3C — THE OBSERVER
MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2019
2019: YEAR IN REVIEW
Counting down: The Observer’s top 10 stories of 2019
5 — La Grande quiets
train horns
Train whistles at all hours
off the day and night in La
Grande are all but gone.
The city after years of work
received the federal approval
for a Quiet Zone along a
stretch of tracks close to
downtown.
The La Grande City
Council in February 2017 ad-
opted City Manager Robert
Strope’s priority to develop-
ing a zone free of train horns
most of the time, and in Oc-
tober the council gave Strope
the approval to notify Union
Pacifi c Railroad, the Oregon
Department of Transpor-
tation and the Federal
Railroad Administration of
the city’s intent to establish a
Quiet Zone.
The city had to pay about
$200,000 in safety improve-
ments near railroad cross-
ings and undergo crossing
inspections. On Dec. 4,
Mayor Steve Clements an-
nounced the city received
approval of the zone, which
offi cially went into effect at
12:01 a.m. Dec. 27.
4 — Springs fl oods
affect Union County
Heavy rains and fast-melt-
ing snow in April combined to
fl ood roads throughout Union
County and turned thou-
sands of acres of agricultural
land into virtual lakes. The
rising waters ended up caus-
ing little structural damage,
but farmers in the Grande
Ronde Valley saw the water
cover acres and acres of their
production land.
Blue Mountain Seeds
of Imbler may have taken
the hardest hit. The fl ood
covered 1,000 acres of seed
production land, ruining the
harvest of the crop there
until 2021.
The fl oodwaters drenched
neighboring counties as well.
The Wallowa County Board
of Commissioners declared
a state of emergency due
to fl oods. And emergency
management efforts were
in full swing in Pendleton
as McKay Creek crested its
banks and covered residen-
tial streets and a city park.
Western Communications.
2 — La Grande High
School wins state
football title
The La Grande High
School Tigers tore through
opponents all season and
did not slow down in the
playoffs.
The Tigers received a
police escort out of town the
afternoon of Nov. 30 on the
way to Hermiston to take on
the Banks Braves, the de-
fending Class 4A champion.
La Grande relied on a his-
toric defense to stifl e Banks
and keep the out of the end
zone. The Braves also put
up a tough defense, but the
Tigers stayed with their plan
and capitalized on scoring
opportunities, including a
pick six. The last seconds
ticked off the game clock, and
La Grande won 21-0.
The win came almost 45
years to the day since the
last time La Grande in 1974
Photo by Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group
took home the state champi- The La Grande High School Tigers celebrate their win in the Nov. 30 title game in Hermiston. The Tigers defeated
onship.
Banks, 21-0, for their fi rst football title since 1974.
1 — Union County
Warming Station
becomes central
issue in La Grande
the nonprofi t could afford
and the shelter was the only
service offering meals and a
warm place to stay the night
in the winter.
The council listened during
the course of almost four
hours that evening. Coun-
cilors said they heard little
in the way of facts about
adverse effects the shelter
would create. The council
voted 7-0 to deny the appeal.
And Mayor Steve Clements
made a promise to involve the
city council in working with
both sides toward a more
comprehensive solution to
local homelessness.
Adelsberger has held off
on appealing the council’s
decision to the state Land
Use Board of Appeals. And he
has been moving forward on
bringing together members of
the faith community, business
owners, nonprofi ts and local
government offi cials to open
the doors of a transitional
housing facility. Some 20
acres near Walmart in Island
City is available for the plan,
and while the full realiza-
tion might be 10 years out,
Adelsberger said the focus is
on what the community can
do in the next 12 months.
3 — EO Media Group
buys The Observer
The Union County Warm-
ing Station planned to open
in October at 2008 Third St.,
its third home in as many
years. But developer Al
Adelsberger fi led an appeal
against the conditional use
permit for the shelter. The
move blocked the opening
and set up the La Grande
City Council for a heavy
public hearing the evening of
Dec. 4 to consider the appeal.
Roughly 200 locals fi lled
the commons area at the
La Grande Middle School
for the hearing and dozens
spoke, many with concerns,
some with ire, some with
angst and tears.
People supporting the ap-
peal argued the Third Street
site was not a good fi t because
of its location near downtown.
Some said warming station
organizers needed better
safety policies and should
provide thorough services for
the homeless. Those against
the appeal and for a swift
opening of the station argued
the Third Street facility was
the best available for what
The 123-year-old Observer
was on rocky ground when
its parent company Western
Communications Inc. fi led
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection in January. West-
ern Communications came
out of bankruptcy seven
years earlier but owed more
than $7 million. The com-
pany’s plan was to dump The
Observer, The Bend Bulletin,
The Baker City Herald and
other newspapers it owned
to pay off the debt.
The EO Media Group,
owner of the East Oregonian,
The Daily Astorian and
Hermiston Herald, among
others, saw the opportunity
to save fellow local papers.
The Oregon company was
the winning bidder at the
bankruptcy auction of the
sale of the businesses and be-
came one of the largest media
companies in the state.
Throughout the bankrupt-
cy ordeal, The Observer never
stopped publishing, even
when employees could not
depend on a paycheck from
Flooding in April submerged thousands of acres in Union and Wallowa counties, including this portion of the agricultural land between Imbler
and Cove in the Grande Ronde Valley.
Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson
Developer Al Adelsberger urges the La Grande City Council during its public hearing
in December to uphold the appeal he fi led to prevent the Union County Warming
Station from opening at 2008 Third St. The council denied the appeal with a
unanimous vote, and Adelsberger is working toward a transitional housing facility.
Staff photo by Dick Mason
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