A6
Blue Mountain Eagle
NEWS
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Unemployment and phase
Community HEALTH BEAT two reopening discussed by
Eastern Oregon Leaders
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
Quality Healthcare Close to Home
170 Ford Road, John Day • 541-575-1311 • www.bluemountainhospital.org
Just over ten years ago, our lives changed forever when my
wife and I adopted our third child and I signed a contract to
become a small-town family doc in this tiny, one-stoplight
town in eastern Oregon. We didn’t know what our future held
for us, but our decision was confirmed for us a few months
later when we were inspired by the way this community
came together to reject a racist hate group that threatened
to move its headquarters to John Day. My wife and I moved
our small family here, ready to put our roots in the ground in
this wonderful community and for me to become part of something great at Blue
Mountain Hospital.
From the beginning, we have loved Grant County, and we planned to grow
old and retire here. We’ve witnessed and admired the way this community comes
together in times of tragedy. We have gotten to know what seems like most people
in the county, and we’ve developed many, many dear friendships here.
Unfortunately, life has a way of changing plans. And after much thought and
prayer, we came to realize a few months ago that we need to move our family to St
George, Utah to be closer to my wife’s mother, who needs our support.
We are sad to leave our home of John Day and will deeply miss this community. I
will miss working alongside my excellent colleagues, clinical and non-clinical staff,
and administration at Blue Mountain Hospital and the Strawberry Wilderness
Community Clinic. We have enjoyed raising our kids here, and they will always
regard John Day as their childhood hometown. And we appreciate and will miss
the teachers, coaches, church family, and other friends and leaders who have
infinitely blessed our lives.
I am grateful to my patients for the trust that you have shown me these past
10 years and for letting me be a part of your lives. I take comfort knowing that
I will leave you in good hands with my colleagues at the Strawberry Wilderness
Community Clinic and Blue Mountain Hospital.
Sincerely,
David L Hall MD
State Reps. Mark Owens,
R-Crane, and Daniel Bonham,
R-The Dalles, and state Sen.
Lynn Findley, R-Vale, gathered
together for their fourth town
hall to talk about developments
that have happened since phase
one of reopening from when the
coronavirus closures began.
During the meeting on May
28, the men were able to give
an update regarding unemploy-
ment insurance in Oregon. Bon-
ham said they and the depart-
ment are aware there have been
been failures and that people are
still lacking good communica-
tion for their claims.
“People deserve to know
where they stand and know if
a check is coming or if they’ve
been rejected or repealed,” Bon-
ham said. “The money is there.
The process needs to be fixed.”
Bonham also said the impor-
tance of having a clear action
plan for getting everybody
current.
Findley added that account-
ability is important and the
excuses from the unemploy-
ment division were valid for the
first two weeks, but at week 12,
that excuse has lost validity. He
also said there are cases where
callers have been on hold for
eight to 10 hours.
Gov. Kate Brown fired
Employment
Department
Director Kay Erickson on
Sunday.
At Thursday’s town hall
meeting, questions from the
audience also came regarding
phase 2 and what is included in
that next step. Findley said he
believes entering into phase two
will be on a county-by-county
basis.
The guidelines regard-
ing phase two were still in the
planning process so much was
unknown about the next step
during the town hall.
“They should of had phase
two guidelines when they put
out the phase one guidelines,”
Bonham said. “There should
be clarity and transparency and
understanding. Without that,
you end up with a lot of frus-
tration and ill will because peo-
ple will feel the goal posts are
moving.”
Counties will have an oppor-
tunity to move into phase two
21 days after being in phase
one. Findley added that they
suggested a possibility of mul-
tiple steps in phase two.
An audience member asked
about the importance of using
masks indoors when it seems
that many disregard this.
Findley said it’s a personal
choice and some people don’t
want to do it, but he personally
believes people should.
“I have a very vulnerable
person that I see everyday. My
mom is 99 years old, and she
lives in a home next to mine,”
Findley said. “I have interac-
tions with people in town. I
darn sure wear a mask, sani-
tize my hands and I practice
social distancing wherever I am
because I cannot bring that dis-
ease home.”
Bonham added that he thinks
it’s a balance. If a person is in an
environment where people can
stay socially distanced, then he
believes that the mask is less
necessary. But in close proxim-
ity with others, he feels that a
mask is absolutely appropriate.
Clyde Holliday campground
reopened on May 29
Blue Mountain Eagle
Clyde Holliday State Park
near Mt. Vernon is among a
handful of state park camp-
grounds that opened Friday,
May 29. Cabin and yurt camp-
ing, except in rare cases, will
not be offered. Group camping
remains closed across the state,
due to distancing concerns.
RV and tent campers with
existing reservations for a
campground that opens will be
honored beginning June 9. Not
all sites or loops may be avail-
able at open campgrounds. For
parks in the coastal region,
there will be no walk-in or first
come, first-served camping
until further notice.
The online reservation sys-
tem has been suspended since
April 28. It will reopen for
new reservations sometime
this week, and will accept
new reservations one day to
two weeks in advance. OPRD
will announce the reservation
reopening date early next week
through its website, stateparks.
oregon.gov.
First come, first-served
campgrounds in Eastern Ore-
gon lead the way. The follow-
ing campgrounds open Fri-
day, May 29: Goose Lake,
south of Lakeview; Jackson
Kimball, northwest of Chil-
oquin; Minam, north of La
Grande; Hilgard Junction, near
La Grande; Catherine Creek,
near Union; Clyde Holliday,
near John Day; and Cotton-
wood Canyon, southeast of
The Dalles.
Malheur National Forest to open
most recreation sites June 1
Blue Mountain Eagle
Bend Cardio - Dr. Bruce McLellan June 3
Baker Podiatrist - Dr. Michael Rushton June 8, 29
June
Visiting Bend Ortho - Dr. Timothy Lilley June 11
Specialists
Bend Neuro - Dr. Raymond Tien June 19
Bend Ortho - Korena Larsen-Farris PA, June 25
Starting June 1, the Mal-
heur National Forest will begin
opening previously closed rec-
reation sites.
Nearly all developed rec-
reation sites that had been
closed will be opened, accord-
ing to a press release. These
sites include campgrounds,
restrooms, trailheads, trailhead
facilities, boat ramps and day
use areas. At this time all rec-
reation rental sites such as cab-
ins and lookouts will remain
closed. Campground water
systems will be turned on
Camp Lick Project determined
to have no significant impact
Blue Mountain Eagle
Blue Mountain
Care Center
Resident of the Month
Roseanne Day
Roseanne was born in Eugene, Oregon on March 27, 1939 to Ruth
and Delbert Pierson. She had one brother. Roseanne was raised in
Prairie City, Oregon. She married George ‘Bus’ Montague on October
27, 1956. They had four children; three boys and a girl. She also raised
six stepchildren. Her husband, George, was in the Navy. Roseanne
worked as a secretary. When her daughter, LaVona, was 2 months
old, Roseanne and her mother drove all the way from Prairie City to
Memphis. It took them four days. Her son, Dennis, also made the trip
with them. Rosa May Macy was her grandmother and she lived to be
almost 102 years old. Roseanne collects mugs, enjoys sewing, quilting,
crocheting and ceramics. She loves to read and has been reading since
the age of four. Roseanne came to the Blue Mountain Care Center on
July 11, 2018.
S191180-1
and tested during the first two
weeks of June.
Visitors are encouraged to
follow local and state guidance
if traveling from outside of the
local area. The forest also asks
visitors to follow basic safety
guidance and good camp-
ing etiquette when recreating
on the forest. Visitors should
be prepared to be self-suffi-
cient even in developed camp-
grounds. Bathroom cleanings
will be scheduled and not guar-
anteed weekly.
For more information, call
541-575-3000 or visit fs.usda.
gov/malheur.
Blue Mountain District
Ranger Robert Foxworth
announced the signing of the
Camp Lick Project Decision
Notice.
The Malheur National For-
est issued a Decision Notice
and Finding of No Signifi-
cant Impact for the Camp Lick
Project on the Blue Mountain
Ranger District.
The planning area encom-
passes approximately 40,000
acres and is located 10 miles
northeast of John Day. The
Camp Lick planning area is
located in the Upper Camp
Creek, Lower Camp Creek
and Lick Creek subwatersheds
that drain into the Middle Fork
John Day River.
The Responsible Official,
Malheur National Forest Super-
visor Craig Trulock, signed the
decision to implement Alterna-
tive 2 as modified on May 27.
For further information,
contact Renee Hollowell,
NEPA planner, Blue Moun-
tain Ranger District, 431 Pat-
terson Bridge Road, John Day,
OR 97845, 541-575-3061 or
renee.hollowell@usda.gov.
The Decision Notice/FONSI
and other supporting documents
are available on the Malheur
National Forest website: fs.usda.
gov/project/?project=46219.
