With many events, including public meetings, canceled because of COVID-19, the Eagle continued to provide rigorous reporting through public records requests and investigations in 2020.
With Grant County and Oregon under states of emergency, much was unknown about the pandemic and local efforts to address it. The Eagle uncovered a proposal to create a secretive Neighborhood Watch program that was canceled after details emerged. The Eagle discovered the COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center overspent its original budget by 60% and originally claimed too much in reimbursement for county court labor costs.
Continuing to cover the pandemic, the Eagle elbowed its way into a secret meeting held by Eastern Oregon county commissioners in Prairie City.
Irene Jerome, the countyâs Firewise coordinator, said the CWFP is updated annually.
The program helps organizations and property owners reduce fire danger and has been funded by the Secure Rural Schools payments.
She said she had been the âgo-toâ about anything that has to do with fire prevention in Grant County.
In February, she said, Oregon Fire Prevention invited her to give a presentation about how Grant County has successfully established Firewise in various communities throughout the county. She said the group was impressed, given the challenges with being geographically spread out.
She said the Firewise program, like everything else in 2020, has been affected by the pandemic.