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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2020)
A6 NEWS Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, June 17, 2020 The airport looks ahead at a busy summer By Steven Mitchell Blue Mountain Eagle The Grant County Regional Airport will only need $3.3 million of the $6.25 million grant the airport applied for last year. Airport Manager Haley Walker said the airport is saving the taxpayers money because the project bid from the con- struction contractor and the engineering consultants only came out to about half of what they originally asked for. The $6.25 million grant was secured through the federal Department of Transportation’s Airport Improvement Program. The large federal grant with no match required will allow the airport to “decou- ple” its two runways and make takeoffs and landings safer. Walker said the the construction of the project will take place this summer. Runway 9/27, which runs roughly east-west, and Runway 17/35, which runs roughly north-south, crisscross near the south end of the airfield. Walker said it had been identified by the Fed- eral Aviation Administration as a poten- tial hazard. “As a result of completing this proj- ect, we will be able to make future improvements at the airport such as wid- ening taxiways,” Walker said. Additionally, the airport received $20,000 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to tackle maintenance projects, such as the purchase of a pod sweeper and improved fencing. “The $20,000 through the CARES Act was excellent news that doesn’t have to come out of our current budget,” she said. Also, Walker said the north apron reconstruction project, repairs to the deteriorating apron, began on May 26. “If I was to tell you what the number one thing that local airport users wanted from day one when I started four years ago, it would be that project so that’s exciting news to get that taken care of,” Walker said. Meanwhile, Walker said, the envi- ronmental assessment project, which looks at the next several years of projects and getting the environmental clearance for those future projects will save time and money, starts this summer as well. Walker said the grants and funding are a combination of both state and fed- eral funding streams. She said the total comes to roughly $7 million. “Yeah, it’s kind of neat where I believe it’s only gonna be about $40,000 out of our airport budget for almost $7 million,” Walker said. “So I would defi- nitely call that a good use of funds and leveraging of grants that are available.” Blue Mountain Eagle The Eagle/Steven Mitchell Grant County Regional Airport Manager Haley Walker addresses the Grant County Court May 27. Oregon lawmakers to meet in special session next week Budget cuts don’t make the agenda — yet — but police accountability is top of mind By Peter Wong Oregon Capital Bureau Bills to tighten the accountability of police after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis would lead a list of about two dozen action items proposed for a special session of the Oregon Leg- islature targeted for Wednes- day, June 24. Gov. Kate Brown called for a session Tuesday morn- ing. The session will exclude talks of potential spend- ing cuts in the current two- year state budget. Legisla- tive budget subcommittees are just starting to look at the cuts submitted by agen- cies, hearing from the pub- lic and coming up with their own proposals. Two of them have scheduled meetings for Wednesday, June 17. Topping the list are bills dealing with police account- ability, as proposed by the nine-member People of Color Caucus and supported by Brown and Democratic legis- lative leaders in the aftermath of street protests in Portland and other cities. Floyd died May 25. One bill would bar a labor arbitrator from reducing dis- cipline against a police officer if the employing agency con- Laycock Creek Firewise Project released for public scoping cluded there was misconduct on the officer’s part. This bill has passed the Senate with- out dissent in 2019 and 2020, but failed to reach a vote in the House before the abrupt close of the 2020 session on March 5. Others may prove to be more controversial. There are proposals to set up a state- wide database for police dis- ciplinary cases, designate the attorney general instead of district attorneys to inves- tigate police when use of force results in death or seri- ous injuries, require police to report misbehavior by other police and outlaw the use of chokeholds, tear gas and other methods. Several proposed action items stem from Brown’s executive orders during the coronavirus pandemic, such as moratoriums on residential and commercial evictions, changes to public meeting requirements and shielding payments made under the federal coronavirus aid act. Others are bills that were proposed but failed to advance in the 2020 session. One of them would make technical changes in the com- mercial activity tax that Ore- gon lawmakers enacted in 2019. Business groups have urged a suspension of the tax for the first two quarters of 2020, but Brown has declined so far to do so. The Depart- ment of Revenue did defer payments by the smallest businesses subject to the tax to April 2021, and it will not penalize businesses for late reports if they show good- faith efforts. One bill would adjust deadlines for court cases, par- ticularly for some crimes that are subject to speedy-trial requirements. The courts do not have the legal authority to change the deadlines, which were affected when courts curtailed operations during the pandemic. Charles Boyle, spokesper- son for the governor, said her office expected to make an announcement on special ses- sion early this week. Once a session is under- way, issues are not lim- ited, but legislative lead- ers can control the flow of bills through the committee system. The 21-day scoping period for the Laycock Creek Firewise Project on the Mal- heur National Forest’s Blue Mountain Ranger District will begin on Thursday, June 18, and end on Thursday, July 9. Specific scoping com- ments will help the team determine if other actions are needed, explore alternative proposals, or identify con- cerns or gaps in information, according to a Forest Service press release. The Laycock Creek Firewise Project proposes thinning (which may produce commercial products) and prescribed fire to reduce fuel loads on approximately 3,000 acres of National Forest Sys- tem lands adjacent to private property to (1) minimize the spread of wildfires onto pri- vate property, (2) improve wildlife habitat and forage, and (3) restore overall forest resiliency to disturbances. The scoping package, which contains maps and pro- posed activity descriptions, can be accessed on the Mal- heur National Forest website at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/ project/?project=58212. Written comments can be submitted to: Robert Fox- worth, c/o Bethany Parke, Blue Mountain Ranger Dis- trict, P.O. Box 909, John Day, OR 97845. 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