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Wednesday, February 3, 2021
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Republican vs. Republican
Findley, Oregon House Republicans condemn state
GOP resolution calling U.S. Capitol attack ‘false flag’
By Gary A. Warner
Oregon Capital Bureau
Eagle file photo
Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane
Oregon House Republicans dis-
owned an official Oregon Repub-
lican Party claim that the riot at
the U.S. Capitol was a “false flag”
operation by Democrats to politi-
cally damage then-President Don-
ald Trump.
A two-page screed featured a
“resolution” calling 10 Republi-
cans who voted for the impeach-
ment of President Trump “trai-
tors.” It claimed the mob of Trump
“THERE IS NO CREDIBLE EVIDENCE TO
SUPPORT FALSE FLAG CLAIMS.”
—A letter signed by all 23 Oregon House Republicans
supporters who smashed their way
into the U.S. Capitol in a riot that
left five dead and 140 police offi-
cers injured was a Democratic
conspiracy to set-off the “sham”
impeachment. The episode was
likened to the 1933 burning of the
German Reichstag in Berlin by
Nazis, who then blamed the fire on
others. They called for a “patriot
network” to advance their claims.
“Democrats and their enablers
are trying to falsely assign blame
to the peaceful protesters present
that day,” the state GOP said.
The hyperbolic language,
embrace of dark conspiracies,
and invocation of Nazism was an
inflammatory brew quickly picked
up by the Washington Post, CNN
See GOP, Page A12
Risky business
Grant County challenges COVID-19 risk level after
state data reporting error causes move to ‘moderate’
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
State health officials know Grant County
didn’t actually have enough COVID-19 cases
in recent weeks to bump it up to the next risk
level, but those officials are still requiring local
businesses to enact greater restrictions for the
next two weeks because of a state data report-
ing error.
Grant County’s state
“OUR CONCERN IS
representative, the Grant
EVIDENT: WE DO NOT
County Court and Pub-
lic Health Administra-
FEEL THAT GRANT
tor Kimberly Lindsay
COUNTY SHOULD BE
have expressed their con-
cerns to state health offi-
REQUIRED TO MOVE
cials, but as of Tuesday
morning their pleas have TO THE MEDIUM RISK
gone unanswered and the
county officially moved to LEVEL WHEN INDEED
the moderate risk level Fri-
OUR TRUE CASE
day, requiring restaurants to
close at 11 p.m. and reduc- COUNT BY DATE DOES
ing the capacity for other
NOT SUPPORT THAT. ...
establishments.
“Our concern is evi-
WE SHOULD NOT BE
dent,” Lindsay and the
PENALIZED DUE TO
county
commissioners
wrote to Rep. Mark Owens,
A DATA ISSUE THAT
R-Crane, Jan. 27. “We do
IS NOT ORIGINATING
not feel that Grant County
should be required to move
ON OUR END OF THE
to the medium risk level
SYSTEM.”
when indeed our true case
count by date does not sup-
—A Jan. 27 letter signed by
port that. ... We should not
Local Public Health Administrator
be penalized due to a data
Kimberly Lindsay and the Grant
County Court to Rep. Mark Owens
issue that is not originating
on our end of the system.”
Lindsay said the state incorrectly reported
a backlog of 31 positive COVID-19 cases as
occurring on Jan. 15. She said those cases did
not occur within the two-week period that dic-
tates the risk categories. For the week of Jan.
10-16, Grant County Health Department only
reported 22 new cases, she said.
The state bases its risk ratings on the num-
bers over a two-week period. From Dec. 27 to
Jan. 9, the county reported 25 cases; from Jan.
3-16, the county reported 45 cases; and for Jan.
10-23, the county reported 25 cases.
However, with the backlog added in with an
incorrect date, the state metrics used for the risk
Eagle file photo
levels show six cases from Dec. 27 to Jan. 9,
Grant County Health Department Clinic Manager Jessica Winegar during a testing event in No-
43 cases from Jan. 3-16 and 43 cases from Jan.
vember. Winegar emailed the state Jan. 12 alerting them to state database problems, according
10-23, Lindsay said.
See COVID, Page A12
Eagle file photo
Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale
to documentation shared with the Eagle by Grant County Public Health Administrator Kimberly
Lindsay.
With drug
possession
decriminalized,
community
corrections may
face funding cuts
McKinley to serve as
sheriff, probation director
until effects of Measure
110 are clear
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
Oregon’s first-in-the-nation drug
decriminalization measure took effect
Monday, but the long-term ramifica-
tions for Grant County law enforce-
ment and probation officials remain
unknown.
In November, vot-
ers passed Measure
110, ending criminal
penalties for small
amounts of drugs,
including
heroin,
methamphetamine, Grant County
LSD and ecstasy, Sheriff Todd
which will be punish-
McKinley
able by a $100 fine
that can be waived instead for a health
evaluation.
For many in law enforcement and
community corrections, the passage
of Oregon’s Measure 110 has raised
more questions than answers. Some
believe it may have long-term impli-
cations for local probation offices.
Grant County Sheriff Todd McKin-
ley said the uncertainty is one rea-
son he has stayed on as the Commu-
nity Corrections Office director after
being sworn-in last month as sheriff.
He plans to hold both positions until
more is known about the effects of
Measure 110.
McKinley said the state funds com-
munity corrections by caseload num-
bers. He told the Eagle, with posses-
sion of small amounts of drugs going
from a felony to a civil violation —
essentially the equivalent of a traf-
fic ticket — the ripple effect could be
that the total number of cases could go
down at probation offices.
However, he said, the numbers
could stabilize because he anticipates
a rise in property crimes by addicts
trying to support their drug habit.
“The tricky thing is you made
something (drug possession) a viola-
tion. It’s not legal, per se. It’s now a
violation,” he said. “But everything
around it’s a crime: To have someone
buy it or sell it is still a crime.”
See 110, Page A12