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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 2019)
NEWS Blue Mountain Eagle A16 Rodeo Continued from Page A1 some people may become lifelong friends.” Besides promoting rodeo, Israel said she’ll also represent Grant County. In the future, she plans to graduate from Dayville Pot Continued from Page A1 home. That’s a big concern, Reyes said. State Sen. James Man- ning, D-Eugene, asked Reyes if she has heard of issues in the construction sector in places where marijuana is legal, such as Amsterdam. She had not. Others testified the law would run afoul of federal regulation of some industries, such as truckers who drive with licenses regulated by federal law and are required to take a drug test showing they are free from substances including marijuana. Rob Bovett, represent- ing the Association of Oregon Counties, said City County Insurance Services estimates more than $1 million in liti- gation costs would arise each year if the bill were passed as Review Continued from Page A1 Policy history The federal government’s land management policies have varied widely over the past two centuries, Blumm and Fraser report in their article. After acquiring huge swaths of land from foreign governments and indigenous peoples, the government allowed settlers to use public lands as a grazing commons. Impacts from overgraz- ing led to the creation of grazing districts under the 1934 Taylor Grazing Act. In 1976, Congress estab- lished public lands policies under the Federal Lands Pol- icy and Management Act and the National Forest Manage- High School with the class of 2024 followed by attend- ing school for equine mas- sage — and “maybe win the title of Miss Rodeo Oregon, then compete in Las Vegas for the title of Miss Rodeo America,” she said. Coronation party tickets are available at the Grant County Fairgrounds office is. Casey Houlihan, executive director of the Oregon Retail- ers of Cannabis Association, supported the proposal, say- ing it’s a last step to legalizing marijuana. He said he’s open to amendments to make the legislation more clearly about off-hours consumption and impairment of marijuana. Ricardo Lujan, a pol- icy associate for the Ameri- can Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, said many people who get drug tested at work are working low-wage jobs. The current policy creates a two-tier system favoring the wealthy, whose employers are less likely to drug test. The state should pass the legisla- tion to make the use of mari- juana equal for all, he said. Much less time was spent on possible interstate com- merce of marijuana, but those who did testify said if Ore- ment Act. Blumm and Fraser note that NFMA requires the Forest Service to coordinate land and resource manage- ment planning with state and local governments, but “nei- ther NFMA nor agency reg- ulations require the Forest Service to conduct land plan- ning via government-to-gov- ernment consultation with counties.” They also note that “no federal court has interpreted the ‘coordination’ provisions of NFMA or FLPMA” and that “counties lack author- ity to interpret the coordi- nation provisions in NFMA or FLPMA to create bind- ing obligations on federal agencies.” According to Blumm and Fraser, opposition to pas- sage of NFMA and FLPMA in John Day, Bar W-B in Prairie City and the South Fork Mini Mart in Day- ville or call Nicole Israel at 541-620-2624. For more informa- tion, visit missrodeoore- gon.com or follow Israel on Instagram at 2019jmrorowdyisrael and #jrmissrodeooregon. gon fails to act now it could be giving up a prosperous future where Oregon would be the de facto home of the marijuana industry. Right now, federal law pro- hibits states where marijuana is legal from buying or selling to each other. But as a green wave flows over the coun- try, that will likely change one day. When that happens, Ore- gon needs to act, marijuana industry representatives said. The legislation just sets the stage for granting the gover- nor the authority to negotiate agreements with other states. Far more marijuana is grown in Oregon than is bought by consumers. In 2018, the state said it had 1 million pounds of surplus marijuana in its tracking system. The glut has cut recre- ational prices in half and forced growers and retailers to cut their workforce. in 1976 led to the Sage- brush Rebellion in the 1970s and the County Suprem- acy movement in the 1990s. Thirty Western counties enacted ordinances assert- ing authority over federal lands in the early 1990s, the authors said. Lobbying the West The authors point to American Stewards as a “major source” of the cur- rent misunderstanding about the meaning of coordina- tion and say the organization urges county governments to invoke an “aggressive inter- pretation of local authority.” “In its materials urg- ing county governments to seek coordination, American Stewards relies on a plain meaning approach to define Wednesday, February 13, 2019 Grant The Fainman Springs proj- ect dates back to 2005. Follow- ing the water emergency dec- laration last year, Marciel Well Drilling of Mt. Vernon con- ducted tests at Fainman Springs and found one of the three wells produced 475 gallons per min- ute. That was enough water to meet the city’s demands. The cost of developing Fainman Springs had been estimated at $900,000, which included improving the exist- ing access road and installing a pump station, well pump, chlorination system, water main and electrical power line. But a 2008 slow-sand filtra- tion system installed on Dixie Creek Road had put the city $2 million in debt and made it dif- ficult to find financing for the Fainman Springs project. On Dec. 6, Hamsher trav- eled to Salem and addressed the Business Oregon Infra- structure Finance Authority board. The 5-inch thick appli- cation for financial assistance The city expects to have the Fainman Springs water project completed by summer, weather dependent. Meanwhile, work on a $2 million city sewer proj- ect has continued under a U.S. Department of Agriculture-Ru- ral Development loan and grant. The partial government shutdown created problems for the contractor installing new pumps at the treatment plant, but after contacting staff at Walden’s and Merkley’s offices, the Prairie City project was moved up in priority once the government reopened, and the contractor received pay- ments promptly, Hamsher said. The new variable-speed sewer pumps are expected to reduce electrical usage by 30 percent, Hamsher said. With installation of 1,500 feet of new forced-main along Highway 26 delayed by winter condi- tions, the contractor has turned to replacing old sewer mains in town, Hamsher said. The city also has been in negotiations with U.S. Cellu- lar for a new cellphone tower to be built on city land near the Prairie Wood Products mill site. The deal will generate $1,500 per month in income the city will allocate to the water fund for operating costs and debt payments, Hamsher said. In addition, the city coun- cil has passed a resolution allo- cating income from the Depot RV Park to city utility funds for debt purposes. Hamsher said $1 per day per space will go to the water fund and another $1 per day per space will go to the sewer fund. ‘coordination’ in NFMA and FLPMA,” Blumm and Fraser said. “Relying on dictionar- ies and irrelevant court opin- ions — eschewing the usual means of statutory inter- pretation — the group pro- claims coordination means ‘government-to-government’ consultation.” The authors also note that county governments that assert novel interpretations of their role in public land- use planning “face a steep uphill legal battle” because of the Property Clause in the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in U.S. v. Gratiot in 1840 that Congress’ power to man- age public lands under the Property Clause is “without limitation,” Blumm and Fra- ser said. Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2 of the U.S. Consti- tution states, “Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Prop- erty belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be con- strued as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.” The authority that counties claim in coordination ordi- nances is reserved under fed- eral law for indigenous tribes, which are expressly men- tioned in the U.S. Constitu- tion while counties are “con- stitutionally insignificant,” Blumm and Fraser said. “Many tribes have trea- ties with the United States, but county governments have no authority to demand govern- ment-to-government negotia- tions with the federal govern- ment,” the authors said. Blumm and Fraser also speculated about the conse- quences of the federal gov- ernment agreeing to a govern- ment-to-government status. Noting that “all Americans hold an equal claim of own- ership to federal land,” they suggested that giving special status to local plans would pro- mote monopolization of natu- ral resource use and elevate the power of those who control local government — “no doubt local economic leaders.” “The vast majority of American citizens do not live close to lands they own that would be effectively monopo- lized by local control,” Blumm and Fraser said. Continued from Page A1 for free, but the cost of private haulers came to $128,393. Part of the emergency federal grant will go to paying for transport- ing water. Fainman Springs required vast amounts of his- torical-use data and consumed hours of Brown’s time, Ham- sher said. The board unani- mously approved the $550,000 grant and $950,000 loan to finance the Fainman Springs project. Hamsher had been advised that approval of the federal emergency grant could take 18 months or more. Complet- ing the 4-inch thick application was another huge undertaking for city staff, he said. Hamsher credited assistance from Rep. Greg Walden, Sen. Jeff Merk- ley, Gov. Kate Brown and Business Oregon for getting the $1 million federal grant expedited. “It’s been a long-time dream to be able to complete the Fainman water project for the residents of Prairie City,” Hamsher said. “I’d like to thank city staff, the engineers and a big thanks to City Recorder Bobbie Brown for the endless hours she has put in helping with this project.” Other projects 05205 99621
