6
Blue Mountain Eagle
PROGRESS 2019: MONUMENT
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Monument residents team up for city improvements
City leaders plan
for improved water
filtration system
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Monument is a town where
everyone waves hello.
It may be a small, secluded city,
but there is an abundance of pos-
itive news, including plans for an
improved water filtration and irri-
gation system in progress, upgrades
at the school, a new sidewalk in the
park and renovations at the senior
center, which is a community gath-
ering spot.
Water filtration system
planned out
Improving the drinking water
in Monument has been on the
city’s agenda for years, and Mayor
Sahara Hyder and City Recorder
Dorothy Jordan say they are hope-
ful to see the engineering plans
move forward this fall.
Jordan said HECO Engineering
of Payette, Idaho, already drew up
plans to install a new filtration sys-
tem for the city’s drinking water.
Now that a plan is in place,
city officials are waiting for news
whether they will receive the $1.4
million Community Development
Block Grant needed for the work.
“The water project has been
ongoing for years,” Jordan said.
“We have finally selected a solu-
tion to our situation.”
She said, during high water
events, which don’t happen very
often, the city’s turbidity level
goes above what the state has set as
acceptable levels for clean drink-
ing water.
Monument’s well produces vol-
umes of water, she said, so no new
source was needed, just the filtra-
tion system.
“It’s a little innovative,” she
said of the new plan.
In addition to providing a filtra-
tion system that clears the water
of any contaminants before it is
pumped to the water tower, the
plan includes a provision for res-
idents to irrigate lawns and wash
cars and garden.
“It’s going to come off a line
that’s already existing,” Jordan
said, adding the irrigation line cap-
tures the water before it reaches the
filters.
She said the city will provide the
infrastructure, and those who would
like to add the irrigation line may.
“You can lead a horse to water
...,” she said.
“It’s available — it won’t cost
the customer anything to have it
installed, and it will be less expen-
sive to use,” she said. “A lot of peo-
ple in this town enjoy their yards
and gardening, and we wanted to
make sure those activities (are
available).”
Hyder said they’ve never had a
boil order for the water, but made
sure they added enough chlorine to
the water.
She said the biggest challenge
with the process so far has been
raising the water rates.
“I want them to be able to afford
their bills,” she said. “In order to
get funds from the grant, our rates
have to be at a certain level. Work-
ing out the plan was difficult.”
Hyder said she was expecting
“a lot of negative feedback” after
raising the rates.
“The community support has
been super nice,” she said, adding
she thinks the residents appreciate
having potable water.
City
Councilors
Heather
Bowlus, Mary Cade and Marie
Odien have been involved with
the process of finding a water solu-
tion for awhile, and Phil Merrick,
Sherry Allen and Stephanie Gilbert
joined in the process just recently
as new council members.
Hyder said, “We’ve all been try-
ing to figure out what is best for the
city.”
City park improvements led
by students
The new water system is the
biggest thing happening in Monu-
ment, but another exciting project
was recently completed by a group
of high school students.
A plan to add a sidewalk and
picnic area to the J. Dempsey
Boyer Park in the heart of the town
was completed, led by Monument
graduate Kyla Emerson and stu-
dents Aubrey Bowlus and Miranda
Cook at the end of the school year.
Eleven students, who are mem-
bers of Monument School’s Skill-
sUSA chapter, helped come up
with the idea while in Michele
Engle’s construction class.
Then Emerson, Bowlus and
Cook went before the city coun-
cil to pitch their idea to make the
park more accessible for seniors
and people with disabilities. They
then went to work with Cook
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Monument students Kyla Emerson, back left, Aubrey Bowlus and Miranda Cook help add the finishing touches to the new concrete sidewalk May 15
at Monument city park. The three girls planned the project as part of their construction class at school, in conjunction with the SkillsUSA chapter. The
new pathway was designed to help visitors navigate through the park more easily, including seniors and people with disabilities.
Donald Petersen
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Children enjoy sliding on the playground equipment on May 15 at
J Dempsey Park in Monument.
applying for grants, and Emerson
and Bowlus, with help from Dan
Emerson and Engle, did the math
for the project and found the prod-
ucts and prices.
The Glen and Jean McKen-
zie Fund of the Oregon Commu-
nity Foundation awarded a $4,000
grant, and the Shelk Fund of the
Oregon Community Foundation
gave $1,000 to the cause. Mon-
ument resident Suzi Mael also
donated $1,000, and more funds
came from a benefit dinner.
Several students showed up
during the week leading up to “pour
day” to help with the preparations.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was
held on Friday, May 31, with res-
idents enjoying a hamburger and
hot dog dinner.
“That was pretty exciting,”
Hyder said. “It’s very much appre-
ciated by the city.”
Jordan said she’s proud of the
students.
“They are just so fantastic,” she
said. “They did everything — the
only thing the city had to do was
give permission.”
Monument School District
receives grants
Monument School received
three Technical Assistance Pro-
gram grants, including a facili-
ties assessment grant for $20,000,
which addresses the current phys-
ical condition of the buildings and
determines needed renovations; a
long-range facility plan grant for
$25,000 to prepare for the future;
and a seismic assessment grant for
$25,000 to determine the condition
of district buildings to withstand a
significant earthquake.
Once assessments are made, the
school district can apply for match-
ing grants through the Oregon
School Capital Improvement Pro-
gram in order to complete the work
recommended by professionals for
the long-range, facilities and envi-
ronmental hazard assessments.
Recommended upgrades from
seismic assessments are fully
funded by the Seismic Rehabilita-
tion Grant Program.
Monument
Superintendent/
Principal Donald Petersen said the
main building of the school, which
houses offices and high school
classrooms, is 70-80 years old and
made of sandstone.
He anticipates the professionals
who assess that building for long-
range planning will determine how
much longer it will last.
Petersen said they’d likely need
to pass a bond in 10-20 years to
make long-term upgrades.
The conservative community
hasn’t passed a bond “in a long
time,” he said, but the grants will
at least allow them to plan for the
future.
Improvements for the short term
include areas of the Monument ele-
mentary building where there is
rotted siding, peeling paint and
several large single-pane windows
that need replacing, he said.
“We know we need certain
repairs,” he said. “This (grant)
establishes it professionally, so if
we need to, we can get a grant from
the state and apply for a matching
grant to do the work that we need
to do.”
Overcoming challenges
Lack of available hous-
ing and jobs make it a challenge
for younger generations to stick
around in Monument.
There is also no cellphone ser-
vice in the town, although there
is a booster at Boyer’s Cash Mar-
ket, and internet service can be
slow.
Judy Harris
“We just kind of deal with it,”
Hyder said.
Boyer’s is one of several of
businesses in town.
The owners of the Monu-
ment Motel & RV Park, Ron and
Sherry Allen, opened a new eat-
ery on their property a few months
ago called North Fork Café &
Espresso, serving breakfast, burg-
ers, fries and sandwiches. They
also offer smoothies, drinks and
specialty coffees.
The Columbia Power Co-op has
been a long-standing business, and
other businesses include a second-
hand store called Terry’s Rerun &
Gift Shop owned by Terry Cade as
well as some construction contrac-
tors, welders and hunt guides.
The Northfork John Day River,
which runs through town, is a draw
to visitors for fishing and floating.
Northfork Shuttle Service will
give rides to rafters and floaters on
the river, and Jeremy Boyer can be
contacted for more information.
Though there are difficulties to
living in a remote community, peo-
ple work together to make things
happen, and lofty individual and
collective achievements are not a
rarity for Monument folks.
In June 2018, Michele Engle
was named Regional Teacher of
the Year. She was one of 13 Ore-
gon school teachers receiving the
award.
Engle, who was born and raised
in Monument, has taught at Monu-
ment School District for 24 years
with one year at Dayville School
prior to that.
She teaches English for grades
7-12, as well as courses in weld-
ing and agriculture, which includes
wood shop, and a leadership class.
Grant County Education Ser-
vice District Superintendent Robert
Waltenburg presented Engle with
the award and a check from the
Oregon Lottery for $500 at a school
assembly.
“I have seen many teachers in my
time in Grant County, but few show
the dedication, the love, the com-
mitment to kids, school and com-
munity that Michele has shown,”
Waltenburg said. “These are some
of the reasons that she was selected
as the 2019 Regional Teacher of the
Year for the Eastern Region.”
Former Monument resident
Skye Fitzgerald, 48, was nomi-
nated for an Academy Award this
year for his short film documentary
“Lifeboat.”
Although it didn’t win the
Oscar, several locals in Monument
remembered Fitzgerald, who grad-
uated from Monument School, and
were thrilled with the news of his
nomination.
Monument is well known for
their Fourth of July fireworks, and
many say it is the best display in
Oregon east of the Cascades.
Visitors are also drawn to the
events held at the park, led by Lon-
nie Lawrence, which will be called
the Monument Fun Festival this
year. Activities slated include a 4-H
Color Run and pancake breakfast
in the park, horseshoe tournament,
parade, bobbing for apples and pot-
luck dinner in the park.
Monument has two working
emergency medical technicians,
one emergency medical responder
and eight volunteer firefighters.
Kevin Mitchell, the city’s fire
chief, said the department recently
received a donation of Jaws of Life
from a man who owns a McMinn-
ville towing company.
The man told Mitchell that the
equipment he bought wasn’t what
he wanted. He’d visited Monument
a few years ago and decided to call
and see if the city wanted it.
Mitchell said they will give their
older Jaws of Life to the Dayville
Volunteer Fire Department.
He said they are currently work-
ing on a rescue rig that was once
an ambulance, which came from
Umatilla County Fire Department,
and they also received a donation
of turnout gear, including boots,
pants and coats as well as four
AED monitors from the Alfalfa Fire
Department.
Grants fund senior center
upgrades
The Monument Senior Center
is considered the hub of the city,
which has a population of 125.
“Everything happens here,
whether it’s a senior dinner, EMT
fundraiser, funerals, weddings, soil
and water board meetings or medi-
cal clinics,” said senior center fund-
raising chairwoman Judy Harris.
The facility has received sev-
eral upgrades in the past year, most
recently new ADA-approved bath-
rooms with an updated look, and
new flooring through much of the
building.
The Joyce Miller Owens Char-
itable Foundation gifted the center
with $39,541 about one year ago,
and also paid for outside lighting
and accessible doors with control
buttons to automatically open one
of the main doors.
Harris said Bob and Sylvia
Cockrell “have gone way beyond”
in the center’s library/meeting
room, removing what was likely
a truckload of library books from
several shelves that line one of the
walls.
They also disassembled the
shelving so the wall could be
painted and flooring installed, then
replaced everything as it was.
Last spring, the Gorge Com-
munity Foundation gave the center
$21,000.
“We asked for $16,000,” Harris
said.
The funding allowed center
leaders to purchase 20 new tables,
62 new chairs and cement flooring
for an outdoor storage building and
two garage doors.
The center’s annual rummage
sale was held June 14-16. Proceeds
from the event help pay for the cen-
ter’s operation costs and go into a
rainy-day fund, which covers any-
thing that breaks down.
Another big event at the cen-
ter is the annual Buckaroo Festival
and Harvest Auction, scheduled for
Sept. 21. A dinner of salmon and elk
is traditionally served.
“We have a really good team,
and that’s what it takes to make
these things happen,” Harris said.