NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
A3
Pool appeal up for discussion again
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — The John
Day City Council has rejected
an appeal of the conditional use
permit for a proposed aquatic
center for a second time, but
that still won’t be the last word
on the subject.
After the John Day Plan-
ning Commission approved the
John Day/Canyon City Parks
and Recreation District’s per-
mit application on Nov. 9,
John Morris appealed the deci-
sion to the City Council, laying
out his objections in a 15-page
document.
At a public hearing on Jan.
5, the council voted 3-2 to
uphold the permit. The dissent-
ing votes came from Councilors
Heather Rookstool and Elliot
Sky, who wanted to hold the
record open for additional testi-
mony, as Morris had requested.
The council reversed that
decision on Jan. 11, voting
unanimously to reopen the
record to allow anyone who had
participated in earlier public
meetings about the pool proj-
ect to submit additional writ-
ten testimony through Jan. 19,
with Morris being given the
opportunity to provide a written
rebuttal.
No one provided any addi-
tional written testimony by the
deadline. With that in mind,
at its next meeting on Jan. 25,
the council voted unanimously
to uphold the conditional
use permit, rejecting Morris’
appeal.
What the council did not
know, however, was that even
though no additional testimony
was submitted, Morris had fi led
a written rebuttal statement just
hours before the meeting.
On Saturday, Jan. 29, the
city announced plans for a spe-
Blue Mountain Eagle, File
Gleason Pool has been closed since the end of the 2019 season. A
permit for a new pool is under appeal.
cial City Council meeting on
Tuesday, Feb. 1, to discuss a
number of matters, including
Morris’ rebuttal statement.
In the agenda packet for the
meeting, City Manager Nick
Green writes that Morris sub-
mitted the statement to City
Hall at 2:22 p.m. on Jan. 25, the
day of the meeting, but that his
staff did not pass the statement
on to him before the meeting
that night.
“This document should have
been provided to the City Coun-
cil for their review prior to the
council’s (decision), and had I
known it had been submitted, it
would have been,” Green states.
He goes on to recommend
that the council review Morris’
statement and redeliberate on
the appeal.
“There is no signed writ-
ten order and no notice of deci-
sion has been mailed to par-
ticipants,” Green writes in the
packet. “Nothing becomes fi nal
until a written decision is made.
Therefore, councilors may
amend their votes (or not) based
on this information.”
The proposal calls for a six-
lane, 25-yard outdoor pool with
an 8,000-sqare-foot structure
housing locker rooms, a lobby
and offi ce space to be built at
the Seventh Street Sports Com-
plex in John Day.
But even if the conditional
use permit is upheld yet again, a
lot still has to happen before the
pool can be built.
The project has an estimated
price tag of $6 million. The city
has obtained $2 million in state
funding and is considering up to
Senate hopefuls make John Day stop
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Two U.S.
Senate candidates vying for
the GOP nomination courted
voters on Thursday, Jan. 27,
during the Grant County
Republican Central Commit-
tee meeting at the John Day
Fire Hall.
Darin
Harbick,
a
small-business owner from
Rainbow in the McKenzie
River Valley, and Ibra Taher,
a self-employed philosophy
teacher from Eugene, both
spoke at the meeting.
Both are running in the
May 17 primary for the
GOP nomination to oppose
Ron Wyden, the Democratic
incumbent.
As of Monday, Jan. 31, fi ve
other candidates have fi led to
run in the Republican primary,
including Grant County Com-
missioner Sam Palmer.
Ibra Taher
Taher, who made a bid for
Jeff Merkley’s seat in 2020 as
both a Green and Progressive
Party candidate but since left
those parties over disagree-
ments regarding the pandemic,
told the Eagle that Progres-
sives and Republicans share
more common ground on core
issues than many realize.
He said those issues
include decentralizing the
country’s fi nancial markets
and a non-interventionist for-
Harbick
Taher
eign policy approach.
Taher said the answer to
many of the problems the
country faces, be it inter-
nationally, fi nancially or
domestically, would be to
decentralize the markets,
localize governments, and
allow for independence and
self-reliance.
“Let people decide for
themselves,” he said. “We
have diff erent cultures. Do
you want someone from
Eugene to tell you how to live
your lives?”
Taher sparked a sharp
debate with his views on
COVID-19.
In March 2020, during
the second week of the pan-
demic lockdowns, Taher told
the audience, he published an
article highly critical of the
government’s response to the
virus.
The coronavirus, according
to Taher, is not as dangerous as
it was made out to be by the
federal government.
Taher said the pandemic
protocols violate fundamen-
tal freedoms, and the execu-
tive, legislative and judicial
branches of government have
allowed those violations to
continue.
Rhonda
Stephens,
a
Prineville resident who
attended the John Day meet-
ing, told Taher that discount-
ing the severity of the virus is
dangerous.
“If you’re telling me that
some 800,000 people that died
from COVID is fake news that
didn’t happen, then I have to
disagree with you,” she said.
Taher said he questions the
actual number of deaths and
how health offi cials classify
the deaths.
While Stephens said there
might be some “bad apples”
who may have signed off on
a death certifi cate in bad faith,
she noted that local hospitals
are run by respected personnel
and have good doctors who
are accredited.
She reminded Taher that
he himself told the audience
that he was not a scientist.
With that, Stephens said, she
asked that he not spread “pro-
paganda” that science and
health offi cials are commit-
ting fraud.
“So, if you’re going to sit
here and tell me that you know
more than that pool of braini-
acs, then I’m going to put my
money on the pool of brainiacs
any day of the week,” she said.
Grant County resident Ath-
ena Moline asked Stephens if
she had heard that nasal swabs
included with COVID-19
tests contain ethylene oxide, a
colorless type of gas used to
sterilize medical equipment.
Moline’s claim was from a
widely debunked conspiracy
theory that began circulating
on social media and claimed
that the nasal swabs used
for COVID-19 testing could
cause lasting harm, poten-
tially even cancer, according
to information from Rueters
Fact Check.
While the gas commonly
used to disinfect medical
equipment such as COVID-
19 nasal swab tests is car-
cinogenic, it has been used
for decades and is highly
regulated.
Frances Preston, the com-
mittee’s secretary and chair,
asked that the rest of Taher’s
speech not touch on COVID-
19 and requested that the
conversation get back to a
“peaceful place.”
Darrin Harbick
Harbick, a longtime
small-business owner who
initially entered the 2022
election as a candidate for
governor, said he is better
suited for the Senate.
He said he was always
under the impression that to
run for political offi ce some-
one had to have gone to law
school or have previous polit-
ical experience.
CyberMill open house
• 4 to 8 p.m., CyberMill,
300 Barnes Ave. (Highway
395), Seneca
Located in the heart of
Seneca, the CyberMill is a
free-to-use internet cafe with
broadband access. With three
computer terminals, big-screen
video monitors, a conference
room and other amenities, the
facility is available for remote
workers, entrepreneurs or any-
one who needs a high-speed
internet connection. Visitors
can tour the CyberMill, learn
W HAT’S
HAPPENING
what it has to off er and enjoy
free refreshments. For more
information, go to gccyber-
mill.com.
SATURDAY, APRIL 2
Lake Creek Youth Camp
Gala
• 5 p.m., Trowbridge Pavil-
ion, Grant County Fairgrounds,
411 NW Bridge St., John Day
Man arrested
in machete
incident
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
MT. VERNON — Grant
County sheriff ’s deputies arrested
a man who allegedly attempted to
steal a vehicle and brandished a
machete at patrons of Suds Pub in
Mt. Vernon in the early morning
hours of Friday, Jan. 28.
Sheriff Todd McKinley told
the Eagle that Christopher Ryan
Hoppe, 38, stole a bartender’s vehi-
cle and threatened customers with a
machete before fl eeing in the stolen
car. A bystander attempted to stop
Hoppe, who was under the infl u-
ence of an “illicit drug,” McKinley
said. The sheriff said Hoppe ditched
the stolen vehicle a short distance
away and ran from two deputies.
The deputies used a pepper ball
gun to subdue Hoppe behind the
Presbyterian Church in Mt. Vernon
and took him into custody, McKin-
ley said. The gun shoots pellets that
look like paintballs but are fi lled
with oleoresin capsicum powder,
which causes signifi cant eye irrita-
tion, pain and temporary blindness.
Deputies booked Hoppe into
the Grant County Jail on charges
of unauthorized use of a motor
vehicle, disorderly conduct and
probation violation.
I think of you and miss you every day,
Clayton. You will never be forgotten.
Love, Mom
WHAT’S HAPPENING
WEDNESDAY &
THURSDAY, FEB. 16
& 17
However, he said, he was
inspired by Glenn Youngkin’s
win in the 2021 Virginia
gubernatorial election, where
he defeated Democratic for-
mer Gov. Terry McAuliff e.
“When I saw Youngkin
as a business owner, and
then that (President) Donald
Trump never held offi ce any-
where ... there are some peo-
ple that have been in offi ce
that haven’t been in that polit-
ical scene their whole life,
but they know what people
want,” Harbick said.
Harbick is not a complete
newcomer to elected offi ce.
He served on the McKenzie
School District’s board for
14 years. He also coached
the high school’s basketball
team and led them to a state
championship.
Harbick said when peo-
ple ask him if he is vaccinated
against COVID-19, he tells
them, “It’s none of your damn
business,” a line that garnered
applause from the audience.
While some in the GOP
have been criticized by fel-
low Republicans for refusing
to say they are vaccinated
to avoid alienating the con-
servative base, Harbick said
he genuinely believes some-
one’s vaccination status is
personal.
$1 million in cash and in-kind
contributions. The John Day/
Canyon City Parks and Recre-
ation District is pursuing plans
to put a $3 million-$4 million
bond measure on the ballot this
year to cover the remaining
costs of the project.
Registered voters who live
within the parks and rec dis-
trict’s boundaries would have to
approve the measure by a sim-
ple majority. The district covers
the cities of John Day and Can-
yon City as well as a substantial
amount of unincorporated land
outside the city limits.
The district extends almost
to Mt. Vernon on the west,
nearly to Magone Lake on the
north, almost to Keeney Forks
Road on the east and as far
south as Starr Ridge.
Parks and rec district offi -
cials have said they hope to
place the bond measure on the
May 17 ballot.
This third annual benefi t for
the nonprofi t youth and family
camp in Logan Valley features
a tri-tip dinner, games, live
music, drinks by Spitfi re Cock-
tails and live, silent and des-
sert auctions. Tickets are $25
at the door or $20 in advance,
available at several locations
in John Day and Canyon City.
For more information, call
Aimee Rude at 541-206-2421.
Do you have a community
event in Grant County you’d
like to publicize? Email infor-
mation to editor@bmeagle.
com. The deadline is noon
Friday for publication the fol-
lowing Wednesday.
S279686-1
Benefit Dinner -
Spaghetti/Salad/Bread
Silent Auction & Dessert Auction
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11 TH
Mt. Vernon Community Center (on Ingall Street)
5:00pm to 7:30 pm
Silent Auction 5-7/Dinner 5:30-6:30/
Dessert Auction 7
NICHOLE (RUSTY) RULE
Nichole has ben diagnosed with bladder cancer
and is receiving chemo treatments in Bend and
eventually will have surgery to remove the bladder.
6 2äEKCN*
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WKFG
a
Valentine
Buy your
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ssert all fo
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CAUSE
a GREAT
1GYUEQO
Deadline February 25th, 2022
Contact
Patty Ross
541-620-4841
if you want to
help or donate!
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s on ge S an d r.
FIN focu
tti ng b e tt e
Call Kim Today!
DON’T DELAY
BLUE MOUNTAIN
Reserve your spot now!
EAGLE
541-575-0710
195 N. Canyon
Blvd.
S280132-1
John Day, OR 97845
www.MyEagleNewscom
Kim@bmeagle.com
S279615-1