News
Highway projects slated
for Grant County
Culvert, hazard
trees and
stream work
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Three highway projects
will take place in Grant Coun-
ty this year that may disrupt
traffic flow.
According to Oregon De-
partment of Transportation
Public Affairs Officer Tom
Strandberg, the culvert under
Highway 26 at milemarker
164.1 near Pine Creek will
be replaced with a wider con-
crete box unit.
“During construction, trav-
elers can expect lane closures,
flaggers and delays of up to 20
minutes,” he said.
The work involves trench-
ing all the way across the
highway. Strandberg said he
wasn’t sure if temporary traf-
fic signals would be used on
this project.
A hazard tree removal
project on Highway 395 south
of Canyon City is also on the
schedule. There’s concern
trees burned in the 2015 Can-
yon Creek Complex fire could
fall from steep slopes onto the
highway. The plan is to leave
the trees in place after they’re
cut, laying horizontally across
the slope to keep them from
moving farther downhill.
Strandberg said the project
would be coordinated with
ODOT’s maintenance depart-
ment and must be assessed
ahead of time by a state ar-
borist.
“When work does happen,
traffic impacts will typically
include lane closures, reduced
speeds, flaggers, possible pi-
lot cars, trucks or equipment
on the roadway and delays of
up to 20 minutes,” he said.
Two more projects sched-
uled along Highway 395 south
of Canyon City will address
potential flooding by Canyon
Creek. Rock and debris will
be removed from the stream
bed near the curve at mile-
marker 4.2, and the stream
banks will be stabilized with
rip-rap. The work will take
place between July 15 and
Sept. 15 to minimize impacts
to native fish, Strandberg said.
Crews also will place rock
around the bridge footings at
milemarker 7.25 to protect
the structure from erosion
and debris flow. Travelers can
expect flaggers, lane closures
and delays up to 20 minutes
while the crews are working,
Strandberg said. Twenty-
four-hour flagging is possible
during the “in-water work pe-
riods,” he said.
Legislature seeks ways to
improve its harassment policies
By Claire Withycombe
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
C OPS AND C OURTS
Arrests and citations in
the Blue Mountain Eagle
are taken from the logs of
law enforcement agencies.
Every effort is made to re-
port the court disposition of
arrest cases.
Grant County
Sheriff
The Grant County Sher-
iff’s Office reported the
following for the week of
Feb. 8:
Concealed handgun li-
censes: 7
Average inmates: 14
Bookings: 14
Releases: 15
Arrests: 2
Citations: 4
Fingerprints: 2
Civil papers: 31
Warrants processed: 2
Asst./welfare check: 8
Search and rescue: 0
Feb. 6: Tamara Michael,
47, Mt. Vernon, was cited
for driving with a suspend-
ed license and no insurance.
Feb. 6: A male juvenile
in John Day was cited for
possession of marijuana.
Feb. 6: A male juvenile
in John Day was cited for
DUII, possession of mari-
juana, minor in possession
of alcohol and operating a
motor vehicle with improp-
er lighting.
Capital Bureau
Justice Court
Legislative leaders want
to improve the Legislature’s
process for addressing harass-
ment complaints in the wake
of Sen. Jeff Kruse’s resigna-
tion.
Kruse, R-Roseburg, will
depart the Senate March 15 in
the aftermath of an outside in-
vestigation, released last week,
determining the senator had
repeatedly touched women,
including fellow lawmakers,
without their consent or in
ways that made them feel un-
comfortable. The report found
he continued even after being
told to stop by human resourc-
es officials.
Speaker of the House Tina
Kotek, D-Portland, told report-
ers Monday that she and Sen-
ate President Peter Courtney,
D-Salem, will announce how
they plan to move forward on
the issue in the next week or
so.
The Kruse investigation is
the first time that the policies
got a “full workout,” and out-
side assessment of the Legisla-
ture’s process is still a distinct
possibility, Kotek said.
The state capitol is a unique
workplace that not only hous-
es employees of the legisla-
tive branch, but also elected
officials, lobbyists and con-
stituents under its roof. While
interns are considered employ-
ees and are covered by legisla-
tive personnel rules on harass-
ment, lobbyists and members
of the public are not.
The presiding officers of
the House and Senate have
limited powers when it comes
to disciplining members under
the state’s constitution, Kotek
said.
Lawmakers are inde-
pendently elected, and their
chamber can vote to expel
them, but only after a lengthy
process including an outside
investigation and convening
of a special committee on con-
duct.
“We have limited tools,
short of expelling someone
from a floor vote, to have a
member leave, and I don’t
think we’ll be able to fix that,
to be very honest,” Kotek said.
“That’s a constitutional issue...
The Grant County Jus-
tice Court reported the
following fines and judg-
ments:
• Driving while suspend-
ed: Tammy Mae Mask, 51,
Scio, Nov. 25, fined $435;
Olle L. Starnes, 47, John
Day, Dec. 13, fined $435;
Mitchel D. Long, 47, John
Day, Jan. 7, fined $440;
James M. Hancock, 43,
Canyon City, Jan. 20, fined
$435.
• Driving uninsured: Da-
vid L. Torres, 39, John Day,
Jan. 12, fined $225; William
C. Thomas, 63, John Day,
Dec. 3, fined $260; Olle L.
Starnes, 47, John Day, Dec.
13, fined $260; Mitchel D.
Long, 47, John Day, Jan. 7,
fined $260; James M. Han-
cock, 43, Canyon City, Jan.
20, fined $260; Garland J.
Weissenfluh, 51, Mt. Ver-
non, Jan. 12, fined $225.
• Violation of the basic
rule: Shane O. Reinhart,
39, Athena, Jan. 28, 75/55
zone, fined $140; Patrick
S. Saxon, 38, Sacramento,
California, Jan. 27, 68/55
zone, fined $165; Robert
S. McNitt, 47, Camp Sher-
man, Jan. 13, 74/55 zone,
fined $165; Scott H. Van-
den Bos, 30, Wilsonville,
Jan. 29, 75/55 zone, fined
$165; Robert E. Wagner,
77, Spray, Jan. 12, 75/55
zone, fined $140.
• Exceeding speed limit:
but what are the things you can
do up to that point?”
In late October, Court-
ney, the senate president, had
Kruse’s door removed and
removed him from policy
committees as punishment for
continued unwanted touching
of women and failure to stop
smoking indoors.
“You would think that tak-
ing someone’s door off and
taking them off their commit-
tees would have had the in-
tended impact,” Kotek said.
But Kotek said she thinks
it’s possible to make everyone
working in the building more
comfortable reporting harass-
ment.
One idea to facilitate that:
an anonymous tipline for com-
plaints.
Currently, reports go to
legislative employee services
or legislative counsel. As it
stands, Kotek described the
process as “clunky” and it can
be hard on people who make
complaints.
“Given the political nature
of this building, we have to en-
sure trust and confidentiality as
best we can,” Kotek said, “and
I think that was why this took
as long as it did, because until
the senators came forward, I
don’t think we all recognized
how difficult it was out there.”
Sens. Sara Gelser, D-Cor-
vallis, and Sen. Elizabeth
Steiner Hayward, D-Beaver-
ton, made formal complaints
about Kruse’s behavior last
fall. The investigator, attorney
Dian Rubanoff, made note of
the fact that other women who
told her they were harassed by
Kruse only felt comfortable
coming forward after seeing
Gelser do so publicly.
Although Oregon’s rules
and procedures for addressing
incidents of sexual harassment
are held up as a model for oth-
er states — the National Con-
ference of State Legislatures
showcased the policies of Ore-
gon and several other state leg-
islatures in a Feb. 9 webinar on
preventing sexual harassment
— Gelser says there’s a lot of
room for improvement.
The Corvallis Demo-
crat filed a formal complaint
against Kruse in November,
more than a year and a half
after initially reporting him
privately to the Legislature’s
human resources department.
In that period, he continued
to touch women at the capitol,
including law students who
worked for him and a lobby-
ist, according to the investi-
gation.
Gelser said that while there
are constitutional and due
process considerations at play
when a person accused of ha-
rassment is an elected mem-
ber of the Legislature, there
should be stronger protections
for people who are victims of
harassment.
“It’s a process designed
to protect powerful people,”
Gelser said.
After the events of Captain America: Civil
War, T’Challa returns home to his isolated,
technologically advanced African national
to take his rightful place as king.
FRI & SAT
(12:30) (3:45) 6:45 9:35
SUN & MON (12:30) (3:45) 6:45 9:30
TUES-THURS (1:20) (3:30) 6:45 10:00
Oregon State
Police
Feb. 4: Investigated a
report of a person finding
a dead mule deer on School
House Lane in Ritter Jan. 6.
Trooper found evidence it
was shot.
Feb. 4: Received a report
of two bull elk heads and
leg bones found in a ditch
on Frank’s Creek Road near
Dayville. The antlers and
skull cap had been sawn off
the elk heads.
Feb. 4: Trevor W. Hunt,
40, Estacada, was cited for
careless driving following
a single-vehicle accident on
Highway 19 near the John
Day Fossil Beds National
Monument.
Feb. 5: Report of cows
on Highway 26 near
Belshaw Creek.
Dispatch
John
Day
dispatch
worked 121 calls during
the week of Feb. 5-11.
Along with the various
traffic warnings, trespass-
ing, injured animals, noise
complaints and juvenile
complaints, these calls in-
cluded:
• John Day Police De-
partment
Feb. 5: Received a report
of vehicles running stop
signs in the Valley View
Drive and Charolais Drive
area.
Feb. 7: Received a re-
port of a vehicle that failed
to stop for a school bus with
its red lights on.
Feb. 7: Received a report
of a fraudulent check at a
credit union in John Day.
Feb. 7: Received a re-
port of a theft on Southwest
Fourth Street in John Day.
Feb. 7: Kristopher Good-
win, 27, John Day, was
arrested on a Grant Coun-
ty warrant at the Meadow-
brook apartments.
Feb. 7: Responded to a
theft report on Southwest
First Avenue in John Day.
Feb. 8: Dispatched to a
criminal mischief report on
Kilbourne Street in Prairie
City.
Feb. 9: Received a report
of harassment in John Day.
Feb. 9: Allan Norris
MacMillan Jr., 58, Prairie
City, was arrested on South
McHaley Avenue in Prai-
rie City and charged with
DUII.
Feb. 11: Disposed of a
possible drug syringe found
in a business on East Main
Street in John Day.
• Grant County Sher-
iff’s Office
Feb. 5: Received a report
of harassment on East Main
Street in John Day.
Feb. 6: Responded to a
report of an unattended lla-
ma in Mt. Vernon, which
was moved to a ranch.
Feb. 8: Responded with
John Day police, John Day
ambulance and the Forest
Service for a report of a sui-
cide on Laycock Creek.
Feb. 8: Janet Phillips,
75, John Day, was arrested
on a Grant County warrant
on West Main Street in John
Day.
Feb. 8: Dispatched to
Southeast Main Street in
John Day for harassment
report.
Feb. 9: Received a report
of a civil problem at a stor-
age business on Wilderness
Road in John Day.
• John Day ambulance
Feb. 5: Responded to a
senior care facility in Prai-
rie City for a 79-year-old
woman.
Feb. 5: Dispatched to
Screech Alley Loop in John
Day for a man.
Feb. 6: Responded to
Izee Paulina Lane in Can-
yon City for a 76-year-old
man.
Feb. 7: Dispatched to
East Main Street in Long
Creek for a person with a
heart attack.
Feb. 9: Responded to
Thompson Avenue in Mt.
Vernon for an 82-year-old
man with arm pain.
Feb. 10: Dispatched to
North Harris Street in Prai-
rie City for a 74-year-old
man who had fallen and in-
jured a hip.
Feb. 11: Responded to E
Avenue in Seneca for a per-
son with a possible stroke.
Feb. 11: Dispatched to
Northeast Seventh Avenue
in John Day for an 85-year-
old woman who had fallen.
Feb. 11: Responded to a
senior care facility in John
Day for a 90-year-old wom-
an.
Payments may be made at the Tax Collector’s Office at
the Grant County Courthouse in Canyon City, or the
payment may be mailed and postmarked no later than
February 15th, 2018. Please remember that delinquent
taxes accrue interest at the rate of 16% per year.
If you have any questions, please call the tax
office at 575-0107 or 575-0189.
PETER RABBIT (PG)
Feature adaptation of Beatrix Potter’s
classic tale of a rebellious rabbit trying to
sneak into a farmer’s vegetable garden.
FRI & SAT
(12:30) (4:10) 7:10 9:40
SUN & MON (12:30) (4:10) 7:10 9:30
TUES-THURS (1:20) (3:30) 7:10 10:00
FIFTY SHADES FREED (R)
Anastasia and Christian get married, but
threats to their relationship remain.
(12:30) (4:00) 7:00 9:45
FRI & SAT
SUN & MON (12:30) (4:00) 7:00 9:30
TUES-THURS (1:20) (3:30) 7:00 10:00
$9 Adult, $7 Senior (60+), Youth
Jolyn R. Kerr, 25, Canyon
City, Jan. 27, 77/65 zone,
fined $240; Corissa L.
Wright, 32, Burns, Jan. 26,
75/65 zone, fined $165; Mi-
chael A. Salanti, 61, John
Day, Jan. 15, 67/45 zone,
fined $225.
• Violation of speed
limit: James B. Haney, 38,
Boise, Idaho, Jan. 20, 84/65
zone, fined $160; Harry L.
Bettis, 83, Donnelly, Idaho,
Jan. 31, 82/65 zone, fined
$265.
• Registration sticker ex-
pired: Nicky J. Ballou, 40,
John Day, Jan. 24, fined
$115.
• Failure to carry a val-
id registration: Mitchel D.
Long, 47, John Day, Jan. 7,
fined $115.
• Use of a cellphone
while driving: Ethelene
Yazzie, 49, Canyon City,
Jan. 10, fined $225.
• No operator’s license:
David L. Torres, 39, John
Day, Jan. 12, fined $135.
The second installment of the 2017-18
property tax is due Thursday, February
15th, 2018 by 5:00 p.m.
BLACK PANTHER (PG-13)
40394
Pamplin Media Group
State Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg, resigned Thursday
over allegations he inappropriately touched female
colleagues and staff members. While denying the
allegations, Kruse said he would resign so that the
Senate could get on with its work.
A5
39581
Blue Mountain Eagle
PO Box 185
Canyon City, OR 97820
Thank You
We would like to thank the local ranchers who so
generously donate beef for Grant County schools’
lunch programs. These generous donations provide
good-quality meat to our kids, but also also provide
a good example to us all of the good that comes
from generosity. Any of us who have children in the
local schools should voice their thanks and gratitude
to the local ranchers that give to support our future
generations. Maybe more of us should give!
Customer Appreciation
Day
on Valentine’s Day - 8-5.
Stop by for a refreshment
for you and your furry friends.
40557
39780
59989 Hwy. 26, John Day
541 932-4428
Rick Rhinehart & family
39437