NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
A3
State to investigate Grant School Board
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Oregon Govern-
ment Ethics Commission
has decided to move for-
ward with an investiga-
tion into whether the Grant
School Board broke the law
during an executive session
on Aug. 19.
The state ethics panel
made the decision on Fri-
day, Oct. 22, after review-
ing a preliminary staff
report on the matter.
At the same time, the
commission decided to drop
school board member Kelly
Stokes from the scope of its
investigation after deter-
mining that Stokes did not
participate in the Aug. 19
executive session, either in
person or by phone.
At issue is whether the
five school board mem-
bers who did participate
may have violated the
state law that governs how
public meetings may be
conducted.
The ethics commis-
sion’s ruling, which came
in response to a complaint
filed by the Blue Moun-
tain Eagle, is not a finding
of fault against the school
board. However, the pre-
liminary staff report makes
it clear that there is ample
supporting information to
warrant a full investigation.
“There appears to be a
substantial objective basis
to believe that a violation
of the executive session
provisions of Oregon Pub-
lic Meetings law may have
occurred on Aug. 19, 2021,
when topics not authorized
under ORS 192.660(2)(f)
may have been discussed,”
the report says in part.
State law allows public
bodies such as the school
board to go into executive
session — where the pub-
lic is barred and reporters
are instructed not to report
on the proceedings — only
in certain narrowly defined
circumstances.
The board had initially
scheduled a public meet-
ing for that day to discuss
requirements for return-
ing to in-person school-
ing, including Gov. Kate
Brown’s order that all
educators, school staff
and volunteers be vac-
cinated against COVID-
19. That meeting was can-
celed seven hours before
its scheduled start time and
replaced with an executive
session “to discuss confi-
dential information.”
Based on a reporter’s
observation of the proceed-
ings, the Eagle believed
the school board’s discus-
sion during the executive
session far exceeded the
legal basis it cited for the
closed-door meeting. When
the newspaper informed
describe the general out-
lines of what was said.
The Eagle filed a com-
plaint with the Oregon
Government Ethics Com-
mission in order to get
clarification on whether
the school board violated
state public meetings law
by discussing broad pol-
icy matters that went far
beyond the “confidential
information” cited in the
meeting announcement.
The Oregon Govern-
ment Ethics Commission
has up to 180 days to com-
plete its investigation. The
commission is scheduled to
consider the results of the
investigation at a public
meeting on April 8.
Grant School Superin-
tendent Bret Uptmor and
School Board Chair Haley
Walker of this view, Upt-
mor defended the board’s
actions and demanded that
the Eagle not print any
information from the exec-
utive session.
State law allows jour-
nalists to report on exec-
utive session discussions
that stray from the specific
parameters used by the
public body to justify the
closed-door meeting.
So far the paper has
refrained from publish-
ing a detailed account of
the school board’s Aug.
19 discussion, although
an Aug. 24 article did
Student aces interview contest
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle
A Grant County Health Department staff er holds up a
COVID-19 rapid test during a testing event on Aug. 30.
Grant County records
13th COVID-19 fatality
Blue Mountain Eagle
Contributed photo
Ryan Gerry, Grant Union’s principal, shakes hands with junior Jasmine Bryers, who won the FFA
district job interview contest in Ontario earlier this month.
the 16-year-old on to work
on a video project explaining
what CASA is like through the
eyes of a child from the foster
care system.
Bryers, who was in and out
of foster care for an extended
period of her life before mov-
ing in with her grandparents,
said she has been interviewing
children in the system.
Bryers said her goal in life
is to overcome her negative
experiences and become the
person she wants to be to help
Thursday, Oct. 28
Grant County Republican
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 platform
convention, and a Zoom meet-
ing with Sandy Mayor Stan Pul-
liam, who’s running for gover-
nor, starting at 3:30. The public
is welcome.
Friday, Oct. 29
Community Coff ee with
Sen. Lynn Findley
• 10 to 11 a.m., Squeeze-In
Restaurant and Deck, 423 W.
Main St., John Day
The Dist. 30 state senator will
meet with constituents to hear
their concerns and answer ques-
tions about topics of interest.
Halloween Party and
Spook House
• 5 to 9 p.m., John day Elks
Lodge, 140 NE Dayton St.
The John Day-Canyon City
Parks and Recreation District
and the John Day Elks Club are
teaming up on this event. Kids
party starts at 5 and runs until 7.
There will be a haunted house as
well as goodie giveaways. The
W HAT’S
HAPPENING
adult will go from 7 to 9 with the
haunted house and open lounge.
Saturday, Oct. 30
Grant County Conserva-
tives All-Grant County Call to
Action
• Noon to 5 p.m., Trowbridge
Pavilion, Grant County Fair-
grounds, 411 NW Bridge St.,
John Day
Topics for discussion will
include development of a citi-
zen-run school cooperative for
Grant County children, a local
political candidate nomina-
tion drive, creating true com-
munity resilience and self-reli-
ance, and moving toward a 2nd
Amendment ordinance for Grant
County.
change the world.
“Being able to give other
kids opportunities to talk
about their experiences is
really empowering,” she said.
As a devout Christian, Bry-
ers said, it is crucial to be of
service to her community.
Moreover, she said she would
have wanted someone in her
life who had a similar experi-
ence to show her that it is still
possible to have a successful
life.
A 4.0 student since she
was a freshman, Bryers said
that after she graduates high
school next year, she plans to
attend Harvard University to
earn a master’s in psychology.
She said getting into Har-
vard has always been a goal
to give her motivation, but she
is also looking at other four-
year schools such as East-
ern Oregon University and
Whitman College for under-
graduate work before moving
on to Harvard to pursue her
master’s.
Another Grant County
resident has died from
COVID-19.
The individual, a 63-year-
old male with underlying
medical conditions, died
on Friday, Oct. 15, at St.
Charles Medical Center in
Bend, according to a news
release issued Oct. 19 by
the Grant County Health
Department.
The man’s name was not
released. Public health offi -
cials in Oregon do not rou-
tinely disclose the names
of people who die from
COVID-19, citing privacy
concerns.
“We encourage everyone
to be respectful as a family
in our community grieves,”
the news release said.
The latest fatality marks
the 13th COVID-related
death of a Grant County res-
ident since the start of the
pandemic. As of Monday,
Oct. 25, Grant County has
recorded a cumulative total
of 1,002 cases of the dis-
ease, Oregon Health Author-
ity statistics show.
Statewide, there have
been a total of 359,733 cases
and 4,295 deaths, according
to OHA data.
As a nation, the United
States has now had 45.5
million cases of COVID-19
and 737,301 COVID-related
deaths, according to infor-
mation compiled by Johns
Hopkins University.
Shawna Clark, DNP, FNP
541-575-1263
235 S. Canyon Blvd. John Day, Oregon 97845
Accepting new Patients! Go to:
www.canyoncreekclinic.com
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A Grant Union High
School student took the top
spot in the job interview con-
test at the FFA district com-
petition in Ontario earlier this
month.
Competing via Zoom,
junior Jasmine Bryers beat out
students from 10 other schools
in the district when she inter-
viewed to intern at Crystal
Peaks Youth Ranch in Bend.
Bryers said the ranch takes
traumatized children and
horses and uses the Christian
faith to heal them both.
“This is a job I actually
want to get when I’m older,”
Bryers said. “So I was pretty
excited about applying for it,
and it made it a lot easier to
interview because I was really
passionate about this compa-
ny’s mission statement.”
Wayne Suchorski, Grant
Union High School ag shop
teacher and FFA adviser,
said that Bryers winning
the job interview contest is
extraordinary.
“We’re all proud of her,
and for her to win this contest
is a big deal,” Suchorski said.
Bryers has been in horse
4-H for three years, She said
she likes to help others in any
way she can and she loves
children.
Currently,
Bryers
is
interning at the Grant-Har-
ney County affi liate of Court
Appointed Special Advocates,
a national association that sup-
ports and promotes court-ap-
pointed advocates for abused
and neglected children. She
was hired for the summer to
work at the farmers market
and harvest festival, but the
organization decided to keep
Prizes awarded for women’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 Mon-
ument High School’s Flying
Tigers Club, will feature con-
cessions, a live auction and a
dessert auction. Halloween cos-
tumes are welcome. A meal of
ribs, beans, cornbread and corn
on the cob will be available for
$12 per person, or $10 for kids 9
and younger. For more informa-
tion, call 541-934-2143.
Trunk or Treat
• 4:30 to 7 p.m., Mt. Vernon
Community Hall, 640 Ingle St.
Participants decorate their
cars for Halloween and fi ll up
the trunks with goodies to hand
out to trick-or-treaters.
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.
TOM CHRISTENSEN
CHRISTENSEN
TOM
CONSTRUCTION
This project was supported by Grant No. 2019-WR-AX-0027 awarded by the office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of
Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the
author(s) and do not necesssarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.
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