NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Connery released, set
to enter plea in vehicle
theft case after murder
charge dismissed
Eagle file photo
From left, Blue Mountain Hospital board member Linda Ladd, board chair Amy
Kreger and CEO Derek Daly during an October work session.
Blue Mountain Hospital
District pays off 20-year-bond
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
Property owners in Grant County
will owe less to the tax collector this
year.
Blue Mountain Hospital District
CEO Derek Daly said the hospital paid
off its 20-year bond before its Feb. 1
due date.
Grant County Assessor David
Thunell said the total amount the total
bond was for $7 million, and the hos-
pital will receive $740,223.27 for the
2020-21 tax year.
Daly said the hospital district was
excited about making the final $722,000
payment because of its impact on the
county’s taxpayers.
Amy Kreger, hospital board chair
and longtime Grant County resident,
said the 2001 measure narrowly passed
and caused controversy.
As both a landowner and a rancher,
Kreger said it would make a big differ-
ence for every taxpayer in the county to
see the particular payment come off of
their tax bill.
As a board member, she said she
takes pride that the district kept the
hospital building up to date with the
bond money.
“We’re not a 20-year-old build-
ing,” Kreger said. “Our maintenance
team and our staff have kept this build-
ing up to date. It’s a continually mov-
ing target.”
She said, currently, the district is
working with a group of architects to
go over the building’s facility master
plan and ensure it stays current.
Hospital district Chief Financial
Officer Paul Rogers said paying off the
bond frees up cash flow for the district.
“Cash flow is all important in a small
hospital,” Rogers said. “Many hospi-
tals close their doors simply because
they don’t have cash flow.”
A5
McKrola posts $33,000
bail under conditional
release agreement
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
With murder and arson charges dis-
missed, Isaac Connery has been released
from jail and is set to enter a plea related
to unauthorized use of a motor vehicle
April 8.
Connery, 23, who
now has a Salem
address, posted $1,000
bail for the vehicle
charge Feb. 26 and was
released with the direc-
tion he must remain
in Oregon, according Isaac Connery
to documents filed in
Grant County Circuit Court.
In a secret indictment filed June 23,
2020, Connery was accused of unlaw-
fully taking Terry Smith’s 2006 Toyota
Tacoma on July 18, 2018.
According to press releases from
Grant County District Attorney Jim Car-
penter, Connery killed Terry Smith and
his wife, Sharon, before setting fire to
their home on Nan’s Rock Road near Mt.
Vernon.
Carpenter said Connery confessed to
the crimes, but the confession, and sub-
sequent information obtained, was ruled
inadmissible in court because of Miranda
rights violations.
Two counts of first-degree murder and
one count of first-degree arson were dis-
missed without prejudice — meaning the
state could file charges again if further evi-
dence is discovered — against Connery
and his mother, Gabrielle Connery, 47.
A Mt. Vernon man charged
with rape and kidnapping
posted bail on Feb. 23 and has
no scheduled court appear-
ances until a June 1 plea
hearing.
Brogan McKrola, 22, is
accused of first-degree rape,
sodomy and sexual abuse
— all by forcible compul-
sion — as well as second-de-
gree kidnapping, strangula-
tion and furnishing alcohol to
a minor, according to a March
1 indictment in Grant County
Circuit Court.
He posted $33,000 bail
on Feb. 23, according to a
release agreement filed with
the court. During a March 3
hearing, McKrola’s defense
attorney Kati Dunn said he
successfully posted bail.
Dunn filed a demurrer
Jan. 15, seeking to dismiss
the charges. During a Feb. 23
hearing, she argued the state
did not provide the grand
jury with the correct law lan-
guage under the current sod-
omy statute, which the state
recently changed.
Baker County Circuit
Court Judge Matt Shirtcliff,
who heard the motion, denied
the demurrer but ordered the
state to file a
new arraign-
ment
and
amend the
indictment.
Under
McKro-
Brogran
la’s release
McKrola
agreement,
he will have
a curfew from 7 p.m. to
7 a.m. and is ordered not to
contact the victim.
Kurt Miller, a senior assis-
tant attorney general with the
Department of Justice, asked
that the court amend McK-
rola’s agreement to reflect a
condition that would forbid
him from possessing or con-
suming intoxicants.
Judge Gregory L. Baxter,
who heard the March 3 hear-
ing, asked McKrola’s attor-
ney to have the agreement
signed and submitted to the
court to amend the release
agreement.
Miller confirmed he would
be the prosecuting attorney,
not Grant County District
Attorney Jim Carpenter.
In a Dec. 23 press release,
Carpenter said the charges
stem from events at a party
in the 400 block of Southwest
Brent Street in John Day,
Dec. 19, involving numerous
minors and alcohol.
COPS AND COURTS
Arrests and citations in the
Blue Mountain Eagle are taken
from the logs of law enforce-
ment agencies. Every effort is
made to report the court dispo-
sition of arrest cases.
Grant County Sheriff
The Grant County Sheriff’s
Office reported the following
for the week of March 3:
Concealed
handgun
licenses: 10
Average inmates: 8
Bookings: 6
Releases: 7
Arrests: 1
Citations: 0
Fingerprints: 2
Civil papers: 20
Warrants processed: 4
Assistance/Welfare check:
0
Search and Rescue: 0
Grant County Justice
Court
Violation of basic rule:
Douglas J. Norris, 52, Mead,
Washington, Feb. 5, 79/55
zone, fined $265.
Exceeding speed limit:
Kayla D. Lambeth, 26, John
Day, April 25, 75/65 zone,
fined $165; Brenda L. Thomp-
son, 38, Canyon City, Feb. 8,
82/65 zone, fined $265.
Driving while suspended:
Shawn C. Kite, 52, Prairie City,
Feb. 5, fined $440.
Driving uninsured: Sean
McGee, 24, John Day, Jan. 16,
fined $265; Shawn C. Kite, 52,
Prairie City, Feb. 3, fined $265.
Careless
driving–acci-
dent: Jonathan R. Haskins Jr.,
18, Prairie City, Feb. 19, fined
$340.
Failure to install interlock
ignition device: Shawn C. Kite,
52, Prairie City, Feb. 5, fined
$440.
No operator’s license: Sean
McGee, 24, John Day, Jan. 16,
fined $265.
Christopher S. Compton
pleaded guilty March 1 to a
count of driving while sus-
pended. Compton was sen-
tenced to 18 months of proba-
tion, 20 hours of community
service and ordered to pay
$1,185 in fees and fines.
Zachary L. Deiter entered
a diversion agreement Feb. 1
for a count of aiding in a wild-
life violation. Deiter pleaded
guilty to a count of aiding in
a wildlife violation and a sep-
arate charge was dismissed.
Deiter was ordered to pay $600
in fines and fees and $500 in a
punitive compensatory fine to
the Oregon Hunters Associ-
ation Turn in Poachers Fund.
His hunting license was also
suspended for three years.
Oregon State Police
March 1: A state trooper
responded to a reported roll-
over crash near milepost 66
on Highway 395B. The inves-
tigation revealed the vehicle
was northbound, negotiating a
downhill curve at a stated 40
mph, when an oncoming com-
mercial motor vehicle (in its
own lane) startled the driver.
The driver swerved to the right
and got into a muddy shoul-
der. The driver was unable to
control the vehicle, which hit
a rock wall, rolled on its side
and slid to a rest in the mid-
dle of the northbound lane.
The driver was not injured, and
the vehicle sustained substan-
tial damage. The vehicle was
removed by Frontier Towing.
Grant County Sheriff’s Office
and Oregon Department of
Transportation assisted at the
scene.
March 3: A state trooper
stopped a known suspended
driver and knew the driver had
a cite-and-release arrest war-
rant out of Umatilla County.
Bryan P. Martin, 43, of Mt.
Vernon was issued a citation
for driving while suspended
and failure to install an inter-
lock ignition device. Martin
was issued a citation in lieu of
custody for a warrant out of
Umatilla County for failure to
appear.
March 4: A state trooper
was driving through the Riv-
erside Mobile Home Park in
John Day when he saw Steven
M. Warrington, 31, of Gran-
ite. The trooper knew War-
rington had two misdemeanor
warrants for his arrest. The
trooper contacted Warrington
and took him into custody. Dis-
patch confirmed both warrants.
Warrington was transported to
the Grant County Jail where he
was lodged on a Grant County
warrant. Per the request of the
Linn County Sheriff’s Office,
the trooper issued Warrington
a citation in lieu of custody on
their warrant.
March 5: Oregon State
Police saw a vehicle drive from
Apple Road, which accesses
Rocky Mountain Dispen-
sary. As the trooper followed
the vehicle, he saw it weav-
ing within the lane and cross-
ing over or driving on the cen-
ter line. The trooper stopped
the vehicle at about milepost
158. After contacting the occu-
pants, the trooper learned that
the two occupants in the vehi-
cle were on parole out of Crook
County, with a “no marijuana”
condition to their parole. When
asked, the passenger admit-
ted that he just purchased mar-
ijuana. During a probable cause
search, the trooper seized four
containers of marijuana, total-
ing about 4 grams of marijuana.
The trooper attempted tele-
phone calls to their parole offi-
cers, but was unable to reach
them.
March 5: OSP stopped a
vehicle for speeding in Prairie
City. Upon contact, the driver
showed signs of impairment
and admitted to smoking mari-
juana minutes earlier after leav-
ing the dispensary in John Day.
The driver consented to a stan-
dardized field sobriety test and
performed poorly. Anthony
E. Menchaca, 28, Caldwell,
Idaho, was arrested for driving
under the influence of intox-
icants and was transported to
the Grant County Jail where he
consented to a breath test, with a
final result of 0.00%. The driver
was cited for driving under the
influence of intoxicants–drug,
and the vehicle was released to
a friend.
March 6: A John Day Fish
and Wildlife trooper encoun-
tered a crashed and aban-
doned vehicle at milepost 32.5
on Highway 395B. The south-
bound Toyota pickup left the
roadway and struck an embank-
ment before rolling and com-
ing to an uncontrolled stop, on
its wheels, in an irrigation ditch.
The driver was later contacted
at his residence, and he said that
he swerved to avoid a coyote in
the road.
Dispatch
John Day dispatch worked
121 calls during the week of
March 1-7, including:
• John Day Police
Department
March 3: John Guthridge,
57, of Prairie City was cited
during a traffic stop on High-
way 26 near milepost 163.
March 6: Warned a driver
for speeding on Highway 395C
near milepost 1.
• Oregon State Police
March 1: Along with the
Grant County Sheriff’s Office,
responded to a noninjury crash
on Highway 395B.
March 3: Advised of a driv-
ing complaint on Highway
395S.
• Grant County Sheriff’s
Office
March 1: Arrested Thomas
E. Pfeifer, 51, of Prairie City
on a Grant County warrant on
North Cozart Avenue.
March 3: Received a report
of criminal mischief on North
McHaley Street.
March 3: Received a report
Strawberry Mountain Law, PC
206 S. Humbolt Street • Canyon City, OR 97820
541-575-5750 • office@strawberrymountainlaw.com
of a felon in possession of a fire-
arm on North McHaley Street.
March 6: Received informa-
tion about a motor vehicle crash
on Highway 395C near mile-
post 32.
• John Day ambulance
March 3: Responded for an
elderly man on Bragga Way.
March 3: Responded for a
woman with pain at a hotel on
West Main Street.
March 4: Responded for a
patient with severe abdominal
pain on North Johnson Avenue.
March 6: Responded for a
74-year-old woman with dif-
ficulty breathing on North
McHaley Avenue.
March 6: Responded for a
60-year-old woman with dif-
ficulty breathing on East Fifth
Street.
March 7: Responded for an
87-year-old man who fell and
injured his head on Juniper
Lane.
March 7: Responded for a
77-year-old man who fell and
was complaining of hip pain on
Valley View Drive.
• John Day fire
March 1: Along with Ore-
gon Trail Electric Cooperative,
advised of a power line throw-
ing sparks in John Day on the
corner of South Canyon Street
and Southwest First Street.
March 4: Dispatched for a
report of a cat stuck in a tree on
West Main Street.
• Mt. Vernon fire
March 7: Along with
GCSO and John Day rural fire,
responded for structures on fire
on Highway 26.
Kati Dunn, Kyra Rohner,
Greg Goebel, Thomas Boone,
Fianna MacGregor-Whitman,
Marcus Oatman
• Criminal Law • Family Law • Wills & Probate • Notary Public
S234533-1
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR FIRE CONSULTANT
Morrow County Public Works Projects - Morrow County, Oregon
Morrow County, Oregon, requests proposals for a qualified Fire Consultant
to provide services for Morrow County Parks. Contractors submitting qualifica-
tions shall be considered based upon the following general evaluation criteria:
1. Fee schedule.
2. Experience.
3. Method of approach.
Copies of the Request for Qualifications may be obtained from Morrow County
Public Works, P.O. Box 428, 365 W Hwy 74,
Lexington, Oregon 97839, (541) 989-9500,
spointer@co.morrow.or.us
Complete proposals will be accepted at
the same address no later than 4:00 p.m.,
March 4, 2021. Any questions or concerns
may be addressed to Sandi Pointer.
S234688-1
