A6
NEWS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Grant County, Forest Service nearing forest patrol contract
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Grant County Sheriff’s
Office and the Forest Service
are close to inking a five-year
contract to provide the county
with a $16,000 increase in pay
for part-time forest patrol.
Grant County Sheriff Glenn
Palmer said he has been com-
municating with Craig Tru-
lock, Malheur National Forest
supervisor.
He said he had been keep-
ing Trulock apprised of what
his office is seeing and doing
when on patrol in the forest.
Palmer said it “sounds
promising” that funding could
come from “adjacent forests”
beyond Malheur.
Trulock said Friday the For-
est Service is putting together a
five-year contract that will pro-
vide the county with $20,000
per year to pay for forest patrol.
Trulock said the Forest Ser-
vice would meet with the sher-
iff’s office annually to assess
the staffing situation and add
more funds to the agreement
on an as-needed basis.
He said the contract is “not
just a one-shot of money.”
Trulock said the Forest Ser-
vice is getting the agreement
in right at the end of its fiscal
year, which ends Sept. 30.
He said Forest Service Law
Enforcement gets separate
funding that could add to the
agreement, but he said he does
not know how much they have
this late into the fiscal year.
He said both the Forest Ser-
vice and Forest Service Law
Enforcement could add money
to the contract in the next fis-
cal year.
County Commissioner Jim
Hamsher said the Forest Ser-
vice currently provides $6,000
to pay for a forest patrol deputy.
County Treasurer Julie Elli-
son said the fund she uses to
pay for the forest patrol posi-
tion has been over budget
every year because the contract
that pays for the forest patrol
deputy does not immediately
pay out.
She said the position was
supposed to be for a part-time,
non-union reserve deputy, but
the sheriff’s office has Dep-
uty Dave Dobler patrolling the
forest.
Eagle file photo
Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer meets with a citizen in front
of the Sheriff’s Office in May. Palmer said his communication
with Malheur National Forest Supervisor Craig Trulock, who
stepped into the position last year, has been mutually beneficial
and they are nearing a new forest patrol contract.
Ellison said that Dobler puts
in 30 hours a week and, with
benefits, earns roughly $50
per hour. She said he is one of
the most expensive deputies
within the sheriff’s office.
The part-time position was
budgeted at $14 per hour with
no benefits.
In the past, she said, dep-
uties performed forest patrols
as they passed through the
area.
“In years past, it was sup-
posed to be someone at a
pretty low rate for that person
to go out into the forest and
patrol occasionally,” she said.
“Now they have put Dobler,
who is the highest-paid dep-
uty with the highest PERS rate
and a pretty good insurance
rate.”
Hamsher said he had con-
versations with Trulock about
renewing the contract that
would have the Forest Service
provide the county $35,000 to
pay for forest patrol.
Hamsher said he would
like to get a flat-rate amount
that would cover the hourly
rate. Then, he said, the county
could invoice the Forest Ser-
vice at the end of the month.
“With $6,000 they don’t
get much patrolling done,” he
said.
The county signed the con-
tract in 2018. It is similar to
others used in other Oregon
counties.
In the past, the county had
agreements with the Forest
Service to patrol campgrounds
on national forest lands during
busy weekends, but there was
no agreement in place from
2011 until the Rainbow Gath-
ering in 2017.
“Our staffing will most
likely stay the same,” Palmer
said. “And it will be assigned
to the part-time forest patrol
deputy with possible extra
coverage by full-time depu-
ties to work the national forest
areas when the need arises.”
Palmer said there is poten-
tial to bring in reserve dep-
uties, such as when they are
short-staffed on fires on rare
occasions.
He said those may also go
into a separate contract that
would be billed to the fire
instead of the patrol contract.
“And realistically, depend-
ing on the total amount,” he
said, “we may seek authoriza-
tion for our commissioners to
move the position to full time
rather than 30 hours a week.”
Palmer said it is some-
thing the county needs to con-
sider because the workload
has been heavy on the forest
patrol.
“I believe we can justify a
full-time employee,” he said.
“It’s only if we can afford it.”
Trulock said the informa-
tion sharing and coordination
between the Forest Service
and the sheriff’s office allows
for more public safety,
“It’s a great tool,” he said.
“It provides an opportunity to
build relationships with the
sheriff’s office. We only have
one law enforcement officer
for 1.7 million acres, so this is
a great way for them to work
together.”
Khakis, camera, Vans and Davis Creek Park
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
Eagle file photo
Visitors look over a single-engine air tanker at the Grant Coun-
ty Regional Airport.
ODF plans phase two of night
SEAT operation evaluations
The Eagle/Rudy Diaz
Toward the end of the North Trail at Davis Creek Park in John day, a butterfly rested and allowed
for a photo opportunity.
The Eagle/Rudy Diaz
Indicators are located throughout the Davis Creek Park trail sys-
tem so travelers don’t have to worry about getting lost.
accompanied by small signs
with arrows and the name
of a path so travelers will
always be aware of their
location when exploring
Davis Creek Park.
I walked over the short
bridge, accompanied by the
audible flow of the creek,
and embarked for the Over-
look with potential views
awaiting this traveler armed
with a camera.
After crossing the bridge,
the connector path began
to gradually rise but at a
pace that was easy to adjust
to. While walking up, the
sounds of the irksome crows
A MAN
WAKES
UP in the
morning
after sleeping on...
an advertised bed, in advertised
pajamas.
He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR,
have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an
ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his
ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an
ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person
hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his
non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE.
Then it’s too late.
AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK?
DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE
Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it!
Blue Mountain Eagle
MyEagleNews.com
S198579-1
continued, along with crying
dogs in the distance.
Walking up the stairs
to the Overlook Trail was
easy and began to pro-
vide glimpses of the poten-
tial view that awaits at the
top of the 725-foot trail.
After ascending the steps
and an additional 7 minutes
of walking, accompanied by
taking photos left and right, I
reached the viewpoint.
It provided an overview
of John Day to the left with
many buildings and busi-
nesses accompanied by
trees. The right side of the
scene provided a view into
the open range leading to
Mt. Vernon.
The viewpoint was fairly
quiet, probably because the
crows kept their distance, as
the cars traveling on Main
Street were faintly heard,
accompanied by the sound of
the river flowing near River-
side Trailer Park.
After soaking in the calm,
worry-free, current event-
free moment, it was time to
head back to where the Over-
look Trail connected with the
Creekside Trail.
Back on Creekside Trail, it
was time to travel down to the
North Trail. While the North
Trail, which is about a quar-
ter mile, was not as scenic as
the viewpoint, it did provide
a closer look into what was
viewed from on top.
The North Trail was lev-
eled after descending to it
from Creek Trail and was
easy to walk through. The
North Trail is a straight path
for the majority of the walk,
but does have its moments
for great photo opportuni-
ties. Reaching the end of
North Point signaled the end
of the trip and the start of
walking back up to Valley
View Drive.
The trip took about an
hour to finish by slowly
walking and taking numer-
ous pictures, and was simple
to complete in Vans.
I reflected on the trip
while letting the heat in the
black Honda Civic air out
from being in the sun: Davis
Creek Trail is not the big-
gest or most rigorous trail in
the county, but its simplicity,
options and views provide an
easy and quick trip that any-
body can enjoy during the
taxing time of COVID-19.
S195790-1
Oregon Department of
Forestry began phase two of
evaluation of night single-en-
gine air tanker (SEAT) opera-
tions July 15.
Phase two builds on the
training and lessons learned
during phase one, which
occurred in Grant County
in July 2019. ODF’s Avia-
tion Unit has been working
with the contractor to develop
safety guidelines and proce-
dures for target and firefighter
identification for night opera-
tions on ODF protected lands.
Firefighters from the John Day
Unit will again coordinate in
the training and evaluation of
the operation. There will be
increased night traffic at the
airport during the week of July
20 as part of the SEAT evalua-
tion activity.
During phase one, the
SEAT dropped water on sim-
ulated fire “targets” directed
by firefighters on the ground.
The SEAT pilot uses night
vision goggles to identify the
target and all ground resources
including fire engines and per-
sonnel.Firefighters use verbal
cues and hand signals utilizing
chem sticks to direct the pilot
to target location.
During phase two, firefight-
ers from the John Day Unit
received training focused on
safety of the pilot, firefighters,
observers and ensuring effec-
tive application of the SEAT
“drop” as well as operation of
the SEAT base, located at the
Grant County Airport.
SEAT planes are capa-
ble of dropping 700 gallons
of water, fire retardant or
fire suppressing gel. These
drops”are intended to slow
the spread of the fire and
allow firefighters and equip-
ment to build fireline to con-
trol and contain the fire. Water
will be used during the initial
evaluation activities.
Following initial train-
ing of ground personnel last
week, evaluation of night
SEAT proficiency began July
21. The operation will be
evaluated based on safety pro-
cedures, effectiveness of the
“drops” and proper communi-
cation. ODF’s Partenavia air-
craft, equipped with a camera
and night vision systems, will
be used to record and pro-
vide over watch of the oper-
ation. The aircraft is equipped
with thermal imaging infrared
cameras for use in fire detec-
tion, along with coordinated
mapping capabilities.
Upon completion of
the night SEAT drop exer-
cises and final evaluation
by ODF’s Aviation Unit, the
plan is for staffing a SEAT at
night in anticipation of a light-
ning event where night oper-
ations can be used in actual
fire suppression on ODF pro-
tected lands. ODF currently
contracts five single-engine
air tankers as part of the sup-
pression resources through-
out Oregon.
S198603-1
Blue Mountain Eagle
Chill, subtle winds blew
on July 8 in John Day with a
cerulean sky accompanied by
socially distanced clouds. The
time arrived to explore the
recently finished Davis Creek
Park that provided a trail sys-
tem embellished with trees
and multiple paths for specta-
tors of all kind.
While driving up Bridge
Street in a Black 2007 Honda
Civic that efficiently stored
heat, unbearably so in the
summer, the journey of the
day began at the top of North-
west Valley View Drive.
At the entrance of the trail
system, a map detailed four
paths and their lengths with
three paths branching off from
Creekside.
The
quarter-mile
Creekside path connects with
all the other paths and is the
main route that leads travelers
from Valley View Drive down
to end of the trail at Northwest
Seventh Avenue.
Walkers or bikers can keep
the trip simple and travel
directly up and down this
route, but there are three other
paths labeled Creekside Con-
nector, Overlook and North
Trail for people to explore as
well.
As the trip began, the trail
was established by rocks on
the left and right with gravel
in between to walk on.
Plenty of trees occupied
by birds, primarily crows
that persistently crowed,
filled the path with enough
shade to take a moment to
either embrace the sun or
retreat and cool down.
The descent down at the
beginning of the trail was
gradual and nothing extreme,
perfect for casual walking,
especially for an individual
in Vans, khakis and a but-
toned-up shirt.
Within the first couple of
minutes, there was an option
to take a left and continue
on the Creekside path or go
straight and cross the tiny
bridge over to the Creekside
Connector. The 200-feet
connector provides a path
between Creekside Trail and
the Overlook.
Each crossroad is also
Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710
541-523-6377
541-963-6577
541-573-6377
541-576-2160