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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 2019)
NEWS MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, July 24, 2019 A13 Firefighters Continued from Page A1 were all in their late 60s. It got better May 2 when seven responded for a call to La Costa Road and Highway 26. The roster can go down in summer when some vol- unteers are working paid wildfire jobs, he said. “Volunteerism is very difficult,” Phillips said. “The public takes it for granted until they need us.” Family legacy Phillips became a fire- fighter in 1968 when he was still in high school. It’s a fam- ily tradition. His father, Stan, became the John Day fire chief in 1951 and served 25 years. His sister, Mary Lou, also served as a volunteer firefighter. Within hours of his father’s election, he was called out to a major fire on Contributed by Ron Phillips Main Street that destroyed the Chester’s Market and In 1969, a major fire broke out in the Miller Furniture store on Main Street in John Day. The building was remodeled and is now the Outpost Pizza Pub & Sprouse-Reitz stores and Grill restaurant. crept into the adjacent Ben- son Hotel. Len’s Drug is now Mt. Vernon, Prairie City and at that location. Monument traveled to Long In 1968, while still in Creek for training under high school, Ron Phillips DPSST instructors from responded to a tragic fire Central Oregon and Harney County. at a ranch east of John Day DPSST provided door around Christmas time. A and roof-ventilation training nativity scene had caught props, Phillips said. Long fire and a family of five died. Creek provided ladders and Phillips knew the family Mt. Vernon provided an air personally. tank cascade-refilling sys- “It’s tough,” he said. “It’s tem. About 18 firefighters not a job for everyone, but it showed up for the weekend really does your heart good trainings, Phillips said. to know you’re saving a per- son or their property.” “The DPSST instructors In his second year, Phil- were impressed by the local lips was at the end of a ladder Contributed photo response,” Phillips said. manning a hose at a window Tyler Stout, from the Mt. “We don’t have large num- Vernon Fire Department, bers of firefighters here, but during the Miller Furniture crawls across the floor they’re very dedicated.” Contributed by Ron Phillips fire on Main Street in John Men and woman who Day. When his self-contained Three Grant County fire chiefs gathered for a photo circa 1951. Left to right are Peck Badley, during a training exercise. The “victim” laying in the want to become volun- breathing apparatus (SCBA) John Day; Louie Steuber, Prairie City; and Jack McKenna, Mt. Vernon. background was played teer firefighters must live or ran low on air, he switched tics, synthetic carpets, paints Safety Standards and Train- by Nolan Garinger, a cadet work in the fire district and positions with another fire- Pizza Pub & Grill. fighter so he could head “Firefighting is hard, dirty and composite furniture in ing. That can require a com- with the Long Creek Fire be at least 18 years old. They down the ladder for a refill. work,” Phillips said. “Calls homes and businesses. Each mitment of 60-70 hours per Department. also must pass a background Moments later, a back- come infrequently, but often can emit dangerous fumes year. check, but they don’t need to draft explosion in the build- at an inopportune time.” Phillips’ official records struction and tools, building be a high school graduate. when burning. ing blew hot gasses out the To learn more about vol- Firefighters sometimes show 21 entries in 2019 add- search and victim removal, window, seriously injuring must respond to multiple ing up to 73.5 training hours. hose streams and handling, unteer firefighting, Phillips Rigorous training Firefighters also must That included training on fire communications, build- encouraged people to show the firefighter who took his alarms at the same time. Phil- place at the top of the ladder. lips recalled a day when four keep up their training to self-contained breathing ing construction, orientation up at a weekly meeting at maintain their firefighter rat- apparatus, protective cloth- and ventilation. The firefighter healed and calls came together. the John Day Fire Hall on Hazards have increased ing, which is tracked by the ing, fire behavior, ropes and In January and February, Wednesdays at 7 p.m. or call the building was saved, Phil- lips said. It’s now the Outpost with the growing use of plas- state Department of Public knots, forcible entry con- firefighters from John Day, 541-575-1855. Continued from Page A1 new version included fund- ing for mental health ser- vices and a ballot referral and passed on the final day of session. Mushrooms What it does: Reduces criminal penalties for unli- censed manufacturing, deliv- ery and possession of psilocy- bin mushrooms to violations and misdemeanors, creates a regulatory framework for a licensed person to admin- ister the drug to “qualified adults.” Signatures needed: 112,020 In September, Sheri and Thomas Eckert of Beaver- ton filed an initiative petition to lessen the criminal penal- ties for psilocybin — the psychedelic component of “magic mushrooms” — and create an avenue for limited legal use. If approved by voters, criminal penalties for grow- ing and possessing the mush- rooms would be reduced to violations and misdemean- ors. The measure would also create regulatory framework where certain therapists could administer the drug to their patients. The Eck- erts are therapists who advo- cate for the therapeutic use of mushrooms. It may seem far-fetched, but the Eckerts’ cam- paign comes amid a grow- ing movement of tolerance and support for the medici- nal use of psychedelics. This Spring, Oakland, California, and Denver decriminalized psilocybin. In 2018, author and Har- vard University professor Michael Pollan published an acclaimed book tout- ing the medicinal proper- ties of mushrooms and LSD. Meanwhile, researchers at Johns Hopkins Univer- sity found the drug to be a low-risk, high-reward men- tal health drug, and the fed- eral government approved a United Kingdom company to do trials on administer- ing psilocybin as medicine in the U.S. Tolling What it does: Requires voter approval of tolls imposed on existing roads. Signatures needed: 149,360 In December, the state approved plans to impose tolling on Interstate 5 and 205 to decongest the roads. A petition filed last summer is taking aim at the state’s authority to enact such ideas. If passed, the measure would require a statewide majority vote on any tolls on existing roads. It would also require a majority vote from the voters of any coun- ties where the proposed toll- ing would take place. That means the pro- posed tolling on I-5 in the Rose Quarter area would need majority support in Multnomah County and the entire state. The petition is sponsored by former Rep. Julie Parrish, Rep. Mike Nearman and Gladstone Planning Com- missioner Les Poole. Parrish said she wasn’t sure how many signatures have already been collected. If passed, new capacity on the roadway — either a new lane or an entirely new road — could have tolling without voter approval. Parrish said polling shows 72 percent of Orego- nians are opposed to tolling. On the proposed projects, Parrish said tolling on I-5 would push cars off the free- way and into low-income neighborhoods that already have air quality issues, and the I-205 project would fun- nel cars to backcountry roads not constructed to stand that much traffic. Those people should have a say in the mat- ter, she said. “It’s a bigger question than for the 90 legislators,” Parrish said. Taming the “wild west” of campaign finance What it does: Lawmak- ers voted to ask Oregonians whether the state should change its constitution to allow limits on donations to state political campaigns. Signatures needed: None Oregon is one of just a few states that has no lim- its on what donors can give to candidates for state polit- ical office. In the final hours of session, the Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 18, which asks voters whether to amend the constitution to allow limits. Grappling with Oregon’s pricey retirement benefits What they do: Several initiative petitions have been filed to address the stagger- ingly complex boondoggle that is the state’s public pen- sion system, which is facing about $26 billion in money it owes to retirees that it can’t currently pay. Signatures needed: 149,000 Initiative Petition 13 would change the state’s con- stitution, so it would need about 149,000 signatures to get to the ballot. The other three measures, which have the same backers, are statu- tory, and would only require about 112,000 signatures. One such measure, IP 13, propped up by two for- mer state lawmakers and a former member of the state education board, would pre- vent public employers from adding to their unfunded obligations, and would pre- vent the state from borrow- ing money to pay down those obligations. Another set of measures, proposed by former gov- ernor Ted Kulongoski and former state senator Chris Telfer, would amend the state’s pension benefits to save the state money. Alto- gether, four measures on the subject have been proposed, though you are not likely to see nearly that many on the ballot — three are just varia- tions of cost-saving measures proposed by Kulongoski and Telfer. The debt measure has not been approved for circula- tion. And it’s also not yet been determined whether supporters of the Kulongos- ki-Telfer measures will move forward now that the leg- islature has passed Senate Bill 1049, which made some adjustments to the state’s retirement benefits in an attempt to save money. Recall Gov. Kate Brown What it would do: Recall Gov. Kate Brown. Signatures needed: 280,050 This week, Oregon Republican Party Chair Bill Currier filed a peti- tion with the Secretary of State’s Office to give voters the option of recalling Gov. Kate Brown. It would need 280,050 valid signatures collected in just 90 days. GRANT COUNTY WELCOME BACK Award winning singer/song writers Brenn Hill and Joni Harms, and cowboy poet Andy Nelson, hosting: COMMUNITY CONCERT CELEBRATING NATIONAL DAY OF THE COWBOY July 27, 6:30 p.m. • Prairie City Football Field $10.00 suggested donation • Bring chairs and blankets Proceeds go to International Western Music Association Columbia Chapter youth poetry and music program Huffman’s Select Market • Biosmile • Outpost Pizza, Pub & Grill • Bar WB Western Wear • Russell’s Custom Meats • Ed Staub & Sons 1809 First Street • Baker City • (541)523-5439 BARGAIN MATINEE IN ( ) Adults $7 ALL FILMS $6 ON TIGHTWAD TUESDAY MOVIE SCHEDULE JULY 26 - AUGUST 1 ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (R) The 9th film from Quentin Tarantino, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt & Margot Robbie FRI- THURS (3:45) 7:30 THE LION KING (PG) After the murder of his father, a young lion prince flees his kingdom only to learn the true meaning of responsibility & bravery. FRI- THURS (4:10) 7:10 9:40 SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (PG-13) Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man must step up to take on new threats in a world that has changed forever. FRI-THURS (4:00) 6:50 9:35 $9 Adult, $7 Senior (60+), Youth 131452 Ballot 130417
