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NEWS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Repair
Abuse
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through the rip-rap and ate away
the road base beneath the pave-
ment, leaving void spaces, Berry
said. ODOT crews needed to wait
until the river receded before it
would know for sure about road
conditions, Berry said.
Grant County was prepared
to assist ODOT crews with the
road department’s belly dumper
for repair work in Picture Gorge,
Commissioner Jim Hamsher said.
Highways 402 and 19 defi-
nitely experienced shoulder dam-
age where river water ran over
the roadway and erosion created
abrupt edges, Berry said. Scour-
ing of the abutments at the High-
way 26 bridge over Beech Creek
in Mt. Vernon did not pose an
emergency situation, but it is a
problem ODOT crews will need
to address this year, he said.
Extensive channel work last
year in Canyon Creek along High-
way 395 south of Canyon City
held up well, Berry said, as did
new culverts installed at Vance
Creek and Sheep Gulch in 2015.
The creek, however, ate away the
road embankment near milepost
3.7, which will need repair work
this year, he said.
restraint, financial exploitation and
abandonment.
A new Department of Human
Services hotline for reporting
child abuse began operating April
8, which centralized 15 hotlines
around Oregon. The new service
will address inconsistent screen-
ing practices in the past and will
operate 24 hours a day, 365 days
a year. The number is 1-855-503-
SAFE (7233).
State law defines mandatory
reporters for child abuse cases
to include teachers, government
workers, religious leaders, med-
ical personnel and CASA volun-
teers among others.
“We want people to report,”
Blood said.
Blood also wanted to debunk
the popular “stranger danger”
theory about child sexual abuse.
About 90 percent of abusers are
known by the child victim, she
said. They could include family
members, a neighbor, a teacher or
a coach, she said.
Blood will offer free train-
ing about child abuse this month,
with funding support from the
Ford Family Foundation and
Grant-Harney County CASA.
The “Darkness to Light, End
Child Sexual Abuse” event will
teach adults how to prevent, rec-
ognize and react responsibly to
child sexual abuse.
The Stewards of Children
prevention training program is
designed for organizations that
serve youths and for individuals
concerned about the safety of chil-
dren. It is the only nationally dis-
tributed, evidence-based program
proven to increase knowledge,
improve attitudes and change
child protective behaviors.
The first training will take place
at the Harney County Chamber of
Commerce from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 24. The second
will take place from 2-4 p.m. Fri-
day, April 26, at the Canyon City
Community Hall.
To register or for more infor-
mation, call 833-827-2267 or
email tblood@grantharneycasa.
org.
City reports
Most cities in Grant County
reported no flood damage to city
property. In Dayville, the South
Fork of the John Day River inun-
dated the playground area at the
city park but not the tennis courts,
City Recorder Ruthie Moore said.
Dayville high school students
were allowed to leave the morn-
Contributed photo/Dennis Reasoner
Flood waters from the South Fork of the John Day River inundated the South Fork RV Park in Dayville on April 8-9.
ing of April 9 to help sandbagging
efforts at ranches that saw exten-
sive flooding where the John Day
River overran its banks upstream
from Picture Gorge.
City Recorder Tami Kowing
said extensive sandbagging took
place in Mt. Vernon, thanks to fire
department personnel and volun-
teers, but other than some water
reported in basements and crawl-
spaces at private residences, no
significant damage was reported.
Although Highway 402 was
closed west of Monument, no sig-
nificant damage was reported in
town, City Recorder Dorothy Jor-
dan said. Officials had warned
that the North Fork of the John
Day River might crest at 17 feet,
about 3 feet over flood stage, but
the river only reached 15.1 feet,
she said.
Jordan applauded the efforts
of the volunteer fire department,
sheriff’s office and county search
and rescue personnel who deliv-
ered sandbags to Monument. The
sandbags weren’t needed, but
they’re in place now, she said.
Monument School closed April
9-10 as some students couldn’t
get through the highway closures,
she said.
Hamsher, speaking as the
Prairie City mayor, said logs
that hung up on the downstream
side of the Bridge Street bridge
over the John Day River were
the only concern for the city
following the flood. Municipal
water and sewer pipes attached
to the bridge could be damaged
by the logs, he said.
In Seneca, City Manager
Raamin Burrell said county per-
sonnel delivered sandbags, but
they weren’t needed and no dam-
age to city or private property had
been reported.
Long Creek was safe from
flood damage, but private roads
in the Pass Creek area north of
town reportedly were eroded by
enlarged streams.
The Bureau of Land Manage-
Impacts
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the flow at 1,150 cubic feet per
second, Williams said.
Bridges and schools
The creek came within 6
inches of the top of the dike at
Inland Street, just upstream from
the high school track and foot-
ball field, County Commissioner
Jim Hamsher said. Steps taken
in advance at the Inland Street
bridge worked out very well, he
said. Following flooding in 2011
at that same location, a dike was
constructed and concrete barriers
were set in place near the bridge.
It was unfortunate that the
pedestrian bridge had to be
removed after it collapsed and
blocked stream flow, Hamsher
said. The Inland Street bridge has
been an ongoing issue, and the
entire bridge needs to be replaced
with more clearance for flood-
stage stream flow, he said.
Humbolt Elementary School
remained closed after Grant
Union and Seneca schools
reopened because of bridge clo-
sures in Canyon City affecting
school bus travel.
The safety of the Portal, Nug-
get and Inland street bridges was
in question until an engineer-
ing assessment can be conducted
once creek levels fall, Hamsher
said.
Humbolt reopened April 15,
with buses traveling to the school
over the Main Street bridge and
leaving on the Adam Road bridge.
Main Street is considered too nar-
row for buses to pass each other.
Grant School District 3 Super-
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
Canyon Creek was flowing over the Inland Street bridge in Canyon City
by April 9. School teachers, staff and students joined other volunteers
in sandbagging along the creek to protect school property.
intendent Bret Uptmor said high
groundwater filled utility tunnels
beneath the high school and sat-
urated insulation covering heat-
ing pipes.
“The insulation will need
to be replaced when our flood-
ing stops,” he told the Eagle on
April 11. “The tunnels still have
water running through them, and
we are pumping out as much as
possible.”
Uptmor said the old boiler
room had 2-3 feet of water in it
April 10, and three pumps were
working hard to remove the water.
Boiler equipment was being
inspected, and the boiler had been
test-fired, he said.
“It is operational and we will
be continuing a process of inspec-
tion prior to full operation,” Upt-
mor said.
Emergency declarations
A Grant County emergency
declaration was made April 8
with the support of the mayors
or administrators of the coun-
ty’s seven cities. Hamsher said
the county received calls from
state Rep. Lynn Findley and
the offices of Sen. Ron Wyden
and Rep. Greg Walden offering
support.
Hamsher praised the work of
the Grant County Search and Res-
cue team, which put in long hours
sandbagging and helping with
evacuations. He also cited the
special expertise of SAR Coor-
dinator Dave Dobler and Grant
County Emergency Management
Coordinator Ted Williams.
Hamsher said about 75 vol-
unteers including Forest Ser-
vice personnel showed up to
assist with sandbagging. Jail
inmates and offenders on proba-
tion or parole worked at the Grant
County Road Department filling
bags with sand. He noted that it
ment reported flooding at camp-
grounds and access sites in the
John Day River basin. The Monu-
ment site was completely flooded,
and the toilet could be compro-
mised. The Big Bend site east of
Kimberly could not be accessed
for an inspection but was expected
to have flooded.
According to a press release
from the Oregon Department
of Consumer and Business Ser-
vices, flooding is the most com-
mon natural disaster, and more
than 20 percent of flood claims
come from homes outside high-
risk flood zones.
Typical homeowners insurance
policies do not cover flood dam-
age, the press release said, but
it could cover damage to a car,
and some policies for manufac-
tured homes cover flood damage.
Flood insurance can be purchased
through the National Flood Insur-
ance Program and a few private
insurers, but there is a 30-day
wait.
was too bad that it took a natural
disaster to bring people together
and put their differences aside.
Commissioner Sam Palmer
said he spent much of April 8-9
patrolling the county with Under-
sheriff Zach Mobley or attending
meetings. He said he believed the
contingency structure for emer-
gencies worked well.
The John Day City Council
declared an emergency during
its April 9 meeting. Mayor Ron
Lundbom was not authorized to
issue the declaration on his own,
and the council agreed to bring
back a code amendment to change
that process. The emergency dec-
larations will allow the county
and the city to collect federal or
state funding that could help pay
costs related to flooding.
Flooding in Canyon City
made its way into the John Day
sewer collection system. As a
result, about 1.5 million gallons
reached the treatment plant, set-
ting a record for a 24-hour period,
public works director Monte
Legg said. The average is about
230,000 gallons per day.
A sewer pipe suspended over
Canyon Creek that served three
residences was taken out by
debris caught in the fast-flowing
creek. The residents were gone at
the time, and there was no danger
from contamination, City Man-
ager Nick Green said.
The city council applauded
the great community effort in
response, from citizen volunteers
to John Day and Canyon City
staff and fire department person-
nel. Five private pickup trucks
showed up at the right time to
deliver sandbags, the council
noted.
⁄ 4 ” -0 State Spec
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Picked up - $6.00/ton
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Continued from Page A1
pleaded guilty to, lewd conduct with
a child younger than 16 years old,
is a serious one, even though police
found no further evidence he kid-
napped the girl at gunpoint.
He cited Vogt’s lack of crimi-
nal history, and a psychologist’s
finding he was not likely to com-
mit another sex crime, in handing
down a 15-year suspended prison
sentence in the case. He also
sentenced Vogt to another four
months in jail, noting it mirrors
the amount of time Vogt would
have spent on a rider term. If he
fails probation or does not com-
plete sex offender treatment, he
faces the prison term.
Vogt apologized to the girl in his
address to the court, and thanked his
girlfriend and his family, who sat in
the courtroom pews behind him, for
their support during the 155 days he
spent in the Ada County Jail.
As Peterson said not long before
Vogt’s words, the case “should
cause anybody who hears about it to
think twice about the things they see
on the internet.”
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Mt. Vernon Volunteer Fire Department
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ANNUAL EASTER EGG HUNT
Picked up - $9.25/ton
Saturday, April 20 at 10 A.M.
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Fire Truck rides from 9:00 - 9:45 A.M. at the
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(541) 932-4888
If you have any questions please call
City of Mt. Vernon at 541-932-4688