Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 2019)
SPORTS Mounties bury MSUN Follow us on the web MONDAY • October 14, 2019 • $1.50 Good day to our valued subscriber Larry Nice of La Grande New home for warming station? Eastern Oregon University officials feel return of baseball, addition of women’s lacrosse to campus is nothing short of a GRAND SLAM ■ ■ Union County Warming Station could open third year on Third Street By Dick Mason The Observer The three-year-old Union County Warming Station pro- gram may soon have a new shelter site. The warming station’s board is on the verge of get- ting the green light to oper- ate the shelter in a vacant portion of a commercial office building at 2008 Third St. in La Grande. The site would be better than the building that served as the UC Warming Station in 2018-19 on Willow Street in part because it would provide more space for people who need a sanctu- ary from cold winter nights. Another plus is that it has rooms families could be placed in. “We like to keep families together,” said Audrey Smith, a member of the Union County Warming Station Board. The La Grande City Plan- ning Commission approved a conditional use permit on Oct. 8 that would allow the UC Warming Station to oper- ate at the Third Street site, Smith said. The permit will take effect Oct. 23 if nobody files an appeal against the planning commission’s deci- sion before then. UC Warming Station Board members and volun- teers are now preparing the site to be a warming station. However, work on major modifications will not start until the appeal deadline passes without anyone filing. Significant projects on the docket include making the site handicapped accessible, installing a sprinkler system for fire prevention, building a firewall and upgrading outdoor lighting to boost visibility. Smith said the location Observer file photo Justin Dosher is shown during a March 2003 baseball game for Eastern Oregon University. The sport was dropped three years later, but will be making a return, EOU President Tom Insko announced Saturday. Women’s lacrosse will also be coming to EOU. Both sports will begin play in the spring of 2021. ■ ■ Baseball, women’s lacrosse set to debut in 2021 By Ronald Bond The Observer Observer file photo Former Eastern Oregon head coach How- ard Fetz, center, leads the line to greet Mike Breitenstein, left, after a game-winning home run by Breitenstein to beat Wash- ington State in an April 1985 contest. Fetz coached the Mountaineers for two de- cades, and was a major advocate in trying to bring back Eastern’s baseball program. Howard Fetz has been feverishly advocat- ing for baseball’s return to Eastern Oregon University. Fetz, who coached the Mountaineers from 1967 to 1987, and several former EOU players have been imploring the university to bring back the sport, which was dropped 13 years ago. “I believe in it,” Fetz said. “I love the game. I love the opportunity to reach kids and adults through the medium of athletics, and in this case baseball.” The efforts have paid off — baseball is com- ing back to Eastern Oregon University. The national pastime, which was cut from EOU in 2006, will be reinstated, President Tom Insko announced at EOU’s alumni breakfast Saturday morning. The first season for Mountaineer baseball will be in 2021. “We’re fortunate that we have the financial resources to bring men’s baseball back to Eastern Oregon University,” he said at the breakfast, making the statement with Fetz at his side. It’s not the only sport Eastern is adding, either. Insko said the university will also add what he described as a sport rising in popular- ity, women’s lacrosse. The inaugural season for the sport will also be in the spring of 2021. “It’s an opportunity for EOU to lead in a new, exciting, emerging sport, bring that to La Grande and bring that to a rural community,” Insko said of the addition of lacrosse. “It’s got a rich history in the East and, to a certain extent, the Midwest. “It’s an emerging sport in the West,” he added. “It’s the fastest growing youth sport in the nation and has been for a number of years.” Insko said from the time he took over as EOU’s president, Fetz had been in contact with him, asking the president and Athletic Director Anji Weissenfluh about reinstating EOU’s baseball program. “Howard desperately wanted EOU to bring baseball back. He advocated for all the See Programs / Page 5A See Station / Page 5A El Erradero opens again seven weeks after fire By Dick Mason The Observer Alfredo Arceo will never forget the phone call he received just after 7 a.m. on Aug. 23. The call was from his father, Roberto, who told him his family’s La Grande restaurant, El Erradero was on fire. Roberto Arceo was just arriv- ing at the restaurant at Bearco Loop when he called his son. “He said he could see flames (that appeared to be rising from the restaurant building),” Alfredo Arceo said. The son, who was in Ontario, feared the worst. “I thought it would be a total loss,” he said. About three hours later he arrived WEATHER INDEX Classified .......3B Comics ...........9B Crossword .....5B Dear Abby ... 10B Home .............1B Horoscope .....5B Lottery............2A Obituaries ......3A WEDNESDAY Opinion ..........4B Sports ............7A Sudoku ..........9B Weather ....... 10B in La Grande and was relieved to find the restaurant’s building intact. “I was surprised,” Arceo said. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought.” Still, closer inspection revealed it was far from unscathed. “We lost the kitchen and bath- rooms,” Arceo said. The damage did not deter the Arceo family, who worked feverishly to arrange necessary repairs and restoration work, which were covered by insurance. The work paid dividends, as El Erradero reopened at 11 a.m. Friday looking as sharp as ever with its festive decor and an almost all new Full forecast on the back of B section Tonight Tuesday 32 LOW 65/47 Partly cloudy Clouds and sun OLYMPIAN COACH SPEAKS assortment of kitchen equipment. Business was brisk at the restau- rant over the weekend. “It was surprising how busy we were considering we had not done any advertising,” Arceo said. He said his family was delighted that so many people helped make the restaurant’s reopening weekend a success. “We want to thank our loyal cus- tomers,” he said The restaurant reopened almost exactly nine years after it opened in La Grande on Oct. 10, 2010. The restaurant moved to La Grande from See Open / Page 5A CONTACT US HAVE A STORY IDEA? 541-963-3161 Call The Observer newsroom at 541-963-3161 or send an email to news@lagrandeobserver.com. More contact info on Page 4A. Issue 122 2 sections, 20 pages La Grande, Oregon Online at lagrandeobserver.com
