NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
A5
No plans for a code enforcement officer in Prairie City
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
A couple who lives in Prairie
City shared concerns regarding
the public image of the city and
the enforcement of city codes.
Storie and Nancy Mooser spec-
ified that they understand that in
some cases — due
to age, finances or
sickness — peo-
ple aren’t able
to maintain their
property.
“We aren’t try-
ing to make Prai-
rie City seem like Jim Hamsher
a groomed grave-
yard,” Storie said. “We feel that
the growing amount of junk begins
to create a sense of normality for
the community and begins to get
ignored.”
The Moosers said city’s codes
are not being enforced.
“Specifically, the ordinance
against cars being left on proper-
ties and are unlicensed and aren’t
running are not enforced. There is
a huge amount of that (cars) in the
The Eagle/Rudy Diaz
An abandoned house on the corner of Northwest Johnson Avenue and
Fourth Street in Prairie City.
city,” Nancy said.
The Moosers said they submit-
ted a nuisance form to the city and
never heard back. They discussed
the need for somebody to enforce
the codes in Prairie City, much like
the enforcer recently hired in John
Day.
Prairie City Mayor Jim Ham-
sher said, however, there are no
plans for a code enforcement offi-
cer to be hired.
“I would rather take the money
and help people clean up their
property than pay an employee to
go around and cite people,” Ham-
sher said. “A lot of the ordinances
weren’t well thought out and they
were passed. If you are going to
enforce one ordinance you need to
enforce every ordinance.”
Hamsher talked about the pro-
cess of serving a ticket that had a
$100 ordinance fine, but the cost to
enforce the ticket was $300. Some
of the cost comes in issuing the
notice and delivering the notice to
the house. After the state took their
share of the $100, the city was left
with $11.
Prairie City does not have local
law enforcement to help enforce or
deliver the fines to a household.
Hamsher said several of the
ordinances for Prairie City need
to be repealed or updated because
many things have changed over the
years in the community.
“There is a need to update a lot
of these (codes) and bring them
up to speed because there is a lot
of stuff that has come into play in
the last 10 years, like tiny homes
and cell towers, that weren’t here,”
Hamsher said. “You need to go
back and continually update these
things so they make sense for your
community.”
So far in 2019, Prairie City has
received three complaints from
residents for code violations.
This topic has been brought up
before in three city council meet-
ings over the past two years. Some
solutions regarding the accumu-
lation of junk were discussed and
planned.
One solution that the city and
community members put together
was a citywide clean-up day. Judy
Jacobs, the president of the Prai-
rie City Community Association,
brought up the need for a clean-up
day during a council meeting on
May 16, 2018. The city and the
community both provided funds
and resources to make the clean-up
day happen.
Hamsher also suggested talking
with the property owner there is a
problem with before reporting to
the city.
COPS AND COURTS
Grant County Circuit
Court
Susan Marahrens, 54,
John Day, was convicted
by a jury verdict Oct. 24 for
harassment committed on
April 29. She was sentenced
Oct. 30 to 12 months of pro-
bation. She was fined $200.
Marahrens was acquitted of
a count of resisting arrest
and a count of second-de-
gree criminal mischief.
Melina L. Schafer, 34,
John Day, had her judg-
ment amended Nov. 1 for
driving under the influ-
ence of intoxicants commit-
ted on June 26, 2018. She
had pleaded guilty Sept. 6,
2018, and entered diversion,
which was revoked Oct. 31
for failure to complete treat-
ment. She was sentenced to
18 months of bench proba-
tion and was fined $1,650.
Her license was suspended
for one year.
Grant County Sheriff
The Grant County Sher-
iff’s Office reported the fol-
lowing for the weeks of Oct.
23 and Oct. 30:
Concealed
handgun
licenses: 10
Average inmates: 16
Bookings: 11
Releases: 17
Arrests: 0
Citations: 4
Fingerprints: 4
Civil papers: 23
Warrants processed: 2
A s s i s t a n c e / We l f a r e
check: 0
Search and Rescue: 0
Oct. 30: Ashley Armen-
derez, 31, of Mt. Vernon
was cited for violation of the
basic rule, 80/55.
Oct. 30: Conner Enger,
21, of Bend was cited for
violation of the basic rule,
89/55.
Oct. 30: Cheri Rice, 43,
of Prineville was cited for
violation of the posted speed
limit, 81/65.
Oct. 30: Gary Dolmage,
55, of Grants Pass for vio-
lation of the posted speed
limit, 55/35.
Justice Court
Violation of the basic
rule: Katelyn K. Morrell, 29,
La Grande, Oct. 18, 85/55
zone, fined $265; Toby D.
Piney, 44, Stayton, Sept. 26,
75/55 zone, fined $165.
Violation of speed limit:
Deja B. Amsden, 18, Prai-
rie City, Oct. 16, 80/65 zone,
fined $265; Johnny J. Tru-
jillo Jr., 50, Sprague River,
Oct. 3, 42/30 zone, fined
$165; Colin B. Shepard,
33, Bend, Sept. 24, 74/65
zone, fined $165; Shanna R.
Campbell, 30, Burns, Sept.
23, 77/65 zone, fined $265;
Deborah M. Martell, 34, La
Grande, Oct. 1, 75/65 zone,
fined $165.
Driving while suspended:
Thomas E. Pfeifer, 50, Prai-
rie City, July 19, fined $440;
Kyle V. Riley, 30, Santee,
California, Sept. 20, fined
$440; Steven M. Warrington,
30, John Day, Aug. 30, fined
$440, Sept. 22, fined $440;
Keatley M. Wyant, 28, John
Day, Sept. 28, fined $440;
Travis J. Freniere, 33, John
Day, Aug. 31, fined $440,
Aug. 22, fined $440; Bucky
Breck, 32, John Day, Sept.
16, fined $440; Ian J. Car-
son, 32, John Day, Sept. 30,
fined $440; William J. Col-
lier Jr., 26, Pilot Rock, July
30, fined $440; Stacey L.
Moore, 49, John Day, Sept.
27, fined $440.
Driving
uninsured:
Thomas E. Pfeifer, 50, Prai-
rie City, July 19, fined $265;
Kyle V. Riley, 30, Santee,
Sept. 20, fined $265; Ste-
ven M. Warrington, 30, John
Day, Sept. 25, $265; Keat-
ley M. Wyant, 28, John
Day, Sept. 28, fined $265;
Travis J. Freniere, 33, John
Day, Aug. 31, fined $265,
Aug. 22, fined $265; Ian
J. Carson, 32, John Day,
Sept. 30, fined $265; Wil-
liam J. Collier Jr., 26, Pilot
Rock, July 30, fined $265;
Jacob A. Dodson, 25, John
Day, Aug. 27, fined $265,
Aug. 27, fined $265; Jor-
dan R. Wright, 25, Mt. Ver-
non, Sept. 23, fined $265;
Lynn K. Waters, 37, Payette,
Idaho, Sept. 28, fined $265,
Sept. 28, fined $265.
Registration
sticker
expired: Ian J. Carson, 32,
John Day, Sept. 30, fined
$115; Travis J. Freniere, 33,
John Day, Aug. 28, fined
$115.
Illegal stopping: Stacey
L. Moore, 49, John Day,
Sept. 27, fined $115.
Following too closely:
Haley L. Olson, 25, John
Day, Sept. 27, fined $265.
Obstruction of vehicle
windows: William J. Collier
Jr., 26, Pilot Rock, July 30,
$115.
Operating motor vehi-
cle while using mobile elec-
tronic device: Joseph Radi-
novich, 41, John Day, Sept.
1, fined $265.
Parking vehicle in viola-
tion of restrictions: Clayton
M. Core, 37, Springfield,
Sept. 17, fined $220.
Sharon J. Haynes has
been convicted of theft in
the third degree on Oct. 30
by default after failing to
appear. She was sentenced
with a $440 fine to be paid
in full by Dec. 1.
Oregon State Police
Oct. 22: Received a call
regarding a road construc-
tion worker in John Day
who was nearly struck when
he was removing a deceased
deer from the roadway on
Highway 26. The worker
stated that a blue Chevro-
let pickup with wood racks
ran over the deceased deer,
almost striking the construc-
tion worker. The 35-year-old
male driver of the blue Chev-
rolet pickup was later found
in Prairie City on Oct. 22.
The driver, Joshua Haskins,
35, of Prairie City was cited
for reckless driving and
reckless endangerment.
Oct. 25: Responded to a
single-vehicle rollover crash
on Highway 26. The vehi-
cle was heading eastbound
when the driver swerved to
avoid a cow elk on the road.
After avoiding the elk, the
vehicle overcorrected and
crossed over the center line
and westbound lane, strik-
ing an embankment and
rolling over on the passen-
ger side, blocking the west-
bound lane of travel. Two
passengers were in the
vehicle that rolled over. All
three occupants complained
of pain but refused transport
by ambulance. All occu-
pants went by private party
to Blue Mountain Hospital.
The Grant County Sheriff’s
Office and the John Day
Police Department assisted
at the scene with traffic
control.
Oct. 26: Stopped a sil-
ver Nissan Frontier pickup
on Highway 26 for failure
to drive in lane and prohib-
ited lighting. The driver,
a 48-year-old man, had
glassy and bloodshot eyes.
There was a strong odor of
an alcoholic beverage com-
ing from the vehicle. The
driver said he drank four
beers, and he had slurred
speech. When attempting
the field sobriety tests, the
driver nearly fell over mul-
tiple times. The impair-
ment of the driver was
significant enough that fur-
ther attempts at field sobri-
ety tests would jeopardize
his physical safety. The
driver was arrested for driv-
ing under the influence of
intoxicants. The driver was
Dispatch
John Day dispatch worked
123 calls during the week of
Oct. 28 to Nov. 3, including:
• John Day Police
Department
Oct. 28: Received a report
of a minor in possession of
tobacco.
Oct. 28: Cited Joseph
Radinovich for having a dog
as a public nuisance.
Oct. 28: Advised of an
injured deer on South Can-
yon Boulevard.
Oct. 29: Received a report
of theft at a business on West
Main Street.
Oct. 31: Issued a warning
during a traffic stop.
Oct. 31: Removed a deer
that had been hit on High-
way 26.
Nov. 1: Cited a man for
having a dog at large.
Nov. 1: Cited Leroy H.
Holley of Maryland for
speeding, 58/35.
• Oregon State Police
Oct. 30: Received a
driving complaint on
Highway 26.
Nov. 1: Advised of people
leaving butchered game on
the roadway on Highway 26.
Nov. 3: Requested to dis-
patch an injured deer.
• Grant County Sheriff’s
Office
Oct. 28: Received a report
of harassment on Quail Lane.
Oct. 30: Received a
report of a noninjury crash in
Kimberly.
Oct. 31: Received a report
of a probation violation on
Harpers Creek.
• John Day ambulance
Oct. 29: Responded to an
80-year-old woman having
chest pains on Valley View
Drive.
Nov. 1: Paged for a
94-year-old woman with an
unknown medical condition
on North Canyon Boulevard.
Nov. 1: Responded to a
64-year-old man who had
fallen and hit his head.
Nov. 1: Responded to an
87-year-old man with shoul-
der pain on Valley View
Drive.
Nov. 3: Responded to an
87-year-old man who was
confused and combative.
• Forest Service
Nov. 3: Called for a slash
pile burning that went out of
control on Black Mountain
Lane.
Nov. 3: Advised of a fire
on Highway 395C.
Nov. 3: Received a report
of burning trees near Starr
Ridge.
Veteran's Gift Shop
Get the cash you need FAST!
Nov. 4-16 in the window at
Mosier's Home Furnishings
in John Day. Items donated
are sent to Portland VA
Hospital for veterans to
select gifts for their families.
Contact Ruth Harris
at 541-575-0076 for
more information.
Ellis Tracy Unit
Hero -a JJerson adniired for courage,
transported to the Grant
County Jail where he pro-
vided a breath sample that
came back with a blood alco-
hol content of 0.27%. Harry
J. Yazzie Jr., 48, of Canyon
City was booked into jail for
DUII-alcohol.
Oct. 27: Hunters located
an injured cow elk in the des-
olation village in the Vinegar
Hill area. The cow was dis-
patched and salvaged.
American Legion Auxiliary
S152439-1
Arrests and citations in
the Blue Mountain Eagle
are taken from the logs of law
enforcement agencies. Every
effort is made to report the
court disposition of arrest
cases.
Poor credit no problem
New to the job Ok
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Honoring Veterans past,
present and future.
Thank you for your
faithful service!
achievenzents ancl noble qualities
Everyday, we salute the heroes of our Armed Forces past and
present for their courage and dedication to our country.
Keith J. Thomas, MD, FACS
Board-Certified General Surgeon
Blue Mountain Hospital• 541-575-1311
S149132-1
Andy’s Plumbing
245 N Canyon City Blvd., Canyon City, OR 97820
541-575-2144
S149541-1