SPORTS
àáâãäå
Imbler track senior Calvin Martin
blessed to be alive and competing
FRIDAY-SUNDAY ❺ ❻❼❽ ❾❿➀❾➁➂ ➁❿❾➃ ❺ $1.50
➄➅➅➆ ➆➇➈ ➉➅ ➅➊➋ ➌➇➍➊➎➆ ➏➊➐➏➑➋➒➐➎➋ ➓➋➎➆ ➔➇➑→➅➣ ➅↔ ↕➇ ➄➋➇➙➆➎
Bus fare
Eastern Oregon
eliminated, teachers stay in
services
school
Wednesday
expanded ✓ ❊✔✕✖✗✘✙✚✛ ✗✖✚✙✛✛ ✘✜✢ ✛✘✗✘✢ ✣✗❛✤ ✙✕✘ ✘✙
❇ é✝êë ì✂✞♦✄
❚❤✡ ☛☞✌✡✍✈✡✍
Riders of Northeast Or-
egon Public Transit buses
will soon have one less rea-
son to withdraw cash from
their bank’s automatic tell-
er machines.
Northeast Oregon Public
Transit has announced it
will eliminate all fares be-
ginning July 1. This means
every transportation ser-
vice provided in Union
County by NEOPT will be
free less than two months
from now.
See Bus / Page 2A
Imbler School
District budget
set to increase
❇ é✝êë ì✂✞♦✄
❚❤✡ ☛☞✌✡✍✈✡✍
The Imbler School Dis-
trict’s budget may rise by
4.9% in 2019-20.
The district’s budget com-
mittee is considering approv-
ing a general fund budget of
$5.54 million for 2019-20,
which is $261,929 more than
the present year’s budget.
The proposed budget
would allow the school dis-
✏✒✔✧✏ ✏✘ ✕✎✔✙✏✎✔✙ ✎★★ ✘ ❾ ✔✏✓ ✓✏✎✪
and programs, said Imbler
School District Superinten-
dent Angie Lakey-Campbell.
On the downside, the pro-
posed spending plan calls for
the school district to draw
$267,000 from its reserve
fund to balance its budget.
“Anytime you have to
draw from your contingen-
cy fund it is concerning,”
Lackey-Campbell said.
The superintendent added
the school district would con-
tinue to have a strong reserve
fund should the proposed
budget be adopted.
“If an emergency comes up,
we will be able to take care of
it,” Lakey-Campbell said.
She credits the school dis-
trict’s strong reserve fund to
good decisions made by Im-
bler’s school board in the past.
“The board has done a nice
job of managing the district,”
she said. One reason the
school district may have to
draw from its reserve fund is
See Imbler / Page 5A
♣✚✙✘✢✛✘ ❛✗✖✤ ✙✥ ✥✕✦✔✧✦★ ✥✙✚ ♣✕✩❛✧✖ ✛✖✜✙✙❛✛
❇ æ♦✄✂ç☎ ❇♦✄☎è é✝êë
Press. Most wore red to sup-
ì✂✞♦✄ ✂✄☎ ❆✁✂✄☎✂
port the “Red for Ed” cam-
✆❡✝✞✟✠♦☎
paign that has taken hold
❚❤✡ ☛☞✌✡✍✈✡✍
nationwide since 2018 when
Tens of thousands of West Virginia teachers held
teachers across the state a 13-day strike that closed
of Oregon wore red and schools in all of the state’s
walked out of school counties.
Wednesday, protesting
But while walkouts
crowded classrooms and and protests amassed on
a lack of resources.
the west side of the state
Oregon Public Broad- Wednesday, Northeast
casting reported more Oregon schools carried
than 20 school districts on with business as usual
closed for at least part — for the most part.
of the day in response to
InterMountain Educa-
planned demonstrations tion Service District Su-
around
perintendent
the state.
Mark Mulvihill
An es-
said the lack of
✪❡➆✫❡ ✬✭ ✮
timated
walkouts in his
✯✬✰✱✲✫✬✳ ✱✬✴❡ ✬✭
25,000
district, which
✵✫❡✶✲✭✷ ✸✯❡✭
students,
includes schools
✱✯❡ ✹❡✶✬✰✺✮✱✉✫❡ ✬✰
educators
in Baker, Mor-
and com-
row, Umatilla
✱✫②✬✭✶ ✱✲ ✻✫✬✭✶ ✉✰
munity
✻✮✳❦ ✱✲ ✱✯✲✰❡ ✺❡✈❡✺✰ and Union coun-
members
ties, was based
❢✲✫ ✱✯❡ ♦✫✰✱ ✱✬✴❡✼➈
gathered
on a decision
➋ ✽✾✿❀ ✽❁❂❃❄❅❄❂❂❆
at Tom
calculated by lo-
■❈❉❋✿✽●❁❈❉✾❄❈
❍❏❁❑✾❉❄●❈ ▲❋✿❃❄❑❋
McCall
cal teachers and
▼❄◆❉✿❄❑❉
Water-
the Oregon Edu-
front
cation Associa-
Park in Portland before tion — a labor union rep-
marching through the city, resenting about 44,000
according to The Associated educators working in pub-
lic schools and community
colleges across the state.
“Local teachers, Oregon
Education Association and
leadership worked togeth-
✗✒ ✏✘ ✏✒✩ ✏✘ ✑✙✣ ✎ í✎✩ ✏✜✎✏
would support the right
to demonstrate, but at the
same time minimize the
impact on student learn-
ing,” Mulvihill said. “I
think they should be com-
mended for their collabo-
ration to do that together.”
Instead of cancelling
classes for the day, teach-
ers, administrators and stu-
dents in many Union Coun-
ty school districts decided to
ðñòóôõö÷ øùñôñö
wear red and/or hold rallies
úûüý þÿ ❖ ✁✂ ÿ ✄ ☎✂ ✆✝ ✞✟✝✂ ✁ þ ❝❤✠✠✡ ☛☎✄ ÿ ✟☎❝ ÿ ☞✠✟✁
before or after school.
In the La Grande School ✟✁ ✠✂ r✝✌ ✍ ÿ ✠ ✄❖✎✎✠✟ ÿ t❖✂ ☎✂✏ û ✟✁✏✠✂ ✄❝❤✠✠✡✄✑
î✔✓✏✒✔✧✏ï ✕✘✓✏ ✓✏✎✪ ✎✙✣ ❇ ûúúû r ýú ✁✝❝❤✁✟✄ ✠t s✂☎✠✂ þ ❝❤✠✠✡ ☛☎✄ ÿ ✟☎❝ ÿ ❤✁✡ ✝
See Walkouts / Page 5A ✄☎✏✂ ✒✁t✠✟✁ ÿ ❤✁ ✄❝❤✠✠✡ ✝✌ ✄ ÿ ✝✟ ÿ ✁ ❲✁ ✂✁✄ ✝✌✑
MARKET PLACE FRESH FOODS OPENS
✓ ❺✢✣ ★✚✙✖✢✚❻
✛✘✙✚✢ ❼✗✦✗★✢❼✢✦✘
❽✙✣✛ ✘✜✢❻ ✜✗❽✢
✘✕✚✦✢✔ ✗ ✦✢✣ ❛✢✗✥
❇ ❆✁✂✄☎✂ ✆❡✝✞✟✠♦☎
❚❤✡ ☛☞✌✡✍✈✡✍
The grocery store at the
corner of Fourth Street
and Adams Avenue in La
Grande has opened its auto-
matic doors again, but this
time, a new management
team promises a commu-
nity-centric approach.
Market Place Fresh
Foods will hold its grand
opening on May 15, but
the store has been serv-
ing customers since
May 3. The grand open-
ing event will feature an
outdoor barbecue with
❶q❷❸❹
❈✱✲✴✴✵✶✵✷✸✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✺✻
❈✼✽✵✾✴✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✿✻
❉✷✲❀ ❁❂❂❃ ✹✹✹✹✹❄✻
❅✼❊❊✷❀❃✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹❋❁
Oregon Country Beef and
a few other surprises, ac-
cording to Lisa Snyder,
marketing director for the
grocery store.
The original opening
date was set for March 1,
but Snyder said that was
only a goal, and the new
management team wanted
to take its time to consider
community input before
launching the project.
✪❡ ✸✮✭✱ ✱✯✬✰ ✱✲ ✻❡ ✮
✴❡✴✲✫✮✻✺❡ ✳✉✰✱✲✴❡✫
❡⑥⑦❡✫✬❡✭✳❡✼ ✪❡ ✸✮✭✱
✬✱ ✱✲ ✻❡ ✰✲✴❡ ⑦✺✮✳❡
✸✯❡✫❡ ⑦❡✲⑦✺❡ ✺✲✲❦
❢✲✫✸✮✫⑧ ✱✲ ✳✲✴✬✭✶ ✱✲✼➈
➋ ⑨❄◆✾ ▲❈⑩❏❋✿❆ ✽✾✿❀❋❉
❶❂✾❑❋ ❷✿❋◆❅ ❷●●❏◆
❸✾✿❀❋❉❄❈❹ ❏❄✿❋❑❉●✿
●✷✾✼❀✸ ✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✿❁ P❏✵❀✵❊■✲✱✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹◗❁
❍❂✵❊■✲❀✵✷✴✹✹✹✹✹✹✿❁ P❏✼❀❊✴ ✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹❯❁
❍❏✵❑✵✼❑✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✺❁
❍■❊✸✼✼❀✴ ✹✹✹✹✹✹✹▼✻
MONDAY
“We wanted to do this
right,” she said. “You don’t
ever have a second chance
✎✏ ✎ ✑✒✓✏ ✔✕✖✒✗✓✓✔✘✙✚✛
Snyder said the store
✜✎✓ ✢✙✣✗✒✤✘✙✗ ✓✔✤✙✔✑✥
cant rebranding since it
changed hands in May
of 2018, and she wanted
the community to know
✔✏✦✓ ✎ ✧✘✕✖★✗✏✗★✩ ✣✔✪✗✒✗✙✏
shopping experience than
what Market Place Family
✫✘✘✣✓ ✜✎✣ ✏✘ ✘✪✗✒✚
“Everyone assumes we’re
just re-opening the store
that was here before,” she
said. “(But) we have a dif-
ferent management team
and a new philosophy.
I have zero doubt in my
mind that they are going to
make this successful.”
The marketing director
P◗❘❙❚❘❯ õ ❱ ö ❳ óñ ❚❨❩❬❭❪❫❴❭❵❜❭❵
✆❞❣ úý r✝✟✐✁ ÿ ü ✡✝❝✁ ❣✟✁✄❤ ❣✠✠ ✄ ❥✝✟✐✁ ÿ ☎✂✏ ☎✟✁❝ ÿ ✠✟ ✆☎✄✝
þ ✂✌ ✁✟ ✄✝☎ ÿ ❤✁ ✂✁☞ ✏✟✠❝✁✟✌ ✄ ÿ ✠✟✁ ✎✟✠❥☎✄✁✄ ❧❖✝✡☎ ÿ ✌
☎✂✏✟✁ ☎✁✂ ÿ ✄ ✝✂ t✟✁✄❤ ✎✟✠ ❖❝✁✑ ♠♥✞q úý ✆✝ ✞✟✝✂ ✁ ✇☎ ÿ ✌
✇✠❖✂❝☎✡✠✟ r✝✟✌①✂✂ r☎✁✄✂✁✟ ✄✝☎ ✄❤✁ ✁✂③✠✌✁ ❤✁✟ ✄❤✠✎④
✎☎✂✏ ✁⑤✎✁✟☎✁✂❝✁❲✁ ✂✁✄ ✝✌ ✝✂ ☞☎✡✡ ✡☎✐✁✡✌ ✟✁ ÿ ❖✟✂ ✄✠✠✂✑
said the core philosophies
of the new store include
providing what the com-
munity originally asked for,
making a positive impact
on the community by part-
nering with surrounding
local businesses, and being
a “destination” for shop-
pers, students and anyone
who wants to stop by.
“We’re striving to make
life convenient and healthy
for people,” Snyder said.
“We want to be a place
ÖÚÜ×ÝÙÚÛ
❮ÑÏÐÒ
➴➹➘➘➶➷➘➬➮➷➱✃
❲✬▲▲❖❲✬ ✭❖✳ ✮✯✰❙ ❙❖▲✬❘ ✯◆✯❘✮❨ ✮❘✬◆✰
See Market / Page 5A
♠♣qrs♠r t✉
➛➜➝➞➟➜➠ ➡➢➤➤ ➥➦➧➨➩➫➭➯ ➦➲ ➯➳➨ ➵➫➩➸ ➦➥ ➺ ➭➨➩➯➻➦➲
ÞÝßÙÚÛ
ÐÐ ÓÔÕ
❐➪❒➷➱
where people can congre-
gate. It would be a shame
to have all this space with-
out people utilizing it.”
From receiving a con-
troversial $500,000 loan
from the Urban Renewal
Agency in 2014 to its well-
publicized closure in Feb-
ruary 2018 due to bank-
ruptcy after just 15 months
in business, the short his-
tory of the corner grocery
store has been a roller
Ö×ØÙÚÛ
❮❰ÏÐ❮
➼➽➾➚➪➶➾➹➘➘➶
✇①②③④⑤⑥③⑥②⑤②
⑦✴✴■✷ ⑧⑧
❋ ✴✷✾❊✵✼❑✴⑨ ▼◗ ❏✲❧✷✴
❅✲ ⑩❀✲❑✸✷⑨ ❍❀✷❧✼❑
❱✽✲✵✱ ✴❊✼❀❃ ✵✸✷✲✴
❊✼ ♥❳❩❬❭❪❫❴❵❫♥❛❳
❜❝❬❳❵❞❳❵❢❣❜✐✹
❥✼❀✷ ✾✼❑❊✲✾❊ ✵❑✶✼
✼❑ ❦✲❧✷ ✺❁✹
Online at lagrandeobserver.com