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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (May 29, 2019)
A10 NEWS Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, May 29, 2019 Pool Bond Continued from Page A1 Continued from Page A1 does not have a suffi cient tax base to build and operate a new pool, so Green proposed that the county court establish a county service district to fund building and operating a new pool. The new service district should not extend countywide as that would be unfair to distant communities, Green said. Resi- dents of the new district would vote in a bond election to pay for construction of a new pool, he said. Green told the Eagle that a county service district can be created by the county court with- out a popular vote because it does not create a permanent tax base. Once the district’s bound- aries are established, the district board can refer ballot measures to its residents for local option taxes and capital improvement bonds to build and fi nance oper- ations of a pool. 16J, director position 4: Mani Martin 68, write-in 8 • Dayville School District 16J, director position 5: Gina Fisher 72, write-in 0 • Fox Cemetery District, director at-large: write-in 6 • Fox Cemetery District, director at-large: write-in 6 • Grant County Education Service Dis- trict, director at-large: John R. Stearns 919, write-in 19 • Grant County Education Service Dis- trict, director zone 1: Megan Brandsma 345, write-in 1 • Grant County Education Service Dis- trict, director zone 2: Shilo Fretwell 153, write-in 1 • Grant County Education Service Dis- trict, director zone 4: Becky Tatum 199, write-in 3 • Grant County Education Service Dis- trict, director zone 5: write-in 6 • Grant County Transportation District, four directors at-large: Ron Smith 824, Peggy Molnar 866, Blaine Huffman 899, Deronda Lallatin 773, write-in 30 • John Day-Canyon City Parks and Recreation District, two directors at-large: Russ Young 401, Zach Williams 408, write-in 27 • John Day Rural Fire District, three directors at-large: Eric W. Julsrud 157, Pat Holliday 171, write-in 14 • John Day School District 3, director zone 3: David L. Hall 586, write-in 4 • John Day School District 3, three directors at-large: write-in 305 • Long Creek Cemetery District, direc- tor at-large: Dwight Johnson 75, write-in 0 • Long Creek School District 17, direc- tor position 2: Jasmine Cave 48, write-in 22 • Long Creek School District 17, director position 4: James Kreamier 69, write-in 8 • Long Creek School District 17, director position 5: Michael Gibson 52, write-in 17 • Mid-County Cemetery District, direc- tor at-large: Julie Ellison 591, write-in 2 • Monument Cemetery District, two directors at-large: write-in 32 • Monument School District 8, direc- tor position 3 at-large: Jacqueline Oakley Sweek 44, write-in 2 • Monument School District 8, direc- tor position 4 at-large: Josh Hamilton 56, write-in 3 • Monument School District 8, direc- tor position 7 at-large: Carrie Jewell 53, write-in 3 • Mt. Vernon Rural Fire District, two directors at-large: Neil Bauer 62, write-in 12 • Prairie Cemetery District, two direc- tors at-large: Jim Sullens 186, Carla Wright 216, write-in 2 • Prairie City School District 4, direc- tor position 1: Christopher Camarena Sr. 181, write-in 13 • Prairie City School District 4, direc- tor position 4: Douglas W. Emmel, 207, write-in 6 • Prairie City School District 4, direc- tor position 5: Margie L. Walton 134, write-in 60 • Prairie City School District 4, direc- tor position 6: Jamie K. McKay 183, write-in 9 • Prairie City School District 4, direc- tor position 7: Ryan P. Williams 179, write-in 9 • Prairie Rural Fire District, three directors at-large: Blaine Huffman 65, Cole Winegar 60, Margie L. Walton 43, write-in 4 Eagle photos/Richard Hanners Grant County Judge Scott Myers listens to debate about a future pool during the court’s May 22 meeting. Diverse interests Commissioner Jim Hamsher noted that the number of reg- istered voters in John Day and Canyon City far outnumber vot- ers in Prairie City and Mt. Ver- non and could sway votes once the district is created. Judge Scott Myers ques- tioned how diverse the steer- ing committee is and whether it only included people in favor of a new swimming pool. Not- ing that people in favor of a new pool are the most vocal, he said he wanted to see more unbi- ased and impartial people on the committee. Hamsher said he wanted rep- resentatives on the committee from other communities, even if that means increasing the size of the committee. Green suggested adding representatives from Canyon City, Seneca, Prairie City and Mt. Vernon, but Myers went further, suggesting Monu- ment, Long Creek, Dayville and even Kimberly be represented. Hamsher said he’s not opposed to the idea of a new pool, but he noted that if the steering committee did not rep- resent all communities, it will get voted down. Myers described his fami- ly’s ties to the current pool and said he was confl icted on how to proceed with a new pool. People who don’t want a pool shouldn’t have to pay for it, he said. Lisa Weigum, who sits on the steering committee and the board of the John Day-Canyon City Parks & Recreation Dis- trict, which currently operates Gleason Pool, said the commit- tee planned to speak to other communities but hadn’t gotten that far yet. The idea of estab- lishing a service district with a 15-mile radius had not yet been decided, she added. The steering committee rep- resents fi ve large taxing juris- dictions because fi nancing a new pool could affect their tax revenue, Green said. They include Blue Mountain Hospi- tal District, Grant School Dis- Grant County Librarian Vicki Bond discusses the future of the bookmobile during the Grant County Court’s May 22 meeting. Lisa Weigum, representing the John Day-Canyon City Parks & Recreation District board, talks about a future pool at the Grant County Court meeting May 22. trict 3, the Parks & Rec District, Grant County and John Day. The size of the committee was initially kept small, Green explained. If it gets too large, there could be too many voices and it could be ineffective. Now that options have been stud- ied and proposed, the commit- tee could be enlarged, he said. Weigum agreed with Green. Haley Walker, who has been active in developing options for a new pool, noted that while the steering committee represents large taxing jurisdictions that could be affected, it was never A.K. Moss – Award winning poet, Author & speaker akmossbooks.com • Unspoken trilogy HEALING Traumatized Dogs by Margot Heiniger, MA, OTR with (Star) Lady Lovebug set up just for people who sup- port a new pool. County representative Former Commissioner Rob Raschio sat on the commit- tee until this year, when Com- missioner Sam Palmer took his place at an April 2 informational meeting hosted by the John Day swim team. Hamsher noted that Raschio was never appointed by the court to serve in that capacity. Myers noted that Raschio is very committed to seeing a new pool built and is willing to serve on the steering committee. He motioned to appoint Raschio to the committee with the under- standing that he remains neutral and provides information to the court. If not, the court will pull him, Myers said. Palmer agreed, noting that there will be bias no matter what. Hamsher also agreed, say- ing Raschio will be asked to do no lobbying. Judy Kerr objected to the court’s decision, saying Raschio was a cheerleader and not neu- tral. Jim Spell commented that the bottom line is that either the county court will kill the pool concept or let the voters decide. Myers agreed that was it in a nutshell. In other county court news: • The court approved two requests by Justice of the Peace Kathy Stinnett. She asked for approval of a $3,000 audio, video and recording system for Justice Court to improve hear- ing for participants and to allow inmates to participate without leaving jail. Stinnett said she averages about 10 inmates in court per month. Some have substance abuse or mental health issues, so she has gone to the jail for hearings. She noted that Justice Court is not a court of record, so the recording equipment would typically be turned off and not used unless requested by par- ties. The legislature may make justice courts into courts of record in the future, and if so the Grant County court would be prepared. Stinnett also wanted the state Department of Justice to handle collections for back fi nes. This would satisfy the court’s duties to enforce the law through “pas- sive collection,” she said. DOR would take 10% of the collected funds. • The court also approved a request by the Grant County Library to sell its bookmo- bile and use the funds as needed. Library board mem- ber Kathy Smith said they have not heard any concerns from schools since it stopped running. ROSE HOWE Author of the “The Redneck English- woman” series Captivating tales of life on an Eastern Oregon farmstead triplehhomestead.com Check out our steaks for the BBQ Special Hot Dogs and more! Russell’s Custom Meats 235 N. Canyon City Blvd., Canyon City 541-575-0720 Back Country Flying by Doug Ferguson 11:00 AM on Saturday 6/8/19 followed by book signings. • Flying, in general, and back country flying in particular, require a high level of maturity and judgement. • fergusondoug42@gmail.com Contact DAVE DRISCOLL 248-719-2122 driscollfg@gmail.com