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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2019)
Year in Review Inside A look back at 2019 Tigers hang tough, 7A Crunchy culture, 1B 2019: The Year in Review A production of The Observer: Monday, Dec. 30, 2019 Follow us on the web MONDAY • December 30, 2019 • $1.50 Good day to our valued subscriber Don House of La Grande Plastic gets bagged By Sabrina Thompson The Observer LA GRANDE — Putting groceries or takeout into single-use plastic bags for free in Oregon ends Tuesday. House Bill 2905 banning single-use plastic grocery bags in stores and restau- rants in Oregon takes effect Jan. 1, 2020. Paper bags will be used instead, but they will cost at least 5 cents each at the store. Restaurants will be allowed to provide paper bags at no cost. The 5-cent fee goes back to the store to help with the cost of produc- tion of the bags. “The initial investment will be more because the bags are more expensive,” Jordan Hackwith, owner of Cove Dollars Corner Market and Fuel, said. “But because I am charging for it, it will be a wash.” Cinco de Mayo, at 2102 Adams Ave., La Grande, uses plastic bags for its takeout orders. Owner Maria Correa said the business will use boxes and possibly paper bags once the correct size is determined. “It is defi nitely going to affect us,” Correa said. “But maybe customers can bring in their own plastic bags from home.” Some local businesses have already begun stock- ing paper bags to be used in the new year. Market Place Fresh Foods in downtown La Grande will offer paper bags for 5 cents each and will sell reusable fabric bags. The store will also implement a recycling program where people can leave their reus- able bags for other people to use. “It’s kind of a ‘take one if you need it, leave one if you have an extra’ kind of pro- gram,” Market Place Fresh Foods store director Lisa Snyder said. According to the Oregon Department of Environ- mental Quality, plastic bags “contaminate the recycling stream and endanger the safety of workers who must untangle them from recy- cling equipment.” The DEQ stated on its website that decreasing the amount of plastic bags is a “positive fi rst step toward addressing the large amount of plastic debris in the oceans, which threatens Oregon’s marine wildlife.” Vandals strike Elgin churches By Dick Mason The Observer ELGIN — Vandals rocked two Elgin churches late last week, and the Union County Sheriff’s Offi ce appears to have solved the case. The sheriff’s offi ce identi- fi ed and located three Elgin juveniles, ages 9, 10 and 13, as suspects in the case, which involves the vandal- ism of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and Harvester’s Church of the Nazarene. Sheriff Boyd Rasmussen said the Union County Dis- trict Attorney’s Offi ce is re- viewing the case for criminal charges, which could include trespassing, burglary and criminal mischief. Deputies Tad Butcher, Morris Capers and Dylan Hamilton worked the case and tracked down the trio of youth. “The deputies quickly co- ordinated with one another and got resolution quickly,” Rasmussen said Sunday. Tips from community members, Rasmussen said, also were key to assisting the deputies. “We had tremendous cooperation from the com- Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson Market Place Fresh Foods cashier Patience Dudley bags items into single-use plastic bags Friday. Oregon’s single-use plastic bag ban goes into effect Jan. 1. Local state lawmakers Rep. Greg Barreto of Cove and Sen. Bill Hansell of Athena, both Republicans, did not support the bill. When contacted last week, Hansell was on Christmas vacation with this family but provided this comment: “I voted no on the bill, because I felt it went too far. Bags are a convenience, especially for older citizens. If I remember the bill correctly, it bans plastic but not paper bags. Yet the bill sponsors put a charge on paper bags, which I thought was unnec- essary and inconsistent with the intent of the bill to ban plastic bags. Having taken away a customer’s choice and encouraging people to switch to environmentally friendly paper bags, it made no sense to me to make people pay to use those paper bags.” Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson Barreto said he saw the Oregon’s ban on single-use plastic bags such at these at bill as an overreach on the Market Place Fresh Foods, La Grande, goes into effect part of the government. He Jan. 1. Businesses will instead offer paper bags for See Ban / Page 5A 5 cents each or people can bring their own bags. munity,” Rasmussen said. Deputies found evidence in both churches the juveniles unsuccessfully tried to burn some items, the sheriff said. Father Saji Thomas, pas- tor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 93 S. 12th St., said a laptop was stolen, furniture was overturned everywhere, numerous items including statues and books were tossed to the fl oor and Christmas decorations were scattered. Thomas said items were cleaned up and put back in order Saturday, allow- ing mass to be celebrated Sunday. Thomas said the laptop was recovered by law en- forcement offi cers. Rasmus- sen said that stolen items were found by deputies but did not identify them. Thomas said the youths allegedly responsible for the vandalism should be given the benefi t of the doubt because of their ages. “Forgive them for they do not know what they have done,” said Thomas, who also is pastor of Our Lady of the Valley Catholic See Elgin / Page 5A Axial Seamount to erupt by 2024 By Jes Burns Oregon Public Broadcasting SALEM — Scientists are forecasting the Pacifi c Northwest’s most active volcano will erupt sometime between 2020 and 2024. The volcano isn’t one you’ll see driving along the Cascade Range; instead, you’d have to look 1.5 miles deep in the ocean to fi nd it. It’s called the Axial Seamount and it’s about 300 miles due west of Astoria at the edge of the Juan de Fuca plate. If the volcano were on land, it would be one of the taller mountains in Oregon’s Coast Range. Oregon State Univer- sity’s Bill Chadwick made the eruption forecast at a scientifi c meeting this month. His forecast is based on measurements taken on the seafl oor around the seamount. “One of the ways that volcanoes are monitored around the world is to look for changes in their shape, like if the ground is being uplifted or subsiding,” Chadwick said. “What you’re interested in is magma mov- ing in or moving out, or is it just slumbering?” Axial Seamount has changed quite a bit over the last decades, with the surface gradually rising between eruptions, then suddenly dropping back down. “It’s erupted three times in the last 21 years. That’s more than Mount St. Hel- ens and any of the volca- noes in our neighborhood. So it’s gotten a lot of our attention and we’re trying to learn as much from it as See Axial / Page 5A State operations on better footing thanks to directors By Sam Stites Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Summer Warner has one of those jobs crucial to state gov- ernment, but rarely talked about. The Nebraska native is at the helm of one of the Oregon’s most important projects: helping new directors get up to speed in the state agencies they’re chosen to lead. Warner is a workforce planning strategist for Oregon’s Department of Administrative Services, the agency responsible for support- ing functions of all other state agencies includ- ing human resources, information technology, budget planning, train- Warner ing and much more. “This part of my work is my favorite because I get to work with agency directors both new and sea- soned,” she said. Warner leads the team that im- plements a new leadership program INDEX Classified .......4B Comics ...........7B Community ...6A Crossword .....5B Dear Abby .....8B WEATHER Home .............1B Horoscope .....5B Letters ............4A Lottery............2A Record ...........3A WEDNESDAY Obituaries ......3A Opinion ..........4A Sports ............7A Sudoku ..........7B brought to the state by Department of Corrections’ Colette Peters. Peters is a member of the Correctional Leaders Association, a national group created for agency leaders to boost education and support for poli- cies that improve public safety. Peters came to DAS with the idea to create a leaders’ forum like that of her national group. The forum is where new agency directors could talk with veteran directors to under- stand how the state operates, from Full forecast on the back of B section Tonight Tuesday 29 LOW 37/34 Turning cloudy Showers around STATE TROOPER RETIRES the budget process and what legisla- tive session looks like to building a positive agency culture and support- ing executive teams. Forums for new directors take place as needed. An upcoming session in April is the fourth for Warner and her team. “What ends up coming out of them is not only a network these new directors can rely on, to pick up the phone and call when they have a question, but for CONTACT US 541-963-3161 Issue 152 2 sections, 18 pages La Grande, Oregon See State / Page 5A HAVE A STORY IDEA? Call The Observer newsroom at 541-963-3161 or send an email to news@lagrandeobserver.com. Online at lagrandeobserver. com
