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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2020)
Sports Inside Warmest decade on record, 2A Satisfying snacks, 1B Tigers take Oregon Classic Follow us on the web MONDAY • January 20, 2020 • $1.50 Union County Project would restore creeks Good day to our valued subscriber Georgene Mortenson of La Grande Neighboring communities reach out to help Joseph Charter School LENDING A HELPING HAND Contributed photo ■ Catherine, Little creeks soon could return to original configuration Jessica Hubbell volunteers at the Blue Mountain Hu- mane Association’s Animal Rescue Center to celebrate “Love Like Jack Day,” an an- nual event organized by the friends and family of Jack Burnell, a La Grande man who was killed in 2018. By Dick Mason The Observer UNION — Portions of Catherine Creek and Little Creek on the eastern edge of Union may someday twist like they did when buffalo herds drank from their wa- ters and salmon runs in the streams were thick. Under a proposal from the Union Soil and Water Con- servation District, segments of the two creeks would be restored so they would again meander as they did before their channels were straightened many decades ago for agricultural reasons. This work would be part of the Buffalo Flats Restoration Project and involve a 1.5-mile portion of Catherine Creek and a 1.4-mile segment of Little Creek. The stream segments are on land owned by Buffalo Peak Land and Livestock, which is collabo- rating with the conservation district on the project. The owners of Buffalo Peak Land and Livestock — appro- priately named because there is confi rmed evidence that centuries ago bison roamed what is today Union — want to help restore Chinook salmon, steelhead and bull trout habitat while continu- ing to have a viable ranch- ing operation, said James Webster, conservation district manager. Chinook salmon, steelhead and bull trout are all listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. “(The owners) have been very good to work with,” Webster said He said Buffalo Peak Land and Livestock approached the conservation district about the Buffalo Flats proj- ect, and the district is devel- oping a plan. If Buffalo Peak Land and Livestock approves the plan, the district will seek funding for it from the See Creeks / Page 5A Jack Burnell Family, friends honor Burnell By Sabrina Thompson The Observer Legal Defense Fund, said in a writ- ten statement. “The EPA must act to stop the contamination and regulate factory farms like the industrial pol- luters that they are.” Lost Valley Farms went bankrupt in 2018 after owner Greg te Velde faced various criminal charges and the dairy racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in fi nes for wastewater permit violations. Three weeks ago the Oregon Department of Agriculture declared cleanup of the site complete. The petition submitted to the LA GRANDE — Caleb Hubbell remembers meeting Jack Burnell in sixth grade at Imbler Elementary School. “I was a nervous kid walking into a new school, and Jack was the fi rst one to introduce himself,” Hubbell said. “He walked up to me, introduced himself, and we began chatting.” Beginning with that conversation, Hubbell and Burnell were close friends until Burnell’s death Jan. 12, 2018. He was shot and killed by Rees Gilmore Dikeos in Newberg. Both Burnell and Dikeos were 20 at the time of the shooting. To honor his friend, Hubbell and his family created the Jack Bur- nell Project and each year celebrate “Love Like Jack Day” on the anniversary of Burnell’s death. “After Jack’s memorial I was inspired by what people said about him,” Hubbell said. “They all had stories about how much Jack liked to help people. He would meet them where they were, ask what they needed and how he could help. He was about loving everyone.” Hubbell shared how his friend struggled with addic- tion. Hubbell said while it led Burnell down some diffi cult paths, his struggles opened him up to meet different people. Hubbell said Burnell saw this as a blessing, an op- portunity to reach out. “Jack would take newly clean people under his wing, show them the love of Jesus, and make sure they knew they had a friend and a safe place to be,” Hubbell said. “He would bring people from all over Oregon back to La Grande, let them stay in his home, and help them get a job and get connected in the community.” To celebrate his friend’s legacy, Hubbell, along with See Petition / Page 5A See Burnell / Page 5A Photo by Lance Homan A fi re Thursday at the Joseph Charter School’s gymnasium damaged this balcony and weight lifting equip- ment. By Ronald Bond, The Observer JOSEPH — Northeast Oregon schools are coming together to support one of their own in the wake of Thursday’s fi re that caused signifi cant damage to the gymnasium at Joseph Charter School. able to walk on the gym fl oor and that it is warped. He said the walls also are warped and “they have an incred- ible amount of smoke damage.” What also isn’t clear is the amount of damage to gym equipment. In addition to the wrestling mats, basketballs and more will need to be replaced, Homan said. Homan said the players on the girls basketball team had their game uniforms with them. There initially was uncertainty with the boys uniforms, as Fulfer said Friday uniforms in lockers at the time of the fi re have extensive smoke damage. However, in a follow-up Saturday, Fulfer said the team’s road uniforms are OK because they were not in the lockers. The sprinklers in the gym helped fi refi ghters extin- guish the blaze. Classrooms did not get hot enough to The blaze started during the school’s lunch break Thursday, according to the Wallowa County Chieftain, and fi refi ghters got the fi re under control in about 45 min- utes. The extent of the damage is unclear at this point, according to Joseph superintendent and girls basketball coach Lance Homan. “It’s black. (The fi re) charred the ceiling. Some of the banners melted. It’s hard to tell because there’s not electricity in there right now,” Homan told The Observer Friday. “There’s ash everywhere. Wrestling mats melted. It got hot enough in there that some of the plastics and stuff melted in the gym. We have yet to really know what will be needed.” Joseph boys coach Olan Fulfer also had a chance to see the gym. “The fl oor didn’t get reached by the fi re, but it’s de- stroyed by water. The walls too,” he said, adding he was See Fire / Page 5A Eastern Oregon Activists petition EPA to step in on groundwater nitrate levels By Jade McDowell EO Media Group UMATILLA COUNTY — A coalition of activist groups, known as Stand Up to Factory Farms, fi led a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday ask- ing the agency to take emergency action to address nitrate levels in the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area. The area, which was established in 1990 in response to elevated nitrate levels in the groundwater, covers 550 square miles of northwestern Uma- tilla County and northern Morrow WEATHER INDEX Classified .......4B Comics ...........7B Crossword .....5B Dear Abby .....8B County. Among the petition’s requested actions is banning all new Concen- trated Animal Feeding Operation permits in the affected area, which would block Easterday Farms from its plans to open a dairy on the site of the former Lost Valley Farm mega- dairy outside of Boardman. “Raising and warehousing cows for milk and meat production — in extremely unnatural numbers for both the animals and the environ- ment — is contaminating drinking water in Eastern Oregon,” Cristina Stella, senior attorney at the Animal Home .............1B Horoscope .....5B Lottery............2A Obituaries ......3A WEDNESDAY Opinion ..........4A Sports ............6A Sudoku ..........7B Weather .........8B Full forecast on the back of B section Tonight Tuesday 36 LOW 42/28 Mostly cloudy Rain/snow showers WHAT IS A WHITE ALLY? CONTACT US HAVE A STORY IDEA? 541-963-3161 Call The Observer newsroom at 541-963-3161 or send an email to news@lagrandeobserver.com. More contact info on Page 4A. Issue 9 2 sections, 16 pages La Grande, Oregon Online at lagrandeobserver.com
