Community
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
A7
S HOOTING THE B REEZE
Reloading:
Is it for you?
By Dale Valade
For the Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
John Day Police Chief Mike Durr, the new school resource officer at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School, stops to
chat with students during lunchtime Sept. 24.
Building trust between cops and students
Chief Durr is
Grant Union’s
new school
resource officer
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Students at Grant Union
Junior-Senior High School
may have wondered what was
up when they saw a police of-
ficer greeting them on the first
day of school.
But within a few weeks’
time, they grew accustomed
to the smiling face of John
Day Police Chief Mike Durr,
Grant Union’s new school re-
source officer.
“At first, the kids all looked
the other way when I passed
them,” he said. “But they got
used to me pretty quickly.”
Durr stands out in full uni-
form, from handgun and Taser
to radio and body camera. But
he’s there to initiate a bond
between students and law en-
forcement that’s meant to last
long into adulthood.
Freshman Billy Radi-
novich, whose mother once
worked as a corrections dep-
uty for the Grant County
Sheriff’s Office, gave Durr a
hug in the hallway as another
school day ended.
Radinovich, who’s known
Durr for years, said students
at Grant Union initially
viewed him with suspicion
but soon were used to him be-
ing around.
“They’d never seen a cop
in here before,” she said.
SRO program
The school resource offi-
cer position partly grew out
of recent public discussion
over arming teachers, Grant
School District 3 Board
Chairwoman Chris Cronin
said. Former school superin-
tendent Curt Shelley initiated
the SRO process, she said.
“We heard unanimously
during that discussion that a
school resource officer was a
positive move,” she said.
The school district had
an SRO program in the past.
Learning John Day could
benefit by partnering with the
school district to share the
cost made a lot of sense, Cro-
nin said. The board approved
implementation of the pro-
gram by consensus, she said.
The SRO currently is op-
erating under a memorandum
of understanding as details
of the contract continue to
be worked out, Grant School
District Superintendent Bret
Uptmor said. He said he had
an initial meeting with Durr
and discussed general ideas
about how the program would
operate. The program will be
reviewed sometime in the fu-
ture, he noted.
As set up now, the SRO
will be at the junior-senior
high school at the start of
school in the morning, at
lunch and at the close of the
school day. At least one of-
ficer will be present at home
sporting events, Uptmor
said.
The SRO contract does not
cover Humbolt Elementary
School because it’s in Can-
yon City and outside of the
John Day Police Department
jurisdiction, Uptmor said.
That doesn’t stop the SRO
from giving presentations at
Humbolt or responding to
emergencies as mutual aid, he
noted.
Uptmor recalled the suc-
cess of the SRO program in
Ontario when he worked there
from 1991 to 2011. During that
time, four different officers held
the position. An SRO’s role is
not to supervise over student
“shenanigans,” he noted.
“School staff are responsi-
ble for monitoring that kind of
activity,” he said.
School security
The SRO’s presence will
add a level of confidence by
students and staff that the
school is safe, Uptmor said.
The officer will also be present
to deal with any illegal activity.
Uptmor said he believes
high-profile school shootings
elsewhere in the country have
an impact on students. Ado-
lescents tend to have sheltered
lives and can be frightened by
these national events.
It’s part of the growing up
process, he said, and as a school
leader he needs to portray a lev-
el of confidence. Students need
to know that the kids responsi-
ble for school shootings are not
like them, and that the school
will protect them.
But the role of the SRO is
more than stopping an active
shooter. Thinking back to
the early implementation of
SROs, Uptmor recalled that
one of the goals was to break
down the “us versus them” di-
vide, to get students comfort-
able around law enforcement
and to understand that police
officers are real people with
real social qualities.
“They need to know that
when they need a police offi-
cer, they will come and help,”
Uptmor said.
An SRO can also inspect
school facilities and make
recommendations to improve
security. The Grant School
District board in August add-
ed providing safe and secure
schools to their list of priori-
ties, Uptmor said.
Dispatcher recognized with Life Saving Award
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
For the second time in
nine months, 911 dispatcher
Savannah Lovell was rec-
ognized by the city of John
Day for her professional
handling of an emergency
call to the John Day Emer-
gency
Communications
Center.
Last March, Mayor Ron
Lundbom presented the
Golden Stork Award to
Lovell for providing assis-
tance in the emergency de-
livery of a baby girl on Jan.
21.
The city recognized
Lovell again Sept. 25 with
a Life Saving Award for
her “quick and professional
performance in the line of
duty” following a 911 call
reporting a fire at the Straw-
berry Village Apartment
complex in Prairie City.
“The emergency 911 call
that Savannah answered
would have been unintelli-
gible to the untrained ear,
as it was a hysterical caller
screaming that there was
a fire at a local apartment
complex with babies still
inside,” Dispatch Manager
Valerie Maynard said in her
award letter.
Two young girls died in
the Nov. 30, 2017, fire, but
four other members of the
family were transported to
Blue Mountain Hospital,
and one was transported by
air ambulance to another
hospital.
“Although this was a
tragic incident that emer-
gency responders hope to
never have to experience in
their career, Savannah re-
sponded to this quickly and
calmly, getting the appropri-
ate responders on scene in
the shortest time possible,”
Maynard said. “Savannah’s
actions during those early
morning hours, when most
are at home sleeping with
their families, saved lives
and homes on that day.”
Born and raised in Grant
County, Lovell graduat-
ed from Grant Union High
School. She left another job
in 2015 to become a dis-
patcher.
“It’s more interesting
than an office job,” she said.
Lovell said she’s look-
ing forward to working in
the new 911 dispatch center
that will operate out of the
John Day Fire Hall start-
ing January 2019 after the
Intergovernmental Council
takes over management of
emergency communications
from the city.
Jim Ennis would like to express his
appreciation to all who helped at
his tractor accident in Fox.
Ambulance crew, ER personnel and
doctors/nurses. Thank be to God
for you all! This community is
blessed to have such great
volunteers and professionals.
For cards and letters to Jim,
please mail to the
East Cascade Retirement Community,
C/O Building E. (Skilled nursing)
175 NE 16th St., Madras, OR 97741
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
John Day Mayor Ron Lundbom presents 911 dispatcher
Savannah Lovell with a lifesaving award.
Michael B. DesJardin
Dentistry, PC
Preventive, Restorative & Endodontics
New Patients
Welcome!
77206
Monday - Thursday
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Friday 8am - 5pm
208 NW Canton
John Day
541-575-2725
mbddental@live.com
michaelbdesjardinmd.com
Mendy Sharpe FNP
Apppointments
available
83294
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT TRUE VALUE!
All proceeds of this raffle go directly
to Graham and his family. The prize
for the drawing is a gun safe with a
prize inside; both items are collectively
valued at $2,000. Tickets are $5 each
or 5 for $20 and Graham will draw
the winner on or around Nov. 15.
A man wakes up in
the morning after
sleeping on an
ADVERTISED BED,
in ADVERTISED
PAJAMAS.
He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR,
have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an
ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his
ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an
ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person
hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his
non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE.
Then it’s too late.
AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK?
DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE
Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it!
Blue Mountain Eagle
MyEagleNews.com
83299
Second award
in nine months
for Lovell
Not too many years back,
shooters endured two buy-
ing frenzies where ammo
became scarce. Demand was
at an all-time high, and man-
ufacturers struggled to main-
tain the dismally low supply.
Hoarders and preppers were
mostly to blame, although,
as usual, it was regular folks
that suffered most. Many
were the conversations I
overheard where plinking,
practice and target shooting
sessions were nearly quelled
altogether for fear of not be-
ing able to replace what was
used up. While many were
wringing their hands and
dabbing sweat, I was able
to reload to keep myself in
a steady supply of ammuni-
tion.
To get started requires
quite a bit of equipment.
But with magnum cartridges
going for $50-100 per box
of 20, reloading will save
some money, but only if you
don’t shoot often. If you’re
the kind of shooter that gets
three to four years out of a
box of ammo, reloading is
definitely not for you. While
the individual components
are more economical in bulk,
the truth of it is: When you
can afford more ammo, you
will shoot more ammo.
Handloading is quite as-
suredly an addiction. Every-
one I know, without excep-
tion, that has taken up this
great pastime has begun to
shoot more as a direct result.
Once you have bought
all of the necessary equip-
ment, you will need a place
to reload. A cool, dry place is
necessary if components and
equipment alike are going
to be stored and used there.
Extreme temperatures and
moisture can rust equipment
and ruin powder and prim-
ers. Proper storage and cata-
loging of your cartridges will
ensure a longer shelf life and
greater safety.
Reloading is potentially
very dangerous. Each time
you pull a trigger, you are ex-
periencing a chain of events
called a “controlled explo-
sion.” This explosion takes
place inches away from your
face. It’s a scary thought to
be sure. While munitions
manufacturers are not im-
mune to error, they have doz-
ens of quality checks in their
assembly processes to insure
optimal safety and perfor-
mance. Inversely, you hand-
load at your own risk.
Distractions will cause
you to make mistakes, some
of which can be fatal. Always
avoid multi-tasking. I cannot
say strongly enough that you
should never under any cir-
cumstances drink alcohol or
smoke while handloading.
The “why” here is obvious.
The main reason to han-
dload is the ability to greater
utilize the versatility of your
firearms. You could construct
multiple loads featuring bul-
lets that aren’t available in
factory ammo. Or perhaps
you’ll find a single load that
your rifle loves and shoot that
one “general use” load for ev-
erything.
As a seasoned reloader, I
enjoy this hobby thoroughly.
I’ve been reloading for over
20 years, and still the addi-
tional knowledge of the sci-
ence of ballistics and firearms
continues to educate and de-
light this correspondent.
Don’t be surprised if you
get overwhelmed early on.
There is a lot of information
out there. Regardless of what
you may have heard, buy
and adhere to the informa-
tion within modern reloading
manuals.
Not infrequently, compo-
nent construction is changed
or updated; data from the
1960s may not be within pres-
sure limitations if used with
2018 components. As a gen-
eral rule, default to the man-
ual of the bullet manufacturer
you’re using.
Handloading is a great
hobby. Ask a friend or rela-
tive who reloads to give you
a tutorial. Whether you want
more accuracy or better per-
formance, or perhaps you
want to keep an older gun in
ammunition, I recommend
you take up handloading.
Have you been loading
your own for a long time or
are you relatively new to this
hobby? Shoot us an email
at shootingthebreezebme@
gmail.com.
Dale Valade is a local
country gent with a deep
love for handloading, hunt-
ing and shooting.
Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710
Donated by your family at
St. Elizabeth Catholic Church and her missions. Thanks!