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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 2017)
LETTERS TO SANTA SECTION C The 290 The 06 - Blu e M Publi sh oun tain ed by Eag le BM E S anta Win ners - Pa ge 1 - Co mpo site Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 201 7 W edNesday , d ecember 20, 2017 • N o . 51 • 40 P ages MERRY CHRISTMAS! PHOTO ABOVE: Santa, aka Devon Dobson, visits with Penelope ‘Penny’ and Kymberlynn ‘Kym’ Case after the Wednesday, Dec. 13, Long Creek School Christmas program. Idaho woman dies in wreck Four weekend crashes reported By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle A 27-year-old woman from Post Falls, Idaho, died Saturday when her pickup slid off Highway 395 near Ritter Junction in the early evening. Annalesha C. Draper was traveling south to meet with her fiancé in Oregon and bring him back to Post Falls for the holidays. His vehicle had broken down, Draper’s aunt Jennifer Draper told the Eagle. According to Oregon State Police, Draper’s rental vehicle, a 2017 Dodge Ram Contributed photo/Oregon State Police Annalesha Draper, 27, Spokane, was killed when the Dodge Ram pickup she was driving exited the roadway and struck a tree Saturday on Highway 395 near Ritter Junction. pickup, crossed the north- bound lane in freezing-rain conditions and sideswiped a tree. The Grant County Sheriff’s Office, John Day ambulance and Long Creek ambulance and fire also re- sponded to the scene. The investigation is continuing on contributing factors, ac- cording to OSP. Draper’s dog was trans- ported to the John Day Riv- er Veterinary Clinic and was picked up by family members. Draper’s family lives in Post Falls. She was self-em- ployed and is survived by her parents and three older brothers. Her aunt called Draper a “real go-getter” who will be sorely missed. Impacts from freezing rain were seen in Grant County one day earlier, beginning with the cancel- lation of the Grant Union See WRECK, Page A10 Burch faces 80-month sentence after felony sex crime plea deal Another case to be dismissed By Sean Hart Blue Mountain Eagle Neal Allen Burch likely faces 80 months in prison after pleading guilty to two Grant County felony sex crime charges, according to two Dec. 14 plea petitions. Burch, 39, formerly of Grant County, entered an Alford plea for two charges of second-degree sexual abuse to different victims in a court-approved plea agreement after a settlement conference Dec. 11 before Deschutes County Circuit Court Judge Michael C. Sullivan. In an Alford plea, the defendant does not ad- mit to the crime but admits the prosecution would likely prevail in court. Sullivan will attend the final sentencing hearing by video at 1 p.m. Jan. 2 in See BURCH, Page A10 • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com Contributed photos Performing in the Long Creek School Christmas program are, in back, River Cave as Santa and John Jones as the head elf, along with worker elves, from left, Natalli Jones, Tucker Garinger and Jennifer Jones. Rapp remains in jail on attempted murder charge Judge issues sentences in eluding and child support cases By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle The John Day man accused of shooting a Eugene man at the Dixie Creek Campground on Oct. 16 remains in jail as the discovery process in his case continues. Kevin J. Rapp, 32, is charged with attempted mur- der, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon. His bail was set at $250,000. According to an Oct. 20 press release by Grant Coun- ty District Attorney Jim Car- penter, Kyler Weisenback was awoken in the early morning hours while camping and was shot. Weisenback was flown to Bend and then Portland for treatment. Rapp was also charged with misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine on Oct. 16. Status hearings in the case were held Nov. 30 and Dec. 13. Grant County Cir- cuit Court Judge William D. Cramer Jr. expressed concern at the first hearing about the number of computer disks attached to the case. Defense attorney Rob Raschio said some of the disks contained video from law enforcement Kevin body cameras Rapp and would take time to review. Rapp ap- peared in court for the second hearing wearing jail attire. Raschio said he had received the Oregon State Police report for the case but hadn’t seen the ballistics report. The case was circumstantial without the ballistics report, he said. Carpenter said he dis- agreed with that characteri- zation, and Cramer noted that attorneys typically describe circumstances differently. Raschio said he expected to request a bail reduction, and Cramer scheduled a third sta- tus hearing for 1 p.m. Jan. 16. The five-minute Dec. 13 status hearing was followed by a 10-minute contempt of court trial. Rapp was charged with disobeying a court order to pay child support when he had the ability to pay. Rapp pleaded guilty to the contempt charge in a plea pe- tition that recommended 20 days in jail. A victim interven- tion specialist said Rapp’s ex- wife had seen the petition and had “general frustration with See RAPP, Page A10 ACCESS TODAY! See Page A3