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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 2019)
Home & Living Veggies help pasta F Friday thru Sunday, Sept 6 th -8 th At La Grande Country Club Proceeds benefit the Grande Ronde Hospital Foundation Information & Register at: grh.org/ golf or 541-963-1431 Follow us on the web MONDAY • August 26, 2019 • $1.50 Good day to our valued subscriber Marilyn Rice of La Grande Marcum named GRH executive director of patient care By Sabrina Thompson The Observer Grande Ronde Hospital has a new member of its team. Laurie Marcum is now serving as the executive director of Patient Care Services, replacing Doug Romer, who retired in January. Romer worked in the position for 40 years before leaving, and the hospital has had interim directors during its search. “I am very passion- ate about community health care,” Marcum Marcum said. “Being a native of Eastern Oregon, I only want the best for the community.” As the Executive Director Patient Care Services, Marcum is overseen directly by President and CEO Jeremy Davis. All clinical patient care departments and their supervisors within the hospital report to Marcum as she ensures safe and exceptional care for the community. “I feel the community should be thankful for the wonderful orga- nization they have here in GRH,” Marcum said. “The GRH team is an amazing group of people and I am proud to be part of the team again.” Marcum worked as a house supervisor — whose primary responsibilities include dealing with patient care issues, staffi ng matters, supervision of the nurses STOKED FOR SUPPLIES and staff and handling adminis- trative responsibilities — at GRH from 2001 to 2008 before becoming chief nursing offi cer for Wallowa Memorial Hospital, where she was employed until 2012. Since then, Marcum has worked for B.E. Smith, a health care company, serving at the executive level for See Marcum / Page 5A Possible strike looms for universities’ classified staff By Dick Mason The Observer Dick Mason/The Observer A wide array of student school supplies have been donated by the Elgin community to Stella Mayfi eld Elementary School. The items were presented to the school this morning. Stella Mayfi eld students Kyria Graham, left, and Selah Schultze, are shown examining some of the supplies Sunday during a public picnic outside the Elgin Community Center. ■ Elgin students get supplies for first day from ministry association, Lions Club By Dick Mason The Observer Teachers at Stella May- fi eld Elementary School will be reaching into their pockets less frequently this year thanks to many Elgin residents with deep reser- voirs of goodwill. The charitable men and women are members of churches that are part of the Elgin Ministerial Association, which, with support from the Elgin Lions Club, donated large quantities of school supplies to Stella Mayfi eld this morning during the fi rst day of classes. Gerald Hopkins, pastor of the Elgin First Methodist Church and a leader of the school supply drive along with his wife, Mary, helped conduct the drive because he does not want teachers to have to spend their own money to provide students with school supplies. “Teachers should not have to do this,” said Hopkins, who is also a member of the Elgin Lions Club with his wife, Mary. He knows from fi rsthand experience that teachers spend their own money to help students. He saw it happen during his career as an educator, which included stops in the Huntington School District where he was its superintendent and in the North Powder School District Dick Mason/The Observer where he was its principal. Gerald Hopkins examines some of the new backpacks he and others Hopkins is not the only donated to a back to school supply drive for Elgin students. Hopkins one who has taken note of helped lead the drive, conducted by the Elgin Ministerial Association how much teachers spend See School / Page 3A Efforts to avert a strike by the classi- fi ed staff of Oregon’s public universities, one which would impact Eastern Oregon University, will continue in two weeks when bargaining teams for the classifi ed employ- ees and the state will meet. The bargaining sessions will be conducted Sept. 11-13, according to Di Saunders, a spokesperson for Oregon’s seven public uni- versities. The sessions will start about three weeks after an impasse was declared and fi nal offers were submitted by both bargain- ing teams Friday. A 30-day cooling off period has since started. SEIU 503, the classifi ed employees union, can give notice during the cooling off period that it intends to strike. However, it can’t strike until after the 30 days and must give the public universities 10 days notice before doing so, said Saunders. This means the earliest the classifi ed employees could strike would be about Sept. 23. SEIU 503 has not released its fi nal offer, but Oregon’s public universities have. They are offering classifi ed staff employees a 2.5% total cost of living adjustment (COLA) in 2020-21 but no increases in 2019. Classifi ed staff employees would receive a 1% COLA increase March 1, 2020, and 0.75% COLA boosts on Nov. 1, 2020, and March 1, 2021. The state’s universities are also offering step increases in 2019-20 and 2020-21, for which 70% of the classifi ed employees are eligible. These step increases would raise the base wages of eligible employees by 9.5% over two years. This combined with the 2.5% COLA would increase wages for most employ- ees by 12% over two years, Saunders said. The step increases Saunders refers to are pay raises provided for job performances rat- ed satisfactory or better, but are not awards for “merit,” according to a state university fact sheet. The vast majority of classifi ed staff receive step increases, unless their job performance is deemed not satisfactory. with help from the Elgin Lions Club. See Strike / Page 5A BR Office complex nearly ready for business By Sabrina Thompson The Observer The City of La Grande’s Urban Renewal Agency awarded funds to BR Offi ce Condominiums, owned by David Baum, to update its building at 1902 Fourth St. in June. The proj- ect revitalized the building’s interior and exterior. Baum bought the offi ce building in 1989 and though some construction had been done since then to improve the building, it was in need of a more extensive upgrade, according to Baum. When one of his tenants came to him in 2018 asking for renovations to be done, Baum saw the opportuni- ty to reach out to the Urban Renewal Agency for help, as it met the URA’s funding requirements. According to the report given to the URA by Urban Renewal District Manager Robert Strope and Economic Development Director Christine Jarski — which lists all the fi ndings by the city regarding INDEX Classified .......4B Comics ...........3B Community ...6A Crossword .....5B Dear Abby .....8B WEATHER Home .............1B Horoscope .....5B Letters ............4A Lottery............2A Record ...........3A WEDNESDAY Obituaries ......4A Opinion ..........4A Sports ............7A Sudoku ..........3B the application — the URA agreed that Baum’s proposal met three of the four goals of the Urban Re- newal Plan: revitalizing downtown, creating family-wage jobs and retail development. With a new exterior, employees already hired and now updated empty suites, Baum has met those goals. “The building is totally restored,” Baum said. Currently the only tenant in the condominiums is Dr. James R. Kopp, Full forecast on the back of B section Tonight Tuesday 44 LOW 86/48 Mainly clear Sunny; pleasant ELGIN EMERGENCY SHELTER an orthopedic surgeon who has set up a weight loss clinic in one of the three suites. MetTrim MD provides a medical designed clinic using the principles of the American Medical Association, National Institute of Health and Obesity Medical As- sociation. Kopp’s business uses one of the three suites in the building for his practice. The work listed in Baum’s Urban Renewal funding request included CONTACT US 541-963-3161 Issue 101 2 sections, 16 pages La Grande, Oregon See Offi ce / Page 5A HAVE A STORY IDEA? Call The Observer newsroom at 541-963-3161 or send an email to news@lagrandeobserver.com. Online at lagrandeobserver. com
