Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (May 9, 2018)
BASEBALL TEAM ADVANCES TO DISTRICT PLAYOFFS The PAGE A9 Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 W edNesday , M ay 9, 2018 • N o . 19 • 18 P ages • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com CYBERBULLYING SEXTING Teens may encounter sex crimes, bullying on smartphones in the 21st century By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle S Contributed photo Keizer Police Sgt. Trevor Wenning presented a talk on children and social media at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School on April 23. “ martphones and social media have become a way of life in the 21st century — about 6.7 tril- lion text messages were sent in 2014. The dark side of all that interaction includes sex crimes, bullying and mental health issues. Many teenagers know when they’re behaving inappropriately online, but they don’t know what they’re doing could be a crime. And while parents might understand the consequences of such behavior, they often don’t understand the technology and provide no oversight over their children’s online communication. That was the message Sgt. Trevor Wen- ning presented to about 40 parents at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School April 23. Wenning was invited here by Todd McKin- ley and Cindy Tirico from the county pro- bation department. Wenning has been with the Keizer Police Department since 1998 and supervises a school resource unit in a large school district. Pervasive culture The subject is both sensitive and com- plex, involving numerous state laws and constantly changing technology. Poten- tial crimes include sextortion, where boys might use nude photos to threaten girls for more photos. Cyberbullying can go on for years because nude photos are never com- pletely deleted, he said, and suicidal ide- ation often results from cyberbullying. About 89 percent of U.S. teenagers have a smartphone, and about 93 percent of them report going online every day. Nearly half of U.S. teenagers reported their social life would end or be worsened without a smartphone — especially the latest ver- sion. Many reported their smartphone was second only to clothing for telling the most about their social status, Wenning said. “Smartphones are a good tool for us, but we need to monitor them,” he said. Nearly a quarter of teenagers reported going online constantly, averaging about 52 hours per week during working hours. The average smartphone user picked up the device nearly 1,500 times per week for about three hours a day, Wenning said. See TEENS, Page A18 There is no such thing as innocent sexting. Nearly all cases of sexting are felonies.” Sgt. Trevor Wenning, Keizer police officer Initiative would prohibit enforcement of laws restricting gun possession Blue Mountain Eagle A prospective initiative petition in Grant County seeks to expand the con- stitutional definition of firearms and prohibit the enforcement of laws that regulate their manufacture, sale and pos- session. Grant County Clerk Brenda Percy re- ceived the ballot title for the prospective initiative and determined it complied with constitutional requirements. Elec- tors dissatisfied with the determination may file a petition for review by 5 p.m. May 14 in Grant County Circuit Court. A summary of the prospective ini- tiative states it would mandate that Or- egon and United States constitutional definitions of firearms be interpreted to include ammunition and firearms acces- sories in Grant County. “Approval of this measure would See GUNS, Page A18 Wyden holds town hall in Prairie City By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle Sen. Ron Wyden took ques- tions from students and residents for 90 minutes during a town hall meeting at the Prairie City School gym May 1. The Dem- ocrat holds town hall meetings in each of Oregon’s 36 counties once a year. “This is the way the Found- ing Fathers wanted us to do it,” he said. Wyden started the meeting by presenting agricultural sci- ence and technology teacher Lindy Cruise with an American flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol in honor of her work at the school. Last year, the school received a $336,286 career read- iness grant from the state, thanks to Cruise’s efforts. Questions asked at the town hall meeting ranged from divi- The Eagle/Richard Hanners Sen. Ron Wyden, left, exchanges photos following a town hall meeting in the Prairie City School gym May 1. With him are, from left, Grant County commissioner candidate Gordon Larson, Commissioner Boyd Britton, County Judge Scott Myers, John Day police officer Mike Durr and commissioner candidate Tanner Elliott. siveness and extremism to abor- tion, guns, climate change and infrastructure. Divisiveness is a problem, he said, but media have not been reporting progress that’s being made in Washington. Wyden emphasized the need for bipartisanship in Congress, and he pointed to legislation he and Republican See WYDEN, Page A18 FastHealth online hospital forms may have been compromised By Sean Hart Blue Mountain Eagle Some information submitted in online forms on Blue Mountain Hospital District’s website may have been com- promised, but no patient information could have been ac- cessed. FastHealth, a vendor that provides web- site hosting and design for the hospital, sent notices to local people who may have been affected April 23. One letter signed by CEO Kevin Foote said the person’s name and So- cial Security number was on a database that was accessed by an unauthorized third party Derek Daly in August 2017. Foote did not respond to a message from the Eagle. Blue Mountain Hospital District CEO Derek Daly said FastHealth recently informed the district that the data that was potentially accessed were online job applications. “No patient information is managed by FastHealth,” Daly said. “No data was compromised from BMHD.” Daly said FastHealth cannot confirm the number of applica- tions that were compromised, so the company is sending notices to anyone who may have potentially been affected. The district is still contracting with FastHealth, he said. “FastHealth has taken an aggressive stance by implement- ing new encryption solutions, data protection and security pro- tocols,” Daly said. “Following FastHealth’s notification ... we made sure that our employees were aware of FastHealth’s data breach and provided education surrounding data breaches.” Foote said in the letter the company has no indication any of the personal information has been misused. The company offered to provide one year of free credit monitoring, fraud consultation and identity theft restoration. “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or concern this incident may cause you,” Foote said in the letter. Daly encouraged anyone who received a letter from Fast- Health to follow all of the instructions or contact the company at 1-833-215-3730.
