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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2019)
2A — THE OBSERVER D AILY P LANNER MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2019 LOCAL An early taste of winter USFS seeks public comments TODAY Today is Monday, Oct. 21, the 294th day of 2019. There are 71 days left in the year. ■ Forest Service wants comments on tree thinning project near Troy TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT Observer staff On Oct. 21,1960, Demo- crat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard M. Nixon clashed in their fourth and fi nal presidential debate in New York. ON THIS DATE In 1797, the U.S. Navy frigate Constitution, also known as “Old Ironsides,” was christened in Boston’s harbor. In 1917, members of the 1st Division of the U.S. Army training in Luneville, France, became the fi rst Americans to see action on the front lines of World War I. In 1966, 144 people, 116 of them children, were killed when a coal waste land- slide engulfed a school and some 20 houses in Aberfan, Wales. In 1967, the Israeli destroyer INS Eilat was sunk by Egyptian missile boats near Port Said; 47 Israeli crew members were lost. In 1985, former San Francisco Supervisor Dan White — who’d served fi ve years in prison for killing Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, a gay-rights advocate — was found dead in a garage, a suicide. In 1996, President Clinton’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military survived its fi rst Supreme Court test. Jayson Jacoby/EO Media Group A storm that moved through Northeast Oregon on Saturday dumped close to a foot of snow at Anthony Lakes, eleva- tion 7,100 feet in the Elkhorn Mountains about 35 miles northwest of Baker City. Jayson Jacoby/EO Media Group WALLOWA COUNTY Planning underway to replace dam By Katy Nesbitt LOTTERY For EO Media Group Megabucks: $4.6 million JOSEPH — A fi x for the aging Wallowa Lake Dam is on the horizon with $14 mil- lion from the state of Oregon and a series of stakeholder meetings on the calendar. Gov. Kate Brown included $16 million in her proposed 2020-21 biennium budget to rehabilitate the 103-year- old dam. Earlier this year, the Legislature approved the project, whittling the amount down to $14 million and requiring the stakehold- ers to create a memoran- dum of agreement spelling out the terms on which the four parties agree. The dam, owned and managed by the Wallowa Lake Irrigation District, provides water to upper Wallowa Valley farms. As the district’s board has sought funding it has also discussed state-required fi sh passage options with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Nez Perce Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla. “The funding for a new dam cures a fi sh problem and a farm problem,” Dan Butterfi eld, the irrigation district’s president, said. With the current fund- ing, the dam reconstruc- tion project manager, Mort McMillen of McMillen, Jacob and Associates, said fi sh passage would likely be “trap and haul” — trap- ping adult, returning sockeye and moving them 4-13-25-32-33-39 Mega Millions: $82 million 18-58-60-65-67-20-x3 Powerball: $120 million 14-27-29-59-65-12-x2 Win for Life: Oct. 19 10-22-33-64 Pick 4: Oct. 20 •1p.m.:9-2-5-0 •4p.m.:3-1-1-9 •7p.m.:0-8-5-8 •10p.m.:5-2-4-5 Pick 4: Oct. 19 •1p.m.:4-5-0-8 •4p.m.:4-4-0-7 •7p.m.:8-7-5-5 •10p.m.:6-3-9-2 Pick 4: Oct. 18 •1p.m.:8-1-4-6 •4p.m.:4-6-1-5 •7p.m.:9-8-3-9 •10p.m.:6-8-1-0 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 before5:30p.m.Ifyoudonot receiveyourpaperby5:30p.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 “Silence is sometimes the severest criticism.” — Charles Buxton, English writer More information Katy Nesbitt/For EO Media Group The Wallowa Lake Dam will be rebuilt with $14 million from the Oregon Legislature. around the dam and into the lake. A future option might be a “Swoosh!” or salmon cannon — a facil- ity into which fi sh swim and are propelled over a dam. “We ended up with trap- and-haul system, but could upgrade ... at some point,” McMillen said. “That was the compromise — multiple benefi ts that fi t within the budget.” Another compromise proposed in the fi nal hours of the legislative session was a request for allocat- ing some stored water for fi sh and wildlife benefi t. McMillen said the district made an agreement to do so. Anticipating funding would one day become available, the district hired McMillen to draw plans for a new dam. Because of the risk of a failure, he said the dam has been running at 72% of capacity since 1994. The rehabilitated dam would provide more water to irrigators and allow for more water to be released, increasing stream fl ows for fi sh. “With rehabilitation the district will be able to run the dam for another 100 years and continue to restrict the lake’s release for safer operation,” McMillen said. The grant may not be available until 2021, but Butterfi eld said the board FAMILY OWNED Come in today and let our 1123 Adams Ave., La Grande 541-963-5741 redcrossdrugstore.com New Lease on Retirement Give us a call help your FALL be HAPPY & FESTIVE! is eager to get the fi nal engineering design drafted and permitting underway, so its members are exploring loan options. “Once we get the MOA signed, that’s as good as gold to go to a bank and get a loan,” Butterfi eld said. “We put feelers out to a couple different banks.” PROJECT INFO For additional information about the Elbow Project, contact Joseph Sciarrino at 509-522- 6283 or visit theprojectwebsiteat: https://www.fs.usda.gov/ project/?project=57017. FOREST INFO Additional information about the Umatilla National Forest is available at www. fs.usda.gov/umatilla. Enjoy what matters! CARING STAFF “People Who Care” WALLA WALLA, Wash- ington — The Walla Walla Ranger District of the Uma- tilla National Forest seeks public comment on a plan to remove swaths of insect- infested trees. The purpose of the Elbow Insect and Disease Project is to reduce the risk and extent of the ongoing insect infesta- tion approximately 9 miles west of Troy. The project proposes to remove trees in several ways, including burn- ing, from as much as 2,600 acres within a 15,600-acre project boundary. “There is a need to reduce stand densities to increase the vitality of the leave trees, in particular, large overstory early seral tree species,” ac- cording to the announcement from the Forest Service. “The reduced stand densities would decrease competi- tion for moisture, light and nutrients.” The Forest Service will ac- cept written comments on this categorically excluded action until Nov. 18 to help refi ne the plan and identify ways to im- prove project design. The com- ment period is an opportunity for the public to be involved in the process and offer thoughts on alternative ways the Forest Service can accomplish the project’s purpose and need. The Walla Walla Ranger District also will host two collaboration opportunities during the scoping period, including an open house from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 28, at the Walla Walla Ranger District, 1415 W. Rose St., Walla Walla, and a public fi eld trip to the project area on Oct. 29. For those interested in at- tending the fi eld trip, contact the Walla Walla Ranger District at 509-522-6290 by Oct. 25. GRANDE 1809 Gekeler Ln. 215 Elm Street La Grande (541) 963-5440 northwestfurnitureandmattress.com Ronde Retirement & Assisted Living La Grande 541-963-4700
