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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 2020)
2A — THE OBSERVER D AILY P LANNER Peak loses awning Umatilla County under emergency By Jessica Pollard EO Media Group TODAY Today is Saturday, Feb. 8, the 39th day of 2020. There are 327 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT On Feb. 8, 1924, the fi rst execution by gas in the United States took place at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City as Gee Jon, a Chinese immigrant con- victed of murder, was put to death. ON THIS DATE In 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded at Foth- eringhay Castle in England after she was implicated in a plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. In 1862, the Civil War Battle of Roanoke Island, North Carolina, ended in victory for Union forces led by Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside. In 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated. In 1922, President Warren G. Harding had a radio in- stalled in the White House. In 1952, Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed her accession to the British throne following the death of her father, King George VI. In 1968, three college students were killed in a confrontation between demonstrators and highway patrolmen at South Carolina State University in Orange- burg in the wake of protests over a whites-only bowling alley. The science-fi ction fi lm “Planet of the Apes,” starring Charlton Heston, had its world premiere in New York (it went into general release the follow- ing April.) In 1973, Senate leaders named seven members of a select committee to investi- gate the Watergate scandal, including its chairman, Sen. Sam J. Ervin, D-N.C. In 1976, Martin Scorsese’s violent urban drama “Taxi Driver,” starring Robert De Niro, was released by Co- lumbia Pictures. In 1989, 144 people were killed when an American- chartered Boeing 707 fi lled with Italian tourists slammed into a fog-covered mountain in the Azores. LOTTERY Megabucks: $3.4 million 5-18-24-34-35-41 Mega Millions: $187 million 32-48-50-51-64-10 x2 Powerball: $60 million 23-30-35-41-5-PB72 x3 Win for Life: Feb. 5 2-6-51-70 Pick 4: Feb. 6 • 1 p.m.: 6-3-6-5 • 4 p.m.: 9-2-0-5 • 7 p.m.: 6-0-1-0 • 10 p.m.: 0-4-5-1 Pick 4: Feb. 5 • 1 p.m.: 7-4-2-4 • 4 p.m.: 4-2-1-7 • 7 p.m.: 4-7-8-3 • 10 p.m.: 2-5-9-5 DELIVERY ISSUES? If you have any problems receiving your Observer, please call the offi ce at 541- 963-3161. QUOTE OF THE DAY “Like all dreamers I con- fuse disenchantment with truth.” — Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher (1905-1980) SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2020 LOCAL Staff photo by Phil Wright The awning fell Wednesday night from Peak Lifestyle Studio in downtown La Grande, taking a portion of the exterior wall with it. Observer staff LA GRANDE — The awning that protects the entrance to Peak Lifestyle Studio in downtown La Grande fell Wednesday night, taking part of the building’s facade with it. The fi rst song was playing at a power yoga class in the studio around 5:40 p.m. when the awning on the building at 1118 Adams Ave. came down. “The sound was pretty epic,” said Colleen McIntosh, owner of Peak Lifestyle Studio. “We all heard it and rushed to the front of the building to make sure no one was under it. When we saw no one was hurt, we went back to the class because there was nothing we could do.” Two trees kept the struc- ture from falling into the street or onto vehicles. McIntosh said the cause of the damage was likely due to heavy snow and rainfall put- ting too much strain on the structure. She recommended businesses with awnings clear them off as soon as possible. The studio opened in the space in September 2019. Ashley O’Toole of John Howard and Associates Real Estate manages the property, which Island City resident Mary McCracken owns. The building is within La Grande’s histori- cal building district. O’Toole and McCracken are helping McIntosh work with the city to have the wall repaired. Workers cleared the debris Thursday. McIntosh said classes will continue as normal at the studio. PENDLETON — Heavy rainfall in the Blue Moun- tains this week pushed Uma- tilla County into a state of emergency Friday morning. Umatilla County Commis- sioner John Shafer said the county joined the Confeder- ated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the city of Weston in declaring an emergency, and similar declarations were expected from Pendleton and Echo later Friday. “We’ve seen better days,” Shafer said. Interstate 84 remained closed in both directions between Hermiston and Pendleton, and to trucks between Pendleton and On- tario westbound as fl oodwa- ters headed south and road shoulders fi lled with traffi c. Other major roadways also were experiencing closures. The city of Pendleton would remain in a major fl ood stage until at least Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The Umatilla River crested at 19.8 feet Thursday night between 9-10 p.m. “This is certainly a very rare event,” said meteorolo- gist Marc Austin. Austin said those who evacuated should avoid returning to their homes until Saturday or possibly Sunday morning. N EWS B RIEFS Conference promotes diversity, equity and inclusion education LA GRANDE — Now in its ninth year, the Cel- ebrate, Educate, Appreci- ate Diversity Conference invites students, employees and community members to learn more about di- versity, equity and inclu- sion on Feb. 15 at Eastern Oregon University, La Grande. Eastern’s Offi ce of Stu- dent Diversity and Inclu- sion sponsors the annual, one-day event. Sponsorship from the university’s Cen- ter for Teaching, Learning and Assessment makes the conference free for faculty and staff this year. Bennie Moses-Mesubed leads the Offi ce of Student Diversity and Inclusion and said free, on-campus diversity training is one way the university lives out its strategy to “support intercultural competency, inclusiveness, and diver- sity.” “The CEAD Conference promotes personal growth, provides skills that enable students to communicate and interact with various people, challenges them to think outside of the box, and encourages critical thinking,” Moses-Mesubed said in a news release. “In educating students on diversity and multicultur- alism, they will also learn about inclusive language and gain skills that will enable them to be effec- tive campus leaders and advocates for creating and promoting safe spaces and a more inclusive campus community.” FAMILY OWNED The conference runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Badgley Hall. The opening keynote begins at 9 a.m. with Alex Martinez, a poet and spoken word performer with works published in multiple journals and anthologies. Martinez manages the immigration campaign for the American Civil Liberties Union in Kansas and is the direc- tor of the Kansas/Missouri Dream Alliance. The conference is free for students, staff and faculty, and costs $20 for non-EOU students and $40 for com- munity participants. Go to eou.edu/mc/programs- services/cead-conference for more details on the conference and its offerings and to register. La Grande on list of tour about state corporate activity tax SALEM — The Oregon Department of Revenue announced it will hold meetings across the state in March to provide infor- mation to business taxpay- ers and tax professionals about the administrative rules for Oregon’s new corporate activity tax. La Grande is one of the fi rst meetings on the tour. Department represen- tatives used input from stakeholders during a tour in fall 2019 in prioritiz- ing and writing the rules. March’s meetings will include a presentation and discussion of the initial L temporary rules — the last of which the department fi les March 1 with the Or- egon Secretary of State. Nia Ray, director of the state revenue depart- ment, said in the news release the meetings allow the CAT team to provide important compliance information and solicit feedback on the temporary rules to date. The tour visits 13 cit- ies, beginning March 2 in Bend, then heads to Ontar- io for the March 3 meeting and comes back west to La Grande for the meeting on March 4, 10-11:30 a.m. at Zabel Hall, Eastern Oregon University, 1 University Blvd. The tour also is going to hold meetings in The Dalles, Ashland, Portland and Lincoln City. The corporate activity tax imposes a .57% tax on gross receipts greater than $1 mil- lion after subtractions plus $250 beginning Jan 1. It is expected to generate $1 bil- lion a year to boost funding for public schools. More information about the tax is available on the department website: www. oregon.gov/DOR/Pages/ index.aspx. Those who are unable to attend meetings but want to provide input may email questions or comments to cat.help.dor@oregon.gov. After completing the in-state tour, the depart- ment plans to hold a series of conference call meetings for out-of-state taxpayers and Oregon stakeholders. Flood stages and precipi- tation In Gibbon, east of Pendle- ton, a secondary fl ood crest was anticipated in the Uma- tilla River. River forecasts from the Weather Service show water rising to 12 feet and discharge occurring at more than 10,500 cubic feet per second Friday, but should lower Saturday. Austin said the crest likely would result in continual rising waters in the North- east Riverside Avenue area Friday afternoon. Along the Touchet River, close to Milton-Freewater, a secondary major fl ood crest was occurring Friday. Water was expected to rise up to 18 feet Friday and discharge at more than 15,000 cubic feet per second, reaching histori- cal records, according to the Northwest River Forecast website. Surrounding areas The effects of the fl ood dif- fer from community to com- munity, but Umatilla Count government is sending resources to many of them. After extensive fl ooding in the Thorn Hollow area that required a residential rescue, Shafer said the county sent a two-person search and rescue crew to see if any other residents needed help. Shafer said the crew is now stranded and are awaiting rescue themselves. Shafer added the sheriff’s offi ce was summoning its marine deputies to help Wallowa County closes roads The Wallowa County Board of Commissioners declared a emergency road closure Fri- day due to excessive fl ooding on the Grande Ronde River from Troy downstream. The board voted to close public access to Redmond Grade in northern Wallowa County from the end of the pavement to the Redmond Bridge, and on Troy Road from the Washington state line to the Redmond Bridge. The closure does not apply to home and property owners in the area. The county posted the road closure order online at https://co.wallowa.or.us. The closure remains in effect will be until further no- tice, according to the order. The Oregon Department of Transportation advises against driving through fl ood waters. Anyone using those roads should use caution and be aware waters fl ooding over roadways often have suffi - cient force to move traveling vehicles and may also cover extensive washouts on the road surface. —EO Media Group people in the Rieth area west of Pendleton. Further north, Shafer said Athena only received minor fl ooding but Weston was not as lucky. Shafer said the fl ooding was extensive in Weston, although water lev- els appeared to be dropping. Photo by Andrew Cutler/ EO Media Group People evacuate the Riverview Mobile Home Estates in Pendleton on Thursday evening after the Umatilla River rose several feet, submerging the park. La GRANDE AUTO REPAIR 975-2000 www.lagrandeautorepair.com MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE Joe Horst ACDelcoTSS Next Week: Mon-Fri Blue Plate $12: Roast Pork with Mashed potatoes and gravy, and veggies Valentine’s Day Matt Cooper and Sharon Porter 7pm-9pm Reserve your table today! 541-963-8766 tendepotstreet.com PACIFIC NORTHWEST ALASKA, WASHINGTON, OREGON, IDAHO, MONTANA 5($&+PLOOLRQ3DFLÀF1RUWKZHVWHUQHUVZLWKMXVW2QH&DOO PNDC CLASSIFIED - Daily Newspapers 29 newspapers - 1,187,980 circulation Number of words: 25 z Extra word cost: $10 Cost: $540 (Runs 3 consecutive days including wkds.) PNDN 2x2 DISPLAY - Daily Newspapers 27 newspapers - 1,016,864 circulation Size: 2x2 (3.25”x2”) Cost: 1x 2x2: $1,050 More info: Cecelia@cnpa.com or call (916) 288-6011 ! lf! se ur Yo E V Take care of you. 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