NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
A3
Scammers taking advantage of COVID-19
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
Scammers continue to
evolve, using the pandemic
to deceive people with secret
cures, fake contact tracers and
more.
Oregon officials have cre-
ated a website that provides
details on some of the preva-
lent ways scammers are trying
to get valuable information that
authorities would not ask for if
they were the real deal.
One common scam: false
claims of a cure or vaccine
“SCAMMERS ONLY HAVE TO GET ONE OR TWO PEOPLE,
AND THEY MAKE A COUPLE HUNDRED DOLLARS IN AN
HOUR. IT’S NOT ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE THEY TRICK.
IT’S ABOUT HOW MUCH THEY CAN GET OUT OF A PERSON.”
—Mike Durr, John Day police chief
against COVID-19, according
to the state.
“Avoid sharing your per-
sonal or financial informa-
tion based on panic or fear,”
the state website recommends.
“There are no miracle cures
or approved vaccines at this
time.”
It is also important to avoid
opening emails or attach-
ments from unknown sources
because this can give scam-
mers a chance to spread mal-
ware to the devices. Malware
is malicious software that can
be used to gain private infor-
mation from a device.
Scammers are also pos-
ing as Oregon Occupational
Safety and Health Administra-
tion compliance officers and
attempting to issue thousands
of dollars in fines with immedi-
ate payments needed, accord-
ing to the state.
This is a false narrative
because OSHA would never
request immediate payment
from business owners since
it typically takes two weeks
following the closing of an
inspection to issue citations or
fines, according to the state.
Compliance officers also pres-
ent their credentials to opera-
tors in charge at workplaces.
Scammers are also making
calls and sending emails pos-
ing as contact tracers, look-
ing for Social Security or bank
information or to install mal-
ware onto a device through
an email.
Legitimate tracers work
for the local or state public
health department and con-
tact people by phone or letter,
never ask for Social Security
numbers, billing information
or bank or credit card num-
bers, according to the state.
Since scammers call from
around the world, it makes
them difficult to track down
when they do scam people,
according to Mike Durr, chief
of the John Day Police Depart-
ment. Scammers also change
phone numbers regularly and
are always on the move.
Durr said one underlying
motivation for scammers per-
sistently calling people is the
fact that it only takes scam-
Application
for small
business
grants
extended
to Aug. 28
Local
positions up
for election
Deadline to file is
5 p.m. Aug. 25
Blue Mountain Eagle
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
Small businesses and sole pro-
prietors impacted by the coronavi-
rus now have until Aug. 28 to apply
for grants through Business Ore-
gon, Stephanie LeQuieu, Grant
County rural venture catalyst with
Oregon RAIN, said on Friday.
LeQuieu said
the Business Ore-
gon grants are for
businesses that
did not receive
emergency assis-
tance under the
Stephanie
federal Corona-
LeQuieu
virus Aid, Relief
and Economic
Security Act.
She said the federal assistance
programs include the Small Busi-
ness Administration’s Payroll Pro-
tection Program, Economic Injury
Disaster Loans or other federal pro-
grams for emergency pandemic
funding.
LeQuieu said most local busi-
nesses have received EIDL loans,
which, she said, were not originally
a part of the CARES Act.
LeQuieu said she has “started a
conversation” with Business Ore-
gon to change the requirements as
it applies to businesses that have
received EIDL loans.
“They are willing to extend our
application period for those two
reasons, for anyone who may
have missed it (application win-
dow), but then also so we can
work some of these other things
out, like the EIDL restriction,”
she said.
According to Business Ore-
gon’s application, eligible small
businesses must meet the follow-
ing conditions: A business would
need to demonstrate a decline in
revenue more significant than
50% in March 2020 or April 2020
compared to sales in January or
February of the same year, or the
business must show that it could
not operate due to the COVID-19
shutdown orders.
For more information, contact
LeQuieu at stephanie@oregon-
rain.org or 541-965-1598.
ming one person to make a
payday.
“Scammers only have to
get one or two people, and
they make a couple hundred
dollars in an hour,” said Durr.
“It’s not about how many peo-
ple they trick. It’s about how
much they can get out of a
person.”
There are many differ-
ent ways scammers are using
the pandemic to their advan-
tage, but Durr said to always
be cautious — if a phone call
sounds too good to be true or
sounds suspicious, then it’s
probably a scam.
“Do not fall for these false
claims,” the state website rec-
ommends. “Avoid sharing your
personal information with any-
one you do not know.”
Eagle file photo
Cattle graze on the outskirts of Monument.
Monument residents asked to not irrigate
City of Monument facing issues with pumps and well
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
Residents in Monument have
been asked to not irrigate as the city
works on fixing the water system.
Monument Mayor Sahara Hyder
said Friday the city is monitoring
the water tower and the well. She
said the well was getting low and the
pumps weren’t keeping up, which
meant the water tower was not fill-
ing up, but they are gaining water.
The city is asking residents to
conserve on water, especially on irri-
gating, so the well has time to fill up,
which gives the water tower time to
replenish.
“We’re just trying to make
sure that we have enough drink-
ing water for everybody,” Hyder
said. “So we’re asking that every-
body doesn’t irrigate for at least a
couple days.”
Hyder said she and two of the
city’s public work employees were
at the city hall until 10 p.m. moni-
toring the water tower, the well and
doing measurements every hour.
One of the public works employ-
ees and Hyder were getting up at
midnight to check the water system
and turning the pump on for about
two hours to get the water tower
filled up.
They then did the measurements
and returned at 6 a.m. to turn the
pump on and repeat the procedure.
Hyder said she is hoping the well
is getting close to where it needs to
be, and then they will be able to start
pumping more water into the water
tower.
“Right now we’re at a pretty good
level in our water tower, but we want
to give our well enough time to fill
up,” Hyder said.
Hyder said she understands it is
frustrating that people can’t water or
irrigate, which is why the city is try-
ing to have the problem resolved as
soon as possible.
“Obviously people need to water
their animals and all that, and yes,
we understand that, but we’re trying
to get the problem resolved as soon
we can,” Hyder said.
She said she hopes the problem
will be resolved in a couple of days.
Multiple
positions
around Grant County are up
for grabs in the coming elec-
tion in November.
The deadline for filing
is on Aug. 25 at 5 p.m. Fil-
ing packets can be down-
loaded at oregonvotes.org or
requested from a local city
official.
John Day will have three
positions at large for the city
council with four-year terms.
Prairie City will have the
mayor’s position open for a
two-year term. Three spots
in the city council are at
large for four-year terms.
Canyon City will have
the mayor’s position open
for a two-year term. Two
spots in the city council are
at large for four-year terms.
Mt. Vernon will have the
mayor’s position open for a
two-year term. Two spots in
the city council are at large
for four-year terms.
Dayville will have the
mayor’s position open for
a two-year term. Position
1 and Position 5 in the city
council are open for four-
year terms.
Long Creek will have the
mayor’s position open for
a two-year term. Position
1 and Position 2 in the city
council are open for four-
year terms.
Monument will have the
mayor’s position open for a
four-year term. Positions 1,
2 and 3 in the city council
are open for four-year terms.
Seneca will have two
spots in the city council at
large for four-year terms.
Grant County Soil &
Water Conservation Dis-
trict will have will have one
position at large with Zone 2
and Zone 3 open as well. All
three positions are four-year
terms.
Monument Soil & Water
Conservation District will
have will have one posi-
tion at large with Zone 2
and Zone 3 open as well.
All three positions are four
year-terms.
Grant County Youth
Livestock Auction
THANK YOU
The Blue Mountain Eagle
would like to thank the
good samaritan who
found our delivery
man’s red money bag on
August 5th and returned it to us
with haste. You took time out of
your day to do a good deed, and
we appreciate your selfless act of
kindness. Thank you.
SATURDAY AUGUST 15th
DINNER 5PM • AUCTION 6PM
EAST END OF THE HERITAGE BARN
GRANT COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
Options to bid on youth market animals:
1. In person. Strict social distancing guidelines must be followed.
2. Over the phone bidding by calling into one of the sale day phones.
3. Online bidding by logging in and creating an account through
LiveAuctions.TV AFTER AUGUST 5TH.
195 N. Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845
541-575-0710
S202275-1
Sale Day Phones:
Ben Holliday: 541-620-0521 or MT Anderson 541.377.0030
S201866-1
Fear surrounding
pandemic leads to
increased fraud