A6
Blue Mountain Eagle
News
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
WELDING
Continued from Page A1
“Wait, wait …
So tell me AGAIN
about this
abstinence thing?!!!”
The only sure way to
prevent unwanted litters
from ending up in shelters –
where a possible death
sentence awaits – is to spay
and neuter your pets.
Here in Grant County,
Hope4Paws can help!
Our Alley’s Fund and Dog Dayz voucher
programs offer discounts on spay/neuter for Grant
County cats and dogs. Voucher letters, presented
at the time of service, are good for $15-$25
discounts for cats and $30-$50 discounts for dogs,
depending on the type of procedure. *
Call 541-575-0500 today to request
a discount voucher!
Spay/neuter – It’s the responsible thing to do!
* Available to Grant County pet owners only. Vouchers must
be presented at time of service at John Day River Veterinary
Center or Canyon Creek Veterinary Clinic.
“It’s a whole culture shift
for us,” he said. “The commu-
nity is really cool. The guys
we’re teaching are really cool.
... We’re talking about the dif-
ferences of our lives.”
Monument senior Preston
Stevens said it was exciting to
increase their skill level and
learn the safety rules and pro-
cedures.
“We learned new ways of
welding,” he said. “I can’t
thank them enough. They’ve
done so much for us in the
short two days we’ve had, and
I’m glad we could meet such a
good group.”
Drew Wilburn, a Mon-
ument sophomore, said the
training was invaluable.
“It widens my knowl-
edge of careers I want to
pursue,” he said. “Welding
is something I love, and I’m
enjoying learning how to do
it better.”
Monument freshman DJ
Howell added he’s learned to
keep a better angle and dis-
tance for a better weld, as well
as how to properly operate
and maintain the equipment.
Engle said the “city kids
and country kids” made fast
friends.
“I had high hopes of the
knowledge that we would
attain; it actually turned out
much better than I imagined,”
she said. “Mark is a very tal-
ented, kind and knowledge-
able welding instructor.”
Lynch said the students in
his program attend their reg-
ular high school, while also
receiving the vocational-tech-
nical training at Sabin-Schel-
lenberg, which has a variety
of programs.
If his students participate
in the program all four years,
they can become a certified
welder.
“They can go into any one
of the trades,” he said. “Com-
panies hire students right out
of the gate.”
He said he’s seen his stu-
Monument junior Cade Milton, front right, receives
guidance from freshman Andrew Tanner, left, and junior
Davis Courtney who were visiting students from the
Sabin-Schellenberg Center in Clackamas.
dents advance to fields such
as bridge building, manufac-
turing, the structure metal in-
dustry, heavy equipment and
aircraft welding.
The Monument shop and
agriculture class will hold
an open house from 6-8 p.m.
Wednesday, March 14, with
handmade items for sale at the
school’s career and technical
department shop, located on
the hill behind the athletic
field.
Engle said her shop class is
planning a visit in May to the
Sabin-Schellenberg Center
“in hopes of continuing a suc-
cessful association with Mark
and his program.”
POT
Continued from Page A1
Rob Raschio filed a complaint
challenging the county or-
dinance on Dec. 8 on behalf
of two people who wanted to
grow marijuana for sale and
a person who used marijuana
for medical purposes.
The complaint was with-
drawn in January 2016, and
petitioners organized to put
a measure on the May 2016
primary to overturn the ban.
Grant County voters turned
down the ballot initiative by
1,689 to 1,469, with 71 per-
cent of the county’s 4,640
registered voters casting bal-
lots.
In September 2016, the
county court amended Or-
dinance 2015-01 to allow
patients to purchase medical
marijuana at dispensaries in
Grant County. Olson and Kidd
work at the only dispensary in
the county, Rocky Mountain
Dispensary, just west of the
John Day city limits.
The amended ordinance
only allows medical marijua-
na businesses in the county,
not recreational marijuana
businesses. If this ballot ini-
tiative passes, Kidd said, her
company plans to sell recre-
ational marijuana in the same
dispensary where medical
marijuana is sold, and they’d
like to expand into process-
ing.
Ballot Measure 91, which
allows recreational marijua-
na uses and businesses un-
der Oregon Liquor Control
Commission regulation, was
approved by Oregon voters
by 56 percent to 44 percent in
2014.
Under the law, adults 21
years and older can carry up
to one ounce of marijuana
for recreational use, keep up
to eight ounces in their home
and grow up to four plants per
household.
Tax revenue
For more information about
Hope4Paws: Grant County:
Like us on Facebook
Visit www.hope4pawsgrantcounty.com
Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter
Students in Monument School’s welding class learn
from manufacturing instructor Mark Lynch of Clackamas
and four of his students. In the photo, clockwise from
left: DJ Howell, Lynch, Cade Milton, Max Tobiassen,
Drew Wilburn, Alex Tobiassen, Andrew Tanner and Davis
Courtney. Lynch teaches high school students at the
Sabin-Schellenberg Professional Technical Center.
According to state law, a
17 percent base tax on recre-
ational marijuana sales is col-
lected by the state. The tax is
collected on the retail sale of
leaves, flowers and immature
plants; edibles, concentrates
and extracts; products used on
the skin or hair; and other can-
nabinoid products.
The revenue is distributed
Eagle file photo
Haley Olson stands in front of the safe that stores
medical marijuana at the Rocky Mountain Dispensary.
by the state, with 40 percent
going to the Common School
fund, 20 percent to Mental
Health Alcoholism and Drug
Services, 15 percent to Ore-
gon State Police, 10 percent
to cities for enforcement of
the law, 10 percent to counties
for enforcement of the law
and 5 percent to the Oregon
Health Authority for alcohol
and drug abuse prevention
programs. Only cities and
counties that allow marijua-
na businesses receive the tax
revenue.
Cities and counties with
recreational marijuana sales
can also tack on another tax
of up to 3 percent by referring
the ordinance to local voters
at the next statewide election.
The local governments can
use the revenue as they see
fit. Forecasting recreational
marijuana sales, however, is
not easy.
Pendleton City Manager
Robb Corbett reported Feb. 27
that his city projects $203,367
in revenue this year from tax-
es on the sale of recreational
marijuana. Pendleton’s pop-
ulation is 16,834, more than
double the 7,186 people in
Grant County, according to
2016 figures.
Corbett told his city coun-
cil that he suspected other
Eastern Oregon cities might
change their mind about al-
lowing recreational marijuana
sales once they learn about the
amount of money that could
be made.
Grant County Judge Scott
Myers said he had no way to
forecast recreational marijua-
na sales in the county if the
ballot measure passes. If it did
pass, he said, he’d like to see a
3 percent county tax imposed
and use the money to help off-
set any legal costs resulting
from passage of the measure.
Olson told the Eagle she
spoke with an analyst in Sa-
lem to estimate how much
revenue would go to Grant
County. With one dispensa-
ry, two processors and four
growers, the estimate was
$30,000 per quarter, she said.
Site restrictions
Myers noted that recre-
ational marijuana businesses
in Grant County would only
be allowed outside of cities,
which passed their own ordi-
nances to ban marijuana busi-
nesses.
The Oregon Liquor Con-
trol Commission will not li-
cense recreational marijuana
businesses located in a prima-
ry residence, and it requires a
land-use compatibility state-
ment from local jurisdictions
before licensing a new busi-
ness at a particular site.
Cities and counties can
regulate how recreational
marijuana businesses op-
erate through their zoning
ordinances. Both Myers
and Grant County Assistant
Planner Shannon Springer,
however, said it was too early
to suggest what Grant Coun-
ty would do about siting the
new businesses.
Kidd said numerous peo-
ple came forward to help
gather signatures for the pe-
tition.
“It was a group effort,”
she said.
Next up is a concerted
campaign, with painted 4-by-
8 boards, Kidd said.
“We’d like to hold a pub-
lic meeting where people can
ask questions,” she said.