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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 26, 2019)
PROGRESS 2019: CELEBRATING ACHIEVEMENTS IN OUR COMMUNITIES INSIDE The Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 Wednesday, June 26, 2019 151st Year • No. 26 • 18 Pages • $1.00 MyEagleNews.com Mitchell woman dies in head-on collision near Dayville By Angel Carpenter and Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle A woman from Mitchell died in a two-vehicle crash at about 1:05 p.m. on June 20 on Highway 26 just west of the Dayville city limits. According to Oregon State Police Sgt. Tom Hutchison, who responded to the scene, an east- bound Kia Soul compact car with a single occupant crossed the cen- ter line causing a head-on colli- sion with a Suzuki Vitara compact SUV carrying two occupants. Donna Rose Foster, 86, of Mitchell, a passenger in the west- bound vehicle, suffered fatal inju- ries and was pronounced deceased at the scene. Timothy N. Townsend, 64, of Mitchell, the driver of the west- bound vehicle, and Graham W. Gebhardt, 21, Bend, the driver of the eastbound vehicle, sustained injuries and were transported to Blue Mountain Hospital in John Day for treatment. Oregon State Police, Grant County Sheriff’s Offi ce, John Day ambulance and Dayville Volun- teer Fire Department responded to the scene. A man and woman, both 42 and from Salt Lake City, Utah, came upon the scene and tried to assist before fi rst responders arrived. Hutchison confi rmed that the deceased and the driver of the eastbound vehicle were wearing seat belts. Townsend told the Eagle that he was wearing his seat belt. A police crash reconstruc- tionist responded to diagram the scene. The investigation is continuing. CRITICAL MIDDLE FORK HABITAT EXCHANGES HANDS Warm Springs Tribes will continue conservation on 1,200-acre Dunstan Homestead Preserve By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle C ritical habitat along the Middle Fork of the John Day River changed hands this spring, but visitors to the Dun- stan Homestead Preserve should not see any change in management. The Nature Conservancy transferred own- ership of the 1,200-acre holding with nearly 3.5 miles of river frontage to the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. “The land’s critical fi sh and wildlife habi- tat will remain under perpetual protection and stewardship as a result of important partnerships between The Nature Conservancy, the Tribes and the Bonneville Power Administration,” according to a BPA news release. The homestead includes riparian and upland Contributed photo/Bonneville Power Administration habitats, with ponderosa pine, mixed conifer for- The Middle Fork of the John Day River near Boulder Creek and the Dunstan Homestead Preserve. The Nature Conservancy ests, savanna and open meadows. Regulated pub- transferred ownership of the homestead’s 1,200-acre holding with nearly 3.5 miles of river frontage to the Confederated Tribes of f lic access to the land will continue, including lim- the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. ited hunting. The upper reaches of the Middle Fork near the homestead provides important habitat for spawn- ing and rearing chinook salmon. “The river’s wide valley bottoms, gentle gradi- ent and multiple side channels support one of the state’s healthiest populations of wild spring chi- nook salmon,” the BPA said. The Dunstan family, which owned the land since 1899, sold the homestead to The Nature Con- servancy in 1990, which worked with neighbors, local partners and the Tribes to restore habitat and advance research, monitoring and land manage- ment on the property and surrounding lands. The acquisition by The Nature Conservancy was accomplished through private fundraising, special projects manager Allie Gardner told the Contributed photo/Rick McEwan Contributed photo/Rick McEwan Eagle. The Nature Conservancy then donated the The Dunstan Homestead Preserve along the Middle Fork The Dunstan Homestead Preserve along the Middle Fork of the John of the John Day River today. Day River in 1898. See Habitat, Page A18 Climate bill lacks votes to pass Senate Republicans seeking assurances cap and trade is dead before returning to Capitol By Claire Withycombe, Aubrey Wieber and Mark Miller Oregon Capital Bureau Seven minutes. That’s all it took for Senate President Peter Courtney to thrust the already-tense Capitol into sheer chaos Tuesday. Senate Republicans have vacated the Cap- itol in protest of landmark legislation to cap the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, mak- ing the building a tinderbox sensitive to tiny political sparks. Senate Democrats can’t vote on the bill — which passed the House last week — unless at least two Republicans are present. Courtney, an old-timer Democrat from Salem who has led the Senate since 2003, stepped up to the dais Tuesday morning with a remarkable declaration: House Bill 2020, a landmark proposal, did not have the votes to pass the Senate. “No one has told me to say this,” Courtney said. “There is no strategy to what I’m about to say. There’s just Peter. House Bill 2020 does not have the votes on the Senate fl oor. That will not change.” Some of his fellow Democrats in the chamber — who are divided on the bill — appeared caught off guard. See Capitol, Page A18 Oregon Capital Bureau/Claire Withycombe Senate President Peter Courtney looks out over empty desks in the Oregon Senate June 20. Senate Republicans have not returned to the Capitol as of Tuesday afternoon, but Courtney announced Tuesday the cap and trade bill did not have the votes to pass.
