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Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
W edNesday , N ovember 29, 2017
• N o . 48
• 18 P ages
• $1.00
RECLAIMING
WATER
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Contributed photo
Engineers present
treatment plant concepts
The state’s role
Blue Mountain Eagle
ohn Day personnel met with representatives from the
Anderson-Perry engineering firm and Sustainable
Water last week and brainstormed for two days in the
fire hall over concepts and goals for a new wastewa-
ter treatment plant.
The goal is not only to replace an aging treatment plant
but to produce reclaimed water with economic value, Brett
Moore of Anderson-Perry told the city council Nov. 14.
Treated water that currently is dumped in four percolation
ponds where it seeps into the ground could instead be used
to grow hay or pasture, or irrigate the city’s golf course,
parks or baseball fields.
It could also be used to grow produce in greenhouses
for local consumption, be sold to Malheur Lumber for
industrial uses or used to flush toilets at a hotel. A
100-room hotel uses about the same amount of
water to flush toilets as 60 single-family
homes, Moore said.
J
Forest patrol
position
sparks debate
Forest Service
surprised by proposal
A photo from Sustainable Water of Richmond, Virginia, of the wastewater reclamation facility at Emory University in Atlanta,
Georgia. Wastewater is treated as it passes from one reactor with plants to the next in a greenhouse structure.
By Richard Hanners
www.MyEagleNews.com
The city and consultants also met with the Oregon De-
partment of Environmental Quality, Business Oregon and
the U.S. Department of Agriculture to learn about regula-
tions and standards as well as financing opportunities.
To help small rural cities meet the requirements of the
Clean Water Act and navigate complex financial arrange-
ments, the DEQ developed the First Stop planning assis-
tance program. The idea is to open discussion on “poten-
tially approvable” alternatives, discuss funding sources,
identify a specific interagency team to serve the city, set up
a communications strategy between the agencies and follow
up commitment assignments.
Daniel Allison and Eric Lohan traveled from Richmond,
Virginia, to represent Sustainable Water. Established in 2010,
the company develops, builds and operates wastewater rec-
lamation plants across the United States, including plants in
the colder climates of northern Wisconsin and Burlington,
Vermont.
Allison told the Eagle that the DEQ and the other agencies
were excited and supportive of John Day’s proposed project —
at the technical and permitting levels. He said Scott Fairley,
See WATER, Page A7
A proposal by Grant County Un-
dersheriff Zach Mobley to create a
part-time position for a forest patrol
deputy under the sheriff’s office came
as a surprise to some local officials —
especially Malheur National Forest
Supervisor Steven Beverlin.
“The first I heard about this was
when I saw it on the Grant County
Court agenda,” Bev-
erlin told the court
during its Nov. 22
meeting.
Beverlin read ex-
cerpts from letters sent
by Grant County Sher-
iff Glenn Palmer to the
Steve
Forest Service in 2011
Beverlin
and 2014 indicating
the sheriff’s office was
unwilling to enforce
certain Forest Service
regulations.
“What’s changed?”
Beverlin asked the
court.
Grant County Judge
Scott
Scott Myers told the
Myers
Eagle that for many
years the county had
an agreement with the Forest Service
to patrol campgrounds on Nation-
al Forest lands during busy holiday
weekends, such as Magone Lake on
Memorial Day and Fourth of July
weekends. But beginning in 2011,
Sheriff Palmer refused to sign the
agreements until the Rainbow Gather-
ing in 2017, Myers said.
Beverlin later told the Eagle he
wasn’t entirely opposed to Mobley’s
proposal, but he wanted to sit down
face to face with Palmer to discuss the
idea.
“I have to put my signature on any
agreement,” he said.
Beverlin told the Eagle he wasn’t
concerned about a county deputy en-
forcing laws that weren’t on the books
but whether the deputy would enforce
laws that are on the books — such
as illegal motorized vehicle use on
closed Forest Service roads and illegal
firewood cutting.
“I want assurance that the sher-
iff will comply with the agreement,”
Beverlin told the court.
Funding the position
Whereas the sheriff’s office has
some latitude in deciding how to
spend its budget, the creation of a new
job position in any department must
be approved by the county court, My-
ers told the Eagle.
According to Mobley’s request, the
part-time forest patrol deputy position
would be 20 hours per week and funded
See PATROL, Page A7
Interactive kiosk benefits
tourists and residents
Weather, road conditions, fire
danger and closures displayed
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
It looks like a giant smart-
phone hanging on the wall of
the Grant County Chamber
of Commerce office on Main
Street in John Day.
The recently installed in-
teractive kiosk provides news
releases, current weather, road
conditions, fire danger ratings,
active wildfires or prescribed
fires and temporary road, trail
or campground closures in the
Malheur National Forest — in-
formation visitors to the area
need for their travel plans.
The 24-hour kiosk also pro-
vides an interactive map to help
visitors find areas of interest,
along with live feeds providing
current information from several
See KIOSK, Page A7
Contributed photo
From left, Grant County Chamber of Commerce
President Bruce Ward, Office Manager Tammy
Bremner, former president Jerry Franklin and Malheur
National Forest Public Information Officer Mike
Stearly with the new interactive kiosk outside the
chamber office on Main Street in John Day.
ACCESS
TODAY!
See Page A3