CONGRATULATIONS, GRANT UNION 2021 GRADUATES! | PAGES B1-2, B9-10
Wednesday, June 9, 2021
153nd Year • No. 23 • 20 Pages • $1.50
MyEagleNews.com
The centennial
’62 Days Celebration
Eagle fi le photo
Can-can girls dance in the ‘62 Days Parade in Canyon City in 2017.
Event marking discovery of gold in
Canyon City in 1862 celebrates 100th year
City’s unique and colorful history will be
on display.
Colby Farrell, of the Whiskey Gulch
rant County’s ’62 Days Cel- Gang that organizes the celebration, said
ebration will mark its 100th historical events like ’62 Days are essen-
year when the two-day fes- tial in educating younger generations
tival
about the rich his-
kicks
tory of Canyon
off June 11 at Sels
City.
Brewery in Can-
Farrell
said
yon City.
keeping
the
The
event,
“spirit of 1862”
which marks the
alive by dressing
discovery of gold
up in costumes
in Canyon City
from the mid-
in 1862, will fea-
1800s and reen-
ture vendors on
acting shootouts
both nights of the
and hangings in
Contributed photo/Whiskey Gulch Gang the town square is
festival.
With a parade, The Whiskey Gulch Gang fi res off their cannon about having fun
a mock gun fight, in the early 1960s.
and remembering
a mock hanging in
how Grant County
the town square, gold
came to be — the
panning lessons for kids, the 5K Gold discovery of gold in Canyon City.
Rush Run and Walk and a cornhole tour-
See ‘62 Days, Page A10
nament, the “spirit of 1862” and Canyon
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
G
Jack Young to lead
’62 Days Celebration parade
McDaniel, Young said, left the com-
pany a short time later, and he went
on to run the business for over two
As Canyon City’s ’62 Days Cele- decades. His youngest son, Russ
bration turns 100 years old this week, Young, now runs the business.
the event organizers tapped longtime
He said Russ had done more with
Grant County resident Jack
the company than he ever
Young to be the parade’s
did during his tenure. Iron
grand marshal.
Triangle started as a lum-
Heading up a parade will
ber and road construction
not be Young’s fi rst rodeo.
business, Jack said. He said
He and his late wife, Mer-
Russ expanded the compa-
ilee, served as the grand mar-
ny’s reach into oil, restau-
shals of the Grant County
rants, convenience stores and
Jack Young
Fair parade in 1999.
several properties across the
Young and his late wife’s infl u- county. Moreover, Jack said Russ car-
ence on the county is far-reaching.
ried on the spirit of giving back to the
He and former partner Doug community.
McDaniel founded Grant Coun-
See Young, Page A10
ty-based Iron Triangle in 1982.
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
Employers: Extra unemployment causing labor shortage
Economist: Grant County has lowest labor
force participation rate in Eastern Oregon
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
As employers in Grant
County and across the state
scramble to fi ll jobs, some
blame the $300 per week sup-
plemental unemployment ben-
efi t for keeping Oregonians
from going back to work.
A group of Eastern Oregon
elected offi cials that included
County Commissioner Jim
Hamsher penned a May 25 let-
ter to Gov. Kate Brown urg-
ing her to end the federal ben-
efi ts program for unemployed
Oregonians.
“Current unemployment
recipients, especially those
receiving additional federal
unemployment benefi ts, are
choosing to stay home rather
than look for work,” the letter
reads.
While the Oregon Depart-
ment
of
Employment
announced last month that it
would resume work search
requirements, which had been
suspended because of the pan-
demic, Oregon does not appear
to have any intention of end-
ing the supplemental fed-
eral unemployment before its
scheduled end in September.
So far, nearly 25 states
— all with Republican gov-
ernors — ended the weekly
payments.
Bill Wyllie
Impact on local employers
Chester’s Thriftway Opera-
tions Manager Bill Wyllie said
the company boosted its start-
ing wage to $15 per hour, up
from $13.50, in John Day and
its two other locations June 6.
Department managers were
bumped up to $20-25 per hour
and supervisors to $16-20 per
hour.
He said the company
decided on the wage hike after
seeing a drop in applicants in
mid-January and early Feb-
ruary. Wyllie said the wage
increase, coupled with paid
vacation, health and dental
insurance is intended attract
workers.
Wyllie said the company
received about seven appli-
cations in the month of May,
and they have already received
seven applications in June after
announcing the increase.
Wyllie said the wage hike
comes as infl ation contin-
ues to raise prices on virtually
everything.
“We’re seeing an infl ation
rate beyond anything I’ve seen
in a long time,” he said.
According to the United
Nations’ food price index,
international food prices rose
for the 12th consecutive month
in May, up nearly 40%.
The labor shortage for
restaurant owners follows
a tumultuous year as they
adjusted to ever-changing
shutdowns, slowdowns and
restrictions.
Brian Hubbard, the owner of
both Grubsteak Restaurant and
the Ugly Truth Bar and Grill,
said a wage increase would get
passed on to the customer.
He said price increases
are more burdensome in rural
communities than in more
densely populated areas with
more money fl owing into the
local economies.
See Labor, Page A10