News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
SUICIDE
Suicide prevention resources
COSTS
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• Community Counseling Solutions in John Day, 541-575-
1466
• David Romprey Oregon Warm Line, 1-800-698-2392
• Oregon Youth Line, 1-877-968-8491, text 839863,
youthL@linesforlife.org
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK
• Spanish Language National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:
1-888-628-9454
• Crisis Text Line: 741741
• Military Helpline: 888-457-4838 or text MIL1 to 839863
• Alcohol and Drug Helpline: 800-923-4357 or text Recov-
eryNow to 839863
• Suicide Prevention Resource Center, sprc.org
• SafeOregon reporting line: 844-472-3367 or tip@safeo-
regon.com
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Authority. About 25 percent of
suicides in Oregon occurred
among veterans.
Suicide rates increase as
people age, peaking after 85.
In Grant County, 22 people
died by suicide from 2003 to
2012. Nine were over 65 years,
six were from 45 to 64 years,
and five were from 25 to 44
years. One was from 18 to 24
years, and one was from 10 to
17 years.
Young people tended to
suffer more from poor fami-
ly relationships, while older
people tended to suffer more
from physical health prob-
lems. Adults between 18 and
44 years who died from suicide
were more likely to have had
problems with intimate part-
ners. Mental illness was most
common among suicide vic-
CITY
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at bringing other events to John
Day.
The city’s strategy for
growth hopes to attract digi-
tal commuters, active retirees
and young working families to
John Day by providing more
recreational amenities, broad-
band internet access and im-
proved housing stock.
At the same time, the city
needs to question spending that
does not align with this growth
strategy while finding funding
for these growth programs. The
city was successful in obtaining
more than $2 million in grants
ADVISER
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Myers also expressed con-
cern about how to continue
funding the position. Hamsh-
er agreed sustainability was
an issue, but he made a mo-
tion that the court at least try
filling the position for a year.
The county budget is fac-
ing important changes this
fiscal year, including loss of
federal funding under the Se-
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
Community Counseling
Solutions Clinical Director
Thad Labhart has been
working as a counselor
in Grant County for more
than two decades.
tims between 45 and 64 years.
A little more than half of
suicide victims in Oregon in
2012 used firearms, and about
three-quarters of all firearm
deaths were suicides, accord-
ing to the Oregon Health Au-
thority. About 19 percent of
suicides in Oregon that year
were by poison, and another
19 percent were by hanging
or suffocation. Men account-
ed for 61 percent of suicides
by firearm, while women ac-
counted for 42 percent of sui-
cides involving poison.
Women accounted for 63
percent of hospitalizations
following a suicide attempt
in 2013. The highest rate was
for women 35 to 44 years and
15 to 24 years of age. About
90 percent of these hospital-
izations involved poisoning,
such as overdosing. Only 2.2
percent were by firearms.
The final installment of the
suicide series will be pub-
lished next week.
last year.
Green presented a five-year
plan with 10 capital projects
to accomplish these goals: in-
creasing broadband access with
a fiber optic cable, improving
the housing stock through an
Urban Renewal Agency and in-
centives, renovating the Weav-
er Building on Main Street,
completing a new sewer treat-
ment plant, installing a tenant
in the completed fire hall, im-
provements to the city shop,
implementing a GIS system for
city services, extending Sev-
enth Street west, negotiating a
package deal that includes sale
of the land around the Kam
Wah Chung State Historic
Site and city pool and build-
ing a new pool at a new park
and completing the Innovation
Gateway project at the former
Oregon Pine mill site.
Green said residents could
expect to see several changes
this year. Transitioning the dis-
patch center and reducing the
police force to three officers
would cut city staff by 30 per-
cent, he said. A review of per-
sonnel compensation will eval-
uate whether city pay is fair and
how benefits compare to other
local governments.
A local income survey is
underway that will determine
if John Day is eligible for $2
million in federal funding for
its new sewer treatment plant,
Green said. Financing for the
project should be in place by
the end of the year, and prelim-
inary engineering should begin
after that.
A citywide housing devel-
opment district and the city’s
first greenhouse should be op-
erating by the end of the year,
and an area development plan
for the former Oregon Pine
mill site should be completed
by June 2019.
The city is actively working
its strategy for growth and rais-
ing capital to fulfill that strate-
gy, Green said.
“It’s time for our communi-
ty to start a new kind of conver-
sation, one that focuses on our
future instead of the past,” he
said.
cure Rural Schools Act and
the possibility that the Grant
County Sheriff’s Office might
take over law enforcement re-
sponsibilities in Prairie City
from John Day, which might
relinquish its police contract
with Prairie City.
Britton raised concerns
about the nature of the natural
resource adviser position and
how it would be structured.
Hamsher said the person
would advise the court on nat-
ural resource issues, and side-
boards limiting the scope of
the position were established
in the request for proposals
that was sent out.
Britton, however, noted
that the county’s counsel, Ron
Yockim, had taken a hatchet
to the RFP. Myers agreed.
Pointing out that he won’t
be on the court next year, Brit-
ton said he wanted a clear un-
derstanding of what the nat-
ural resource adviser would
actually do.
Hamsher asked that the
court establish a hiring com-
mittee to review the three
candidates. Britton noted that
the hiring process could be
lengthy, leaving little time left
to perform the job this year,
and Myers noted that he al-
ready serves on 27 different
boards and wouldn’t be avail-
able.
Hamsher’s motion died
for lack of a second, and Brit-
ton asked him to address the
questions raised during the
meeting and bring the matter
back at the March 28 court
meeting.
The court reached consen-
sus to advise the county bud-
get committee when it meets
March 19 to find a way to
fund the natural resource ad-
viser position through January
2019.
Myers later told the Eagle
that he was concerned about
hiring a person to fill the po-
sition for such a short period
of time. He also noted that
five county court candidates
in this year’s election were in
the room during the discus-
sion, and the court’s makeup
could dramatically change by
next January.
Hamsher has filed to run
against Myers for the county
judge position, and six can-
didates have filed to fill Brit-
ton’s position. Britton is not
running for re-election.
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the John Day Rural Fire
Protection District lacked
the funding to complete
their portion of the proj-
ect, and neither the district
nor the city felt the bid was
competitive.
Last July, Pinnacle so-
licited a bid from CSDI
Construction Inc. of Boise,
which recently completed
a major renovation of the
Meadowbrook II apartment
complex, but CSDI de-
clined to make an offer on
the fire hall project.
Pinnacle also solicited
a bid from W.C. Construc-
tion of Elgin, which came
to $411,329 in January.
Pinnacle then asked Kirby
Nagelhout for a revised bid
in February, which came to
$326,600, a 12 percent in-
crease over the company’s
May 2017 bid.
“Given current cost es-
calations of 10 to 15 percent
annually, we will be per-
petually trying to make up
ground if we delay complet-
ing the fire station further,”
City Manager Nick Green
told the council.
Among the options
raised during the meeting
were completing only parts
of the project and using city
crews.
A 20-year loan for
$315,000 at 4 percent inter-
est would cost the city about
$23,000 per year, Green
said, which could be split
between the city and the fire
district based on the five-
year average for calls.
Another financing op-
tion would depend on
whether the 911 User Board
decides to keep a dispatch
center in the John Day area,
Green said. In that case, the
dispatch center could be re-
located to the fire hall, and
the rental payments could
be used to pay off the reno-
vation costs, he said.
The council agreed to
delay a decision until a later
meeting.
In other city council
news:
• The council approved
an ordinance declaring that
blighted areas exist in John
Day and establishing an ur-
ban renewal agency for ad-
dressing this blight.
According to the ordi-
nance, blighted areas as de-
fined by state law “impair
economic values and neg-
atively impact the health,
safety and welfare of the
citizens of the city.”
Blighted areas may be
improved by development
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(541) 932-4888
CANCER AWARENESS
Lara Croft must push herself
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Serving Grant County Since 1937
241 D Canyon Blvd., John Day
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TOMB RAIDER (PG-13)
or rehabilitation, but some
blighted areas “may require
acquisition and clearance,”
while others “may be sus-
ceptible to conservation and
rehabilitation,” the ordi-
nance states.
The ordinance estab-
lishes the John Day Urban
Renewal Agency to address
blight in the city. A com-
mittee to review and rec-
ommend a budget for the
agency’s board will consist
of the board members and
an equal number of citizens
appointed for three years by
the mayor and approved by
the city council.
• Sonie and Les Guttu,
neighbors of a property on
Canton Street where Sally
Knowles plans to build four
duplexes, raised concerns
about increased traffic,
floodplain issues, parking,
advanced notification and
the potential for low-in-
come renters moving in.
Sonie Guttu noted the high
cost of a road that “goes no-
where.”
Green said the city will
gain eight new housing
units. He also said new
streets need to be built to
city standards. Councilor
David Holland said prop-
erty west of the Knowles
property could also be de-
veloped in the future using
the Canton Street extension.
• An unexpected con-
sequence of the Tax Cuts
and Jobs Act that President
Trump signed into law Dec.
22 was that interest rates on
some bank loans increased,
Green told the council.
As a result, the terms of a
debt consolidation proposal
through Washington Feder-
al that the council approved
Dec. 12 had changed, re-
ducing the city’s savings by
$40,000, Green said. Under
the terms of the agreement,
the city would still need to
set aside $228,000 each
year to make a $1.14 mil-
lion payment due June 1,
2022.
Even with the new
terms, the city will save
$230,000 by consolidating
the debt incurred from the
Airport Industrial Park and
the West End Water Sys-
tem Improvement projects,
Green said.
The council approved
the new terms and autho-
rized Green to sign the loan
agreement.
• The council appointed
Councilor Steve Schuette to
the 911 User Board, which
met March 20 to begin dis-
cussion on how to transition
away from the current John
Day 911 Emergency Com-
munications Center.
• The council appoint-
ed Councilors Schuette
and Holland to serve with
Green, senior project man-
ager Aaron Lieuallen and
agribusiness project man-
ager Matt Manitsas on a
contract review board to
look at proposals to build a
greenhouse at the Innova-
tion Gateway site.
• The March 27 city
council meeting has been
canceled. The next meeting
is April 10.
March is
Awareness Month
IF YOU HAVE ONE
OF THE FOLLOWING :
• An age of 50 or older
• A family history of colon cancer
• Recent changes in your bowel habits
then talk to your primary care doctor to
see if a colonoscopy referral is right for you.
The Oregon Health Plan and many other
insurances cover colon cancer screenings
with no cost to the patient.
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