Rowell

CANYON CITY — Two Grant County elected officials — one a newcomer, the other a seasoned veteran — took their oaths of office on Tuesday, Jan. 3, in separate ceremonies.

First-term County Commissioner John Rowell was sworn in by County Judge Scott Myers.

Rowell, a John Day resident, won a three-way race in May to succeed Commissioner Sam Palmer, whose term expired at the end of 2022. Palmer decided not to seek reelection while he pursued an ultimately unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination in last year’s U.S. Senate race.

Retired after more than 40 years in the wood products industry, Rowell is also a Marine Corps veteran who served in the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars. He holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural science and economics from Oregon State University.

Rowell joins Myers and Commissioner Jim Hamsher on the three-member Grant County Court.

As a county commissioner, Rowell will be paid an annual salary of $29,556 based on a 13½-hour work week.

Grant County Clerk Brenda Percy began her fourth term in the post by taking the oath of office from Circuit Judge Rob Raschio.

As clerk, Percy is the official keeper of all the county’s public records and oversees all elections in the county. Her office is also responsible for processing all Board of Property Tax Appeal petitions, Commissioner’s Journal documents, county orders, plats and real property transactions.

Percy started working in the Grant County Clerk’s Office in 1999 and rose to the position of deputy clerk before being elected clerk in 2010. Before that she worked in the real estate industry.

Percy’s current salary is $67,260 a year.