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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 2019)
2A — THE OBSERVER D AILY P LANNER LOCAL FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019 Getting closer to the Quiet Zone Wallowa County Food Bank gears up for busy season TODAY Today is Friday, Nov. 22, the 326th day of 2019. There are 39 days left in the year. By Bill Bradshaw EO Media Group TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT On Nov. 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas; Texas Gov. John B. Connally, in the same car as Kennedy, was seriously wounded; a suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald, was arrested; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president. ON THIS DATE In 1935, a fl ying boat, the China Clipper, took off from Alameda, California, carrying more than 100,000 pieces of mail on the fi rst trans-Pacifi c airmail fl ight. In 1967, the U.N. Security Council approved Resolution 242, which called for Israel to withdraw from territories it had captured the previous June, and implicitly called on adversaries to recognize Israel’s right to exist. In 1977, regular passenger service between New York and Europe on the super- sonic Concorde began on a trial basis. In 1990, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, having failed to win re- election of the Conservative Party leadership on the fi rst ballot, announced she would resign. In 1995, acting swiftly to boost the Balkan peace accord, the UN Security Council suspended eco- nomic sanctions against Serbia and eased the arms embargo against the states of the former Yugoslavia. In 2005, Angela Merkel took power as Germany’s fi rst female chancellor. In 2017, former sports doctor Larry Nassar, ac- cused of molesting at least 125 girls and young women while working for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University, pleaded guilty to multiple charges of sexual assault. LOTTERY Megabucks: $6.4 million 2-8-10-26-38-48 Mega Millions: $208 million 22-43-44-47-66-22-x3 Powerball: $90 million 7-15-39-40-57-12-x2 Win for Life: Nov. 20 2-16-46-55 Pick 4: Nov. 21 • 1 p.m.: 6-7-8-7 • 4 p.m.: 1-6-6-0 • 7 p.m.: 6-0-3-6 • 10 p.m.: 5-1-0-6 Pick 4: Nov. 20 • 1 p.m.: 9-3-2-5 • 4 p.m.: 8-4-4-8 • 7 p.m.: 2-2-4-4 • 10 p.m.: 5-3-2-2 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 before 5:30 p.m. If you do not receive your paper by 5:30 p.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 “A man does what he must — in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures — and that is the basis of all human morality.” — President John F. Kennedy Sabrina Thompson/The Observer La Grande City Manager Robert Strope, left, Environmental/Regulatory Superin- tendent Kyle Carpenter and Federal Railroad Administration member Jeff Stewart observe the Fir Street crossing Tuesday to make sure the arm meets all regulations. This inspection is part of what may be the fi nal steps in the city’s efforts to implement a Quiet Zone that bans trains from blowing whistles at certain crossings. VA to expand support for caregivers of veterans ■ Starting in June 2020, caregivers of veterans who served anytime after 1974 will be able to apply for full services By Dick Mason The Observer LA GRANDE — Caregivers of veterans soon will receive additional support from the Department of Veteran Affairs. The VA’s Caregiver Support Program, which now assists caregivers of veterans who served after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, will grow each of the next two years. Starting in June of 2020, caregivers of veterans who served anytime after 1974 will be able to apply for full services, and sometime in 2021 caregivers of veterans who served during or after World War II can apply. Once the expansion is fully phased in, care- givers of all veterans who served from World War II on will be eligible for full benefi ts from the Caregiver Support Program, which today is available only to caregivers of post- 9/11 veterans. To be eligible for full benefi ts, caregivers must be caring for veterans with medical conditions linked to their time serv- ing in the military. “This is exciting. It is a big deal. People have a lot of questions about it,” said Peggi Spears, interim director of the Walla Walla VA’s Caregiver Support Program and a social worker for the Walla Walla VA, who visited La Grande Wednesday. The Caregiver Support Program is being expanded by the VA MISSION Act Congress passed in 2018, which calls for expansion of the VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assis- tance for Family Caregivers. “Caregivers play a critical role in the health and well-being of some of our most vulnerable veterans,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie in a VA news release. “Under the MISSION Act, we are strengthening and expanding our program to positively impact the lives of veterans and deliver the best customer experience to them and their caregivers.” The benefi ts caregivers of post-9/11 veter- ans receive, which will soon be available to almost all caregivers of veterans, include a stipend and health insurance. Spears said one reason benefi ts like these “Caregivers play a critical role in the health and well-being of some of our most vulnerable veterans. Under the MISSION Act, we are strengthening and expanding our program to positively impact the lives of veterans and deliver the best customer experience to them and their caregivers.” — Robert Wilkie, United States Department of Veterans Affairs secretary are important for caregivers is that many gave up jobs to help loved ones and lost out on more than fi nancial benefi ts in the process. “Many give up gratifying careers to serve as caregivers,” she said. The expansion of services means older veterans will be getting benefi ts in addition to the ones they already receive. One of the important ones they already receive is respite service, which is help given to caregivers to give them time off. Spears knows fi rst hand how important this is. She was the caregiver for her husband, a veteran who needed extensive caregiving before dying about two years ago. She told The Observer in 2018 that if not for this VA service, she would have become ill from the stress and exhaustion of caring for her husband. Spears said the medical issues veterans face with the help of caregivers generally varies depending on when they served. She said many who served in Vietnam suffer from health problems related to the effects of Agent Orange, a defoliant. World War II vet- erans who served in jungles of the Pacifi c are more likely to have chronic fungus-related health issues. A common malady veterans of all wars suffer from is post-traumatic stress disorder. Spears said for the VA to continue to expand its support of caregivers is a wonder- ful gesture of support for caregivers and the veterans they assist. “We need to honor what (the veterans did) with acts of kindness,” she said. ENTERPRISE — Now entering into its busiest time of the year, the Wal- lowa County Food Bank in Enterprise and Wallowa is preparing to meet the food needs of the county. “It’s essential,” said Con- nie Guentert, manager of Community Connection of Wallowa County, which oversees the food bank. “Food is a basic need.” Countywide, the food bank serves about 75 fami- lies and about 190 people each month, she said. “That number ebbs and fl ows,” she said. “That num- ber continues to increase in the winter – signifi cantly.” She noted the special circumstances that arise during the colder months. “The holidays are during that time, people with seasonal jobs are not working … and relying on unemployment,” Guentert said. “So the food bank is extremely busy during the winter months.” She sees the role of the food bank as vital to the community. “A lot of people, a lot of families rely on the food bank to meet their needs every month,” she said. “Food and security, the food bank helps alleviate that.” La GRANDE AUTO REPAIR 975-2000 www.lagrandeautorepair.com MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE Joe Horst ACDelcoTSS She said that although the food bank intends to help those in real need, recipients are not required to prove their income is low. “It’s a self-declaration,” she said. “We have generous income levels. Anyone who qualifi es for SNAP (food stamps), they’re defi nitely going to qualify for the food bank.” One of the main pro- grams that assists the food bank is the Fresh Alliance program, with partners Safeway in Enterprise and the Market Place in Joseph. Under Fresh Alliance, the grocery stores take fresh items that are about to reach their expiration dates off the shelves, freeze them and donate them to the food bank for distribution. Occasionally they’re items that cannot be frozen, such as produce. Kayla Thacker, assistant manager at the Market Place in Joseph, said that the store started partici- pating in Fresh Alliance offi cially about a month and a half ago. She said the food bank checks the items to make sure they’re safe to give out before distribution. “That way (recipients) get a chance to go through the items and get fresh, not just canned, goods,” she said. Call us for your catering needs. 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