Inside
SPORTS
Career success for students, 2A
EOU putting in hard work, 7A
Tigers top Huskies
FRIDAY-SUNDAY • November 8-10, 2019 • $1.50
Phil
Wright
named
editor
Good day to our valued subscriber Retta Hoxie of La Grande
EASTERN SEES ITS
NUMBERS RISE
■ Retention
rates also
strong for EOU
■ Commissioners
OK petitions by
Morgan Lake road
residents
■ Veteran journalist
comes to La Grande
after 15-year career
in Pendleton
By Dick Mason
Observer staff
The Observer has a new
editor.
Phil Wright, a veteran
journalist in Northeast Or-
egon, will lead the newsroom
beginning Nov. 18.
He takes over a newsroom
that has been without an edi-
tor since March, something
Observer Publisher Karrine
Brogoitti said is long overdue.
“It wasn’t just about hiring
an editor — it was about
hiring the right editor to lead
our news team and to propel
us forward,” she said.
Wright comes to La
Grande after 15 years as a
reporter at the East Orego-
nian in Pendle-
ton. During his
time in Pend-
leton, Wright
has primarily
covered Uma-
Wright
tilla County
government,
public safety and courts. He
is excited by his fi rst leader-
ship opportunity.
“I’m intrigued with it. I’m
excited. I’m nervous,” he
said. “I think there’s some
untapped potential in La
Grande.”
He said while it is his fi rst
time leading a newsroom,
he’s had the opportunity to
learn from some good leaders
during his time in Pendleton.
“I’ve worked with some
really good editors. It’s a very
biased judgment because I’ve
only worked for the EO. But
(former editors) Skip Nichols
and Daniel Wattenburg and
(current EO editor) Andrew
Cutler are all good editors. I
hope to pull some of what I
learned from them and apply
it in La Grande.”
EO Media Group Regional
Publisher Chris Rush said
The Observer is in good
hands.
“We’re delighted to be able
to fi ll this position internally
with such a competent and
See Wright / Page 5A
A step
closer
to fire
protection
The Observer
Dick Mason/ The Observer
Eastern Oregon University students walk to class on campus late Thursday morning. EOU’s total student
enrollment is up 3% from last year.
The homes in the lower
Morgan Lake Road area
are now one step away from
being granted fi re protection
from the La Grande Rural
Fire Department.
The Union County Board
of Commissioners voted to
approve petitions from the
homeowners Wednesday.
Next the petitions have to
be approved by the Oregon
Department of Revenue.
Once this occurs, all 14 of the
homes in question will begin
receiving emergency fi re
service.
Currently, only the land
surrounding the homes are
protected during wildfi res
by the Oregon Department
of Forestry. Should approval
be granted, residents on
lower Morgan Lake Road will
By Dick Mason, The Observer
See Fire / Page 5A
Eastern Oregon University’s enrollment is on an upward trajectory. Fourth-
week fi gures indicate that enrollment is up at EOU for at least the second year in
a row. Eastern now has a total of 3,067 students, 3% more than a year ago.
“I see our numbers as very posi-
tive,” said Tim Seydel, EOU’s vice
president for university advance-
ment.
This fall’s overall increase refl ects
a rise in online enrollment. The
online undergraduate student head
count has jumped 7% from a year
ago, and online student credit hours
have increased 4.5%. Eastern now
has 1,246 undergraduate students
studying off campus, according to an
EOU news release.
Eastern’s online enrollment has
also been bolstered by the addition of
an online recruiter, according to Exec-
utive Director of Regional Outreach
and Innovation David Vande Pol.
“Having a dedicated online re-
cruiter responding to inquiries and
guiding them through the enrollment
process has been a game changer,”
Vande Pol said in the release.
EOU on-campus enrollment is not
as bright. The number of credit hours
being taken by on-campus students
and the number of full-time equivalent
(FTE) students on campus is down
slightly. The FTE number is deter-
mined by taking the total number of
credit hours on-campus students are
taking and then dividing them by the
number of on-campus students.
Eastern’s fourth-week enrollment
fi gures are providing encouraging
news regarding student reten-
tion rates, which is the percent of
students who enroll for a second year.
Eastern’s overall retention rate is
72%, EOU’s highest rate since 2016.
The retention rate for on campus
students was the highest at 77%.
Dixie Lund, a member of Eastern’s
board of trustees and a former EOU
president, credits the strong reten-
tion rate to efforts of faculty and
staff to help students address their
academic, emotional and economic
needs.
She also praises the EOU Founda-
tion and its Crisis Fund, which is
used to help students who have hit
barriers that could sideline them. The
fund is used to help students such
“Having a dedicated online
recruiter responding to inquiries
and guiding them through the
enrollment process has been a
game changer.”
— David Vande Pol, EOU executive
director of regional outreach and
innovation
as those who suddenly can’t afford
rent because a roommate moved or
have experienced a major automobile
breakdown or other fi nancial issues.
Lund said Eastern’s retention rate
is also boosted by its TRIO program,
which provides support for students
who tend to be underprepared for
college. These include students who
are from lower-income families or are
the fi rst in their families to attend
college.
Lund said that Mike Williams, the
head of Eastern’s TRIO program for
the past fi ve to six years, is doing an
See EOU / Page 5A
People puzzled by peculiar texts
By Tali Arbel
The Associated Press
PORTLAND — If you woke up
Thursday to a weird text that seemed
totally out of place, you aren’t alone.
A mysterious wave of missives swept
America’s phones overnight, deliver-
ing largely unintelligible messages
from friends, family and the occa-
sional ex.
Friends who hadn’t talked to each
other in months were jolted into chat-
ting. Others briefl y panicked.
The best explanation seems to be
See Texts / Page 5A
INDEX
Classified ..... 3B
Comics ......... 7B
Crossword ... 5B
Dear Abby .... 8B
The Associated Press fi le photo
WEATHER Full forecast on the back of B section
Horoscope ... 5B
Lottery.......... 2A
Obituaries .... 3A
Opinion ........ 4A
MONDAY
Outdoors ..... 1B
Sports .......... 7A
Sudoku ........ 7B
Weather ....... 8B
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
33 LOW
62/41
59/31
Partly cloudy
Partly sunny
Mostly cloudy
RECALLING CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
A mysterious
wave of texts
swept Amer-
ica’s phones
overnight
Wednesday,
delivering
unintelligible
messages
that left many
people mildly
confused
when they
woke up on
Thursday.
Beverage
files for
second
term
■ County
commissioner
running for re-
election to Position 3
By Dick Mason
The Observer
Union County Commis-
sioner Donna Beverage has
announced she will run for a
second term.
“I have enjoyed serving
my county these last three
years and want to continue
to serve,” said Beverage in a
Nov. 7 news release.
Beverage, who is com-
pleting her second year as
commission chair, was elected
in 2016 for a four-year term.
She is running for re-election
to Position 3.
Beverage said projects she
wants to continue working on
include the Baum Industrial
Park. She noted that paving
at the site was completed
this spring and three local
businesses have purchased
lots and are constructing
buildings there, where they
will move their operations to.
Their operations will be big-
ger at the new site and the
companies will employ more
people than they do now,
Beverage said.
See Beverage / Page 5A
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 133
2 sections, 16 pages
La Grande, Oregon
Online at lagrandeobserver.com