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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 2019)
NEWS Blue Mountain Eagle Broadband net access, to the Seneca School, which has ESD ser- vice. Commstructure Con- sulting of Oregon City esti- mated the cost of the lateral at $4,538, and the board is waiting for a bid from Blue Mountain Telecom. Commstructure also esti- mated the cost of running a 96-fi ber cable from the fi re hall to the John Day City Hall at $45,651. The fi ber will run north to First Street and North Canyon Boule- vard, where CenturyLink has a microwave tower facil- ity, and then east past the People Mover bus facility and back to Highway 26. Connecting critical infra- structure will improve the coalition’s position when applying for federal grants, Green told the Eagle. “We’ll be looking at another lateral to connect the hospital and other facil- ities as well later in 2019,” he said. Continued from Page A1 New grant The board also agreed to apply for a USDA ReCon- nect grant. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the new broad- band program for rural areas in December, offer- ing up to $600 million in loans and grant funding. Approved projects must establish internet access speeds of at least 25 mega- bits per second download and 3 mbps upload. “Community Connect for 2019 is very similar to the 2018 program applica- tion we submitted,” Green told the Eagle. “ReConnect is an entirely new program, and it has a different set of rules.” Green criticized the ReConnect program’s scor- ing system, where connect- ing pre-subscribed farms is given one point each up to 20 points total while health care centers are given up to 15 points. There are no health care facilities in the coalition’s proposed proj- ect area. In addition, the ReCon- nect program requires a 25 percent match, while the Community Connect grant requires a 15 percent match, Green told the Eagle. The coalition will use funding it received from the state in 2017 to pay for the matches, Green said. The board also agreed to move forward with a pro- fessional services agree- ment with CTC Technol- ogy and Energy of Maryland to assist in drafting the grant Wednesday, February 27, 2019 ‘Hat trick’ The Eagle/Richard Hanners Servers at the Grant County Education Service District will temporarily provide internet access to the Seneca City Hall and the county’s 911 dispatch system. run fi ber from the fi re hall to the Grant County Educa- tion Service District offi ces on South Canyon Boule- vard in John Day. This will enable the new 911 dispatch center in the fi re hall to uti- lize ESD’s internet provider service. A similar project calls for running a 12-fi ber cable from the city hall in Sen- eca, which has poor inter- applications up to $12,000 to revamp the Community Connect application and up to $40,000 to prepare the ReConnect application. Lateral lines On Feb. 5, the coali- tion board agreed to issue a notice of intent to award Blue Mountain Telecom of Walla Walla, Washing- ton, a $33,333 contract to The board also heard about plans by Oregon Tele- phone Corporation to apply to the ReConnect program for funding to run fi ber up Highway 395 from Mt. Ver- non to several miles north of Long Creek and possibly west to Monument. If the coalition is awarded both federal grants and com- pletes a fi ber line from John Day to Burns, and if Ortelco is awarded ReConnect fund- ing and runs fi ber to the northwest part of the county, much of Grant County’s broadband network would be built out, the board noted. Board chairman Josh Walker characterized the potential achievement as a “hat trick.” Green also reported on talks he had with Steve Cor- bato, executive director of the Oregon Fiber Partner- ship, a collaborative effort by Oregon State Univer- sity, the state’s major public research facilities and state government. The partnership has pur- chased 1,500 miles of fi ber from CenturyLink to con- nect the state’s educa- tion and research facilities, which it hopes to activate this summer. The statewide network runs north-south along the coast, Interstate 5 and U.S. Highway 97 and east-west along I-84 and a central route connecting Newport, Bend, Burns and Ontario. These routes, however, circle a broadband void in Grant and Wheeler counties. The Oregon Fiber Partner- ship “has the ear of the gov- ernor” and will support the coalition’s applications for federal grants, board mem- ber Dan Becker told the Eagle. The partnership has expressed interest in the Grant County coalition’s efforts, as its John Day to Burns line when com- bined with Ortelco’s John Day to Baker City line would provide the partner- ship with a Burns to Baker City connection, Becker said. The partnership “is coor- dinating their long-range planning to include John Day, specifi cally providing internet access to our edu- cational facilities,” includ- ing the Grant County Edu- cational Service District, local schools and the OSU Extension offi ce, Green told the Eagle. M AGG • O FT • V ALLAD 22ND ANNUAL PERFORMANCE SALE Cutting-Edge Genetics Made for the Cowman b Offering 200 head a of top quality registered Angus & Hereford a b A NGUS B ULLS S ELL S IRED B Y : F EATURED H EREFORD B ULLS S IRED B Y : WR Journey 1x74 KM Brooken Bow PA Fortitude 2500 Baldridge Command C036 Leachman LA Certainty G066A RB Tour of Duty ... and more! R Leader 6964 Churchill Red Bull FTF Prospector 145Y ...and more! a Werner Flat Top 4136 McKellar Now Look b Churchill Sensation 028X Deer Valley All In Connealy Final Product Quaker Hill Rampage 0A36 Summitcrest Focus 2U66 Thursday, March 21 , 2019 Thursday, March 21, 2019 • 1 PM Maag Angus Ranch Headquarters, Vale, Oregon Visit us online at www.maagangus.com Online Bidding available at DV Auction. For more information or a catalog contact any one of us. Bob & MaryAnn Maag (541) 473-2108 Terry & Susan Oft (541) 889-6801 Jason & Deanne Vallad (541) 889-4562 Oscar Continued from Page A1 “I’m proud of him,” Mitch said, adding he’s wor- thy of the recognition and honor. “He’s very appre- ciative of everything he’s received throughout his life, and what he’s earned. He’s a hardworking person.” “I’m glad to say he’s from Grant County,” Mitch said. Rod Thompson, who lives on the Umatilla Indian Res- ervation just outside of Pend- leton, said when he heard the Academy Awards nominees, the name Skye Fitzgerald “rang a bell.” Thompson worked as a foreign exchange program in the 1980s and ‘90s and received Fitzgerald’s appli- cation for studying abroad in Sweden. He recalled interviewing Skye and his parents at their home, which is on a Forest Road past Top Road, as part of the process. “They were in a remote part of Grant County, which is by itself remote,” he said. Thompson said Skye’s grades were excellent, and his parents were incredibly supportive. Students applying for studying abroad are inter- viewed, Thompson said, to make sure they’re suitable for it as great students who are open to learning new things and living in a new culture — a unique culture, as well as a sub-culture. He said Skye also took in a trip to Leningrad during his time in Sweden. “It’s a broadening experi- ence for them,” he said. Thompson said he remembers all the students he worked with through American Scandinavian Stu- dent Exchange, which is now called ASSE. “Most exchange students I’ve been able to keep track of have all achieved,” he said, adding Skye is “achiev- ing things — it’s a big deal.” Slur Continued from Page A1 although the incident was terrible, OSAA took care of it, and the athlete was suspended from playing in Crane’s next game. Crane lost to Powder Valley 58-47 Feb. 19 in the fi rst round state playoff. Crane Superintendent Matthew Hawley said the district is using the situation as an opportunity to teach their student athletes. “Here at Crane, we have the highest expectations of our student athletes and our fans for portraying positive sportsmanship,” he said. “I think all parties involved have the same expectations that we hold our student athletes to high standards, and we expect the best from them.” He said OSAA’s guide- lines makes it clear “it’s about respecting the game, respecting your oppo- nent, respecting the people involved,” and the district is readdressing its expecta- tions of students. Hawley said, through collaboration with Prai- rie City school offi cials, he believes they have handled the situation in an appropri- ate manner and are “con- tinuing to do so.” Colson said the Prairie City athletes handled the situation well. “Lots of kids — every- one — makes mistakes,” Colson said. “I’m glad to see that both schools seem to be moving on from it.” 1809 First Street • Baker City • (541)523-5439 BARGAIN MATINEE IN ( ) Adults $7 ALL FILMS $6 ON TIGHTWAD TUESDAY MOVIE SCHEDULE MARCH 1-7 GRETA (R) A young woman befriends a lonely widow who & harboring a dark and deadly agenda towards her. FRI & SAT (4:20) 7:20 9:40 SUNDAY (4:20) 7:20 MON-THURS 7:20 FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY (PG-13) A former wrestler and his family make a living performing at small venues around the country while his kids dream of joining WWE. 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