LOCAL
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019
THE OBSERVER — 5A
Instrument petting zoo inspires would-be musicians
FLYING J
WALDEN
Continued from Page 1A
Continued from Page 1A
the corporation’s publicity
department worked up a
release about the La Grande
purchase and would send
it as soon as possible. The
Observer did not receive that
by deadline.
The interior of the store
already boasts new shelving
and goods, but the restau-
rant has been dark since
Nov. 3 at 4 p.m., according to
the notes taped to the front
doors.
“As part of a pending
sale, the restaurant will be
transformed into something
new and the store will be
expanded,” those notes state.
“Many of our team members
will be transitioning to the
new concept and the rest
have chosen a path outside of
our facility.”
Tony Magee is one of the
former employees of the Fly-
ing J. He confi rmed the sale
to the corporation but would
not say more on the matter.
The restaurant was a
popular local dining and
meeting spot for years. Laura
Eckstein, chair
of the Union
County Repub-
lican Central
Committee, said
no one from the
Eckstein
business noti-
fi ed the commit-
tee it would need a new place
for its regular gatherings.
“I’m kind of mad they
closed,” she said.
Mike Boquist, La Grande’s
city planner, said Pilot Flying
J’s corporate offi ce contacted
the city about applying for a
business permit to document
the change in ownership.
The corporation submitted
the paperwork Oct. 22, and
the city approved the permit
Nov. 7.
The corporation also
submitted renovation plans
for the restaurant to the city’s
building department. The
63-page document outlines
everything from paint sheen
to the installation of showers
and new food and beverage
equipment. Pilot Flying J
also plans to add a Subway
restaurant and a Mama
Deluca’s pizza place, thus
doing away with a space for
gatherings.
Boquist described the
project as a total gut-and-
replace job that would make
this Pilot
Flying J similar
to others in the
chain. While
the revamp
comes with an
Boquist
$800,000 cost
estimate, ac-
cording to the city’s building
department, the plans show
a price tag of $340,000.
Boquist explained the
lower fi gure is for the pur-
poses of his department and
does not include costs such
as repainting and replac-
ing toilets and pipes, among
the myriad details in the
renovation. That work is part
of building maintenance, he
said, while he is focused on
more substantive changes.
“I’m only looking at per-
manent building expansion
and permanent alterations,”
he said.
The plans make it clear in
this case the building’s total
footprint will remain the
same. La Grande building
inspector Joe Fisher said the
restaurant’s remodel is on
par with last summer’s reno-
vation of the local Walmart,
and since the building
department gave its OK for
the plans, Pilot Flying J can
proceed when it wants.
Boquist also said because
the use of the building will
remain the same and there
are no requests for re-zoning,
the project does not go
through public hearings.
announced via video state-
ment on Oct. 28 that he will
not run for reelection.
The longtime Oregon law-
maker said no single event
triggered his decision.
“You know, it is a personal
decision. For me, after 30
years of public service, 22
in the House, I am ready to
turn a chapter and close the
chapter on public service,”
said Walden.
Walden said before every
election he talks future plans
over with his wife. Usually, he
said, the vote is unanimous
to continue.
“As we approached this
one, it was a little different
discussion. I was like, ‘I am
ready to do something new
and different,’” said Walden.
Walden’s decision is unique
in that he will walk away
from the halls of American
political power at a time
when his status and infl u-
ence are at an all-time high.
He said people were sur-
prised by his decision.
“Washington is not used
to people in power who can
continue in power giving up
that power,” said Walden.
Walden has been a political
fi xture in Oregon for more
than 25 years.
He kicked off his career as
a press secretary and chief of
staff for then-Congressman
Denny Smith in the 1980s.
Walden was elected to the
Oregon House in 1988 and
served there until 1995,
when he was appointed to
the Senate to fi ll a vacancy
when Wes Cooley was elected
to the U.S. House.
Walden rose to the position
of assistant majority leader
in the state Senate and even
pondered a run for Oregon
governor in 1994, though he
eventually decided against
the plan.
In 1998, Walden was
elected to the U.S. House. Vot-
ers elected Walden to the po-
sition 10 times and he never
faced a serious challenge.
Walden is the only Repub-
lican member of Oregon’s
delegation.
Now, Walden serves as
the ranking member on the
infl uential House Committee
on Energy and Commerce,
but has also over his tenure
worked on other high-profi le
committees and subcommit-
tees. For example, he was
the chairman of the energy
committee between 2017 and
2018 and was chairman of
the energy and commerce’s
subcommittee on communi-
cations and technology.
Walden said he is proud
of his legislative success and
while he “never kept a list,”
he said several initiatives he
pushed stand out.
Most recently, Walden said
he was pleased of his work
on the support for Patients
and Communities Act in
2018. The wide-sweeping
and complicated bill essen-
tially changes the Medicaid
program to include addiction
treatment in an effort to
tackle the opioid crisis.
Walden said he is also proud
of the work he did to help
regenerate healthy forests in
Oregon and across the West.
He also noted the suc-
cess of protecting the Steens
Mountains area for dual
use in the early 2000s as a
triumph.
Dick Mason/The Observer
Abi Aldrich, a Greenwood Elementary School student, receives tips Wednesday on playing the violin from
Kathy Thimmes of the Grande Ronde Symphony Association. They were taking part in an “instrument petting
zoo” in the lobby of Eastern Oregon University’s Loso Hall after the symphony’s children’s’ concert. The young
musicians had the opportunity to play violins, cellos, violas and basses with help from instructors who are
EOU students or members of the symphony. More than 400 children from La Grande, North Powder, Baker
City, Haines and Prairie City attended the annual concert.
PARITY
Continued from Page 1A
Eastern’s faculty seeks a reason-
able increase, said Bryan Lally, a fi eld
representative for the American Fed-
eration of Teachers-Oregon, the union
representing Eastern’s faculty.
“We are not asking for the moon
and the stars. We are just asking for a
fair contract,” he said.
Lally also said low salaries are
making it hard for Eastern to recruit
and retain faculty. He wants Eastern
to be in a better position to land fac-
ulty who will teach here their entire
careers. Lally said paying faculty
competitive wages is critical in terms
of furthering the education process.
“How can Eastern invest in stu-
dents if it does not invest in faculty?”
Lally said. “You can’t have good stu-
dents unless you have good faculty.”
Lally spoke at EOU Wednesday
morning at a rally he helped lead prior
to the start of the bargaining session.
Faculty members, carrying signs, twice
walked a circular route between Hoke
and Loso halls during the rally, which
began at 7:30 a.m. and ended before
classes started at 8 a.m.
They chanted, “What do we want?
A new contract! When do we want it?
Now!”
Eastern faculty want their next
contract to reduce the gulf between
their salaries and those of professors
at Western Oregon University and
Southern Oregon University, since
those schools are the state universities
in Oregon most comparable to EOU.
The average salaries of Eastern
professors are below those of SOU
and WOU in all cases, according to
information from EOU biology profes-
sor Shaun Cain. The average salary
for Eastern’s professors between 2016
and 2019 was $48,274 for assistant
professors, $55,757 for associate pro-
fessors and $65,985 for full professors.
Western Oregon over a compa-
rable span paid an annual average
PROTEST
Continued from Page 1A
idea to move the protest
into the governor’s offi ce
was a spur-of-the-moment
action.
“The governor has gotten
really good at being on the
fence with these issues,”
Werner said. “There’s so
much on the line for our
communities. It’s hard to
hear her say she wants
our support when she’s the
one with the power, and we
need her to have our backs
right now.”
About 10 state troop-
ers stood watch as about
100 protesters, many from
Southern Oregon, and
wearing matching T-shirts
saying “No LNG” inside
a map of Oregon with a
slash through it, sat in the
governor’s ceremonial offi ce
lobby or spilled into the
hallway.
“We really don’t have
much comment,” said Capt.
Tim Fox of the Oregon
State Police. “My under-
standing is they haven’t
broken any laws, and so
building administration
would need to ask them to
leave.”
Legislative adminis-
trators, responsible for
managing the Capitol,
must decide if they want to
declare the protesters to be
trespassing.
Brown, while traveling to
Eugene on state business,
talked to the protesters by
phone.
“I’ve been very up front
with Oregonians on all
Jake Thomas/Oregon Capital Bureau
Demonstrators protesting the proposed liquefi ed
natural gas facility at Jordan Cover staged a sit-in
Thursday at Gov. Kate Brown’s ceremonial offi ce in
the Capitol in Salem.
sides of this issue that there
needs to be a process that
is fair and that everyone
has the opportunity to be
heard,” Brown told them.
“I’m overseeing that process
to make sure statutes are
followed and Oregon’s regu-
latory process is complied
with.”
Joseph asked for the
governor to take a more
decisive stance on Jordan
Cove.
“We don’t think it’s a
hard ask,” said Joseph.
Before ending the call,
Brown asked them to keep
up the good work and stand
with her on opposing the
Trump administration’s
moves to roll back environ-
mental protections.
“Spoken like a true
politician,” one protester
remarked afterward.
The fi ght over the pipe-
line has spanned more than
a decade and has drawn
highly vocal opposition
from impacted landowners
and environmentalists.
The latest development
came last week when the
Federal Energy Regula-
tory Commission released
the Final Environmental
Impact Statement for the
pipeline project, the last
major document that will
be published before FERC
makes its fi nal decision on
the project. That is expected
early next year.
“The Jordan Cove LNG
facility, pipeline, and tank-
ers pose big risks to me, my
family, and the lives and
property of my friends and
thousands of local resi-
dents,” said Mike Graybill
in a statement. He is a Coos
County resident and former
employee of the Oregon
Department of State Lands.
“I am taking action today to
urge Governor Kate Brown
to step up and take a posi-
tion of opposition to this
project. Oregon could and
should invest in a future
for Coos Bay that does not
threaten so many people’s
lives and negatively impact
existing businesses and
residents.”
A spokesman wouldn’t
say whether Brown has a
position on Jordan Cove.
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of $54,215 for assistant professors,
$61,535 for associate professors and
$72,339 for full professors. And South-
ern Oregon paid an annual average
of $58,770 for assistant professors,
$66,468 for associate professors and
$78,602 for full professors.
The contract at Eastern tops out at
$82,854 for full professors, while the
ceiling at Western for a full professor
is $98,766 and Southern’s high end
provides $104,524 for full professors.
Timmerman is trying to remain op-
timistic that the two sides can reach
an agreement.
“I am hopeful that we can get to a
place where we all can show our com-
mitment to the university,” she said.
The Observer contacted Eastern
for a comment on the negotiations.
Tim Seydel, Eastern’s vice president
for university advancement, said,
“We will not deviate from the mutual
agreement that has us only issuing
a joint statement (with the EOU
faculty) to the media.”
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