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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2019)
SPORTS EOU rally falls short Follow us on the web MONDAY • October 21, 2019 • $1.50 Voters to decide fate of bond ■ Union School District offering tours to show need for improvements Good day to our valued subscriber Terry Lemon of La Grande UNION COUNTY WALLOWA COUNTY Young woodworkers promote reading Highway crash leaves 1 dead ■ Joseph man killed after vehicle collides with ODOT snowplow on Highway 3 By Dick Mason The Observer What does the future hold for the Union School District? Union School District voters will determine this in a Nov. 5 mail election for a $4 million bond that would pay for major upgrades to its buildings. Union voters be- gan receiving ballots for the election late last week. The ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. Nov. 5. Union School District Superintendent Carter Wells is encouraged by the show of support he has sensed in the community for the bond. “There is lots of positivity,” Wells said of the bond levy, titled Measure 31-98 The ballot title summary for Measure 31-98 states that the estimated average tax rate would be $1.10 per $1,000 of assessed property value if the levy is approved. This means that the owner of a $100,000 house in the school district would pay $110 more a year in property taxes. The bond would be paid for over a period not to exceed 21 years, according to the summary. The bond levy, if approved, would provide the school dis- trict a two-for-the-price-of- one opportunity. The school district was awarded a grant from the Oregon School Cap- ital Improvement matching program this summer that will provide a dollar-for-dol- lar match of up to $4 million for the Union School District bond, should voters approve it. This means if voters pass the $4 million bond levy, the school district will receive $8 million for construction. The catch is that the offer for the matching grant is good only through the November election. Should the bond By Sabrina Thompson The Observer Dick Mason/The Observer La Grande High School junior Colt Foltz, right, and Briana Tanaka, a community volunteer, build a Little Free Library structure Saturday. ■ Several Union County FFA students team-up to build Little Free Libraries By Dick Mason, The Observer Seven Union County teenagers put down their cellphones and picked up drills, tape measures and plywood Saturday morning to promote literacy. The youths, members of FFA chapters at La Grande, Imbler and Union high schools, helped build structures at La Grande High School for about eight Little Free Libraries that will be installed in La Grande, Imbler and Union. They will be part of a growing number of such libraries in Union County. Each is a community bookcase, a site where anyone can pick up a book and bring another back to share. Scott Carpenter, the La Grande School District’s director of educational programs, said Little Free Libraries help boost literacy levels, especially in the homes of young families. “They provide more access to literature for homes that may not have access to it,” said Carpenter, who helped oversee the Little Free Library construction work. Participating in the project Saturday were three LHS students, juniors Colt Foltz, McK- See Bond / Page 5A See Libraries / Page 5A Dick Mason/The Observer Union High School freshmen Jakob Graffunder, left, and Paul Reed were among seven students in FFA who helped build structures for Little Free Libraries. Real ID is coming, are you ready? By Sam Stites Oregon Public Broadcasting PORTLAND — If you’ve fl own from Portland International Airport within the past couple of weeks, you’ve prob- ably received a warning from Trans- portation Security Administration agents while waiting to get through security: Beginning Oct. 1, 2020, they’ll no longer accept state-issued identifi cation that doesn’t comply with “Real ID” standards. The changes have been in the mak- ing since Congress passed the Real ID Act of 2005. On the recommenda- tion of the 9/11 Commission, federal lawmakers created standards for the issuance of sources of identifi cation like driver’s licenses. In 2009, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 536, which balked at the Real ID Act, calling it out as an unfunded mandate. Oregon lawmak- ers were unhappy the federal govern- ment didn’t outline how it would re- imburse the state for updating driver information systems. Oregon lawmak- ers also felt a new system would pro- WEATHER INDEX Classified .......3B Comics ...........7B Crossword .....6B Dear Abby .....7B Home .............1B Horoscope .....6B Lottery............2A Obituaries ......3A WEDNESDAY Opinion ..........4A Sports ............7A Sudoku ..........7B Weather ....... 10B vide few security protections, leaving identifi cation systems open to insider fraud, counterfeit documentation and database failures. The bill passed with little opposi- tion, and the federal government pushed back the deadline as Oregon and nearly all other states refused to comply. During the next decade, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security began rolling out the law in phases, fi rst at its own Washington, D.C., headquarters, then at nuclear See Real ID / Page 5A Full forecast on the back of B section Tonight Tuesday 45 LOW 60/35 Showers around Spotty showers SWEAT FOR SETH One person has died and two others were injured in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 3 Saturday morn- ing in Wallowa County. Oregon State Police troopers and emergency personnel responded to an 8:08 a.m. call reporting the collision of an Oregon Department of Transportation snowplow and a pickup on the Lewiston Highway near milepost 15. A Dodge pickup was north- bound on Highway 3 when it collided with the snowplow, operated by Monte Radford, 69, of Enterprise. Preliminary investigation of the crash showed that the pickup was navigating a curve when it lost control and crossed over into the southbound lane and into the path of the snowplow, according to a press release from OSP. The pickup’s driver, Dylan Denton, 24, of Joseph, died at the scene. The pickup’s passenger, Triston Denning, 19, of Joseph, was injured, as was the driver of the snow- plow. Denning was taken to St. Alphonsus Regional Medi- cal Center in Boise via air ambulance to be treated for his injuries and Radford was driven via ambulance to Wal- lowa Memorial Hospital with serious injuries, according to the OSP press release. The highway was closed for six hours Saturday during the investigation. OSP was as- sisted by the Wallowa County Sheriff’s Offi ce and Wallowa Rural Fire Department. A public Facebook page updating Denning’s condition has been made. According to this page, Denning is being treated for serious injuries at St. Alphonsus in Boise. Denning is still in the ICU under a medically induced coma, with a broken femur and numerous facial injuries, according to the GoFundMe page posted on the Facebook page. He had a brain bleed that was stopped and will continue to stay sedated until he is healthy enough for surgery. According to the press release, the investigation is ongoing and no further information was available for release. 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 125 2 sections, 18 pages La Grande, Oregon Online at lagrandeobserver.com
