Find the latest
Northeast
Oregon arts &
entertainment
news in this
week’s GO!
magazine
➻➼➽➾➚➪➶➹➾➼➽➪➘➼➻
APRIL 10, 2019
➥➥➥➦
➧➨➩➨➫➭➯➲➳➵➭➨➫➲➧➨➩➦➸➨➺
TUNESMITH NIGHT
KASSI VALAZZA
KARIN BLAINE
ELWOOD p. 7
❯✛✜✢✛ ✣✢✤✛✥✦
❙✧★✩ ✣✢✪✪✤✛✜✥✜✩✫
✣✢✧❈✜✥✜✢✛
òóôõö ÷øù úû÷ü
ýþÿ þ
✺ ✁ ✺✺ ✂✄
▲☎ ✆✝☎❛✞✟ ✠✡✞✞☛✟ ☞✌❤✍✍☛
✶✶✎✏ ✑✒❤ ☞✒✓ ✔✕ ✖✗✕✘✙✚
❘✬✭✮✯✰✬✱ ✲✳✴✮✳✬ ✵✰✷ ✸✰✰✹✯✷✻✻✰✲✼✳✸✵✴✴✽✾✿❀❁❂✬❃✬✳✰❄✱✮✰✬❂❅✲❆
❇❉❊❋●❍■❏❍❋❑▼ ❋● ■❉◆❖❋■❉P ❍❑ ❏◗◗❑❚❚❑P❏❍❉ ◗❱❋❲P◗❏■❉ ❏▼P ■❉❳■❉●❱❚❉▼❍●
Writer in Residence
SUSAN
DeFREITAS
p. 3
Oregon Trail
Interpretive
Center’s spring
events
p. 6
➴➷➬➬➷➮ ➱✃ ➷❐ ❒❮❰ ➮❰Ï
ÛÜÜÝ ÝÞß àÜ Üáâ ãÞäáåÝ æáçæèâéçåâ êåãÞ ëìéíåæ Üî ïäðéñ
WEDNESDAY Ð ÑÒÓÔÕ Ö×Ø Ù×ÖÚ Ð $1.50
LGCC
explores
vision
revisions
WATERS
RISING
♣ qrst✉② ✇①✇s③s④⑤⑥
❨❩ ➡❜➐➢ ➤❪❝♦❫
❣✐❥ ❦❧♠❥♥✈❥♥
rs ❸❹⑧✇✇ ④r✉❺⑥
Ear-piercing noises may
soon disappear from the
soundtrack of downtown
La Grande.
The Federal Railroad
Administration has noti-
❨❩ ❬❭❪❫❴❪ ❵❡❜❝❞❢♦❴
❣✐❥ ❦❧♠❥♥✈❥♥
See LGCC / Page 2A
Elgin CC
discusses
flooding
at meeting
❨❩ ❬❭❪❫❴❪❵❡❜❝❞❢♦❴
❣✐❥ ❦❧♠❥♥✈❥♥
High waters were a hot
topic of discussion at Tues-
day night’s Elgin City Council
❻❼❼❽❾❿➀➁ ➂➃ ❽➄❼ ❽➅➆❾➇ ➅➈ ➉➅➅➊➋
ing soaked into several items
on the agenda.
Dan Larman, Elgin’s pub-
lic works director, said while
the volume of water rush-
ing down the nearby Grande
Ronde River was at 9,500
square feet per second on Fri-
day, it rose to 27,000 square
feet per second by Monday.
Because of these rapid and
➄❾➀➄
➉➅➅➊➌➂❽❼➍➃➁
➎➂➍❻➂❿
said the city has closed Ce-
dar Street in Elgin until “the
blacktop is showing.”
The public works director
reported he has not yet found
See Elgin / Page 5A
♣ ➧➨ ⑧✇❶✇③①✇⑥ ④⑧✇✇s
❺③④❹❸ ⑩r⑧ ➩❷③✇❸ ➫rs✇
⑦r⑧⑨ ⑥✇⑥⑥③rs ⑩r❶❷⑥✇t
The La Grande City
Council and members of
the city planning, econom-
ic development and parks
& recreation departments
met for a work session
Monday evening to learn
about the city’s compre-
hensive plan in regards to
state expectations.
Phil Stenbeck, a repre-
sentative from the Oregon
Department of Land Con-
servation & Development,
led the workshop with an
hour-long
presentation
followed by a short dis-
cussion. Stenbeck mostly
focused on what a com-
prehensive plan is, where
You have
now
entered
the Quiet
Zone...
➝❼➊ ❽➄❼ ➥❾❽↔ ➅➈ ➎➂ ➦➍➂❿➊❼
that its application to
establish a Quiet Zone
has been approved. This
means La Grande may now
put a plan in place prohib-
iting train operators from
blasting their horns while
rolling through downtown
La Grande.
Mayor Steve Clements was
delighted to hear the news.
“This is fantastic,” he said.
“It has been a long process
which has come to pass.”
Clements credits Father
Hank Albrecht, the former
❨❩ ➡❜➐➢ ➤❪❝♦❫
❣✐❥ ❦❧♠❥♥✈❥♥
Flooding caused by rain and snow-
melt continues to wreak havoc on roads
and threaten structures in Union and
Wallowa counties.
Flooding in Union County has forced
the closures of Pierce Road, Alicel Lane
and Rhinehart Lane, a portion of High-
way 237 and left much of Hilgard State
Park under water over the past three
days. Floodwaters in Wallowa County
have forced the closure of all or portions
of Jim Town and Whiskey Roads. The
picture overall in Wallowa County is so
bad that its board of commissioners de-
clared a state of emergency Tuesday due
See Trains / Page 2A
A veteran’s
legacy
❽➅ ➉➅➅➊❾❿➀ ❽➄➍➅➟➀➄➅➟❽ ❽➄❼ ➇➅➟❿❽↔↕
Motorists are being urged to be very
➇➂➟❽❾➅➟➃ ➌➄❼❿ ➊➍❾➓❾❿➀ ➅❿ ➉➅➅➊❼➊ ➍➅➂➊➃↕
“You don’t know how deep the wa-
ter is and what is under it,” said Union
County Public Works Director Doug
Wright.
♣ ➭②⑧rs ➯❹③➲➲❺✇
③⑥ ⑧✇❸③⑧③s④ ⑩⑧r➳ ❹③⑥
➲r⑥③❸③rs ✉⑥ ①✇❸✇⑧✉s
ù➄❼ ➉➅➅➊❾❿➀ ❾➃ ➇➂➟➃❼➊ ➜↔ ➃➆➍❾❿➀
snowmelt and unusually heavy rain-
fall, according to Marilyn Lohmann, a
hydrologist with the National Weather
⑥✇⑧①③❶✇ r⑩⑩③❶✇⑧ ❸❹③⑥
ú❼➍➓❾➇❼ ➅➔➇❼ ❾❿ û❼❿➊➛❼❽➅❿↕
❨❩ ➏❢❪❫➐❜❝➐❪ ❨❡❫❜➑❡➒
❣✐❥ ❦❧♠❥♥✈❥♥
➳rs❸❹
“The rain has compounded the prob-
lem,” Lohmann said.
She said late Tuesday morning Union
and Wallowa counties had received two
to three inches of rain over the past 48
hours. The amount of precipitation is
very high for this time of year.
“It is a once-in-a-20-year event,”
Lohmann said.
She said many parts of the region
over that 48-hour period received two
to three times as much rain than they
normally do in all of April. Lohmann
explained that the excessive rain was
caused by a pool of moisture that came
Byron Whipple has been
the Union County veteran
➃❼➍➓❾➇❼ ➅➔➇❼➍ ➈➅➍ →➣ ↔❼➂➍➃↕
➵➸➺➻➻➼➽
After a fruitful
decade at the La
Grande Center
for Human De-
velopment, he
is retiring this
month.
As a veteran
➃❼➍➓❾➇❼ ➅➔➇❼➍➁ ➙➄❾➆➆➛❼ ➄❼➛➆➃
make sure veterans are get-
❽❾❿➀ ❽➄❼ ➜❼❿❼➝❽➃ ❽➄❼↔ ➞➟➂➛❾➈↔
for and that they are connect-
ed to all the services they can
utilize.
“Our job here is to assist
veterans in anything they
need,” Whipple said.
He often helps veterans
submit applications to the
❾❿ ➈➍➅❻ ❽➄❼ û➂➇❾➝➇ ü➇❼➂❿↕
Union is among the local cities hard-
❼➃❽ ➄❾❽ ➜↔ ➉➅➅➊❾❿➀↕ ü❿ ù➟❼➃➊➂↔➁ ➆➅➍➋
❽❾➅❿➃ ➅➈ ➎❾❽❽➛❼ ➥➍❼❼ý ➅➓❼➍➉➅➌❼➊↕ þ❻➅❿➀
the areas impacted by the high water
was the Forest Service ranger station
building, which is owned by the city and
includes structures renters live in.
Water seeped into one of the homes
and was pumped out between 5 a.m.
and 6 a.m. Tuesday, said Union’s city
administrator, Doug Wiggins. The
ranger station structures have not had
to be evacuated.
➓❼❽❼➍➂❿➃ ➂➠➂❾➍➃ ➊❼➆➂➍❽❻❼❿❽
that result in them getting a
larger monthly check in ben-
❼➝❽➃ ❼➂➇➄ ❻➅❿❽➄➁ ➅➍ ❼➓❼❿ ➂
large sum of back pay. The
process can be long and dif-
þ➛➃➅ ❾❿ ÿ❿❾➅❿➁ ➉➅➅➊➌➂❽❼➍➃ ➄➂➓❼ ➃➟➍➋
➝➇➟➛❽➁ ➂➃ ❽➄❼➍❼ ❾➃ ➂ ➛➅❽ ➅➈ ➆➂➋
rounded two homes near the Eastern
Oregon Livestock Show Grounds.
“The houses (appear to be) on is-
lands,” Wiggins said Tuesday morning.
Fortunately, as of Tuesday evening,
water has not seeped into either of the
homes.
perwork, and evidence from
doctors must be collected for
injuries. It can be tricky and
hard to navigate, and Whip-
ple helps make it easier.
Whipple served in the
Navy for 22 years beginning
just after he graduated high
❿ ➎➂ ➦➍➂❿➊❼➁ ➉➅➅➊❾❿➀ ❾❿ ❽➄❼ ➃➅➟❽➄
See Flood / Page 5A
❨✭❩❬❭
❝✿✾❇
❝❙❇ ✐❥▲ ❀ ✾✾❇ ❢✾❞ ❍❀✾✾❞
❞ ❢❇❀ ❞ ❲❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❣ ❁❝ ❡❝ ❤
✐❋❦❇❄✾❞❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❃❝
➾➚➪➶➹➘ ➴➚➪➘➷➬➮➱ ✃❐❒➱❮❰➱❮
ÏÐÑ ÒÓÔÕÖÑ ×ØÕÖÑ ×ÙÚÑÓ ÛØØÖÑÖ ÜÝÞÐ Øß àÙáâÔÓÖ ãäÔäÑ åÔÓæç èÐÙÞÐ
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õÕÙØÕ öØÝÕäë ÔÕÖ èÑéäÑÓÕ ôÔááØèÔ öØÝÕäë äÐÓØÝâÐ ÷ð÷ø ìíÜí äØÖÔëí
✐❙❋✾✾❧❋❙❲❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❣❝ ♠❝ r❑❋❙❅✾❞
❳❑❇❍❇❋❍❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞s ❁ ❤ ❤
♦❀▲❙❤♣♣q❞
◗❋❅❅❀❙q❞
❳♣❇❅✿▲❙❇ ❞ ❀ ❞ ✾❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❂ ❃ ❤ ❤
FRIDAY
t✉✈✇①✉② ③④⑤⑤ ⑥⑦⑧⑨⑩❶❷❸⑦❹❸❺⑨❻❶⑩❼⑦⑥❽❷⑨⑩❸❾⑦❹
❿➀➁➂➃➄➅
❿➄➏➐➑➒➓➔
➆➇ ➈➉➊
➋➌➍➆➎
→➣↔↕↕➙ ➛➜↔➝➞➟➛
→➜↔➝➞➟➛➠➟↔➡➢➤
❉■❱■◆● ■◆❚❖ ❚❆❚❊ ●❯◆ ✁❊●■ ✁❆❚■❖◆
✫✬✭✮✯✫✮ ✰✱
✴✵✶✷✸✹✼✷✼✶✹✶
✽ ❃ ✾✾✿❀❁❂
✾❀❄❅❇❋❍✾❏❂❁❑▲P❀✾
◗▲❘❙▲❍❲❀❏❳❙❀P❋❍
See Whipple / Page 5A
❪✯❫❬ ✯ ✱✮✬❴❵ ❨❩❬✯❜
❈✂✄✄ ☎✆✝✞✟✠✝✡☛✝✡☞✝✌✠✡✍✍✎ ✂✏
✺✑✒✲✓✔✕✲✕✒✔✒✍✡✠✝☞✻✂☞✝✎✂✖✄ ✏✍
☞✝✌✠♥✄✂✗✡✂☞✻✝✍✟✠✝✡☛✝✡✳✘✍✎✳
▼✙✚✛✜✙✢✣✤✜✣✥✢✦✙✙✢✧✤❛✛★✩✪
Online at lagrandeobserver.com