NEWS
BlueMountainEagle.com
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
A5
Court hears suggestions on compensation changes
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Compensation proposals for
county employees and elected offi -
cials were raised during the Grant
County Court meeting May 8.
Justice of the Peace Kathy Stin-
nett said she fully supported cre-
ating a full-time human resources
position for the county, and she
offered some suggestions on how
to reorganize the county’s compen-
sation system.
Stinnett suggested eliminat-
ing some job categories as well as
stipends for work outside of a job
description. She also described the
benefi ts of implementing a step
system based on training and merit.
Commissioner
Jim
Ham-
sher said he agreed that employ-
ees should be paid for what they
do and not for how much educa-
tion they have. He noted that some
employees handle responsibilities
far beyond their offi cial education
levels and that they might leave if
not compensated for that work.
Commissioner Sam Palmer
raised his earlier suggestion that
Hamsher be compensated for tak-
ing on additional work during the
April fl oods while County Judge
Scott Myers was absent for medi-
cal reasons.
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
Grant County Justice of the Peace Kathy Stinnett addresses the county
court May 8. Seated left to right are Grant County Economic Development
Coordinator Allison Field and economic development specialist Beth
Simonsen.
Grant County Roadmaster Alan
Hickerson addresses the county
court May 8.
Laurie Wright, who will head up
the county’s new human resources
offi ce, said that suggestion could
“open up a can of worms” as other
elected offi cials would request
the same benefi t and then the pro-
cess would “snowball” to other
employees.
commissioner compensation topic
on a future court agenda.
In other court news:
• The court approved several
requests from Grant County Road-
master Alan Hickerson, including
purchasing a new low-boy trailer
to haul road graders, advertising
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
Wright also addressed earlier
opinions raised in a court meeting
about appointing someone to fi ll
in for Myers in his absence, not-
ing that only the governor could do
that.
Hamsher said he agreed with
Palmer and suggested putting the
for a new position at Long Creek
and purchasing a shipping con-
tainer to store fl ood supplies.
Hickerson said he’d like to store
pallets of fi lled sandbags, bales of
unfi lled bags and a sandbag-fi lling
machine in the shipping container
to keep the bags out of harmful
sunlight and ready for instant use.
Hamsher said the April fl oods
caused an estimated $1.5 mil-
lion in damages to public property
and maybe more than that to pri-
vate property. He said one land-
owner needed numerous dump
truck loads of material to repair a
private road.
• The court appointed fi ve vol-
unteers to the Transient Room Tax
Review Committee: Jenny Shaw,
Karin Barntish, Larry Pierce, Bob
Quinton and Mike Springer.
• The court issued a procla-
mation designating the month of
May from this year forward as
Older Americans Month in Grant
County.
The proclamation noted that,
according to U.S. Census esti-
mates, 29.6 percent of the county’s
residents are 65 years or older com-
pared to 17.1 percent for the state
and 15.6 percent for the nation.
Hamsher pointed out that many
committee volunteers serving the
county are older people.
COPS AND COURTS
Arrests and citations in
the Blue Mountain Eagle are
taken from the logs of law
enforcement agencies. Every
effort is made to report the
court disposition of arrest
cases.
Grant County Sheriff
The Grant County Sher-
iff’s Offi ce reported the fol-
lowing for the week of May
8:
Concealed
handgun
licenses: 6
Average inmates: 11
Bookings: 11
Releases: 6
Arrests: 1
Citations: 3
Fingerprints: 6
Civil papers: 15
Warrants processed: 5
Asst./welfare check: 0
Search and rescue: 0
May 6: Edward Lix, 63,
Orangevale,
California,
was cited for exceeding the
posted speed, 44/25 zone.
May 6: Joshua Stalcup,
30, Burns, was cited for vio-
lating the basic rule 75/55
zone.
May 8: James Jones, 20,
John Day, was cited for driv-
ing without insurance.
Justice Court
• Violation of basic rule:
Norman R. Woodham Jr.,
71, Prineville, April 16,
75/55 zone, fi ned $165;
Michael S. Bass, 29, Prairie
City, April 14, 71/55 zone,
fi ned $125; Sherry L. Dress,
71, John Day, April 3, 80/55
zone, fi ned $225.
• Exceeding speed limit:
Tina L. Stearly, 57, Can-
yon City, April 14, 81/65
zone, fi ned $165; Chelsey L.
McDaniel, 34, Prairie City,
April 25, 74/65 zone, fi ned
$140.
• Violation speed limit:
Daniel W. Wagner, 26,
Hines, March 17, 82/65
zone, fi ned $265.
• Driving uninsured:
Michele Trimble, 43, Mt.
Vernon, Jan. 17, fi ned $265;
Stephen P. Hancock, 43,
Canyon City, April 2, fi ned
$265, April 13, fi ned $265,
April 16, fi ned $265.
• Driving while sus-
pended: Michele Trimble,
43, Mt. Vernon, Jan. 17,
fi ned $440.
• Failure to register vehi-
cle: Michele Trimble, 43,
Mt. Vernon, Jan. 17, fi ned
$115.
• Failure to renew regis-
tration: Stephen P. Hancock,
43, Canyon City, April 2,
fi ned $115, April 13, fi ned
$115.
• Failure to install an igni-
tion interlock device: Dan-
iel W. Wagner, 26, Hines,
March 17, fi ned $440.
Dispatch
John
Day
dispatch
worked 154 calls during
the week of May 6-12,
including:
• John Day Police
Department
May 6: Responded to
a reported death on South
Hillcrest Road in John Day.
May 6: Received a
harassment report from an
apartment on East Main
Street in John Day.
May 6: Advised of a
harassment complaint at a
mobile home park on West
Main Street in John Day.
May 7: Responded to
Northwest Second Ave-
nue in John Day. Rob-
ert D. Herrera was arrested
and charged with domestic
assault.
May 10: Dispatched to a
report of a rattlesnake at a
mobile home park on West
Main Street in John Day.
May 10: Received a call
about a suspicious vehicle
on East 11th Street in John
Day.
May 11: Responded to a
report of suspicious circum-
stances at an automotive
shop on South Canyon Bou-
levard in John Day.
• Grant County Sher-
iff’s Offi ce
May 6: Advised of sus-
picious circumstances on
West Franklin Avenue in
Dayville.
May 6: Received a theft
report from Laycock Creek
Road.
May 8: Advised of a bur-
glary report on North Cozart
Avenue in Prairie City.
May 8: Responded to
Highway 26 near Aus-
tin Junction for a noninjury
crash.
May 10: Advised of a
crash with injuries on High-
way 395 near Meadowbrook
Pass.
May 10: Received a
domestic dispute call from
Ingle Street in Mt. Vernon.
May 10: Advised of a
suspicious vehicle on Patter-
son Drive in Canyon City.
May 10: Received a
domestic dispute call from
Ingle Street in Mt. Vernon.
May 10: Advised of a
theft on Wilderness Lane in
John Day.
May 11: Received a
report of a theft at the Billy
Fields Campground up
Fields Creek Road.
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May 11: Advised of a sus-
picious vehicle at a church
in Canyon City.
• John Day ambulance
May 6: Dispatched with
Seneca ambulance to Park
Avenue in Seneca for an
elderly woman.
May 6: Responded to
Northwest Third Avenue
in John Day for a hospital
transport.
May 6: Transported a
patient to the hospital in
John Day.
May 6: Received a 911
call from South Washington
Street in Prairie City.
May 7: Dispatched with
Prairie City ambulance to
North Cozart Avenue in
Prairie City for a man who
had fallen.
May 8: Responded with
Prairie City ambulance to
North Cozart Avenue in
Prairie City for a man who
was unable to move.
May 8: Received a call
from Aslin Avenue in Mt.
Vernon for an 81-year-old
man with abdominal pain.
May 8: Responded to
East Main Street in John
Day for a 46-year-old man
with uncontrolled vomiting.
John Day police were sum-
moned for an unattended
death.
May 9: Received a 911
call from Northeast Seventh
Avenue in John Day.
May 11: Transported a
patient to the hospital in
John Day.
May 11: Responded to
Hansen Lane in Mt. Vernon
for a 96-year-old man who
was nonresponsive.
May 11: Dispatched to
Southwest Violet Street in
Mt. Vernon for a 70-year-
old woman with diffi culty
breathing.
May 12: Responded to a
mobile home park on West
Main Street in John Day
for a 36-year-old woman
with an electrical burn.
• John Day fi re
May 6: Responded to
Luce Creek Road for a
report of a hay fi eld fi re.
• Prairie City fi re
May 7: Advised of a
possible fi re near the water
tower northeast of Prairie
City.
May
9:
Received
a report of a possi-
ble fi re near the timber
mill site west of Prairie
City.
• Forest Service
May 9: Advised of a
possible fi re in the Cinna-
bar Mountain area south of
Mt. Vernon.
American Legion Auxiliary
POPPY BOOTH
will be at Chester’s Thriftway
Thursday - Saturday, May 16-18
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
1st: $300.00 gift certificate from
Better Blooms & Gardens – Roger Lee
2nd: Garden Wagon & Accessories
from John Day True Value
Hardware – Fran Bunch
3rd: Woodland Ripple Afghan
handmade and donated by
Fonda and Ted Thompson – Ray
Thielke
IN
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