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