Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 2019)
2A — THE OBSERVER FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019 LOCAL School district moving forward BUFFALO PEAK GOLF COURSE D AILY P LANNER TODAY Today is Friday, Dec. 6, the 340th day of 2019. There are 25 days left in the year. ■ Enterprise moves ahead with upgrades outlined in TAP facilities report TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT On Dec. 6, 2017, President Donald Trump declared Je- rusalem to be Israel’s capi- tal, defying warnings from the Palestinians and others around the world that he would be destroying hopes for Middle East peace. By Ellen Morris Bishop EO Media Group ON THIS DATE In 1790, Congress moved to Philadelphia from New York. In 1907, the worst mining disaster in U.S. history oc- curred as 362 men and boys died in a coal mine explo- sion in Monongah, West Virginia. In 1923, a presidential address was broadcast on radio for the fi rst time as President Coolidge spoke to a joint session of Congress. In 1957, America’s fi rst attempt at putting a satellite into orbit failed as Vanguard TV3 rose about four feet off a Cape Canaveral launch pad before crashing down and exploding. In 1973, House minority leader Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew. In 1998, in Venezuela, for- mer Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez, who had staged a bloody coup attempt against the government six years ear- lier, was elected president. In 2007, President George W. Bush announced a plan to freeze interest rates on subprime mortgages held by hundreds of thousands of homeowners. LOTTERY Megabucks: $7 million 4-8-14-38-39-48 Mega Millions: $285 million 23-43-60-63-69-19-x2 Powerball: $130 million 8-27-44-51-61-14-x3 Win for Life: Dec. 4 15-22-48-56 Pick 4: Dec. 5 • 1 p.m.: 9-1-0-9 • 4 p.m.: 0-6-3-3 • 7 p.m.: 5-9-9-5 • 10 p.m.: 3-0-7-5 Pick 4: Dec. 4 • 1 p.m.: 6-1-5-3 • 4 p.m.: 2-5-9-3 • 7 p.m.: 7-7-7-5 • 10 p.m.: 2-5-8-9 Buffalo Peak Golf Course photo The Union County Board of Commissioners approved a restructuring plan Wednesday for Buffalo Peak Golf Course that will reduce the golf course’s number of full-time positions by one, trimming the annual operating budget by at least $50,000. Budget cuts at golf course ■ County commissioners approve plan to trim personnel budget by at least $50,000 By Dick Mason The Observer UNION — The stage is set for Buf- falo Peak Golf Course to begin operat- ing more effi ciently and with a leaner budget. The Union County Board of Commis- sioners approved a restructuring plan Wednesday that will reduce its number of full-time positions by one, trimming the Union golf course’s annual operat- ing budget by at least $50,000. The plan, according to Commis- sioner Donna Beverage, is designed not only to reduce expenses but also increase revenue by calling for a greater focus on marketing. Buffalo Peak has lost money every year since Union County bought it from the city of Union about 20 years ago. “We need to save money out there. I don’t want Buffalo Peak to go down,” said Union County Commissioner Matt Scarfo at Wednesday’s board of commissioners meeting in La Grande. The restructuring plan will reduce the number of full-time, benefi ted positions Buffalo Peak has from three to two. Those positions are a head golf professional, a maintenance/mechanic and a grounds superintendent. The grounds superintendent position has been open since July following the retirement of Burr Betts, who served in the position for about eight years. The mechanic/equipment manager was then temporarily appointed to assume some of the responsibilities the grounds superintendent had while a further review of staff structure was done by the county commissioners. The new plan calls for the golf course to have a general manager and an equipment manager/grounds super- intendent. The general manager will manage Buffalo Peak’s pro shop and its course, Beverage said. The full-time employees now at the golf course will be required to resign but will have the opportunity to apply for the two new full-time positions Buf- falo Peak will have under the restruc- turing plan. “Drastic times demand drastic mea- sures,” Commissioner Paul Anderes said. “It is a good plan, a step in the right direction.” The three full-time positions Buf- falo Peak now has, when fi lled, cost $203,336 a year in salary and ben- efi ts. The course’s full-time employee expenses will fall to about $150,000 a year under the restructuring plan, sav- ing it at least $50,000. “(The projected savings) is a conser- vative estimate,” said Shelley Burgess, County officials seek revenue sources for parks 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 “Americans have always been able to handle auster- ity and even adversity. Prosperity is what is doing us in.” — James Reston, American journalist Bob’s By Samantha O’Conner and Jayson Jacoby EO Media Group BAKER CITY — Declin- ing revenue from the two Baker County parks on Brownlee Reservoir due in part to low water levels and blooms of toxic algae has county offi cials looking for other ways to raise money to run the parks, some with short-term potential and others that would be more sustainable sources in the long run. Offi cials also have dis- cussed the possibility of ask- ing Idaho Power Company to take over operation of Hewitt and Holcomb parks on the Powder River arm of the reservoir about 3 miles east of Richland. BASEBALL East Coast Tour: June 24-July 4, 2020 See 7 MLB Games in 11 days at Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Baltimore & New York (Yankees & Mets). Included: Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, Guided Tour of NYC and free day in Manhattan. Hotel near Times Square two nights. Southern Swing Tour Tour begins near Dallas/FtWorth International Airport/ Ends near Atlanta Airport $1,400/person based on double hotel occupancy Wrigley Field Experience Tour Tour begins near Baltimore International Airport/ Ends near Cleveland Airport. Day and night game at Wrigley Field, in addition to Field of Dreams movie site and game at Minnesota Twins. August 18-21 $2,650/person based on double hotel occupancy Tour begins/Ends near Minneapolis International Airport Coach Bus Trip. Quality Game Tickets & Hotels Free brochure: 507.217.1326 The county collected a yearly average of about $57,680 from the two parks during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 fi scal years through a combination of camping fees, season passes and sales of ice, fi rewood and water. The yearly average for the previous two fi scal years, 2014-15 and 2015-16, was about $70,900. During the 2008-09 and 2009-10 fi scal years, revenue from the parks averaged about $85,000 annually. The biggest factors in the recent decline in revenue are low water levels in Brownlee, which at times has made it diffi cult to launch boats, and advisories regarding blue-green algae, Spencer said. Both issues discourage people from using the parks, which means less revenue for the county, she said. Ed Elms, chairman of the county’s parks advisory board, said those bad years have lasting effects. “It’s hard to get those people to return,” he said, PACIFIC NORTHWEST Tours 6HH0/%*DPHVLQGD\VDWEUDQGQHZ7H[DV5DQJHUV¿HOG Houston & Atlanta. Free afternoon in New Orleans. July 24-29 $1,100/person based on double hotel occupancy “It’s not a sustainable operation,” said Karen Spencer, the county parks coordinator. “We try desperately to take care of the needs of the people who come in and use the parks, but with fewer and fewer people coming out all the time, the revenue that is normally generated is greatly reduced,” said Bill Harvey, chairman of the Baker County Board of Commissioners. “So it’s a struggle to keep a parks director and two part-time people out there working when they don’t have any- where near the revenues we used to. So it’s a struggle to fi nd some mechanism that will work to keep the park open.” the administrative offi cer for Union County. Union County soon will advertise for the general manager and equipment manager/grounds superintendent positions. Beverage said she hopes the county will have the new positions fi lled and the restructuring plan oper- ating by mid-January. Buffalo Peak will continue to have seasonal employees under its new plan. Clubhouse attendants, grounds maintenance workers and an irrigation specialist will be paid hourly wages. “Everything will stay about the same (with regard to seasonal work- ers),” Beverage said. The commissioner describes Buffalo Peak as an important Union County amenity in the same way a public li- brary or pool are. She said this became apparent to her about three years ago when a local meeting about Buffalo Peak was attended by about 70 people. Many at the meeting said Buffalo Peak is a big reason they live in this area, Beverage said. The commissioner is confi dent this amenity is now on more solid ground because of the restructuring plan. “I feel good about it. It is a small step forward but an important step,” Bever- age said. ALASKA, WASHINGTON, OREGON, IDAHO, MONTANA 5($&+PLOOLRQ3DFLÀF1RUWKZHVWHUQHUVZLWKMXVW2QH&DOO PNDC CLASSIFIED - Daily Newspapers 29 newspapers - 1,187,980 circulation Number of words: 25 z Extra word cost: $10 Cost: $540 (Runs 3 consecutive days including wkds.) PNDN 2x2 DISPLAY - Daily Newspapers 27 newspapers - 1,016,864 circulation Size: 2x2 (3.25”x2”) Cost: 1x 2x2: $1,050 More info: Cecelia@cnpa.com or call (916) 288-6011 talking about boaters who can’t launch a boat due to low water. Despite these cyclical challenges, the parks de- partment has largely been self-sustaining in the past, Spencer said. But that was due in part to occasional revenue from the sale of timber cut from parcels the county owns, and from the sale of some of those parcels. Between 2004 and 2012, logging added about $85,000 to the parks depart- ment’s budget. But the county hasn’t re- ceived any logging revenue since the 2011-12 fi scal year, according to county records. ENTERPRISE — Come Monday, there will be a lot of work going on around the Enterprise Elementary School. Last year, the Enterprise School District began evalu- ations of its facilities, funded by a Technical Assistance Program Grant. The team of evaluators, led by the Wena- ha Group of Pendleton, found a few issues that couldn’t wait for the more comprehen- sive facilities improvement plan now in the works to be completed. Those fi xes included mak- ing temporary repairs to the junior high school roof, repairing a cracked beam in the small gym, and improv- ing drainage behind the elementary school and on the elementary school’s large grassy playground. The Enterprise School Board gave the go-ahead for these fi rst repairs, and will begin work Monday on the last phase of them — im- proving drainage behind the elementary school and on the west end of the playground. “Without the TAP evalu- ation, we might not have known about the beam,” said Enterprise School Dis- trict Superintendent Erika Pinkerton. “And fi xing the drainage issue might not have gotten the attention it deserves.” Replacing the cracked beam in the little gym was a top priority. The work was completed in late September, for a cost of $25,000. The funds came from the school district’s capital project funds, Pinkerton said. The junior high school roof was also patched. Recom- mended work included resealing roof-to-wall transi- tions at the perimeter and the parapets. Work to divert storm water from the elementary school building and control runoff on the west end of the play- ground will begin Dec. 13. Contracted to Steve Lindley of Union, the project will create a swale between Fifth Street and the elementary school that will capture and prevent water from running down the steep slope just east of the school and into the building. Work also will include moving an older shed to a more suitable and drier site. The $23,780 cost of the project will also come from the school district’s capital projects fund, and should be completed in about a week, Pinkerton said. Join us for our annual Christmas Open House Sat., December 14, 2019 9am-4pm Receive 10% off your entire purchase! And enjoy our complimentary hotdogs, homemade noodles, fresh cinnamon rolls and coffee! 10214 Wallowa Lake Hwy. 541-663-8404
