RANCHERS HIT HARD BY WOLVES | PAGE A7
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
152nd Year • No. 28 • 16 Pages • $1.50
Behind the mask
People with health problems treated differently while following guidelines
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Rudy Diaz
According to the OHA, Oregon has
reported the largest increase in cases
per day in July.
With the number of COVID-
19 cases in Oregon reaching new
heights last week and masks being
required indoors statewide, some
local residents say they have been
treated differently for wearing a
mask.
Gov. Kate Brown announced
that all Oregon residents will be
required to wear masks or face cov-
erings in indoor public spaces start-
ing July 1 to help curb the spread of
COVID-19.
“Over the last month, we have
seen the disease spread at an alarm-
ing rate in both
urban and rural
counties,” Brown
said.
Grant County
residents
Dean
Reynolds
and
Helen Myrick said
before the mask-mandate went into
effect that masks were very import-
ant for them because of vulnerabil-
ities, but some people have reacted
when they wear masks.
Myrick said that she has
hypogammaglobulinemia, a rare
blood disorder, which puts her in
a vulnerable situation and makes
recovery a taxing process.
“When I get sick, without infus-
ing plasma donated by other peo-
ple with the antibodies for the ill-
ness, it takes me months to recover,”
Myrick said. “What can be a normal
illness for other people can debili-
tate me for months.”
Myrick said other people assume
she looks well because the illness is
not physically visible, but the public
is unaware of her circumstances or
the situations of others.
She said that both she and Reyn-
olds cannot take the risk of possible
exposure.
“We can’t assume somebody’s
A
Contributed photo/Kalli Wilson
A lamppost in Dayville, decorated
by Kalli Wilson, reminds folks of
the spirit of Independence Day
Saturday.
floated along the river before the
fireworks show.
Redmond resident Earnie
Slavey said he wanted to step
See Celebrate, Page A16
See Insurance, Page A16
The Eagle/Rudy Diaz
Fireworks illuminate the night sky Satur-
day along the North Fork of the John Day
River at North Fork RV and Camping Park
in Monument. North Fork RV and Camp-
ing owners Steve and Susan Mills held this
year’s festivities privately.
Plaintiffs voluntarily dismiss lawsuit
challenging governor’s pandemic restrictions
By Jayson Jacoby
EO Media Group
The plaintiffs, including a Baker City
church, who sued Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown in early May, claiming she had
exceeded her legal authority in restrict-
ing activities due to the pandemic, have
voluntarily dismissed their complaint.
In a motion ending the lawsuit, Salem
attorney Ray Hacke cited the Oregon
Supreme Court’s June 12 ruling in the
governor’s favor.
The state’s highest court ordered
Baker County Circuit Court Judge Matt
Shirtcliff to vacate his May 18 decision
to grant a preliminary injunction to the
plaintiffs, which include Elkhorn Baptist
Church in Baker City.
Shirtcliff agreed with Hacke and
another Salem attorney, Kevin Man-
nix, who represented a group of interve-
nor-plaintiffs, including
Bill Harvey, chairman
of the Baker County
Board of Commission-
ers, Grant County Sher-
iff Glenn Palmer and
Grant County Commis-
sioner Sam Palmer.
Judge Matt
Shirtcliff
The
plaintiffs
argued that Brown’s
executive orders related to the pandemic,
including ones that restricted businesses
and limited the size of public gatherings,
were limited to 28 days.
One state law, dealing with public
health emergencies, that the governor
invoked in many of her orders includes
the 28-day limit.
But the governor’s attorneys argued
that Brown’s orders were not subject
to the 28-day limit because her original
emergency declaration invoked a differ-
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
See Pandemic, Page A16
A socially distant Fourth of July
s coronavirus cases
spiked and hospital beds
filled up across the state,
Grant County communities found
alternative ways to celebrate the
Fourth of July.
In Monument, upwards of 100
people came out to take in the
town’s yearly fireworks display.
“Monument is the biggest lit-
tle fireworks show,” organizer
and pyrotechnics specialist Jer-
emy Boyer said.
The annual festivities were
held privately on the North Fork
of the John Day River at North
Fork RV and Camping Park.
With every RV and camp-
site full, visitors competed in the
annual cornhole tournament and
Liability coverage
plays major role in
what can open
ent state law, one that has no time limit.
Shirtcliff sided with the plaintiffs and
granted their request for a preliminary
injunction that temporarily voided the
governor’s executive orders.
But that injunction was only in effect
for several hours on May 18. Later that
day the Oregon Supreme Court issued
a temporary stay on Shirtcliff’s order,
which meant Brown’s executive orders
remained in effect.
The Supreme Court later accepted
written arguments from both sides.
On June 12 the court issued its ruling,
ordering Shirtcliff to vacate his decision
granting the preliminary injunction.
That decision only affected the injunc-
tion, and the lawsuit was at that time still
active and could eventually have led to a
trial in Baker County Circuit Court.
See Mask, Page A16
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
back for the weekend.
“We just wanted to get away
from our phones and the internet
and just unplug for the weekend,”
he said.
He said the small-town feel
and friendliness of the area is
what keeps him coming back.
“As soon as you get to Mitch-
ell, people are much more
friendly,” he said.
While Redmond’s annual
Fourth of July fireworks show
at the Deschutes County Fair-
grounds was canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, Bend’s tra-
ditional fireworks show from the
top of Pilot Butte was one of the
few fireworks display that went
on as planned in Oregon.
Dayville’s residents held a
Lack of
COVID-19
insurance
may hamper
schools
As planning continues for
school districts around the
state on how to best conduct
the new school year for their
students and staff, insurance
was a part of a recent dis-
cussion by state Rep. Mark
Owens, R-Crane, and Sen.
Lynn Findley, R-Vale.
As of June 30, PACE
insurance,
w h i c h
covers
a
majority
of school
districts in
Oregon,
will no lon-
Bret
ger provide
Uptmor
liability
insurance
for schools against lawsuits
related to COVID-19.
“This means any student,
staff member, parent, or pri-
vate citizen who contracts
COVID on school property
or at a school event would
be able to sue the school dis-
trict,” Owens and Findley
said in a press release.
The release said, with-
out liability insurance, some
schools are deciding to not
open since it will leave them
vulnerable to lawsuits, which
could financially impact a
school for years.
Findley was hopeful a bill
would be passed to address
this matter during the special
session in June, but it did not
happen.
“One thing I was disap-
pointed to see not pass in the
special session was liabil-
ity protection for schools and
private businesses in Ore-
gon from COVID-19 related
suits,” Findley said. “Without
any sort of liability protec-
tion, schools will not be able
to open in the fall, and busi-
nesses who follow all OHA
safety guidelines could still
be held liable for the natural
spread of COVID-19.”
Grant School District 3
Superintendent Bret Uptmor
said, while PACE will not
cover COVID-19 and other
communicable diseases as far
as a liability, their insurance
coverage will continue as
planned. He said his hope is
that, legislatively, something
is done to reduce the risk of
lawsuits in the coming school
year.
“We would like to come
back to school in the fall
and not be worried because
we’re in person and some-
body might get COVID that
we would be responsible for,”
Uptmor said. “Now, if we’re
irresponsible in our actions,
then it makes sense we would
be held accountable, but
most of us have been plan-
ning very heavily to be very
responsible.”
Uptmor added that he
hopes that, in the July spe-
cial session, legislators would
develop a plan to protect
schools from liability.
Insurance has been a
concern for more than just
schools.
The Grant County Library
had been preparing for a
chance to begin reopening
A slip-n-slide was set up Saturday at the Fish House Inn and RV Park in Dayville.
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
MyEagleNews.com