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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 2019)
LOCAL MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2019 THE OBSERVER — 5A LHS students, parents continue holiday meal tradition REVIEW Continued from Page 1A Staff photo by Dick Mason Students from La Grande High School recently provided their fi fth annual formal pre-Thanksgiving luncheon for their parents, community members and La Grande School District staff. The students, shown above with their teachers, are all in the Structured Learning Center programs at the school, which are for special education students. TREE Continued from Page 1A to hang up the tree but also to put on its lights and its 470 ornaments. The Summerville family always waits until mid-De- cember to put up their tree because it cannot be watered while hanging from the ceil- ing. Taking down these trees when the ornaments are removed after each holiday season often is quite easy — they don’t weigh much because they are dry. Hudson said the old trees still have one gift left in them, though. They become food for the family’s goats. “They really like them. It is their treat,” she said. The practice of setting up Christmas trees this way is anything but new. Accord- ing to www.thespruce.com/ upside-down-christmas- FIRE Continued from Page 1A from the North Powder Rural, La Grande, La Grande Rural, Union and Haines fi re departments. They stayed at the scene until late in the afternoon. Tibbetts said a box alarm system, which has been in place for about trees, people have been hanging Christmas trees upside down at least since the Middle Ages. Today, an upside-down Christmas tree fad, one which started about two years ago, is continuing. Those joining in include retailers who display Christ- mas trees upside down so customers can see more of the ornaments they are selling at eye level, according three years, aided in the quick contain- ment of the fi re. The system helps fi re departments communicate in the event of a blaze so they can more easily join forces. When there is a fi re, the incident commander, the individual in charge of directing fi refi ghting operations, calls the Union County Dispatch Center to the website. Retailers also are doing this as a means of opening up fl oor space. Hudson said her fam- ily plans to keep having topsy-turvy Christmas trees long after the fad has ended. She said it would be hard to imagine her living room in December without the Christmas tree hanging upside down. “It is a family tradition,” she said. with a code. The code indicates which fi re departments and fi refi ghters are to respond and what type of equipment they are to bring. A dispatch center worker instantly relays the code to the pagers of the appropriate fi refi ghters. The cause of Saturday’s fi re is under investigation. A deputy state fi re mar- shal is assisting with the investigation. Administration also are in- volved in trying to construct the 300-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line that will run through fi ve Oregon counties and one in Idaho. To continue with the pro- posed project, Idaho Power must secure a site certifi ca- tion from the siting council, which oversees the develop- ment of large energy facili- ties throughout the state. During the two-day meeting, the council met to review the draft proposed order, the public comments on the draft — of which there were more than 470 individual commenters — and Idaho Power’s response to those comments. While changes and suggestions for the order have already been made by energy department staff, which is recommending the council approve the order, this month’s meeting allowed for the council to clarify its own concerns to staff and provide other feedback. Ultimately, the purpose of the council is to evaluate the application from Idaho Power within the context of more than a dozen stan- dards all energy facilities in the state must meet. “It’s a standards-based review,” said Kellen Tardae- wether, a senior siting ana- lyst, who has worked as one of the project’s staff leaders for the DOE. “The applicant has the burden of proof of demonstrating whether or not they’ve met the standards. The council isn’t discretionary. Everything is based in rules, statutes and ordinances, and there must CHEER Undisputed leader in sports with exclusive NFL SUNDAY TICKET. Continued from Page 1A said. “And it is a very re- warding experience.” Ruthie Becker, a parent of Central Elementary School students, organized the food and gift giving in 2018 as a way to get involved in shar- ing the holiday spirit. She worked with the accounting company to purchase the ingredients for the boxes. Meals include a turkey, stuff- ing, rolls, sparkling apple cider and canned vegetables. Mayes said families were identifi ed as low-income and in need by the school. They were then shopped for by the employees at Connected Professional Accountants. Each child in a family also received a present. According to Becker, those who pur- chased the gifts do not know who they are for, but each accountant receives a note with how much to purchase and ideas of what to buy. Around $20-$30 is spent on each food box, plus gifts. Beck- er said the 21 families have a total of 32 children who will enjoy a Christmas this year thanks in part to the generos- ity of the local company. Becker came up with the idea to forego a company holiday party and instead use the time and money to give back to the community. She proposed the notion to members of the accounting fi rm. Employees talked it over and decided to go ahead with the plan. “We realized that there are families in the area who be legal authority for the decision-making process.” Though the other projects on the council’s agenda pushed much of the review until next month, the coun- cil did get through discus- sions of general, organiza- tion, structural, land use and soil standards, which included public concerns, such as wildfi re risks, ero- sion and blasting. Other topics of public in- terest such as protected ar- eas, noise, fi sh and wildlife habitats, and visual impact will continue to be reviewed at next month’s meeting. One of the problems with B2H, however, is the siting council can’t adequately ad- dress many of the public’s concerns with the project, even if it wanted to. “For all of those folks that commented about land access, or having an ease- ment on their property, or whether or not Idaho Power has contacted them to have conversation about any of that, the council doesn’t have jurisdiction over that,” Tardaewether said. “There’s nothing the council can do to address that issue.” Irene Gilbert, co-chair for the Stop B2H Coalition in La Grande, attended the meet- ing both days and continues to be disappointed with the council’s response to potential issues the public is raising. “They do it with every standard, which they’re supposedly evaluating in a black-and-white sort of way,” she said. “They identify the problems with it, and then decide that none of the problems are substantial. So it isn’t an objective process, it’s very subjective.” Out-of-market games only. 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Nest®, Nest Learning Thermostat™, Nest Protect™, Nest Cam™ and the Nest logo are trademarks or service marks of Nest Labs, Inc. ©2017 Frontier Communications Corporation Imagine The Difference You Can Make DONATE YOUR CAR Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson Connected Professional Accountants, La Grande, put together this and other food boxes in partnership with students of Central Elementary School, La Grande. enough at the offi ce — we don’t need more gifts and it felt like the money would be better spent in helping the community.” Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson Central Elementary School second-grade teacher Jamie Stone helps load cars Friday with gifts and food boxes to donate to students. need help,” said Kim Justice, offi cer manager for Connect- ed Professional Accountants. “We wanted to help children and families have a great Christmas. 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