Court recognizes the importance of supporting local veterans

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

Harney County may once again have a full time Veteran Service Officer.

At the Harney County Court meeting on July 21, Judge Steve Grasty proposed that the county make up the difference to bring the position back up to full time.

Currently, the position filled by Guy McKay is a half-time position, though in the past year it was a full time position.

The Veteran Service Officer’s office resides at the Harney County Senior Center and is paid for mainly through state funds. With recent state budget cuts, the position was cut to slightly less than half time.

Judge Grasty noted that with the National Guard members recently returned from the Middle East and the Veterans Administration Clinic opening here in Burns, veterans are using more services than ever.

He said he would like the county to step up and fund the position at a cost of $25,000 to bring it back to full time.

Grasty said the county has money in the general fund to make this happen. He has heard from several local veterans on the issue. “The need is apparent,” he said.

Audience member Linda Johnson said that Harney County has one of the highest ratios of veterans in the state, and that veterans are a segment of the population that need support. She complimented McKay on all the work he has done for local veterans. “He’s brought the awareness way up,” she said.

Grasty said he would draw up some documents and come back to the court with some more solid numbers at the Aug. 3 county court meeting.

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The court discussed a letter from Wayne Baron asking the county to forgive the debt owed by 4R Recycling and to give Bill Wilbur back a $5,000 cleaning deposit.

Baron stated that he felt 4R provided a community service and showed locals the benefits of recycling.

County Treasurer Nellie Franklin said that 4R owed the county more than $6,000 in taxes, deferred rent, building rent and baler rent. She also noted that 4R was a private business and didn’t feel the county should subsidize it. She pointed out that C&B Sanitary also provides recycling and the county doesn’t subsidize it. “This is not the way to do business,” she said.

Judge Grasty pointed out that Baron did clean up the building and grounds before moving out. “I think one of the important things to recognize here is that an incredible service was performed for this community for a time,” he said.
Grasty said he would collect more information to present to the court at the next meeting before they make a decision on whether or not to forgive 4R’s debt and return the cleaning deposit.

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The court approved an intergovernmental agreement between Eastern Oregon counties. Grasty said being part of the agreement that includes Baker, Grant, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union and Wallowa counties will help the Eastern part of the state band together on issues regarding sage grouse habitat and wind energy.

Commissioner Dan Nichols worried that the way the agreement was written might encourage power plays between counties.

However, Grasty said that Harney County can decide whether or not it wants to participate on any given issue.
Grasty and Commissioner Jack Drinkwater voted in favor of the agreement, while Commissioner Nichols voted against it.

In other business:

• the court discussed whether or not the county should approve part-time benefits for employees in the Home Health and Hospice department.

Grasty said it was hard to find nurses to provide hospice care, and that allowing two employees to go from full time to part-time would not increase what the county currently pays for insurance.

There were concerns about the precedent this would set and the court felt more discussion was needed. It will be on the agenda for the next meeting;

• Sue Licht, a preservation architect for the Oregon State Parks Department, gave a presentation on work at the Pete French Round Barn and the Frenchglen Hotel.

The court wanted to know why local contractors had not been used for the projects.

Licht replied that they would love to use local workers, however, preservation work requires certain qualifications and techniques that are often learned at field schools. But she noted that project contractors will often sub-contract out work to local contractors and that can provide a learning opportunity as well;

• the court discussed selling the former Crane landfill. Someone has expressed interest in the property. Grasty said that the county would need to advertise the sale and that some restrictions would likely need to be placed on the property;

• the court moved the date of the next county court meeting from Aug. 4 to Aug. 3 to accommodate Commissioner Nichols’ schedule;

• the court approved the sale of 140 acres to Roaring Springs Ranch for $15,000;

• the court appointed Wayne Evans and Stacy Davies to serve on the Harney County Planning Commission;

• Assessor Ted Tiller gave a presentation on the Department of Forestry’s tax for providing fire protection for privately owned forest land. Tiller said that this is a tax that originates from outside the county, so the county has no control as to the rate, which has jumped significantly in the last couple of years.

The court decided to contact a representative from the Department of Forestry to further explain the increased tax rate;

• the court signed the Oregon Jobs and Transportation Act of 2009 Local Agency Agreement for Fund Distribution between the Oregon Department of Transportation and Harney County. The county will receive $4.1 million as a result of the agreement;

• the court approved donations to the Harney County Opportunity Team in the amount of $5,000 and the High Desert Partnership in the amount of $20,000. Both donations were included in this year’s budget;

• Judge Grasty said that with the publication of the Bureau of Land Management’s North Steens Transmission Line Draft Environmental Impact Study, he would like the county to do everything in its power to make sure the comment period is not extended, as he anticipates the environmental groups will attempt to do. He said perhaps the county should write a letter discouraging that from happening.

The next county court meeting will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3, at the courthouse.