News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
A5
Broadband board gets boost from city
budget manager.
Commstructure, which will pro-
vide infrastructure design and proj-
ect management for the first phase of
the coalition’s broadband network,
helped draft an application for a
$2.9 million U.S. Department of Ag-
riculture Community Connect grant.
Project starts with
service south to
Seneca
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Bringing broadband internet ser-
vice to Grant County is not about
binging on Netflix, John Day City
Manager Nick Green told the Grant
County Digital Network Coalition
board at its first meeting — it’s about
improving the local economy.
There shouldn’t be cities in Grant
County without cellphone coverage
or places where one neighbor has
internet access and another does not,
he said. The county needs to keep
up with technologies that create new
opportunities and not be a laggard,
he said.
Green advised the board that the
coalition’s goal should be to pro-
vide the fastest internet possible at
the lowest price possible to as many
residents as possible. Broadband
access will enable area residents to
be educated online or for high-tech
businesses to create new jobs in the
county.
Public-private
partnership
Established April 10, the coalition
is an intergovernmental agency be-
tween Grant County, John Day and
Seneca with a cost-sharing agree-
ment that commits financial resourc-
es from each participating agency on
a per capita basis.
To achieve its goals, the coalition
formed a public-private partnership
with the Oregon Telephone Corpo-
ration, which has already run fiber
to many of its customers. Green
Grant requirements
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
Joe Rigney, an outside
technician with Oregon
Telephone Corporation, works
on a fiber cable drop for a home
in John Day on Aug. 24.
said competition from a public en-
tity will motivate private enterprise
to improve internet service in Grant
County.
“Many residents in the county
have questioned why we are pro-
posing to create an additional con-
nection to the main internet when
there are already existing fiber con-
nections,” Green said in his memo
to the board. “The simple answer is
that, even though those assets were
financed using public funding, they
are owned and operated exclusively
by private sector providers. These
providers can regulate where and
under what conditions our residents
have access to the internet.”
Dan Becker, representing Grant
County, Josh Walker, representing
Seneca, and Brandon Smith, rep-
resenting John Day, listened to a
presentation by Erik Orton, owner
of Commstructure Consulting, and
James Greenwood, the company’s
The city of John Day applied for
the grant in May, intending to cov-
er the 15 percent match of $450,000
from the $1.8 million it received as
a state appropriation in 2017. Lever-
aging the state funding by 7.5 times
is good use of that money, Green
noted.
The city spent significant funds
on due diligence for the competitive
grant, and the USDA will send per-
sonnel to Grant County to verify in-
ternet access conditions, Green said.
The coalition will learn if it is award-
ed the grant in about six weeks, but
the lag time in receiving the funds
after that could be reduced as a result
of the pre-planning already accom-
plished, he said.
“Our state funding was just to
build the dark fiber connection to
Burns,” Green told the Eagle. “The
USDA grant broadens the scope
significantly by providing a direct
connection to almost every property
owner along that route.”
The plan submitted to the USDA
calls for running a main fiber cable
from Canyon City south to the Har-
ney County line. Connections will
be made to all premises within the
plan’s service area along Highway
395 and the city of Seneca. Free in-
ternet access will be provided at Sen-
eca City Hall.
Greenwood said the service area
currently has very poor internet ac-
cess, so improved access will meet
the goals of the grant.
“There were specific bandwidth
and coverage requirements that had
to be met for the grant application, so
they adjusted the approach to meet
those,” Green told the Eagle about
Commstructure’s work. “The big-
gest one was that anyone within the
proposed funded service area had to
be given access to the network.”
If homes or businesses are lo-
cated just outside the service area,
a fiber drop still could be provided
through the public-private partner-
ship with Ortelco, Green said. If a
small neighborhood outside the area
wanted service, they might need to
form an improvement district to help
pay for the line, he said.
Phased growth
Green outlined four network de-
velopment phases for the coalition
board. Phase 1 includes planning,
design and financing; Phase 2 will
begin upon approval of the USDA
grant and involves running a main
cable all the way to Burns and hook-
ing up to the internet backbone run-
ning along Highway 20; Phase 3
includes building out to main urban
areas in Grant County and residents
within the initial service area; and
Phase 4 will expand coverage to out-
lying communities.
If the coalition receives the full
$3 million USDA grant, Green said,
it would be able to construct a line
from Canyon City to Seneca, con-
necting all Seneca premises and
many along the way.
The $1.3 million left over from
the state appropriation will be used
to leverage grant applications to
complete Phase 2 and begin Phase
3, Green said, adding he’s already
working on a separate funding pack-
age to complete the line from Seneca
to Burns. Ideally, the entire line from
Canyon City to Burns would be built
at the same time in a single contract,
despite multiple funding sources, he
said.
The initial project will not con-
nect all of John Day but will get the
network closer to the “big pipes”
along Highway 20, including the
state of Oregon’s internet backbone,
Green said.
The board could consider operat-
ing the network under three possible
models — as a wholesale dark fiber
provider, with private companies re-
sponsible for delivering broadband
to each premise; as a public utility
like city water or sewer, as estab-
lished in Sandy; or as an open access
network that functions like a public
highway open to all transportation,
as set up in Ammon, Idaho. Green
noted that the coalition lacks the re-
sources to pursue the second option.
Board matters
To help the coalition get started,
Green offered to serve as executive
director. His pay would come from
a 1 percent administrative fee on
certain grants he helps the coalition
obtain.
Noting that the coalition didn’t
have any financial history estab-
lished, Green said John Day could
continue to provide financial ser-
vices for procuring planning, techni-
cal and network design services.
In the spirit of transparency,
Walker suggested accepting letters
of interest from the public to fill the
board’s two at-large positions. The
board agreed. Becker said he’d like
to see leaders from other parts of
the county joining them, and Walker
said people with technical knowl-
edge should get higher priority.
The board also agreed to meet
at 6 p.m. the third Tuesday of each
month. The next meeting will be
Sept. 18 at the John Day Fire Hall.
C OPS AND C OURTS
Arrests and citations in the
Blue Mountain Eagle are taken
from the logs of law enforce-
ment agencies. Every effort is
made to report the court dispo-
sition of arrest cases.
three years post-prison super-
vision, 18 months supervised
probation and $300 restitution.
Charges of attempt to commit
murder and unlawful use of a
weapon were dismissed.
Grant County
Circuit Court
Grant County
Sheriff
Misdemeanor
charges
against Robert D. Herrera,
60, John Day, of strangula-
tion constituting domestic vi-
olence, menacing constituting
domestic violence and harass-
ment stemming from a May 15
incident were dismissed Aug.
22. The Grant County District
Attorney’s Office motioned to
dismiss the charges in the best
interests of justice.
A felony charge against
Kathy L. Meyer, 46, Mt. Ver-
non, of criminal conspiracy
constituting unlawful deliv-
ery of methamphetamine was
dismissed Aug. 23. The Grant
County District Attorney’s Of-
fice motioned to dismiss the
charge on the grounds that plea
negotiations warrant that the
matter be dismissed.
Kevin J. Rapp, 33, John
Day, pleaded guilty Aug. 14 to
felony first-degree assault and
misdemeanor possession of
methamphetamine committed
on Oct. 16, 2017. He was sen-
tenced to prison for 85 months
with good-time credit limited
to 20 percent and no more than
six months transitional leave,
The Grant County Sheriff’s
Office reported the following
for the week of Aug. 22:
Concealed handgun licens-
es: 11
Average inmates: 22
Bookings: 15
Releases: 15
Arrests: 2
Citations: 3
Fingerprints: 4
Civil papers: 11
Warrants processed: 3
Asst./welfare check: 0
Search and rescue: 0
Aug. 16: Curtis Clark, 27,
Pendleton, was cited for driv-
ing with a suspended license.
Aug. 20: Maxwell Dona-
hue, 21, Missoula, Montana,
was cited for speeding, 51/35
zone.
Aug. 20: Mary Brown, 56,
Glide, was cited for speeding,
42/25 zone.
Oregon State
Police
Aug. 20: Responded to a
commercial vehicle accident
on Highway 26 west of Prairie
City where a westbound Peter-
bilt truck hit a cow elk.
Aug. 22: Dispatched to a
report of a vehicle hitting a
flagger at a construction site
on Highway 395 south of Can-
yon City. Jeffrey Leeman, 56,
Gaston, was cited for reckless
endangerment of a highway
worker.
Aug. 22: Responded to a
single-vehicle crash on High-
way 402 near West Cotton-
wood Creek Road in Mon-
ument. A 36-year-old had
reached for something that slid
off the seat, and the 1999 Sub-
aru drifted off the westbound
lane for about 180 feet. The
driver over corrected, causing
the vehicle to trip, roll and go
airborne before hitting a large
juniper tree and resting on its
top. The driver was transport-
ed to the hospital and was re-
leased without injury.
Aug. 24: Dispatched to
North Mountain Boulevard in
Mt. Vernon. Kristini R. Perry,
33, Mt. Vernon, was cited for
possessing a home-grown mar-
ijuana plant in public view.
Aug. 24: Responded to a
single-vehicle crash on High-
way 26 near Dixie Summit. A
state trooper, sheriff’s deputy
and ambulance crew member
reported that the driver was
highly intoxicated and admit-
ted he believed he was travel-
ing 90 mph when he crashed.
The 674-foot long crash scene
included 60 feet of torn-out
guardrail on the westbound
lane and extensive damage
to the guardrail on the other
side of the highway. A blood
draw at the hospital indicated
the driver had a 0.217 percent
blood alcohol content. Aaron
L. Hancock, 27, Prairie City,
was charged with driving
while under the influence of
intoxicants and reckless driv-
ing.
Dispatch
John Day dispatch worked
133 calls during the week of
Aug. 20-26, including:
• John Day Police Depart-
ment
Aug. 20: Dispatched to
Highway 26 in west John Day
for a suspicious persons report.
Georgia Kadin, 53, was arrest-
ed on a Crook County warrant.
Aug. 21: Responded to
a mobile home park in John
Day where Caleb Vielma, 29,
turned himself in on a warrant
for violating a release agree-
ment.
Aug. 22: Dispatched to East
Main Street in John Day for a
report of a restraining order vi-
olation.
Aug. 23: Responded to a
barber shop in John Day. Rob-
ert Herrera, 60, was arrested
and charged with a restraining
order violation.
Aug. 24: Following a traffic
stop on Highway 26 near Bear
Creek Road in John Day, Paul
H. Reeder, 72, was cited for
speeding.
Aug. 24: Following a traffic
stop at Highway 26 and Gun-
ther Street, Jeremiah C. Van
Arsdall, 19, Gresham, was cit-
ed for minor in possession of
alcohol.
• Oregon State Police
Aug. 20: Received a live-
stock complaint for Highway
26 near Pine Creek Road.
Aug. 26: Received a report
of a noninjury crash on Fields
Creek Road.
• Grant County Sheriff’s
Office
Aug. 20: Received a report
of suspicious circumstances on
Dog Creek Road in John Day.
Aug. 21: Advised of a miss-
ing person in Mt. Vernon.
Aug. 23: Received a report
of a dispute on Screech Alley
Loop in John Day.
Aug. 24: Advised of a miss-
ing person on West Bench
Road in John Day.
Aug. 25: Received a report
of a crash with injuries on For-
est Service Road 16 in the Lo-
gan Valley area.
Aug. 25: Advised of a non-
injury crash on Forest Road 36.
• John Day ambulance
Aug. 20: Responded to
Highway 402 near Monument
for a 2-year-old boy.
Aug. 20: Dispatched to
West First Street in Long
Creek for a diabetic issue.
Aug. 20: Responded with
Long Creek ambulance and
sheriff’s office to Highway 395
for a man with abdominal pain
and difficulty breathing.
Aug. 21: Dispatched with
the sheriff’s office to Widows
Creek Road for a medical con-
dition.
Aug. 22: Transported a
patient to the hospital in John
Day.
Aug. 22: Responded to
Northeast Dayton Street in
John Day for a medical alert
alarm.
Aug. 22: Dispatched with
Monument fire and ambulance
to a single-vehicle rollover
crash.
Aug. 23: Transferred a pa-
tient to the airport in John Day.
Aug. 24: Responded with
state police to an accident on
Highway 26 near Dixie Sum-
mit.
Aug. 24: Dispatched with
Monument fire and ambulance
and air ambulance to Cotton-
wood Road near Monument
for a 27-year-old man who
lost consciousness and stopped
breathing.
Aug. 25: Responded with
Prairie City ambulance to
South Bridge Street in Prairie
City for a 12-year-old boy with
seizures.
Aug. 26: Dispatched with
Seneca ambulance, state police
and sheriff’s office to Highway
395 near Starr Ridge for a sin-
gle-vehicle rollover crash.
Aug. 26: Responded to Lit-
tle Dog Creek Lane in Canyon
City for a 56-year-old man
with an ankle injury.
Attention Grant County Veterans:
Did you know Grant County Veterans
Services Officer is available to assist
YOU in applying for all VA benefits
you may be entitled to?
10am-4pm Monday-Friday • 541-620-8057
503.313.5860 • jcoombsgc@gmail.com
530 E. Main, Ste. 5, John Day, OR
65198
CCB# 214526
73068
A MOST HEARTFELT THANK YOU
To all our friends and family that
attended, supported, participated
and helped in Darrel’s (Moose)
benefit for medical equipment. It
was a huge success, thanks to all of
you. Our family is truly blessed to
live in this great community.
---
Monday - Thursday
7am- 6pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Mendy Sharpe FNP
Apppointments
available
71663
Katee
Hoffman
See your Grant County Veteran Services
Officer today for more information.
Darrel (Moose) & Teresa Simmons
Maria, John, Alexis & Carson Higgins
Wayne Simmons & Emily Oden
75847
71665
Eagle Cap Excursion Train
Saturday, September 1, History Train
Guest speaker, Gwen Trice,
Maxville Heritage Center
Septem9er 8, Mystery Tour Train
Sept. 15, Fall Foliage Photo Train
Sept. 29, Wine & Cheese Train
Octo9er 6 & 13, Train Ro99eries
Octo9er 20, Season’s Bounty
mlgin Depot / Book online or call 800.323.7330
www.eaglecaptrainrides.com