BASKETBALL TEAMS ADVANCE
PRAIRIE CITY
BOYS
The
GRANT UNION
BOYS
Page 13
GRANT UNION
GIRLS
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
W edNesday , F ebruary 28, 2018
• N o . 9
• 18 P ages
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www.MyEagleNews.com
THE GOOD,
THE BAD,
THE UGLY
Budget woes swamp
public safety services
John Day Police
Chief Richard Gray.
Eagle file photo
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
T
he good news is that John Day and
That’s the message of John Day’s “2017
Prairie City “are fortunate to har-
Public Safety Overview.” The annual report
bor a very safe environment, free
was scheduled to be presented to the John
from many of the
Day City Council at its Feb.
Costs for police
daily acts of vio-
27 meeting.
services have
lence that occur in larger com-
The John Day Police De-
grown significantly
munities and even in many
partment had 4.5 officers
faster than revenue
smaller communities through-
and three reserves last year.
out our state and nation.”
According to Chief Richard
over the past 20
The bad news is that con-
Gray, the department’s priori-
years.”
tinuing population decline
ties are drug enforcement and
and economic stagnation 2017 Public Safety Overview substance abuse prevention,
have reduced revenue avail-
patrol and ordinance enforce-
able for public safety services at the same
ment and 21st century policing.
time that public safety costs are “escalating
See BUDGET, Page A18
at unprecedented rates.”
“
Who will replace Britton?
Recommendations for the future
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
John Day City Manager Nick
Green presented four recommen-
dations to deal with the financial
difficulties facing the city’s police
department in a memo to the city
council.
First, police staffing should re-
main at the current level of three
full-time officers with paid reserves
beginning July 1. This would reduce
the coverage level from the 2.6 offi-
cers per 1,000 residents to two and
provide a $110,000 cost reduction.
Second, notice should be given to
Prairie City that because of reduced
staffing, John Day would no longer
provide them with contract police
services. John Day would continue
See FUTURE, Page A18
Moles denied new trial
By Richard Hanners
Judge Cramer
considers
claims in
lengthy motion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Five county seats are open
for election in this May’s Grant
County primary.
As of Feb. 22, three resi-
dents had filed for Commis-
sioner Boyd Britton’s seat. The
challengers for the four-year
position include Gordon Lar-
son, Canyon City, and Sam
Palmer and Tanner Elliott, John
Day. Britton has said he will
not file for re-election.
Grant County Judge Scott
Myers has filed for another six-
year term and is unopposed.
Also running unopposed for
re-election are County Clerk
Brenda Percy and District At-
torney Jim Carpenter, for four-
year terms, and Justice of the
Peace Kathy Stinnett, for an-
other six years.
In addition, 41 two-year
Republican and Democratic
precinct positions are up for
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Eagle file photo
Grant County Commissioner
Boyd Britton.
election in the county’s five
precincts.
Grant County voters also
will see a ballot measure to
repeal a county ordinance and
allow marijuana businesses to
operate under state law.
The deadline to file is at 5
p.m. March 6. The Grant Coun-
ty Clerk’s office can be contact-
ed at 541-575-1675 for ques-
tions about filing.
Grant County Circuit
Court Judge William D.
Cramer Jr. denied a re-
quest by the attorney for a
John Day man sentenced to
prison for sexual abuse to
set aside his judgment and
grant Bradley Moles a new
trial.
Moles was sentenced
Jan. 31 to 75 months in
prison for one charge of
first-degree sexual abuse
and was acquitted of four
additional
sex-related
charges. That was the out-
Bradley David Moles
come of his second trial.
Moles’ first trial ended
Sept. 15 with a hung jury
following a five-day trial.
Oregon requires 10 of the
12 jurors to agree on a felo-
ny verdict.
Moles was prosecuted
by Grant County District
Attorney Jim Carpenter.
Moles’ defense attorney,
Foster Glass, presented five
reasons for granting Moles
a new trial: irregularity
in the proceedings of the
court, jury or adverse par-
ty; misconduct of the jury
or prevailing party; newly
discovered evidence; insuf-
ficiency of the evidence to
justify the verdict or other
decision; and error in law
occurring at the trial.
In his 106-page motion,
Glass claimed that both
jury misconduct and error
in instruction “changed the
outcome of the trial, raising
confusion and contradicto-
ry conclusions of the jury.”
Jurors’ letters
Citing the clerk of court,
Glass said three jurors
wrote letters to Cramer.
In her Jan. 28 letter, Linda
Gingrich said she was one
of the two women who
voted not guilty on all five
counts in Moles’ second
trial.
See MOLES, Page A18