EASTER BUNNY VISITS LOC AL EGG HUNTERS
PAGE A3
Blue Mountain
The
EAGLE
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
151st Year • No. 17 • 18 Pages • $1.00
BlueMountainEagle.com
ODFW
releases
draft of
updated
wolf plan
By George Plaven
EO Media Group
A long-awaited update of Ore-
gon’s Wolf Conservation and
Management Plan could fi nally
be adopted in June, though not
without controversy.
The Oregon Department of
Fish & Wildlife released its latest
draft of the revised plan April 15,
nearly fi ve years after it was fi rst
due. The Fish and Wildlife Com-
mission is expected to vote on the
proposal at its June 7 meeting in
Salem, which will include public
testimony.
One major confl ict remains the
ability of wildlife managers to kill
wolves that repeatedly prey on
livestock. Wolves in Eastern Ore-
gon are managed under Phase III
of the current plan, which defi nes
“chronic depredation” as two
confi rmed attacks in any period
of time.
The revised plan would change
the defi nition to two attacks in
nine months. Ranchers have long
argued they need the ability to kill
certain wolves as a management
tool to protect their animals.
Gray wolves are still federally
protected west of highways 395,
78 and 95, and can only legally
be killed in cases of self-defense.
However, the U.S. Fish and Wild-
life Service has proposed delist-
ing wolves across the Lower 48
states, which would place the ani-
mals under state management.
ODFW released its annual
report earlier this month, showing
an increase in the minimum pop-
ulation to 137 wolves in 2018, up
10 percent over the previous year.
The number of confi rmed attacks
on livestock also increased 65 per-
cent over 2017, with 28 incidents.
More than one-third of those were
attributed to the Rogue pack near
Crater Lake in Western Oregon.
Agency offi cials spent months
working with hunters, ranch-
ers and environmental groups to
reach a compromise on the most
contentious parts of the plan revi-
sion, including how best to min-
imize livestock losses. The state
spent more than $100,000 to hire
a professional mediator, who
facilitated meetings between
August 2018 and January 2019.
By the end, each of four envi-
ronmental groups — Oregon
See Wolf, Page A18
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Mr. North (Sierra Cates), left, and King Cotton (Erika Dickens) clash in a Grant Union Drama Club performance April 10.
GRANT UNION DRAMA CLUB
PERSONALITIES SHINE
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
he Grant Union Drama
Club kept their audi-
ence chuckling with
a double feature April
10 on stage at the school in
John Day.
Grant Union English teacher
Angela Smith and Span-
ish teacher Kathy Sherwood
directed the plays, which
included a total of 25 actors.
“Middle School Dating
Game” by Jennifer McVetty
was presented by students
in grades 6-8 with “contes-
tants” hamming it up on stage,
and high school students per-
formed a satirical piece “The
Complete Tale of the American
T
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Reporters in the play, from left, Mariah Kerr, Ashleigh Ostberg and
Katie Johnson, give an overview of the Civil War.
Civil War (Abridged)” by Eddie
McPherson.
Smith said this was a fi rst
play for many of the middle
school actors, and they worked
hard to develop the characters
they portrayed.
“It’s wonderful to watch the
students grow and develop in
drama,” she said. “The confi -
dence they gain from participa-
tion in drama will help them in
many aspects of their lives.”
Ms. South was played by
Erika Dickens. Mr. North
(Sierra
Cates),
Plantation
Owner (Ellie Justice), Abe Lin-
coln (Will Carpenter) and oth-
ers took the stage as army lead-
ers, soldiers, factory workers,
reporters and more.
Carpenter also voiced the
part of Yoda, adding another
layer of humor.
A pause amidst the light-
hearted and abbreviated retell-
ing was a memorial of the many
lives lost in war.
See Play, Page A18
Proposed city budget 21 percent larger
Additional revenue
and grant proceeds
to be used for capital
improvements
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
John Day’s proposed oper-
ating budget for the next fi scal
year is about 21 percent higher
than last year because of addi-
tional revenue and grant pro-
ceeds that will be used for cap-
ital improvement projects, City
Manager Nick Green said in his
budget message.
“Since launching our strat-
egy for growth in 2017, we have
taken on several signifi cant cap-
ital improvement projects and a
few internal restructurings that
have changed the way we oper-
ate as a city,” Green said.
The $13.9 million proposed
budget was presented to the
city’s budget committee during
its fi rst meeting April 16. Com-
mittee members include Tom
Olson, Vincent Maurer, Darin
Toy, Robert Raschio, Katrina
Randleas, Ron Hasher, Mike
Miller and Beth Spell. The city
council will hold a budget hear-
ing May 28 and adopt the pro-
posed budget June 12.
Public safety
“Prior to my administra-
tion, the city had become over-
extended, particularly in public
safety spending,” Green said.
“In 2017, our total public safety
expenditures exceeded $1 mil-
lion for the fi rst time. We were
providing too many services for
too many external organizations
with too little cost recovery.”
The city addressed this prob-
lem by discontinuing 911 dis-
patch service for the county,
police service for Prairie City,
victims assistance service
for the district attorney and
See Budget, Page A18
Eagle fi le photo
John Day Fire Chief Ron Smith, left, will retire
this year. John Day Police Chief Mike Durr,
center, is also the school resource offi cer
at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School.
Valerie Maynard is now the dispatch manager
at Grant County Emergency Communications
Center, which moved from the John Day City
Hall to the fi re hall April 10.
In loving memory of Dennis Reynolds
A celebration of life will be held at the Heritage Barn
in the Grant County Fairgrounds on April 27th at 1 p.m.
followed by a dinner