GRANT UNION HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION | PAGES A5-A6 & A9-A10
LEFT: Grant Union valedic-
torian Drew Lusco speaks
at the school’s graduation
ceremony May 30. LARGE
PHOTO: Grant Union grad-
uates celebrate of their cer-
emony May 30.
Contributed photos
Tanni Wenger Photography
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
152nd Year • No. 24 • 18 Pages • $1.50
MyEagleNews.com
Black Lives Matter march proceeds peacefully amid
worries of rioting and looting from outside agitators
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
More than 140 people gathered in
John Day Friday for a peaceful pro-
test and march in solidarity with Black
Lives Matter.
The march made its way down to
Third Street and past Chester’s Thrift-
way, turned around at Timbers Bistro
and traveled back down to Highway
395, past Canyon City Food Cart.
The protesters, ranging in age from
4 to 90, waved signs, mostly address-
ing racial inequality, police brutality
and systemic racism.
The demonstration, organized by
yoga instructor Ashley Stevick and
Prairie City School Board Chair-
person Lindsay Sain Rausch, was
in response to the death of George
Floyd, an African American man who
died May 25 while in police custody
in Minneapolis. He was handcuffed
and lying face down during an arrest
as police officer Derek Chauvin knelt
on his neck for more than eight min-
utes, killing Floyd.
Several bystanders caught the inci-
dent on their cellphone cameras, and
Chauvin has been charged with sec-
ond-degree murder. Three other offi-
cers on scene have been charged with
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
Protesters raise their hands in front of Ashley Stevick’s home Friday to show the community they were local residents.
Rumors swirled on social media that protesters were being bused in from outside of the county, which did not occur.
aiding and abetting a homi-
Despite the organizers’
cide. Floyd’s death spurred
efforts to dispel rumors that
an international outcry and
the group Antifa — short
prompted protests across the
for “anti-fascists” and an
country. Some devolved into
umbrella term for leftist mil-
itant groups that confront or
rioting and looting.
resist white supremacists at
Stevick and Raucsh first
John Day
demonstrations — was bus-
announced plans June 3
for “John Day is with you! Police Chief ing in members from out-
Mike Durr
side the county, armed citi-
BLACK LIVES MATTER.”
zens concerned about rioting
John Day Police Chief Mike
Durr said he met with Stevick before- and looting lined the streets in front
hand to ensure it would be carried out of businesses throughout downtown
peacefully.
John Day.
Throughout the country, the theories
about Antifa were deemed false by both
Twitter and Facebook and traced back
to white supremacy groups like Identity
Evropa and American Guard, and some
members of these groups, according to
an AP article, have been caught posing
as part of the Antifa movement.
An armed group of citizens refer-
ring to themselves as “peacekeepers”
met in downtown John Day ahead of
the demonstration. Organizer Samni
Bell said the group intended to sup-
port law enforcement.
From left, Bass Hodge, Evan Hodge,
Shaun Robertson and Warner Rob-
ertson watch from downtown John
Day Friday as protesters made their
way down Main Street in John Day.
Evan Hodge said the protesters need-
ed to leave town.
“We are here as peacekeepers
only,” said Bell. “We support any-
body who wants to protest. That is
their constitutional right, and it is our
constitutional right to bear arms.”
Bell had specific guidelines for the
group that included not engaging in
discussions with protesters and stay-
ing in groups of two. None were to
point their weapons at, or toward, any
of the demonstrators.
See BLM, Page A18
Dollar General submits application for store in John Day
City Manager Nick
Green: ‘It’s real’
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
Dollar General is going through
the process for a location in John
Day.
The Zaremba Group, on behalf of
Dollar General, submitted an appli-
cation to the city for a store in John
Day. City Manager Nick Green said
he will coordinate with the relevant
parties, including Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation, and prepare
a staff report based on the informa-
tion the team collected, information
from the application and from public
comments received.
The John Day Planning Commis-
Contributed image
Dollar General concept design.
sion will hold a public hearing on the
proposal at 6 p.m. June 30. A notice
will be sent to all property owners
within 100-feet of the subject site
and will also be published in the Blue
Mountain Eagle prior to the hearing.
The commission will review the
staff report and have an opportu-
nity to make a recommendation to
approve, approve with modifications
or deny the application.
“Once the planning commis-
sion approves the proposal, they are
authorized to go into construction,”
Green said. “They will need to apply
for building permits and floodplain
development permits before they can
break ground, but the site would have
been approved and the proposed
design would have been approved by
the city.”
The Zaremba group is propos-
ing to construct a 9,100 square foot
Dollar General store in front of Napa
Auto Parts at 700 W. Main St.
The Type III site design review
application states under “Requested
Land Use Action” that the proj-
ect plans to include one freestand-
ing sign, parking and landscape
improvements with 36 parking
spaces, including 2 ADA spaces, and
a 36-foot-wide driveway with a new
See Store, Page A18
Grant County approved for Phase 2 reopening
EO Media Group
Grant County has been given
approval to move to the second phase
of reopening the county, County Com-
missioner Jim Hamsher said Thursday.
Grant County is one of 14 coun-
ties in Oregon that moved into Phase
2 June 5.
Friday’s move lifts some of the
emergency restrictions Gov. Kate
Brown put in place 10 weeks ago as the
COVID-19 pandemic swept around
the world. Oregon has recorded 164
deaths since February, or about 4 per
100,000 people. That’s one of the low-
est rates in the country. About 113,000
deaths have been recorded nationwide.
An estimated 6.3 million people world-
wide have been infected, with 380,000
deaths since the virus first appeared
at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, China.
The economic shutdown caused by the
crisis has pushed the count of unem-
ployed Americans to 40 million.
Under the new rules, the approved
counties in Oregon could allow:
• Employees to return to their
offices and workplaces, though tele-
commuting is still strongly recom-
mended when possible.
• Restaurants and bars to stay open
until midnight, instead of the current
10 p.m.
• Allow outdoor gatherings of up to
100 people.
• Up to 50 people in an indoor gath-
ering, as long as there are 35 square
feet of space allotted for each person.
That’s up from the current limit of 25
people.
• Large venues — including
churches and theaters — could have
up to 250 people at the same time,
depending on the size of the facility.
• The return of some sports, such
as bowling and swimming, but with
social distancing rules in place. Equip-
ment sharing should be minimized.
• Collegiate sports teams could
begin training while limiting the num-
ber of participants and contact.
• New guidelines for reopening gar-
dens, museums, and zoos.
Brown administration officials have
said they expect to have directives
involving schools ready to announce
sometime next week.
See Reopening, Page A18