NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, April 6, 2022
Grant County’s COVID death count at 21
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — A 52-year-
old man who died in Novem-
ber has pushed the number of
Grant County fatalities from the
COVID-19 pandemic to 21.
The man was out of the
state when he died on Nov.
21 and the Grant County
Health Department has only
recently been notifi ed, the
department said in a news
release on Monday, April 4.
He had underlying health
conditions.
The department also
reported two new cases of
COVID-19 and announced
that it will now be report-
ing new cases weekly rather
than daily. In addition, the
department noted there were
no new hospitalizations of
Grant County residents with
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle, File
A public health worker sorts COVID-19 tests at the Grant County
Health Department in May 2020.
COVID-19 over the past
week and no county resi-
dents are currently hospital-
ized with the disease.
Meanwhile, the news
release noted, vaccination is
still the most eff ective way
for individuals to protect
themselves from the eff ects
of COVID-19 and reduce its
impact on the community.
Both the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Preven-
tion and the Oregon Health
Authority strongly recom-
mend COVID vaccinations
for anyone 5 or older. Fed-
eral and state health authori-
ties also recommend booster
shots for anyone 12 or older
starting fi ve months after
they have completed their
primary vaccination series.
Second boosters are recom-
mended for anyone over the
age of 50 or with a compro-
mised immune systems start-
ing four months after their
fi rst booster.
As of Sunday, April 3,
Grant County has had a total
of 1,671 cases of COVID-
19, Oregon Health Author-
ity data show. The state has
had a total of 705,120 cases
and 7,214 deaths from the
disease.
As of Monday, April
4, the United States has
recorded nearly 80.2 mil-
lion cases and has logged
982,951
COVID-related
deaths, according to data
compiled by Johns Hopkins
University.
Prairie City vet remembers Vietnam
By JUSTIN DAVIS
Blue Mountain Eagle
PRAIRIE CITY — Viet-
nam Veterans Day was March
29. Decorated Vietnam vet-
eran and Prairie City resident
Jack Colbert-Wilson remem-
bers both the war and the
treatment veterans of that war
received when they returned
home, even when he doesn’t
want to remember.
Colbert-Wilson did two
tours of duty in Vietnam. The
fi rst was in 1968 with the 23rd
Infantry Division, also known
as the Americal Division. This
posting isn’t something Col-
bert-Wilson likes to talk about
due to the division’s associa-
tion with convicted war crim-
inal William Calley, who per-
petrated the infamous My Lai
massacre.
Colbert-Wilson says he
“wasn’t in Calley’s unit, but
once you get charges like that
it becomes something that fol-
lows everybody in the divi-
sion around.”
Colbert-Wilson’s duties
during his fi rst tour included
perimeter patrol and mine
sweeps on Highway One.
Following his fi rst tour, Col-
bert-Wilson was assigned to
Ft. Carson in Colorado where
he reenlisted and attended
jump school at Ft. Bragg
before becoming a radio oper-
ator with the 101st Airborne
Division and redeploying to
Vietnam with that unit.
“I walked through the jun-
gle for the next 11 months
with a ‘shoot me’ antenna
sticking out of my back,” Col-
This photo of Jack Colbert-Wil-
son was taken in 1968, when
he was in boot camp in the
Army prior to shipping out for
Vietnam. He was 16 years old.
“I lied about my age,” he said.
bert-Wilson said.
The space between Col-
bert-Wilson’s two tours was
roughly three months. “I had
just enough time to come back
to Canyon City and see my
mother, Shirley Ferguson,”
Colbert-Wilson said.
While in Vietnam, Col-
bert-Wilson was awarded an
Army Commendation Medal,
fi ve Bronze Stars and one Sil-
ver Star. Colbert-Wilson says
not much happened to him in
Vietnam other than a piece of
shrapnel he took in the shoul-
der. “I was lucky,” he said.
“The shrapnel went through
two cans of C rations and that
radio.”
Colbert-Wilson still has the
physical scar from the war as
well as mental scars that will
never go away.
“I’ve been diagnosed with
severe PTSD,” he said. “My
mind is never gong to go away
from that place.”
Colbert-Wilson remembers
the treatment he and other
Vietnam veterans received
when they came home fol-
lowing their tours of duty in
Vietnam.
“The fi rst time I got back
I was spit on, we were called
baby killers and murderers
and I had dirty diapers thrown
at me.” Colbert-Wilson says
he and everybody else who
was a part of that war were
“just doing what we were
told.”
Further complicating mat-
ters was the lack of informa-
tion regarding antiwar sen-
timents in the country at the
time and the lack of things like
the internet, which allows sol-
diers now to have some type
of an idea as to the feelings
of the population before they
return home.
“All of us in the plane were
expecting fl ags and a parade
when we got home, and that
wasn’t what happened at all.
We were ducking and running
for our lives again.”
Colbert-Wilson says he
still holds some resentment
for the way he was treated all
those years ago, and that, too,
is a feeling that likely won’t
ever go away.
Colbert-Wilson says he
still has respect for the Viet-
namese people but he has
none for the Viet Cong and
North Vietnamese forces he
battled during that time.
“The Viet Cong were
sneaky. You’d have guys that
would step on poisonous spike
stakes. You’d have guys that
would be talking to you and
the next thing you know, half
of their head is missing or they
have a hole in their chest or be
missing an arm. I still have
sleepless nights and night-
mares thinking about that.”
Colbert-Wilson says he
thought that he and his fel-
low soldiers were doing the
country a service but that
“we lost that war.” He also
says the failures of Presidents
Nixon and Johnson had a lot
to do with why the U.S. lost
the Vietnam War. Seeing the
Viet Cong take South Vietnam
shortly after American forces
left makes him feel that we
left a lot of things unfi nished
in Vietnam.
The years adjusting to life
after the war haven’t been
easy on Colbert-Wilson. An
abusive stepfather led to his
mother sending him away,
which ultimately led to his
participation in the Vietnam
War. Life after the war has
been riddled with numerous
job losses and six failed mar-
riages over the years.
Colbert-Wilson also adds
that he doesn’t blame his
mother for anything that
happened in the years lead-
ing up to his participation in
the war.
And he’s grateful that atti-
tudes toward military ser-
vice have changed. Unlike
the reception he got when
he came home from the war,
people these days frequently
thank him for his service
when they see him wearing a
“Vietnam Veteran” hat.
John Day searching
for Green’s successor
By JUSTIN DAVIS
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — The city
of John Day is looking
for a new city manager to
replace Nick Green, who
has held the post since
mid-2016.
Green has worn many
hats during his time as John
Day city manager. Most
notably, his grant writing
skills have brought millions
of dollars to John Day and
was the catalyst for a string
of public works projects
that have already begun or
are set to start soon.
The city began advertis-
ing for the position shortly
after Green announced his
intention to resign at a City
Council meeting in late
January.
City offi cials are con-
sidering three applicants
for the position, but their
names have not been made
public. That’s because the
City Council decided to
conduct a confi dential hir-
ing process.
John Day Mayor Ron
Lundbom says the pro-
cess is in line with what
the attorney overseeing the
hiring process has advised.
The public will get to meet
the new city manager once
the position has been fi lled.
Lundbom said the City
Council is hoping to hire
a manager who can match
Green’s vision for John
Day, but the variety and
complexity of tasks Green
was involved in makes that
challenging.
“Nick wears, like, eight
hats,” Lundbom said. “You
look at a lot of things in his
job description, and prob-
ably half of those jobs pay
six fi gures.”
Lundbom says the city
took a fair amount of criti-
cism for paying Green a 1%
fee for his grant writing and
administration duties, but
the return on investment has
been a bargain.
“Grant writers make
3-5% and sometimes up
to 10%, and that is just for
being a grant writer and
not even being successful,”
Lundbom said.
“Grant administrators
make the same. We have a
successful grant writer and
administrator, and we are
paying him 1%.”
The main concern for
Lundbom in fi nding a
replacement for Green is
getting somebody who
Bennett Hall
Blue Mountain Eagle, File
John Day City Manager Nick
Green works in his offi ce on
Jan. 24, 2022. The city is look-
ing to hire a replacement for
Green, who is stepping down
at the end of June.
understands public fi nance,
because the city budget
isn’t like a household or
business budget. Using the
police funding issue as an
example, Lundbom said
you can’t just take money
from any part of the bud-
get and add it to the police
fund.
“Public safety can only
be paid by state shared rev-
enue or public funds,” the
mayor said. “That’s why
Nick was so adamant about
population growth and the
county doing something
about population growth.”
Both state shared rev-
enue and property tax
receipts, the city’s other pri-
mary source of unrestricted
funds, are highly dependent
on population.
Lundbom said he is con-
fi dent that, whoever the
next city manager is, the
grant-funded projects Green
started will be completed.
“I don’t think we are
going to be wondering if
the sewer plant is going to
be built because Nick Green
isn’t here.”
The city’s adminis-
trative committee will
meet this week to discuss
the candidates and chose
one for the City Coun-
cil to consider as Green’s
replacement.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6
Prairie City Senior Cen-
ter reopening
• Noon, Prairie City Senior
Center, 204 N. McHaley St.
The Prairie City Senior
Center is reopening for group
dining. Lunch will be served
at noon on Wednesdays. The
cost is $6 for those under 60,
with a suggested donation
of $5 for those 60 and up.
For more information, call
541-820-4100.
tivities. Anyone who wants
to help is welcome. For more
information, call Colby Farrel
at 541-620-0874.
W HAT’S
HAPPENING
MONDAY, APRIL 11
THURSDAY, APRIL 7
FRIDAY, APRIL 8
Bingo night
• 6 p.m., John Day Elks
Lodge, 140 NE Dayton St.,
John Day
A fundraiser for the Grant
Union High School Class of
2026. Dinner provided by
the Elks Club at 6 p.m., with
bingo starting at 6:30. The
cost to play is $5 per card.
911 Intergovernmental
Council
• 6 p.m., John Day Fire
Hall, 316 S. Canyon Blvd.
The Grant County Emer-
gency
Communications
Agency
Intergovernmen-
tal Council will meet to dis-
‘62
Days
planning
meeting
• 7 p.m., Sel’s Brewery,
113 Washington St., Canyon
City
Regular weekly meeting of
the Whiskey Gulch Gang to
plan this year’s ‘62 Days fes-
‘62
Days
planning
meeting
• 7 p.m., Sel’s Brewery,
113 Washington St., Canyon
City
Regular weekly meeting of
cuss various topics, including
an independent accounting
review, COVID update, dis-
patch radio console upgrades
and a dispatch offi ce expan-
sion. The meeting is open to
the public.
It's Spring!
LET US HELP YOU
Purchase a Home.
Purchase a Rural Home
with Acreage.
Build a Home.
Purchase a Lot.
Remodel.
Refinance.
the Whiskey Gulch Gang to
plan this year’s ‘62 Days fes-
tivities. Anyone who wants
to help is welcome. For more
information, call Colby Farrel
at 541-620-0874.
SUNDAY, April 17
Easter sunrise service
• 6:30 a.m., Crisp Heights,
Southwest Fourth Avenue,
John Day
A sunrise service to cele-
brate Easter. For more infor-
mation, call 541-575-5840.
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.
FRIDAY, APRIL 15
INQUIRE AT YOUR
LOCAL BRANCH
OR CALL:
Raymond Seastone
541-676-9884
Arletta Arnspiger
509-546-7262
Kaitlin Orcutt
541-303-8281
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