NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
A3
City Council pulls the plug on John Day Police
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — The John Day City
Council has voted to suspend the city’s
police department starting at midnight,
Oct. 31.
The unanimous vote came on Tuesday,
Oct. 12, in the face of what city offi cials
say is an insurmountable budget shortfall.
The decision follows a failed bal-
lot measure last summer that would have
raised enough money to fund the depart-
ment for the next fi ve years. The pro-
posed local option levy actually attracted
more yes votes (284) than no votes (169).
But the Aug. 17 special election required
a double majority for the levy to pass —
a majority of votes cast plus a majority of
registered voters casting ballots — and a
low turnout doomed the measure.
The council referred the measure to the
voters after determining that the city did
not have enough money to continue fund-
ing police services and still balance its
budget.
The city has asked for an agreement
Eagle fi le photo
The Malheur Lumber Co. mill in John Day.
Crane operator hurt in
explosion at lumber mill
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — A crane
operator was injured in an
explosion at the Malheur Lum-
ber mill shortly after 5 p.m. on
Wednesday, Oct. 13.
The 46-year-old man, whose
name has not been released,
was operating a crane at the
mill when it bumped into a
power line, possibly causing an
electrical charge to ground out
through the big machine, Grant
County Sheriff Todd McKinley
told the Eagle.
The operator moved the
crane away from the power line
and got down on the ground
to check for damage, at which
point one of the vehicle’s tires
exploded, injuring the operator.
As bystanders began to gather
around, a second tire blew
up, but no one else was hurt,
according to the sheriff .
“Everybody in town heard
the booms, and those were the
tires,” McKinley said. “Those
were big tires.”
The man is employed by
Boise Crane. The city of John
Day contracted with the Idaho
company for two cranes to
place a new pedestrian bridge
across the John Day River at the
Hill Family Park on North Can-
ton Street. That work was com-
pleted on Tuesday, Oct. 12.
Malheur Lumber manager
Rich Fulton said his company
had also contracted with Boise
Crane to move some heavy
equipment at the mill before
the cranes went back to Idaho.
Fulton confi rmed that no
one besides the crane opera-
tor was injured and said prop-
erty damage from the incident
was limited to the crane itself,
which had a broken window
in addition to the two ruined
tires.
John Day City Manager
Nick Green said he’d been
told the injured crane operator
was being treated at a Portland
hospital and was expected to
recover, but that information
could not be confi rmed by the
newspaper.
Oregon
Occupational
Safety and Health has opened
an investigation into the inci-
dent, a spokesman for the
agency told the newspaper.
Calls to Boise Cascade for
additional information about
the incident were not returned.
The Grant County Sher-
iff ’s Offi ce, Oregon State Police
and John Day Ambulance
responded to the incident.
• Accept a $60,000 state grant to pay for
planning and engineering for a project to
build aff ordable housing using 3D-printed
concrete construction. The cities of Burns
and Lakeview, which have similar plans,
joined John Day in the grant application.
The city of John Day is partnering with
Alquist 3D and ECONorthwest in the proj-
ect. The fi rst phase would involve the con-
struction of 10 to 12 dwelling units in The
Ridge development to provide aff ordable
housing for disabled veterans and other dis-
advantaged groups.
• Accept a $1 million state grant to
fi nance site improvements adjacent to the
new Kam Wah Chung Interpretive Center,
which the state plans to build on the site of
Gleason Park and Gleason Pool. The state
is in the process of purchasing the park land
from the city.
The council also heard a presentation
from Straw to Gold, a Portland fi rm that is
developing a marketing campaign for the
city. Principals Benjamin Ariff and Adam
Meff ord said they hope to have their new
“Discover John Day” website up and run-
ning by March.
Appointments
needed for
COVID testing
Blue Mountain Eagle
With the most recent
surge in coronavirus cases
apparently starting to taper
off , the Strawberry Wil-
derness Community Clinic
is making some changes
in how it handles patients
showing possible symptoms
of COVID-19, the clinic
announced in a news release.
The clinic set up a tent
in the parking lot this sum-
mer to handle increased
patient volume, but now that
patient numbers are declin-
ing, the tent is coming down
and the clinic will no lon-
ger see COVID patients on
a walk-in basis.
Instead, anyone with
mild to moderate symptoms
of COVID-19 is asked to call
541-575-0404 to make an
appointment. Patients will be
instructed on where to park
and will be able to remain
in their vehicles for testing.
Symptoms can include fever
or chills, cough, mild respira-
tory or breathing issues, mus-
cle or body aches, headache,
recent loss of taste or smell,
sore throat, congestion or
runny nose, nausea, vomit-
ing and diarrhea.
The clinic, located at 180
Ford Road in John Day, is
open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Monday-Friday.
Harvest festival draws a crowd
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
Upwards of 600 people came
out to the Grant County Fair-
grounds for the county’s annual
fall festival Friday and Saturday,
Oct. 15 and 16.
Organizers said this year’s
goal was to celebrate the coun-
ty’s frontier heritage and the tal-
ent within the community.
The Best of the Old West
Harvest Festival and Quilt Show
drew 26 vendors, according to
Zach Denney, one of the event’s
organizers. Denney, a rural cat-
alyst with Oregon RAIN, told
the Eagle that all the vendors did
“incredibly well.”
Local vendor Charity Court-
ney said her blue elderberry
honey, made locally with Grant
with Grant County to provide law enforce-
ment services within the city limits through
the Sheriff ’s Offi ce, but no agreement has
yet been reached. There’s also a chance the
department could be revived if federal grant
funding comes through (see related story on
Page 1).
Suspending the Police Department was
just one item on a busy City Council agenda
at Tuesday’s meeting. In other business, the
council voted to:
• Approve a land exchange agreement
with the Culley family to allow construction
of a trail between the Seventh Street Sports
Complex and the new Hill Family Park.
• Sell four lots at the Airport Industrial
Park for $112,000 to Burnt River Farms,
a diversifi ed cannabis company that also
recently received Planning Commission
approval to open a dispensary on South
Canyon Boulevard.
• Renew the city’s franchise agreement
with Clark’s Disposal for waste hauling and
recycling services for the next 10 years. The
new deal will run through May 23, 2031.
• Amend the fi nancing agreement for the
new water reclamation facility.
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle
A festival goer works on an em-
broidery project on Saturday, Oct.
16, at the Best of the Old West Har-
vest Festival and Quilt Show.
County’s J-5 Beekeeping, had
all but sold out by Saturday
afternoon. Denney said more
than 200 people signed up for
a chance to win a Traeger bar-
becue grill and scores of others
threw their names into the hat for
the festival’s cornhole tourna-
ment and pie-eating contest.
Contributed photo/Oregon Department of Forestry
An air tanker drops retardant on a wildfi re.
ODF declares end to fi re season
Blue Mountain Eagle
Fire season is coming
to an end in this part of the
state, according to the Ore-
gon Department of Forestry.
Fire season will have offi -
cially ended at 12:01 a.m.
on Saturday, Oct. 16, on
ODF’s Central Oregon Dis-
trict, which includes the
John Day area, the agency
announced in a news release.
The Grant County Fire
Defense Board issued a simi-
lar announcement.
Burning of slash piles
and other debris from forest
operations or fuel reduction
projects will not be permit-
ted on ODF-protected lands
until additional precipitation
is received, the agency noted.
However, burning yard
debris and using burn barrels
is allowed as soon as fi re sea-
son ends.
In the John Day Unit,
no permit is required from
ODF for this type of burn-
ing, although people should
check with their nearest
fi re department to fi nd out
about burning regulations
and to see if a local permit
is required.
Yard debris fi res should be
kept small, and any potential
fuels should be cleared from
the surrounding area, accord-
ing to ODF. A shovel, water
or fi re extinguisher should be
kept handy to control the fi re
if need be. Fires should not
be left unattended until they
are dead out and cool to the
touch.
Sponsor:
RON’S GONE WRONG (PG)
Friday
4:20, 7:20
Sat & Sun 1:10, 4:20, 7:20
Mon-Thurs 7:10
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Showing Movies Since 1940!
1809 1st Street • Baker City
 October 22-28 
DUNE
(PG-13)
Friday
4:15, 7:30
Sat & Sun 1:00, 4:15, 7:30
Mon-Thurs 7:00
NO TIME TO DIE
Thursday, Oct. 28
Grant County Repub-
lican Central Committee
Meeting
• 3 to 5 p.m., John Day
Fire Hall, 316 S. Canyon
Blvd.
The meeting will include
a bylaws update, presentation
of the 2022 meeting schedule,
a report from the state plat-
form convention, and a Zoom
meeting with Sandy Mayor
Stan Pulliam, who’s running
for governor, starting at 3:30.
The public is welcome.
W HAT’S
HAPPENING
Sunday, Oct. 31
Halloween Day Clay
Pigeon Shoot
• 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Brad
and Julie Smith’s B Bar J
Ranch, Highway 402 near
milepost 9.
Prizes awarded for wom-
en’s, men’s and kids’ clay
pigeon shoot, which costs $3
per round. Bring your own
pumpkin for the pumpkin
chunkin’ shoot. The event, a
benefi t for Monument High
School’s Flying Tigers Club,
will feature concessions,
a live auction and a des-
sert auction. Halloween cos-
tumes are welcome. A meal
of ribs, beans, cornbread and
corn on the cob will be avail-
able for $12 per person, or
$10 for kids 9 and younger.
For more information, call
541-934-2143.
(PG-13)
Friday
4:00, 7:15
Sat & Sun 12:45, 4:00, 7:15
Mon-Thurs 6:45
**SHOWTIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE. VISIT
OUR WEBSITE OR CALL AHEAD TO VERIFY**
S235004-1
www.eltrym.com
(541) S265268-1
523-2522
Burns
Harney County
Fairgrounds
Sunday
Oct 24
and
Fall Christmas Bazaar
and craft sale
Reclaimed
Furniture
Toys and Games
Lots of local
hand-crafted
items
ADMISSION
• $2 adult (12/older)
• $1 Seniors
• $1 with donation of 2 cans
of food for local food bank
• Ages 11 and younger free
Vendors sign-ups: 541-903-5849
www.centraloregonfleamarket.com
S265411-1
Trinkets
Treasures
Collectibles
One-of-a-kinds
Jewelry
Primitives
Vintage
S226597-1