A2
FAMILY
Blue Mountain Eagle
OBITUARIES
Virginia ‘Ginger’ Lee
(McGrath) White
Jan. 6, 1946 – May 3, 2019
Virginia “Ginger” Lee (McGrath) White passed May
3. A ceremony spreading her ashes will take place at her
home, 410 Sharp Road, Midland, Oregon, at 10 a.m. Satur-
day, Aug. 24. All who knew her are welcome to attend and
invited to speak. Ginger was a member of the Eastern Star
and served as the chairwoman of the Grant County Planning
Commission.
Debra Ann Kodesh
Oct. 17, 1959 — July 22, 2019
Debra Ann Kodesh, 59, of Brookings passed away peace-
fully at home with her husband and dog by her side on July 22.
She was born on Oct. 17, 1959, in John Day, Oregon to par-
ents Anton and Mona Kodesh.
She worked for the Oregon Department of Transportation
for 23 years. Debra started her career in Farewell Bend and
later transferred to Burns. She spent the last 12 years of her
career at the Brookings DMV offi ce where she retired.
Debra fi rst met Bruce in the fall of 2003 in Eastern Ore-
gon. She loved to travel everywhere but her favorite place to
travel was the coast. One of her favorite things to do was to
take her dog Brooke to the beach or the river. She was such a
positive person with a warm and caring personality. Debra’s
smile was big and vibrant, and she shared it with everyone, no
matter who they were.
She was preceded in death by her mother and father. She
is survived by her husband, Bruce Ward of Brookings; her
brother, Anthony Kodesh of Casper, Wyoming; and sister,
Marie Kodesh of Pendleton, Oregon.
The Celebration of Life service for Debra will be Aug. 10,
from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Capella by the Sea, 200 Capella
North Bank Chetco River Road, Brookings, OR 97415.
We hope you can attend the service but we certainly under-
stand if you are unable to. If you can’t attend but would like to
share any stories, attributes or thoughts we would love to hear
them. Please email them to Shelley.
For those who will be able to attend, when you sign the
guest book please comment with your favorite attributes about
Debra and/or your favorite memories with her.
Donna ‘Dee’ (Brandt) Picek
May 7, 1956 – Aug. 1, 2019
Donna passed away peacefully
on the afternoon of Aug. 1. Born and
raised in San Francisco, Donna is pre-
ceded in death by her loving mother,
Rosemary Kimble (Brandt); and sister
Tracy Lane (Brandt). She is survived
by her brother, Perry Brandt.
All who knew Donna loved her
unconditionally. She was blessed to
have lived her life absent of selfi sh-
ness, dislike, greed and other defects
that commonly spoil people. She conquered many chal-
lenges in life and learned to live happy, joyous and free: But
for the grace of God.
Donna and her little dog Pit have taken their last walk
together, a journey through the friendly streets of John Day
into the heavens above.
A service will take place at Calvary Chapel John Day, 170
SE Dayton St., on Saturday, Aug. 10, at 12 noon. Please join
all of Donna’s friends and say one fi nal goodbye.
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
July temperatures colder than normal
Above-normal
temperatures
expected in
August
Blue Mountain Eagle
Temperatures in John
Day averaged colder than
normal during the month
of July, according to pre-
liminary data received by
NOAA’s National Weather
Service in Pendleton.
The average temperature
was 66.1 degrees, which
was 2.8 degrees below nor-
mal. High temperatures
averaged 84 degrees, which
was 4.2 degrees below
normal.
The highest was 95
degrees on July 26. Low
temperatures averaged 48.3
degrees, which was 1.3
degrees below normal. The
lowest was 41 degrees on
Contributed image
John Day was colder than normal in July. Above-normal temperatures and near-normal
precipitation is expected in August.
July 19.
On six days, the tempera-
ture exceeded 90 degrees.
Precipitation totaled 0.21
inches during July, which
was 0.39 inches below nor-
mal. Measurable precipi-
tation was received on one
day.
Precipitation this year
has reached 7.41 inches,
which is 0.91 inches below
normal.
Since October, the water
year precipitation at John
Day has been 10.48 inches,
which is 1.42 inches below
normal.
The outlook for August
from NOAA’s Climate
Prediction Center calls
for above-normal tem-
peratures and near-normal
precipitation.
Normal highs for John
Day during August are
88.2 degrees and normal
lows are 48.3 degrees. The
30-year normal precipita-
tion is 0.64 inches.
Red Cross Blood drives
planned Aug. 20-21
BIRTHS
Andrew Richard Valade
Blue Mountain Eagle
Andrew Richard Valade was born
in Blue Mountain Hospital at 1:05 a.m.
on Aug. 3 to Dale and Emma Valade of
Mitchell, Oregon. He was delivered by
Dr. Dave Hall and weighed 7 pounds,
2 ounces, and was 20 inches long.
The American Red Cross will host blood drives
from 1-6 p.m. Aug. 20 and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug.
21 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
in John Day.
For more information, visit redcross.org.
Bank of Eastern Oregon collecting school supplies
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Bank of Eastern
Oregon is collecting school
supplies for local elemen-
tary school students.
This includes the bank’s
branches in John Day and
Prairie City, as well as its 11
other branches throughout
the region.
Becky Kindle, chief
banking offi cer, said each
bank will feature a drawing
for a backpack fi lled with
supplies for a local student.
Community members with
a grade school student are
encouraged to stop in and
fi ll out a ticket. Participants
do not have to be Bank of
Eastern Oregon customers
to donate supplies or enter
the drawing.
EOU awards degrees to seven local residents
Vanessa Houpt of Canyon City
earned a Bachelor of Science in early
childhood education.
Jamie Waltenburg of Dayville
earned a Bachelor of Science in biol-
ogy, magna cum laude.
Anna Stargel of Prairie City earned
a Master of Arts in teaching.
Jaylee Lippert of John Day earned
Blue Mountain Eagle
Eastern Oregon University awarded
740 degrees during the 2018-19 aca-
demic year. Those who earned GPAs
between 3.5 and 3.69 graduated with
cum laude honors, 3.7 to 3.84 gradu-
ated magna cum laude, and 3.85 to 4.0
graduated summa cum laude.
a Bachelor of Science in physical
activity and health.
Amanda Rea of Ione earned a Bach-
elor of Science in business administra-
tion, cum laude.
Tina Williams of Pendleton earned
a Master of Science in education.
Hailey Cates of Prineville earned a
Bachelor of Science in psychology.
About Obituaries
News obituaries of 300 words or less are a free service of the Blue Mountain Eagle. The
paper accepts obituaries from the family or funeral home. Information submitted is subject to
editing. Obituaries submitted to the Eagle with incorrect information may be corrected and
republished as paid memorials. Obituaries longer than 300 words may be published as paid
memorials. Send obituaries by email, offi ce@bmeagle.com; fax, 541-575-1244; or mail,
195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845. For more information, or to inquire about a paid
memorial, call 541-575-0710.
CORRECTION
In last week’s Journey special section, the Eagle misiden-
tifi ed the number of visitors to the Sumpter Valley Dredge
State Heritage Area. About 15,000 people visit the site each
year. The Eagle regrets the error.
Long Creek student named
to COCC dean’s list
Blue Mountain Eagle
Blue Mountain Eagle
Jeffrey Parolini of Long Creek
has been named to the Central Oregon
Community College spring 2019 dean’s
list.
The dean’s list recognizes students
enrolled in 12 or more graded credits who
receive a term GPA of 3.60 or better.
At the close of spring term,
528 Eastern Oregon University
students qualifi ed for the dean’s
list.
These students maintained
a GPA of 3.5 or higher while
completing at least 12 hours of
Grant County Court is requesting letters of interest from persons
who would like to participate on Grant County’s Natural Resources
Advisory Committee (NRAC). The purpose of NRAC is to advise
the Grant County Court on the needs and priorities of our natural
resources, provide substantial comments for the NEPA process, and
work through implementing Grant County’s land use plan adopted
by Ordinance 2019-02. The membership of the committee shall not
exceed (9) nine members. Members must live in Grant County and
constitute a representation of agriculture and livestock production,
timber and wood products production, recreation, hunting and fishing,
water resources, mining, cultural resources and advocates for natural
resources stewardship through the continuation of the customs, culture,
health, safety and economic stability of Grant County.
Last Week’s Temps
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graded EOU coursework during
the term.
Local students included
Vanessa Houpt and Mariah Mey-
erholz of Canyon City, Jamie
Waltenburg of Dayville, James
Hercher and Carmen Vaughan
of Long Creek and Brianna
Zweygardt of Prairie City.
Check our Variety
Department for excellent
Back to School savings! If you
need it, we got it!
The Grant County Court will be accepting letters of interest
through August 30th, 2019 at 5:00 pm. Please submit letters
to the Grant County Court: 201 S. Humbolt Street Suite
#280, Canyon City Oregon 97820, or email letters to
hamsherj@grantcounty-or.gov. When submitting letters please
identify two areas of interest from the selection above.
John Day
HI/LO
Tuesday ........................................................... 91/59
Wednesday ..................................................... 92/56
Thursday .......................................................... 94/57
Friday ............................................................... 92/61
Saturday .......................................................... 93/56
Sunday ............................................................. 94/60
Monday............................................................ 97/60
Grant County students
named to EOU dean’s list
Friendly Staff ~ Quality Service ~ Variety
631 W Main St. • John Day • 541-575-1899
W EATHER F ORECAST FOR THE WEEK OF A UG . 7-13
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