SPORTS
Tigers take second at home invite
➠➡➢➢➡➤ ➥➦ ➡➧ ➨➩➫ ➤➫➭
➶➹➹➘ ➘➴➷ ➬➹ ➹➮➱ ✃➴❐➮❒➘ ❮➮❰❮Ï➱Ð❰❒➱Ñ❒➱➹ÒÐÏ➴Ó❒❒Ô❮ ➹Õ Ö➴ ➶➱➴Ò➘❒
WEDNESDAY ➯ ➲➳➵➸➺ ➻➼➽ ➾➚➻➪ ➯ $1.50
A veteran village of
‘tiny homes’ in the
works for La Grande
LG budget
committee
discusses
projected
budgets for
next 5 years
×Ø ❇ èéêçëìçë
ãÛÜ ❛ àá ❛ Û ×ßÜà ✢ ß ❡
åæç
Local land developers hope
to make a big impact with tiny
òîøðü ✝ þ ☎ õî ✣ óñóíú ùôîõñ ✁
☞ ❈✌✍✎ ✏✑✍✌✒✓✍✏✑ ✍✔
❜✏ ✕✏✓✖✗✎ ✘✙✚✚✛✚✚✚
✌✕ ✍✐✏ ✖✏✜ ❜✎ ②✚②✷
×Ø ÙÚÛÜÝÛÞßàáâãäÝ
åæç
èéêçëìçë
The La Grande City
Council and Budget Com-
mittee met to discuss up-
dated city bud-
get projections
for 2019-2023
at
Monday
evening’s joint
work session.
❙✟✠♦✡☛
The projec-
tions packet,
written by La Grande City
Manager Robert Strope,
íîïðñ ïòð ñóôðõðíöð ÷õîø
the city’s previous 2013-
2018 forecasts and what
was actually appropriated
during those years was only
$82,085, giving the city
øùíùúðõ öîíûñðíöð óí ïòð
accuracy of the 2019-2023
predicted budget.
Based on these updated
projections, the city will see
a decline in its ending cash
balance for the general fund
over the next few years, re-
sulting in a failure to reach
the cash-on-hand require-
ment of $1.6-$1.8 million af-
ïðõïòðûüöùýþðùõÿ ÿ ✁ ÿ ÿ ✂
budget, according to the pro-
jections outline packet.
Strope said while there
is no reason to worry now,
by 2023, the city will have a
negative balance of nearly
$400,000 in net ending cash.
“We’re not at a point
to panic. We just have to
be cognizant of where we
are,” the city manager said.
A notable increase in ex-
penditures is expected to
occur after the 2020-2021
ûüöùý þðùõ ✄ ùü ïòð ☎ õî ✆ ðöïðñ
net ending cash for that
year totals $2.2 million,
while the projected net
ending cash total for 2021-
2022 is listed at less than
$936,000, according to the
estimated budget spread-
sheets provided by the city.
This more than $1 mil-
lion drop in funds stands out
ùúùóíüïïòð ✝ ùö ✞ ñõî ☎ î÷ûüöùý
years prior to 2020-2021.
From 2018-2020, the city’s
ending cash is estimated to
See Session / Page 2A
✩✪✫✬t✭✮✯ ✰✱✪t✪
❆✲ ✳✴✵✶✸✵✶✹ ✴✺✲✻✺✴✶✲✼ ✹✴✺✳✵✺✻ ✽✾ ✿❀✸✵❚✸✶✳✵✸❁✸❂ ✹❁❃❁❄✲✺✴ ❁❅ ❉❚❊
❍❁❋✻✶✲✼ ✿✴❁❀● ■■❏❂ ✻✺●✶✹✵✶✲✼ ❄❑✳✵ ✵❑✺ ✵✶✲✾ ❑❁❀✸✺✸ ❄✶❋❋ ❋❁❁▲ ❋✶▲✺
❄❑✺✲ ✹❁✲✸✵✴❀✹✵✶❁✲ ✶✸ ✹❁✇●❋✺✵✺✻▼
able housing for veterans in La
Grande. The site — located at
1612 Russell Ave. — will include
10 tiny houses, each 480 square
feet, plus two community facili-
ties, a gazebo and a dog park.
The project is owned by Kevin
Reed and Gust Tsiatsos’ com-
pany, FTK Holding Group LLC.
Tsiatsos, a La Grande native,
has worked closely with Byron
Whipple, Union County veter-
ùíü üðõ ✣ óöð î ✤ öðõ ùï ïòð ✥ ðíïðõ
for Human Development, on the
project.
“We are going to build 10 tiny
òî ✦ üðü ïî ☎ õî ✣ óñð ùôîõñù ✝ ýð
housing that is much needed for
veterans who are below the pov-
erty standard,” Whipple said.
✧★ õþóíú
ïî ûíñ ù îíð ✁✝ ðñõîîø
ðü ☎ ðöóùýýþ îíð ïòùï óü ùôîõñ ✁
house in Eastern Oregon is tough,
able. So when I have a commu-
nity partner such as Mr. Tsiatsos
stand forward and say he wants
to do this, we jumped on it.”
Rent for the houses is set to
be between $500 and $600, and
the price is all inclusive with no
added utilities cost.
Tsiatsos said Whipple was in-
strumental in helping navigate
the project in coordination with
See Homes / Page 5A
School board
approves plans for
a new Cove SD
cafeteria building
CHD promotes
sexual health
services with
Easter egg hunt
×Ø ❇ èéêçëìçë
ãÛÜ ❛ àá ❛ Û ×ßÜà ✢ ß ❡
åæç
×Ø ◆ èéêçëìçë
à ❛❦ ❖ ÛáäÜ
åæç
CHD is hosting a unique Easter egg
hunt for teens and young adults. The
hunt is not only a fun way to score a cou-
☎ ýð î÷ ÷õðð ♣ íïýðõü q ü ☎ õðüüî öîôððü ✄ ✝✦ ï
it’s also a way for CHD to get the word
out about its sexual health services.
Every day at 9 a.m. since April 12,
CHD has posted a hint on its social me-
dia pages that leads to the location of
a virtual Easter egg somewhere on the
CHD website. When clicked, that image
leads to the location of a physical Eas-
ter egg hidden in Union County. The
ûíñðõ î÷ ïòð ☎ ýùüïóö ðúú öùí õðñððø ïòð
✩✪✫✬t✭✮✯ ✰✱✪t✪
voucher inside CHD for a $10 dollar gift
card to Antlers Espresso. Each Easter ❆✲ r✳✸✵✺✴ ✺✼✼ ✹❁✲✵✳✶✲✶✲✼ ✳ ●✴✶♠✺ ❅✴❁✇
egg also contains a list of the services of- ❏❍s ✸✶✵✸ ❁❀✵✸✶✻✺ ✵❑✺ ■✳ ✿✴✳✲✻✺ ❏❍s ❁❅❅✶✹✺
❁✲❆●✴✶❋ ❥✉▼ ❤✵ ❄✳✸ ❅❁❀✲✻ ❄✶✵❑✶✲ ✳✲ ❑❁❀✴ ❁❅
fered at the health center.
Avery Stanton, who created the hunt, ✵❑✺ ●❑❁✵❁ ✽✺✶✲✼ ●❁✸✵✺✻ ❁✲ ✸❁✹✶✳❋ ✇✺✻✶✳▼
said most of the eggs have been hidden
in La Grande, but she hinted at least nity. CBS news reported STDs have been
one will be hidden elsewhere in Union on the rise in the U.S. for years and are
County before the event is over.
now at crisis levels. The Observer previ-
The hunt was created as a way to get ously reported known cases of STDs in
information about CHD’s sexual health Union County have been increasing for
See CHD / Page 5A
services to young people in the commu-
“It is not likely, but the
The Cove School District
is one step closer to begin-
ning construction of a new
food service building.
The Cove School Board
voted Tuesday to approve
design plans for a 5,120
square-foot
cafeteria
building. The board also
voted to begin accept-
ing bids for the building
project pending approval
of the plans by Union
County.
Should Union County
approve the plans, the
school district will likely
accept bids for construc-
tion for a 21-day period.
If a bid is then awarded
by the school district to a
contractor, construction
would likely start in July,
said Cove School District
Superintendent Earl Pettit.
✝✦ óýñóíú öî ✦ ýñ ✝ ð ûíóüòðñ
by Christmas,’’ Pettit said.
The
superintendent
stressed, though, there
are many variables which
could slow or prevent the
building work from ever
starting. Pettit said if no
acceptable bids are re-
ceived, the school board
could decide to halt the
project completely.
The building, which
would be about 30 feet
east of Cove Elementary
School, would cost be-
tween $1.5 and $1.8 mil-
lion, Pettit said.
Contractors will be
expected to submit two
bids — one with higher
cost materials for the
roof and siding and one
with lower cost materials
for both. The higher-cost
See Cove / Page 5A
15th annual Impact
100 strengthens
community
×Ø
à ❛❦ ❖ ÛáäÜ
åæç ◆ èéêçëìçë
About 20 Grande
Ronde Valley women
met in the La Grande
High School library Sat-
urday afternoon not to
discuss the latest best-
seller by David Balda-
cci, but to help the less
fortunate move on from
painful pages of their
ýó ✣ ðü ïî îíðü ûýýðñ P óïò
hope.
The women, many of
whom are familiar faces
on the community ser-
vice front, are members
of Impact 100. One of
Union County’s leading
philanthropic organiza-
tions, the group marked
a milestone under the
skylights of the LHS
library on Saturday af-
ternoon. The meeting
was Impact 100’s 15th
annual gathering, dur-
ing which the $12,750
raised over the past 12
months was distributed
to families and individ-
uals in Union County.
“It is always so inspir-
ing (to see how gener-
ous people are),” said
Impact 100 member
◗❘❯❱ ❲❳✮✪❨❩❬❭❪❫❴❵❪❝❞❪❝
Susie Harris, one of the
❢✳❣✶✲✺ ❍✶✲✺✸❂ ✳ ✇✺✇✽✺✴ ❁❅ ❤✇●✳✹✵ ❁❅ ❥❧❧❂ ✸●✺✳▲✸ ✳✵ ✵❑✺ ❁✴✼✳✲✶♠✳✵✶❁✲➆✸ ✳✲✲❀✳❋
group’s founders.
See Impact / Page 2A
✇✺✺✵✶✲✼ ♥✳✵❀✴✻✳✾ ✳✵ ✵❑✺ ■✳ ✿✴✳✲✻✺ ❍✶✼❑ ♥✹❑❁❁❋ ❋✶✽✴✳✴✾▼
❳✮❩❬❭
st✉✈✇t① ②③④④ ⑤⑥⑦⑧⑨⑩❶❷⑥❸❷❹⑧❺⑩⑨❻⑥⑤❼❶⑧⑨❷❽⑥❸
❾❿➀➁➂➃➄
❾➃➍➎➏➐➑➒
❝✿✾❇❊❀✾✾❞❞❞ ❞ ❞ ❡❝ ❢◗❉✾✾❥❉◗❱❞❞❞❞ ❂❝ ❲♠❇❅✿❏◗❇❀✾❞❞❞ ❞ ❃❧
❢❣❏✾✾❇❤❇❀❱❞❞ ❞ ❞ ❁❝ ❦❀❏◗❧♠♠♦❞❞❞❞♣❝ ❲❍❇❊❇❉❊❞❞❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❁❧
➅➆
➇➈➉
➊➅➋➌➊
❢❉✐❇❄✾❞❞❞ ❞ ❞❞ ❞ ❃❝ ▲❉❅❅❀◗♦❞❞❞❞ ❞❞ ❞ ❞ ●❧ q❍❉◗❅✾❞❞❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ ❞ r❧
➓➔→➣↔↕ ➙↔➛➜➝↕
➓➔→➣↔↕ ➞➜➟➟↕
FRIDAY
❯◆■❖◆ ✥❖❯◆❚❨ ✥❖▼▼■❙❙■❖◆ ❘❙ ▼ ❚
✬✭✮✯❆✬✯ ✰✱
✴✵✶✷✸✹✼✷✼✶✹✶
✽✾✾✿❀
❁❂ ❉❊✾❋ ●❁ ❍❏❑❀✾
❃ ▲❏ ✾❀❄❅❇
P◗❏❊❱❀❋ ❲◗❀❑❉❊
❪❆❫❬ ❆ ✱✯✭❴❵ ❳❩❬❆❜
❈✁✂✂ ✄☎✆ ✝✞✟✆✠✡✆✠ ☛✆☞✟✠✌✌✍ ✁✎
✺✏✑✲✒✓✔✲✔✑✓✑ ✌✠ ✟✆☛✻ ✁☛ ✆✍✁✕✂ ✎✌
☛✆☞✟♥✂✁✖✠✁☛✻✆✌✞✟✆✠✡✆✠✳✗✌✍✳
✘✙✚✛ ✜✙✢✣✤✜✣ ✦✢✧✙ ✙✢ ★✤❛✛ ✩✪✫
Online at lagrandeobserver.com