PRAIRIE CITY HOOPS TEAMS HEADED TO STATE | SPORTS A7
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
154th Year • No. 8 • 16 Pages • $1.50
MyEagleNews.com
Police funding proposal takes a hit
Without COPS grant, price of county coverage may be too high
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
CANYON CITY — Grant County
offi cials are preparing to take another
law enforcement proposal to the city
of John Day to fi nd out what kind of
law enforcement coverage the town is
looking for the county to bring back to
its budget committee.
The county’s original proposal
hinged in part on being able to trans-
fer a $375,000 federal Community
Oriented Policing Services grant to the
Grant County Sheriff ’s Offi ce, but the
city learned last week that the grant is
not transferable.
Since the John Day Police Depart-
ment was suspended in October,
enforcing the law within the city limits
has fallen on the Grant County Sher-
iff ’s Offi ce, which has four patrol dep-
uties to cover the entire county. Sher-
iff Todd McKinley has repeatedly told
both the City Council and the County
Court that he needs additional deputies
to provide adequate coverage.
Going back to mid-December,
County Commissioner Sam Palmer
has met several times to discuss the
issue of law enforcement funding
informally with Sheriff Todd McKin-
ley, City Councilors Gregg Haberly
and Heather Rookstool, and commu-
nity member John Rowell.
Now, according to Grant County
Judge Scott Myers, Palmer will get
together with McKinley and come up
See Police, Page A16
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant County Judge Scott Myers
speaks during a session of the Grant
County Court.
TALKING ABOUT THE TOTEM POLE
John Day’s quirky downtown landmark could get a good cleaning — and a new home
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
he years have not been kind to the John Day totem
pole.
A quarter-century of wind and rain, sun and
snow have taken a toll on the local landmark, leav-
ing its once-bright wood darkened, weathered and
T
cracked.
That doesn’t sit well with Margot Heiniger-White, the
widow of Ralph White, the Canyon City chainsaw artist who
carved the pole.
“I would like that totem pole cleaned up,” she said.
And she’s not crazy about the location, either, tucked
between a telephone pole and a two-story building just
off the city’s main drag.
“It’s not a very good place for it because nobody
can see it,” she said. “It’s in a bad spot.”
Location, location
Truth be told, it really is an odd place for a totem
pole.
Heiniger-
Standing 50 feet tall and weighing in at 18,000
White
pounds, the towering tamarack spar is topped by an
eagle with a 20-foot wingspan. Below the eagle are three more
carved fi gures: a salmon, a turtle and a beaver.
It’s perched atop a concrete footing at the intersection of
Main and Dayton streets, at the east end of downtown John Day.
Yet despite its imposing size and central location, the totem
pole is surprisingly easy to overlook.
See Totem, Page A16
Bennett Hall/Blue Mountain Eagle
The John Day totem pole is showing its age, but the city has plans to clean it up and refi nish it this spring.
There are also discussions about possibly moving it to a more prominent location.
TOTEM POLE
SYMBOLS
The John Day
totem pole is
adorned with
four stylized an-
imal carvings,
each with its
own symbolic
meaning.
Eagle: The Great
Spirit
Fish: The food
of life
Turtle: Eternal
life
Beaver: The
Great Builder
Blue Mountain Eagle, File
Ralph White, in full mountain man regalia, talks to a group of Boy Scouts in
this fi le photo from 2004.
Emergency powers bill stalls out
Mark Owens’ measure would limit what governor can do in a crisis
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
CRANE — An eff ort
by an Eastern Oregon law-
maker to rein in the gover-
nor’s emergency powers may
be eff ectively dead, at least
for now.
Rep.
Mark
Owens,
R-Crane, said in an email
update to constituents on Fri-
day, Feb. 18, that House Joint
Resolution 206 is stalled in
the House Rules Committee
and that the committee chair
has said it will not get a hear-
ing before the 2022 Legisla-
ture adjourns.
“I introduced and spon-
sored this bill, so I’m disap-
pointed it didn’t move for-
ward this session,” Owens
wrote in the email. “Until
there’s a change from the
top down, I will continue
to pursue legislation that
brings accountability to our
government.”
According to a summary
on the state legislative web-
site, the measure was referred
to the Rules Committee after
its fi rst reading but has gone
nowhere since. It has not yet
had a committee hearing, and
no hearings or fl oor votes are
scheduled.
HJR 206 would amend
the state Constitution to limit
both the governor’s ability to
declare an emergency and the
special powers the governor
could wield under an emer-
gency declaration.
FAMILY HEALTH GUIDE
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S BLUE MOUNTAIN EAGLE
It also would limit an emer-
gency declaration to 30 days,
with counties — not the gov-
ernor — having the power to
extend the declaration within
their borders in 30-day incre-
ments. County governments
would also have the power
to reduce, but not expand, the
state powers granted by the
emergency declaration within
See Bill, Page A16