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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2018)
News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, November 21, 2018 Magone Trail project ranks well for grant County domestic violence shelter closer to fruition Shelter needs have doubled in recent years Idlewild Sno-Park also seeking grant funding By Richard Hanners By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle Blue Mountain Eagle Two outdoor recreation projects in the Grant County area received high rankings from an Oregon Parks and Recreation Department advi- sory committee for this year’s Recreational Trails Program grant funding. The Malheur National For- est Blue Mountain Ranger District’s $218,804 request for construction of the Ma- gone Trail Network ranked sixth out of 14 entries in the nonmotorized trails division. The Eastern Oregon Trail Alliance deserves the credit for the trail project, said Jar- ed Bowman, the forest’s north zone recreation manager. The Forest Service applied for the grant on behalf of the alliance because the group had not ex- isted for three years, which was a grant requirement. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $361,679. Plans call for a 28-mile trail, of which 5 miles will be re- habilitated trail and improve- ments to the Nipple Butte Trail, Bowman said. The remaining 23 miles includes road-to-trail con- versions that the alliance and Forest Service will under- take with assistance from the North Fork John Day Water- shed Council’s youth crew and new trail built by pro- fessional mountain bike trail contractors. The grant funding will be used to pay for the lat- 541-523-6377 Contributed photos Youth crews from the North Fork John Day Watershed Council work on the Magone Trail in August of 2017. A youth crew member helps improve the Magone Trail in August. Grant funding could further improve trails in the area. ter work, Bowman said. Volunteers from the alli- ance built several hundred feet of trail in 2017. The alliance, Forest Service and youth crew created a few hundred feet in 2018, Bowman said. Progress was slow. At that rate, the 28-mile long trail 541-963-6577 541-573-6377 could take 56 years to com- plete, which was unaccept- able, Bowman said. The grant would enable the project to be completed in two years, he said. The goal is to augment recreation opportunities in the Magone Lake area. 541-576-2160 90632 “The trail network will be an amazing asset for this area — a destination feature, to which urbanites in the re- gion will likely travel, not to mention locals,” Bowman said. “We are hoping to cap- ture some of the flow-through bicycle traffic in the area and increase the amount of time visitors spend in the John Day Valley.” Bowman said he and fellow north zone recreation planner Kevin Green were working with the alliance board to analyze the trail system, de- velop phases for construction and set goals for 2019. The alliance meets on the second Wednesday of each month at the Outpost Pizza Pub & Grill in John Day, he noted. “We hope this will in- crease enthusiasm and volun- teer support as we move into the second year of funding,” Bowman said. A $160,000 request to fund a new building to house the snowmobile trail grooming machine at Idlewild Sno-Park in Harney County was ranked fifth out of five requests in the motorized trails division. Harney County Snowmo- bile Club president Darrell Williams said plans call for constructing a 40-by-60-foot building at the parking lot that was paved about four years ago. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $200,000. Club members in- tend to provide in-kind ser- vices for the match. The groomer is owned by the Oregon State Snowmo- bile Association with support from the Oregon Department of Transportation, Williams said. Each snowmobile club maintains and operates a groomer. Without a shed, volunteer operators had been parking the Idlewild groomer in a se- cure place in the woods or at a club member’s cabin, Wil- liams said. There have been no vandalism incidents, but club members wanted a more secure means to store the ma- chine, he said. While the past winter was a drought year with poor cov- erage for snowmobiling, the Idlewild machine groomed 1,200-1,300 miles two win- ters ago, Williams said. A9 Grant County is one step closer to having new offices and a shelter for its domestic violence program. The Grant County Court approved submitting a $980,000 Community Devel- opment Block Grant applica- tion on behalf of the Heart of Grant County for construc- tion of the Meredith House following a public hearing during its Nov. 7 meeting. Commissioner Jim Ham- sher noted how sad it is that such a facility was needed, but that is the reality. Grant County Judge Scott Myers agreed. Sally Bartlett, the coun- ty’s economic development coordinator, said the state had approved a pre-application for the grant. With a Dec. 31 application deadline, Bart- lett said the grant might be awarded in the spring. If suc- cessful, the project could be put out to bid, and construc- tion could start next summer, she said. Heart of Grant County was established in 2008. The nonprofit provides domestic violence and sexual assault protection services for county residents and provides a 24- hour hotline, temporary safe housing, emergency trans- portation and support groups The nonprofit has relocat- ed its offices several times and needs a better location, Bartlett said. Shelter demand has doubled in recent years, with shelter space maxed out several times. The current facility also lacks needed se- curity and safety provisions, she said. In fiscal year 2017-2018, Bartlett said, Heart of Grant County was contacted by 131 people in crisis, received 236 hotline calls, provided 310 shelter nights at their small apartment, provided 19 motel rooms, handled 17 new cli- ents and 134 ongoing clients, provided safety planning for 212 clients and accompanied 92 clients for medical rea- sons. According to 2016 num- bers from the Grant County District Attorney’s Office, victim assistance staff han- dled 108 victims of domestic abuse, including 73 cases of domestic and family vio- lence, 12 child abuse cases, 11 child sexual abuse cases, five stalking cases, three vi- olation of protective orders and two adult sexual assault cases. Bartlett said Heart of Grant County started its site search on county-owned land, but nothing suitable was available. The nonprofit then found land and purchased it. The site was not chosen on a whim, she noted. The new facility is esti- mated to cost $1.5 million, but the total could be reduced through in-kind services pro- vided by locals, Bartlett said. The estimated total cost in- cludes architecture and engi- neering but not furniture and equipment, she said. The hope is to provide three bedrooms, two bath- rooms and offices for the nonprofit, Bartlett said. The facility would accommodate women, men and children. Acceptance of clients from outside the county would be determined on a case-by-case basis, Executive Director Shelly Whale-Murphy said. The state, which will ad- minister the federal grant, would own the building for five years and lease it to the Heart of Grant County at a nominal amount, Bartlett said. Ownership would be transferred to Heart of Grant County after that. Heart of Grant County is seeking donations to com- plete the $15,000 required match for the grant. For more information, call 541-575- 4335. Comments sought on Silvies grazing allotment analysis Blue Mountain Eagle The Emigrant Creek Ranger District of the Mal- heur National Forest is so- liciting scoping comments regarding an environmen- tal analysis to re-authorize grazing on three grazing al- lotments through the South Silvies Complex Grazing Allotments Environmen- tal Analysis. The planning area is located in Grant and Harney counties, 18 miles north of Burns, according to a press release. This area encompasses about 54,506 acres within the Silvies River Watershed, including the Big Sagehen, Silvies and Bridge Creek grazing allotments. The document can be accessed on the Forest Ser- vice website at https://www. fs.usda.gov/project/?proj- ect=52366, or by contacting Marion Mahaffey at 541- 575-3302 or marionmahaf- fey@fs.fed.us. The 30-day scoping pe- riod for the South Silvies Complex Grazing Allot- ments Environmental Anal- ysis began Nov. 14. Only those submitting specific written comments during a designated opportunity to comment will have standing to object to the project. Com- ments must be postmarked or received within 30 days from the date of publication of the scoping notice, Dec. 14. For more information, contact Mahaffey. The Mt. Vernon Volunteer Fire Dept. would like to thank the following contributors of the food basket raffle for their support: John Day True Value Hardware Backdoor Creations Vey Ranches Frontier Equipment Emma Winkleman Annie Smith Patricia Ross Linda McCumber Nydam’s Ace Hardware Napa Auto Parts Chester’s Thriftway Log Cabin Espresso Elsa Moreno Spence KJ Kuhl Sherri Preston McGuire Michele McManama Liz & Matt Allen There was over $1,100 raised for the Elderly Food Basket Pro- gram. The Fire Dept. was able to give out 50 baskets last year. Any cash donations go towards the purchase of turkeys, hams and other food items. 90878
