NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
A3
Quilters craft compassion
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Grant
County
quilters,
who
believe every child should
have a warm bed, made and
donated roughly 20 quilts
to a nationwide nonprofi t
that builds beds for chil-
dren whose families cannot
aff ord one.
The Strawberry Moun-
tain Quilt Guild hosted its
annual Sleep in Heavenly
Peace Sit-n-Sew April 30
at the Nazarene Church in
John Day.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace
is a nonprofi t group with
over 200 chapters across
the country that builds bunk
beds for families in need.
The guild, formed in the
winter of 2018, offi cially
began holding the Sit-n-
Sews for Sleep in Heavenly
Peace in 2019, according to
Samni Bell, the group’s edu-
Contributed Photo
Members of the Strawberry Quilt Guild hold up quilts the
group made and donated to Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a na-
tionwide nonprofi t that builds beds for children in need. The
nonprofi t, established in 2013, has donated dozens of beds to
families in Grant County.
cation and event coordinator.
The events yield roughly 18
to 20 quilts, she added.
Last month Susie Brown,
chapter president of Sleep
in Heavenly Peace’s Eastern
Oregon and Western Idaho
region, dropped by the
all-day event to pick up a
dozen quilts from last year’s
Sit-n-Sew.
Bell said the Brown would
be back in Grant County for
the Quilt Show in late Octo-
ber. According to Bell, the
guild will present her with
an additional 10 quilts during
the two-day event.
Bell said many of the
quilts the group donates to
Sleep in Heavenly Peace go
to children in Grant County.
“I was really shocked that
we had kids that were sleep-
ing on the fl oor,” Bell said.
According to Bell, Sleep
in Heavenly Peace works
with children who have been
abused and are in protective
homes.
“They’ll make beds for
these kids and make sure that
they have a quilt,” Bell said.
The guild, which has 25
members, also holds sew-
ing events for other char-
ities. For instance, Bell
said they would be work-
ing with the John Day Elks
Lodge for an event to sup-
port a children’s hospital in
the summer.
Bell said the guild’s goal
is to hold one event a month.
“It is something we all
try and get together and do,”
Bell said.
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle, File
From left, students Delaney Coombs, Isaiah Hagopian and Em-
ily Finley wear masks in Andy Lusco’s goverment/civics class at
Grant Union High School on March 2, 2022. The Grant School Dis-
trict is considering a $24.3 million for 2022-23.
Grant school budget up 18%
By JUSTIN DAVIS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Volunteers sought for bike trail work
By JUSTIN DAVIS
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — The Eastern Oregon
Trail Alliance is looking for volunteers
to help build and maintain mountain
bike trails near Magone Lake.
The volunteer event will last from
Thursday, May 19, until Sunday, May
22. Camping, dinner and trail building
will all be on the agenda over the course
of the weekend in what EOTA is calling
“The Big Event.”
Crews will be working from Fri-
day through Sunday with the bulk of
the work being done on Saturday and
Sunday.
Other groups participating in the
event are the Blue Mountain Land
Trust’s “Blues Crew” and the U.S. For-
est Service.
Anyone interested in volunteer-
ing can go to www.eotatrails.com to
sign up and get more information.
BMHD aims to identify county’s health care needs with survey
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Blue
Mountain Hospital Dis-
trict is looking for feed-
back about health care
needs in Grant County
through a community-
wide survey.
Under the Affordable
Care Act, every three
years BMHD conducts
a Community Health
Needs Assessment Sur-
vey to identify health
care needs, priorities,
concerns and any bar-
riers within the county,
the district’s primary
service area.
Jena Knowles, public
relations director with
BMHD, said the survey
is open to anyone who
lives in Grant County.
The survey is available
online at surveymonkey.
com/r/M8H5BS7.
Knowles said the dis-
trict is looking to expand
its reach and get as much
feedback as possible to
help better understand
the community’s health
needs. With that, she
asked that people share
the link with others in
the county after taking the
survey.
“(The survey) is an
opportunity for the county
to share a little informa-
tion so we can determine
what we need to work on
over the next three years,”
Knowles said.
Those with questions
can reach Knowles at
541-575-1311, extension
2213, or jknowles@blue-
mountainhospital.org.
CANYON CITY — The
Grant School District’s pro-
posed budget for 2022-2023
is 18% higher than last year
despite having fewer students
enrolled in the district.
The budget for the coming
fi scal year is $24.3 million,
compared to $20.6 million for
2021-2022. The budget was
announced at the Wednesday,
May 4, school board budget
committee meeting in Canyon
City.
Grant money made up
a signifi cant portion of the
added funds in the 2022-2023
budget, according to district
business manager Heidi Hall-
garth. There were also car-
ry-over funds from High
School Success Career and
Technical Education, Stu-
dent Investment Account and
“title” funds. The district also
budgeted the remainder of its
COVID-19 funds, a seismic
grant at Humbolt Elementary
and legislative money at both
Humbolt and Grant Union
Junior/Senior High School,
Hallgarth said.
Enrollment in the Grant
School District was 490 in
March of this year and is
expected to drop to 467 for
2022-2023. The fi gures mark
a sharp drop in enrollment
from the same time last year,
when there were 520 students
in schools throughout the dis-
trict and enrollment was pro-
jected to rise to 545 for the
2021-2022 fi scal year.
Despite the drop in enroll-
ment, however, the district is
adding the equivalent of 13
staff positions. The proposed
2022-23 budget calls for 99.45
full-time-equivalent positions
and 106 employees overall, up
from 86.2 FTE positions and
96 employees overall.
The district has heard a
number of proposed changes
in personnel and other areas
related to student and staff
support by the budget com-
mittee. The committee pro-
posed funding for a guidance
counselor, an intervention
specialist for high school
reading and math, and sup-
port for teaching resources
i-Ready and Dibbles, accord-
ing to Superintendent Bret
Uptmor.
Both the general fund
and special funds increased
in comparison to fi scal year
2021-2022. The general fund
accounted for $11,353,602
of this year’s budget, with
special funds making up the
remaining $9,259,248. The
general fund budget for next
fi scal year is $12,282,073,
with the special funds being
slightly less than that at
$12,053,810.
The budget commit-
tee will hold another budget
meeting on Wednesday, May
18, to approve the proposed
2022-2023 budget. The bud-
get will go into eff ect in July
if approved by the committee.
Showing Movies Since 1940!
1809 1st Street • Baker City
WHAT’S HAPPENING
FRIDAY, MAY 13
’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-
tivities. Anyone who wants
to help is welcome. For more
information, call Colby Farrel
at 541-620-0874.
W HAT’S
HAPPENING
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, MAY 22
Mountain Hospital. Proceeds
weill go to purchase equip-
ment and supplies. Yard sale
begins at 8 a.m. each day and
goes till 4 p.m. on Saturday
and noon on Sunday.
SATURDAY-SUNDAY,
MAY 14-15
FRIDAY, MAY 20
Blue Mountain Hospital
Auxiliary yard sale
• 8 a.m., Keerins Hall,
Grant County Fairgrounds,
411 NW Bridge St., John Day
Annual benefi t for Blue
’62
Days
planning
meeting
• 7 p.m., Sel’s Brewery,
113 Washington St., Canyon
City
Regular weekly meeting of
Ghost Town Blues Band
• 6 p.m., Diamond Hitch
Mule Ranch, Highway 19,
Kimberly
The award-winning blues
band will play a concert at
the Diamond Hitch Mule
Ranch. Street tacos from
Guyon Springs will be avail-
able for purchase. Patrons are
advised to bring their own
chairs and drinks. Admission
is $20 at the gate, and camp-
ing is available for a $15 fee.
For more information, call
541-934-2140.
FRIDAY, MAY 27
’62
Days
planning
meeting
• 7 p.m., Sel’s Brewery,
113 Washington St., Canyon
City
Regular weekly meet-
ing of the Whiskey Gulch
Gang to plan this year’s ’62
Days festivities. Anyone who
wants to help is welcome.
For
more
informa-
tion, call Colby Farrel at
541-620-0874.
Do you have a commu-
nity event you’d like to pub-
MAY 13-19
licize? Email information to
editor@bmeagle.com. The
deadline is noon Friday for
publication the following
Wednesday.
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Includes full color. Three line maximum message.
PUBLISHES MAY 25
DAYVILLE,
LONG CREEK,
MONUMENT AND
PRAIRIE CITY
GRANT COUNTY
Jennifer Smith
PUBLISHES JUNE 1
GRANT COUNTY
Name of graduate: ______________________
Of The Membership
8:30
10:30
12:00
12:30
1:00
AM
AM
PM
PM
PM
DOORS OPEN**
BUSINESS MEETING
LUNCHEON
PRIZE DRAWINGS
MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT
School: _______________________________
Message: _____________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
High School Name
_____________________________________
Congratulations Jen!
We are so proud of you!
Love, Mom & Dad
Call Kim or Alix 541-575-0710 or
email kkell@bluemountaineagle.com
or ahand@bluemountaineagle.com
2x3 example size
LOCATION: BAKER HIGH SCHOOL
2500 E ST. BAKER CITY, OREGON
**Visit the community booths & enter raffles
Members in John Day can sign up for a free bus ride to the Annual Meeting!
Just call the John Day Senior Center at 541-575-1825. Limited seating available