A2
Family
Blue Mountain Eagle
O BITUARIES
Alice McKinnis
April 6, 1927 - Aug. 31, 2018
Alice McKinnis passed away
on Aug. 31, 2018, with her loving
husband, Wayne, and family by her
side. Alice and Wayne were married
on Dec. 17, 1955. Wayne and Alice
lived most of their adult lives in
John Day. They relocated to Bend
in 2008 to spend their later years.
In January of 2018, they moved
to Medford to be closer to family.
Alice is preceded in death by her
daughter, Beverly Smith. She leaves behind her husband,
Wayne; sons Rob and Brian McKinnis; and daughter, Sandy
Durrell. She has nine grandchildren and eight great-grand-
children. A celebration of life will be held later this fall.
Laura Payne
Sept. 8, 2018
It is with great sadness that the
family of Laura Payne (aka Janet
Stewart) announces her passing on
Sept. 8, 2018, at the age of 63.
She is survived by Mom and
Dad, Freda and Gene Lyman;
children Shane and Dawn; grand-
children Noah, Zoey, Jessica, An-
drea, Kelsey, Joshua and Cory;
her ex-husband and friend Stephen
Payne; siblings Margaret (Hal), Walter and Shelia; aunts
Carolyn and Frances; nephews Tom and Ron; nieces Tara
(Kamau), Leanna (Marcus), Savanna (Bryce) and Mariah;
and many other family members and friends.
She would do anything for anybody. Before she returned
to Oregon she was a volunteer at St. Vincent’s in Caldwell,
Idaho, and the Boswell Senior Center in Corcoran, Califor-
nia. She also volunteered for the Humane Society as she had
such a great love of animals.
She will be remembered and loved by many.
A celebration if life will be held at 325 Highlan Drive
Northeast, Mt. Vernon, at noon on Sept. 16, 2018.
About Obituaries
News obituaries of 300 words or less are a free service of the Blue Mountain Eagle.
The paper accepts obituaries from the family or funeral home. Information submitted is
subject to editing. Obituaries submitted to the Eagle with incorrect information may be
corrected and republished as paid memorials. Obituaries longer than 300 words may be
published as paid memorials. Send obituaries by email, office@bmeagle.com; fax, 541-
575-1244; or mail, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845. For more information, or
to inquire about a paid memorial, call 541-575-0710.
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Flood damage assistance
available for Grant County
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Farm Service Agency has an-
nounced it will be taking applications
for assistance from spring flood damage
Sept. 1 through Oct. 1.
The Emergency Conservation Pro-
gram is a disaster program administered
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s,
Farm Service Agency, which provides
cost-share assistance to affected produc-
ers that suffered damage of such magni-
tude that it would be too costly for the
producer to rehabilitate without federal
assistance.
A producer qualifying for ECP assis-
tance may receive cost shares not to ex-
ceed 75 percent of the cost of installing
eligible practices. Limited resource pro-
ducers may receive up to 90 percent cost
share. No producer is eligible for more
than $200,000 cost sharing per natural di-
saster. Approved practices and measures
A producer
qualifying for ECP
assistance may
receive cost shares
not to exceed 75
percent of the cost
of installing eligible
practices.
may include removing debris from farm-
land; grading, shaping or releveling se-
verely damaged farmland; restoring per-
manent fences; or restoring conservation
structures and other similar installations
(ditches, head gates, diversions, etc.).
To be eligible for cost share, practices
must not be started until a request has first
been filed at the FSA county office, and
Deputy district attorney
departing near end of
grant funding for position
Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant County Deputy Dis-
trict Attorney Mara Houck,
who has been in the position
since December 2016, has
recently been hired by the
Deschutes County District
Attorney and will be leaving
Grant County Sept. 21.
Houck truly excelled in
the position, which required
her to prosecute all cases
I think of you and miss you every day,
Clayton. You will never be forgotten.
Love, Mom
an on-site inspection of the problem area
has been made by the county committee
or its representative, which will review
the on-site inspection findings when con-
sidering the request for cost shares.
If approved for cost share, all prac-
tices where ground disturbance will
take place will need to have a cultural
resource review completed for that area.
Installation of a practice will need tech-
nical planning completed by the Natural
Resource Conservation Service, except
for debris removal or fence repair. Instal-
lation must meet NRCS standards and
guidelines. Planning will be to rebuild
the damaged practices to pre-disaster
condition. All practices must be installed
for use this year.
Producers who have experienced
flood damage requiring outside assis-
tance are encouraged to contact the Grant
County FSA Office, 541-575-1274, ext.
2, to set up an appointment.
B IRTHS
Smith
A girl, Emberlynn Edina Marie
Smith, 6 pounds, was born in John
Day to parents Mallory Thomas and
Jedediah Smith of Seneca. She joins
siblings Jase Whatley, 7, and Korey
Holmstrom-Smith, 13. Grandpar-
ents are Calvin and Cami Clark of
John Day, Mike and Sue Smith of
Seattle and Cindy Smith of Seneca.
Great-grandparents are Lavern and
Linda Statbuck of Seneca and Glen
and Jamie Edens of Condon.
involving sex abuse, child
abuse and domestic vio-
lence, according to a state-
ment from Grant County
District Attorney Jim Car-
penter.
The deputy district attor-
ney, along with the victim
intervention specialist and
special investigator, have
been funded entirely by a
Violence Against Women
Act grant. That grant cy-
cle is three years and ends
Sept. 30. Grant County has
received this grant for four
consecutive cycles, but the
grant was not renewed for
the 2018-21 cycle.
Carpenter said the deputy
district attorney and victim
intervention specialist posi-
tions are vital to the county
and his office is exploring
funding options to keep
them.
August colder than normal
Blue Mountain Eagle
Temperatures in John Day
averaged colder than normal
during the month of August,
according to preliminary
data received by the National
Weather Service in Pendleton.
The average temperature
was 66 degrees, which was
2.3 degrees below normal.
High temperatures averaged
85.2 degrees, which was 3
degrees below normal. The
highest was 103 degrees on
Aug. 10. Low temperatures
averaged 46.7 degrees, which
was 1.6 degrees below nor-
mal. The lowest was 35 de-
grees, on Aug. 29.
On seven days, the tem-
perature exceeded 90 degrees.
It was at least 100 degrees on
two days.
Precipitation totaled 0.08
inches during August, which
was 0.56 inches below nor-
mal.
Grace Chapel begins Saturday evening services
Blue Mountain Eagle
Grace Chapel in Prairie
City is now providing Satur-
day evening worship services.
The meet and greet with cof-
fee and cookies starts at 6:30
p.m. The service begins with
contemporary worship songs
at about 6:45 p.m. and ends at
about 7:45 p.m. The church is
situated at 154 E. Williams St.
in Prairie City. For more infor-
mation, contact Pastor Michael
Harvey at 541-820-4437.
C ORRECTION
In the Grant County Hunting Journal, author Rod Carpenter’s title was incorrect. He is a cer-
tified registered nurse anesthetist. The Eagle regrets the error.
STEVEN VINCENT COWELL
May 25, 1955 - August 23, 2018
Steven Vincent Cowell of North Las Vegas, Nevada, died suddenly August 23, 2018, at
the age of 63 in St. Helens, Oregon. Steve was born May 25, 1955, to Kenneth and Joyce
Cowell at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital in Penn Yan, New York. As a child he
attended St. Michael School and enjoyed playing little league baseball. He later graduated
from Penn Yan Academy with a scholarship from the American Legion. Steve was an avid
golfer in his youth, an esteemed hobby that continued to flourish throughout his adult life.
Steve attended Wake Forest University (73- 76) where he worked toward a degree in
medicine while being an active member of the Theta Chi Fraternity. Upon leaving Wake Forest, he then moved to Chicago where
he began working for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, which eventually led him to Berkley, California. When he left the
railroad, he moved to Burns, Oregon, before settling in John Day, Oregon, where he met his wife Edie and her son Charles. Steve
and Edie were married August 17, 1985, and were soon blessed with their daughters Katrina and Sarah. Together they owned and
operated the Corral Pastime, a favorited bar among locals for Steve’s New York-style pizza. In 1992 the family moved to
Gresham, Oregon, where Steve began work as an HVAC Technician for Bewley Mechanical. In 2000 he joined UA Local 290
and began to work for Alliant Systems (FKA MacDonald Miller) until he retired in September of 2015. Steve was a passionate
member of the union and continued his involvement into retirement. After retiring he and Edie moved to North Las Vegas, Nevada
where he spent most of his time golfing with friends, following politics, placing bets in the sports book, and rooting for his many
beloved sports teams. Steve loved the Yankees, the Buffalo Bills, NASCAR, and the Vegas Golden Knights. Each year he would
enjoy his summer months visiting his children and grandchildren in Oregon with his wife Edie and their dog Murphy.
Steve is survived by his wife Edie Cowell, his son Charles (Shareena) McKenna, his daughters Katrina (Virgil) Newberry and
Sarah Cowell and three grandchildren; Addy and Nathan Newberry and Emmalyn McKenna. His mother Joyce Trombley, brother
Richard (Linda) Cowell, stepsister Molly (Jim) Towslee and stepbrother Bill Corcoran. Also surviving him are numerous
cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father and stepmother Kenneth and Beverly Cowell and his
stepfather Donald Corcoran.
A celebration of life will be held September 13, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. at The Trails at The Resort at the Mountain, 68010 E Fairway
Ave, Welches, Oregon 97067.
A huge Thank You
to all of the staff at Blue
Mountain Hospital for their
incredible care of Elberta during
her rehab of pneumonia and
fractured wrist.
We want to acknowledge:
Nurses, CNAs, Dietary, Physical
Therapy, Housekeeping, Desk
Staff, X-Ray Techs, Home Health
and everyone else who went
above and beyond in her care!!!
We’re so appreciative of their job
in keeping her with us!!!
The family of
Erie and Elberta Miller
Sherry, Dawn & Kimberly
Paid for by the family of Steven Cowell.
L AST W EEK ’ S T EMPS
J OHN D AY ..................................................................... HI/LO
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W EDNESDAY ................................................................... 92/50
T HURSDAY ..................................................................... 89/55
F RIDAY .......................................................................... 59/52
S ATURDAY ...................................................................... 80/53
S UNDAY ......................................................................... 82/47
M ONDAY ........................................................................ 76/47
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W EATHER F ORECAST FOR THE WEEK OF S EPT . 12-18
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