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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2018)
’62 DAYS CELEBRATION PLANNED FRIDAY AND SATURDAY The PAGE A6 Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 W edNesday , J uNe 6, 2018 • N o . 23 • 22 P ages • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com Plea deal reached in Elliott shooting case Charge amended to criminally negligent homicide By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle A plea agreement has been reached in the case of the John Day man accused of shooting and killing a neighbor near Dog Creek Road and Marysville Road on Aug. 24, 2017. Following a May 25 settlement conference, Thomas Joseph El- liott pleaded guilty to the amended charges of criminally negligent ho- micide with a firearm and unlaw- ful use of a firearm. Sentencing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. June 26. Elliott had been charged with first-degree manslaughter, a class A felony, in the shooting death of Todd Alan Berry. The criminally negli- gent homicide charge, a class B felo- ny, carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $325,000 fine. According to Elliott’s petition to enter a plea of guilty, the state and defense will jointly recommend a 60-month sentence for the homicide charge, with credit for time served and eligibility for good-time reduc- tion. He may also request a sen- tence reduction to 48 months. The recommend- ed sentence also in- cludes three years of post-prison supervi- sion and $16,405 in Thomas restitution. The sen- Joseph tence for the homi- Elliott cide charge would be concurrent with the unlawful use of a firearm charge. Earlier on May 2, Grant Coun- FOREST HEALTH, ty Circuit Court Judge William D. Cramer Jr. granted Elliott’s motion to suppress statements made after he was taken into custody. Cramer ruled that “after unequiv- ocally invoking his right to remain silent, defendant did not initiate fur- ther conversation of the crime being investigated.” The case was prosecuted by Col- in Benson, senior assistant attorney general, of the Oregon Department of Justice. Magone Lake is one of many attractions on the Malheur National Forest. Eagle file photo ECONOMIC HEALTH Malheur forest projects lined up Stewardship contract supports 268 jobs From planting and thinning to fisheries and roads By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle A 10-year stewardship contract on the Mal- heur National Forest supported 268 jobs in Grant and Harney counties from 2015 through 2017, according to a 2018 study by the University of Oregon. On top of that, the work value of forest and watershed restoration activities came to about $1.2 mil- lion per year, and Malheur Na- tional Forest operations added $3 million per year, the study found. The stewardship contract also ad- dressed economic uncertainty. “The logs provided under the stewardship contract have been essential in keeping Malheur Lumber, the lone traditional saw- mill in Grant County, operating,” the university study said. The mill invested in equip- ment to handle smaller-diameter logs and to produce bioenergy products, the study said. Iron By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle W The Eagle/Richard Hanners Mark Webb, the executive director of Blue Mountains Forest Partners, presents an update on the group’s work to the Grant County Court. Triangle established a bioenergy production line in John Day, and both Iron Triangle and Grayback Forestry purchased and renovat- ed facilities in Seneca to process posts and poles. Forest contract The Forest Service awarded the stewardship contract to Iron Triangle in September 2013. The contract’s goals were to promote ecological restoration, reduce the risk of wildfire and improve economic vitality on 180,000 to 500,000 acres of forest land in Grant and Harney counties. The Forest Service at the time estimated the value of the con- tract at up to $69 million over See FOREST, Page A12 ork on dozens of forest proj- ects is scheduled at locations across the Malheur National Forest this year. Some projects have al- ready occurred, while others are ramp- ing up for the busy summer season. More than 30 Forest Service work- ers manned tables during a May 30 informational presentation at the Grant County Regional Airport to let the public know what’s planned for forest lands this year. “It can take two or three years be- fore a project is actually implemented, so people forget about them,” Prairie City District Ranger Ed Guzman ex- plained. Large forest projects covering thousands of acres can include timber harvesting, precommercial and com- The Eagle/Richard Hanners Jim Boethin speaks with Prairie City Ranger District hydrologist Hazel Owens and fisheries personnel during the Malheur National Forest’s presentation at Grant County Regional Airport May 30. mercial thinning, prescribed burning, tree planting, culvert replacement, road closures and fisheries or stream work. Many projects are still undergoing planning or review under the Nation- al Environmental Policy Act, while others are ready to go. Some, par- ticularly prescribed burning and tree planting, took place this spring. See PROJECTS, Page A12 Board selects Uptmor as superintendent New Grant School District administrator starts July 1 By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle The Grant School District 3 board announced their selection for a new school superintendent May 29. Bret Uptmor will take over for outgoing Superintendent Curt Shel- ley beginning July 1. “I’m grateful for the John Day community for bringing me in, and I’m excited to serve,” Uptmor told the Eagle. The school board and Uptmor are working on the terms of a ten- tative agreement, which will be fi- nalized at a future board meeting. The board received 18 applica- tions for the superintendent posi- tion after advertising began in mid- April. The community met the final three candidates in person on May 23. “We had an excel- lent field of candi- dates for the super- intendent position,” board chairwoman Bret Chris Cronin said. Uptmor “After considering all that we learned about each of the finalists, the board concluded that Bret Uptmor emerged as the right candidate to lead our district.” Uptmor has been superintendent of Wallowa School District since 2011, serving about 180 students. He served as an assistant principal and principal in the Ontario School District for six years and was an industrial technology teacher for about 15 years. Uptmor has a master’s and a bachelor’s in industrial technolo- gy education from the Universi- ty of Idaho. He also has coached soccer and track and commented on Grant Union’s strong athletic program. “It’s fun to be in schools with good sports programs, where ev- eryone is enthusiastic and talking about their teams,” he said. Several big changes will be awaiting Uptmor when he arrives. The seismic update project will be underway this summer at Hum- bolt Elementary School, with a follow-up project next year at the junior-senior high school. Applica- tions for a new principal at Hum- bolt have been arriving, and Upt- mor said he expects to be part of the selection process if it isn’t com- pleted in June. Uptmor said he’s aware of the recent community discussion on school security issues in Grant School District. He recalled the tremendous effort taken by Ontario School District to harden school fa- cilities by addressing access issues. During a tour of Humbolt Ele- mentary in May, Uptmor noticed areas where the wide open campus could be changed to improve se- curity. He said he doesn’t support arming teachers but has had good experience with school resource officers. “They understand students,” Uptmor said. “They’re more than just police officers.” Uptmor said he spoke about trauma-informed care during his interview by the school board. “We need to pay more attention to that — not just in John Day but across the country,” he said. He recalled how schools in On- tario held a “challenge day” where students, teachers and staff broke into groups and spoke openly about their personal concerns. “They were tough conversa- tions,” he said. Providing students with a sound education is key to Uptmor’s edu- cation philosophy. See UPTMOR, Page A12
