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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 2019)
HOLIDAY SHOWCASE | PAGE A3 The Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 Wednesday, December 11, 2019 151st Year • No. 50 • 18 Pages • $1.50 MyEagleNews.com High-speed chase ends after spike strip near Mt. Vernon Driver’s mother reported he threatened to kill her with a knife while on heroin Blue Mountain Eagle Several people were injured when a high-speed chase ended after offi- cers deployed a spike strip just west of Mt. Vernon Friday afternoon. Two people from Colorado and one from Oregon were transported to the hospital after offi- cers ended the pursuit at milepost 145 on Highway 26, accord- ing to Oregon State Police Public Infor- mation Officer Capt. Jeremy Timothy R. Fox. McLaughlin The driver, Jer- emy McLaughlin, 29, Strasburg, Colorado, received minor injuries and was transported to jail after the hospital. He was charged with eluding in a vehi- cle, reckless driving, five counts of reckless endangering, driving under the influence of drugs, second-degree assault, third-degree Robert Malloy assault, possession of methamphetamines and possession of heroin, Fox said. See Chase, Page A18 Contributed photo A 1999 Honda Accord crashed into two pickups Friday after- noon after officers deployed spike strips following a high- speed chase that ended just west of Mt. Vernon. GREENHOUSE grows to fruition The Eagle/Rudy Diaz The John Day hydroponic greenhouse grows lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro and more. John Day’s harvest available at Chester’s Thriftway, Timbers Bistro and 1188 Brewing Co. By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle F resh produce harvested in John Day is available for purchase locally — in December. The city of John Day’s hydroponic green- house has delivered its first products to local stores and restaurants, and more produce is expected in weekly deliveries. “We have received about three shipments from the green- house, and we have run out of those three shipments,” said Erin Reilly, the produce manager at Chester’s Thriftway. “The first shipment we got had about 50 heads of the butter- head lettuce ... Then they got us some green romaine, which were a little bit small, but we packaged 34 heads of those and then sold it all within the first day.” The greenhouse currently produces red and green romaine lettuce, red and green butterhead lettuce, basil, cilantro, cucumbers and tomatoes. These items are ideal for starting a greenhouse because they are easy to produce and give the team time to optimize the space at the greenhouse before they go fully operational, said Adam Heninger, the agricul- ture project leader in charge of production at the greenhouse. Market demand and Heninger’s expertise will determine future items provided at the greenhouse. The Eagle/Rudy Diaz See Greenhouse, Page A18 Adam Heninger, in charge of production at the greenhouse, talks about the various seeds he plants. Owens campaigns for state representative in Grant County Owens: ‘I will go to all ends to make sure our voice is heard’ By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle Republican Mark Owens is running to be the state representative in Oregon’s House District 60. Owens, a Harney County commissioner, met with community members and leaders Dec. 5 at The Outpost Pizza, Pub & Grill in John Day. “The main takeaway from the event is learning to listen to people and learning to be their voice,” Owens said. “There are a lot of similar issues between Harney County, Malheur County, Lake County, Baker County and here in Grant County.” A big concern for Eastern Oregonians is how people use natural resources and how to maintain local forests, he said. “Forest issues are a huge conversation in Grant County as they should be,” Owens said. “We need to figure out how to get more product out of the forest, reduce fire levels and get employees back to work.” Most of the forest issues are on federal land, The Eagle/Rudy Diaz Candidate for state representative Mark Owens, left, stands with Frances Preston at a campaign event in Grant County. but Owens said he can do many things as a state representative to have the voice of the people heard. “There are going to be some direct acts com- ing in the next two sessions in order to do more work,” Owens said. “Having a strong voice there that understands we need to do commercial thin- ning and pre-commercial thinning to get value off that and try to direct any funds that the state will allocate for federal match into our counties is really needed.” Owens continued by discussing the importance of the community in these conversations because they are the stewards over the forests. Eastern Oregon relies on logging customs and culture, which is something that Owens wants to maintain. Grant County commissioners Jim Hamsher and Sam Palmer greeted Owens at the event. Working closely with county commissioners in Eastern Oregon is another priority for Owens. The reason why Owens is running for repre- sentative is similar to why he ran to be commis- sioner in Harney County. “Harney County has allowed myself and my family to live the American dream, which we were able to live through agriculture and the use of natural resources.” Owens said. “I found that those opportunities that I had are becoming harder to find.” When asked what makes him stand out as a candidate, Owens talked about his ability to listen and how to bring a message to others. See Owens, Page A18