NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
Commissioners disagree over EOC’s future at the airport
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
As the June 17 session of Grant
County Court winded down, County
Judge Scott Myers told the court that
the future and loca-
tion of the county’s
Emergency Opera-
tions Center is “not
defined.”
However,
County Commis-
sioner Jim Hamsher
said in order for the Seth
county to qualify for Klingbeil
Federal Emergency
Management Administration reim-
bursements the county’s EOC must
meet certain FEMA guidelines.
He said those include a clear flight
path, a spot for helicopters and a com-
munications room.
Currently, the EOC is at the Grant
County Regional Airport at a dis-
counted rate. The EOC is renting
offices at the airport terminal, includ-
ing the upper conference and commu-
nication rooms and a storage/server
room.
Airport Manager Haley Walker
has asked the court at the last three
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
Grant County Airport Regional Manager Haley Walker addresses the court
June 17. Walker said she was under the impression the Emergency Operations
Center was winding down and that she has approached the court twice about
the future of the EOC at the airport.
county court sessions about the EOC’s
long-term plans but, until last week,
did not receive clear answer from the
commissioners.
Two weeks ago, Walker said that
she does not mind if the EOC con-
tinues to stay at the airport, but asked
that the staff keep the common areas
open to the public now that county
buildings are open. She said days after
buildings had opened back up that the
staff had locked the front door to the
terminal.
Walker said the perception the
community has is the airport is the
EOC, but she had heard from Chris
Rushing, interim incident commander,
that the EOC was leaving the airport.
“It is my job to control the safety
and the security of the airport, includ-
ing the terminal,” she said.
Walker said the storage space the
EOC is renting is a “mess” and that
she went to get light bulbs earlier in
the week and could not get the door
open.
Hamsher said the personal protec-
tive equipment in the storage room is
owned by the state and has to be kept
under lock and key.
He said the PPE stockpile in the
storage room is only to be handed out
to hospital or health department staff
or first responders, following request.
Myers read the portion of former
Incident Commander Dave Dobler’s
resignation letter pertaining to demo-
bilizing the EOC.
Myers said, while he does not want
to dissolve the EOC completely, he
would like to relocate it to the Emer-
gency Management office at the
L building, next door to the Grant
County Health Department.
Myers said the EOC is down to
three or four staff members.
“It only makes sense,” he said.
“Three or four people on staff can
comfortably be accommodated in
that other building.”
A5
Murder
suspect
arrested in
Grant County
Blue Mountain Eagle
Oregon State Police and Grant
County Sheriff’s Office offi-
cers took a murder suspect from
Washington County into cus-
tody early Saturday morning in
Seneca.
Lisa Akers, 39, was arrested
without incident, according to
an OSP media report from OSP
Trooper William Blood.
Akers was lodged at Grant
County Jail based on prob-
able cause by the Washing-
ton County Sheriff’s Office
detectives,
according
to
OSP.
According to The Orego-
nian newspaper, police iden-
tified Akers as a suspect in a
double-shooting that left one
person dead and another with
life-threatening injuries in an
unincorporated area of Wash-
ington County Friday.
COPS AND COURTS
Arrests and citations in
the Blue Mountain Eagle are
taken from the logs of law
enforcement agencies. Every
effort is made to report the
court disposition of arrest
cases.
Grant County Sheriff
The Grant County Sheriff’s
Office reported the following
for the week of June 17:
Concealed handgun
licenses: 5
Average inmates: 10
Bookings: 10
Releases: 9
Arrests: 1
Citations: 1
Fingerprints: 0
Civil papers: 32
Warrants processed: 5
Assistance/Welfare
check: 1
Search and Rescue: 3
Emily Vahsholtz, 24,
Klamath Falls, was cited for
violation of basic rule, 80/65
zone.
Grant County Justice
Court
Violation of the basic rule:
Daniel S. Fox, 54, Prineville,
June 4, 74/55 zone, fined
$165; Sharon M. Dufek, 50,
Medford, May 25, 69/55 zone,
fined $140; Kevin E. Wil-
liams, 34, Portland, May 23,
75/55 zone, fined $165; Ken-
neth A. Ganey, 64, Puyallup,
Washington, 75/55 zone, fined
$165; Bayley M. Harper, 20,
Mt. Vernon, 74/55 zone, fined
$165; James M. Strawn, 54,
Shady Cove, May 17, 75/55
zone, fined $165.
Exceeding speed limit:
Ariana
Dominique
Van
Dyken, 30, Baker City, March
25, 81/65 zone, fined $225;
Hayden L. Young, 22, John
Day, April 15, 75/65, fined
$165; Emily L. Ennis, 20,
Prairie City, March 11, 64/40,
fined $225; Austin J. Parish,
24, Lebanon, Ohio, May 13,
53/35 zone, fined $165; Karen
J. Williams, 60, Sisters, May
21, 53/35 zone, fined $165;
Diane D. John, 54, Monroe,
Washington, May 20, 48/35
zone, fined $165; Quenton S.
Adkins, 23, Seneca, April 24,
85/65 zone, fined $265; Juve-
nile, 16, John Day, May 5,
76/65 zone, fined $200.
Driving while suspended:
Gage R. Lambeth, 20, John
Day, March 29, fined $440.
Driving uninsured: Gage
R. Lambeth, 20, John Day,
March 29, fined $265.
Driving while outside of
probation: Juvenile, 16, John
Day, May 5, fined $340.
Operate motor vehicle in
violation if license restric-
tions: Juvenile, 16, John Day,
April 17, fined $200.
Failure to obey traffic con-
trol device: Krista E. Sheedy,
30, John Day, May 21, fined
$265.
Operating with a nonstan-
dard light: Franklin C. Oster,
21, Redmond, March 20, fined
$165.
Clinton T. Walczyk, was
convicted of taking/posses-
sion of bull elk parts/head
after a plea of no contest. He
was ordered to pay a fine of
$440.
On June 18, the court
granted a judgment for Suzette
Mael, against Corinne Aze-
uedo, Kimberly, for $461.75.
Oregon State Police
June 14: A John Day
Fish and Wildlife trooper
responded to a noninjury, sin-
gle-vehicle-versus-deer crash
at milepost 32 on Highway
395C. The vehicle could not
be driven from the scene, and
a tow was called to transport
the vehicle and the driver.
June 17: OSP stopped a
vehicle for a traffic violation
near milepost 151 on High-
way 26. On the initial contact,
OSP talked to a 32-year-old
man and a 27-year-old female
passenger. The 32-year-old
man said he didn’t have his
license with him. After further
investigation the male driver
gave a fictitious name. Jus-
tin R. Warmuth, 32, of North
Powder was detained until fur-
ther investigation. Later in the
investigation, Warmuth iden-
tified himself. Warmuth had a
nationwide Washington state
warrant for his arrest. War-
muth was cited in lieu of cus-
tody for giving false informa-
tion to a police officer. The
passenger, Heather N. Lear-
mouth, 27, of Chiloquin was
arrested for hindering prose-
cution. Learmouth was trans-
ported by a deputy from the
Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
Doug’s Towing responded
and removed the vehicle.
OSP transported Warmuth to
the Grant County Jail where
OSP lodged him for a Wash-
ington Department of Correc-
tions warrant. Learmouth was
booked and later released for
hindering prosecution.
June 18: OSP saw a vehi-
cle approaching southbound
on Highway 395C near mile-
post 1. OSP recognized this
vehicle to be one operated by
a suspended driver who does
not have insurance. OSP also
knows the vehicle’s registra-
tion is expired from 2017.
OSP stopped the vehicle on
North Humbolt Street in Can-
yon City. OSP contacted the
driver, Steven M. Warrington,
30, of Granite. According
to the DMV, Warrington’s
license is suspended for vio-
lation. Warrington did not
have insurance. Frontier Tow-
ing responded and towed the
vehicle. OSP issued the driver
citations for driving while sus-
pended and driving uninsured.
June 19: OSP was dis-
patched to a rollover crash on
State Route 402 near mile-
post 1. When OSP arrived, a
flatbed truck was on its side
off the road. Based on road-
way evidence, the truck was
eastbound when it drifted
onto the eastbound shoul-
der. The driver, a 34-year-
old man, overcorrected, went
into the westbound lane, then
back across the eastbound
lane where he left the road-
way and rolled the truck. OSP
contacted the driver at his res-
idence which was nearby. On
contact, the driver had glassy,
bloodshot eyes and slurred
speech. The driver admit-
ted to drinking three beers
and several shots of bour-
bon throughout the afternoon
and told me he had not been
drinking since the crash. The
driver consented to field sobri-
ety tests and showed further
indicators of impairment.
OSP arrested the driver, Mat-
thew D. Allen, 34, of Kim-
berly for DUII. OSP learned
there were several thousand
bees being transported on the
truck. The driver and his wife
advised they were going to get
help from friends to remove
the truck in the morning. The
driver and his wife are expe-
rienced bee keepers. OSP did
not tow the pickup due to the
bee hazard that would endan-
ger a tow truck driver and
opted to give the driver and
his wife (with proper protec-
tive equipment) an opportu-
nity to remove the truck. OSP
marked the vehicle to let pass-
ing motorists know the crash
had already been reported.
OSP also tagged the vehicle as
abandoned. OSP transported
Allen to the Grant County
Jail. Allen consented to a
breath test, which indicated a
blood alcohol concentration
result of 0.09% approximately
four hours after the crash was
reported to OSP. OSP issued
the driver citations for DUII
and careless driving causing
an cccident and lodged him at
the jail.
June 20: OSP was dis-
patched to milepost 68 on
Highway 395B for a reported
domestic altercation. OSP
contacted Michael W. Sims,
57, of Sprague River while
an OSP Fish and Wildlife ser-
Blue Mountain Eagle
geant contacted the involved
55-year-old woman. The
woman had damaged pants
and injuries to both knees
from the incident on this date.
Probable cause was developed
to arrest Sims for fourth-de-
gree assault. Sims also had a
warrant for failure to appear
out of Klamath County. Klam-
ath County requested Sims be
cited and released on the war-
rant. OSP arrested Sims for
fourth-degree assault. During
the investigation, OSP learned
the altercation occurred near
milepost 51 in Umatilla
County. OSP issued a citation
to Sims for failure to appear,
with a scheduled appearance
in Klamath County Circuit
Court. OSP met near Ukiah
with an OSP trooper from
Pendleton who transported
Sims to the Umatilla County
Jail where he was lodged for
assault.
Dispatch
John Day dispatch worked
144 calls during the week of
June 15-21, including:
• John Day Police
Department
June 15: Cited Justin
Wells, 36, of Hillsboro for
driving while suspended and
no insurance on Highway 26
near milepost 162.
June 15: Cited Steve War-
rington, 30, of John Day driv-
ing while suspended violation
and no insurance.
June 15: Cited Travis Fre-
niere, 33, of John Day for
driving while suspended and
no insurance.
June 18: Cited Brent
Shawin, 54, of Seneca and
Lyssa Sawin, 29, of John Day
for open container.
• Oregon State Police
June 17: Advised of cows
on the road on Highway 26
near milepost 138.
June 18: Received a report
of a goat on Highway 26 near
milepost 155.
June 19: Received a report
of a noninjury, single-vehi-
cle, rollover crash on High-
way 402.
June 20: Along with JDPD
and OSP, responded for a sus-
pect who wished to turn him-
self in on Highway 26.
June 20: Responded to a
domestic dispute on the state
highway near Dale.
• Grant County Sheriff’s
Office
June 15: Received a report
of an injury accident on A
Avenue.
June 15: Received a report
of animal abuse on East Sec-
ond Street.
June 17: Received a
report of theft in the Gran-
ite area.
June 19: Received a report
of criminal mischief on D
Avenue.
• John Day ambulance
June 15: Along with
Prairie City ambulance,
responded for an 81-year-old
woman who had set off her
medical alarm on South Main
Street.
June 15: Responded to a
77-year-old man with cardiac
arrest on Highway 26.
June 21: Along with Prairie
City ambulance, responded to
a 60-year-old man.
• Prairie City ambulance
June 21: Responded to
assist John Day ambulance
with a 49-year-old woman
having seizures on Second
Avenue.
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Early Deadline
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closed, we are FULL – please bring your donations at another time.
We look forward to seeing you & keeping you safe!
126 NW Canton, John Day
S195255-1
Jim & Mya Ennis
For July 8th Edition
50th Wedding Anniversary
Ad, Classified & Legal Deadline
Thursday, July 2nd by 5p.m.
Office will be
Married on horse back on July 4, 1970
Outside of the Terrebonne Grange
Hall. After working on many large
ranches, they have retired and settled
in Mt. Vernon. Please send cards to:
P.O. Box 521 Mt. Vernon, Oregon 97865
Closed July 3rd
Blue Mountain Eagle
195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR. 97845
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