MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2019
THE OBSERVER — 5A
LOCAL
Tollgate Highway reopens after closure
■ Heavy snowfall, strong winds cause trees,
branches to collapse and fall on to highway
Observer staff
Oregon Department of Transportation photo
Highway 204 reopened at about 12:30 p.m.
Sunday after being closed at about 5 p.m.
Saturday after heavy snowfall and strong
winds caused trees and branches to col-
lapse and fall on to the highway.
LIBRARIES
Continued from Page 1A
aylee Orton and Isaac Insko;
two Union students, Jakob
Graffunder and Paul Reed;
and two Imbler students,
seventh-graders Isabella
Warg and Tayler Bowles.
Foltz said he welcomed the
chance to do the woodwork.
“I enjoy woodworking,” he
said. “I like keeping busy.”
He also said that the
process of working with wood
is a bit more forgiving than
working with other materi-
als because if there is an
imperfection like a nick it
can often be corrected simply
by sanding it down.
Orton voiced a similar
sentiment.
“It is really fun,” she
said, noting that she enjoys
working with her hands on
projects.
The Little Free Libraries
project is being sponsored
by Red Roof Construction
of Elgin, the Edward Jones
investment and fi nancial
advising company and the
Literacy Alliance, a local
organization that promotes
reading.
Red Roof Construction
provided all of the materi-
als for the libraries. Edward
Jones furnished food for
the volunteers who worked
Saturday and will provide
plaques that will be at-
tached to the bookcases
recognizing those who built
them. Briana Tanaka and
Shawn Magnum have been
participating in the project
helping on behalf of Edward
Jones. Tanaka was among
those who did woodwork at
LHS.
After being painted and
having recognition plaques
attached, the new Little
Free Libraries will be fi lled
with books from the Literacy
Alliance. Next they will be
installed in La Grande,
The Tollgate Highway was
closed for much of the weekend
due to fallen trees.
Highway 204 reopened at
about 12:30 p.m. Sunday after
being closed at about 5 p.m. Sat-
urday after heavy snowfall and
strong winds caused trees and
branches to collapse and fall on
to the highway. The closure ex-
Imbler and Union. In La
Grande, the libraries will be
installed at Central Elemen-
tary School and at parks. The
sites in Union and Imbler
have not yet been deter-
mined.
Carpenter said that people
are good about returning
books to Little Free Libraries
or replacing the books they
took with others.
“I have not seen an empty
one yet,” Carpenter said.
“The book fairies keep fi lling
them up.”
In an age when many
are doing their reading via
the internet, Carpenter
is glad efforts are being
made to get books into the
hands of more children.
He believes that read-
ing an actual book has
advantages over reading
online. One is that there
are fewer distractions and
another is that a book can
provide more opportuni-
ties for reading together.
He said parents are more
likely to read actual books
with children than digital
versions but are unlikely
to do so via computers.
“(Reading a book) can be a
shared experience,” Carpen-
ter said.
Another plus of books, Car-
penter said, is that illustra-
tions and other artwork are
easier to see than they are on
an electronic devices.
J.D. Cant, Imbler High
School’s agricultural science
teacher and FFA adviser,
also assisted at Saturday’s
workshop, helping Imbler
FFA students build Free
Little Libraries.
“I love this idea,” Cant said.
“It is a sharing of knowledge
and it uses the honor system.
I think it is great.”
Contact Dick Mason at
541-786-5386 or dmason@
lagrandeobserver.com. Follow
Dick on Twitter @lgoMason.
BOND
Continued from Page 1A
be rejected by voters, Wells said, the
matching grant would no longer be
available to the school district. He said,
though, that district would be able to
continue to reapply for the bond.
The superintendent said his school
district is seeking a bond only because
it was given the Oregon School Capital
Improvement grant.
“The only reason we are doing this is
because we received the grant. It is a
tremendous deal,” Wells said.
The Oregon School Capital Improve-
ment matching program became avail-
able to school districts about six years
ago. School districts have been able to
apply for the grant three times a year
since then, which is what Wells said
his school district has done.
Projects the bond levy would cover
include, safety improvements at all
schools, including secure entries and
key card systems for better access
control; energy effi ciency improve-
ments at all schools, including
upgrading the heating and ventilation
systems; improvements to accom-
modate grades seven to 12 at Union
High School; improvements to the
district gymnasium and athletic
complex; and improvements to the
district’s S.E. Miller and J.F. Hutchin-
son grade school buildings to accom-
modate students in kindergarten
tended for all 37 miles of High-
way 204 from a few miles west
of Elgin at Summerville and
Highway 204 west to Weston.
ODOT crews then began work-
ing to remove between 100 and
150 downed trees and trimming
others, said ODOT Spokesman
Tom Strandberg.
By 9 a.m. Sunday the situa-
tion had improved to the point
Do I really need to get a passport?
If you don’t fl y, work at a
nuclear power plant or need
access to secure federal
facilities, you don’t need
identifi cation that complies
with the federal Real ID Act.
But if you plan on fl ying —
domestic or international
— in the latter part of 2020,
you should probably think
about getting a passport.
At least that’s what Trans-
portation Security Admin-
istration and the Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion advise travelers to do
ahead of what is expected
to be a wave of Oregon
drivers lining up to get
new identifi cation when it
becomes available in July.
While some passport
offi ces are equipped to
handle a higher volume of
applications, such as those
within the Portland area,
others are bracing for grow-
ing pains in expectation of
more Oregonians seeking
to acquire their passport.
Marion County Clerk Bill
Burgess said he’s not overly
worried about an infl ux of
passport seekers in his district
because the offi ce already
saw a huge throng of Marion
County residents seeking
passports after the 2016
election who were worried
about their ability to visit fam-
ily members in Central and
South America. Nearly all of
the staff members in Burgess’
offi ce are trained to process
passport applications.
“After (President) Trump
was inaugurated, a lot of
families were worrying how
they would stay together
and get across the border
if they were U.S. citizens,”
Burgess said. “Our pass-
port business more than
quadrupled.”
Burgess believes his
offi ce will be ready, but
he warns Marion County
residents not to wait. If they
plan to fl y in October of
next year, you really should
submit your application
around June 2020. “Think
about it this way: A pass-
port makes a great gradua-
tion gift,” Burgess said.
Outside of county offi ces,
REAL ID
Continued from Page 1A
facilities across the country. Air travel
requirements were rolled out begin-
ning Jan. 22, 2018.
Ahead of the deadline, most states
began changing their systems, which
included implementation of massive
new data servers to keep identifi cation
information secure. The system was
used to instantly verify documentation,
such as birth certifi cates, passports,
Social Security numbers and residen-
tial addresses.
Driver and Motor Vehicles Services
spokesman David House said Real ID
compliance continued to come up in
Oregon’s legislative process each year.
One obstacle to the state’s participa-
tion was technology. The Oregon
Department of Transportation system
through sixth grade.
A portion of the money from the
bond would go toward making the
high school and its gym more handi-
capped accessible. This would make it
easier for people with mobility issues
to attend graduation in the gym and
for all students to be able to easily
reach the top fl oor of the high school,
said Macey Clark, chair of Citizens
for Union Education, a community
group campaigning for the passage of
Measure 31-98.
The upgrades the bond would cover
are needed primary because of the age
of the Union School District’s build-
ings, Wells said. The high school was
built in 1912 and the Hutchinson
building in the late 1920s or early
1930s. In the 1950s, the Miller building
and the high school gym were con-
structed.
Clark said she believes many people
in the community understand that the
school district’s buildings are old and
need to be renovated. She said many
people have visited the school district’s
buildings and have seen the need for
upgrades. Clark said they also appreci-
ate how critical good facilities are for
students.
“They understand the importance
of a good learning environment for
students,” she said.
Clark also noted that in recent years
voters in Imbler, La Grande and North
Powder have passed bond levies in
10106 N. ‘C’ • Island City
An Independent
Insurance Agency
541-975-1364
some cities have their own
passport services within
city hall. Lake Oswego, for
example, has staff trained to
accept passport applications.
The city even offers photo
services for a small fee.
One tip offered by Lake
Oswego Administrative
Support Assistant Chloe
Busch: U.S. passport cards
($65 with fees), which of-
fer entry into Mexico and
Canada, comply with Real
ID standards and are less
expensive than a standard
U.S. passport book.
Busch said that during
the past few weeks nearly
everyone she has helped
has said they were doing so
to comply with Real ID stan-
dards, instead of waiting in
line at the DMV next sum-
mer. She’s pitched those
looking to fl y domestically
on purchasing the passport
card to save a few bucks,
especially if they’re purchas-
ing for a family.
NEW LICENSE WILL
COST $20 MORE
Oregonians seeking to
was running on millions of lines of
primitive code inside an old mainframe
computer. House said it could have
been updated to handle the new info
required for Real ID compliance, but
the half-century-old system “is simply
incompatible with modern technology.”
In 2015, ODOT began updating its
information system. Two years later,
the Legislature approved a bill to
authorize Real ID compliance. Instead
of starting a new information technol-
ogy project to become compliant, the
state signed a $69.4 million contract
with Colorado’s Fast Enterprises,
which also handled system changes for
Massachusetts and Minnesota, to tack
on creation of a new driver informa-
tion system to ODOT’s project already
underway.
“I think what really pushed Oregon
is watching other states successfully
their school districts with rates all
signifi cantly higher than the $1.10 per
$1,000 of assessed property value rate
Union property owners would pay. The
rates for the levies approved in those
school districts over the past nine
years was $1.99 per $1,000 of assessed
property in La Grande, $2.01 in North
Powder and $2.35 in Imbler.
Clark said the school district and the
bond’s supporters understand that it
might not be easy to pay higher taxes
but, she added, “We want people to
know we are fi scally responsible.”
Clark spoke as if the district does
not have a choice.
“We could make it another 20 years,
but we could not make it another 50
years without these improvements,”
she said.
Clark said some people have asked
why the school district does not
replace its aging school buildings with
new ones. She said this would not be
feasible since it would cost almost $20
million.
“That is a lot of money to ask for in
taxes,” she said.
Tours of the district’s buildings will
be given from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 31,
a non-school day when parent-teacher
conferences will be conducted. People
will be able to see what improvements
money from the bond would help pay
for during the tours.
“We hope that people go on the tours
before they vote,” Clark said.
Reed & Associates for
excellent service LOCALLY!
Nicole Cathey
Standberg said that what
happened this weekend occurs
every few years on Highway
204 at the end of October or in
November.
He said, though, that it is un-
usual for it to happen this early
in the fall.
He said Highway 204 is vul-
nerable to fallen trees because
there are so many trees close to
the highway.
“There is not a buffer (be-
tween Tollgate Highway and the
trees),” he said.
that the closure was reduced
to the stretch of highway run-
ning 14 miles from Summer-
ville Road and Highway 204
west to the Spout Springs ski
area.
As of 8 p.m. Sunday, shoulder
closures were still in effect on
Highway 204 from milepost 27
to 30, a stretch that runs about
14 to 17 miles west of Elgin. The
closed shoulders, which hold de-
bris from trees that were cut up,
have been marked with cones
for safety.
Toll Free 1-866-282-1925
get a new Real ID-compliant
driver license next year will
need to bring some extra
documentation — and a bit
more money.
The regulation requires
those seeking identifi cation
to provide at a minimum
documentation showing full
legal name, date of birth,
Social Security number,
two proofs of address of
principal residence and
lawful status. Oregonians
are only required to show
proof of legal citizenship
or legal presence, full legal
name and current address
to acquire a license.
If you choose to get a
Real ID-compliant Oregon
driver’s license in July
— adorned with a star in
the top-right corner — it
will cost an additional $20
on top of the standard
fee to help the state pay
for implementing the
changes.
Residents will be able to
obtain Real ID-compliant
licenses beginning July 6,
2020.
roll out their new systems for compli-
ance,” House said.
According to House, Oregon and
many other states likely saved money
by delaying compliance with the Real
ID Act of 2005 because when the fi rst
deadline rolled around in 2008, data
storage systems were much more
expensive. Legislative staff reports
fi led with SB 536 in 2009 show that
Congress estimated it would cost
states around $3.9 billion, or about $78
million per state in 2005 dollars.
Technology, particularly in the realm
of security, has vastly improved during
the past decade, according to House.
There are still no hard numbers on
how much Oregon and others might
have saved by the delay, he said.
Only Oklahoma, New Jersey and
Oregon have yet to comply with Real
ID standards.
Undisputed leader in sports with
exclusive NFL SUNDAY TICKET.
Out-of-market games only.
Select int’l games excluded.
Iv Support Holdings LLC
855-502-2578
www.satellitedealnow.com/OR
“NFL”, the NFL Shield design, “NFL SUNDAY TICKET” and its respective logo are registered trademarks of the National Football League and its affiliates. Team names, logos and uniform designs are registered trademarks of the teams indicated. NFL:
AP Images. ©2019 AT&T Intellectual Property. All Rights Reserved. AT&T, Globe logo, DIRECTV, and all other DIRECTV marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks are the
property of their respective owners
Imagine The Difference You Can Make
DONATE YOUR CAR
1-844-533-9173
FREE TOWING
TAX DEDUCTIBLE
Help Prevent Blindness
Get A Vision Screening Annually
Ask About A FREE 3 Day
Vacation Voucher To Over
20 Destinations!!!
Serious speed!
Bundle and save today
Save with Frontier Internet Bundles
Pay one price for two great services: high-speed Internet
and a full-featured home phone
Simply Broadband Max
19
99
BROADBAND ULTRA + PHONE + SECURE
Per Month
With Qualifying
Phone Service
6 Mbps + Free Wi-Fi Router + 1 Year Price Lock
Call today and pay less
67 97
Per Month
12 Mbps + Free Wi-Fi Router + 2 Year Price Lock
Protect Your Identity, Devices & Files
855-972-6641
You can’t get BS from a buffalo. ™
*Internet access service and charges not included. Frontier does not warrant that the service will be error-free or uninterrupted. Nest products: Additional $9 shipping fee per Nest device. Nest products must be purchased with new Internet service or eligible Frontier Secure services.
Taxes, governmental and Frontier-imposed surcharges, minimum system requirements and other terms and conditions apply. Nest®, Nest Learning Thermostat™, Nest Protect™, Nest Cam™ and the Nest logo are trademarks or service marks of Nest Labs, Inc. ©2017 Frontier
Communications Corporation
Medicare, Auto, Home
insurance and Annuities
www.reed-insurance.net
Kevin Reed