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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2021)
NEWS MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, February 3, 2021 People 80 and older to be vaccinated Monday Health department to offer COVID-19 testing by appointment only By Steven Mitchell Blue Mountain Eagle Grant County will immunize people over 80 years old Monday between noon and 2 p.m. in a closed vaccine clinic. Kimberly Lindsay, the coun- ty’s public health administrator, said the health department and Blue Mountain Hospital would be calling roughly 100 people on the county’s wait list to schedule a time for them to receive the vaccine. Lindsay said the hospital and the health department, in addition to vaccinating seniors 80 and over, are also working to administer sec- ond shots to health care and educa- tion staffers. As of Monday, she said, the county expects to have around 110 doses available. While roughly nine rural counties in Oregon had their vaccine doses reverted to the Portland metro area, Lindsay said in a text message last week the health department became aware of a “previously unidentified” pocket of in-home health providers. Lindsay said she was able to secure doses for the in-home health workers and that the county expected to receive 100 additional doses. Lindsay said it is “quite possi- ble” there will not be enough doses for those who are over 80 years old and that she does not know when the county will get another round of shots. She said if someone has called the hospital or health department and put their name on the wait list, they have nothing more to do than wait to be contacted for their appointment. How do I get on the wait list? Lindsay said those looking to get on the vaccine wait list should email vaccine@ccsemail.org. She said that all people need to do is let the health department and hospital staff know they are inter- ested in receiving the vaccine. From there, she said, people need to provide their name, date of birth, phone number, mailing address and any chronic health conditions. She said they would receive a confirma- tion email back within 48 hours. Lindsay said, if it is not possi- ble to email, people can call the health department at 541-575-0429 or Strawberry Wilderness Clinic at 541-575-0404 and ask to be placed on the COVID-19 vaccine wait list. A7 How can I get a COVID-19 test? Lindsay said the Grant County Health Department would be admin- istering COVID-19 tests by appoint- ment only starting this week. She said the county had seen an increase in strep throat, due, in part, she said, to a lower infection rate of COVID-19. “When we schedule an appoint- ment, if the person tests negative for COVID, we can investigate other causes for the symptoms,” she said. Grant County has seen one new case of COVID-19 since Jan. 27, bringing the county’s total case count to 215 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the health department. According to a Monday health department press release, the 215th case resides in the John Day ZIP code. The Eagle/Steven Mitchell Rebekah Rand, director of emer- gency management services at Blue Mountain Hospital District, gets a vaccine shot ready Friday at the Grant County Fairgrounds pavilion. Prioritizing John Day street Grant County businesses receive $860,000 in grant funding improvement projects By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle Fourth Street repairs, Hill Family Park, Charo- lais Heights intersection and Government Entry Road are among priorities for the John Day City Council. John Day City Man- ager Nick Green said during a study session Jan. 19 that there are more projects than money, which means the city will have to consider which projects to prioritize and which to put on hold. “My bigger concerns are the projects that are par- tially funded, where if we shift and miss our deadline without an extension to the (funding) agreement, we’re going to lose the money,” Green said. Fourteen street projects were organized into two tiers in the Jan. 26 council agenda with tier-one projects hav- ing contracts issued, dead- lines and funding committed. Tier-two projects were capi- tal improvements with design and incomplete funding, or right-of-way acquisitions. The Charolais Heights intersection project has $100,000 in funding commit- ted from the Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation’s Small City Allotment grant. The project would need to be substantially completed by July 31 so the city could apply for the next round of SCA funding in the summer. The city would need an additional $220,000 dollars to safely proceed with the proj- ect, according to Green. How- ever, because the city does not Demand exceeded available funding By Steven Mitchell Blue Mountain Eagle The Eagle/Rudy Diaz City Manager Nick Green and Mayor Ron Lundbom talk about streets during a Jan. 26 city council meeting. have the funds to proceed, the city council talked about alter- natives to pursue, such as ask- ing ODOT if the SCA funds could be used elsewhere so the $100,000 is not lost. On Jan. 26, Green pre- sented an alternative to phase the Charolais Heights inter- section project into two phases so the SCA funds could still be used, while beginning to address some of the issues at the intersection. The $100,000 would be used on phase one, which includes utility relocations, repav- ing and reconstructing Davis Creek Road, tearing out a sec- tion of asphalt left of Davis Creek Road and re-rocking around a failing storm drain. Green said the second phase would improve the approaches, change the ele- vation grade across the whole intersection and smooth out the turn and the rise. “With the Fourth Street repairs looming, we can’t do both, but I think this is one way we can get half of the project done,” Green said. The city council agreed with the phased approach and motioned to pursue the two- phased plan. The Hill Family Park has $366,840 in funding commit- ted to the project. The focus is to complete the bridge pro- curement and construction and then use the money left- over for additional develop- ments at the park, according to Green. The goal is to award the bridge project in March. Once the contract is signed and the cost of the bridge is subtracted, the city will have a better idea on what to emphasize. The city talked about the importance of having another study session with the county to see if they can help with the road projects, especially since the Fourth Street still needs an estimated $330,000 to complete. “Let’s go through these projects, and let’s discuss the benefits to the county and the benefits to the city,” Coun- cilor Elliot Sky said. Green said on Jan. 26 that a letter was sent to the county to try and plan a future study session to talk about street improvements. BTI to start truck-driving courses By Corey Kirk EO Media Group Baker Technical Insti- tute is starting a Truck Driv- ing and Logistics School that will help students prepare to obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL). The first four-week course starts March 8 at BTI’s main campus in Baker City. The course, which costs $5,900 per student, will include a driving simulator that allows students to prac- tice a variety of scenarios. Students will have 101 hours of classroom lab time, where they work with instructors and spend time in the simulator. Along with the class time, students will complete 44 hours of individual driving time, working one-on-one in a truck with an instructor. The course will total about 160 hours of training. Prospective students who already have a learner’s per- mit will start March 15. Those who don’t have a permit can start March 8 and, for an additional $500, obtain the permit needed to take the course. Space is limited, but BTI will add future courses based on demand. Courses will run Mon- day through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. More information will be available soon on BTI’s website, https://bakerti.org/ school-of-trucking-and-lo- gistics/ Small businesses in Grant County have received more than three-quarters of a mil- lion dollars in grant funding. The Grant County Eco- nomic Development Office released a COVID-19 busi- ness grants report for 2020 last month showing local businesses received $863,064 in grants. “It is projected that the number of applicants who have applied just scratches the surface for the financial support needed by our busi- nesses negatively impacted by COVID-19,” Tory Stin- nett, Grant County economic development director, writes in the report. Stinnett reported the coun- ty’s small business program through Gov. Kate Brown’s office awarded the county’s businesses $534,996. How- ever, she said businesses in the county applied for $1.2 million. She said the state awarded 47 out of the 88 applicants. According to the report, this included 27 businesses in John Day, 10 in Prairie City, five in Canyon City, two in Long Creek, one in Mon- ument and Mt. Vernon and one more that is yet to be determined. Stinnett said 90% of the businesses met at least one of the governor’s priority areas. The first round of funding The report notes that $38,068 went out to 15 busi- nesses, one in Prairie City, seven in John Day, four in Canyon City and three in Mt. Vernon. According to the report, the Grant County Court approved $70,000 as matching funds to leverage an additional $70,000 from Business Oregon. Ore- gon Community Founda- tion awarded Grant County an additional $20,000, and with assistance from Commu- Eagle file photo Tory Stinnett, Grant County economic development director, during a session of Grant County Court last month. nity Lending Works, this grant program deployed funds to help small businesses survive through the pandemic. Stinnett noted that the first round of funds limited the number of applicants to those who had not received any federal coronavirus relief funds, including an Economic Injury Disaster Loan or Pay- roll Protection Program loan through the Small Business Administration. Greater Eastern Oregon Development Center According to Stinnett, the funding through the Greater Eastern Oregon Develop- ment Center did not have as strict guidelines as the pre- vious round did regarding PPP or EIDL loans. She said businesses that had received COVID-19 relief funds during the last round received a sup- plemental award while those that had not received money received a regular award. Three businesses in John Day and one in Canyon City received a supplemental award. Meanwhile, 20 in John Day, three in Canyon City and Mt. Vernon, and one Long Creek and Dayville received a regular grant. A total of 32 businesses received $207,500. Grant County Small Business Stabilization Program Stinnett said 33 busi- nesses in the county received $82,500. She said this included 15 in John Day, eight in Prai- rie City, six in Canyon City, one in Long Creek and Mt. Vernon, and two in Seneca. Stinnett said these grants went out on a first-come, first- served basis or by lottery. NEW LOCATION: Producer’s Livestock A MAN WAKES UP in the morning after sleeping on... an advertised bed, in advertised pajamas. Vale, Oregon sday, March 1 , 202 r u h T • 1 p.m. MST • Selling Registered Angus & Hereford Bulls He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR, have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE. Then it’s too late. AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK? DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it! 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