News
Blue Mountain Eagle
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 report the
court disposition of arrest
cases.
Grant County
Sheriff
The Grant County Sher-
iff’s Office reported the
following for the week of
March 8:
Concealed handgun li-
censes: 15
Average inmates: 12
Bookings: 9
Releases: 9
Arrests: 1
Citations: 2
Fingerprints: 6
Civil papers: 40
Warrants processed: 4
Asst./welfare check: 4
Search and rescue: 0
March 8: Alan Wolf, 30,
Canyon City, was cited for
driving while suspended and
failure to signal.
Justice Court
The Grant County Justice
Court reported the following
fines and judgments:
• Driving uninsured:
Shellie L. Wiscarson, 52,
John Day, Dec. 5, fined
$260; Shawn M. Long, 26,
Grants Pass, Feb. 3, fined
$265; Christine N. Daum,
29, John Day, Jan. 31, fined
$1,000.
• Driving while license
suspended: Shellie L. Wis-
carson, 52, John Day, Dec.
5, fined $435; Christine N.
Daum, 29, John Day, Jan.
31, fined $2,000.
• Exceeding speed limit:
Shawn M. Long, 26, Grants
Pass, Feb. 2, 72/55 zone,
fined $115; Crystal M. Hen-
drix, 43, Seneca, Feb. 18,
46/35 zone, fined $140; Jus-
tin C. Richey, 37, Lebanon,
Feb. 18, 43/30 zone, fined
$165; Kimberly K. Bari-
le-Lowry, 59, Tooele, Utah,
Feb. 20, 58/36 zone, fined
$265; Charles C. Paulson,
40, John Day, Nov. 17, 56/35
zone, fined $260; Robert N.
Cargill, 82, Burns, Feb. 19,
78/65 zone, fined $225;
David E. Stirewalt, 45, La
Grande, Feb. 19, 45/30 zone,
fined $165.
• Violation of basic rule:
Colt C. Ulam, 32, Eugene,
Jan. 30, 71/55 zone, fined
$165.
• Failure to renew regis-
tration: Christine N. Daum,
29, John Day, Jan. 1, fined
$250.
• Failure to drive within
lane: Shawn M. Long, 26,
Grants Pass, Feb. 7, fined
$225; Anne J. Ribeiro, 23,
Burns, Feb. 21, fined $225.
• Failure to properly use
safety belt: Anne J. Rebeiro,
23, Burns, Feb. 21, fined
$115.
Oregon State
Police
March 7: Assisted Bureau
of Land Management with
illegal woodcutting on Dixie
Creek Road. Matt W. Fitz-
maurice, 41, Baker City, and
Timothy Keith, 34, Prairie
City, were cited for illegal
cutting and transport of spe-
cial forest products. Their
chainsaws were seized.
March 10: Following
a traffic stop on Highway
395 south of Long Creek,
Rainelle M. Cheever, 33,
and Rodney E. Cheever,
35, were arrested on felo-
ny Wisconsin warrants for
possession or distribution of
heroin. Both were charged
with misdemeanor posses-
sion of methamphetamine
after a search of their vehi-
cle turned up an intravenous
needle containing metham-
phetamine. Their 1-year-old
boy was placed in the custo-
dy of his 57-year-old grand-
mother from Long Creek,
who was the vehicle’s driver.
Dispatch
John Day dispatch worked
144 calls during the week of
March 5-11. Along with the
various traffic warnings,
trespassing, injured animals,
noise complaints and juve-
nile complaints, these calls
included:
• John Day Police De-
partment
March 5: Advised of a
theft at Blue Mountain Hos-
pital in John Day.
March 6: Received a re-
port of a burglary and theft
at the Grant County Food
Bank in John Day.
March 6: Responded
with Oregon State Police
to East Main Street in John
Day for a report of a fight.
Kristopher M. Goodwin, 27,
John Day, was arrested and
charged with illegal posses-
sion of a concealed weapon.
March 7: Dispatched to
Southwest First Avenue in
John Day for an unwanted
person.
March 7: Responded to
Southwest First Avenue in
John Day for a harassment
complaint.
March 7: Following a
traffic stop on Northwest
Thompson Avenue in Mt.
Vernon, Robert J. Bryant
Jr., 20, was cited for driving
with a suspended license and
no insurance.
March 8: Responded to
a report of a phone scam on
West Main Street in John
Day.
March 8: Assisted De-
partment of Human Services
with a domestic situation
on East Main Street in John
Day.
March 8: Responded to
Northwest Fourth Avenue in
John Day for a report of tele-
phonic harassment.
March 8: Following a
stop on West Main Street,
Cheryl A. Mutchler, 22, John
Day, was cited for driving
with a suspended license and
no insurance.
March 8: Received infor-
mation about a suicidal per-
son in John Day.
March 9: Responded to
Johnson Avenue in Prairie
City for a report of suspi-
cious circumstances.
March 10: Dispatched to
Northwest Seventh Avenue
in John Day for a report of
property hit with eggs.
March 10: Responded to
Bridge Street in Prairie City
for a harassment report.
March 10: Dispatched to
West Main Street in John
Day for a report of an un-
wanted person at a residence.
March 11: Following a
traffic stop at Bridge Street
and Second Avenue in John
Day, Tanaya S. Robinson,
37, of John Day, was cited
for driving with a suspended
license, no insurance and no
registration.
• Grant County Sher-
iff’s Office
March 5: Responded to a
report of custodial interfer-
ence on Marysville Road in
Canyon City.
March 5: Advised of sus-
picious circumstances in the
Marysville area.
March 5: Dispatched
with Oregon State Police to
Highway 26 in John Day for
a person with mental prob-
lems.
March 6: Responded to a
two-vehicle crash on High-
way 395 near Canyon Creek
Road.
March 6: Received a re-
port of a suspicious person
talking to a young girl at
the Grant County Library in
Canyon City.
March 6: Responded to
the Grant County Court-
house in Canyon City for a
suspicious person.
March 7: Dispatched
with Oregon State Police
to Southwest First Avenue
in John Day for a report of
threats.
March 7: Received a re-
quest for more patrol at Riv-
erside Mobile Home Park in
John Day.
March 8: Following a
warrant service on Southeast
Hillcrest Drive in John Day,
Tyler Gifford, 23, John Day,
was arrested and charged on
a parole board warrant.
March 10: Received a
report of trespassing and
people chasing horses with
ATVs on Wiley Creek Road
in Mt. Vernon.
March 10: Responded to
a motel in Mt. Vernon for a
criminal mischief report.
March 10: Following a
traffic stop on Highway 395
near Magone Lake Road,
Mark S. Crissman, 57, Fox,
was cited for driving without
a license.
March 11: Dispatched to
Second Street in Prairie City
for a report of loud noise and
harassment.
• Oregon State Police
March 6: Advised of a
mule on Highway 26 east of
John Day.
• John Day ambulance
March 5: Responded with
Seneca ambulance and Grant
County Sheriff’s Office to B
Avenue in Seneca for an el-
derly man.
March 8: Dispatched to
North Washington Street in
Canyon City.
March 8: Responded to
East Main Street in John Day
for a man who was choking.
• Community Counsel-
ing Solutions
March 11: Received a re-
port of a suicidal person on
Southwest Brent Drive in
John Day.
• U.S. Forest Service
March 5: Advised of an
unattended burn in the Wall
Creek Road area of Monu-
ment.
• John Day dispatch
March 7: Received a re-
port of an Internal Revenue
Service fraud.
• Oregon Department of
Transportation
March 8: Advised of a
semi-truck that spun out on
Highway 7 near Austin Junc-
tion and created a hazard.
Hello, I’m Richie.
Most everybody knows
me by that name.
I’m privileged to be running for Grant County
Commissioner.
Since moving to John Day 10 years ago, I worked at
the Chamber, Hospice, Ranch & Rodeo Museum,
Grant County Historical Museum and I delivered
Meals on Wheels
I served on the John Day Budget Committee, The
Senior Citizen Advisory Board, I’m your Republican
Precinct Committee Person 2nd term, and I’m a
Paralegal.
Due to my experience, the transition to the court
would be seamless.
Thanking you in advance for your vote of
confidence May 15th.
Paid for by Richie Colbeth
45393
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
A5
Local schools prepare for
National School Walkout
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Parents of Grant Union
Junior-Senior High School
students received a letter
recently from the school
regarding National School
Walkout days set for
Wednesday, March 14, and
Friday, April 20.
Grant Union Principal
Ryan Gerry said in the letter
he felt it was important for
parents to be aware of the
nationwide movement that
involves students walking
out of class for 17 minutes
at 10 a.m., across each time
zone, on those dates to honor
those killed earlier this year
in the massacre at a Park-
land, Florida, high school
and to protest gun violence.
“Grant Union Junior-Se-
nior High School neither
supports nor condones this
nationwide planned event,”
Gerry said.
The letter informed par-
ents how the school will
handle the situation if any
Ryan Gerry
Grant Union students choose
to participate.
A student is considered
tardy if they are up to 15
minutes late to class, and ab-
sent if they arrive more than
15 minutes late.
“As with any other situ-
ation where a student leaves
class without permission,
students that choose to par-
ticipate will be marked with
an unexcused absence for
the period,” Gerry said in the
letter. “Unexcused absences
will need to be cleared by the
parent or guardian.”
He added that any student
who is not in school for the
entire day, whether excused
or unexcused, would not be
allowed to participate in ex-
tra-curricular events or prac-
tices.
Gerry also said, if stu-
dents choose to gather off
school district property,
school supervision will not
be present.
“Students who partici-
pate in this event will not be
subject to discipline actions
unless their activity causes a
substantial disruption to the
educational environment,”
Gerry stated.
In Dayville, superin-
tendent/principal Kathryn
Hedrick said she didn’t an-
ticipate any of their 12 high
school students, including
four international students,
participating in the event.
She said that she and oth-
er school officials are aware
of it, and they’ve talked with
the students about it.
“We haven’t heard of any
wanting to walk out,” she
said.
HISTORY OF THE USE
OF THE RANGE NORTH
OF THE JOHN DAY RIVER
use of the range north of John Day
E arly
was mostly by horses, sheep and a few
cattle. At an early date the settlers of the John
Day River summered their horses and sheep
on east Beech Creek and Clear Creek. Many
of the camping places used by these men
carried their names for many years. My
father had a horse camp on East Beech Creek
near the mouth of Thompson Creek. The
horses were herded on the range during the
day and corralled at night.
My cousin Henry Trowbridge told me he
saw the beginning of the wild horses in the
county. Some horses drifted onto the Beech
Creek range from the upper end of the valley
and horses from the ones that were herded
would drift away and join these other horses.
In a few years they became wild.
By about 1900 most of the land from
Bear Creek on the east to Beech Creek on the
west was under fence from the John Day
river north about four miles. The cattle,
horses and sheep ranged on the open range
from early spring until gathering time in the
fall. I know our cattle ranged from Beech
Creek on the west to Bear Creek on the east.
About 1901 L.A. Porter, John Silvers and
the Trowbridges decided to make an effort to
move their cattle from the open ranges across
the east fork of Beech Creek, which is now
the Malheur National Forest. These men built
a corral on Beech Creek near where the
Trowbridge corrals are now located. About
the first of June each year the cattle were
driven from the low range to the Beech Creek
corrals. Here the calves were branded and the
cattle were turned loose north of Beech
Creek. At this time there were no fences on
Beech Creek. During the time we were riding
we camped near the corral. Our horses were
hobbled and turned loose except our range
horse that was kept staked. Before the Forest
Service was created the Indians used Beech
Creek as a summer camping ground. There
were lots of birds in the mountains, also
coyotes, bear, cougar and a few deer.
At this early date about ten bands of
sheep were being summered on the range,
which is now the John Day allotment. Most
of these sheep were from the north end and
other counties.
About this time the National Forest was
created. What is now the Long Creek District
was in the Heppner National Forest with
headquarters at Heppner. Soon after the
Beech Creek range was taken over by the
Forest a meeting was held in John Day to
decide on a line between the cattle and
sheepmen. At this meeting a division line was
agreed upon which the cattlemen understood
was to be about a mile north of where it was
located. The cattlemen protested the sheep
being allowed this low down. The Forest
officials claimed the sheepmen had a prior
right. The cattlemen knew this was a mistake
since my father and other local men were the
first to use this range. This line started to the
east at about the northwest corner of section
16 township 12 range 32 then west through
the low saddles to Radue Ranger station.
After the Heppner National Forest was
established the stockmen had to pay grazing
fees. The Eastern Oregon Land Company
demanded that the cattlemen lease their land,
which was out in the open hills. At this time
there were no fences between this land and
the Forest. The cattlemen paid the land
company so much per acre for grazing
privileges. The Forest officials and the
stockmen agreed on an on-and-off permit,
which I believe was 60 per cent on the forest
and 40 per cent on the leased land. At this
time L.A. Porter, John Silvers and
Trowbridges formed a stock association,
which they called the East Fork Cattle
Association.
The line between the cattle and sheep
being placed where it was didn’t leave much
ground for cattle to graze. Naturally the cattle
began to graze elsewhere. The cattle from the
Beech Creek range drifted through the sheep
range north to the Keeney, Clark and Flood
Meadows, also on to Cottonwood Creek. At
this time very few Long Creek cattle used
these meadows. I would say two thirds of the
cattle grazing on these meadows were John
Day river cattle. The same is true of
Cottonwood Creek.
During this period very few cattle were
summered in pastures. Cows and calves,
yearling, two and three year steers were
summered on the range. About the 15th of
July we would gather the fat cows and later
we would gather the remaining fat cows and
steers. One year we stayed at Hiyu Ranger
Station and rode from there.
Next was the division of the north side
range by drift fence. In this division all of the
meadowland our stock had been grazing on
for a number of years was put in other
allotments. We were allotted the range that
had been grazed by sheep for many years.
The use of the open range continued, as
had been the custom for many years until
1916 when the Homestead Act was passed
allowing the homesteading of 640 acres. Soon
after the passage of this act most of the
government land was homesteaded by
stockmen or others who after proving up on
the land sold to the stockmen. The Eastern
Oregon Land Company in 1922 sold most of
their land to stockmen who owned land
adjoining. This land was soon fenced, closing
the gap between the open range and the Forest
allotment. Now that the stock could be kept on
the Forest allotment the on-and-off permits
were cancelled and new permits were issued.
So far I have only mentioned some of the
men that used the open range and the Forest
allotment. Those that have had permits on the
John Day allotments as near as I can
remember were L.A. Porter, John Silvers
(which later became Silvers & Bragga), J.F.
Herburger, Joe Veigas, C.A. Hardy, Johnson
& Fisk, F.E. McCullough, B. C. Trowbridge,
C.B & W.A. Patterson, Arthur Begg, Bob
Sproul, Bud Trowbridge and C.A.
Trowbridge.
In 1942 our range was improved by
annexing about five thousand acres on the
Grub Creek watershed. After this range was
annexed we kept the fence dividing this and
the original in repair. The Trowbridge cattle
were turned on the Grub Creek ranged at the
opening of the grazing season until about
August 1st. The cattle were then put back on
the original range. This policy was carried
out for three years.
One thing I don’t want to overlook was
the horses that grazed the range year round.
About 1902 seven hundred head of horses
were gathered from this range and sold to
buyers from Montana. In 1926 in cooperation
with the Forest Service we gathered the
remaining horses and disposed of them.
In closing I want to comment on some
things I have mentioned in this history of the
John Day Range. Some of the dates may not
be correct that I have used in this writing as I
go back to when I was quite young.
1. The division of the range between the
cattle and sheepmen. The cattlemen were
very much opposed to this division, as the
range had been used by the John Day
stockmen many years before there were any
outside sheep.
2. Next the drift fence dividing the Long
Creek and Fox range from the John Day. The
John Day cattlemen felt they were entitled to
some of the meadows since their cattle had
grazed that range for many years without any
complaint from anyone. We had to be
satisfied with range that had been grazed by
sheep for so many years.
3. Combined with range improvement
projects and wet seasons this range has
improved a lot in the past fifty years.
4. I mentioned gathering cattle during the
summer. This would be very near impossible
now due to the underbrush.
5. Before this range was fenced some of our
cattle in the fall would drift onto other
ranges. These cattle were always taken care
of by the cattlemen that used these ranges.
We lost very few cattle from this mixing with
other cattle. In return we took care of their
cattle. Gathering these cattle late in the fall
necessitated a lot of riding.
– Charley Trowbridge,
circa 1950
Paid for by Austene Hendrix, granddaughter