NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Pierce, running for governor,
vows to work for Eastern Oregon
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
A3
W H AT’S
HAPPENING
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
FRIDAY, JAN. 21
JOHN DAY — If he’s
elected governor, Bud Pierce
says, he’ll spend part of
every year living east of the
Cascades.
The 65-year-old Salem
physician made that prom-
ise in front of 18 people who
turned out to hear him speak
at the Grant County Regional
Airport on Wednesday, Jan.
12. Pierce fl ew in for the occa-
sion in a private plane on loan
from a campaign supporter,
swooping in to John Day for
a two-hour visit between stops
in Ontario and Baker City.
“I think the governor of
Oregon can best represent the
people if he spends signifi cant
time with the people,” Pierce
said.
He also vowed to have three
representatives from the east
side of the state working in the
governor’s offi ce as close advis-
ers and said he would seek fed-
eral waivers to make it easier
for loggers, miners, farmers and
ranchers to operate.
“That’s what I can promise
you as governor,” he said.
Pierce is one of the more
prominent names in a crowded
fi eld of 15 announced candi-
dates seeking the Republican
nomination for governor in
this year’s primary election.
He was the GOP nominee in
the 2016 race, when he polled
44% of the vote to 51% for
Democrat Kate Brown.
During his John Day stop-
over, Pierce outlined the four
main points of his campaign:
• Public safety: Police
have to have the authority to
do their jobs while also being
accountable and transpar-
ent. Pierce promised to sup-
port law enforcement. “The
basic promise is no matter
where you are, you’re going
Ellis Tracey American Legion Auxiliary
• 2 p.m., Grant County Chamber of Commerce, 301 W.
Main St., John Day
The group will hold an in-person meeting. For more infor-
mation, call 541-575-0076.
THURSDAY, JAN. 27
Grant County Republican Central Committee
• 3-5 p.m., John Day Fire Hall, 316 S. Canyon Blvd.
The purpose of the meeting is to elect a secretary, meet
U.S. Senate candidate Ibra Taher at 3:30 p.m. and discuss
candidate fi ling form SEL 105, due at the county courthouse
by March 8. The public is welcome.
Do you have a community event in Grant County you’d
like to publicize? Email information to editor@bmeagle.
com. The deadline is noon Friday for publication the follow-
ing Wednesday.
Bennett Hall/Blue Mountain Eagle
Bud Pierce, left, a candidate for the GOP nomination for governor, speaks with Grant County Re-
publican Chair Frances Preston on Wednesday, Jan. 12, at the Grant County Regional Airport in
John Day.
to be safe and your property is
going to be safe,” he said.
• Homelessness: Pierce
promised to “get rid of home-
lessness once and for all” by
creating a system of shelters
that would address addiction
and mental health issues while
preparing people for employ-
ment. “The goal is everybody
has a job or something to do,”
he said.
• Education: Oregon should
have a standardized curric-
ulum, a non-political over-
sight board, a variety of learn-
ing structures and career path
options, and a system where
state education funding fol-
lows the student.
• Economy: Pierce sup-
ports lowering taxes and fees
for businesses and reducing
burdensome regulations.
Pierce made a number of
other points in response to
questions from the audience.
State agencies “need to be
reformed dramatically,” he
said, and given leaders “with
a practical bent” who will
work to help rather than hin-
der Oregonians.
On immigration, “we
should make it as easy as pos-
sible to go across the border
and still maintain border secu-
rity,” he said. “We probably
need to have a lot more legal
immigration (of workers with
certain skill sets) to maintain
our economy.”
Pierce said Oregon needs
strong public assistance pro-
grams, but he wants to raise
the standard of living so peo-
ple have less need of them.
“You want to create a soci-
ety where work is much high-
er-valued than non-work,”
he said. “I’m for an adequate
fl oor so people don’t suff er,
but it needs to be a fl oor, not
a lifestyle.”
Asked about his views on
abortion, Pierce said his faith
tells him that “God has a plan
for that soul,” but he stopped
short of advocating a ban.
Instead, he said he favors pro-
viding support for pregnant
women, families and children.
In response to a question
about teaching “LGB-what-
ever” in the classroom, Pierce
said education should focus
on academics and steer clear
of teaching students about
non-traditional forms of
sexuality.
“We don’t have time for
that,” he said. “It just doesn’t
belong.”
Pierce answered a ques-
tion about the campaign to
move some Oregon counties
to Idaho by saying, “I want to
build an Oregon where Idaho-
ans want to move to Oregon.”
On taxes, Pierce said he
would work to “broaden the
base and lower the rate,” possi-
bly in part by collecting prop-
erty taxes from nonprofi ts.
“It’s about making sure
that everybody who should
pay pays.”
City Council reopens comment on pool appeal
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — The John
Day City Council voted unan-
imously Tuesday, Jan. 11, to
accept additional comment
on an appeal of a conditional
use permit for the proposed
aquatic center at the Seventh
Street Sports Complex.
The vote, which came
at the request of the John
Day-Canyon
City Parks and
A5. EXTERIOR 3D VIEWS
Recreation District, reopened
discussion of the appeal fi led
by John Morris. At a public
hearing on Jan. 5, the council
voted 3-2 to reject the appeal
of the conditional use permit
granted by the John Day Plan-
ning Commission.
At that hearing, Morris
had requested that a decision
be delayed to allow time for
additional comment. Coun-
cilors Heather Rookstool and
Elliot Sky argued in favor of
that request but were over-
ruled by Councilors Gregg
Haberly, Dave Holland and
Paul Smith, who voted to
uphold the appeal.
The record in the appeal
hearing has now been
reopened for additional writ-
ten testimony. People who
participated in the Jan. 5 City
Council hearing, the Dec. 8
Planning Commission hearing
on the conditional use permit
JDCCR AQUATIC CENTER | 09/17/21
APPLICATION FOR LAND USE REVIEW
Courtesy of Opsis Architecture
If funding for the project is ap-
proved by voters, the aquatic
center would be built in the
northwest corner of the Sev-
enth Street Sports Complex.
or an Aug. 11 neighborhood
meeting on the aquatic center
project will be eligible to sub-
mit additional comments or
evidence regarding the condi-
tional use permit.
The deadline to submit tes-
timony is 7:30 p.m. Wednes-
day, Jan. 19. Written com-
ments can be emailed to
cityofjohnday@grantcoun-
ty-or.gov or delivered to City
Hall, 450 E. Main St., during
business hours.
The City Council will
review the additional testi-
mony and resume deliberation
on Morris’ appeal at its next
meeting, scheduled for Tues-
day, Jan. 25.
In his appeal, Morris
argued that the Planning Com-
mission was biased and preju-
dicial in its decision to grant
the permit because he was not
given “the same opportunity
to provide and to complete his
testimony” as those who spoke
in favor of the pool project. He
expanded on his objections in
15 pages of written testimony.
The proposed aquatic cen-
ter would replace the old
Gleason Pool, located in a city
park adjacent to the Kam Wah
Chung State Historic Site.
That pool, which opened in
1958, has been closed the last
two seasons.
The City Council recently
approved the sale of Glea-
son Park, where the pool is
located, to the Oregon Parks
and Recreation Department.
The state is planning a $4.5
million expansion of the Kam
Wah Chung Historic Site on
the park property.
Plans for the new aquatic
center call for a six-lane,
25-yard competitive pool
with spectator seating and an
8,000-square-foot structure to
house locker rooms, a lobby,
and offi ce space for parks and
recreation staff .
The project has an esti-
mated price tag of $6 mil-
lion, but the city has already
obtained $2 million in state
funding and is considering up
to $1 million more in cash and
in-kind contributions for site
improvements, including the
money from the sale of the
Gleason Park property. The
city also plans to cover utility
costs for the new pool.
The parks and rec district
still needs to raise $3 million
to $4 million to cover design
and construction of the aquatic
center. The district plans to put
a bond measure on the ballot
this year for either the May or
the November election.
If voters in the John Day
and Canyon City area (the
area covered by the district)
approve the bond measure,
the new aquatic center could
open as soon as the summer
of 2023.
Bennett Hall/Blue Mountain Eagle
Philip Joseph Rodriguez, center, confers with members of his
defense team in Grant County Circuit Court on Wednesday,
Jan. 12, 2022.
John Day man guilty
in child rape case
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
CANYON CITY — A
John Day man was con-
victed in Grant County Cir-
cuit Court on Thursday, Jan.
12, of committing sex crimes
against a child.
Philip Joseph Rodri-
guez, 41, was found guilty of
fi rst-degree rape and fi rst-de-
gree sexual abuse, both Mea-
sure 11 off enses.
He was found not guilty
of fi rst-degree sodomy, and a
charge of fi rst-degree unlaw-
ful sexual penetration was
dismissed early in the trial.
The crimes were commit-
ted between late January and
early April of 2019, and the
victim was a girl under the
age of 12 who was known to
Rodriguez.
The 12-person jury delib-
erated for a little over three
hours before returning the
verdict on Thursday after-
noon, the ninth day of the
trial.
Rodriguez was taken into
custody and lodged at the
Grant County Jail to await
sentencing.
A sentencing hearing will
be scheduled for a later date.
Under Measure 11, both
the rape and sodomy convic-
tions carry presumptive man-
datory minimum sentences of
eight years and four months in
prison. Because of the victim’s
age at the time of the off enses,
the judge could choose to
impose mandatory minimums
of 25 years under a statute
known as Jessica’s Law.
Malheur County Circuit
Judge Lung S. Hung pre-
sided over the case.
Prosecuting
attorneys
Tobias Tingleaf of the Ore-
gon Department of Justice
and Riccola Voigt of the
Grant County District Attor-
ney’s Offi ce represented the
state.
Rodriguez was repre-
sented by Kathleen Erin
Dunn of Strawberry Moun-
tain Law.
THE JUNIPER ARTS COUNCIL / GRANT
COUNTY CULTURAL COALITION IS SEEKING
GRANT PROPOSALS FOR OREGON
CULTURAL TRUST GRANT AWARDS
The coalition has $12,000 from the Oregon Cultural
Trust to distribute in Grant County to organizations
for projects relating to culture and / or heritage.
Applications are available from Karin Barntish,
131 W. Main Street, John Day, Oregon, or call
Kris Beal at (541)932-4892 for more information
or an application.
Applications are due by
5:00pm on Wednesday February 2, 2022.
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