2A — THE OBSERVER
D AILY
P LANNER
TODAY
Today is Friday, Jan. 31,
the 31st day of 2020. There
are 335 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On Jan. 31, 1958, the
United States entered the
Space Age with its fi rst
successful launch of a satel-
lite, Explorer 1, from Cape
Canaveral.
ON THIS DATE
In 1863, during the Civil
War, the First South Caro-
lina Volunteers, an all-black
Union regiment composed
of many escaped slaves,
was mustered into federal
service at Beaufort, South
Carolina.
In 1865, Gen. Robert E.
Lee was named general-
in-chief of the Confederate
States Army by President
Jefferson Davis.
In 1917, during World War
I, Germany served notice
that it was beginning a
policy of unrestricted sub-
marine warfare.
In 1929, revolutionary
Leon Trotsky and his fam-
ily were expelled from the
Soviet Union.
In 1945, Pvt. Eddie Slovik,
24, became the fi rst U.S.
soldier since the Civil War to
be executed for desertion as
he was shot by an American
fi ring squad in France.
In 1950, President Harry
S. Truman announced he
had ordered development
of the hydrogen bomb.
In 1971, astronauts Alan
Shepard, Edgar Mitchell
and Stuart Roosa blasted off
aboard Apollo 14 on a mis-
sion to the moon.
In 2000, an Alaska Air-
lines MD-83 jet crashed into
the Pacifi c Ocean off Port
Hueneme, California, killing
all 88 people aboard.
In 2001, a Scottish court
sitting in the Netherlands
convicted one Libyan,
acquitted a second, in the
1988 bombing of Pan Am
Flight 103 over Lockerbie,
Scotland.
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Win for Life: Jan. 29
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• 7 p.m.: 3-6-2-8
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Pick 4: Jan. 29
• 1 p.m.: 1-6-4-3
• 4 p.m.: 4-3-9-5
• 7 p.m.: 6-4-6-3
• 10 p.m.: 2-9-7-2
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your paper please call 541-963-
3161.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Happiness is not having
what you want, but wanting
what you have.”
— Rabbi Hyman Judah
Schachtel, American
theologian, author
and educator
FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2020
LOCAL
Coronavirus
N EWS B RIEFS
Health officials tracking virus outbreak
AG Rosenblum
launches ‘Do Not
Click’ campaign
Observer staff
LA GRANDE — Union
County health offi cials
reported they are closely
monitoring developments
related to the 2019 novel
coronavirus.
The virus is a new respira-
tory virus fi rst identifi ed in
Wuhan, China. According to
the news release from the
Center for Human Develop-
ment Inc., Union County
Public Health Department
and others, local health offi -
cials are taking the new virus
seriously but consider the
risk of getting the coronavi-
rus in Oregon remains low.
“Because this is a new
(novel) coronavirus that has
not been previously identi-
fi ed, we are learning more
about it every day,” according
to the news release, “and it
is diffi cult to predict exactly
how widespread it will be-
More information
For more information about public health, visit the
center’s website: www.chdinc.org.
For more information about the coronavirus, visit the
CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
index.html.
The CDC also has more information about travel: www.cdc.
gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/china#travel-notices.
come. It is not clear yet how
easily 2019-nCoV spreads
from person-to-person.”
Some viruses are highly
contagious, such as measles,
while other viruses are less
so. However, as with any
virus, there are steps you can
take to protect yourself and
prevent the spread:
•Wash your hands often
with soap and water for at
least 20 seconds or use an
alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
•Avoid touching your
eyes, nose and mouth with
unwashed hands.
•Avoid close contact with
people who are sick.
•Stay home when you are
sick.
•Cover your cough or
sneeze with a tissue, then
throw the tissue in the trash.
•Clean and disinfect fre-
quently touched objects and
surfaces.
Influenza is much more
widespread in the United
States and has caused more
deaths than coronavirus. The
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention estimated
during the 2018-19 season 35.5
million people became sick with
influenza, 16.5 million people
went to a health care provider
for their illness, 490,600 were
hospitalized and 34,200 people
died from influenza.
“There is a vaccine for
infl uenza, and it is not too
late to get it,” the news
release stated. Contact your
health care provider or the
Center for Human Devel-
opment at 541-962-8800
to schedule your vaccine
appointment.
The news release also
advised avoiding nonessen-
tial travel to Wuhan. If you
traveled there or been in close
contact with someone who
has and have fl u-like symp-
toms (fever, cough, shortness
of breath and sore throat),
contact your health care
provider for guidance on how
to get help. And be sure to call
before arriving.
La Grande City Council
Housing among issues at council retreat
By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Housing and home-
lessness are top issues for the city of La
Grande, but the city lacks the money to
provide an answer.
La Grande city councilors, the mayor,
city manager and department directors
spent two days in public meetings dis-
cussing their plans for the coming year
and wrapped up the annual retreat
Tuesday night.
“We talk about things
in the community,” Mayor
Steve Clements said.
“Things that are impor-
tant and things that need
attention and effort on the
Clements city’s part.”
Clements said the city
will complete some of the projects in the
short term, some will take longer and
some are a continuation of issues the
city has been addressing over several
years.
The topics came from the city council.
Each councilor submitted fi ve projects or
ideas based on the city’s vision state-
ment and goals. The fi rst day of the
retreat focused on general city projects
and concerns such as housing and com-
munication. According to the retreat’s
agenda, the city will begin work on the
Comprehensive Housing Strategic Plan,
Deputy
running
for sheriff
Observer staff
LA GRANDE — Cody
Bowen is looking to replace his
boss as sheriff of Union County.
Bowen announced his
candidacy for sheriff Wednes-
day, stating his visions and
goals for the offi ce “are to
foster and build community
partnerships, work together
to be more effective” with
other Union County profes-
sionals in law enforcement,
emergency services, fi re and
human services to benefi t the
entire community.
“We need a sheriff’s office
that is strengthened through
better relationships with
community input and interac-
tion,” Bowen said. “I believe
open communication with the
residents of Union County is
the most important way for a
sheriff to address important is-
sues that affect our community.
I will also use my experience
to place more emphasis on the
youth within Union County so
that our community has the
brightest future.”
He said he wants to work
toward taking preventative
measures in schools to reach
youth.
“I want to get into why
people are going into the
system and work to prevent
it from happening from the
start,” Bowen said. “We want
to keep people from going in
a fi ve-year outline that must be adopted
by 2023 to comply with House Bill 2003.
The housing plan also will address the
issue of homelessness in La Grande.
Clements during the December 2019
hearing on whether to allow the Union
County Warming Station to open said
he wanted the city to take a more active
role in addressing homelessness. But
after the council’s retreat, Clements
said the city lacks money and resources
to pursue a solution.
“However, my personal goal, and
what I encouraged other councilors
to focus on at this time, is to pursue
knowledge and continue to learn about
what homelessness means,” the mayor
said. “Homelessness is a huge concept
I am still learning about. No amount
of money from any level of government
can solve the problem.”
The council also discussed using text
messages to community to the public.
“Do people want information pushed
to them, or do they want to pull in-
formation for themselves?” Clements
asked. “I think it is a combination of
both, and we are looking into the option
of text messages and updating the
website to spread information.”
Other topics included the city’s
services and programs, infrastructure
improvements, the budget, staffi ng and
partnerships.
The La Grande City Council also sits
as the Urban Renewal Agency, and the
second day of the retreat focused on
economic development.
The council plans to continue its
call for urban renewal projects, which
provides funding to existing and
potential businesses that further
the development goals. One proposal
called for an agency-initiated funding
program in which the council selects
a downtown property for improve-
ment and offers $100,000 toward the
project. The council also discussed
allowing residents to serve on the
Urban Renewal Agency.
Councilors did not vote on any pro-
posals during the retreat but will decide
the priorities at a public meeting in
February or March.
“Everything that was discussed
could go to council meetings or we have
another work session about it,” Clements
said. “Having a planning session like this
allows us to spend time learning about
things that might come up at council
meetings and the opportunity to talk
fully about a topic in a public meeting.”
While both days of the retreat took
place in council chambers and were
open to the public, the city did not
allow public comment in order to give
councilors the chance to fully discuss
issues.
and out of custody.”
Bowen said he was born
and raised in Union County,
attended school in La Grande
and Cove and has lived in La
Grande, Cove and Union. He
worked for Les Schwab Tire
Center, La Grande, for 15 years,
10 of which he was a supervisor.
He also was a reserve deputy
with the sheriff’s office for ap-
proximately two years during
that time, and in 2011 he took a
job as a full-time deputy.
“I discovered a passion for
providing the people of Union
County professional law
enforcement service when citi-
zens needed it most,” he said.
Bowen has served as an
instructor in the Drug Abuse
Resistance Education pro-
La GRANDE
AUTO REPAIR
Mon-Fri Blue Plate $12
975-2000
gram, as a patrol deputy and
for the last fi ve years as the
school resource deputy.
Sheriff Boyd Rasmussen is
seeking a fi fth term. Bowen’s
candidacy expands the fi eld
of challengers to three. Bill
Miller of Elgin and Shane
Rollins of Cove also are run-
ning for sheriff. Miller left the
Union County Sheriff’s Offi ce
Joe Horst
ACDelcoTSS
L
in August 2018 for a job in
parole and probation. Rollins
has a background in military
policing and private security.
Bowen said he has enjoyed
working with Rasmussen. He
has not had the chance to meet
Rollins but worked directly
under Miller for a time.
The deadline to fi le as a
candidate is March 10.
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MOST
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SALEM — Oregon
Attorney General Ellen
Rosenblum released a
‘Do Not Click’ campaign
about staying safe online.
The announcement came
Tuesday, in commemora-
tion of Data Privacy Day.
Rosenblum wants to alert
people to the dangers of
clicking on links that appear
to be legitimate but are not.
Scammers may pretend
to be an offi cial organiza-
tion, bank, business or a
familiar person to obtain
sensitive or confi dential
information through a text
message or an email. These
“phishing” scams usually
target a bank account num-
ber, credit card number,
password or user names.
“Our consumer hotline
receives thousands of calls
each month, and sadly,
many of the Oregonians we
hear from have fallen victim
to a scam that started with
an innocent-seeming link,”
Rosenblum stated in the
news release. “These scams
often look so official, it can be
hard to tell if it is really your
bank, or a company you do
business with trying to con-
tact you. Once a person has
handed over their confiden-
tial information — which
can be as simple as clicking
on a link — it can be hard to
get it back. We must all be
vigilant, as scammers are
getting more sophisticated
and tech-savvy.”
Every year, thousands of
Oregonians fall victim to cy-
ber-criminals who disguise
themselves as legitimate
entities, such as Apple. To
help keep Oregonians safe,
the Oregon Department
of Justice will distribute
hundreds of the Do Not
Click fl yers to libraries,
churches, retirement com-
munities and state agencies
throughout Oregon. The
fl yer includes fi ve tips on
how to protect your privacy,
safeguard data, and when
not to click on a link or open
an attachment.
If you have information
about or have fallen victim
to a scam, please contact
the Oregon Attorney Gen-
eral’s Consumer Hotline
at 1-877-877-9392.
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