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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2019)
TIMBER TRUCKERS LIGHT PARADE | PAGE B2 The Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 Wednesday, December 18, 2019 151st Year • No. 51 • 22 Pages • $1.50 MyEagleNews.com City brings in $12.5 million in outside funding Grants pushing the development of future projects By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle The city of John Day has helped bring in more than $12.5 million to Grant County since 2017 through successful grant applications. The John Day City Council shared on Dec. 8 that the city has applied for and received 23 grants. There are also 10 potential grant opportunities pending with award decisions coming in the next fiscal year. A decision on the $3 million 2019 USDA Community Connect Grant for broadband is expected this month. This could fund a broadband con- nection between Burns and Seneca, which would give John Day faster and more reliable access to internet. City Manager This grant is differ- Nick Green ent from the $6 mil- lion USDA ReCon- nect grant, which was recently awarded to expand access to Sen- eca, Long Creek and Monument. “We’re really, really lucky to have somebody who’s suc- cessful and knows how to write (grant applications),” said John Day Mayor Ron Lundbom. “We really couldn’t have anything without these grants. They have acted as match funds or they have covered what we needed to come up with for projects.” Lundbom said projects in the city are being heavily funded not by the city, but through these grants and other people. Interest in John Day has risen for private investors as well with plans for a hotel and the purchase of the Weaver Build- ing from the city. See Funding, Page A12 DUI DANGERS THE HIGH COST OF DRIVING IMPAIRED By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle I n Oregon State Police Sgt. Tom Hutchison’s years in law enforcement, he has seen a marked increase in cases of drivers under the influence of intoxicants, beyond alcohol. “Of our DUIs this year, more than half have been DUI marijuana or con- trolled substances — those aren’t coming from the bar,” he said. “Most are coming from home or traveling. A lot of people out on road trips are either drinking and driving or using substances and driving.” Driving while impaired can, of course, result in fines, driver’s license suspensions and jail time — or worse, injuries and fatalities. Hutchison, a certified drug recognition expert, has been the OSP ser- The Eagle/Angel Carpenter geant at the John Day OSP Sergeant Tom Hutchison Work Site for seven years and has been in law enforcement for a total of 18 years, with all of those years in Grant County. On the morning of Dec. 18, 2018, Hutchison responded to a single-vehicle noninjury crash on a snowy Highway 395 near Starr Ridge, south of Canyon City. He said the 39-year-old male driver from Washington state, who had slid off the road, appeared to be impaired with central nervous system depressants and CNS stimulants. The driver consented to field sobriety tests, after which the man was arrested and taken to the Grant County Jail. “During a search of the driver and vehicle, incident to arrest, I seized 2 grams of cocaine, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 3 grams of methamphetamines, evidence of inhalants and prescription medication that the driver did not have a prescription for, including Valium,” Hutchi- son said. The driver was booked and lodged on charges of DUI-drug and unlawful possession of controlled substances. See DUI, Page A12 Riley man arrested for animal abuse after riding deer in video Buck was trapped in fenced enclosure Blue Mountain Eagle An 18-year-old man from Riley has been arrested for riding a deer in a video posted to social media. Oregon State Police arrested Jacob Belcher after interviewing him on a rural ranch in Harney County, accord- ing to an OSP press release. The buck mule deer had trapped itself within a fenced feeding enclo- sure, before being ridden by Belcher, the investigation revealed. OSP Fish & Wildlife troopers received information about a video shared via social media that showed a young adult riding on the back of the deer. “Throughout the video, the mule deer buck can be heard grunting and/ or bleating and after escaping the rider, the buck jumped into a linked fence, multiple times, attempting to escape the enclosure,” the release states. The buck was eventually freed, and its status at this time is unknown. After reviewing the video, troop- ers conducted further investigation and identified two suspects from Riley. Following interviews, Belcher was arrested and lodged at the Har- ney County Jail on charges of wildlife harassment and second-degree animal abuse. Another suspect, who was responsi- ble for filming the incident, was identi- fied and interviewed as well. Charges of aiding in a wildlife offense will be referred to the Harney County District Attorney’s Office. Contributed photo Oregon State Police arrested Jacob Belcher, 18, of Riley for animal abuse after a video was posted on social media showing him riding a deer.