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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2021)
NEWS MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, January 20, 2021 Grant County reads pot tax ordinance Superintendent addresses parade’s anti-mask incident 3% tax will go into effect 90 days after 2nd reading By Steven Mitchell Blue Mountain Eagle The Grant County Court met in an emergency session Thursday to consider the county’s recreational marijuana tax ordinance. In November, county voters approved a 3% tax on marijuana products, but the county court did not consider an ordinance to offi- cially adopt the tax until Dec. 30 and did not follow the law by read- ing the ordinance. According to Oregon law, “every ordinance of a county gov- erning body shall, before being put upon its final adoption, be read fully and distinctly in open meeting of that body on two days at least 13 days apart.” The ordinance can be read by title only if no governing body member requests a complete reading of the proposed ordinance. County Judge Scott Myers read the body of the ordinance Thursday with no objections from County Commissioners Sam Palmer or Jim Hamsher. A5 and Grant County community that our school district takes the COVID-19 pan- demic very seriously, and that includes Prairie City School District’s Superin- enforcing state mandates and recom- tendent responded to a concern regarding mendations that our students and staff an anti-mask display on a bus entered in wear face masks to reduce transmis- the Timber Truckers parade in December. sion,” Hallgarth said in his letter. Hallgarth said he continues The district’s entry for the to work closely with the Grant Timber Truckers parade was County Health Department and a decorated school bus, which follows the guidance of Ore- included a white sheet placed gon Department of Education to across the front of the bus with ensure the school does everything a red circle and a line through it. possible to protect the health and Superintendent Casey Hall- garth sent a letter out on Jan. safety of students and staff. Casey “On behalf of the Prairie City 8 to address the entry and said Hallgarth School District, I deeply regret he approved the request by staff this,” Hallgarth said. “Although members to enter a decorated bus for the parade. However, he was confidentiality laws prevent me from unaware and did not approve of the dec- commenting on specific employee dis- oration that suggested that the district is ciplinary actions, rest assured that the opposed to the use of masks during the judgment shown by the staff members involved in the decoration has already COVID-19 pandemic. “I write to assure the Prairie City been addressed.” By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle Eagle file photo Jars of marijuana line the shelves of Rocky Mountain Dispensary, the county’s lone retail recreational marijuana business. Myers said the court would again read the ordinance in its entirety or by title in 13 days, which falls on the court’s regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 27. He asked if anyone on the con- ference call had questions or com- ments about the ordinance as well. After the second reading of the ordinance, it will be appropriately adopted and take effect in 90 days. Haley Olson of Rocky Moun- tain Dispensary, the county’s only marijuana retailer, said she esti- mates revenue for the county during the first quarter of this year would have been around $10,000 to $25,000. County Court roundup: Quinton reappointed to Budget Committee ing back to the 1980s. What changed, she said, was that the Federal Emer- gency Management Agency remapped the county’s flood zones and included properties that were previously not a part of the flood zones. She said landowners planning on building within the flood zone would need to obtain a permit at no charge. Springer said there were concerns from landowners surrounding ag activ- ities and how the flood ordinance might impact them. She said the ordinance has mechanisms and variances that cover several ag activities in flood areas. Springer said the primary rea- son that the county issues permits for building in a flood zone is to ensure that builders are anchoring down struc- tures so they do not become dislodged by floodwaters. She said the ordinance does not mean someone cannot build in a flood zone. Springer said she needs to know what the project entails and then see if it fits the ordinance requirements. Springer said the county must have the ordinance to comply with the National Flood Insurance Program. Myers said, if the county did not pass the ordinance, many property owners would be unable to obtain insurance or it would cost more. County Commissioner Sam Palmer said he wanted it on the record that the NFIP does not absolve a landowner from getting insurance. Springer said participating mem- Search and Rescue completes 46 missions in 2020 advertised all open positions on boards and committees to the public. The court thanked Camarena for After consideration, Grant County applying and said they would keep his officials reappointed Bob Quinton to letter of interest on file for any available the county’s Budget Committee. seats on other boards and committees. In the Dec. 30 session of County Camarena said he did not know Court, after recently reappoint- Quinton had been on the Bud- ing 20 committee members to get Committee and that he various boards and commit- contacted the county because tees, court members consid- he thought the committee had ered replacing Quinton. an open seat. Quinton, a two-year com- Camarena said he was mittee member, had voted unaware of the commission- against increasing county com- Bob Quinton ers’ requested a pay increase missioner salaries. The court and that he would recuse him- members asked Quinton to reapply self if it came up. The court also moved to reappoint for his seat as they considered another applicant, Prairie City’s Works Direc- Steven Baldwin to the Planning Com- tor Chris Camarena. mission with a term expiring in June During the Dec. 30 session, County 2024 and to reappoint Caleb Wilson Judge Scott Myers said appointing to the Library Advisory Board with a Camarena to the Budget Committee term expiring in June 2023. could create a conflict of interest because Flood ordinance County Commissioner Jim Hamsher, The court approved the county’s who is also Prairie City’s mayor, is flood ordinance, which will go into Camarena’s immediate supervisor. Myers moved Jan. 13 to reappoint effect on March 23. Quinton “in the interest of following Shannon Springer, Grant County past practice.” planning director, said the flood ordi- Hamsher said, although it’s not a writ- nance aims to reduce damage to build- ten policy, the de facto policy has been to ings and government infrastructure and reappoint members to committees who the cost to repair the damage. have not reached their term limit. She said the flood ordinance is not Hamsher said he thought the county new, and the county has had one dat- By Steven Mitchell Blue Mountain Eagle bers of NFIP have access to emergency assistance and other programs that they otherwise would not be able to access. Search and Rescue annual report Deputy Sheriff and Search and Res- cue Coordinator Dave Dobler pre- sented an annual report. Dobler said, since he has been at the helm, SAR has been on 91 missions. He said 46 of them came in 2020. He said, despite COVID-19 guidelines and mandates from the state, people still went missing. In his report, Dobler pointed out that rural counties in Ore- gon, Washington and Idaho saw an uptick in visitors. “As different jurisdictions started reporting more and more COVID cases,” he said in his report, “Grant and other smaller counties were seen as a refuge and a safe place to come visit.” Dobler said SAR has been on five missions so far this year and that SAR has a total of 30 volunteers. He said 12 of those volunteers are the most active. Dobler said anyone interested in volunteering for SAR could fill out an application at the Grant County Sher- iff’s Office. He said the sheriff’s office runs a background check on all appli- cants. However, he said all background checks are judged on a case-by-case basis by him and the sheriff. Sheriff Todd McKinley said Dobler’s report was thorough and detail-oriented. “He (Dobler) brought it (SAR) up to quite a level,” McKinley said. In other county news: • The court approved the Road Department’s request to purchase a used to tractor for $11,000. Road Department lead mechanic Joe Bennett said the engine in the tractor they have has oil in the water and has been over- hauled twice. He said it would cost the county roughly $4,000 to repair. Ben- nett said the old tractor would be sold at the county’s surplus sale. • The county approved Economic Development Director Tory Stinett’s request to apply for the Community Connection housing loan rehabilita- tion program. The program, which the county has participated in in the past, allows the county to offer loans to low-income seniors to make repairs to their homes. • The Grant County and Bear Creek shooting club purchased 21 acres of land to extend its shooting range. Bob Bagett, the club’s president, said the club would bear the cost as well as the administrative costs. • The court approved the Grant County Regional Airport’s mainte- nance contract. • The court approved three justice of the peace pro-tems for 2021: Vicky Clemens of Harney County, Chris Patnode of Gilliam County and Ron McDermid of Sherman County. COPS AND COURTS Arrests and citations in the Blue Mountain Eagle are taken from the logs of law enforcement agencies. Every effort is made to report the court disposition of arrest cases. Search and Rescue: 1 Nolan Destiny, 19, of Prai- rie City was cited for violation of speed limit, 60/40 zone. Cody Combs, 20, of Prairie City was cited for a marijuana violation. Grant County Circuit Court Samantha M. Jones, 34, pleaded guilty on Jan. 13 to a count of harassment—consti- tuting domestic violence, com- mitted on Dec. 16. She was sen- tenced to 12 months of bench probation and to pay a $100 pro- bation fee. A count of fourth-de- gree assault was dismissed. Grant County Sheriff The Grant County Sheriff’s Office reported the following for the week of Jan. 13: Concealed handgun licenses: 5 Average inmates: 12 Bookings: 7 Releases: 10 Arrests: 2 Citations: 2 Fingerprints: 2 Civil papers: 9 Warrants processed: 9 Assistance/Welfare check: 1 Oregon State Police Jan. 4: A state trooper investi- gated a noninjury single-vehicle crash against a pony on Highway 26 near milepost 146. The vehi- cle’s airbags deployed during the crash, but it was able to be safely driven from the scene by the driver. The owner removed the deceased pony from the road- way. The driver and the owner of the pony were given copies of the Oregon police crash report. Jan. 6: A state trooper stopped a vehicle on First Street near Johnson Street in Prairie City for a traffic violation. When the state trooper contacted the driver, Thomas E. Pfeifer, 51, of Prai- rie City, he recognized him and knew his driver’s license was misdemeanor suspended. The trooper arrested Pfeifer for driv- ing while suspended. The state trooper released the vehicle to the owner who responded to the ADD TO YOUR PACKAGE FOR ONLY 19 . 99 $ /mo. where available 2-YEAR TV PRICE GUARANTEE America’s Top 120 Package MO. 190 CHANNELS 1-866-373-9175 Street. • Oregon State Police Jan. 12: Received a report of a noninjury crash on High- way 26. • Grant County Sheriff’s Office Jan. 12: Received a report of theft on East Second Street. Jan. 15: Received a report of theft of service on Highway 395 near milepost 2. Jan. 17: Took a report on a possible stolen vehicle on South Hall Street. • John Day ambulance Jan. 12: Along with Prairie City ambulance, paged for an 80-year-old woman who had taken a fall. Jan. 13: Received a report of an 81-year-old woman who fell and hit her head on West Main Street. Jan. 16: Responded for a person who fell and hurt their back and knee on North John- son Avenue. Jan. 16: Received a report of a noninjury motor vehicle crash on Highway 395 near milepost 31. Jan. 16: Received a report of an 82-year-old woman with cough and fever on North Cozart Avenue. Jan. 17: Along with Prairie City ambulance, paged for an 83-year-old woman on North Cozart Street. Imagine The Difference You Can Make DONATE YOUR CAR 1-844-533-9173 FREE TOWING TAX DEDUCTIBLE Help Prevent Blindness Get A Vision Screening Annually Including Local Channels! CALL TODAY - For $100 Gift Card Promo Code: DISH100 for 12 Mos. Offer ends 1/31/21. All offers require credit qualification, 24-month commitment with early termination fee and eAutoPay. Prices include Hopper Duo for qualifying customers. Hopper, Hopper w/Sling or Hopper 3 $5/mo. more. Upfront fees may apply based on credit qualification. S226335-1 CALL US TODAY FOR 15 % AND! 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