NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
A5
County looking into moving 911 dispatch center to the airport
Emergency manager:
Current dispatch is
‘in a hole’
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
The county is looking
into the possibility of mov-
ing the 911 dispatch cen-
ter into a building near the
Grant County Regional Air-
port in John Day.
Paul Gray, the county’s
emergency manager, said
a new location for the dis-
patch center — which is its
own agency — would give
it better coverage.
Gray said the dispatch
center needs to be better
positioned up at the airport,
giving it a line of sight to
multiple towers throughout
the county.
“Right now, you have a
Eagle file photo
Cammie Haney works in the Grant County Emergency Communications Agency’s dispatch center
in the John Day Fire Hall.
dispatch center that is down
in a hole,” he said.
Gray said this was the
Umatilla County sheriff’s
deputy kills chimpanzee
to help save woman
By Phil Wright
EO Media Group
A Umatilla County sher-
iff’s deputy on Sunday morn-
ing, June 20, killed an adult male
chimpanzee at the site of the for-
mer nonprofit named after the
primate.
Sheriff’s deputies, along
with Pendleton police and fire,
responded at about 8 a.m. to
42251 Reith Road, the home
of Tamara Brogoitti and her
chimpanzee, Buck, which has
resided there for approximately
17 years, according to a news
release from the sheriff’s office.
Brogoitti called for help because
Buck was out of his cage and
had bit her adult daughter, who
is 50, multiple times.
Brogoitti reported her daugh-
ter was trapped in the basement
bedroom and needed immediate
medical assistance, the sheriff’s
office reported.
But to render aid to her, a
sheriff’s deputy put down the
chimp at Brogoitti’s request.
“The chimp was dispatched
by one shot to the head,” accord-
ing to the sheriff’s office.
The daughter suffered sev-
eral bites to her torso, arms and
Contributed photo/Buck Brogoitti
Animal Rescue
This photo from 2015 shows
Buck, the adult male chimpan-
zee Tamara Brogoitti cared for
at her ranch near Pendleton. A
Umatilla County sheriff’s dep-
uty on Sunday, June 20, shot
and killed the primate after
it attacked Brogoitti’s adult
daughter.
legs, the sheriff’s office reported,
and medics rendered aid and
rushed her and her mother to St.
Anthony Hospital, Pendleton.
Brogoitti from 2010 to early
2019 operated the Buck Bro-
goitti Animal Rescue at her
ranch. The nonprofit primarily
housed and cared for horses the
sheriff’s office seized in abuse
and neglect cases.
first meeting. It included
Grant County Sheriff Todd
McKinley,
Emergency
Communications Agency
Dispatch Manager Valerie
Maynard, County Judge
Scott Myers and a consul-
tant from an architectural
firm that installed the ret-
rofitting at Harney County
Jail.
Gray emphasized that
the project is still in its
infancy but that the goal is
to bring in more partners to
make it more affordable. He
said one of the reasons the
county has not tossed the
idea around is because of
the high cost.
He said the group is
looking at getting the fed-
eral government to cover at
least 75% while the partners
would come up with the
remaining 25%.
He said those funding
streams could be through
a request for congressional
funds or the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency.
He said they would likely
figure out the cost after they
have brought in interested
partners and come up with
how big of a building they
would need.
Gray said the dispatch
center is reliant on out-
dated microwave radio
waves, which leaves the
county vulnerable to los-
ing its dispatch if a micro-
wave link were ever to
go down.
John Day City Man-
ager Nick Green said the
cost to finish off the inside
office space of the current
911 dispatch center was
$342,915. He said that does
not include the price of the
exterior structure. He said
the entire cost was over a
million dollars.
“I don’t think you could
build something like that
to the same standard today
for less than a million,”
he said.
Olive Lake Campground closed
temporarily for hazard tree removal
Blue Mountain Eagle
The North Fork John
Day Ranger District has
temporarily closed Olive
Lake Campground until
approximately June 30
while contractors work to
clear hazard trees within
the campground. This tem-
porary closure includes
portions of Forest Roads
10, 10-480 and 10-481 that
access the campground,
boat launch and east side
of the lake. Portions of the
popular lakeside trail 3169
are also closed within the
area.
“We know that every-
one loves Olive Lake and
is eager to come up now
that warm weather is here,”
said District Ranger Paula
Guenther. “We appreciate
the public’s patience and
understanding while we
finish up this year’s haz-
ard tree removal and get
the campground ready for
visitors.”
A mountain pine bee-
tle outbreak at Olive Lake
Campground
severely
impacted lodgepole pine
spanning
approximately
250 acres surrounding
the lake. This infestation
has resulted in large num-
bers of hazard trees in the
campground that need to
be removed before the area
can be opened to the pub-
lic. Hazard trees are dead or
dying trees in areas where
they could fall on forest vis-
itors at picnic tables or in
campsites, parked vehicles
in day use areas or struc-
tures such as outhouses.
Umatilla National For-
est staff began clearing
hazard trees in 2020 on the
road leading to and in areas
surrounding the docks,
boat ramp, picnic sites and
campsites on the northeast
side of the lake. The con-
tract work this summer is
the second phase to mit-
igate hazards caused by
the mountain pine beetle
infestation and will focus
on clearing out the major-
ity of the trees surround-
ing sites 1-14 and thinning
out trees around sites 15-27
to reduce competition for
nutrients, water and sun-
light. The public is asked
to respect the closure while
work is ongoing.
Visitors
are
also
reminded that the Olive
Lake dam is an aging struc-
ture and the headgate on
the intake to the historic
Fremont Power waterline
is inoperable. The For-
est Service has tentative
maintenance work planned
around the dam this sum-
mer, including installing
water level detection and
an early warning detection
alarm system.
A small portion of Olive
Lake itself is closed, indi-
cated by floating buoys
that indicate the area off
the dam where monitor-
ing instruments and head-
gate controls are located.
Visitors should be aware
that late in the season, the
hiking trail and spillway
will be closed for public
safety while contractors
remove old logs and debris
that threaten to block flow
through the spillway.
Olive Lake is a popular
mountain lake and camp-
ground located 12 miles
west of Granite. The nat-
ural lake was deepened by
a 30-foot-high dam built
in the early 1900s by the
Fremont Power Company
to provide hydroelectric
power, generated at the Fre-
mont Powerhouse, to the
then-booming gold mining
community.
For more information
about the closure areas or
permitted recreation activ-
ities on Olive Lake, con-
tact the North Fork John
Day Ranger District at
541-427-3231.
The public is reminded
that as sites reopen services
may not be available. At
Olive Lake, two outhouses
are available at the north
end of the campground.
The forest cannot guarantee
restrooms that are open will
be routinely serviced and
those utilizing these facil-
ities are doing so at their
own discretion. Forest vis-
itors should come prepared
with personal hygiene
items, including hand sani-
tizer and toilet paper. Addi-
tionally, be prepared to
pack out any items brought
on site.
More information about
the Umatilla National For-
est is available at https://
www.fs.usda.gov/umatilla.
COPS AND COURTS
Grant County Circuit
Court
A charge of harassment
against Tina R. Hand of Prai-
rie City allegedly commit-
ted April 4 was dismissed
June 16 based on a motion
by Grant County District
Attorney Jim Carpenter stat-
ing a necessary witness has
become unavailable.
A charge of harassment
against Mathew P. Walker of
John Day allegedly commit-
ted Feb. 19 was dismissed
June 21 based on a motion by
Grant County Deputy District
Attorney Riccola Voigt stat-
ing the victim has become
uncooperative.
Grant County Sheriff
June 15: Dispatched to
Riverside Trailer Park for a
report of illegal fireworks.
June 16: Justin Scheide-
gger, 26, of John Day was
cited for illegal fireworks on
Bridge Street.
June 18: Responded to a
911 call in John Day.
June 19: Arrested Saman-
tha Jones, 34, of John Day
for harassment on West Main
Street.
• Grant County Sheriff’s
Office
June 16: Responded to
Grant Union High School for
suspicious circumstances.
June 16: Responded to
a Forest Service ATV crash
with the John Day ambulance
on Highway 395 and Forest
Road 3925.
June 17: Responded to a
report of criminal mischief at
the Crescent Campground.
June 17: Sheila Fries, 52,
of Kirkland, Washington,
was cited for speeding, 47/30
zone.
June 17: Dispatched to
Depot Park for suspicious
circumstances.
June 18: Assisted John
Day Police with a trespass
call on Canyon Boulevard.
June 18: Arrested Caleb
Fechtig, 27, John Day, in
front of the Oregon State
Police Office for driv-
ing under the influence of
intoxicants.
June 18: Cited Beulah
Bullard, 99, Mt. Vernon, for
speeding, 51/30 zone, on
West Main Highland.
Dispatch
• John
Department
Day
June 20: Responded to
Chuck’s Diner with Oregon
State Police on a report of an
unwanted subject.
June 20: Responded to a
business on a report of theft
of fuel.
June 20: Cited Daisy
Goebel, 24, John Day, on
Highway 26 near milepost
140 for not having a valid
driver’s license.
• John Day ambulance
June 16:Responded for an
80-year-old woman on River
Lane who was unresponsive.
June 17: Dispatched to
Main Street for a 61-year-
old woman with leg and feet
swelling along with aches
and pains.
June 19: Along with Sen-
eca ambulance, paged to A
Avenue for an 88-year-old
woman who fell down.
June 20: Responded to
Depot RV Park for an elderly
woman who was ill.
June 20: Along with
the Grant County Sheriff’s
Office, responded to the Mid-
dle Fork, near milepost 35 to
a motorcycle crash with an
injury.
Serving Eastern Oregon since 1959!
Police
Pharmacy • Hallmark Cards • Gifts • Liquor Store
S246268-1
The Grant County Sher-
iff’s Office reported the fol-
lowing for the week of June
16:
Concealed
handgun
licenses: 9
Average inmates: 9
Bookings: 4
Releases: 4
Arrests: 1
Citations: 3
Fingerprints: 2
Civil papers: 9
Warrants processed: 4
Assistance/Welfare check:
1
Search and Rescue: 0
June 16: Cited Noah
Fulfer, 27, Redmond, for vio-
lation of the posted speed,
45/25 zone, and driving
uninsured.
June 14: Cited Spencer
Leifheit, 44, Mt. Vernon, for
violation of a city ordinance.
Cited Kelly Olson, 60, Mt.
Vernon, for violation of a city
ordinance.
Heppner
Condon
Boardman
(541) 676-9158
(541) 256-1200
(541) 481-9474
www.MurraysDrug.com
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Arrests and citations in
the Blue Mountain Eagle are
taken from the logs of law
enforcement agencies. Every
effort is made to report the
court disposition of arrest
cases.
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