
aspects such as creating
competition and giving
customers options.
if I could see the end cost,”
Hamsher said.
Some of the pluses to the
broadband project Green
mentioned included fast-
er speeds and competition,
which could result in lower
prices, and access to higher
education.
“If you’re not leading on
the cutting edge of technolo-
gy, then your economy slows
down,” Green said. “It won’t
solve our problems, but it
would remove a barrier.”
When asked, a majority
in the audience raised their
hands in favor of joining the
broadband coalition.
The council voted to send
out a mass mailing to resi-
dents with information and a
survey about the project be-
fore making a decision.
Richard Gray, who was a
long-time resident of Prairie
City, said he approved of the
project.
“It would increase inter-
net service,” Gray said. “I
don’t think we’re risking
anything.”
Mayor Hamsher said Prai-
rie City has faster internet
than John Day and expressed
concern about the city’s cur-
rent problem of residents un-
able to water their lawns.
“It would be different
Water workshop
set for Oct. 18
Public Works Director
Chris Camarena said an Or-
egon Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality inspection
of the city water system had
taken place that day, and he
would have a report soon.
He said sewer leaks have
been an issue. He said the
city is also running on bor-
rowed time where the water
pumps are concerned.
“It they (break) it could be
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
catastrophic,” he said, add-
ing, “We’ve got to get another
well by spring.”
Hamsher set up a water
workshop, which will be held
at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct.
18, at city hall, 133 S. Bridge
St., and the public can attend.
The mayor said he, the
council and Camarena will
look at proposed well sites
to add additional water to the
current system.
In other news, attention
was brought to the bill for
porta-potties rented during
the eclipse. The original bill
was $7,200, yet many of
them didn’t require being
serviced every day. It was
noted that city clerk Bobbie
Brown saved nearly $4,000
by making calls about the
issue, lowering the price to
$3,276.
Garrison said the group
that brought vintage trailers
to Christmas on the Prairie
last year would like to invite
more to join at this year’s
Nov. 18 event. She asked if
they could have permission
to use the blacktop, the empty
downtown parking lot, for dry
camping, which the council
approved.
It was also noted the recy-
cling center is seeking volun-
teers. For more information,
call city hall at 541-820-3605.
911
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17413
A8
GRANT COUNTY’S
CHAMBER NEWSLETTER
Hello Grant County,
I hope you are enjoying these nice Autumn
days, winter is right around the corner!
Results of our annual election for
Chamber Board of Directors are in and
Scotta Callister has been re-elected for
another term and Sally Knowles and
Elaine Livran have been elected to serve
on the board. Each term is three years.
Board members and our new President
Bruce Ward will be installed in a ceremony
to be held November 8th at the John Day
Elks Lodge. All Chamber members are
invited and encouraged to attend. Dinner
will be provided. Guest speakers will be
John Day City Manager Nick Green and
Oregon State Senator Ted Feriolli.
Our October Board meeting and
Membership Luncheon will be Thursday,
October 19th. The board meets at the
Chamber office at 11:00 AM and the No-
host luncheon will be at the Outpost at
noon. Guest speaker will be
Representative Cliff Bentz.
On Wednesday, October 18th, the
Chamber will host a Forum on Ballot
Measure 12-69 -the Local Option Levy to
fund our local 911 Dispatch Center for five
years. Bob Quinton will be the moderator.
Representatives from the City of John Day
and 911 Dispatch Center and a panel of
representing Cities/County, Law
Enforcement, and EMS will be on hand to
answer questions and concerns and share
their perspectives.
Have you checked out our Interactive
Travel Guide App? If not, you really
should. Go to your app store and type in:
grantcounty,or. When you see our Elk
logo, download it. It’s not just for tourists
and visitors to Grant County. Locals can
benefit from it as well! You can access all
kinds of information and maps. You can
easily find and contact dining
establishments who are Chamber
members. You can call them right from the
app.
As of September 30, we have had nearly
3,000 people download our app. There
seems to be a lot of interest in Grant
County!
If you are not a Chamber member, think
about joining us, we’d love to have you!
need to be familiar with local
geography and history. He re-
called a time when a dispatch-
er in Idaho handled an incident
involving a lost snowmobiler
and didn’t know the local area.
Mayor Ron Lundbom
asked residents who hear neg-
ative comments about the issue
to contact the city councilors.
He noted that the proposed tax
amounted to the cost of two
large pizzas per year.
John Day Fire Chief Ron
Smith told the Eagle he sup-
ported the ballot measure for
the reasons outlined by Green.
Costs at the dispatch cen-
ter keep rising every year, he
said, and the fairest way to pay
those costs would be through
an increase in the statewide
telephone fee that funds 911
dispatch service in Oregon.
“Raising the fee won’t
stop people from using cell
phones,” he said.
Smith also raised concerns
about outsourcing 911 dis-
patch to a regional center.
“I’m afraid our service
level will go down,” he said.
“Local dispatchers know the
local geography and the res-
idents. Paying $38 a year for
a $100,000 home would be
money well spent.”
Grant County Judge Scott
Myers told the Eagle an in-
crease in the state 911 tele-
phone fee “is long overdue.”
“It’s only fair that all
phones are taxed,” he said.
“Our local initiative only tax-
es property owners. The state
needs to step up and increase
the tax, but it sounds like there
was a promise made a long
time ago between legislators
that it would never increase. I
don’t think it has been given a
PALMER
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The investigation found
“insufficient evidence” that
Palmer destroyed public records,
Slauson said, and “the evidence
does not support a conclusion”
Palmer violated state concealed
handgun license laws.
“The scope of our investi-
gation was limited to potential-
ly criminal matters,” Slauson
said in the letter. “Accordingly,
we offer no opinion regarding
whether Sheriff Palmer com-
plied with relevant county pol-
icies or public record retention
laws; rather, our investigation
simply has not revealed concrete
evidence of criminal conduct.”
Slauson said the department
interviewed witnesses, reviewed
records and policies, examined
forensically reconstructed shred-
ded documents and reviewed
court documents from The Or-
egonian newspaper’s public
records lawsuit against Palmer
and the sheriff’s office. The law-
suit was dismissed once Palmer
produced the records after the
suit was initiated, but the judge
ordered Palmer to pay $28,000 in
attorney fees to The Oregonian.
Palmer and Gray did not im-
mediately respond to phone
and email messages from the
Eagle.
very high priority for the next
session, if it will be discussed
at all.”
Oregon State Police Sgt.
Tom Hutchison told the Eagle
of his concerns if local dis-
patch was outsourced.
“In my opinion, the local
911 dispatch center is crucial
to the security of the citizens
of Grant County, because of
the ability to immediately
dispatch law enforcement,
local fire service providers
and EMS,” he said. “The
dispatchers have an intimate
knowledge of the area that
they are dispatching for, as
well as for the first respond-
ers that they are working
with. This increases response
times, which saves lives and
reduces property damage.
Although a dispatch center
out of the area may provide
adequate service to Grant
County, I don’t believe it
will be as efficient as the
Grant County 911 dispatch
center.”
Rebekah K. Rand, direc-
tor of emergency medical
services for the Blue Moun-
tain Hospital District, told
the Eagle about the crucial
role dispatch serves in pro-
viding ambulance service.
“Blue Mountain Hospi-
tal District EMS is com-
mitted to ensuring access
to quality emergency med-
ical care close to home,”
she said. “One of our pri-
orities is to protect and fa-
cilitate our timely response
to medical emergencies, as
time is crucial, especial-
ly in our frontier region
of Grant County. The 911
Dispatch Center plays a
crucial role in our ability
to respond timely and accu-
rately to our patients when
medical and trauma emer-
gencies occur.”
A Big Thank You from the
Rally for the Cure committee!
We would like to thank
everyone who participated,
donated items and helped.
Boyd & Bonnie
Britton
Pioneer Feed
John Day Polaris
Grubsteak Mining Co.
Hair It Is
1188 Pub & Brewing Co.
The Ugly Truth Bar &
Grill
John Day Hardware
Jeanette Heuckman
Sharon Livingston
Mel McDaniels
John Day Golf Club
etc.
Cloud Nine
Tammy Bremner
Manager, Grant County Chamber of
Commerce
18296
Mitch Wilson
Fabrications
Roan Outwest
Gardner Enterprises
Jonna Joe’s Hair Care
Nydam’s Ace Hardware
Brenda & Roy
Densberger
Dick & Carlene
Johnston
Kim & Bruce Ward
Kathleen Lee
Terry & Linda Farrell
Dan Propeck
Maxine Day
Vicky Mullany
Micky Burke
18450