PRAIRIE CITY VOLLEYBALL
WINS DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
PAGE A9
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
Blue Mountain
The
EAGLE
W EDNESDAY , O CTOBER 25, 2017
• N O . 43
• 16 P AGES
• $1.00
www.MyEagleNews.com
Rapp charged with attempted murder
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
Kevin Rapp
A John Day man has been arrested and
charged with attempted murder for an Oct.
16 shooting in Grant County.
Kevin J. Rapp, 32, was arrested Oct. 20,
accused of shooting Kyler Weisenback, 27,
Eugene, twice with a small-caliber fi rearm,
Bentz: Form a
committee to address
major state reforms
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
Tackling spending, reve-
nue and public retirement re-
form at the state level will be
diffi cult, but Rep. Cliff Bentz,
R-Ontario, believes it can be
done.
After a bipartisan commit-
tee ushered in a state trans-
portation package this year,
Bentz said a similar commit-
tee should be established and
tasked with addressing what
he described as the three big-
gest issues in the state. This
year, state lawmakers strug-
gled to overcome a $1.4 bil-
lion shortfall to balance the
two-year budget, and no long-
term solutions were reached.
Bentz, one of four co-
chairs on the 14-person trans-
portation committee, said the
Rep. Cliff
Bentz
new spending,
revenue and re-
tirement com-
mittee should
begin working
now on legis-
lation to be in-
troduced at the
next full legis-
lative session
according to a press release from Grant
County District Attorney Jim Carpenter.
Rapp was charged with attempted murder,
fi rst-degree assault, unlawful use of a fi re-
arm and possession of methamphetamine.
Weisenback was camping at the Dixie
Creek Campground, near Dixie Summit
east of Prairie City, and was awoken in the
early morning hours and shot, Carpenter
said. Weisenback was fl own to St. Charles
Medical Center in Bend and then to Ore-
gon Health Sciences University in Port-
land for medical treatment.
Oregon State Police Sgt. Javier Mar-
quez said last week Weisenback is still
alive. Investigative work at the camp-
ground has been completed, and it has
been re-opened to the public.
Rapp is lodged in the Grant County Jail,
both for the new charges and for violation
of a conditional release agreement from an
earlier case in which he is accused of at-
tempting to elude law enforcement. Bail is
set at $145,000.
Oregon State Police and Grant Coun-
ty Sheriff’s Offi ce continue to investigate
the shooting.
Forest Service wants
more public engagement
in 2019.
“Let’s put together a com-
mittee,” Bentz told the Eagle.
“We should be doing this
right now.”
Although the transporta-
tion package was one of the
last items to come out of the
legislative session this year,
Bentz said committee mem-
bers had hundreds of conver-
sations with constituents and
interested groups before the
See BENTZ, Page A7
Prairie City looks
at water options
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Call it a perfect storm.
Prairie City was tak-
ing steps to improve water
production for its residents
when a lightning strike in
June knocked out the electri-
cal controls for its wells and
slow-sand fi ltration system.
“We were in the process of
TV scanning our No. 2 well
when the lightning struck a
pole,” Public Works Director
Chris Camarena told the city
council during a workshop
at city hall Oct. 18. “It could
have been catastrophic,” he
added, referring to the work-
ers near the site.
Crews scrambled to re-
store service, but the water
level in the city’s million-gal-
lon reservoir dropped to four
feet through the summer. It’s
up to 23 feet now, Camarena
said. The council imposed
water restrictions on Prairie
City’s roughly 450 water cus-
tomers this past summer, but
restrictions should be lifted
this week, he said.
The city has experienced
water supply problems in the
past, and the council considered
options that could be taken to
avoid raising water rates. Cus-
tomers pay $90.50 per month
for water and sewer service.
See WATER, Page A7
Russ Comer helps
build a mountain bike
trail near Magone
Lake in May.
Eagle file photo
Public trust and turning the battleship
public, she said.
“It’s hard to turn a battleship,” she
said.
mproving public engagement will
Ediger noted that if the Forest Ser-
increase support for forest projects,
vice uses public input in making deci-
Malheur National Forest offi cials
sions, that will lead to more support for
say. But developing public trust
a project and public trust in the agency.
But one man said it can’t be a “one-way
and improving agency relationships
street.”
could take time.
“Sometimes I feel
About 50 people
attended a workshop
I need to hear people, and you need like I’m not being
heard,” he said.
at the Grant County
to know I’m listening, but there is a
A woman in the au-
Regional
Airport
dience
said she felt like
on Oct. 16 to learn
process I need to follow.”
the Forest Service didn’t
about public en-
Dave Halemeier
care about her.
gagement opportu-
Blue Mountain District ranger
“I have deep feelings
nities. Vernita Edi-
about the land,” she said.
ger, the facilitator
Ediger noted that a
who led the meeting
One man said he was concerned lot of people probably felt that way and
for the Forest Service, explained that it
was best for the public to build a rela- about forest health and economic con- recalled how the area’s timber economy
rapidly declined in past years, leaving
tionship with the agency – even on a ditions in Grant County.
“Those are pretty big targets,” Edi- many in the community “feeling pow-
face-to-face basis.
erless.” The goal was to improve the
“We’re in this together, people work- ger noted.
It takes a lot of energy and time
ing with people,” she said. “We need to
bring our best people skills to the table.” for agency staff to engage with the
See TRUST, Page A7
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
I
“
But some in the audience had dealt
with the Forest Service in the past and
had trust issues. One man said he want-
ed feedback from the Forest Service to
be in writing, considering all the turn-
over at area offi ces.
“Five years in the future, a decision
might be forgotten,” he said.