NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Conditions fuel Crockett Knob Fire
Fire crews snuff ed out spot fi res from
the previous days and doused remnant
hotspots that burned while crews contin-
GREENVILLE — The Crockett Knob ued constructing handlines along the north-
Fire burning 20 miles north of Prairie City eastern and eastern fl anks of the blaze, fi re
has torched upwards of
managers said.
4,300 acres and remains
With the increased tem-
25% contained as hot,
peratures and dry, windy
dry and heavy winds
conditions, fi re crews
prompted fi re managers
will work to secure exist-
to issue a red fl ag warning
ing containment lines, the
on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
press release noted.
Fire crews continued
Meantime,
heavy
to secure containment
equipment will continue
lines along Forest Service
improving the potential
Road 4550 and FSR 45.
contingency line along
Meanwhile, fi re manag-
FSR 45, fi re managers
ers said, heavy equipment
said. With that, the press
improved a potential con-
added, crews are moni-
tingency line along FSR
toring containment lines
45 near FSR 10, accord-
along the southern edge of
Blue Mountain Eagle graphic the fi re.
ing to a press release.
A total of 623 fi refi ght-
Helicopters are dump-
ing personnel are currently deployed to ing water on the north and east edges of
battle the blaze.
the blaze to cool the fl ames.
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
CANYON CITY — Earlier this
summer, Grant and Harney counties
implemented a drug and family treat-
ment court program to address rising
addiction rates in the area.
Circuit Court Judge Rob Raschio
said the drug problem in Grant
County is severe and is the founda-
tional cause of much of the criminal
activity in the county, including theft
and acts of violence.
Raschio said if drug addiction is
not addressed in the court system, it
will not get addressed anywhere else.
When Oregonians voted to
decriminalize small amounts of drugs
with Measure 110, voters thought
it would address the drug problem.
Instead, Raschio said, it hobbled the
court’s ability to get people into drug
treatment.
Under Measure 110, if some-
one gets cited for possessing a small
amount of drugs, they can have the
violation — akin to a traffi c ticket —
dismissed if they call a hotline for a
brief evaluation to see if they have a
drug problem.
“The people of Oregon made a
decision,” he said. “That is what they
wanted to do, and that’s fi ne with the
court. We just have
to deal with it.”
With that, the
24th Judicial District
Specialty Treatment
Court is now operat-
ing a drug and fam-
ily court program
Timko
in Grant and Har-
ney County, Raschio
said.
Raschio
said
Grant County used
to have a drug court
program and that
he decided it was a
Raschio
good time to bring it
back, given that Grant County’s dis-
trict attorney has been willing to put
people charged with crimes that have
victims into the program.
Not only that, Raschio said, but
the presiding judge of Harney Coun-
ty’s drug court program —Christie
Timko, a longtime judge pro tem-
pore — is highly trained in drug court
protocol.
Raschio said Timko, who he
appointed and who will work under
his supervision, will oversee both pro-
grams, drug and family court.
The drug court, also referred to
as judicial treatment court, is for
non-violent adult off enders with a
Plea deal
reached in sex
crimes case
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
Les Zaitz/Contributed Photo
The Crockett Knob Fire, roughly 20 miles north of Prairie City, has
scorched more than 4,300 acres.
New court focuses on addiction
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
A3
severe drug problem who are highly
likely to re-off end and facing serious
consequences.
People coming into drug treatment
court, Raschio said, are facing situa-
tions where they can either do a year
in jail or complete the program.
“We’re doing heavy, heavy con-
sequences for people who enter into
drug court,” Raschio said.
Those consequences will happen
to those who do not comply with the
program’s provisions.
“I want people to know that we’re
very concerned about public safety,”
he said. “Secondly, I think public
safety is enhanced by drug courts,
when they’re done eff ectively. “
Raschio said the program received
just under $550,000 in grant funding
through the U.S. Department of Jus-
tice Assistance Program.
The funding will pay for a part-
time probation offi cer for the drug
court program who would work on
the weekends. Grant County Sher-
iff Todd McKinley, who oversees
the probation offi ce, said the funding
would make it possible for people to
put in community service hours and
come in for drug tests over the week-
end. With the addition of the treat-
ment court probation offi cer, the pro-
bation offi ce will have a total of three
offi cers and will be able to be open
seven days a week.
McKinley told the newspaper that
the probation offi ce has not yet fi lled
the position.
During the June 1 session of
Grant County Court, Timko told
the court that the treatment program
is evidence-based and said 90% of
those who complete the program
have not been re-arrested three years
after graduating.
Raschio said he did not just want
to have a drug court for criminal
off enders, but also a family court
for parents struggling with serious
addiction issues that are impacting
their ability to care for their children.
The model is similar to drug
court. The addicted parents would
have their children taken from them
by the Department of Human Ser-
vices placed into foster care and
would enter into an intensive treat-
ment program with strict supervi-
sion. The idea is to get the parents
the services they need to address
their addiction, then get the family
back together.
Raschio said substance abuse was
alleged in more than half of all cases
in the Grant and Harney County
district where DHS has taken legal
custody.
CANYON CITY – More than
a year after his arrest on child sex
crimes and other charges, a 45-year-
old Ontario man has pleaded no
contest to fi ve counts in a deal that
could send him to prison for more
than 16 years.
James Warren Eaton entered
the plea Friday, Sept. 2, in Grant
County Circuit Court. He is sched-
uled to be sentenced by Judge Rob
Raschio in a hearing on Thursday,
Sept. 8.
Eaton was arrested in July 2021
and lodged in the Grant County
Jail. In a grand jury indictment, he
was charged with 15 crimes, includ-
ing three counts each of fi rst-de-
gree kidnapping, fi rst-degree sex-
ual abuse and fi rst-degree sodomy.
All of the crimes were alleged to
have taken place in Grant County
during the month of June 2021, and
all involved a single victim, a girl
under the age of 12 who was known
to Eaton.
On Friday, Eaton pleaded no
contest to fi ve counts, including
three counts of fi rst-degree sexual
abuse, a Measure 11 off ense that
carries a presumptive mandatory
minimum sentence of 75 months in
prison.
If served end to end, those three
sentences would add up to 225
months. Under terms of the plea
agreement fi led with the court,
Eaton would have to serve at least
200 months, or 16 years and eight
months, behind bars without the
possibility of early release, fol-
lowed by post-prison supervision
for the rest of his life.
Eaton was represented by
defense attorney John B. Lamborn
of Burns. Grant County District
Attorney Jim Carpenter prosecuted
the case.
In 1997, Eaton was accused of
fi ve sex crimes in Jeff erson County,
according to court documents that
listed his city of residence at the
time as John Day. He was found
guilty except for insanity of one
count of fi rst-degree rape and was
placed under the jurisdiction of the
state Psychiatric Security Review
Board for up to 20 years, according
to documents fi led with the court.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 7
Grant County Court
• 9 a.m., Grant County
Courthouse, 201 S. Humbolt
St., Canyon City
The Grant County Court
will hold its regular twice-
monthly meeting.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 8
Yoga in the Park
• 6 p.m., Canyon City Park,
Highway 395 North at Park
Street
Instructors Ashley Ste-
vick and Amanda Moss of
Namaspa Yoga Community
lead this free yoga class for
people of all skill levels.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 10
Grant Union Class of ‘72
reunion
• Noon, Gleason Park, Ing-
Hay Way, John Day
Members of the Grant
Union High School Class
of 1972 are invited to a 50th
reunion. The festivities will
begin at noon with a casual
brown bag lunch at the old
City Park (now part of the
Kam Wah Chung State Heri-
tage Site). There will also be
a no-host gathering at 7 that
evening at the John Day Elks
Lodge, 140 NE Dayton St.
For more information, call or
W HAT’S
HAPPENING
text Cathy Newbrey Hodges
at 360-200-3879.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 22
SUNDAY, SEPT. 25
Yoga in the Park
• 6 p.m., Canyon City Park,
Highway 395 North at Park
Street
Instructors Ashley Stevick
and Amanda Moss of Namaspa
Yoga Community lead this free
yoga class for people of all skill
levels.
Silvies Sunday Slam
• 11:30 a.m., The Retreat
and Links at Silvies Valley
Ranch, 11 miles south of Sen-
eca on Forest Road 3930
The last Sunday Slam of
the year is a couples date:
Any two people play for $50
each (husband/wife, boyfriend
girlfriend,
father/daugh-
ter, mother/son, etc.). Sun-
day Slams, open to all Grant
and Harney County residents,
include golf, cart, range balls
and a hotdog lunch. Check-in
at the gatehouse starts at
11:30 a.m., with the fi rst tee
TUESDAY, SEPT. 13
John Day City Council
• 7 p.m., John Day Fire
Hall, 316 S. Canyon Blvd.
The council will hold
its regular twice-monthly
meeting.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 15
Yoga in the Park
• 6 p.m., Canyon City Park,
Highway 395 North at Park
Street
Instructors Ashley Ste-
vick and Amanda Moss of
Namaspa Yoga Community
lead this free yoga class for
people of all skill levels.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21
Grant County Court
• 9 a.m., Grant County
Courthouse, 201 S. Humbolt
St., Canyon City
The Grant County Court
will hold its regular twice-
monthly meeting.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 24
Monument Buckaroo Fes-
tival and Harvest Auction
• Noon to 7 p.m., Monu-
ment Senior Center, 269 Main
St., Monument
Food, music, games, more
food and auctions mark this
fi fth annual fundraiser for the
Monument Senior Center. The
festivities begin at noon with
a 4-H booth serving tacos and
registration opening for the live
and silent auctions. At 1 p.m.
there will be live music along
with horseshoes, cornhole, face
painting and other diversions,
with prizes for the kids. The
live auction starts at 3 p.m. At
5 p.m., a dinner of salmon and
elk with all the trimmings will
be served, followed by a des-
sert auction at 6. The cost for
dinner is $20 per person or $35
per couple. Children 6-12 are
$7.50, and kids under 6 eat free.
time at 1 p.m. Call 800-SIL-
VIES to sign up.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 27
John Day City Council
• 7 p.m., John Day Fire
Hall, 316 S. Canyon Blvd.
The council will hold
its regular twice-monthly
meeting.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 29
Parks and Rec board
meeting
• 4 p.m., Parks and Rec
offi ce, 845 NW Bridge St.,
John Day
The John Day/Canyon City
Parks and Recreation Dis-
trict board will hold its regular
monthly meeting.
Yoga in the Park
• 6 p.m., Canyon City Park,
Highway 395 North at Park
Street
Instructors Ashley Stevick
and Amanda Moss of Namaspa
Yoga Community lead this free
yoga class for people of all skill
levels.
Do you have a community
event you’d like to publicize?
Email information to editor@
bmeagle.com. The deadline is
noon Friday for publication
the following Wednesday.
Honor a Local Veteran
For Veterans’ Day
We are the home of the free,
because of the brave.
Prairie City Cemetery District is selling bricks to go
around the flag pole at the Prairie City Cemetery.
You can honor a Veteran with three lines on a brick
for $75. This brick will be part of a memorial
honoring veterans both past and present and will be
a permanent fixture in our cemetery.
To order your brick or bricks:
For each brick write three lines of 20 characters
each for each brick you would like to purchase.
(i.e. name, branch of service, sentiment or dates)
Enclose a check for $75.00 for each brick
and mail to:
Showing Movies Since 1940!
1809 1st Street • Baker City
NOW SHOWING
SHOW TIMES NOT AVAILABLE BY PUBLICATION DEADLINE
Carla Wright
PO Box 633
Prairie City, OR 97869
For Show Times
Please Call
(541) 523-2522
or visit
www.eltrym.com
Shawna Clark, DNP, FNP
541-575-1263
235 S. Canyon Blvd. John Day, Oregon 97845
**SHOWTIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE. VISIT
OUR WEBSITE OR CALL AHEAD TO VERIFY**
www.eltrym.com
(541) 523-2522
Accepting new Patients! Go to:
www.canyoncreekclinic.com
This year’s fundraising effort ends in October
in the hope that they can be installed by
Veterans’ Day in November.