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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 2020)
MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, November 25, 2020 152nd Year • No. 48 • 14 Pages • $1.50 Grant County reports first COVID-19-related death 10.4% positivity rate takes county to 127 total cases Carrie Young Memorial to be held virtually GRANT COUNTY COVID-19 CASES March 19 1 1st July 20 1 2nd Aug. 4 1 3rd Aug. 5 1 4th Aug. 21 1 5th Aug. 22 3 8th Sept. 23 1 9th Sept. 27 1 10th Oct. 23 1 11th Oct. 29 1 12th Oct. 31 1 13th Nov. 1 1 14th Nov. 3 4 18th Nov. 4 4 22nd Nov. 5 4 26th Nov. 6 21 47th Nov. 7 3 50th Nov. 9 4 54th Nov. 10 3 57th Nov. 11 5 62nd Nov. 12 3 65th Nov. 14 1 66th Nov. 17 19 85th Nov. 18 15 100th Nov. 19 16 116th Nov. 20 4 120th Nov. 21 1 121st Nov. 22 1 122nd Nov. 23 1 123rd Nov. 24 4 127th Items will be auctioned over the radio By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle governor and other state officials and legislators, county commissioners, The 28th annual Car- rie Young Memorial will see changes this year, but the leg- acy of giving continues with many items for auction and a chance for the county to give back. Organizer Lucie Immoos said the event will start at 6 p.m. Dec. 4 on the radio through KJDY. Bidders can call 541-620-2098, 541-620- 0220, 541-620-2958, 541- 620-0233 and 541-620-2534 to make their bids. The event was originally scheduled to be held in the Grant County Fairgrounds heritage barn, but Immoos said the memorial for her sis- ter would not be an in-person event this year. Oregon’s two-week freeze was one of the deciding factors. Immoos came into this year hesitating to ask peo- ple for donations due to the fires throughout Oregon and the economic impact of COVID-19. However, she feels she received more donations this year than ever before, includ- ing items the memorial has never auctioned before such as two, 100-gallon fuel deliv- ery certificates and a fishing trip on the Columbia River. Businesses that have been shut down for months also donated items to be auctioned. “I am absolutely so grate- ful for everybody that partic- ipates in the memorial, every- body that’s donated to us and my team that builds every- thing,” Immoos said. “It’s been a huge effort provided by the community in the county and out of county.” Immoos created the memo- rial in 1993 to honor her older sister, Carrie Young, who was killed in a car crash. When Young passed away, the family learned that she purchased gifts each Christ- mas for residents at Blue Mountain Care Center in Prai- rie City, where she worked. With the money raised by See Letter, Page A14 See Memorial, Page A14 The Eagle/Steven Mitchell Grant County Public Health Administrator Kimberly Lindsay addresses the Nov. 18 session of Grant County Court. By Steven Mitchell Blue Mountain Eagle The first COVID-19-related deaths were reported in both Grant and Harney counties last week. The Grant County Health Depart- ment reported an 87-year-old woman with underlying conditions died Nov. 15 at her home. The Oregon Health Author- ity reported she tested positive Oct. 30. OHA reported an 81-year-old woman in Harney County with underlying condi- tions tested positive Nov. 12 and died Nov. 18 at Harney District Hospital. Grant County Public Health Admin- istrator Kimberly Lindsay said the region “peeled back another layer of the onion” as cases in the county saw a near 900% increase since the beginning of the month. According to Lindsay, Grant Coun- ty’s total number of cases is at 127 as of Tuesday, and the county had a 10.4% positivity rate last week. The health department will offer test- ing from 3-4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays for the next several weeks in their parking lot. Statewide, 456 people were hospital- ized with COVID-19 Monday, a 142% increase since Nov. 1, and 44 more than were reported on Friday. In Grant County’s Region 7, shared with Deschutes, Harney, Klamath, Jef- ferson, Klamath, Lake and Wheeler counties, OHA reported that 25 people were being hospitalized as of Friday for COVID-19. Five were in intensive care units, and one was on a ventilator. According to Lindsay, ICU bed space and reduced staffing levels remained See COVID, Page A14 “THERE ARE SOME INDIVIDUALS THAT 90 DAYS LATER DO NOT HAVE THEIR TASTE OR SMELL BACK, SOME STILL EXPERIENCING A COUGH. WHILE I DO THINK THAT MANY ARE RECOVERED, I COULD THINK OF NO WAY FOR US TO KNOW THIS WITH CERTAINTY.” —Kimberly Lindsay, Grant County public health administrator Commissioners sign letter opposing widespread shutdown ‘One-size-fits-all’ approach ignores rural differences, they say By Steven Mitchell Blue Mountain Eagle Grant County Commissioners Jim Hamsher and Sam Palmer were among 51 elected officials who signed a letter asking Gov. Kate Brown to reopen bars, restaurants, schools, state offices and churches. The letter, sent from state Sen. Lynn Findley’s office Nov. 18, said a “one-size-fits-all” approach was logical at the start of the pandemic, but since then, communities have “adjusted, adapted and improved.” Eagle file photo Lucie Immoos, who organiz- es the annual Carrie Young Memorial Dinner and Auc- tion, with her granddaughter Laikyn Hammon at the John Day Elks Lodge at a previous auction. The event will be held virtually this year. County Commissioner Sam Palmer Findley, a Republican from Vale, said he and other legislators had been working on drafts of the letter for about three weeks before sending it to the State Rep. Mark Owens State Sen. Lynn Findley governor’s office. Findley, whose district includes parts of 11 counties, said his main goal is to promote a “dialogue” between the County Commissioner Jim Hamsher