NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Grant County commissioner
announces US Senate bid
Sam Palmer seeks
GOP nod in race to
unseat Wyden
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Grant
County Commissioner Sam
Palmer has announced his
bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden next year.
Palmer, a Republican in his
fi rst term as a commissioner,
said he was disillusioned with
Wyden and fellow Democratic
Sen. Jeff Merkley’s River
Democracy Act. The federal
bill would add nearly 4,700
miles of wild and scenic rivers
across the state, and Palmer
called it the tipping point in his
decision to run for the Senate.
The River Democracy Act
has been met with criticism
in at least three rural Oregon
counties. County commis-
sioners worry the proposal
— which widens protective
stream buff ers from a quar-
ter-mile to a half-mile on both
sides — will lead to more sig-
nifi cant restrictions for timber
harvest, livestock grazing, and
outdoor recreation that power
their local economies.
Palmer told the Eagle that
he and other county commis-
sioners in Eastern Oregon
were never contacted directly
by Wyden’s staff when his
offi ce solicited nominations
from the public for proposed
wild and scenic river desig-
nations in October 2019. The
nominations were announced
in February 2020.
In October 2020 — four
months before the bill was
introduced — Wyden sent
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant County Commissioner Sam Palmer listens during the
Wednesday, Sept. 22, session of the county court.
two letters to the Association
of Oregon Counties seeking
input from local elected offi -
cials. However, Palmer told
the Eagle he and fellow com-
missioners on this side of the
state deserved a more personal
approach.
Palmer, a 57-year-old
John Day native who works
as a nurse, told the Eagle he
is campaigning on four main
issues: forest health, immigra-
tion, mental health, and work-
ing with local governments.
Forest health
On forest health, Palmer
told the Eagle he wanted to
stop the megafi res that fi ll the
air with smoke, which he said
carries dozens of cancer-caus-
ing chemicals.
He said year after year,
people’s homes are burning up
and people are dying. Palmer
told the Eagle that the Canyon
Creek Fire of 2015 was what
prompted him to run for the
commissioner seat two years
ago.
He said he could not eff ect
the change he would like to
see from his county position.
Going back to the River
Democracy Act, he said the
bill locks up 3 million acres
of forest and could eliminate
mechanical harvest of timber
and forest thinning.
Wyden’s press secretary,
Hank Stern, disputed that
claim, telling the Eagle that
the bill aims to mitigate wild-
fi re risk in riparian areas that
haven’t been prioritized until
now.
Immigration
Palmer said thousands of
children on the border are
missing and an open bor-
der does not allow for a free
nation.
“They’re human traffi ck-
ing, they’re sex traffi cking,
they’re drug traffi cking, and
there is migrant worker traf-
fi cking,” he said.
Palmer also claimed that
Wyden had smuggled an
undocumented
immigrant
across the border. In contrast,
Palmer said, he bought a Mex-
ican national a pickup truck so
he could go back to Mexico
for two years — going from
making $20 an hour to $8 a
day and leaving his family —
while he went through the nat-
uralization process to become
a U.S. citizen.
Palmer told the Eagle that
there is a Youtube video of
Wyden smuggling the immi-
grant over the border.
While Palmer did not share
the video with the Eagle, Stern
said in an email that he is
assuming Palmer is referring
to a case from July 2019, when
Wyden helped a woman who
was eight months pregnant and
suff ering from life-threatening
complications come to the U.S.
for medical treatment.
Mental health and
addiction
Noting that Oregon has one
of the highest rates of teen sui-
cide in the country, Palmer said
Wyden has been in offi ce for
decades and has not meaning-
fully addressed drug addiction,
homelessness and a “plethora”
of other issues.
Palmer said he would work
on the ground and talk with
mental health professionals
about what they need.
“We need a new set of eyes
on these issues,” he said.
Working with local
governments
If elected, Palmer said he
would improve communica-
tion with local governments,
with staff ers directly contact-
ing county commissioners, city
councilors or state representa-
tives before attempting to push
through sweeping legislation
like the River Democracy Act.
“Whether you’re Repub-
lican or Democrat,” he said,
“you want to be heard.”
He also pledged to take a
bipartisan approach in the Sen-
ate. He noted that he and Grant
County Sheriff Todd McKinley
have began talks with the city
of John Day to hammer out a
transition plan and potential
law enforcement contract after
voters in John Day rejected a
levy to fund the city’s police
department.
He told the Eagle that he
caught fl ak from the Grant
County Republican Commit-
tee for meeting with organiz-
ers behind the Project Turn-
key grant, a statewide program
that converts motels and hotels
to transitional or emergency
housing.
In May, residents voted
down the plan after an emo-
tional — and at times hostile
— public meeting. Organizers,
which included Community
Counseling Solutions and other
stakeholders from various gov-
ernment agencies, faced criti-
cism for a lack of transparency.
What’s next?
As his campaign ramps up,
Palmer said, he might have to
“pick and choose” among his
priorities as he heads into the
May primaries and potentially
the November 2022 general
election.
While his county commis-
sioner position is supposed to
be 13 hours a week, he said
he has been putting in 40 to 50
hours a week on average. And,
in the early days of COVID-19,
he put in 18-hour days at the
Emergency Operations Center,
which the county established
to respond to the coronavirus.
Palmer served as the center’s
public information offi cer and
liaison from the Grant County
Court before the EOC came
under widespread criticism
for overspending its $125,000
budget by roughly $75,000.
He said if the Senate cam-
paign begins to impact his
ability to carry out his duties
as a county commissioner, he
would step aside.
Grant Union High School adds four new teachers
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Grant Union High
School has four more teachers, and
enrollment is holding steady com-
pared to last year.
Ryan Gerry, Grant Union’s prin-
cipal, said science teacher Jessica
Suchorski and math teacher Jess
Bigsby moved over from Hum-
bolt Elementary School. Meanwhile,
Spanish teacher Marcus Teague and
computers and business teacher Stacy
Durych are new additions to the
district.
“All four teachers have been a
great addition to the staff here at GU,
and we are looking forward to great
things from all,” Gerry said.
Gerry said the school had a busy
summer with projects, such as making
sure every Grant Union student has a
Chromebook device.
As a whole, Gerry said, he said he
believes having a device in every stu-
dent’s hand will enhance participation
and engagement while providing stu-
dents with continual access to their
courses.
According to Gerry, another proj-
ect involved redesigning the special
education department, resulting in
some room shifting.
As part of this project, he said the
school has done a complete makeover
on the school store, with a new living
skills center and new kitchen.
Gerry said the next project in the
works at Grant Union is a remodel on
the school’s computers and business
classroom. That project is expected
to be completed during the holiday
break.
Student play Friday at Prairie City
Blue Mountain Eagle
PRAIRIE CITY — The Missoula
Children’s Theatre is returning to work
with the Prairie City School District’s
elementary students. The Montana
troupe has traveled to the area to work
with local students a number of times
Eagle fi le photo
From left, Marty
Wampler, Alexis
Rindlisbacher, Jacob
Wheeler, Michel Hitz
and Devin Packard
practice a song and
dance for a per-
formance with the
Missoula Children’s
Theatre in 2007.
in past years.
A performance of “The Emperor’s
New Clothes” will be given at 6 p.m.
on Friday, Oct. 1, in the new gym at
Prairie City High School.
For more information, call the
Prairie City School District offi ce at
541-820-3314.
A3
Black
Butte
Fire area
roads
reopen
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Malheur National For-
est has reopened all bound-
ary-area roads in the Black
Butte Fire closure area, includ-
ing Forest Service Roads
16 and 1675, the agency
announced in a news release
on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
Reopening the roads
allows access to the North
Fork Campground, an area
popular with hunters.
Forest managers remind
the public to be careful when
recreating in the area. The
Black Butte Fire is still burn-
ing in the southeast corner of
Grant County. There will con-
tinue to be fi re traffi c for sev-
eral weeks, and some pub-
lic use restrictions remain in
place.
For the most up-to-date
information, check the Mal-
heur National Forest website
at https://www.fs.usda.gov/
main/malheur/home.
Malheur
National
Forest
eases fi re
restrictions
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Due to
increased moisture levels, the
Malheur National Forest is
easing some restrictions on
forest lands.
As of Wednesday, Sept. 22,
fi re managers have reduced
public use restrictions to
Phase B and commercial use
restrictions to Level II across
the Malheur, the agency said
in a news release.
Fire danger remains high
on the south zone (Emigrant
Creek Ranger District) and is
reduced to moderate on the
north zone (the Blue Moun-
tain and Prairie districts).
Campfi res, charcoal fi res
and stove fi res are still prohib-
ited except within designated
recreation sites on the forest.
Additional
restrictions
remain in place, including
tight limits on smoking, using
a chainsaw between 1 and
8 p.m., operating an internal
or external combustion engine
without a spark arrestor and
driving off -road.
S258720-1
Sponsor:
Serving Eastern Oregon since 1959!
S235004-1
Pharmacy • Hallmark Cards • Gifts • Liquor Store
Boardman
(541) 481-9474
Greater Prairie City Community Association
October Classes
www.MurraysDrug.com
Beginning Crochet
You will create three
projects to learn
beginning crochet
All materials included.
Where:
Prairie City Community
Center
When:
Wednesday evenings
starting October 6,2021
6:30-8:30pm
Living in Community,
Loving People
With my wife's nursing, prayer from
church, meals & support from friends &
neighbors, I beat a bout with Covid 19.
The thing I missed most during my
quarantine was the ability to just go to the
store; so during this terrible time, if you are
quarantined with Covid, give me a call &
I will pick up & deliver to you fare free any
small item or two you may need from
Chester's or even prescriptions from Lens.
No tobacco or alcohol please, thank you.
Beading class
Netted Bracelets
All materials included
for two bracelets
Where: Prairie City
Community Center
When: October Tuesdays
starting October 5,2021
6:30-8:30pm
S260959-1
Call 503-913-4551 to enroll
(leave a message and we will call back)
Cost for each class is $30 (ages 12 to adult)
Looking forward to learning together!
Richie, John Day Taxi, 541-620-4255.
S261690-1
S263042-1
Condon
(541) 256-1200
S257502-1
Heppner
(541) 676-9158