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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 2019)
Prairie City netters sweep three over weekend The PAGE B1 Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 Wednesday, September 18, 2019 151st Year • No. 38 • 20 Pages • $1.50 MyEagleNews.com Arrested Grant County deputy accused of assault, attempted rape by spouse Smith was already on administrative leave for an unrelated issue costing $5,700-7,200 per month By Sean Hart Blue Mountain Eagle The Grant County deputy arrested last week on attempted rape and other charges was already on administrative leave for an unrelated issue. Oregon State Police arrested Tyler Smith, 33, of John Day on charges of attempted rape, fourth-degree assault and child neglect Sept. 9, but Grant County Human Resources Manager Lau- rie Wright said that was not related to the deputy being placed on administrative leave Aug. 9. Grant County District Attorney Jim Carpenter said in a statement Sept. 12 Smith had been placed on leave “for issues related to the performance of his duties as a Several Monument School staff members return to their roots Alumni have sizable impact on small district By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle As students start a new year at Monument School District, most may not think about the possibility they may one day become a Monument School staff member. Six people working at the school once sat in the classrooms that today’s students attend. This includes teacher Michele Engle, who’s worked at the school for more than 20 years; custo- dian Chuck Thomas, who has worked at the school for 17 years; head cook, custodian and athletic director Kristi Emerson, for more than 10 years; preschool teacher Teri Hamilton, three years; Jes- sica Hudson, with the dis- trict since 2008, includ- ing as a substitute teacher and preschool teacher and she now instructs grades 5-6; and Mary Cade, in her first year as an elementary teacher at Monument. New Superintendent Laura Thomas didn’t attend Monument school, but she’s married to Jeff Thomas, who did. Shawnah Schafer, the school’s office manager, and Laura Thomas were talking about this unique quality about Monument School. “Laura and I were just talking about how many of Michele Engle Kristi Emerson Chuck Thomas Teri Hamilton Mary Cade Jessica Hudson our staff members went to school here in Monument — six out of 16 staff — that’s 38 percent,” Schafer said. “... Many leave, but some return to their roots and make a life where they grew up.” The six don’t include three school board mem- bers, plus another school board member who worked at the school dis- trict for several years. Engle, who graduated from Monument in 1986, said it was not only the teachers in her 12 years at the school who were car- ing toward her, but also the cooks, janitors, office staff and bus drivers. “This atmosphere here is about family and the knowledge that it takes a tribe to raise a child,” she said. “The spirit of this is carried on in every genera- tion because we have been raised by people who love children.” She added that the smaller class sizes allow for this more individual- ized approach. Engle said she hopes to carry on the tradition so that her students can have the same successes she’s had. “I was very lucky to have had some very fine teachers who genuinely cared about their stu- dents,” she said. “I felt that the time that they gave to me, as well as others, had a huge impact on the suc- cess that the students here at Monument continue to See Staff, Page A10 sheriff’s deputy.” A public indict- ment has not been filed against Smith as of Mon- day afternoon, but his spouse alleged Tyler she and their chil- Smith dren were the vic- tims of the charges in a Sept. 10 motion for temporary custody of the children in ongoing divorce proceedings. Smith’s “behavior has become very erratic,” she said in a declara- tion accompanying the motion. “… I am in fear of my personal safety and the safety of my children.” sive use of the home, (Tyler Smith) routinely ignores that order and enters the home at will,” Smith’s spouse said. “Because I am afraid of (Tyler Smith), I do not attempt to force him out of the home.” Grant County Circuit Court Judge William D. Cramer Jr. signed an order Sept. 10 granting emergency custody of the children solely to the spouse, suspending Smith’s parenting time until a fur- ther order of the court. Emergency custody In the declaration, Smith’s spouse said she was the alleged victim for the attempted rape and fourth-degree assault charges and that the couple’s two young- est children were the alleged victims for four counts of child neglect. “Although there is a status quo order in place giving me exclu- See Deputy, Page A10 Flag in Mt. Vernon honors fallen on 9/11 By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle O ld Glory was seen waving on 9/11 from high up on a crane at a bridge work site on Highway 26 in Mt. Vernon. ODOT transportation maintenance coordina- tor Robert Cash of Pendleton said that he and the rest of the bridge crew, from Pendleton and Vale, enjoy flying the flag whenever they can. “Wherever we go, we like to show our support to our fallen comrades,” he said, adding that he and two other crew members are former firefighters. “We fly the flag any chance we get.” The project workers cleaned out debris from under the bridge and were placing riprap around the columns. They also planned to lay pipe Wednesday to channel the water under the bridge. Because their tasks involved moving the boom under some lines, they removed the flag a little after 10:30 a.m., but they raised it again later that afternoon. See Flag, Page A10 The Eagle/Angel Carpenter An ODOT bridge crew, working in Mt. Vernon, set up a U.S. flag on 9/11 to honor the fallen. Here, they take the flag down temporarily to complete work using the crane, but planned to continue flying it when they finished.