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