LOCAL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2019
DEMAND
Continued from Page 1A
said, because food donations
tend to fall off in January
and February.
“We need to build up a buf-
fer (for January and Febru-
ary),” Smith said.
The regional food bank
provides food to a total of 19
pantries in Union, Wallowa,
Baker and Grant counties. The
pantries it oversees in Union
County are at the Neighbors
Together station at 907 Ave.,
La Grande; the Salvation
Army, 1114 Y Ave., La Grande;
Shelter From the Storm,
10901 Island Ave., Island City;
TEMPS
Continued from Page 1A
other traction devices. Trac-
tion devices should be carried
even if your vehicle has snow
tires, which are allowed from
Nov. 1 to March 31, according
to the Oregon Department of
Transportation.
Halloween will be dur-
ing this deep freeze, with
temperatures in the mid
teens and twenties, according
to the NWS, and there are
extra precautions that can
be taken to ensure children’s
safety. Having costumes that
include refl ective tape is a
great way to stay safe, accord-
ing to safekids.org, and when
the weather is cold, carry a
jacket or blankets while out
trick-or-treating.
“As adults, make sure
children are supervised,
have lights or glow sticks
and utilize sidewalks and
crosswalks, where drivers
are expecting them to be,”
Union County Sheriff Boyd
Rasmussen said about stay-
ing safe on Halloween. “Also
remind young drivers to slow
down and put down their
devices.”
the Cove Food Pantry, 1708
Jasper St.; the Elgin Food
Bank, 805 N. Alder St.; the
North Powder Food Bank, 740
Fifth St.; and the Union Food
Pantry, 1531 S. Main St.
These individual food banks
also work to collect donations.
The outlook for the Elgin
Food Bank going into winter
received a boost earlier this
month when it conducted a
spaghetti fundraising dinner
and received a large number
of donations at the event.
Kathy Bonney, a member
of the Elgin Food Bank’s
board, said the donations
show the high caliber of
Elgin’s residents.
Furry family members
also need help staying safe
during the cold. Whether
they are bigger animals like
horses or cows or smaller
cats and dogs, providing ex-
tra shelter is one of the most
important things, said Chris-
tina Danforth, a veterinarian
at the Animal Health Center
in Island City.
“It’s not just the cold
temperatures but the wind.
Giving them some form of
windbreak is important,”
Danforth said. “Get them out
of direct cold wind.”
Many larger animals,
Danforth said, stay warm
by burning extra calories, so
feeding them more than you
would normally is another
good idea. Having extra food
on hand to make sure you
don’t run out, especially if
getting food is diffi cult, is
one way to prepare. Keeping
fresh water available for all
of your animals is key too.
“For people who like to do
recreational sports and take
their pets with them, it’s
not a bad idea to get booties
to protect their pads from
getting cut up from the ice,”
Danforth said.
SHELTER
Continued from Page 1A
appeal in part because he is concerned
about the limited number of people
who were mailed notifi cations of
the Oct. 8 hearing of the La Grande
Planning Commission at which the
conditional use permit was granted.
He said people with businesses and
homes within 100 feet of the proposed
warming station site were the only
ones notifi ed of the hearing.
He believes many more people
should have been informed, includ-
ing downtown businesses, because of
the impact the shelter could have on
them.
“A much larger demographic should
have been notifi ed,” Adelsberger said.
City of La Grande Planner Mike
Boquist said the city is required by
state law to adhere to a 100-foot
notifi cation boundary when notifying
property owners of a land use hearing.
He said state law requires all owners
of property within a 100-foot perimeter
of a proposed land use project must
be informed by mail of city hearings
addressing it.
Boquist said the city does not
informs property owners outside the
100-foot perimeter of such hearings by
mail. He explained that the city does
not expand this 100-foot boundary to
avoid being accused of trying to infl u-
ence the outcome of a hearing.
Boquist said the notice of the
Oct. 8 planning commission meeting
was published in the Union County
Legal Notices portion of The Observer
and that Elkhorn Media was also noti-
fi ed of the meeting.
Through his appeal, Adelsberger
also wants to draw attention to his
concern that the site at 2008 Third St.
is too small. He said that with 2,200
square feet and two bathrooms it may
not be large enough to accommodate
what may be a growing homeless
population in La Grande.
“They need a bigger place,” he said.
Adelsberger is also concerned that
the building would be used in the fall
and winter but not during the rest of
the year. This would mean there would
be many months in which rent would
be paid for space not being used.
THE OBSERVER — 5A
“We advocate for the homeless. They need a voice. We have the best
possible intentions.”
— Al Adelsberger, La Grande businessman who fi led an appeal that will delay
the opening of the Union County Warming Station’s new site on Third Street
Adelsberger said many members
of the La Grande business commu-
nity support the efforts to maintain a
warming shelter and other efforts to
help those in need. He noted that one
business donated a Christmas tree and
gifts for children to the Union County
Warming Station in 2018 when it
was located on Willow Street. He also
noted that Marco Rennie, the co-owner
of Market Place Fresh Foods, every
month donates food to the Fresh Alli-
ance, which serves those in need.
“We advocate for the homeless. They
need a voice. We have the best possible
intentions,” Adelsberger said.
Much of the letter of appeal Adels-
berger submitted to the city has a con-
ciliatory tone. For example, one portion
says discussions with warming shelter
supporters addressed the possibility
of a compromise that would involve a
one-year occupancy. Such a step, the
letter said, would address the immedi-
ate needs of the applicant’s clients due
to the upcoming colder season.
“This would enable several of us to
assist the applicant in possibly locating
a better and more suitable location,
with a greater potential of expansion,
and a more sustainable solution in
meeting the greater needs of an expan-
sive population of people in need,” the
letter of appeal states.
Members of the Warming Station
Board were asked to comment on the
appeal by The Observer. However, a
spokesperson told The Observer that
“The board is not prepared to make a
statement at this time.”
The La Grande City Council will
conduct a hearing on the appeal Dec. 4.
After listening to testimony supporting
and opposing the appeal at the hear-
ing, the council could vote immediately
to deny the appeal or support the
planning commission’s Oct. 8 decision,
or the council members could decide
later, said Boquist. Should the council
support the appeal, the warming sta-
tion would not be able to open at 2008
Third St. However, Boquist noted, any
decision made by the city council could
be appealed to the Oregon Land Use
Board of Appeals.
The Union County Warming Station
Board applied to use the Third Street
building in part because it has more
space than the building that served as
the UC Warming Station in 2018-19
on Willow Street. Another plus is that
it has rooms in which families could be
placed, said Audrey Smith, a member
of the Union County Warming Station
Board. She explained in an Oct. 14
Observer article that the board wants
to keep families together at its warm-
ing shelter.
The appeal of the planning com-
mission’s decision was fi led Oct. 18.
Had an appeal not been fi led, the
conditional use permit for the warming
station would have taken effect Oct 23.
Smith said the shelter would not have
been able to open right away though
because of renovations required
under the terms of the conditional use
permit. These would have included the
installation of a sprinkler system, a fi re
wall, handicapped accessibility work
and improved outdoor lighting. Smith
said the goal was to have this work,
which would have started about Oct.
23, completed by Nov. 15, when the
shelter would have opened.
The City of La Grande’s planning
department will accept written input
from the public on the appeal through
Nov. 15. This input will be given to all
members of the city council a week be-
fore the Dec. 4 city council hearing as
part of a staff report. It can be dropped
off at the city’s planning offi ce at city
hall, 1000 Adams Ave., or mailed to the
City of La Grande Planning Depart-
ment, P.O. Box 670, La Grande 97850.
People will be able to submit written
input to the planning department after
Nov. 15. This input will be bundled and
given to the city councilors at the
Dec. 4 meeting.
The time and place of the Dec. 4
La Grande City Council hearing will
be announced later.
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