SPORTS
❆✡✡ ☛☞✌✍ ✎✏✑✒ ✓☞✔✏ ✕✖✕☛ ✗✍☞✔ ✓☞✔✏
✥✘✙✚✘✛✜ ✢✣✘✤✦✘✧✦✜
EOU wins series finale
✺★✩✪✫✬✭✪✭★✬✮
❘✯✰✯✱✲✳✴✵✶✷✰ ✸✷✹✻
▼✼✽✽✾ ✿ ❀❁❂❃❂❄ ❅❇❄❈❉ ❊❋❄❂●❍
■❏■❑■ ▲✱◆✵✴❖✳✹✯ P✳✷✯◗ P✳ ❙✱✳✷❖✯
❚❯❱❲ ❢❪❡❝ ❳❨ ❩❡❬❡❭❪❲
❧❡❥❲
❫❴❳❲❴❡ ♠ ❫❴❵❬❫❜❴❪❝❞❢❲
♥♥♥❦❬❫❜❴❪❝❞❢❲ ❣❡❤❡❴❴❡❳
❣❡❤❡❴❴❡❳ ❢❳❥ ❢ ❦❬❫❯
❳❥❦❬❫❯
áâããâä åæ âç èéê äêë
øùùú úûü ýù ùþÿ ♦ û ❛ þ ú ✁ þ ✂✁✄ ÿ ✐✂ ÿ ☎ þÿÿ r ùþÿýÿ ✐✆✝ ý ù ✞ ✟ û øÿû ✠ ú
MONDAY ì íîïðñ òóô òõö÷ ì $1.50
Collins
sentenced
to more
than 41
years
➯ ➲➳➵➸ ➺➻ ➼➽➾➺➼➚➽➪
➶➺ ➳➹➺➘➺➴➷ ➘➽➳➬➚ ➮➺
➘➺➶➴➽➼ ➹➼➱➚➺➶
➚➽➶➮➽➶➵➽
❇ ✃❐ ❛r✂✝❛ ❒ ✆❛✄ ❐ ❛ ❮ ❛
❚❤✠ ✡☛☞✠✌✈✠✌
Corey Collins showed no
remorse for his actions on
Friday in his sentencing
hearing.
The
21-year-old who
was found guilty
of multiple sex
abuse charges in
February point-
îðóóêíô ed his finger at
the five victims
during his statement to
Union County Circuit Court
Judge Thomas Powers. It
was Collins’ lack of empathy
that led Powers to sentence
the Elgin resident to more
See Collins / Page 5A
Preserving
Union’s lone
pharmacy
❇ ✁✂✄❦ ☎✆✝✞✟
❚❤✠ ✡☛☞✠✌✈✠✌
Union’s pharmacy, the
Union Drug Company, is in
peril.
The pharmacy could close
as early as July, but its owner,
Walt Brookshire, and local
health organizations are set to
take innovative steps to save it.
The future of the pharmacy
is in danger because its build-
ing, at 105 N. Main St., may be
sold this spring. Brookshire
said a prospective buyer has
a purchase option agreement
with Brookshire, who owns
the building and the individ-
ual might exercise it by May 1.
Should this happen, Brook-
shire said, his pharmacy
would have 90 days to relo-
cate. Brookshire, local health
organizations and community
members do not want Union
to be left without a pharmacy,
and they are looking at long-
term solutions.
See Pharmacy / Page 2A
Police departments
see fewer applicants
❇ ✍r✆✟✄✂✝✄✆ ❇❛✟✂✎❛❡
❚❤✠ ✡☛☞✠✌✈✠✌
Across the nation, fewer
people are deciding to be-
✚✒✯✖ ✇ ✒✰✔✚✖ ✒ ② ✚✖✓✙✳ ✤✛✣ ✤
rising distrust in law enforce-
ment may be the reason.
According to data from
the Department of Jus-
tice, the number of police
✒ ② ✚✖✓✙ ✇ ✖✓ ③ ✳ ④④④ ✇ ✖✒ ✇ ✰✖
in the U.S. has gone down
11 percent since 1997. Na-
tionally, police depart-
✯✖✛✏✙ ✤✓✖ ✜✛✣✔✛★ ✔✏ ✯✒✓✖
✣✔ ② ✚✢✰✏ ✏✒ ✜✰✰ ✗✤✚✤✛✚✔✖✙✬
The Oregonian reported
earlier this month the Port-
land Police Bureau cur-
⑦⑧⑨⑩❶❷❸❶⑨ ❹❺⑩❷❻❺❼❽❾❿➀➁➂➃➀➄➅➀➄ ✓✖✛✏✰✕ ✑✤✙ ⑤⑥ ✢✛✜✰✰✖✣ ✒ ② ✚✖✓
➆➇➈➉➊➋ ➌➍➎➊➏ ➐➑➎➊ ➒➍➓➋➑➎➎➔→➣ ➇➑➋ ➓↔➊ ↕➍ ➙➋➍→➛➊ ➜➑➎➔➉➊ ➝➊➒➍➋➓➞➊→➓➟
positions it is struggling to
✜✰✰✳ ✤✛✣ ✛✖✘ ✓✖✚✓✢✔✏✙ ✤✓✖
dropping or failing out of
training at double the rate
they used to.
La Grande Police Chief
Brian Harvey said he can
see the trend in La Grande
as well. He said in the past
when there was a vacant of-
✜✚✖✓ ✇ ✒✙✔✏✔✒✛ ✑✖ ✘✒✢✰✣ ✰✔✱✖✰✕
receive 90 to 100 applica-
tions but now the depart-
ment gets only about 20. He
said that even though there
are fewer applicants, the po-
✙✔✏✔✒✛✙ ✤✓✖ ✙✏✔✰✰ ✥✖✔✛★ ✜✰✰✖✣
with good candidates, so
there hasn’t been a shortage
of cops in La Grande.
“Locally we’ve been very
See Police / Page 5A
Oregon bill targets
potential health
risks of electronics
❇ ✍r✆✟✄✂✝✄✆ ❇❛✟✂✎❛❡
❚❤✠ ✡☛☞✠✌✈✠✌
A bill introduced in the
Oregon Senate would re-
quire the Department of
Education and the Oregon
Health Authority to review
studies on the potential
health risks of exposure to
radiation from electronic
devices in classrooms.
SB 283 focuses on mi-
crowave radiation emitted
from electronic devices like
Wi-Fi routers, computers
and cellphones.
The bill calls for the De-
partment of Education
and the Oregon Health Au-
✏✑✒✓✔✏✕ ✏✒ ✓✖✗✔✖✘ ✙✚✔✖✛✏✔✜✚
✙✏✢✣✔✖✙ ✤✥✒✢✏ ✏✑✖ ✖✦✖✚✏✙ ✒✧
radiofrequency (RF) radia-
tion and create a strategic
plan for safety based on
their research. It would also
require schools to “prepare
a statement that discloses
the potential health risks of
wireless network technol-
ogy” and distribute them in
public and private elemen-
tary and secondary schools
in the state.
But what exactly is radio-
frequency radiation from
electronics?
Davison Soper, a physics
professor at the University
of Oregon, explained that
it sounds scarier than it is.
“Radiation is an unfortu-
nate word,” he said.
According to the FDA,
the electromagnetic spec-
trum is a measurement of
waves of energy and how
they move. The American
Cancer Society’s website
says High-energy radiation
is radiation that can dam-
age DNA and cause cancer
and is called “ionizing radi-
ation.” X-rays and gamma
rays are examples of ioniz-
❰ÏÐ ÑÐÒÓÔÕÒ Ö××
ÐØÙ×ÐÚÛÐ ÕÜ ÕÏÐ Ù×ÐÖ
ÕÏÖÕ ÝÞ ÑÖ×ÙÖÕÙÜÚ ßÙàÏÕ
áÜÕÐÚÕÙÖÔÔâ ÙßáÖÛÕ
ÏÓßÖÚ ÏÐÖÔÕÏãä
åæçèéêëìí îìíëèé ïðëêèñò
ing radiation. Non-ionizing
radiation is not powerful
✖✛✒✢★✑ ✏✒ ✤✦✖✚✏ ✩✪✫✬ ✭✔✙✮
ible light is a form of non-
ionizing radiation.
The radiation in question
is radiofrequency radiation,
which is a non-ionizing
form of radiation. It occurs
naturally in space and on
➠➡➢⑧❻❺❸➤ ➡➥ ➠⑧❺⑨❻❷➦❺ ➠➡➧➧➡⑩❸
➨↔➔➩ ➣➋➍➒↔➔➉ ➇➊➍➓➫➋➊➩ ➍ ➭➔➩➫➍➎ ➋➊➒➋➊➩➊→➓➍➓➔➑→ ➑➇ ➓↔➊ ➊➎➊➉➓➋➑➞➍➣→➊➓➔➉ ➩➒➊➉➓➋➫➞➟
Earth and through man-
✯✤✣✖ ✙✒✢✓✚✖✙ ✰✔✱✖ ✲✭✳ ✚✖✰✰
phone signals and Wi-Fi
signals. It’s also used to heat
food in microwave ovens.
Soper said because RF
radiation waves cannot
✤✦✖✚✏ ✩✪✫ ✤✛✣ ✚✤✛ ✒✛✰✕
cause cells to vibrate or
heat up, it is unclear how
they could cause cancer.
He noted the amount of
radiation from electronic
devices is highest when
holding a cellphone to
your head. The radiation
is much greater when a
cellphone is broadcasting
a signal — like during a
call — and because it can-
not travel far, radiation is
reduced greatly by talking
on speakerphone or using
a hands-free device.
The National Toxicology
Program released a study
in November of 2018 that
showed a link between RF
radiation and cancer.
However, the study ex-
posed rats and mice to
much higher levels of RF ra-
diation than humans would
experience, and the results
were still mixed. Only male
rats had an increase in can-
cerous tumors, and their
lifespans were actually lon-
ger than rats that had not
been exposed.
The American Cancer
Society’s website refers to
this study and states, “Some
aspects of this study make
it hard to know what these
results might mean for
people, but the results add
evidence to the idea that RF
radiation might potentially
impact human health.”
The International Agen-
cy for Research on Cancer
lists RF radiation — next
to aloe extract and pickled
vegetables — as “possi-
bly carcinogenic (cancer-
causing) to humans.” The
American Cancer Society’s
website is also inconclu-
sive on the possible link
between cellphones and
cancer, saying, “Although
some studies have shown a
possible link, many others
have not.”
Soper said that he is
never opposed to reviewing
studies and therefore isn’t
necessarily opposed to the
bill, but he is skeptical that
RF radiation poses any risk
to humans.
SB 283 is one of three
concerning electronics in
classrooms. SB 281 would
require stricter labeling
of health risks associated
with electronics, and SB
282 focuses on the psy-
chological and health
risks associated with chil-
dren and extended time
with screens, at home and
in the classroom.
Preventive care keeps the doctor away, says CHD
❇ ♣q ✆✟ s ✆ t ❛✂✝ ✉ r✞ s
❚❤✠ ✡☛☞✠✌✈✠✌
The age old adage of eat-
ing an apple a day to keep
the doctor away may have
some truth to it after all.
Preventive health care
and services like screening
tests, immunizations and
health behavior counseling
are “key to improving
America’s health and
keeping rising health costs
under control,” according
to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
However, the CDC website
reports Americans are
using preventive services
at only about half the
recommended rate largely
✥✖✚✤✢✙✖ ✒✧ ✜✛✤✛✚✔✤✰ ✥✤✓✓✔✖✓✙
and sometimes due to lack
of awareness.
Preventing at-risk be-
haviors for youth as well
as adults, according to
Carrie Brogoitti, pub-
lic health administrator
at the Center for Hu-
➏❿➐➑➒
✷✸✹✺✺✻✼✻✽✾✿✿✿✿✿✿✿❀❁
✷❂❃✻❄✺✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿❅❁
✷❂❃❃❋❍✻❏▲✿✿✿◗❙
✷❱❂✺✺❳❂❱✾✿✿✿✿✿❩❁
❬✽✹❱ ❙❭❭▲ ✿✿✿✿✿◗❁ ❝❭✻❏❋✹❱✻✽✺✿✿✿✿✿✿❅❙
❪❂❃✽✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿❫❁ ❝❞✻❍✻❂❍✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿❀❙
❴❂❏❏✽❱▲✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿❵❙ ❢❞❂❱❏✺ ✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿❣❙
❜✽❄❂❱✾ ✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿❅❙
WEDNESDAY
man Development in La
ed an art contest to bring
drinking) because stud-
living a healthy life.
“With public health, our
big thing is to create an
environment in the com-
munity to allow people to
make healthy choices,”
Brogoitti said. “A big part
✒✧ ✏✑✤✏ ✔✙ ✏✒ ✔✛ ① ✢✖✛✚✖ ✏✑✖
trajectory of a child or
adolescent, stopping the
initiation of whatever it is
we’re trying to prevent.”
That’s why CHD start-
risks associated with un-
derage drinking three
weeks ago.
Jasmine Joy Smith, stra-
tegic prevention frame-
work coordinator at CHD,
is heading the contest and
hopes to connect with youth
and their parents by taking
a health-based approach.
“We want to focus on
brain and body devel-
opment (with underage
focus has more of an
impact on kids and their
parents,” Smith said.
Teens ages 14-18 can
upload their photograph
or artwork based on the
consequences of underage
drinking to CHD’s website
at chdinc.org until June 15.
The submission with the
most likes on CHD’s web-
site will be the winner of
✈ ✓✤✛✣✖✳ ✔✙ ✏✑✖ ✜✓✙✏ ✙✏✖ ✇ ✔✛ awareness to the health ✔✖✙ ✙✑✒✘ ✤ ✑✖✤✰✏✑✮✖✦✖✚✏✙
↕➙➛➜➝➙➞ ➟➠➡➡ ➢➤➥➦➧➨➩➫ ➤➭ ➫➯➦ ➲➨➧➳ ➤➢ ➵ ➩➦➧➫➸➤➭
➺➻➼➽➾➚➪
➶➹ ➘➴➷
ÑÒÓÔÕÖ×ØÖÓÙÚÛ
➺❐❒❮❰ÏÐ
➬➮➱➶✃
ÜÓ×ÝÞßàÞÓÙÛß
See CHD / Page 5A
❽❾❿➀➁❽➀ ➂➃
➓➁➔➑ ➁ ➃➀❾→➣ ➏➐➑➁↔
➄➅➆➇➈➉➊➇➊➆➉➆
➋✺✺❋✽ ❅❣
❵ ✺✽❄❏✻❂❍✺➌ ❫❣ ❞✹➍✽✺
❴✹ ➎❱✹❍✾✽➌ ❝❱✽➍❂❍
✐❥❧❧ ♠♥♦ ♣qs♦t✉♦t ✇♦①st②②③ ❥④
⑤⑥⑦⑧⑨⑩❶⑧❶⑦⑩⑦ ②t s♦✇❷ ❥✇ ♦③❥❸❧ ④②
✇♦①s❹❧❥❺t❥✇❷♦②qs♦t✉♦t❻❼②③❻
❆❈❆❉❊▼❨ ❆❲❆❘❉✴❲■◆◆■◆● ✵P❊❆❑❊❘ ❆✶ ❊❖❯ Online at lagrandeobserver.com