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WEDNESDAY • November 27, 2019 • $1.50
Should
they
stay or
should
they go?
Good day to our valued subscriber Tom Colton of Union
Local family now has
a place to call HOME
■ Union mayor
proposes having
residents decide
what to do about
deer in town
By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
By Dick Mason
The Observer
UNION — Mayor
Leonard Flint would
like to know what Union
residents want the city to
do regarding its large deer
population.
Nuisance deer can dam-
age gardens and threaten
people. During a city council
work session Monday night,
Flint proposed giving resi-
dents the chance to choose
one of four options to deal
with the deer:
• Take no action.
• Remove only deer
causing problems.
• Remove all deer.
• Begin an education
program to help residents
learn how to best deal with
deer so they are less of a
hazard and a nuisance.
The mayor said there
are a number of ways the
city might survey residents
regarding the options, such
as including a survey with
water bills or have survey-
ors directly ask residents
which option they prefer.
Flint did not identify the
method for removing deer
and declined to elaborate
further following the
meeting.
The removal options
the city has are trapping
and moving the animals
or using lethal means,
said Bruce Eddy, the East
Region manager for Or-
egon Department of Fish
and Wildlife. Eddy said on
Tuesday the ODFW does
not like to trap and move
deer because they often
quickly return. He also
said relocating deer only
See Deer / Page 5A
A call
for
justice
colored
in red
Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson
Eliza, Meriel, Aileen and Noranna Fitzpatrick are happy to have beds of their own in a room of their own in their
new home in La Grande.
See Red / Page 5A
■ Fitzpatrick family has a new home after living in a motel during the summer
Concert
carries
island
flair
By Sabrina Thompson, The Observer
LA GRANDE — Four months ago, a
family of six lived in a single motel room,
hoping the small space — crowded with
clothes, food, toys and craft supplies, four
little girls and their mother and father —
was only temporary.
In September, the Fitzpat-
ricks moved into a new home
and found themselves with
plenty to be thankful for as
the holiday season nears.
“It feels so amazing not
to be stuck in a tiny room,”
Kristina Fitzpatrick said.
Kristina and her husband,
James, along with their
daughters, Eliza, Meriel,
Aileen and Noranna, were
evicted from their rental in
February after new land-
lords failed to get Housing
and Urban Development Ap-
proval before giving the keys
to the family. Without the
HUD subsidy, paying rent
was diffi cult, and after fall-
ing too far behind, the family
was kicked out. They stayed
with friends and family for
a short time, then moved
into a room at La Grande’s
Orchard Motel.
James works in construc-
tion, and made just enough
to pay for the $320 weekly
rent at the motel. The couple
Business ........1B
Classified .......5B
Comics ...........9B
Crossword .....7B
By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
attempted to fi nd housing,
but with an eviction on their
record, they were denied.
It was the kindness of
Kristina’s aunt, Linda
Hansen, that got them out
of the motel room. Hansen,
a real estate agent, found
the three-bedroom house
in La Grande on Fruitdale
Lane for the family to live in.
Now the family can spread
out. The four girls still share
a bedroom as the family
continues to unpack, but
Kristina and James have a
space of their own.
“It is great to live in a
house out here. It’s so quiet,”
Kristina said. “And the girls
are so excited to each have
her own bed.”
The family also is
thankful for the new home
because it allows them to
be more fi nancially stable,
Kristina said. With a large
refrigerator and kitchen,
they don’t have to worry
about food spoiling or only
Dear Abby .. 10B
Horoscope .... 7B
Lottery............3A
Obituaries ......3A
FRIDAY
Opinion ..........4A
Record ...........3A
Sports ............7A
Sudoku ..........9B
a better chance of fi nding
another rental, although
Kristina said they have no
plans of leaving anytime
soon.
“It shows we are doing
everything possible to help
ourselves as renters,” Kris-
tina said.
There still are a few issues
to overcome with the move.
The youngest girl, Noran-
na, attends La Grande Head
Start preschool, a 10-minute
drive from their home. How-
ever, because the family has
ELGIN — The sounds of
Trinidad and Tobago can
be heard in the Elgin High
School’s music room as the
Calypso band prepares
for its winter concert.
As special guests at the
Observer’s 28th Annual
Holiday Music Festival the
fi rst weekend in December,
the EHS students will
show off their talents on
the steel drums.
The band began two
years ago when the
music teacher for Elgin’s
third- through 12th-grade
students, Tucker Murphey,
founded a group of youth
interested in that style of
percussion. What started
with grade school class-
room instruments and a
small xylophone is now a
full steel drum ensemble
with various sizes of steel-
pans and drums to create
the sounds of the Carib-
bean. The school district
See Home / Page 5A
See Concert / Page 5A
Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson
Eliza, Meriel, Aileen and Noranna play in the living room
of their new home in La Grande, happy to have the
space to spread out after living in a motel.
buying what they can make
in a motel room. James has
an easier time getting to
work because of the support
they received from a family
and friends for getting the
girls to school, so he doesn’t
have to take off as much
time at work.
The family again secured
HUD approval, with Com-
munity Connection of North-
east Oregon covering the
rent for the fi rst six months.
James and Kristina also
took a class that provided
fi nancial advice to give them
WEATHER
INDEX
LA GRANDE — Red
dresses hanging from trees
fl apped in the center of
Eastern Oregon Universi-
ty’s campus — each dress
representing an indig-
enous woman who could
have attended college, had
she not been killed or gone
missing.
This display is part of
EOU’s Native American
Program’s efforts to honor
and raise awareness about
missing and murdered
indigenous women. The
program works to assure
American Indian, Alaskan
Native and other indig-
enous students succeed at
the college and creates a
sense of community there
for them as well.
The REDress Project be-
gan as an art installation
in Canada by Jamie Black
in 2014. After collecting
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Thursday
24 LOW
33/17
A little snow
A.M. snow
showers
CONTACT US
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Call The Observer newsroom at
541-963-3161 or send an email to
news@lagrandeobserver.com.
Issue 141
3 sections, 26 pages
La Grande, Oregon
LA GRANDE PREPARES FOR TITLE TILT Online at lagrandeobserver.com