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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 29, 2020)
4-H’ERS PREPARE FOR FAIR, FALL SPORTS STILL IN QUESTION | SPORTS A10 Wednesday, July 29, 2020 152nd Year • No. 31 • 14 Pages • $1.50 MyEagleNews.com Two men arrested in John Day drug bust Thursday More than 100 grams suspected methamphetamine recovered By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle Two men were arrested on multiple drug charges in John Day Thursday. Ty J. Round, 41, of John Day is charged with three counts of metham- phetamine manufacture, three counts of methamphetamine delivery, three counts of methamphetamine posses- sion and three counts of felon in pos- session of a firearm, according to infor- mation filed in circuit court Friday by Grant County District Attor- ney Jim Carpenter. Joseph Radi- novich, 42, of John Day is charged with Ty J. methamphetamine Round delivery, metham- phetamine posses- sion, frequenting a place where con- trolled substances are used and two Contributed photo John Day Police Department counts of criminal conspiracy, according to court documents. “The local drug task force has produc- tively worked long hard hours to inves- Joseph V. tigate and bring Ty Radinovich Round and Joseph Radinovich to justice,” Carpenter said. Guns, drugs and money were seized following the arrest of Joseph Radinovich, 42, of John Day and Ty Round, 41, of John Day on July 23. See Drugs, Page A14 “WE’VE INVESTED TWO YEARS AND $70,000 IN THIS PROPOSAL, AND WE’RE NOT GOING BACK TO REWRITE IT. IF SOMEBODY ELSE WANTS TO TAKE THE LEAD, WE WILL GLADLY GO TO THEIR MEETINGS AND SUPPORT THEIR EFFORTS.” Nick Green, John Day city manager Contributed photo/Wheeler County Sheriff’s Office Rancher David Hunt found a cow dead and mutilated Thursday, with her tongue, geni- tals and reproductive organs cut out — and she was placed in an upright position. POOL PLAN SINKS Investigators bewildered by death, mutilation of cow near Fossil Deputy: ‘There was definitely foul play involved in this animal’s death’ By Sierra Dawn McClain EO Media Group Authorities are investigating the death and mutilation of yet another cow — this time, on rangeland near Fossil. And the culprit may have left a clue: a boot print. The black Angus cow, a breeding ani- mal worth about $1,000, was found Thurs- day dead and mutilated — tongue, genitals and reproductive organs cut out. Her carcass was found upright, front legs tucked under- neath, a position investigators say they hav- en’t seen before. The cause of death is unknown, and authorities told EO Media Group the case is ongoing. “She died in a position she couldn’t have gotten into by herself. I don’t have any kind of logical explanation for it,” said David Hunt, owner of Hunt Ranch and a part- ner-producer for Painted Hills Natural Beef Inc. “There was definitely foul play involved in this animal’s death,” said Deputy Jere- miah Holmes of the Wheeler County Sher- iff’s Office. This isn’t the first time Hunt has lost an animal to mysterious mutilation. Last December, he found a dead bull in the snow with its nose, lips, ears, tongue, tail and gen- itals removed and blood drained. Deputy Holmes said he worked on that case, too, with no leads. Hunt isn’t the only rancher to lose an See Mutilation, Page A14 Eagle file photo This was planned to be the last season for Gleason Pool in John Day, but COVID-19 prevented it from opening. After Mt. Vernon and Canyon City chose not to support a proposal for a bond and a taxing district to fund a replacement pool, John Day City Manager Nick Green said the city will no longer pursue the proposal. City no longer moving forward on aquatics center With Mt. Vernon and Canyon City opting out of the taxing district, proposal no longer feasible By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle Plans for a new pool in Grant County appear to have dried up. The city of John Day no lon- ger plans to move forward with a proposal to ask voter approval for a bond for construction and a taxing district for opera- tions costs for a replacement for Gleason Pool after the Canyon City City Council voted against a resolution supporting the tax- ing district June 21, City Man- ager Nick Green said. Canyon City voted 4-1 against the resolution, joining Mt. Vernon, which had already voted against the proposal. Without the cities’ support, they could not be included in the tax- ing district, which was planned to cover John Day, Canyon City, Mt. Vernon, Prairie City, Seneca and their rural fire districts, ren- dering the project infeasible. “This ends discussions on this,” Green said. “There’s no further refinement that’s going to happen on our part. We’re not Eagle file photo A crowd of swim team fans cheer from the stands at the 2019 John Day Swim Meet at Gleason Pool, likely for the last time. going to try to restructure the district to have it be just John Day paying for a pool in Grant County.” Gleason Pool planned to close at the end of this season but never opened because of COVID-19. Green said the city will con- tinue with its plan to sell the pool property to the state to create a new Kam Wah Chung interpretive center. Green said it is time for Grant County residents who want a public swimming pool to make their voices heard with their elected officials who declined to give them an opportunity to vote on the proposal. After the vote, Canyon City Mayor Steve Fischer said, even with the decision, he hopes there can be a regrouping in the future to further discuss possibilities of a pool in the county — princi- pally, the possibility of repairing Gleason Pool. Green was disappointed the jurisdictions that voted no to the plan lacked an alterna- tive or counter proposal. While Fischer and representatives from the Grant County Farm See Pool, Page A14