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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2019)
DECADE IN REVIEW 21C — THE OBSERVER MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2019 2017: Fires, escapees, an eclipse, and an embezzlement case 10 — Fire destroys livestock show barns A fast-moving fi re on July 24, 2017, ripped through Union’s Eastern Oregon Livestock Show Grounds. The roaring blaze caused no injures but did signifi - cant damage. The fi re broke out around 5 p.m., destroyed three horse barns and the goat barn, which were empty of people and animals. Roughly 40 fi refi ghters from throughout Union County re- sponded to take on the blaze. The crews succeeded in extinguishing the fi re in about 40 minutes, pre- venting the fl ames from reaching other structures, including the nearby grandstands. The ensuing investigation determined the fi re was human caused. The case has not been solved. 9 — J.C Penney Co. closes in La Grande after more than 100 years La Grande and Island City experienced the closure of several stores in 2017, but the end of J.C Penney Co. in La Grande drew the most attention. The business was one of the oldest operating in Union County. It opened in 1914 and 16 years later relocated to 1309 Adams Ave., where it remained until clos- ing day, Aug. 1. J.C Penney Co. in March announced the La Grande store was among the 138 the com- pany would close nationwide. Locals received a second jolt about three weeks later when Payless ShoeSource Inc. an- nounced it would close its store in Island City. And rue21 also shut down in Island City after operat- ing since 2013. 8 — Union city administrator departs Sandra Patterson was the city administrator of Union for 12 years, and on June 13, 2017, she announced she would resign in a month. She reported she was leaving out of concerns about a third party’s unethical actions. She consulted with an attorney and on June 15 retracted her resignation. But the Union City Council in August voted to accept her resignation. Patterson then fi led a com- plaint against the city council with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, alleging the council violated public meeting laws in June when it discussed matters beyond the scope of ex- ecutive session regulations. Patterson and the city did not reach a settlement until April 2019, when the commission gave Union Mayor Leonard Flint and each of the six people who served as councilors at the time a “letter of education” explaining the law they appeared to have violated and how best to follow it. 7 — Harsh winter hits Grande Ronde Valley The harshest winter in more than a decade pummeled North- east Oregon in 2017. Snowstorms left portions of the Grande Ronde Valley buried in snow for two months. Snowdrifts in Summerville prevented resi- dents from getting vehicles out of driveways for days at a stretch. Members of the Imber Rural Fire Protection District worked long but sometimes fruitless hours try- ing to keep the roads clear. The heavy snowfall forced mul- tiple closures of Interstate 84, and local school shut down for almost 20 days in December 2016 and January 2017. Observer fi le photo Fire in July 2017 destroys four barns on the grounds of the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show, Union. 6 — New Central Elementary opens Construction of La Grande’s fi rst new school in almost four decades concluded in time for the start of the 2017 school year. Central Elementary School cost about $14 million, a big chunk of the $31.85 million school con- struction bond voters passed in 2014. The school replaced the old Central, which was more than 60 years old. The new Central presented the community with a striking structure and more room, ending the need to use modular buildings as classrooms. 5 — La Grande man gets 31 years in prison for sex crimes Jacob Pomerleau went to trial in July 2017 on multiple counts of Measure 11 sex crimes, and a jury found him guilty. Union County Circuit Judge Russell West sen- tenced Pomerleau, then 35, to 31 years in prison. The victim, a minor, and her mother were among those who testifi ed against Pomerleau. 4 — Fire burns down Quail Run Motel Every guest and resident of La Grande’s Quail Run Motel escaped a fi re that consumed the building April 29, 2917. The cause was likely a water heater. Every fi re department in the county assisted at the blaze, and even that was not enough. Baker City and Haines got the calls to help as well. The fi re raged for more than three hours, required 60-70 fi re- fi ghters and displaced 36 people and one dog. 3 — Two escape from Camp Riverbend Two escapees from the Camp Riverbend Youth Transitional Fa- cility near La Grande kept a step ahead of the law in June 2017. Brittain McAuliffe and Micah West, both 18, took off from the Oregon Youth Authority facility and managed to evade capture for weeks. West ended up back in custody fi rst, when Albany police in July detained him for shoplifting candy bars, according to Oregon State Police. The law caught up to McAuliffe in September in Klamath Falls af- ter he shot a woman and left her for dead on a bike path. He went to prison in 2018 for 23 years Observer fi le photo Oregon State Police in June 2017 survey the terrain along Interstate 84 during the search for two teen- agers who escaped from the Camp Riverbend Youth Transitional Facility outside La Grande. after pleading guilty to attempted aggravated murder. 2 — Solar eclipse incites major preparations Public safety personnel of all kinds readied for big crowds to fl ood across rural Oregon counties to watch the Aug. 21, 2017, solar eclipse, the fi rst that would trans- verse the length of the mainland United States since 1918. Most hotels in Northeast Ore- gon were booked, and service sta- tions and grocery stores prepared for the infl ux of out-of-towners. Local law enforcement, however, reported little increase in crime. The dread that campers could spark a wildfi re in the midst of mass crowds never came to realiza- tion. But local businesses reported signifi cant spikes in sales. 1 — Embezzlement ends business partnerships The Union County Economic Development Corporation in 2017 dissolved its partnership with the city of La Grande and Union County after a tumultuous year. In August, The Observer reported the corporation failed to reveal to its partners and the public that a former employee embezzled more than $21,000 over the span of two years. The UCEDC relied on public funds from the city and county, leading its partners to question whether they should have been informed. But Dan Stark, the corporation’s Observer fi le photo J.C. Penney Co. in La Grande offi cially closed its doors in 2017 after 103 years in business. Customers stopped in to shop for the remain- ing merchandise or to talk with the employees during the store’s fi nal hours. executive director, and Mark Davidson, its president, said this was a personnel matter and the organization would handle it internally. In September, Davidson pre- sented the idea for dissolution, and the board agreed. The Union County Economic Development Corporation, however, did not go away. The board was reduced to seven members and no staff, still owned industrial land and agreed to work with the city and county when a business interest wanted to use the property. Wishing you a safe and Happy New Year!
