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EOU rally
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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