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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 2019)
The Blue Mountain EAGLE Contributed photo Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 John Day Swim Team athlete Allie Fansler competes at the Lakeview Swim Meet. SWIM TEAM TO HOST WEEKEND MEET Wednesday, July 17, 2019 PAGE A10 151st Year • No. 29 • 18 Pages • $1.00 MyEagleNews.com County court readies coordination ordinance Eagle file photo Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer spoke to the county court about the Vance Creek cold case last fall. Vance Creek cold case victim identified By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle Man indicted for sex crimes believed killed in 1997 The mummified body of a man found in Vance Creek 22 years ago has been identi- fied, thanks to DNA and genealogical evi- dence and assistance from a popular TV show. Long believed to be a homicide vic- tim, the man’s identity remained a mys- tery ever since Sheriff Glenn Palmer was a John Day police officer. After he was elected sheriff in 2000, Palmer turned to media announcements and contacted agencies with DNA data- bases in an attempt to track down the story behind the Vance Creek corpse. Palmer began working with former Las Vegas Metro Police crime scene investiga- tor Yolanda McClary in November 2018. McClary starred in the popular TV show “Cold Justice” for 47 episodes and three seasons and is now with a new project called “Unknown Doe.” Using new DNA evidence and assis- tance from a genealogist hired through McClary, a full name and date of birth came forward in May, Palmer announced in a July 9 press release. An out-of-state family was contacted and permission was obtained for a DNA sample from a potential family member. A positive match to DNA from the Vance Creek body was made on July 8, Palmer said. An inquiry into the Oregon Law Enforcement Data System and the National Crime Information Center turned up a valid Decisions could be made at July 24 meeting By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle A draft ordinance for coordinating nat- ural resource planning between the county and agencies managing public lands could be an action item as an emergency ordi- nance on the July 24 Grant County Court agenda. Commissioner Sam Palmer, who pre- sented a draft ordinance Jan. 23 that would establish coordination between the county and federal agencies, said too much time and money was spent on the Malheur National Forest Plan Revision without pro- ducing a final document. What is needed is “government to gov- ernment interaction,” Palmer said at the court’s July 10 meeting. Palmer said he wanted the public to know that “we are coordinating now.” During a recent meeting, Malheur National For- est Supervisor Craig Trulock asked Grant County to coordinate on the proposed Aus- tin Project, Palmer said. Based on what he heard at meetings and what Forest Service officials have said, Palmer said he believed “we’re mak- ing great strides” in improving coordinated planning. He also cited a June 5 letter from U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to state Sen. Cliff Bentz regarding a petition by the Eastern Oregon Association of Counties requesting exemptions to the Forest Ser- vice’s travel management rule. The EOCA’s petition is still under review, Perdue said, but the rule “requires working with the appropriate federal, state, county and other local governmental entities, as well as tribal governments, when making new and revised designation decisions.” “Therefore,” Perdue continued, “the responsible official in the Malheur and Wal- lowa-Whitman national forests is required to coordinate with Baker, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Union and Wallowa counties The Eagle/Richard Hanners Grant County Commissioner Sam Palmer brought back to the court discussion of an ordinance invoking coordination with government agencies regarding natural resource planning. when making new and revised designation decisions for motor vehicle and over-snow vehicle use for those national forests.” Commissioner Jim Hamsher said the draft ordinance refers to all government agencies and “invokes coordination.” The important thing is that Grant County should be able to participate in the early phases of planning for forest projects, he said. Grant County Judge Scott Myers was absent at the July 10 meeting. Hamsher said he wanted Myers to have a chance to review the draft coordination ordinance before it was presented to the public, but copies must be made available to the public one week in advance of the July 24 meeting. The court also agreed to start advertis- ing for members of a new Natural Resource Advisory Committee that would review projects on public lands. The advertisement is similar to one used by Harney County, Hamsher said. Hamsher also presented “mutual princi- ples and practices for communication” pro- posed and revised during a June 25 EOCA meeting in La Grande for use by the coun- ties during the future Forest Plan Revision process. Hamsher provided copies during the July 10 court meeting so the public could comment on the document. The meeting was attended by Hamsher, other elected county officials, Trulock and Pacific Northwest Regional Forester Glenn Casamassa. The group favored forming an intergovernmental forum or agreement with designated agency representatives or a “sustainable action forest coalition,” which would have a socioeconomic emphasis and broader membership. The mutual principles called for provid- ing information well in advance of meet- ings and making that information public, See Ordinance, Page A18 “THEREFORE THE RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL IN THE MALHEUR AND WALLOWA-WHITMAN NATIONAL FORESTS IS REQUIRED TO COORDINATE WITH BAKER, GRANT, HARNEY, MALHEUR, UNION AND WALLOWA COUNTIES WHEN MAKING NEW AND REVISED DESIGNATION DECISIONS FOR MOTOR VEHICLE AND OVER-SNOW VEHICLE USE FOR THOSE NATIONAL FORESTS.” Sonny Perdue, U.S. agriculture secretary See Victim, Page A18 City to submit $15 million federal grant application U.S. Department of Transportation could fund multiple improvements By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle A large federal transportation grant totaling as much as $15 mil- lion could finance a long list of new and old road projects in John Day. The John Day City Council on July 9 gave City Manager Nick Green approval to Nick Green move ahead with submitting an application for a Bet- ter Utilizing Investments to Lever- This image shows the proposed extension of Seventh Street and the addition of a new road. age Development, or BUILD, transportation discretionary grant, previously known as TIGER grants. The deadline was July 15. Green told the council June 25 that about $900 million in BUILD grant funding was available this year, with about half going to rural areas. The U.S. Department of Transporta- tion could waive the 20% match typ- ically required for the grants, he said. Green brought back a scoping recommendation for the grant on July 9. Many of the projects on the list were already in city plans. While the total could reach $15 million, the average BUILD grant request was $14 million, Green said, so their request was reasonable. The 20% match could be met with credit for related city projects, Green said, such as an integrated park sys- tem, the Charolais Heights intersec- tion upgrade and rebuilding the foot bridge at the former Oregon Pine mill site, as well as with utility work performed under memorandum of See Grant, Page A18
