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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 2019)
239 SWIMMERS COMPETE AT GLEASON POOL The PAGE A10 Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 Wednesday, July 24, 2019 151st Year • No. 30 • 18 Pages • $1.00 MyEagleNews.com Smith homicide case ‘very active’ a year after crime Homicide investigation By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle It’s been a year since Terry and Sharon Smith went missing fol- lowing a fire at their remote cabin in the Laycock Creek Road area in July 2018. Terry Smith, 67, Sharon Smith, 65, and their silver gray 2006 Toy- ota Tacoma pickup truck could not be found when firefighters arrived at the site on Nan’s Rock Road in the early morning hours of July 18. Terry Smith Sharon Smith Friends and relatives of the Smiths told investigators the cou- ple were very social and wouldn’t just disappear without telling anyone. On Aug. 2, 2018, Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer reported that his office and the FBI had made some contacts in the case and conducted numerous interviews. On Sept. 5, Palmer announced that the investigation was being treated as a homicide after human remains were discovered in the debris of the burned home. A month and a half later, Palmer announced two break- throughs in the case. The Boise Police Department had located the missing pickup truck in Boise, Idaho, and DNA testing of the human remains found at the scene were found to conclusively be from Terry Smith. In a July 18 press release mark- ing the one-year anniversary of the fire, Palmer noted that remains from both Terry and Sharon Smith have now been positively identi- fied by using DNA comparisons with relatives. Palmer said the investigation “is continuing and is very active.” Evidence has been delivered to the Oregon State Police Forensic Service Unit and the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office. The sheriff’s office also has been working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Bend, the Oregon State Police and local agencies outside Oregon, Palmer said. The pickup truck has been returned to Oregon and impounded and has been pro- cessed as part of the crime scene. See Investigation, Page A18 New forest supervisor brings new approach Trulock had been in acting role since 2018 By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle Craig Trulock is the new forest supervisor for the Malheur National Forest. Pacific Northwest Regional Forester Glenn Casamassa announced Trulock’s selection had been effective since June 23. Trulock, who last served as dep- uty forest supervisor on the Rogue-River Siskiyou National Forest for five years, became the acting for- est supervisor at the Malheur National For- est in November 2018. Steve Beverlin, the Craig Trulock former forest super- visor on the Malheur National Forest, accepted the position of director of natural resources for the Intermountain Region in Ogden, Utah, in December 2018. “Being a good neighbor and improving forest conditions are top priorities for the Malheur National Forest and the entire USDA Forest Service,” Casamassa said in a press release. “Craig’s commitment to these priorities will help strengthen and advance the work occurring on the Malheur National Forest and the many benefits this work provides to the pub- lic and communities we serve.” Forest career While he hasn’t been at the job long enough to have developed resource goals, Trulock told the Eagle in an interview, his personal goals reflect closer relations with local communities. “My goals are really to make sure that we’re transparent, we’re commu- nicating well and we’re relevant to our local communities,” he said. It’s easy for administrators of a national forest to not pay close enough CALL IS OUT FOR volunteer firefighters Can be dangerous but fulfilling ABOVE: Left to right, Andy Hutsell, from the Prairie City Fire Department, watches as Peter Case, from the Long Creek Fire Department, uses a power saw to open a door during a training exercise. By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle Editor’s note: This is the first in a series about the reduc- tion of volunteers in Grant County and much of Rural America. t’s a trend across the United States. Volunteerism is on the decline, and it’s having an outsized impact on small fire departments in rural and frontier areas. The result is not just fewer members but also an aging force at the same time training requirements are becoming stricter, according to John Day firefighter Ron Phillips. About ten names are on the combined John Day city-ru- ral fire department roster, Phillips said, but only three responded to one call earlier this year — and those who did I See Forest, Page A18 LEFT: Smoke billows above the spire of the 80-year-old Seventh- day Adventist Church on Main Street in John Day as flames roar out of the Miller Furniture store in 1969. See Firefighters, Page A13 Contributed photos From mushrooms to pension reform: Here’s what could be on your 2020 ballot Advocates of dozens of causes are collecting signatures in hopes of getting their issue in front of Oregon voters. By Aubrey Wieber and Claire Withycombe Oregon Capital Bureau Roughly 30 measures are vying for a spot on your ballot in 2020. Some are measures that state lawmakers voted to refer to Oregonians. Others have been proposed by citi- zens to reconsider or amend state laws. Each, though, raises a hot-button issue. They range from taxes to tolling on highways to psychedelic mushrooms. The most publicized — the referral of a business tax to fund education — took a likely fatal blow Tuesday when key backers said they were giving up the fight. Oregon has three forms of direct democracy: refer- endums, referrals and initia- tive petitions. For referendums, which allow citizens to refer laws that the legisla- ture has passed to the bal- lot, supporters must submit nearly 75,000 signatures in support. Legislative referrals, which lawmakers vote to approve for the ballot, don’t need signatures. Referrals are needed for lawmak- ers to change the state’s constitution. Citizens’ initiative peti- tions, meantime, must raise more than 100,000 signa- tures, with the exact num- ber depending on whether the measure amends state statutes or the constitution. Backers of initiative petitions have until July 2 of next year to submit the required signatures. Here are some of the most notable measures you could see on your ballot next year: Tobacco tax What it does: Increases the tax on a pack of ciga- rettes by $2 per pack. Signatures needed: None A tobacco tax increase was one of Gov. Kate Brown’s priorities going into the session, and was expected to haul in $100 million per year for the Ore- gon Health Plan, which pro- vides health care for low-in- come Oregonians and other qualifying groups. The increase was proposed to help fill the growing share of public health care costs that the state must cover as the federal government tapers its support. However, Brown admit- ted before the session even started that it would be a tough battle against tobacco companies, and would likely end up on the ballot. That notion was solidified early in the session when House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, told reporters the proposed tax was low on the priority list. However, after sit- ting inactive in commit- tee for months, the bill was amended and revived. The See Ballot, Page A13
