News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
A3
Ankle monitors
track offenders
in real time
Alcohol
monitors
conduct tests
on the half hour
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Tracking offenders has
come a long way from the
days of blood hounds and
knocking on doors. Ankle
monitors with real-time
global-positioning
sys-
tem technology will soon
be available for use by the
Grant County Community
Corrections office.
Attached to an ankle
with a bracelet capable of
alerting staff if it’s tam-
pered with, the GPS moni-
tors will constantly transmit
a signal informing correc-
tions staff of an offender’s
exact location.
The goal is to allow of-
fenders a chance to con-
tinue working — earning
money needed to support
a family, make house pay-
ments or even to pay fines
and restitution while mak-
ing sure they stay out of
further trouble.
A contract with Vigil-
net to provide an unlimited
supply of monitoring brace-
lets to the Grant County
Community Corrections of-
fice is under review, but the
staff has been trained and
has 10 units available now,
Community
Corrections
Director Todd McKinley
said. The devices cost the
county nothing until they
are attached to an offender
and put to use.
The office has tested
the monitoring system on a
Grant County offender us-
ing a Vigilnet unit borrowed
from Harney County, which
has seen success with the
devices, he said.
“I was pleasantly sur-
prised at how well they
work,” McKinley said.
Vigilnet also provides
continuous transdermal al-
cohol-monitoring devices
that detect chemicals emit-
ted from the skin of anyone
who consumes alcohol. The
tests take place every 30
minutes but, unlike the GPS
monitors, the data must be
uploaded to special equip-
ment on a regular basis.
Offenders could have
a wireless device in their
home or come to the Com-
Todd McKinley
munity Corrections office,
McKinley said. They sim-
ply sit down near the de-
vice for about five minutes
while the data is uploaded,
he said.
McKinley said some
type of ankle-monitoring
devices may have been used
in Grant County in the past,
but they weren’t as sophisti-
cated as the current devices.
His office currently has
five GPS monitors and five
alcohol monitoring devices,
but the contract with Vigil-
net can be expanded for as
many devices as are need-
ed. As soon as the contract
is approved, offenders who
fit the criteria for release
will be fitted with the de-
vices.
In some cases, use of the
device will allow an offend-
er to get out of jail and re-
turn to work. In other cases,
offenders who would have
been released on probation
can now be tracked more
thoroughly.
Corrections staff can set
up inclusion and exclusion
zones on a digitized map
so offenders who cross
those boundaries trigger an
alarm. The monitors can be
used on juveniles as well as
adults, but that will depend
upon the types of sentences
a judge will issue.
McKinley said he is de-
veloping policies on how to
use the ankle monitors, but
he expects offenders who
want to use them will end up
helping to pay for them. If
they damage a device, they
will be responsible for the
replacement cost, he said.
Overall, the ankle mon-
itoring system is expected
to save money for the coun-
ty and be a cost-effective
method to monitor medi-
um-risk offenders, McKin-
ley said.
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Silvie Holliday, 9, and Clyde Holliday, 11, exit Frank Stinnett’s airplane during Saturday’s Fly-In at the Grant County
Regional Airport in John Day.
Fly-In draws a crowd
Blue Mountain Eagle
Saturday’s Fly-In & Breakfast
gave the opportunity for 79 chil-
dren and chaperones to soar over
Grant County.
Four seasoned pilots, Bob
Bagett, Frank Stinett, Robert
Watt and Doug Ferguson of
Grant County Air Search provid-
ed 33 flights in all.
Tom Berry, also a longtime
pilot with the air search crew,
showed visitors his plane,
discussing airplanes and avi-
ation.
Ron Lundbom flew his ul-
tralight over the event with a
candy drop for the children, and
Dave Traylor did a flyby in his
powered parachute with the Unit-
ed States flag.
Children also had the oppor-
tunity to examine a Blue Moun-
tain Hospital District ambulance.
The Forest Service opened
their helicopter simulators for
exploration, and Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry conducted a
water drop from one of their he-
licopters pouring out 343 gallons
of water.
The Snafflebit Dinner House
offered a breakfast menu.
“We had a great turnout this
year, and the weather was perfect
for flying,” said airport manager
Haley Walker who organized the
event.
Contributed photo/Charlene Ferguson
Dave Traylor flies a flag over the Fly-In visitors on Saturday in his powered
parachute aircraft.
Crews mop up
30 acre wildfire near
Starr Campground
Blue Mountain Eagle
Malheur National For-
est crews extinguished a fire
approximately 2 miles north-
west of Starr Campground
near Forest Road 4920.
Forest Service officials
stated in a press release that
the fire, estimated at approx-
imately 30 acres, started
Thursday when a falling snag
struck a powerline.
Resources, including three
engines and 11 firefighters,
staffed the fire throughout the
night. Additional crews were
dispatched in the morning.
Crews prepped existing
roads and constructed about
200 hundred yards of line to
contain the fire.
For information about
fire restrictions, visit fs.usda.
gov/malheur or call 541-575-
3000.
Contributed photo/Charlene Ferguson
Children run on the tarmac toward the candy drop during
Saturday’s Fly-In event at the Grant County Regional
Airport in John Day.
Contributed photo/Charlene Ferguson
Ron Lundbom, left, chats with a visitor at Saturday’s
Grant County Fly-In. Lundbom made a candy drop for
children, flying his ultralight aircraft.
September is
CASH CAB MONTH!
4 questions, 4 prizes!
Call 541-620-4255 for a ride & try your luck!
Cowpie, formerly known as John Day Taxi, is not a taxi service,
per se; we cannot pick up riders off the street who are hailing
cabs. Instead, Cowpie is a car-for-hire service that relies on cell-
phone tech to dispatch drivers and manage fees. Also unlike
taxi services, Cowpie drivers do not possess special licenses;
rather, we use our personal vehicles to offer discounted-fare
rides - a snazzy bright blue Turbo for ride-sharing, a big Dodge
Ram 4x4 for the heavier stuff. This month we’re celebrating
our 2 year anniversary by starting a (cash cab) type quiz game
based on Oregon history, reduced fare prize based on difficulty
of the question. You may answer
the question yourself, call a friend
or shout out to a bystander, like
the show. No fair Googling.
$$$
Richie Colbeth
Owner/Operator
78317
Committees are formal public bodies
required to comply with Oregon Public
Meetings Law ORS 192.610.
ORS 410.210. Five members serve three year
terms and meet semi-annually to define the
needs of older adults, promote special
interests and local community involvement,
and represent senior citizens as an advocate to
the local, state and federal government and
other organizations.
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