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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2017)
A18 News Blue Mountain Eagle ELLIOTT Continued from Page A1 Elliott remained in Grant County Jail and appeared in court via video. Matthew Baughman of Bend, Elliott’s court-appointed attorney, asked that bail be reduced from $750,000 to $50,000, “which is the maximum amount defen- dant can post.” Baughman said Elliott has never failed to appear in court or forfeited bond, has a pri- or conviction for disorderly conduct in 2002 and perhaps a DUII conviction from the early 1980s, has lived in Grant County most of his life and has significant community ties, in- cluding with his mother, wife and children. Baughman twice called the COURT Continued from Page A1 Grant County Judge Scott Myers said he spoke with numerous people who visit- ed Grant County during the eclipse and had expressed in- terest in moving to the area. But they won’t come here if high-speed internet access is not available, he said. Grant School District No. 3 Superintendent Curt Shelley spoke about the need for stu- dents to be provided with as many opportunities as possible to get ahead. He said his two children needed to take turns on the internet when doing their homework at their home because of limited internet ac- cess. Students in Grant County should be able to compete on a level playing field with towns like Sandy, Oregon, or Am- mon, Idaho, which offer high- speed internet access. In some rural areas, internet access is nearly nonexistent. Dan Becker, who owns a lo- cal computer repair business, said many of his customers want better internet access. He said he often brings comput- ers back to his shop in town to service them because internet access is so bad in some areas — including neighborhoods not far from the courthouse. TREAT YOUR FEET noted that while Elliott might not pose a flight risk based on his court history, he was now facing serious charges — first degree manslaughter is a Class A felony with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. Jessica Williams, Berry’s daughter, told Cramer she lived near Elliott’s home and she feared for her life as well as the life of her children and her stepmother, Billie Jo Berry. Wil- liams said the more she learned about Elliott, the more she was convinced he could do some- thing similar again. “I don’t want to live in fear,” she said. Billie Jo Berry told Cram- er she was not just the victim’s widow, but was also Elliott’s cousin and had known him since they were young. She matter “an interesting case” in that it involved a serious charge but the defendant could be con- sidered for a bail reduction and perhaps release. If released, El- liott would reside locally at ei- ther his home or with his moth- er, Baughman said. Benson and several wit- nesses, however, opposed this arrangement. Benson said he initially motioned to stop con- tact between Elliott and his wife because the case was still under investigation — but more ev- idence was expected. He also noted that the crime took place in a small community and in- volved members of an extended family. Benson said he had con- cerns about the safety of wit- nesses named in the grand jury indictment, as well as others related to Berry. Benson also “It would be a great eco- nomic ben- efit to bring broadband to the area,” Becker said. Curt Hamsher, Shelley who is also the mayor of Prairie City, noted that residents of Prai- rie City and Mt. Vernon were fortunate that Oregon Tele- phone Co. ran an expensive fiber network through their communities while many ar- eas in the county had no ser- vice. “That’s one of the draw- backs of living in the out- skirts,” he said, along with the costs of providing water, roads and other infrastructure. That comment drew a re- sponse from several people. Gordon Larson, who lives on a ranch property south of Canyon City, said he and his neighbors were frustrated by their inability to get internet service from Ortelco or Cen- turyLink. He told the Eagle that he was taken aback by Hamsher’s comment and that people move here for the ru- ral lifestyle. Chantal DesJar- din told the court she lives in Prairie City now and enjoys quality internet access, but she would like to live in a rural place like Pine Creek, where she grew up. She said it was the court’s obligation to support broadband in Grant County. “I should not be forced to live in a metropolis,” she said. “It’s very unfair.” Judy Kerr agreed that hav- ing broadband access in Grant County “would be awesome,” but she questioned if the lo- cal economy could support such a program, noting that both Sandy and Ammon had stronger economies. When she asked how many people in the room would sign up for the proposed network, most raised their hands. Myers noted that clear ev- idence of the importance of broadband could be found in Ammon — development oc- curred on the side of a street where broadband was avail- able but not on the other. The Canyon City City Council informed the city’s residents in its November newsletter that it had decided not to join the coalition. The council cited lack of infor- mation about costs and the current availability of Ortelco fiber-optic service in the com- munity. Green told the Eagle that the Grant County Internet Task Force working on the proposal had not budgeted a specific cost for Canyon City “because they are already along the proposed route to get to John Day.” Our Services by a registered nurse include: • Pedi-Spa treatment for your feet • Particular attention to Diabetic Foot • Multifunctional massage chair • Skin Inspection • Callus Removal • Nail Cutting We also check your blood pressure, blood sugar level and oxygen saturation. Call 541- 575-1648 for an appointment $35 00 fee Blue Mountain Hospital FOOT CLINIC www.bluemountainhospital.org Services available at the Home Health Office, 422 W. Main, John Day. pleaded with Cramer not to lower the bail and give Elliott a chance to get out of jail, alleging that Elliott had threatened to kill other family members and just two weeks before the shooting had described strangling a dog to death. “Tom is not one to be crossed,” she read from a long letter. Alleging that Elliott pos- sessed numerous firearms, Billie Jo Berry characterized him as a “cruel,” “calculating” and “self- ish” man who “hurt us all.” She said Elliott and Berry had long been friends who played golf and cut firewood together, but when he’d been drinking, Elliott would make cruel and demean- ing statements to her husband. Family and friends in the courtroom grew more animated as they listened to the two wom- Wednesday, November 15, 2017 en, and at one point Cramer halt- ed Billie Jo Berry to warn both sides about rustling, whispering and head shaking. “Frankly, it irritates me,” he said, adding, “I don’t want peo- ple making faces at witnesses.” Baughman called one wit- ness, Carolyn Elliott, Thomas Elliott’s mother. She was sworn in and testified that the family could only come up with $5,000 — enough cash to meet bail if it was lowered to $50,000. She also testified she didn’t believe the allegations that her son had threatened friends or family members or was cruel to ani- mals. In stating his decision, Cra- mer said he expected to hear more evidence in favor of a bail reduction. He said he knew the defendant’s extended family from other circumstances and knew they owned property that could be posted for bail pur- poses. Cramer said he would lower Elliott’s bail to $500,000, or $50,000 cash, but he want- ed to require daily drug or al- cohol testing and house arrest. He also had concerns about the proximity of Elliott’s home to the home of witnesses and Berry’s family, and he ordered Elliott to reside at least 1,000 yards away from those with safety concerns. Benson told Cramer the case was proceeding rapidly, but he didn’t expect to see the crime lab report for about a month. After conferring with Baughman and family mem- bers from both sides, Cramer set the plea hearing for 2 p.m. Jan. 18. Elliott had not posted bail and was still in jail Tuesday. 911 Continued from Page A1 too high.” Some noted that John Day was paying an unfair portion of the costs to run the John Day emergency communica- tions center. There was also a refer- ence to fake news stories be- ing posted claiming that local dispatchers “must be absorbed elsewhere” or that Frontier Dis- Eagle file photo patch could handle the same John Day City Manager Nick Green, left, and Mayor Ron Lundbom talk during a city council meeting. job for only $70,000. What’s next The city of John Day will receive a $420,000 special ap- propriation from the state legis- lature to help cover the funding gap for the next biennium while the city tries to find a longterm solution. In a Nov. 14 letter to the state Department of Adminis- trative Services notifying them that the city will accept the bridge funding, John Day City Manager Nick Green suggested two reasons for the failure of the local ballot measure to fill the funding gap for the local dispatch center. Using a local option tax to pay for 911 dispatch violated the tax principle of fairness, Green suggested. “Residents strongly felt that they should pay taxes in rough proportion to the benefit re- ceived,” he wrote, noting that residents would rather see the fee on telephone bills increased. Residents also questioned why 911 dispatch was pro- vided by the city of John Day instead of the county or an in- dependent agency. “Many residents felt that this countywide service should be governed by an agency independent of the city that is responsible to all tax jurisdictions,” Green wrote. “The city agrees with this assessment.” Green said the city is look- ing at several options: Option A, consolidating the city’s department with Frontier Dis- patch in Condon; Option B, creating a cooperative 911 center with an adjacent coun- ty; and Option C, replacing the 1989 agreement with a new intergovernmental agen- cy at the county level and a new local cost-sharing agree- ment. “We will consider multi- ple criteria to evaluate these options,” Green wrote, in- cluding cost of service; level of control and decision-mak- ing authority over service and fees; quality of 911 ser- vice; and economic benefits to Grant County, “such as the impact of retaining six local jobs.” The city also plans to urge state legislators to consid- er increasing the emergency communications tax on tele- phone bills to meet the city’s long-term public safety needs, Green wrote. DISPATCH covered (by the excise tax) shall be pro-rated by the (In- tergovernmental Council) amongst the participating jurisdictions on the basis of relative population for use of Dispatch Center Facilities,” the agreement stated. As the local dispatch cen- ter’s costs increased over time in excess of the amount received from the telephone excise tax, the city of John Day ended up paying the dif- ference. But how that came about is not clear. “At some point subsequent to the original agreement, the signatories ceased making payments to the city of John Day for system overages, leaving the city to bear the majority of the costs for op- erating the department and all of the long-term (state retire- ment) liabilities for the cen- ter’s staff, who are John Day employees,” John Day City Manager Nick Green told the city council in a Nov. 14 memo. The city ceased to hold formal User Board meetings and did not make provisions for collaboration with the communities during the bud- get process, Green said. “In short, none of the participating members hon- ored the terms of the original agreement,” Green wrote. “To the best of our knowledge, no other agreement was ever ratified to take its place, and the member agencies never formally withdrew from the (joint agreement). As a result, the city of John Day is effec- tively subsidizing a county- wide service for other tax jurisdictions without a con- tractual agreement to do so.” Continued from Page A1 had four full-time employees and one part-time employee. Membership in the Inter- governmental Council made of political officials and the User Board made of techni- cal staff that oversaw the joint service came from the coun- ty’s eight cities, the county court and the John Day, Mt. Vernon and Prairie City fire departments. According to the May 8, 1989, intergovernmental agreement that established the joint service, funding for the dispatch center would pri- marily come from the excise tax collected by the state from telephone billing. “Capital and operating expense over and above that Bl ue Mo un ta in E agl e the corner’s EA R L Y DE A DL INE S HOT fo r th e Novem ber 2 2 n d edi ti o n Classified, Legal & Display Deadline is THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16 at h:00 p.m. For more information or to place an ad, call Kim at h41-h7h-0710. Our office will be closed on Thanksgiving. SH T EEK OF THE W RAFAEL GUMERATO School: Long Creek Grade: 12 Host Parents: Ed and Linda Studtmann Sport: Soccer Position: Goalie/Striker What I like best about my sport: “I liked all the games and goals with the team and having everyone together fighting to win every game.” Coach’s Comment: “Rafael’s main sport is basketball - this was his first year playing soccer, but he was a huge contributor, both as our goalie and half the time he played offense as well. He showed great leadership, sportsmanship and attitude.” -Coach Amos Studtmann PROUD SPONSOR OF GRANT COUNTY ATHLETES 100 E. Main • Stoplight in John Day 541-792-0425 23645