A6
NEWS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
John Day considers downtown parking options
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
Discussions on parking
in downtown John Day con-
tinued during the John Day
City Council meeting on
Oct. 8.
The council talked about
how to better indicate where
parking is currently avail-
able, if there is a need for
more parking spaces and
how to improve the ameni-
ties of the parking spots.
“Probably right now
where we stand, we have
capacity,” said Councilor
Shannon Adair about park-
ing. “It’s really about let-
ting people know where
the parking is. We are look-
ing at some growth, and the
tourism that is coming in is
bringing a lot more people.
I think it’s beneficial to look
at additional parking, and
I think we need to consider
how much more parking do
we need.”
Adair attended the 2019
Oregon Main Street Confer-
ence in Tillamook and came
The Eagle/Rudy Diaz
From left, John Day City Councilors David Holland, Paul Smith, Shannon Adair, City Manager
Nick Green and John Day Mayor Ron Lundbom discuss downtown parking options in John Day.
back with ideas for the coun-
cil to consider. She learned
to ask whether the city
needed more parking spots
to accommodate for two
months out of the year. She
then brought up the impor-
tance of walking through
downtown.
“You want people to walk
around town and to be able
to have a walking experi-
ence and to be able to see
the downtown places,”
Adair said. “It’s not the
goal to have parking imme-
diately for your store. It’s
about working together as
a downtown association to
create an experience and
environment for people to
enjoy.”
City Manager Nick
Green talked about poten-
tial lots available for park-
ing. The Chevrolet park-
ing lot was mentioned first
as potential property to buy
at $60,000 for the acquisi-
tion cost. A parking lot there
could allow an area for pub-
lic restrooms, which John
Day does not have.
On the east side of John
Day, next to city hall, there
is a huge city-owned lot that
is poorly configured and can
provide signage and a possi-
ble resting spot, according to
Green.
The lot behind Dreamers
Lodge was the last piece of
property discussed. While
not as visible for drivers
when compared to the other
options, the lot can provide
parking for business owners
and employees. This would
free up spaces behind the
businesses on main street.
Green said, if they were
GOLF Magazine ranks Silvies No. 3
family resort in North America
Blue Mountain Eagle
GOLF Magazine has
named The Retreat, Links &
Spa at Silvies Valley Ranch
the No. 3 Family Resort in
North America in the pub-
lication’s Top 100 Resorts
issue for 2019-2020.
The rankings are the
first, most comprehensive
review of elite destinations
in North America and are
the most expansive edito-
rial project that the pub-
lication has undertaken,
according to a Silvies press
release.
The list, published in
the October issue, was
comprised by GOLF Mag-
azine’s team of editors
along with course raters
and readers who evaluated
and considered hundreds of
resorts.
“The guest experience
and overall philosophy at
Silvies is grounded in fun,
educational opportunities
Contributed photo/David Zaitz
Chipping onto a green at The Retreat & Links at Silvies
Valley Ranch.
that create lasting memo-
ries for families and chil-
dren of all ages,” said Scott
Campbell, owner of Sil-
vies Valley Ranch. “This
honor recognizes our mis-
sion to create a true West-
ern adventure that can
be shared among family
and friends, and we are
so proud to be included in
such a prestigious ranking
in the golf industry.”
The resort features the
reversible routing of the
18-hole Hankins and Crad-
dock courses, the sev-
en-hole McVeigh’s Gaunt-
let challenge course and
the nine-hole Chief Egan
course, where guests are
invited to play with Sil-
vies’ goat caddies, each
equipped with a first-of-its-
kind goat caddie backpack.
The goat caddie program
was awarded the Best New
Golf Experience in 2018 by
GOLF Magazine.
This award adds to the
long list of accolades in
golf and travel publications
in 2019 for Silvies Valley
Ranch, including 2019 Top
100 Best Courses You Can
Play (No. 32, Hankins) (No.
40, Craddock), 2019 Best
Courses You Can Play By
State (No. 5, Hankins) (No.
6, Craddock) by Golfweek,
Best New Courses: 2018
(No. 3, Craddock) (No. 4,
Hankins) by Golf Digest
and Top Golf Resorts in the
U.S. by Robb Report.
The resort features luxu-
rious accommodations and
ranch-to-table dining with
top-of-the-line amenities
for those looking for adven-
tures on and off the golf
course.
For more information,
visit silvies.us.
Communtiy
Presentation
Integrated Timber Harvest, Vegetation and
Road Management for Elk and other Wildlife
to acquire the two lots, then
there will be an intent to
develop the areas.
The council discussed the
possibility of forming a local
improvement district, using
city funds and grant funds as
possible funding options.
Adair said they need to
get the merchants involved
and share with them the
parking plans.
No decisions were made,
and the city council decided
to wait for a notional devel-
opment plan that will look
into the costs of each of these
sites and how this could be
funded, which is expected to
be on the agenda for the next
city council meeting.
In other city news:
• The city hired Daisy
Goebel, a recent graduate
from the University of Ore-
gon, as the associate city
planner. Some of her tasks
include assisting with code
enforcement, reviewing site
design, property line adjust-
ments and helping with
some long-range planning
such as the five-year natural
hazard mitigation plan.
• The council approved
a new logo for the city of
John Day, which is part of
a branding project for the
city and can be modified if
needed.
• During a work ses-
sion with the city council
and planning commission, a
draft of proposed changes in
the City of John Day Devel-
opment Code focused on
temporary housing using
recreational vehicles.
Proposed
changes
include prohibiting RV use
for residential purposes out-
side of an approved RV
park. There would be some
exceptions, such as dwelling
in an RV while construct-
ing a house or while caring
for a relative or other special
circumstances.
There would be a max-
imum time limit of 18
months for dwelling in an
RV during the construction
of a house. RV owners car-
ing for sick family members
would have to renew their
permits yearly.
Putney the new forestry and
natural resources Extension agent
Blue Mountain Eagle
Jacob Putney is the new
Oregon State University For-
estry and Natural Resources
Extension agent in Baker and
Grant counties.
Putney, who is based
in Baker City, succeeds
Bob Parker, who retired in
December, according to a
press release.
As the Extension forester
for Baker and Grant coun-
ties, Putney’s focus areas
include forest health, silvi-
culture, private forest land
management, reforestation,
invasive species, wildfire,
biomass and bioenergy, water
resources, forest productiv-
ity, forest restoration, collab-
orative conservation and out-
door recreation. He will also
coordinate Master Woodland
Manager volunteers in the
two counties.
Putney, a member of the
Society of American Forest-
ers, is responsible for plan-
ning, developing, deliver-
ing and evaluating a variety
of educational programs. He
will hold classes, workshops,
short courses, seminars, field
tours and webinars. He will
serve as a resource for wood-
land owners, homeowners
who live on the edges of for-
ests and professional natu-
ral resource managers such as
foresters and forest workers.
Putney, an OSU alumnus,
will collaborate with conser-
vation groups and watershed
councils, policymakers, forest
products firms, tribes, youth
and
eco-
nomic devel-
opment offi-
cials.
He
will
con-
duct applied
research in
Jacob Putney c o o p e r a -
tion with his
OSU colleagues and state and
federal agencies.
As a youth in his home-
town of Canby, Putney spent
a lot of time in the woods. He
has fond memories of fishing
with his grandfather and cut-
ting firewood with his father.
He became interested in
Extension while working as an
undergraduate for Steve Fitz-
gerald, professor and Exten-
sion specialist and director of
College of Forestry Research
Forests.
“I have a passion for
learning and contributing to
the field of forestry,” Putney
said. “I have a strong desire
to help those who are genu-
inely interested in learning,
and working with research-
ers, professionals, and wood-
land owners to develop
approaches/solutions to key
issues.”
He holds two degrees from
OSU, a bachelor’s in forest
management and a recently
completed master’s in sus-
tainable forest management.
At OSU, he served as the lead
author on several research
reports involving Douglas-fir.
He also published two arti-
cles in Western Forester, a
publication of the Society of
American Foresters.
Monday - Thursday
7am- 6pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Mendy Sharpe FNP
139101
Apppointments
available
Presentation Topics include:
• Th e use of silviculture and fi re to manage vegetation for elk and other wildlife
• Integrating vegetation and road management to meet multiple objectives that include
retaining elk on public lands and minimizing elk impacts to private lands
• Successful examples and methods of public involvement
• Presenters: Michael Wisdom, PNW Research Station & Darren Clark, ODFW
October 17, 2019 • 6:30-8 p.m.
Grant County Regional Airport
Music Lessons: Piano lessons by Jamie Wyllie-Lupien
available for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, for 3-month
sessions per time slot. Slots are limited so register soon.
Basic Drawing Class: Ongoing, Wednesdays through
November 6, at 5:30 - 7:30 PM.
Arts After School: Ongoing, Mon-Thus 3:30 - 5:45 PM, and Fri
8:00 AM - 5:45 PM. Follows school calendar.
Youth Arts Program: Ongoing, Monday 6:00 PM rehearsals
through December.
Have a skill you can teach? We’d love to have you join our
instructor cadre! Sign up online at paintedskycenter.com/teach
or call (541) 620-3788.
For more info or to register visit
paintedskycenter.com or email
paintedskycenter@gmail.com.
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