2A — THE OBSERVER
D AILY
P LANNER
TODAY
Today is Wednesday, Jan.
8, the eighth day of 2020.
There are 358 days left in
the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On Jan. 8, 2011, U.S. Rep.
Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.,
was shot and critically
wounded when a gunman
opened fi re as the congress-
woman met with constitu-
ents in Tucson; six people
were killed, 12 others also
injured. (Gunman Jared Lee
Loughner was sentenced
in November 2012 to seven
consecutive life sentences,
plus 140 years.)
ON THIS DATE
In 1815, the last major
engagement of the War of
1812 came to an end as
U.S. forces defeated the
British in the Battle of New
Orleans, not having gotten
word of the signing of a
peace treaty.
In 1918, President Wood-
row Wilson outlined his
Fourteen Points for lasting
peace after World War I.
In 1935, rock-and-roll leg-
end Elvis Presley was born
in Tupelo, Mississippi.
In 2004, A U.S. Black
Hawk medivac helicopter
crashed near Fallujah, Iraq,
killing all nine soldiers
aboard.
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Powerball: $258 million
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Win for Life: Jan. 6
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Pick 4: Jan. 7
• 1 p.m.: 5-5-8-6
• 4 p.m.: 7-0-7-2
• 7 p.m.: 7-1-8-6
• 10 p.m.: 9-9-8-8
Pick 4: Jan. 6
• 1 p.m.: 8-4-4-5
• 4 p.m.: 3-0-9-0
• 7 p.m.: 8-5-1-1
• 10 p.m.: 6-0-9-1
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Anxiety never yet suc-
cessfully bridged over any
chasm.”
— Giovanni Ruffi ni,
Italian writer
Rule
change
will have
impact
OSSA holding convention
in Wallowa County
JOSEPH — Conventions are gener-
ally boring and tedious affairs, but for
those who love power, snow and wild
country, the Oregon State Snowmobile
Association’s 48th convention may be
your ticket. The event takes place from
Jan. 14-18 in Joseph. The Wallowa
County Gamblers Snowmobile Club is
hosting the event.
The event features several days of
guided tours, a poker run with a guaran-
teed $2,500 purse, an evening banquet
and other meals along with plenty of so-
cializing. Gamblers’ president and board
of directors member, Dustin James, and
wife, Lorien James, who is the the club
secretary and board member as well, are
excited about this year’s event.
Lorien James said the club last
hosted the event in 2011 and every
snowmobile club in the state is affi liat-
ed with the OSSA. The club is expect-
ing 150-200 members. She also said
the conventions allow snowmobilers to
experience different places across the
state. Luckily, this year’s convention
happens to coincide with the club’s an-
nual poker run.
Vendors also are a part of the event
and include the major snowmobile
manufacturers and three snow-pac
manufacturers, totaling six. Those ven-
dors will stay at Salt Creek Summit
out of respect for local businesses.
“We’re trying to push and promote
downtown Enterprise and downtown
Joseph for shopping,” she said.
Pub Talk features country
singer on business of music
LA GRANDE – Rising country mu-
sic singer Nicole Lewis returns to her
hometown for a Pub Talk on Thursday
at Side A Brewing.
Lewis started her music career in La
Grande before taking on the Spokane
music scene, and now she is pursuing
her dreams Nashville, Tennessee, the
“country music capital of the world.”
Members of the Eastern Oregon
University Entrepreneurship Club in-
vited Lewis to speak at this term’s Pub
Talk. Club advisor and business profes-
sor Wilson Zehr in a news release said
Lewis’ journey represents a specifi c
type of business success.
“What many people do not realize
is that musicians, artists and athletes
are all entrepreneurs,” he said. “They
have a product (their gifts), a brand,
and a business (career) to manage.
By Bill Bradshaw
EO Media Group
Submitted photo
The Oregon State Snowmobile Association is holding its 48th convention
in Wallowa County. The event takes place Jan. 14-18 in Joseph. The Wal-
lowa County Gamblers Snowmobile Club is hosting the event.
The ultimate success of their venture
depends on their ability to effectively
manage these elements.”
Zehr added the rise of streaming
services has meant artists such as
Lewis have had to change their busi-
ness models and focus on other forms
of revenue to thrive.
Pub Talks offers entrepreneurs a
chance to share their stories. The doors
open at 5:30 p.m. and the talk begins
at 6 p.m. Informal networking follows
the event.
LHS student earns Walden’s
recommendation for U.S.
service academies
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep.
Greg Walden, R-Oregon, announced he
nominated 13 students for acceptance
to one of the United States service
academies. Keith Oswald of Cove made
the list.
Oswald, a senior at La Grande High
School, is the son of Gene and Jessika
Oswald of Cove. Walden nominated
him to the United States Air Force in
Colorado Springs, Colorado and the
United States Military Academy at
West Point, New York.
Walden’s Service Academy Nomina-
tion Board — retired and active-duty
military offi cers who interviewed
potential candidates for the service
academies — recommended each
student based on their academic per-
formance, extracurricular involvement
and character. Oswald was the lone
nominee from Eastern Oregon.
Eight of Walden’s recommendations
live in Deschutes County, two are from
Jackson County, and one each hail
from Hood River and Klamath coun-
ties.
“It is an honor to nominate these
outstanding young Oregonians to our
nation’s service academies,” Walden
said in the statement. “These fu-
ture leaders have earned these well
deserved nominations through years
of hard work, dedication and commit-
ment to character. By pursuing higher
education at one of our country’s select
service academies, these students have
shown a desire to lead by example,
grow intellectually and serve the Unit-
ed States in uniform. I am confi dent
that each nominee will be successful in
this admirable endeavor and that their
futures will be bright.”
Gas prices remain steady
PORTLAND — Gas price averages
are showing little movement this week,
according to the latest report from
AAA Oregon, but that could change if
crude oil prices fl uctuate due to geopo-
litical concerns surrounding events in
the Middle East.
For the week, the Oregon average
for regular fell a penny to $3.02 while
the national average remains at $2.59
a gallon.
“Gas prices are starting 2020 at
higher prices than at the start of 2019,”
according to Marie Dodds, director of
government and public affairs for AAA
Oregon. “The national average is about
35 cents more and the Oregon average
about 10 cents more than a year ago.”
— Observer staff
Police take on distracted drivers
By Dick Mason
The Observer
UNION COUNTY —
Union County law en-
forcement offi cers cracked
down on distracted drivers
Monday.
Between 7 a.m and 10 a.m.,
members of the La Grande
Police Department, the Union
County Sheriff’s Office and
the Oregon State Police — 15
officers in all — sought to
remind drivers to keep their
eyes and attention on the
road.
The police offi cers, depu-
ties and troopers made a
total of 44 stops for vari-
ous traffi c law violations,
including the use of mobile
electronic devices while
driving. All 44 of the drivers
were adults. Offi cers cited
or warned 23 people for
distracted driving, according
to Lt. Gary Bell of the La
Grande Police Department.
The saturation patrol
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focused on La Grande and
Island City and followed a
similar effort on distracted
driving that took place in
April 2018. Bell said police
in Union County plan to con-
duct three more saturation
patrols for distracted driving
in 2020 but the dates have
not been determined.
The focus of the upcom-
ing patrols may be divided
between distracted driving
and other problem areas
law enforcement offi cers
want to address, Bell said,
including school bus traffi c
stops.
The Oregon Department
of Transportation also
played a role in Monday’s
crackdown. The state agency
helped arrange planning
meetings and provided
statistical information on
distracted driving.
Information provided
in a La Grande Police
Department news release
indicated distracted driv-
ing has become one of the
most common reasons for
vehicle crashes on America’s
roadways. According to the
National Highway and Traf-
fi c Safety Administration,
between 2012-2017, nearly
20,000 people died in crashes
involving a distracted driver.
This total includes 3,166
people killed in motor vehicle
crashes involving distracted
drivers in 2017.
Bell said the stats mean
distraction was involved in
nearly one-tenth of all fatal
crashes in 2017.
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ENTERPRISE — As many
as 172 Wallowa County resi-
dents may lose federal food
assistance (SNAP) benefi ts
when new federal rules go
into effect in April.
The program then will re-
quire that able bodied adults
work a minimum of 20 hours
per week to qualify for as-
sistance. A total of 939 people
receive the Supplemental
Nutritional Assistance in
Wallowa County, according to
the most recent Oregon De-
partment of Human Services
fi gures.
An estimated 19,500
Oregonians may be dropped
from SNAP in April. The
food assistance benefi ts
come via a charge card that
is run through a super-
market card terminal, and
will only pay for approved
grocery items. Recipients do
not receive a check for food
purchases.
The Trump administra-
tion’s new eligibility rules for
the SNAP benefi ts program,
formerly known as food
stamps, will require that
able-bodied adults work 20
hours or more per week to
qualify for the assistance.
If they are not working as
required, they will be eligible
for assistance for only three
months in a three year
period.
The new federal rule, fi nal-
ized Dec. 5, will be imple-
mented April 1.
The most recent DHS
data — from June — listed
939 SNAP recipients in Wal-
lowa County, which has a
population of just over 7,000.
Of them, 172 are listed as
able-bodied adults without
dependents (ABAWDs).
They could be targeted by
the new rule change, Jen-
nifer Grentz, a DHS media
contact, said Tuesday, Dec.
31. She said she could not
speak to whether the 172
local adults in that category
would have their benefi ts
changed.
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