2A — THE OBSERVER
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2019
LOCAL
Chamber
buys
‘horses on
wheels’
WALLOWA COUNTY
D AILY
P LANNER
TODAY
Today is Friday, Oct. 18,
the 291st day of 2019. There
are 74 days left in the year.
■ ‘Mobile visitor
kiosks’ cost
Pendleton chamber
$15k for two
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On Oct. 18, 1977, West
German commandos
stormed a hijacked Lufthan-
sa jetliner on the ground
in Mogadishu, Somalia,
freeing all 86 hostages and
killing three of the four
hijackers.
By Antonio Sierra
EO Media Group
PENDLETON — Travel
Pendleton is calling them
“mobile visitor kiosks,” but
the agency’s newest tool is go-
ing by a different name on its
product webpage: motor pony.
At a Pendleton City
Council meeting Tuesday,
Travel Pendleton tourism
and hospitality manager
Kristen Dollarhide reported
that Travel Oregon had just
awarded the tourism arm
of the Pendleton Chamber
of Commerce $15,000 to
buy two motorized horses
chamber employees will ride
around to boost tourism.
Dollarhide told the council
that her original idea was to
use live horses, but she was
quickly rebuked.
Dollarhide saw the motor
ponies at a trade show and
thought it might be a good
alternative to a live animal.
The grant will pay for two
motor ponies, two saddles,
information fl ags, saddle
bags, itineraries, visitors, and
a “tourism ambassador” that
will help run the outreach
project.
Dollarhide said the ponies
will be perfect to take out on
the town and assist tourists
when the chamber’s 501 S.
Main St. offi ce isn’t open or
during big events like Pend-
leton Whisky Music Fest or
Pendleton Bike Week.
But Travel Pendleton
doesn’t plan on restricting
the vehicles to in-city jobs.
Dollarhide said the cham-
ber also wants to take them
to conferences and trade
shows to promote Pendleton
and Eastern Oregon tourism.
Travel Pendleton might
also take it to Portland on
the weekends, with the
expectation that the sight
of the motor pony will drum
up interest in Pendleton
tourism.
“We want visitors to expe-
rience Pendleton, Eastern
Oregon, and everything we
have to offer,” she said.
ON THIS DATE
In 1648, Boston shoe-
makers were authorized
to form a guild to protect
their interests; it’s the fi rst
American labor organiza-
tion on record.
In 1892, the fi rst long-
distance telephone line
between New York and Chi-
cago was offi cially opened.
In 1898, the American
fl ag was raised in Puerto
Rico shortly before Spain
formally relinquished con-
trol of the island to the U-S.
In 1912, black boxer Jack
Johnson was arrested
in Chicago, accused of
violating the Mann Act
because of his relationship
with his white girlfriend,
Lucille Cameron. (The case
collapsed when Cameron
refused to cooperate, but
Johnson was later re-
arrested and convicted on
the testimony of a former
mistress, Belle Schreiber.)
In 1931, inventor Thomas
Alva Edison died in West
Orange, New Jersey, at age
84.
In 1961, the movie
musical “West Side Story,”
starring Natalie Wood and
Richard Beymer, premiered
in New York, the fi lm’s
setting.
In 1972, Congress passed
the Clean Water Act, over-
riding President Richard
Nixon’s veto.
In 1984, actor Jon-Erik
Hexum, 26, was taken off
life support six days after
shooting himself in the
head with a pistol loaded
with a blank cartridge on
the set of his TV show
“Cover Up.”
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $4.4 million
2-3-23-30-37-47
Mega Millions: $71 million
4-12-14-35-70-2-x2
Powerball: $110 million
1-5-25-63-67-3-x2
Win for Life: Oct. 16
32-40-64-65
Pick 4: Oct. 17
• 1 p.m.: 4-6-7-6
• 4 p.m.: 5-3-9-8
• 7 p.m.: 8-9-5-1
• 10 p.m.: 1-6-7-8
Pick 4: Oct. 16
• 1 p.m.: 9-3-1-2
• 4 p.m.: 5-5-0-2
• 7 p.m.: 8-9-9-7
• 10 p.m.: 7-2-3-5
NEWSPAPER LATE?
Every effort is made to
deliver your Observer in a
timely manner. Occasionally
conditions exist that make
delivery more diffi cult.
If you are not on a mo-
tor 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
“Only those ideas that
are least truly ours can be
adequately expressed in
words.”
— Henri Bergson,
French philosopher
EO Media Group fi le photo
Maeve Waterman hugs her dog before the start of the ECX 100-mile race.
HELP WANTED
■ Eagle Cap Extreme Volunteer Fair happens Saturday at the Josephy Center
time you can spare will be
greatly appreciated.
What do you get if you are
a volunteer? The friendship
of the other 100 or more
volunteers and of the mush-
ers. The chance to hug a
sled dog(s). The opportunity
to learn about the sport of
mushing, and about the
work that you are doing as a
volunteer. And the pride and
happiness that come from
helping your community
and helping others.
By Ellen Morris Bishop
EO Media Group
ENTERPRISE — With
snow working its way
gradually down the moun-
tainsides, it’s time to start
thinking about Wallowa
County’s premier winter
event: the Iditarod-quali-
fying Eagle Cap Extreme
(ECX) sled dog race.
This all-volunteer event,
slated for January, brings
hundreds of sled dogs
and dozens of elite teams
from across the U.S. and
Canada to compete in and
enjoy Wallowa County.
But this inspiring event
needs more than a hun-
dred volunteers to make
it run. It’s an all volunteer
effort. If you like dogs, or
you like people or if you
just love Wallowa County,
this is a great chance to
help contribute to the
success of the ECX, and
get to know the outstand-
ing mushers and dogs
who will be here. You’ll
also help keep them all
safe, and enjoy the unique
camaraderie that’s become
part of the event.
This year’s ECX Volun-
teer Fair will be held at
the Josephy Center, Oct.
19 from 10 a.m. through
2 p.m. There will be a
bevy of Susan Paranga’s
Siberian Husky sled dog
team there to greet you.
You’ll meet race organiz-
ers (all volunteers) and
learn about the jobs that
are available. Some of
the premier positions that
need to be fi lled for this
year’s race to be success-
ful include equipment
managers, people to help
with public relations, dog
handlers for the race start
and race fi nishes, cooks
and other volunteers
for the overnight check
station at Ollokott, and
Johnson
Family Fruits
FAMILY
OWNED
EO Media Group fi le photo
Larry Roxby heads out on another leg of competition
in the 2017 Eagle Cap Extreme.
people to help with the fun
education programs that
engage schools in Union
and Wallowa County in
learning about the race,
producing art, and coming
to Enterprise and Joseph
to meet the mushers and
their dogs.
You needn’t volunteer
for the whole time that
the race is running. A
morning as a dog handler,
an afternoon to help with
education, some time to
check equipment in and
out and keep track of
things will be fi ne. Any
La GRANDE
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975-2000
www.lagrandeautorepair.com
Tuesday, October 22
MOST
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ACDelcoTSS
Live Music!
Erika Litke
8pm-10pm
Alternative Street Corner music.
541-963-8766
tendepotstreet.com
HAS REOPENED!
Pumpkin Patch
Thousands
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to choose
from!
Same delicious menu
and wonderful
atmosphere
Come see us soon!
Highway 82 - 4 mi. North of
Imbler (Follow Signs)
Great
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fun!
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8am - 6pm
215 Elm Street La Grande (541) 963-5440
northwestfurnitureandmattress.com
2711 Bearco Loop, La Grande
(541) 962-0825