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.
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DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer,
please call the offi ce at 541-
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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.
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