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