Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 2019)
LOCAL MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2019 THE OBSERVER — 3A Fatal Hermiston Fair board dreams of new arena crash results in arrest By Bill Bradshaw EO MEdia Group Contributed photo from Oregon State Police A fatal two-vehicle crash occured Friday nighton Highway 395 near East Punkin Center Road, Hermiston. EO Media Group HERMISTON — Oregon State Police arrested Michelle Dawn Fry, 45, Hermiston, following a fatal two-vehicle crash Friday night. Police responded to the crash at the intersection of East Punkin Center Road and Highway 395, Hermis- ton, at 10:03 p.m. According to a prelimi- nary investigation con- ducted by OSP, a gold 2009 Toyota Camry driven by Fry was heading north- bound and failed to stop at a red light, colliding with a black 2006 KIA Spectra driven by Elidio Salas De La Paz, 77, of Hermiston. Salas De La Paz was headed southbound on Highway 395, making a left hand turn onto East Punkin Center Road. Salas De La Paz and his wife Alicia Salas, 75, who was a passenger, were transported by ambulance to Good Shepherd Medical Center Hermiston. Alicia Salas died at the hospital, according to state police. Police booked Fry into the Umatilla County Jail Pendleton on eight charges including second-degree manslaughter, driving under the infl uence of intoxicants, third-degree assault and two counts of hit-and-run. Second-degree man- slaughter is a Measure 11 crime, and carries a man- datory minimum sentence of six years, three months. The Oregon Department of Transportation, Umatilla County First District 1, Umatilla County Sheriff’s Offi ce and the Hermiston Police Department all pro- vided aid to Oregon State Police during the incident. O BITUARIES Mary C. (Hayter) Armon Wallowa 1941-2019 Mary Catharine Armon, 78, of Wallowa, died Dec. 4. A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Dec. 13 at Wallowa Christian Church, followed by a procession to her fi nal resting place. Afterward there will be a potluck at the church at which Mary’s life will be cel- ebrated. Bollman Funeral Home is entrusted with the arrangements. Nicknamed Kitty, Mary was born Nov. 30, 1941, in Stanfi eld, to William and Mary Hayter. Mary’s loving arms, warm heart, beautiful smile and sweet voice will never be for- gotten by those who loved her. Surviving relatives include her daughter and son-in-law, Cindy and Matt Williams; sons and daugh- ters-in-law, Sam and Monica Armon and Doug and Tracy Armon; four grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren; and brothers and sisters-in- law, Bill and Phyllis Hayter and Walley “Dale” and Sue Hayter. She was preceded in death by her parents and her younger sister, Sheila Larkin. UPCOMING FUNERALS AND VISITATIONS Sponsored by Dec. 14 Roberta Sinor: 2 p.m. graveside service, Elgin Cemetery. P UBLIC S AFETY R EPORT FRIDAY Union County Sheriff’s Offi ce arrested Zoe Elizabeth Cleve- land and Tina Lucinda Ray, both 19 and of La Grande, on charges of misdemeanor theft and felony computer crime. A caller in Union at 2:37 p.m. reported a burglary. The caller subsequently found the prop- erty in a suitcase. SATURDAY La Grande police at 11:09 a.m. received a report of a transient camp at Polk Avenue and Wal- nut Street. A La Grande caller at 10:24 p.m. reported a suspicious person on the 200 block of Adams Avenue. La Grande police a minute later received a report of a suspicious male on the 2400 block of Spruce Street. And at 10:53 p.m. another call came in about a suspicious male, this time on the 1000 block of Jackson Avenue. Police on this call cited a male for minor in possession. SUNDAY A Union County sheriff’s deputy at about 12:30 p.m. was with a lost child on the 2000 block of Gekeler Lane, La Grande. The deputy returned the child to the parents and counseled them as well. A La Grande police offi cer at 8:52 p.m. warned a driver “for doing something reckless” at the railroad crossing between X Avenue and Grandy Lane. And Firefi ghters responded to six calls for medical assistance on Sunday, fi ve on Saturday, 10 on Friday, fi ve on Thursday and fi ve on Wednesday. ENTERPRISE — Winter weather may be upon us, but that isn’t stopping work at the Wallowa County Fairgrounds in Enterprise. One of the biggest and most exciting projects is a new indoor arena that’s expected to have a seven-digit price tag, though the total cost is a long way from being known, according to Fair Board offi ce manager Tera Elliott. “We’re just in our dream phase,” she said, adding there’s no set timetable for its completion. A plan of that “dream” is posted on the wall of the Fair Board Office at 668 NW First St. Included on that plan is a 120-foot-by-200-foot indoor arena expected to replace the existing outdoor arena. Elliott was unsure how it would differ from the Harley Tucker/Chief Joseph Days Arena in Joseph, other than the Joseph arena is outdoors. The plan shows the performance grounds surrounded by grandstands on two sides, an announcer’s booth, bucking chutes underneath the booth, other chutes available for a variety of purposes on each side of the booth, a ticket booth, concessions, restrooms and more. The current indoor arena gets a lot of use and will be maintained, Elliott said. Projects now underway are less expensive and less affected by the weather. The current calf-roping chutes are in the process of get- ting new gates. At least one has been installed and others are being built at Stangel Industries, said Greg Seufer, grounds manager. Since the chutes won’t be needed until springtime, he said, Stangel’s is building the gates as they get time between more urgent projects. A bigger project involves replacing the wooden seats in the current, nearly century-old grandstand, Seufer said. The lumber has been delivered and is just waiting for an- other contractor to remove the old seats to repurpose the wood. That work, too, can be done amid snowy weather, though the repainting may have to wait. Once installed, the bleachers must be laser-leveled and will be painted the same shade of green as the old seats, Seufer said. A new storage space under the grandstands was recent- ly completed, Elliott said. Items such as open-class display racks will be stored there 50 weeks a year, she said. Before the snow fell last week, work was completed to install electrical conduit to the animal barns, the Quonset hut used for storage and to vendors’ stalls, Elliott said. Further work on that has been halted until spring, she said. Also on the “dream” horizon is a new valve and a pressure tank for the fairgrounds well/sprinkler system, Elliott said. She said they would like to add a pumphouse that could include a work shed for Seufer’s use. The fairgrounds also will soon be ordering new, plastic chairs for the Cloverleaf Hall to replace the old, metal folding chairs long in use there. Elliott said they also hope to purchase a new barbecue for the food booth. Many of these projects are scheduled for completion before next year’s fair, set for Aug. 1-8, Elliott said. She expressed thanks for donations toward these proj- ects, including one for $500 and another for $2,500. She said the fair board always is eager to accept more. “If anyone wants to take up any of these projects, we’d be happy to have them help move them along,” Elliott said. L OCAL B RIEFING From staff reports Weekly senior lunch in Union now served at VFW Central School puts on Winter Music Extravaganza UNION — Beginning Tuesday, the Union senior lunch served on Tuesdays will take place at the VFW High Valley Post 4060, 518 N. Main St. The coffee is available before the meal as usual, followed by lunch at noon. The meal is free, but donations are encouraged to help pay for costs. LA GRANDE — Cen- tral Elementary School’s third-, fourth- and fi fth- grade classes will present a Winter Music Extravaganza beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday at La Grande High School’s auditorium. The doors open at 5:45 p.m. at the east entrance on Second Street. The performance will fea- ture songs, carols with Orff accompaniment, a British sword dance, Fiddle Club and Guitar Club presenta- tions, an Israeli dance and a fi fth-grade vocal ensemble. EOLS Directors convene Tuesday at clubhouse UNION — The Decem- ber meeting of the Direc- tors of the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the EOLS Clubhouse on Delta Street in Union. City commissions seek members LA GRANDE — The city of La Grande Community Landscape & Forestry Com- mission will meet Tuesday, the La Grande Arts Com- mission meets Wednesday, and the Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission’s meeting is Thursday. Each meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. in the Parks & Recreation offi ce inside Pioneer Park. Volunteer commissioners are needed for all of these commissions. Contact Stu Spence for more informa- tion at 541-962-1348. LG Rural Fire Protection Board meets Tuesday ISLAND CITY — The La Grande Rural Fire Protection Board will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the La Grande Rural Fire Hall, 10200 S. McAlister Road. The La Grande Rural Fire Protection District Board oversees the operation of the La Grande Rural Fire Department. The department, based in Island City, provides emergency medical and fi re service throughout Union County. Translator District Board meets in La Grande LA GRANDE — The Blue Mountain Translator District Board of Directors will hold a regular meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Misener Room of the Daniel Chapin Building, 1001 Fourth St., La Grande. Prior to the meeting, the board packet will be available at www.bmtd.org/public-notice. UPEC 17 plans Christmas dinner potluck LA GRANDE — The Union Pacifi c Employees Club 17 invites all UP employees, retirees and their families to a Christmas din- ner potluck beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Union County Senior Center, 1504 Albany St., La Grande. The club will provide baked ham, roasted turkey, traditional sides, coffee, lemonade and tableware. Bring a meat dish, salad or dessert to share. The evening includes musical entertainment by the La Grande High School A Capella Choir, auctions and a UP Railroad history table with historic scrapbooks and other UP items for sale. removal of hazard trees. Up to three separate slowdowns operations are scheduled to take place between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. that will impact traffi c for about 15 minutes each occurrence. They will begin at milepost 256 near Perry for westbound traf- fi c and milepost 224 near Poverty Flats for eastbound traffi c, with pilot cars slow- ing motorists to about 35 mph. Freeway on ramps in the slowdown zones also will be temporarily closed during the opera- tions until the pilot cars and traffi c have passed by. Travelers will be able to exit the freeway at impacted interchanges but may experience delays in getting on the freeway toward the direction of the work zones. If weather conditions are not favor- able on Wednesday, the tree removal will be post- poned until the following Wednesday. Grande School District will convene for a regular board meeting at 7 p.m. Wednes- day in the District Offi ce Conference Room, 1305 N. Willow St. Santa Claus is comin’ to town — on a train LA GRANDE — The Santa Train will make its annual stop in La Grande on Wednesday. Santa will arrive on the train at the Union Pacifi c Railroad Depot at 4 p.m. Mr. Kringle invites everyone to come to the depot and welcome him to La Grande. The Santa Train is sponsored by Union Pacifi c Employees Club 17. Union SWCD holds board meeting ISLAND CITY — The Union Soil and Water Conservation District Board will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Union County Extension Offi ce, 10507 N. McAlister Road, Island City. Principal sub- jects to be discussed are monthly fi nancial state- ments, staff reports and partner agency reports. Call Christopher Moats, natural resources conser- vationist, at 541-963-1313 or go to www.unionswcd. org or more information. Expect delays on I-84 west of La Grande Wednesday LA GRANDE — The Or- egon Department of Trans- portation will stage rolling slowdowns on Wednesday, in eastbound and west- bound lanes of Interstate 84 to accommodate the Union School Board to meet Dec. 11 UNION — The Union School Board will meet Wednesday. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at the high school athletic complex. La GRANDE AUTO REPAIR 975-2000 www.lagrandeautorepair.com MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE Joe Horst ACDelcoTSS LG School Board announces meeting LA GRANDE — The Board of Directors of the La FAMILY OWNED Come in today and let our staff help your Christmas be MERRY & BRIGHT! Now offering delivery to Union GRANDE 1123 Adams Ave., La Grande 541-963-5741 redcrossdrugstore.com 215 Elm Street La Grande (541) 963-5440 “People Who Care” northwestfurnitureandmattress.com Ronde Retirement & Assisted Living 1809 Gekeler Ln. La Grande 541-963-4700
