The
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
150th Year • No. 52 • 18 Pages • $1.00
BlueMountainEagle.com
2018
YEAR IN REVIEW
Couple’s
disappearance
turns into
homicide case
Kam Wah
Chung
site draws
media
attention
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
The mysterious disappear-
ance of a “social” couple and their
pickup truck following a cabin fi re
on Nan’s Rock Road south of Mt.
Vernon evolved into a homicide
case after human remains were
identifi ed by the state crime lab.
Terry Smith, 67, and Sharon
Smith, 65, owned the cabin that
burned down July 17-18. The
cabin was located in a remote area
off Laycock Creek Road and was
completely gone by the time fi re
crews arrived.
Sheriff Glenn Palmer said his
phone was “off the hook” in the
days following the fi re as numer-
ous friends and family called from
around Grant County and out of
state.
Foul play was not suspected at
fi rst, Palmer said, but law enforce-
ment was searching for the miss-
ing 2006 Toyota Tacoma. He also
noted that the Smiths were often
in contact with friends and family
and wouldn’t just take off without
telling them.
Palmer confi rmed a few days
See Couple, Page A3
Contributed photo
Sharon and Terry Smith went
missing following a fi re at
their cabin on Nan’s Rock Road
south of Mt. Vernon on July
17-18. The suspicious case
was later declared a homicide
investigation.
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Four Main Street businesses
in John Day underwent major
changes. Dave Barntish closed
Prime Time Video after 30 years,
Greg Armstrong began selling
everything in Muzzy’s 123 Dol-
lar Store in preparation for clos-
ing, the Eastern Oregon College
of Industries and Arts College
closed to reopen as a beauty salon
and Sherry Dress moved her Nat-
urally Yours Health and Wellness
The Kam Wah Chung
State Heritage Site attracted
media attention this year, and
two television documentaries
now in the works could lead
to a significant increase in
tourism next year.
It’s been about 140 years
since the Chinese store
opened its doors in a for-
mer military outpost in John
Day. And it’s been about 10
years since the Friends of
Kam Wah Chung organiza-
tion established an interpre-
tive center for the site.
The Portland Lee’s Asso-
ciation Dragon & Lion Dance
Team appeared at a celebra-
tory dinner in John Day on
June 9 after marching in the
‘62 Days parade in Canyon
City.
Former First Lady Mary
Oberst joined other nota-
bles at the dinner, including
Dr. Eric Brand, an expert in
Chinese herbal medicines
who speaks Chinese and
spent time studying in Hong
Kong under Professor Zhao
Zhongzhen.
Brand and Zhongzhen
were back in John Day in
mid-August as a crew from
the Yiping Media Group of
Shenzhen, China, worked on
a documentary about Kam
Wah Chung for the Chinese
version of the Discovery
Channel.
Zhongzhen, who appeared
in the video, also sits on
a tourism board in China
that sees 3 million vis-
its on its website. Museum
curator Don Merritt said
See 2018, Page A6
See Site, Page A3
Eagle fi le photos
A garage and bedroom of a house on Skyline Drive in John Day were destroyed by a fi re of unknown
origin Nov. 4. Dale and Shelly Mosier escaped unharmed with their dog.
A month-by-month recap of 2018
Day, pleaded guilty Jan. 18 to
fi rst-degree manslaughter and
unlawful use of a weapon in the
shooting death of Todd A. Berry
near Dog Creek Road on Aug.
24. He was sentenced June 26
under amended charges to 60
months in prison and ordered to
pay $16,405 to a criminal injuries
compensation account.
Fire destroyed a two-story
home on Pine Creek Road owned
by Jim and Mary Jensen on Jan.
25. The house was fully engulfed
when fi refi ghters arrived. The
Jensens owned the Oxbow Trade
Co. antique business in Canyon
City.
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
January
Rep. Cliff Bentz was chosen
by county courts and commis-
sions from nine Eastern Oregon
counties to replace Sen. Ted Fer-
rioli to represent Senate District
30. Ferrioli had resigned to take a
governor-appointed position with
the Pacifi c Northwest Electric
Power and Conservation Plan-
ning Council. Bentz, a Repub-
lican from Ontario, had been
in the state house since 2004.
Lynn Findley, the former Vale
city manager, was appointed by
the same group to replace Bentz
as state representative for House
District 60.
Bradley D. Moles, 31, John
Day, was convicted of sexual
abuse by a 12-person jury Jan.
17. A jury in September 2017 had
failed to reach a verdict. He was
sentenced Jan. 31 to 75 months
in prison. Grant County Circuit
Court Judge William D. Cra-
mer Jr. denied a request to grant
Moles a new trial Feb. 23. Moles
submitted notice of his intent to
appeal the conviction in March.
February
Dave Barntish closed his Prime
Time Video store on Main
Street in John Day on Jan. 27.
Grant School District 3
announced plans for a $932,300
seismic upgrade to Humbolt Ele-
mentary School, which was built
in 1956. The project would take
place in summer and include a
new roof.
Thomas J. Elliott, 55, John
Prairie City water emergency leads to new well
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Prairie City Mayor Jim Hamsher
declared a water emergency Aug. 6,
but city residents were not surprised
and instead frustrated by recurring
water shortages.
For the second summer in a row,
residents had been asked in late July
to cease all outdoor watering. Pub-
lic Works Director Chris Camarena
blamed drought conditions caused
by low snowpack and falling water
tables.
The city had imposed water
restrictions in summer 2017 after a
June 26 lightning strike that knocked
out electrical controls coincided
with a well improvement project.
Water levels in the city’s reservoir
fell to 4 feet before crews were able
to restore safe levels around 23 feet.
But the city’s water supply prob-
Eagle fi le photo
Water was trucked to Prairie City from John Day after Prairie City
declared a water emergency on Aug. 6.
lems were older and more involved.
Prairie City had incurred signifi -
cant debt after building a $2 mil-
lion slow-sand fi ltration system in
2008 for water drawn from Dixie
Creek. But the creek often ran dry
in drought years, and the debt made
it diffi cult for the city to invest in a
new water source.
The city’s Dixie Creek infi ltration
galleries, which reached 200 gal-
lons per minute in August 2005, had
dropped to 15-20 gpm this year when
Hamsher declared a water emer-
gency. The level in the city reservoir
had dropped to a foot and a half by
that time as demand exceeded out-
put from city wells.
Water tenders went to work Aug.
12 hauling donated water from John
Day and dumping it into Prairie
City’s water mains on Dixie Creek
Road. Hamsher said he was con-
cerned about elevated wildfi re dan-
ger and wanted to replenish the
reservoir.
He also was frustrated by city
water users who allegedly ignored
the water emergency and continued
sprinkling. City Recorder Bobbie
Brown said warning notices were
sent to about 40 customers known
See Water, Page A6