The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current, August 17, 2022, Image 2

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The Blue Mountain eagle., August 17, 2022, Page 2, Image 2

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Newspaper Page TextA2 NEWS Blue Mountain Eagle Man gets prison for string of crimes Blue Mountain Eagle CANYON CITY — A Grant County man is headed to prison for more than two years after being convicted of weapons oﬀ enses and other charges and having his proba- tion revoked for a pair of ear- lier oﬀ enses. In a bench trial on July 6 in Grant County Circuit Court, Christopher Ryan Hoppe, 39, of John Day was found guilty by Judge Robert F. Nich- ols of three counts of felon in possession of a ﬁ rearm, one count of felon in possession of a restricted weapon (brass knuckles) and one count of third-degree criminal mischief (for damaging a door). The judge found Hoppe not guilty on two counts of reck- lessly endangering another person, and he was acquitted of three counts of ﬁ rst-degree theft. All of those charges stemmed from a May 25 inci- dent in which Hoppe ﬁ red at least one round from a riﬂ e after calling 911 to report that unknown people were sur- rounding the garage he was in on Lower Yard Road and were trying to break in. The law enforcement oﬃ cers who arrested him at the scene found no sign of any intrud- ers, but they reportedly found methamphetamine in Hoppe’s possession. On Thursday, Aug. 11, Grant County Circuit Court Judge Rob Raschio sentenced Hoppe to 18 months in prison, with credit for time served, and two years of post-prison super- vision. The judge also recom- mended that Hoppe obtain sub- stance abuse and mental health evaluations and that he be barred from using intoxicants. At the same hearing, Raschio revoked Hoppe’s pro- bation for an auto theft con- viction arising from a Jan. 28 incident in which Hoppe stole a vehicle after allegedly threat- ening the patrons of a Mt. Ver- non bar with a machete. With his probation revoked, Hoppe was ordered to serve six months in prison and sub- mit to one year of post-prison supervision. In addition, Raschio amended Hoppe’s sentence for violating his probation on a 2021 conviction for felon in posses- sion of a ﬁ rearm and second-de- gree disorderly conduct. For that oﬀ ense, Hoppe was ordered to serve another six months in prison followed by two years of post-prison supervision. All three sentences are to be served consecutively. Hoppe was represented by attorney Jeﬀ rey C. MacNeilly. Grant County District Attorney Jim Carpenter represented the state. Wednesday, August 17, 2022 Sheriﬀ ’s Oﬃ ce makes arrests By STEVEN MITCHELL Blue Mountain Eagle JOHN DAY — The Grant County Sheriﬀ ’s Oﬃ ce made a pair of busts during a busy fair week. Acting on a tip that a sto- len U-Haul van was in the area, deputies located the van in John Day on Thursday, Aug. 11, and arrested driver Allen Cramer, 36, of Bakers- ﬁ eld, California, according to a press release from the sher- iﬀ ’s oﬃ ce. The U-Haul had been sto- len in the Bakersﬁ eld area, By STEVEN MITCHELL Blue Mountain Eagle JOHN DAY — Fireﬁ ghters on Friday, Aug. 12, kept an early June 25, 1958 ~ August 2, 2022 24/7 F ORECAST A UTOMATED : 541-575-1122 R OAD CONDITIONS : 511; TRIPCHECK . COM NOAA W EATHER R ADIO FOR J OHN D AY 162.500 MHz Grant County Sheriﬀ Todd McKinley said in the news release. Additionally, accord- morning ﬁ re that threatened two homes near the Grant County Industrial Park in John Day to less than an acre. Grant County Sheriﬀ Todd McKinley said the John Day and Canyon City ﬁ re depart- ments responded to the blaze, which burned alongside Chim- ney Gulch Road. McKinley said favorable early morning conditions and a quick response by ﬁ reﬁ ghters limited the ﬁ re’s spread to grass and brush alongside the road. He said the cause of the ﬁ re is under investigation. McKinley said the ﬁ re broke out in a place that he characterized as “odd” with no apparent signs of ignition. Martha Meredith May 4, 1926 ~July 31, 2022 Wife, Sister, Grandmother, Friend 18 years chasing their kids around the Northwest and supporting them in whatever they set their mind to. Much of her time with her family was spent at wrestling matches and ball games (baseball, volleyball, basketball, football). She always pushed her kids to work hard, follow their dreams, and treat everyone with love, kindness, and respect. Lloydene loved making sure they were well fed, al- ways had whatever was needed, and would drop anything to be there the second any of them needed her. She loved spending time with her family no matter what they were doing. Much of their time was spent in the woods, cutting ﬁrewood, on a logging landing, scouting for hunting season, hunting camp, ﬁshing, sledding, pick- ing mushrooms, giving driving lessons, or on long Sunday drives down every dirt road in Grant County. She taught them how to love each other unconditionally and to always show up for each other no matter the circumstance. People often commented how lucky she was to have all of her kids and grandkids live so close to her. It should come as no surprise why they all live in the same town, it was her. She had the ability to grow a family with such a powerful love that all of her kids were drawn back home just to be close to the family that she and Bill worked so hard to build. The next chapter of her life was most deﬁnitely her favorite. Her three children blessed her with 9 beautiful grandchildren. Lloydene was so proud of her children for the families that they had built. She could see that so many of the lessons that she worked to instill were being passed on. She spent the last 20 years of her life showing up to every game, 4-H contest, dance recital, wrestling match, awards ceremony, graduation, birthday party, and holiday. Even over the past 3 years when she wasn’t feeling well, she showed up. If she could not attend in person she would watch online or get text up- dates. She always took the time to make sure the grandkids knew how proud she was of them. In the last year of her life, she was able to love on her ﬁrst great-grandchild and this brought her so much joy. Lloydene loved family gatherings and always wanted her large extended family together for important events. It was common for Lloydene to host family gatherings with 70+ people, and she loved every second of it. There was nothing that she loved more than having all of her loved ones all in the same place sharing a meal and creating memories. Lloydene became the woman behind the scenes making the construction business that Bill and Toby started together stay up and running. She was constantly doing research, running parts, paying bills, picking up orders, ﬁxing breakfast and lunch, making calls, and reminding Bill what was next. She took so much pride in knowing that Bill and Toby were working side by side making a living together. Lloydene is survived by her husband Bill Thomas, daughter Simmie Waddel (Wade), daughter Shanna Northway (Chris), son Toby Thomas (Meredith), 9 grandchildren (Trinity Morris (Mason), Riddick, Adeline, Emmalyn, Jerett, Hunter, Tate, Clive, and Saber), 1 great-grandchild (Stetson), father Ronald Dowdy, brother Lewis Dowdy (Lenette), and brother Lenny Dowdy(Sherri). She was preceded in death by her mom, Joyce Dowdy. Lloydene was a woman of strong faith and conviction. She wasn’t afraid to die because there was no doubt where she was going. She fought a very long, hard battle with cancer, but that ﬁght was never out of fear. She fought for time, time with her family and friends, time to see her children and grandchildren reach new milestones, time to help one more person, time to give more advice, time to give more hugs, and time to touch one more life. Her work here on Earth is done, but her time up in heaven has just begun. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday August 20th at 11:00 AM at Bill and Lloydene’s home, 840 S. Canyon Blvd John Day Oregon. Potluck lunch to follow, please bring a dish of your choice Paid for by the family of Lloydene Thomas. Last Week’s Temps John Day ...........................................................HI/LO Wednesday ..................................................... 93/56 Thursday .......................................................... 93/57 Friday ............................................................... 93/57 Saturday .......................................................... 92/54 Sunday ............................................................. 90/53 Monday............................................................ 92/58 Tuesday ........................................................... 97/59 Grant County Sheriﬀ Todd McKinley and his deputies had a busy fair week with a pair of busts. Quick response keeps ﬁ re small Lloydene Doris (Dowdy) Thomas Lloydene Doris (Dowdy) Thomas died in her John Day, OR home surrounded by her loved ones on August 2, 2022 at the age of 64. She was born in Springﬁeld, OR on June 25, 1958 to Ron and Joyce Dowdy. Lloydene lived life to the fullest and fully dedicated her life to those she loved. Lloydene was an extremely hard worker and al- ways put others’ needs in front of her own. She was the oldest of three children and has always cared for her brothers (Lewis and Lenny) as if they were her own. There wasn’t a person that crossed her path that she was unwilling to help. She would ﬁnd a way to help no matter how great the personal sacriﬁce was. Lloydene was the true deﬁnition of selﬂess. Most people that knew her would say that she was kindhearted, giving, and loving. People that had the privilege of knowing her well knew that she was all of those things, and so much more. Her family and close friends would say that she was tough, relentless, tena- cious, stubborn, and a ﬁghter. She stood up for what she believed, those she believed in, and fought for her life up until the very last second. Lloydene was a natural-born leader that carried herself in a way that set a positive example for everyone that knew her. Her character was impeccable, she did the right thing even when nobody was watching. As we all know it is nearly impossible to be “good” all the time, but that is exactly what she was. Lloydene had a passion for music and was an accomplished musician. Her ability to pick up an instrument and master it was unmatched. She played the trumpet, French horn, piano, and guitar. Lloydene passed her musical abilities on to her daughter Simmie who quickly picked up the trumpet. Her family has fond memories of singing in the pick-up on every road trip. She was the only one that sounded good but would encourage the rest of the family to join in. Lloydene held many jobs throughout her lifetime, she was al- ways willing to do whatever she needed to do to make sure her family was cared for. Her ﬁrst job was working in the bean ﬁelds with her mom Joyce, who was the bean boss. She could pick pretty much anything with lightning speed, which came in handy when she had to clean up the rows her little brothers had creamed. She then went to work at the golf course as a cook as well as in the pro shop. After graduating from Creswell High School she worked at a chicken plant in Cresswell, Oregon while studying early childhood education. She continued to work at the chicken plant after she and Bill were married. When Bill and Lloydene moved their family to John Day in 1990, she took a job as a meat wrapper at Russell’s Meats. Lloydene soon found her true calling and passion in life working at the school. She started at Humbolt Elementary working as a Special Education Aide and ﬁnished her career at Grant Union High School in the special education department. She worked a total of 27 years for Grant School District #3. Lloydene’s true passion in life was working with special edu- cation students. She had a way with students that you cannot be taught. She would set extremely high expectations for her students but was there to support their learning every step of the way. She touched countless lives in her work at the school and achieved things with students that no other human could have. She inspired her middle daughter, Shanna to pursue a career in special education and was so proud that her legacy would continue. She was instru- mental in building the greenhouse program that continues to give special education students the opportunity to learn valuable life and job skills. Her ultimate goal was to teach all of her students how to be conﬁdent in their own abilities and get the most out of life. On August 12th 1978, Lloydene married the love of her life and started a 44-year adventure, and boy was it an adventure every sin- gle day. Bill and Lloydene were married and quickly became a family of 5. Their ﬁrst born baby girl (Simmie) was born in 1980, followed shortly after by their second baby girl (Shanna) in 1983, and ﬁnally their third baby boy (Toby) in 1986. Lloydene and Bill spent the next Bennett Hall Blue Mountain Eagle, File ing to McKinley, Cramer had federal warrants for his arrest on other matters. McKinley added that Cra- mer had fuel-theft devices and said those who suspect their fuel tanks had been drilled or siphoned should contact his oﬃ ce. Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, Aug. 10, depu- ties served a warrant on Aus- tin Chase-Young, 18, who had been reported as an escapee from the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Mar- ion County, and took him into custody. Martha was a talented musician, majorette, and homemaker who enjoyed caring for family, visitors, and little creatures. She always did her best to bring joy to those around her, and to make sure everyone who visited her home was well-fed and comfortable. She loved going to the beach, playing the organ, knitting, humming and singing, lilacs, mini golf, sunny days and the color purple. Paid for by the family of Martha Meridith. Katherine (Katie) Margaret Herburger Johns November 4, 1937 ~ August 6, 2022 Katharine (Katie) Margaret Herburger Johns was born on November 4, 1937 to Cedrick and Sally Herburger in Canyon City, Oregon. She joined two brothers, Dave and Jack. She attended school in Ash- land and Rogue River, Oregon. She attended beauty school in Medford, Oregon after high school. Following her parents to Mount Vernon, she worked as a beautician in John Day. She married the love of her life, Jack Johns on September 12, 1959. They had three daughters: Deena Marie (Steve), Brenda Lee (Alan) and Kathie Kay (Randy). Katie was Grandma Katie to her valued and very loved grand- children: JR Moore, Thomas Moore, Kyle Christy, Justin Burke, Emma Burke and Tyree Burke. She also had two great-grandchil- dren, Heather and Kyle Moore. Katie was a very talented lady. She was a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother. Her talents were many, which included sewing, painting, quilting and cooking. She loved to always have a project in the works. Katie was active in the First Christian Church of John Day along with the Community Church of Fox. She was President of Aglow Christian Women and was a speaker throughout Oregon at Aglow meetings. Katie was the president of the Grant Coun- ty Cowbelles, vice-president of the Oregon Cowbelles, and a 4-H leader. She taught many sewing classes and lessons. For a period she taught sewing at the Long Creek School. She enjoyed giving tole painting lessons also. Kathie, her daughter, learned tole paining from her mom and entered her paintings in 4-H for three years and they went on to State Fair where she won Grand Champion each year. Paid for by the family of Katie Johns. W EATHER F ORECAST FOR THE WEEK OF A UG . 17-23 Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Mostly cloudy Cloudy Partly cloudy Mostly sunny Mostly sunny Mostly sunny sunny 100 95 92 94 95 89 90 63 63 60 60 59 58 59