Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2019)
DECADE IN REVIEW MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2019 THE OBSERVER — 20C 2016: A new school, store, commissioner and new heights 10 — Crash claims life of teen An evening crash in April 2016 on Interstate 84 3 miles west of La Grande resulted in the death of Hanna Doig- Cashell of La Grande. She was 18. Two others, also from La Grande, suffered serious injuries in the crash. Doig-Cashell was a pas- senger in the 2008 Toyota Solara that was traveling east. Alexis Browning, 18, was the other passenger, and Melissa Book, 19, was the driver. Oregon State Police reported the Solara lost control when trying to pass another vehicle and rolled onto the shoulder of the road. 9 — Market Place Family Foods opens After years of planning and construction, Market Place Family Foods opened in October in downtown La Grande. The store had a subdued opening, and grocery store manager Troy Berglund re- ported that was no accident. “The fi rst few hours (and) days, you just want to make sure all the wheels are on and everything’s working properly before you go ahead and start throwing a party,” he said. The development team earlier in the year had eyed a summer opening, but Ber- glund said the construction and renovation took longer than anticipated, so the opening was moved to the fall once all the licenses and approvals to serve the public were secured. 8 — Clements questions councilors’ letter La Grande Mayor Steve Clements apologized in Feb- ruary 2016 for the way he responded to a document he had received from fi ve of the seven city councilors. The document listed nine topics, from city employee job descriptions to the city’s au- dit process, as possible topics to discuss at the council’s annual retreat, which sets the city manager’s priorities for the coming year. Clements was concerned the letter could constitute a quorum. Once four or more councilors gather to discuss city business, it becomes a public meeting under Or- egon law. Clements proposed to have the Oregon Depart- ment of Justice investigate, then backed off that move and dropped the inquiry. 7 — Wallowa County man dies in avalanche A ski tour of the Wallowa Mountains turned tragic in March 2016 when a Joseph man died of injuries he suf- fered in an avalanche. Kip Rand, 29 and the director of the Wallowa Avalanche Center, and a friend were on a ski tour of Sacajawea Peak, the Hur- wall Divide and Chief Joseph Mountain when a large cor- nice break swept Rand 1,200 feet down a narrow chute. According to the Wallowa County Sheriff’s Offi ce, Rand’s ski partner, Ben Vandenbos, did everything Observer fi le photo Union County commissioner candidate Donna Beverage listens to incumbent Mark Davidson during a 2016 candidate forum at La Grande Middle School. Beverage went on to defeat Davidson in the race. he could to save Rand, even reviving him with CPR and moving him to a safe spot and building a snow cave and a fi re. Bad weather, however, prevented rescuers from getting to Rand before he died. 6 — Construction begins on Central Elementary Groundbreaking for the construction of La Grande’s Central Elementary School began in May 2016 at Sec- ond Street and H Avenue. The $14.1 million school, funded by a massive school bond, replaced the aging Central that was in poor condition. The work was fi nished in time for the 2017-18 school year. 5 — Union County opens new courthouse Union County dedicated its new courthouse in March 2016. Getting there took moving through a number of obstacles. The project cost about $2.84 million, the county reported. The county received an unprecedented $2 million in funding from the state to construct the facility. The 15,329-square-foot building at 1105 K Ave., La Grande, houses two courtrooms and offi ce space for administra- tion, judges and support staff. The new building does not include space for county departments. 4 — Voters approve term limits Union County voters ap- proved a measure to limit county commissioners to two terms in offi ce or eight years. A grassroots organiza- tion, Union County Citizens for Good Government, introduced the term limit proposal in the May 2016 primary. The group argued a career politician is not what the county needs and term limits will get more people involved in the local politics. 3 — EOU football and volleyball teams reach new heights Eastern Oregon Univer- sity football and volleyball Observer fi le photo Work for the new Central Elementary School building at Second Street and H Avenue is in progress in this photo from November 2016. teams reached historic levels of success in 2016. The Mountaineers football team achieved an eight- game winning streak and qualifi ed for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics playoffs for the fi rst time. The team won its fi rst playoff game as well and advanced as far as the semifi nals. The team knocked off No. 2 Southern Oregon University in the season opener and defeated No. 1 Marian in the playoffs. The team ended with 10 wins, a program record, and hit the No. 4 ranking in the NAIA postsea- son coaches poll, the highest mark in program history. Eastern’s volleyball team won its third consecutive Cascade Collegiate Confer- ence regular-season title and later the CCC tourna- ment, a fi rst for the program. The team had a 19-match winning streak early in the season and later won 13 in a row. Eastern fi nished with a record of 32-3, the best in the history of the program, and advanced to the quarterfi - nals in the NAIA national tournament, matching its deepest run ever. The team also spent the entire season in the top 10 of the NAIA coaches’ poll and ended at No. 6, tied for its best rank- ing in team history. 2 — Donna Beverage unseats incumbent commissioner Donna Beverage unseated incumbent Mark Davidson to win position 3 on the Union County Board of Com- missioners in the November 2016 general election. She walked away with the vic- tory with 66% of the vote to Davidson’s 33%. Beverage, a Union County native, fi led for the posi- tion in January and was one of six candidates in the primary. She said she would focus on transparency and learning as much as she could about the position. She stayed on that platform throughout the campaign. 1 — La Grande High School students charged for planning attack Police arrested two La Observer fi le photo Grande High School stu- A grocery opened in 2016 in downtown La Grande after dents and placed them in years of planning and construction. juvenile custody on charges A misdemeanor. The state of conspiracy to commit mur- others led to the arrests of the 14-year-old and 15-year- der after making a threat to sentenced him to the custody old students. shoot students at the school of the Oregon Youth Author- The 15-year-old took in April 2016. ity for a period not to extend a deal in November and La Grande Police Chief beyond Nov. 1, 2022, or pleaded guilty to a pair Brian Harvey said sec- beyond when he turns 25. of fi rst-degree disorderly ondhand information The case of the co-defen- conduct charges, one a Class dant remained in juvenile from school staff about the C felony, the second a Class students possibly harming court. Thank you for a great 2019 Antenna TV for NE Oregon! 20+ Channels delvered in HD KRCW • KATU • KOIN • KPTV • KPDX • KTVB • KGW Watch your favorite Shows! All for just $100 per Year! Call 541-963-0196 • www.bmtd.org
