PROGRESS 2019: GRANT COUNTY
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in support or opposition to
bills.”
He also cited unfunded
mandates by federal and
state governments. One
example is building per-
mits, where plan reviews
sent to Salem can be held up
for four months or more, he
said.
Hamsher sees some suc-
cesses in the local timber
industry, with construction
moving forward on a new
torrefaction plant at the Mal-
heur Lumber Co. mill in
John Day.
The torrefaction plant
will help address fuel reduc-
tion projects that might
help prevent wildfires in
the national forest, but he’d
also like to see biomass
from thinning projects used
to restart the co-gen power
plant at the closed Prairie
Wood Products mill in Prai-
rie City.
He also cited the For-
est Service’s decision to
take a second look at the
Blue Mountains Forest Plan
Revision.
“There’s too much bug
kill without timber harvest,”
he said.
Grazing restrictions pre-
sented in the Forest Plan
needed to be relaxed, Ham-
sher said.
“Grazing should be seen
as a tool to reduce wild-
fire hazards,” he said. “Cat-
tle are like mini-weedeaters,
but without the PERS cost.”
A new county program
on tax-foreclosed properties
will make a positive impact
on housing, Hamsher said.
The legal process has been
expedited to make properties
available to builders and put
the properties back on the
tax rolls. He cited a burned
home in Prairie City that had
been an eyesore for several
years, and three other prop-
erties in the city where new
single-family homes could
be constructed.
Hamsher praised the hard
work by Ted Williams, the
county’s emergency man-
agement coordinator, and
Deputy Dave Dobler, who
heads up the search and res-
cue program. They both
proved critical during this
past spring’s floods.
He also noted that the
county was very fortunate
to have so many dedicated
volunteers.
“We couldn’t do half the
things we do without them,”
he said.
County fairgrounds
Possibly one of the coun-
ty’s greatest successes is the
Grant County Fairgrounds,
which has a lengthy his-
tory but has been seeing
upgrades by the county and
volunteers alike.
“We have a wonderful
facility, and everything is
close by,” Fairgrounds Man-
ager Mindy Winegar said.
First impressions are
important, and that means
keeping up the Grant County
Fairgrounds, Hamsher said.
“This is where many
people go when they come
here,” he said.
The Fairgrounds is par-
tially self-sustaining, Win-
egar said. Last year, it
received $25,000 from Ore-
gon Lottery funds through
the county and $55,000
from Lottery funds through
the state. But that $55,000
was a one-time figure — it’s
fallen back to $53,000, Win-
egar said.
“It costs $110,000 to put
on the fair,” Winegar said.
The fairgrounds makes
up the difference with ticket
sales at events, sponsorships
and a percentage of revenue
from the RV park. About
13,000 people attended the
109th county fair last year,
and more than 8,000 visi-
tors spent more than 3,500
nights at the RV park, Win-
egar said.
The fairgrounds hosts
a wide variety of events.
More than 2,500 people
attended yard sales and
workshops, and about 800
people attended meetings
of the Oregon State Snow-
mobile Association, Rocky
Mountain Elk Foundation,
Iron Triangle Holiday Party
and the Blue Mountains For-
est Plan Revision objection
process.
Last year, more than
Eagle file photo
A motorcycle equipped with a sidecar arrives at the Grant County Fairgrounds during the
BMW Riders of Oregon club’s annual Chief Joseph Rally in 2018.
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
The People Mover bus waits for riders at the 2019 oyster feed
in Seneca.
2,000 people attended ben-
efit dinners and memorial
services at the fairgrounds;
about 1,500 people attended
the Strawberry Mountain
Gun Show, Spring Bazaar
and Christmas Bazaar;
youth events drew more than
1,500 people, including the
Cinnabar Mountain Play-
days rodeo series, Calvary
Horse Camp and JC Oliver
Memorial Roping event; and
the annual quilt show drew
more than 400 people.
More than 900 peo-
ple attended the NPRA
Rodeo, and about 300 peo-
ple attended the Ty Evans
Mule Clinic and Joe Wolter
Horse Clinic. Other events
include the Kentucky Derby
Viewing Party, the Whis-
key Gulch Gang’s Demoli-
tion Derby and the annual
Civil War football game
gathering.
The fairgrounds is also
a favorite destination for
groups that enjoy travel-
ing Eastern Oregon’s sce-
nic byways. Four separate
bicycle tour groups brought
more than 1,000 visitors to
the fairgrounds last year.
The annual BMW Riders of
Oregon brought about 480
visitors.
“During fair time, you
cannot get an RV spot or
motel room anywhere near
John Day,” Winegar said.
Keeping up with infra-
structure needs at the fair-
grounds is an ongoing task.
Winegar said 10 of the
RV Park’s 25 picnic tables
have been replaced with
low-maintenance,
300-
pound metal models. She
hopes to see new parking
lot lights installed in time
for the fair. She has received
approval to remove sev-
eral giant cottonwood trees
behind Trowbridge Pavilion
— the tree roots had uplifted
the pavilion’s concrete floor,
which will need a major
repair.
A major project is to
upgrade Keerins Hall. The
older building was re-roofed
last year, but it needs new
siding, doors and windows.
Once the exterior is fixed
up, plans can go forward
for a major interior remodel,
Winegar said. Fundrais-
ing for that work has started
with sales of an 18-month
historical calendar, avail-
able at the fairgrounds and
the Grant County Chamber
of Commerce.
Winegar would like to see
additional spaces at the RV
park and increased security
features around the entire
facility. Fortunately, the
Grant County Family Her-
itage Foundation has taken
on the task of upgrades at
the Heritage Buildings,
including increased elec-
trical capacity and ceiling
“misters” to help cool the
building in summer time.
Regional airport
Not many rural com-
munities can claim an air-
port facility like the Grant
County Regional Airport. It
started small in 1961 with
one 4,500-foot runway and
a 1,500-square-foot home
serving as the terminal.
Increased need by the Forest
Service for firefighting air-
craft spurred new projects at
the airfield, which now has
two runways and a modern
terminal.
Runway
9/27
was
extended 950 feet in 2008
and rebuilt in 2014. Runway
17/35 is 60 feet less than a
mile long, a “magic number”
for aircraft safety concerns.
But lengthening the runway
an additional 60 feet may be
difficult because of steep ter-
rain and public roads.
The $5.4 million terminal
was completed in 2010. The
Forest Service, which had
been operating out of several
deteriorating and cramped
modular buildings at the air-
port for more than 30 years,
now occupies the second
floor of the 17,752-square-
foot terminal. Taxiways
already exist for develop-
ment of future hangars north
of the main terminal.
A two-year process is
underway to develop a
20-year master plan for the
airport. The 20-year plan is
conceptual only and must
go through a public process.
T-O Engineering of Boise,
Idaho, which worked on the
plan, accepted input from
pilots, the Forest Service
and other community stake-
holders since 2015 to deter-
mine what type of airport is
needed, based on the kinds
of aircraft that have used the
airport in the past and might
use the airport in the future.
In May, the county
secured a $6.25 million
grant through the federal
Department of Transporta-
tion’s Airport Improvement
Program with no match
required that will be used to
“decouple” the two runways
and make takeoffs and land-
ings safer. Final design and
planning for the decoupling
project will take place this
year, and construction could
take place in 2020, Airport
Manager Haley Walker said.
In the meantime, repairs
to deteriorating aprons
around the hangars could
take place this year. Prop
wash from powerful planes,
such as the Forest Service’s
single-engine air tankers,
often kicks up the gravel
from the crumbling aprons
that can damage other air-
craft. Design and engineer-
ing for the apron project cost
about $522,000, with the
county picking up about 1%
of that cost.
Public services
Mass transit is not a com-
mon sight in frontier com-
munities like Grant County,
but the People Mover has
been a success story. The
county’s public transpor-
tation system grew out of
the People Mover program
associated with the John
Day Senior Center in the
1970s.
The current district was
formalized in 1992, and
the bus barn was remod-
eled the next year. The pro-
gram has grown since then
to eight vehicles, providing
service along the county’s
major routes with scheduled
stops and requested pickup
times. Longer-distance ser-
vice connected county res-
idents to Bend, Pendleton
and Walla Walla, Burns and
Baker City.
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Wednesday, June 26, 2019
New this year is free bus
service in the John Day Val-
ley, with one route circulat-
ing through John Day and
Canyon City and another
running from Prairie City to
Mt. Vernon.
People with difficulty
getting to scheduled stop
locations can call 24 hours
in advance, and the bus will
come to their homes. Peo-
ple also can flag down the
bus at unscheduled loca-
tions, but District Manager
Angie Jones advises riders
to call ahead to let the Peo-
ple Mover staff know.
Funding for the free bus
service will come from a
provision in the 2017 Trans-
portation Bill. The bill pro-
vided for a payroll tax of
less than 0.1% to fund pub-
lic transit. Grant County will
receive $100,000 per year,
the minimum amount avail-
able for counties, Jones said.
A big change for the
county came with the trans-
fer of 911 dispatch service
from the city of John Day to
an independent countywide
agency. The emergency
communications center also
moved from the John Day
City Hall to the John Day
Fire Hall.
John Day was unable to
continue funding 911 dis-
patch, City Manager Nick
Green told his city council in
2017. Grant County voters
turned down a local option
tax proposal 1,503-1,194 in
November 2017 that would
have raised about $208,916
per year to make up the
difference.
A $420,000 appropria-
tion from the state legisla-
ture was used to keep the
service running for another
biennium while a long-term
solution was found. One
option was to contract out
emergency communication
service to Frontier Regional
911 in Condon.
Many first responders
and government officials,
however, wanted a local ser-
vice employing dispatchers
familiar with Grant County’s
geography, culture and peo-
ple. In an April 2018 meet-
ing, the Intergovernmental
Council that oversees the
new agency reached a deci-
sion to keep Grant County
911 service local.
A month later, the IGC
agreed to lease space in the
John Day Fire Hall for a new
dispatch center. The fire hall
will also be a main termina-
tion point for a new county-
wide broadband network
that is under development.
The dispatch center moved
to the fire hall in April.
Meanwhile, a bill to dou-
ble the tax on phone bills
that helps fund 911 centers
across the state was intro-
13
duced in the Legislature. The
House passed an amended
version that will increase the
tax from 75 cents per month
to $1 next year and $1.25 the
following year.
Another success story
comes from the Heart of
Grant County. Established
in 2008, the nonprofit pro-
vides domestic violence
and sexual assault protec-
tion services for county
residents and provides a
24-hour hotline, temporary
safe housing, emergency
transportation and support
groups.
The nonprofit addresses a
real need in the community.
According to 2016 numbers
from the Grant County Dis-
trict Attorney’s Office, vic-
tim assistance staff handled
108 victims of domestic
abuse, including 73 cases
of domestic and family vio-
lence, 12 child abuse cases,
11 child sexual abuse cases,
five stalking cases, three vio-
lation of protective orders
and two adult sexual assault
cases.
In fiscal year 2018, the
Heart of Grant County was
contacted by 131 people in
crisis, received 236 hotline
calls, provided 310 shelter
nights at their small apart-
ment, provided 19 motel
rooms, handled 17 new cli-
ents and 134 ongoing cli-
ents, provided safety plan-
ning for 212 clients and
accompanied 92 clients for
medical reasons.
The nonprofit has faced
that challenge, relocating
its offices several times. But
it needed a better location.
Shelter demand doubled
in recent years, and shel-
ter space maxed out several
times. The current facility
also lacks needed security
and safety provisions.
In May this year, the non-
profit domestic trauma ser-
vice center learned it was
awarded a $1.5 million grant
for construction of Meredith
House, a combined shelter
and office facility to be built
in John Day.
The shelter will offer
living quarters for victims
of domestic violence and
abuse, including families
with children. Private offices
will be provided for advo-
cates, visiting attorneys and
counselors. Other features
will include computer work-
stations for victims’ use, a
playroom for children and a
combined conference room
and kitchen area for group
activities.
“The facility will be an
important addition to the
community, and many orga-
nizations pulled together to
make the project happen,”
Heart of Grant County board
member Rick Minster said.
With our name change in our
rear view- we look ahead with
the promise of continuing to
provide unparalleled services.
Tax prep, audits, payroll &
business services.
OREGON’S RURAL
UNIVERSITY
Solutions CPAs
101 NE 1st Ave.
John Day, OR 97845
541-575-2717