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!
Blue Mountain Eagle
MyEagleNews.com
541-523-6377
541-963-6577
541-573-6377
541-576-2160
“Where Quality and Performance go Hand in Hand”
Ontario, Oregon
Ontario, Oregon
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Home: (541) 889-680 1
Cell: (208)741-0824
Jason & Deanne Vallad
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Cell: (208) 881-7989
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