2A — THE OBSERVER
D AILY
P LANNER
Pot retailers begin pulling vape brands
By Gillian Flaccus
TODAY
The Associated Press
Today is Friday, Sept. 13,
the 256th day of 2019. There
are 109 days left in the year.
PORTLAND — Oregon mari-
juana retailers on Thursday began
removing vaping products from their
shelves and offering returns on pre-
viously purchased vape pens amid
a nationwide scare over severe lung
illnesses and deaths tied to electronic
cigarettes.
The move came after the agency
that regulates Oregon’s cannabis
industry told The Associated Press
on Wednesday that it will soon begin
asking retailers to voluntarily review
their vaping offerings and pull those
that spark concern.
Kind Leaf Pendleton, a pot retailer
with the largest inventory in Oregon,
said it has already pulled 68 vap-
ing products from 15 brands amid
uncertainty over what is causing the
lung-related illnesses.
“What would really hurt is having
someone purchase a product and die
from vaping,” said Erin Purchase,
director of operations at Kind Leaf.
“Safety is priority here.”
California-based Berkeley Patients
On Sept. 13, 2001, two
days after the 9/11 terror
attacks, the fi rst few jetliners
returned to the nation’s
skies, but several major air-
ports remained closed and
others opened only briefl y.
President George W. Bush
visited injured Pentagon
workers and said he would
carry the nation’s prayers to
New York.
ON THIS DATE
In 1814, during the War
of 1812, British naval forces
began bombarding Fort
McHenry in Baltimore
but were driven back by
American defenders in a
battle that lasted until the
following morning.
In 1971, a four-day
inmates’ rebellion at the
Attica Correctional Facility in
western New York ended as
police and guards stormed
the prison; the ordeal and
fi nal assault claimed the
lives of 32 inmates and 11
hostages.
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $1.4 million
1-2-8-17-24-33
Mega Millions: $172 million
34-47-48-50-55-24-x2
Powerball: $60 million
6-17-24-53-57-3-x3
Win for Life: Sept. 11
NEWSPAPER LATE?
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after 6, please call 541-975-
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the next business day.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
‘“Be yourself’ is about the
worst advice you can give
to some people.”
— J.B. Priestley,
British novelist
without making them look watery.
Vitamin E is safe as a vitamin pill
or to use on the skin but inhaling
oily vitamin E droplets can trigger
pneumonia.
Offi cials in New York have subpoe-
naed three of the biggest thickener
manufacturers.
Kind Leaf said it identifi ed all
products on its shelves that listed
“non-cannabis derived terpenes and
artifi cial and natural fl avors” on the
label without specifying the ingredi-
ents in those additives.
Terpenes are the building blocks
that give a plant its aroma and
fl avor, such as lavender or tea tree
oil. Some cannabis oil manufactur-
ers add terpenes from other plants
to their products for consistency and
cost effectiveness.
When Kind Leaf tracked down the
companies that sold non-marijuana
terpenes to makers of vape pens,
they noticed that some of them also
make and sell the so-called cutting
agents, or thickeners, which have
come under scrutiny.
“We can’t prove that those
products are not in these vape pens
because we’re retailers, not proces-
sors,” Purchase said. “They’re allowed
to have trade secrets and proprietary
information so we just felt uncom-
fortable. It’s unsettling.”
Oregon Liquor Control Commis-
sion Executive Director Steve Marks
told the AP on Wednesday that his
agency does not test marijuana
vapes sold in state-licensed stores for
additives. No marijuana oil manufac-
turer licensed by the state has listed
vitamin E acetate as an ingredient,
which would trigger a safety review,
he said.
Any company that has added an
“undisclosed agent” to its vape car-
tridges should tell regulators imme-
diately or face “legal complications
and probably additional liabilities,”
he said.
“My worry is that some of these
folks may have gone around and put
vitamin E in their products that we
are unaware of,” Marks said. “If it’s
in our products, it’s out there and we
don’t have a clear way to know which
ones it may or may not be in.”
L OCAL B RIEFING
From staff reports
GRH president speaks
at Auxiliary meeting
ISLAND CITY — Grande
Ronde Hospital Auxiliary will
meet Sept. 16 at Island City
City Hall. The guest speaker
will be Jeremy Davis, GRH
president and CEO. Refresh-
ments will be available at
9 a.m. followed by the meeting
at 9:30 a.m. All members are
encouraged to attend. Anyone
interested in becoming an Aux-
iliary member is welcome.
Event celebrates
artwork of Robbie
Waller
UNION — This month’s
Union County Museum
Third Tuesday presentation
will celebrate the artwork
14-21-33-51
Pick 4: Sept. 12
• 1 p.m.: 1-4-0-9
• 4 p.m.: 6-2-6-5
• 7 p.m.: 8-9-1-5
• 10 p.m.: 1-8-4-5
Pick 4: Sept. 11
• 1 p.m.: 7-2-9-9
• 4 p.m.: 4-8-1-3
• 7 p.m.: 8-4-1-1
• 10 p.m.: 1-8-8-4
Group, the oldest medical dispensary
in the country, also said it is contact-
ing all its vendors to ensure products
are additive free.
Several hundred people nation-
wide have gotten a severe lung
illness that’s been tied to electronic
cigarette use. Six of those individuals
have died, including one person in
Oregon.
Amid a rampant black market in
illicit marijuana vapes, the Oregon
death is the only one that public
health authorities have linked to a
purchase at a legal cannabis retailer.
Authorities have not released further
details.
Most of the patients said they
vaped products containing THC, the
compound in marijuana that causes
a high. Some said they vaped only
nicotine, while others said they used
both THC and nicotine.
After extensive testing, New York
investigators have focused on vita-
min E acetate, which recently has
been used as a thickener, particularly
in black market vape cartridges.
Suppliers say it dilutes vape oils
of Robbie Waller. The event
begins at 7 p.m. Sept. 17 at
the Little White Church, on
Main Street in Union. Caralee
Anley, Waller’s granddaughter,
will share the story of Waller’s
prolific artistry. A longtime
resident of Union County who
passed away in 2018, Waller
for many years taught art
classes and showed her work
at the Union County Fair.
Select pieces of her art will be
available for a cash donation to
the museum. The event is free
and open to the public.
Show Association, Inc., will be
held at 7 p.m. Sept. 17 at the
EOLS Clubhouse, 760 E. Delta
St., Union. Directors will be
elected for the coming year.
Imbler School Board
to discuss staff
negotiations
IMBLER — The Imbler
School District Board of
Directors will convene for
a regular session and an
executive session at 7 p.m.
Sept. 17 in Room 1 of the
high school.
EOLS annual meeting
set
Giving blood saves
lives
UNION — The annual
meeting of the members of
the Eastern Oregon Livestock
LA GRANDE — An
American Red Cross com-
munity blood drive will be
held from noon to 6 p.m. Sept.
17 in the gym of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, 1802 Gekeler Lane, La
Grande. For more information
or to schedule an appointment,
call Linda Strand at 541-963-
4261. Drop-ins are welcome.
UNION COUNTY SENIOR CENTER MENU
1504 ALBANY ST., LA GRANDE
Sept. 16-20; lunch served 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
age 60+ $3 suggested donation; others $6
Monday: hearty autumn stew (with or without bread
bowl), layered salad, fresh fruit, ice cream.
Tuesday: chicken pot pie, salad greens, cottage cheese,
fruit, dessert.
Wednesday: tender beef, mashed potatoes and gravy,
glazed carrots with dill, Jell-O, rolls, dessert.
Thursday: BLT sandwiches, steak fries, cashew-pea
salad, cookies.
Friday: taco salad (salad greens with vegetables, meat
and cheese, topped with salsa, avocado and sour cream),
tortilla soup.
P UBLIC S AFETY R EPORT
OREGON STATE POLICE
Arrested: Austin Terry Graves,
20, Henderson, Colorado, was
arrested on a charge of driving
under the infl uence of intoxi-
cants.
Arrested: Sean Martin
Landenberger, 51, Nampa,
Idaho, was arrested on charges
of driving under the infl uence
of intoxicants-alcohol and driv-
ing while suspended.
Arrested: Brian Travis Fries,
48, unknown address, was
arrested on a charge of driving
under the infl uence of intoxi-
cants-alcohol.
LA GRANDE POLICE
DEPARTMENT
Arrested: Chelsea Rae Ham-
mon, 28, Pendleton, was arrested
on a Umatilla County warrant
charging a probation violation.
The alleged probation violation
was connected to an original
charge of possession of metham-
phetamine.
Arrested: Matthew Ray Barrett,
31, unknown address, was ar-
rested by the Oregon Department
of Corrections on a Union County
warrant charging failure to appear
in court on original charges of
fourth-degree assault and driving
under the infl uence of intoxicants.
Arrested: Trevor Alan Nichols,
22, unknown address, was ar-
rested while lodged in the Union
County Jail on a Union County
bench warrant. The warrant was
connected to original charges
unlawful delivery of methamphet-
amine and unlawful possession
of methamphetamine.
Arrested: Joseph Richard
Mason, 39, unknown address,
was arrested on a charge driving
under the infl uence of intoxicants.
Arrested: Jason Lee Marsh, 45,
unknown address, was arrested
by the Pendleton Police Depart-
ment on a Union County bench
warrant. The warrant was con-
nected to an original charge of
unlawful possession of metham-
phetamine.
LA GRANDE FIRE
DEPARTMENT
Firefi ghters responded to 21
calls for medical assistance on
Thursday and 11 on Wednesday.
UNION COUNTY MUSEUM
F
THIRD TUESDAY SERIES admis r s e i e
7 p.m., Tuesday, September 17 on!
ucmuseumoregon.com
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2019
LOCAL
ZT-HD
MOWER
Come in see
our other models!
Models will vary.
End of
Season ts!
Discoun
Celebrating the Artwork of Robbie Waller
presented by Caralee Anley
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10303 W. 1st St. La Grande, OR
Grande Ronde Hospital proudly welcomes:
15%
OFF
Trees and Shrubs
10%
OFF
Perennials
10707 S Walton Rd,
La Grande
(541) 962-0641
Aaron Cooper, PA-C
Joining the GRH Specialty Clinic team as an Orthopedic Physician Assistant
Aaron joins the Specialty Clinic from Canton Potsdam Hospital in upstate New York. He
om Clarkson
Cla
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son
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Univ
Un
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sity
tyy, and
an d is
completed his Master of Science degree as a Physician Assistant from
e of f
also formally educated as a Certified Athletic Trainer. He has a love
sports medicine, and looks forward to joining the Orthopedic team. .
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oy
Aaron is married with six children, two girls and four boys. They enjoy
ng
g,
spending time outdoors together playing a variety of sports, hunting,
ng
g,
fishing, and backpacking. He enjoys woodworking and remodeling,
using his wife’s creative vision to bring old pieces back to life.
Please join us in welcoming Aaron and his family to the Grande Ronde Valley!
y!
GRH Specialty Clinic
710 Sunset Drive, Suite F, La Grande
541.663.3100 • grh.org/ortho/
Learn more about Aaron in our online
Provider Directory at www.grh.org today!
Aaron Cooper, PA-C