Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2019)
2A — THE OBSERVER FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 LOCAL D AILY P LANNER TODAY Today is Friday, Sept. 27, the 270th day of 2019. There are 95 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT On Sept. 27, 1964, the government publicly released the report of the Warren Commission, which concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy. ON THIS DATE In 1854, the fi rst great disaster involving an Atlantic Ocean passenger vessel occurred when the steamship SS Arctic sank off Newfoundland; of the more than 400 people on board, only 86 survived. In 1979, Congress gave its fi nal approval to forming the U.S. Department of Education. LOTTERY Megabucks: $2.6 million 4-8-12-19-38-40 Mega Millions: $40 million 6-14-24-42-46-9-x4 Powerball: $50 million Joseph Company wants to replace Baker Truck Corral with Pilot Travel Center center gets facelift By Jayson Jacoby EO Media Group BAKER CITY — America’s larg- est truck stop company has applied for a permit to demolish the Baker Truck Corral and build a travel center on the nearly 9-acre property on the south side of Campbell Street beside Interstate 84. Pilot Flying J of Knoxville, Tennes- see, is the applicant. The company owns more than 750 travel centers in 44 states and six Canadian provinces, according to its website. Its Northeastern Oregon loca- tions are at Stanfi eld, La Grande and Ontario. According to the application the company fi led with the Baker City- County Planning Department, the new travel center would include an Arby’s restaurant with a drive-through, a convenience store, drivers’ lounge and public laundry, 10 fuel stations for passenger vehicles and seven diesel stations for trucks. The restaurant, store and other ser- vices would be in a one-story structure covering 10,688 square feet, according to the application. Because the proposed structure is smaller than 15,000 square feet, and because a travel center is an allowed use in the general-commercial zone, the Planning Department can approve the application and the matter, known as a Type II review, does not go before the city Planning Commission, said Eva Henes, a senior planner at the planning department. A notice was sent about two weeks By Steve Tool EO Media Group S. John Collins/EO Media Group Pilot Flying J of Knoxville, Tennessee, has applied for a permit to demolish the Baker Truck Corral and build a travel center on the nearly 9-acre prop- erty on the south side of Campbell Street. ago to property owners in the area, and the department didn’t receive any public comments, Henes said. Planning department offi cials are working on a staff report, and Plan- ning Director Holly Kerns will decide whether to approve the application. That could happen by early October, and the decision would be subject to appeal for 14 days, Henes said. Projects that involve a subjective decision, such as a conditional-use permit, go to the planning commission, Henes said. But Type II projects are more straightforward, with the main issue being whether the project complies with zoning rules and other regula- tions. Ryan Robinson of Pilot Flying J said Tuesday that the company has not bought the Baker Truck Corral property. Robinson said the company is looking at options for the property but does not have a signed agreement. The application lists Kurt Miller as the property owner. He is the registered agent for DC & KM LLC, the Oregon company listed as the property owner on Baker County Assessor’s Offi ce records. According to those records the current truck stop building is 10,314 square feet — slightly smaller than Pilot Flying J’s proposed structure. The Truck Corral was built in 1975, according to the Assessor’s Offi ce. The market value of the property, including land and buildings, is listed on tax records as $2,188,770. 37-43-44-45-53-25-x3 Second death related to vaping Win for Life: Sept. 25 12-32-42-58 Pick 4: Sept. 26 • 1 p.m.: 1-3-6-0 • 4 p.m.: 8-3-6-5 • 7 p.m.: 9-3-4-5 • 10 p.m.: 7-3-0-1 Pick 4: Sept. 25 • 1 p.m.: 0-4-3-2 • 4 p.m.: 7-0-2-1 • 7 p.m.: 1-2-5-9 • 10 p.m.: 1-3-8-6 The Associated Press NEWSPAPER LATE? Every effort is made to de- liver your Observer in a timely manner. Occasionally condi- tions exist that make delivery more diffi cult. If you are not on a motor route, delivery should be before 5:30 p.m. If you do not receive your paper by 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, please call 541-963-3161 by 6 p.m. If your delivery is by motor carrier, delivery should be by 6 p.m. For calls after 6, please call 541-975- 1690, leave your name, address and phone number. Your paper will be delivered the next business day. QUOTE OF THE DAY “I have lived in this world just long enough to look carefully the second time into things that I am most certain of the fi rst time.” — “Josh Billings” (Henry Wheeler Shaw), American humorist (1818-1885) SALEM — A second Or- egonian has died from a lung illness after vaping cannabis products, and state health au- thorities on Thursday urged people to immediately stop using all vaping products. “People should stop vaping immediately,” said Dean Side- linger, Oregon’s state health offi cer. “If you vape, whether it’s cannabis, nicotine or other products, please quit.” Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said the Oregon Health Authority informed her of the death and that she is request- ing the Oregon Department of Justice to advise what legal options are available to the state, including the temporary ban of all vaping products. The most recent death was an individual who had been hospitalized with respiratory symptoms after vaping can- nabis products, the Oregon Health Authority said in a statement. The other Oregon fatality, whose death was an- nounced on Sept. 3, had used e-cigarettes, or vape pens, with THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 805 confi rmed and prob- able cases of vaping-related breathing illness have been reported nationally, up 52% from the 530 reported a week ago. At this point, illnesses have occurred in almost every state. Confi rmed deaths include two in California, two in Kansas, two in Oregon and one each in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Missouri. The Mississippi death was announced by offi cials in that state Thursday. Those who have fallen ill in Oregon have been hospitalized after experienc- ing worsening symptoms, including shortness of breath, cough or chest pain. All cases have reported e-cigarette use or vaping, the OHA said. Oregon marijuana retailers on Sept. 12 began removing vaping products from their shelves and offering returns on previously purchased vape Johnson Family Fruit’s Pumpkin Patch pens. People who have recently vaped and are having dif- fi culty breathing should seek medical attention immediate- ly, Oregon’s health authority said. State Rep. Cheri Helt, a Republican from Bend, announced earlier Thursday that she would introduce legislation during the Febru- ary 2020 legislative session to ban retail and online sales of all fl avored e-cigarettes and vaping products. JOSEPH — The Joseph Community Center is getting a facelift. And it’s being done by volunteers with donated materials. Raider Heck and two friends completely re-sided the North East Street facility with more than 4,500-square foot of siding in just fi ve days. Thanks to Jim Russell of 1917 Lumber in Joseph, Boise Cascade is footing half the bill for the siding and James Hardie, the company that manufactures the cement panels, is contrib- uting the other half. Joseph Hardware lent the use of their boom truck to help install the panels on the upper reaches of the facility. And an individual anonymously donated a 30- foot fl ag pole to stand in the front of the facility. Heck, the project leader, said it was about time some- thing was done. “This building has needed a coat of paint for years,” he said. “The siding was not worth putting paint on be- cause it’s been neglected too long. If you let it go, you can’t get ahead of it.” The new siding is J. Hardie cement siding, which is a 5/16- inch siding actually made of concrete with a wood look and outside texture. Heck said the siding is the best choice for the climate. When completed, the siding will have a “board and batten” fi nish in order to comply with local ordinances requiring the building have a “western” appearance. The city had budgeted to repair the siding on the facil- ity. “We expected to take a pretty good hit (on the money budgeted), but it would have been worth it because this siding will last 50 years,” Heck said. “It’ll last even longer if it’s taken care of.” FAMILY OWNED Thousands of pumpkins to choose from! Great Family Fu Highway 82 n! 4 mi North of Imbler (Follow Signs) Open 7 a.m. - Dusk 541-786-1493 215 Elm Street La Grande (541) 963-5440 northwestfurnitureandmattress.com Sheriff Boyd n e s s u m s a R Union County Sheriff’s Offi ce: Protecting and serving families, It has been an honor to schools, and communities serve as your Sheriff the past 14 years and to guide the good men and women of the Sheriff’s Offi ce in their service to you. “I support Sheriff Rasmussen because he has established Earning and keeping your a team oriented office that works hard to support and protect the youth and families of Union County.” trust is important to me. I look forward to standing Greg M. Baxter before you for re-election. “We stand by our Sheriff in protecting our County and citizens’ rights.” “Sheriff Rasmussen has worked hard for the citizens of Elgin to en- sure they have the law enforcement they need. He has often went above and beyond the contract with the City of Elgin to do this!” Brock Eckstein Elgin City Administrator Union County Commissioners: Oregon State Representative Elgin Mayor Island City Mayor Imbler Mayor North Powder Mayor Donna Beverage Matt Scarfo Paul Anderes Greg Barretto Allan Duffy Robb Rea Mike McLean Mike Wisdom To support the Rasmussen Re-Election Campaign contact Rita McMahan at ritamc@eoni.com. Paid for by the Committee to Re-Elect Sheriff Boyd Rasmussen, Rita Mc Mahan Treasurer 1801 Highland, La Grande
