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LA GRANDE
LIFE EXPERIENCE DRIVES DIRECTOR TO
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
■ Unexpected loss of brother pushes Jamie Landa to into social work and to executive director position
Police
consider
motive in
murder
■ Details of case
against Ronald Lee
included at hearing
By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
Sabrina Thompson/The Observer
Jamie Landa now serves as the executive director for the Shelter From the Storm, a safe, free and confi dential place for people who have
experienced domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Landa is excited to help make a difference in people’s lives with her work.
By Sabrina Thompson, The Observer
July 29 was Jamie Landa’s fi rst day as Shelter From the Storm’s new executive director.
Combining her background in fi nance and her drive and desire to help people, Landa hopes to
make a difference in the lives of those affected by domestic abuse and sexual assault.
“For a very long time my career
has been in fi nance,” Landa said.
“I had a family tragedy — I lost
my brother. He’s a veteran, and
he took his own life. It, I guess,
pushed me into social work.”
Before accepting this posi-
tion at Shelter From the Storm,
Landa worked in Alaska as a
bookkeeper and fi nance man-
ager, and though she enjoyed her
work she wanted to do more and
help more people, she said. She
and her husband moved to Cove
in 2014, where she worked as the
bookkeeper in the repair shop
they owned. In 2015, Landa’s
brother passed away, and that
fall she signed up for courses at
EOU to get a degree in social
welfare. Before graduating in
2017, Landa had secured a job
“For a very long time my career has been in finance. I had a family
tragedy — I lost my brother. He’s a veteran, and he took his own life.
It, I guess, pushed me into social work.”
— Jamie Landa, Shelter From the Storm executive director
at the Department of Human
Services in its Adults and People
with Disabilities department.
Landa felt that her work at
DHS wasn’t utilizing all of her
skills and that she wasn’t able to
help people the way she wanted.
She applied as soon as the posi-
tion of executive director at SFS
opened up, six months ago when
the previous executive director,
Mindy Mowery, left.
“I don’t have a lot of history (in
social work), but it is my passion,”
Landa said about her motivation
behind seeking the position. “I
want to help people who are going
through tough times. Even if it’s
helping by maintaining grants
and keeping the doors open, I
want to do that. If us being here,
and me facilitating that, helps
people get the help they need, it
makes me feel good.”
As executive director, Landa is
responsible for making sure grant
conditions are being correctly fol-
lowed and in charge of budgeting.
She functions as a liaison between
the board and the advocates who
work at SFS and is in charge of
the daily running and manage-
ment of the staff.
“In the short time I have been
here, I have seen success stories,”
Landa said. “You get goose bumps
and you get tears in your eyes,
and you’re like, ‘We really are
making a difference.’”
SFS is an advocacy center for
people who have experienced
domestic violence, sexual assault
and stalking. All of the services
SFS provides are free and con-
fi dential. Some of these services
include providing a safe house or
shelter from an abuser, and a sex-
ual assault response room, where
a survivor can go to be seen by
a sexual assault nurse rather
than go to the hospital. Advocates
support clients as they go through
legal processes and help them get
See Landa / Page 5A
On Nov. 17, 2018, around
1:40 a.m., Loretta Williams
was shot and killed in her
Cove home. In February,
her soon-to-be ex-husband,
Ronald D. Lee, was arrested
in connection with her death
and charged with murder
and conspiracy
to commit
murder. During
an Aug. 27 plea
hearing, the
State of Oregon
Lee
presented evi-
dence support-
ing why Lee should con-
tinue to be held in the Union
County Jail without bail. The
information made public at
the hearing included details
about the case against Lee.
According to Union County
Sheriff’s Offi ce Det. Jason
McKaig’s investigation and
testimony, Williams and Lee
separated in April of 2018,
and Williams fi led for divorce
on July 18, 2018. According
to court records, she fi led for
divorce due to “incouncilable
differences between par-
ties caused by irremediable
breakdown of marriage.”
Lee moved out of their
Cove home and into a camp
trailer outside of his shop
on Highway 82, according to
McKaig. During this time the
couple argued over owner-
ship of the home, McKaig
said. Williams fi led for and
was temporarily granted
a restraining order that
required Lee to stay at least
150 feet away from the house
and from her. According to
court documents, she was
granted exclusive use of the
home. The restraining order
was eventually dismissed,
but it was incorporated into
the civil divorce case, accord-
ing to McKaig.
During McKaig’s investi-
gation, he found that Lee had
hired an associate, Deva Wil-
liams (no relation to Loretta),
to drive him around for $30
per hour due to Lee having
See Lee / Page 5A
Crash claims life of child
■ Three-vehicle accident on Highway 82
in Minam Canyon sends three to hospital
By Dick Mason
The Observer
A three-vehicle crash in Mi-
nam Canyon late Wednesday
morning resulted in the death
of a child and seriously in-
jured another. One adult was
also injured in the accident.
The accident occurred at
10:30 a.m. when an east-
bound Ford F-150 pickup
on Highway 82 driven by
Christy Erickson, 31, of La
Grande, who had two child
passengers, left its lane while
negotiating a curve. The
pickup then sideswiped an
oncoming Subaru Outback,
which had two occupants,
driver Mary Importico, 31,
and a passenger, Ryan Im-
portico, 32, both of Portland,
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according to an Oregon State
Police news release.
The collision caused the
Ford F-150 to continue to the
left and into the oncoming
lane where it struck, almost
head-on, a Dodge Ram
pickup pulling a trailer. The
Dodge Ram had four occu-
pants: driver Colby Rimmer,
25, and passengers Daniel
Rimmer, 53, Michael Cramer,
41, and John Kraus, 38, all of
See Crash / Page 5A
Oregon State Police photo
A three-vehicle crash on Highway 82 in Minam Can-
yon late Wednesday morning ended in the death of a
child and seriously injured another. One adult was also
injured in the accident. Highway 82 was closed for fi ve
hours following the accident.
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Issue 109
3 sections, 20 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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