NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
A3
Grant logs 26th Planning board seeks members
COVID death
Vaccine clinics
come to county
By TONY CHIOTTI
Blue Mountain Eagle
By TONY CHIOTTI
Blue Mountain Eagle
By TONY CHIOTTI
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — There will be
a series of vaccination clinics
off ered in Grant County by the
Oregon Health Authority and
the Grant County Health Depart-
ment starting Monday, Oct. 3,
at various locations around the
county. The OHA will be pro-
viding a team to assist in admin-
istering both COVID-19 and fl u
vaccines.
Primary COVID-19 vaccines
as well as bivalent boosters,
which are specifi cally designed
to target the dominant omicron
subvariants of the virus, will be
available.
There will be both regu-
lar and high-dose fl u vaccines;
high-dose versions are intended
for patients over the age of 65
or with underlying conditions.
It is recommended that resi-
dents check with their primary
care providers prior to attend-
ing to help them choose the right
options, although nurses will be
able to answer questions at the
clinics.
Attendees should bring insur-
ance information and any doc-
umentation of prior COVID-19
vaccination with them.
Here is the schedule for the
vaccination clinics:
• Monday, Oct. 3, 1-3 p.m. at
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Blue Mountain Eagle, File
A health care worker prepares a
COVID-19 shot.
the Dayville Community Hall.
•
Tuesday,
Oct.
4,
11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Monument
Senior Center, 269 Main St.
• Wednesday, Oct. 5, 8:30 to
10:30 a.m. at the Long Creek
School.
• Wednesday, Oct. 5, noon-
1:30 p.m. at the Prairie City Senior
Center, 204 N. McHaley St.
•
Thursday,
Oct.
6,
11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Seneca
Community Center.
• Friday and Saturday, Oct.
7 and 8, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the
Grant County Health Depart-
ment, 528 E. Main St., Suite E,
John Day.
JOHN DAY — The Grant County
Health Department reported the 26th
death of a local resident related to
COVID-19 on Monday, Oct. 3.
The 97-year-old male died at his res-
idence on Sept. 25 and had underlying
health conditions, the department said in
a news release.
Grant County reported 22 new
COVID-19 cases in the previous week.
There is currently one person hospital-
ized in Grant County with COVID-19.
The state of Oregon reported 4,553
cases in the week ending on Sept. 28,
as well as 41 new deaths and 268 hos-
pitalizations. Nationally there have been
a total of 96,418,825 COVID cases and
1,059,711 deaths since the start of the
pandemic.
Reported case numbers only reflect
cases known to county and state author-
ities and do not include positive home
tests that were not reported.
The Grant County Health Depart-
ment asks that people report any pos-
itive at-home tests by calling the Ore-
gon Heath Authority at 1-866-917-8881
as well as notifying all close con-
tacts so they can watch for symp-
toms and reduce the spread of the
disease.
Vaccination is still the single most
effective way to protect yourself and
reduce the impact of COVID-19 in the
community, according to public health
officials. The Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention strongly encourages
COVID-19 vaccination for everyone
aged six months and over.
CANYON CITY — The Grant
County Planning Commission is
seeking new volunteer members
to ensure its ability to oversee
land use, zoning applications and
the siting of new facilities.
The commission is made up
of nine regular members and two
alternates, brought in to make a
quorum when required. Currently,
the commission has no alternates
and only eight members.
Grant County Planning Direc-
tor Shannon Springer explained
that such a lean roster risks situa-
tions where the commission can’t
fulfi ll its vital role.
“We have 150 days to get
through any local appeals,” said
Springer. She explained that if the
appeals process is not completed
within the statutory time frames,
an application could be approved
by default, regardless of its merits.
“So somebody wants to put a dog
food factory on the corner next
to, say, the grade school, and we
don’t make all of our timelines,
even though it’s not an allowable
use and they don’t meet the cri-
teria, then it would be authorized
by default because they weren’t
aff orded the appropriate process
in the appropriate time frame.”
She explained that the com-
missioners are careful to plan
things out to avoid such outcomes,
but they would like to fi ll out their
ranks to make sure they are never
put in that position.
Applications for new members
are reviewed by the current mem-
bers of the planning commission,
who make a recommendation to
the Grant County Court. The court
makes the appointments as part of
its regular meetings.
Positions are approved for a
four-year term, at the end of which
members are free to reapply.
Springer said there is an eff ort
to ensure that a wide geograph-
ical area of Grant County is rep-
resented, and there are statutory
requirements that state no more
than two members should be from
the same industry background,
in order to ensure fairness in the
decisions.
“It’s not an enormous time
commitment,” said Springer, add-
ing that when a complex case
does come up, there is support for
commission members. While not
allowed to talk to each other or to
applicants or complainants, com-
missioners are able to receive sup-
port from the planning offi ce staff
in order to understand the codes
and processes before them.
“It’s a key and integral part of
Oregon’s land use process,” said
Springer. “Citizen involvement is
a foundational block.”
The commission meets at
5:30 p.m. on the fourth Thurs-
day of the month at the John Day
Fire Hall, 316 S. Canyon Blvd.
Agendas and minutes from past
meetings are published online
at
https://grantcountyoregon.
net/248/Planning.
Anyone interested in applying
should pick up a volunteer appli-
cation form from the county court
or by contacting the planning
offi ce directly.
Fourth Avenue to reopen next month
By JUSTIN DAVIS
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Work to
repair a fl ood-damaged stretch
of Southwest Fourth Ave-
nue should be completed next
month.
A portion of Fourth Avenue,
which serves as the primary
connector between John Day
and the Grant County Regional
Justin Davis/Blue Mountain Eagle
Airport, was damaged in 2019
after fl ooding in Canyon Creek Lee Duckett of Tidewater Contractors operates a front loader on
eroded the bank beneath the Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2022. The company is shoring up a fl ood-dam-
aged portion of Southwest Fourth Avenue in John Day.
roadbed.
Eff orts by Tidewater Con-
tractors to repair the road are ging out the road base in the ate the road base that had fallen
about halfway done, according damaged area. Sandbags were into Canyon Creek during the
to Tidewater’s Lee Duckett.
then placed along the creek fl ooding.
An update on the status of to keep water out of the work
A riprap wall made of large
the project was provided at the site before a survey of the line boulders will then be con-
Sept. 27 John Day City Coun- where a mechanically stabi- structed to anchor the MSE
cil meeting by Nick Green, the lized earth retaining wall would retaining wall to the bank. The
city’s chief planning offi cial. be placed. The MSE retain- result, Green said, will be a
Excavation of the site began ing wall consists of compacted native-looking slope with the
on Sept. 1, with workers dig- soil and gravel and will re-cre- riprap anchoring the MSE wall
WHAT’S HAPPENING
THURSDAY, OCT. 13
Triple P Positive Parenting
Program
• 5:30-8 p.m., Painted Sky Cen-
ter for the Arts, 118 Washington St.,
Canyon City
Free parenting program that
combines four evening sessions
with personal phone calls to help
with individual implementation.
Sponsored by Families First, Com-
munity Counseling Solutions and
Frontier Early Learning Hub. Free
dinner and free child care available.
Register online at https://tinyurl.
com/bdevzm6s. For more informa-
tion, call 541-575-1006.
FRIDAY, OCT. 14
Dayville Fall Festival
• 6 p.m., Dayville Community
Hall, Highway 26, Dayville
The town will hold its annual
Fall Festival in the newly renovated
Dayville Community Hall. Corn-
bread, rolls and apple cider will be
provided, and attendees are asked to
bring a soup, stew, chili or dessert
to share. There will also be a cake-
W HAT’S
HAPPENING
walk and an Anything Pumpkin
Contest (bring food, artwork or any-
thing else pumpkin-related to enter).
Winners of the Scarecrow Contest
will be announced, the community
hall’s new tile wall will be unveiled,
and Dayville student work will be
displayed.
THURSDAY, OCT. 20
Triple P Positive Parenting
Program
• 5:30-8 p.m., Painted Sky Cen-
ter for the Arts, 118 Washington St.,
Canyon City
Free parenting program that
combines four evening sessions
with personal phone calls to help
with individual implementation.
Sponsored by Families First, Com-
munity Counseling Solutions and
Frontier Early Learning Hub. Free
dinner and free child care available.
Register online at https://tinyurl.
com/bdevzm6s. For more informa-
tion, call 541-575-1006.
THURSDAY, NOV. 10
Triple P Positive Parenting
Program
• 5:30-8 p.m., Painted Sky Cen-
ter for the Arts, 118 Washington St.,
Canyon City
Free parenting program that
combines four evening ses-
sions with personal phone calls
to help with individual imple-
mentation. Sponsored by Fami-
lies First, Community Counsel-
ing Solutions and Frontier Early
Learning Hub. Free dinner and
free child care available. Regis-
ter online at https://tinyurl.com/
bdevzm6s. For more information,
call 541-575-1006.
Do you have a community
event you’d like to publicize? Email
information to editor@bmeagle.
com. The deadline is noon Fri-
day for publication the following
Wednesday.
A MAN
WAKES
UP in the
morning
after sleeping on...
an advertised bed, in advertised
pajamas.
He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR,
have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an
ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his
ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an
ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person
hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his
non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE.
Then it’s too late.
AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK?
DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE
Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it!
Blue Mountain Eagle
MyEagleNews.com
mentioned that the repaired sec-
tion of road may not be paved
when it fi rst reopens to the pub-
lic but it will be in good enough
condition to drive on and will be
repaved eventually.
Duckett confi rmed Green’s
timeline in an interview, stat-
ing that the road will be opened
to the public sometime in
November.
“(We have to) fi nish build-
ing the rock wall (and) get it
brought up to the surface, and
then put in a storm drain and
some paving. That’s about it,”
he said.
“We’re probably at the half-
way mark (or) a little further
than that. We dug out pretty fast.
… It’ll get faster and faster the
higher we get,” Duckett added.
Tidewater’s bid for the
project was $917,575. The
work was originally going to
be 75% funded by the fed-
eral Emergency Management
Agency with a 25% match by
the city. The project is now
completely grant-funded.
Harvest
Festival
Oct 14th 3pm-8pm,
Oct 15th 9 am - 2 pm.
Heritage Barn at
the Grant County Fairgrounds.
Multiple Food Vendors, Curbside Cravings on Saturday,
Hot Dig-Ga-Dy Dogs, hot dogs and sausage dogs
with all the fixings on both days. Fire and Ice Ice Cream,
multiple dietary options available.
Live Music
Kids activities- face paintings too!
Drawing for a 8 burner grill
Cider Press available, bring your own apples/containers,
or both available for purchase.
Autumn mini photo sessions
Pumpkins and winter squash, home canned goods,
baked treats & honey for sale
20+ vendors
Sign up to be a vendor:
grantcofarmersmarket@gmail.com
or call 541-620-3152
S286526-1
THURSDAY, OCT. 6
Triple P Positive Parenting
Program
• 5:30-8 p.m., Painted Sky Cen-
ter for the Arts, 118 Washington St.,
Canyon City
Free parenting program that
combines four evening sessions
with personal phone calls to help
with individual implementation.
Sponsored by Families First, Com-
munity Counseling Solutions and
Frontier Early Learning Hub. Free
dinner and free child care available.
Register online at https://tinyurl.
com/bdevzm6s. For more informa-
tion, call 541-575-1006.
Emergency communications
council meeting
• 6 p.m., John Day Fire Hall,
316 S. Canyon Blvd.
The Grant County Emergency
Communications Agency Intergov-
ernmental Council will meet to dis-
cuss the appointment of a budgeting
offi cer, a hiring bonus program and
other matters. The meeting is open
to the public. To join via telecon-
ference, dial 605-313-5406 and use
access code 889135.
to the bank while the MSE
retaining grid stabilizes the wall.
Native soil will then be put
back in place and eff orts to
re-vegetate the site will begin.
Green said the goal of the proj-
ect is to bring the site back to
pre-disaster conditions.
Tidewater was expected
to be fi nished with restoration
eff orts around Canyon Creek by
Sept. 30, with the road opened
for use by the general public
again by the end of October or
early November. Green also
Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710