Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2018)
W edNesday , F ebruary 21, 2018 • N o . 8 The • 18 P ages • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 Grant Union’s Lusco wins state wrestling title. Page A10 Grant Union, Prairie City basketball teams all advance to state. Page A10 Report: Economy does not support scheduled air flights By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle The Grant County area does not have the popula- tion, employment and income levels needed to support reg- ularly scheduled passenger service at Grant County Re- gional Airport. That’s the conclusion of a recent report on rural air- port services presented at the Grant County Court’s Feb. 14 meeting. The Grant County area has seen declining popu- lation and household income over the past decade. It has also seen a significant drop in manufacturing sector earn- ings, which is positively cor- related with demand for air service, the report said. “The re- gion has lim- ited demand for passenger air service,” ECONor- Grant thwest said County in its report. Regional “This is due to Airport. the area’s rel- atively small population and limited economic footprint.” Airport manager Haley Walker said she contacted the Oregon Department of Avia- tion in fall 2016 about apply- ing for a Critical Oregon Air- port Relief grant to support a passenger air service study and was told a study was al- ready underway. The department had con- tracted with ECONorthwest to describe passenger air service distribution across Oregon using the framework of supply and demand. The study was completed in Janu- ary and includes a case study for Eastern Oregon, with a section on Grant County Re- gional Airport and John Day. According to Federal Avi- ation Administration data provided in the report, Grant County Regional Airport saw 251 enplanements in 2007 and 102 in 2009, but none were reported after that date. See AIRPORT, Page A18 PLAN LOOKS AT AGING FOREST FACILITIES Contributed photo/Rex Kamstra The Aldrich Mountain Lookout on the Malheur National Forest. Malheur National Forest goal: sustainable infrastructure By Richard Hanners Gloomy finances Nationwide, the Forest Service has identified 3,374 buildings that it wants to he message in the Malheur Na- decommission. These buildings need $195 tional Forest’s recently issued million worth of repairs, while the mainte- draft Facility Master Plan is nance bill for all Forest Service buildings is estimated to be $1.1 billion. bleak but not unique. Locally, the Malheur National Forest Insufficient funding and ac- cumulating deterioration have created a owns 133 fire, administration or other “national junkyard” (FAO) buildings and within the Forest leases two more. Service’s portfolio of Replacement value 40,000 administra- for these buildings, tive, recreation and including guard research buildings stations, firefighter nationwide, accord- housing and look- ing to an InBusiness outs, is estimated Magazine article cit- to be $36.8 million, Contributed photo/U.S. Forest Service ed by Teresa Dixon, The Raddue Guard Station on while maintenance a program manager the Malheur National Forest was funding needed to at Malheur National abandoned about 15 years ago. keep them up is $1.1 Forest, in her talk to million. the Grant County Court Feb. 14. The forest also has 45 developed rec- Deteriorating buildings pose safety reation sites with 94 associated buildings risks, with rotting floorboards, collapsing — mostly toilets. The forest has 31 de- foundations — even swaying lookouts. veloped campgrounds, including 21 that They also pose health risks, including charge fees, as well as five recreational hantavirus and mold. While much damage rentals, four snow parks and five miscel- is environmental, some is human-caused laneous sites. Replacement value for these — including vandalism, graffiti and bullet See FOREST, Page A18 holes, Dixon noted. Blue Mountain Eagle T Contributed photo/U.S. Forest Service The Frazier Lookout on the Malheur National Forest. Blueprint presented for new housing stimulus plan Four duplexes planned along John Day River By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle The city of John Day is getting closer to establish- ing an urban renewal area intended to encourage new home building in the com- munity, the John Day City Council learned Feb. 13. City staff presented pre- liminary boundaries for the program to the Project Ad- visory Committee during its Jan. 29 meeting, City Man- ager Nick Green told the council. State law limits urban renewal areas to 25 percent of a city’s land area and 25 percent of its assessed value. John Day’s 1,376 total acres City to support new housing project By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle The Eagle/Richard Hanners This empty lot in the Valley View/Ironwood Estates neighborhood could be included in John Day’s proposed urban renewal area and be eligible for subsidies. are assessed at about $100 million. The city’s consultants at Elaine Howard Consulting recommended including up to 286 acres in order to leave room for future amendments. Under the city’s current proposal, new home construc- tion would be encouraged by offering a 7 percent cash re- See PLAN, Page A18 A spurt in new home construction could be seen as early as this summer, with four duplexes planned for a 1.19-acre property along the John Day River at the end of Canton Street in John Day. Only three new homes have been built in John Day over the past decade, City Manager Nick Green told the city’s Planning Com- mission Feb. 13 as they took a first look at Sally Knowles’ eight-unit project. The project fits in well with the city’s goal of encourag- ing new home construction, Green said. According to plans sub- mitted by Knowles, two 1,371-square-foot, two-sto- ry duplexes, each unit with three bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms, will be built on the north side of the prop- erty along the river, and two 1,265-square-foot, sin- gle-story duplexes, each unit with three bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms, will be built on the south side. Knowles told the plan- ning commission that she See PROJECT, Page A18