2A — THE OBSERVER
D AILY
P LANNER
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2020
LOCAL
ODOT puts regional bridge plans to public
By Dick Mason
TODAY
The Observer
Today is Thursday, Feb.
13, the 44th day of 2020.
There are 322 days left in
the year.
LA GRANDE — A Wallowa
County bridge built the same year
the fi rst television drama was broad-
cast is due for replacement because
of declining ratings.
The Oregon Department of
Transportation plans to remove Bear
Creek Bridge, less than a quarter
mile west of Wallowa on Highway 82,
after building a new $15.2 million
bridge in its place, according to Ken
Patterson, ODOT’s regional district
manager.
The state transportation agency
calls for the construction of the new
bridge in the 2021-24 Statewide
Transportation Improvement Pro-
gram. The Oregon Transportation
Commission in late January released
a draft of the plan, which is ODOT’s
capital improvement program.
The bridge was built in 1930, the
same year as the broadcast of the
world’s fi rst television drama. The
condition of the Bear Creek span is
declining.
The new bridge will use improved
technology and materials, so it will
have fewer support columns in the
stream below, Patterson said, mak-
ing it easier for maintenance crews
to keep debris from building up
underneath. The new bridge also will
be wider and go up next to the old
one, allowing traffi c to cross during
construction. The project is set to
start in 2021.
ODOT’s program also calls for
work to improve the safety of the
steep Morgan Lake Road just
southwest of La Grande. The work
would widen portions of the unpaved
roadway and install additional
guardrails, Patterson said.
The department will determine
where to make the improvements
using crash data. The project would
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On Feb. 13, 1945, during
World War II, Allied planes
began bombing the German
city of Dresden. The Soviets
captured Budapest, Hun-
gary, from the Germans.
ON THIS DATE
In 1633, Italian astronomer
Galileo Galilei arrived in
Rome for trial before the In-
quisition, accused of defend-
ing Copernican theory that
the Earth revolved around
the sun instead of the other
way around. (Galileo was
found vehemently suspect
of heresy and ended up
being sentenced to a form of
house arrest.)
In 1861, Abraham Lincoln
was offi cially declared win-
ner of the 1860 presidential
election as electors cast their
ballots.
In 1935, a jury in Flem-
ington, New Jersey, found
Bruno Richard Hauptmann
guilty of fi rst-degree murder
in the kidnap-slaying of
Charles A. Lindbergh Jr.,
the 20-month-old son of
Charles and Anne Lind-
bergh. (Hauptmann was
later executed.)
In 1965, during the Viet-
nam War, President Lyndon
B. Johnson authorized
Operation Rolling Thunder,
an extended bombing
campaign against the North
Vietnamese.
In 1974, Nobel Prize-win-
ning Russian author Alexan-
der Solzhenitsyn was expelled
from the Soviet Union.
In 1984, Konstantin
Chernenko was chosen
to be general secretary
of the Soviet Communist
Party’s Central Committee,
succeeding the late Yuri
Andropov.
In 1991, during Operation
Desert Storm, allied war-
planes destroyed an under-
ground shelter in Baghdad
that had been identifi ed as
a military command center;
Iraqi offi cials said 500 civil-
ians were killed.
In 1998, Dr. David Satcher
was sworn in as the 16th
Surgeon General of the
United States during an Oval
Offi ce ceremony.
In 2000, Tiger Woods saw
his streak of six consecutive
victories come to an end as
he fell short to Phil Mickel-
son in the Buick Invitational.
CORRECTION
The page 6A story “Eagles
slip by Elgin in key OOL
battle” in the Feb. 11 edition
misstated Elgin’s top scor-
ers in the contest. Kaden
McClure scored 12 points,
Tristan Simpson had 11 and
Gage McKay had 10.
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DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer,
please call the offi ce at 541-
963-3161.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“An explanation of cause is
not a justifi cation by reason.”
— C.S. Lewis, English
author (1898-1963)
Staff photo by Dick Mason
Two vehicles pass Tuesday on the narrow Morgan Lake Road near La Grande. The Oregon Department of
Transportation’s proposal of improvement projects for 2021-24 includes widening portions of the road and
installing more guardrails.
cost about $1.28 million and begin
in 2023.
ODOT’s proposal also calls for
replacing the decking of the two
bridges at the North Powder inter-
change. The last replacement of the
decking was about 20 years ago.
“They are pitted and rutted,’’
Patterson said.
Another project in Union County
would install better piping in cul-
verts along Interstate 84 from Hil-
gard Junction State Park to Ontario.
The enhanced piping would help
keep water from running over the
top of the freeway, Patterson said.
The public can visit www.oregon.
gov/ODOT to review the draft of
the statewide plan and submit
comments. The deadline for public
comments is April 6.
An online open house on the STIP
work will start later this month and
last about two weeks. A video on the
program will be available at a website
during the open house along with ex-
tensive written information. Website
visitors will be able to make com-
ments on the proposal at the online
open house. Information on accessing
the online open house is coming soon.
Individuals also have an oppor-
tunity to make comments in person
at a traditional open house March
10 in John Day. It will start at 10:30
a.m. at the Oregon Department of
Forestry conference room at 415 Pat-
terson Bridge Road.
The State Transportation Com-
mission will later vote on approval of
a fi nal plan for 2021-24. The federal
government then must give its OK
to the program. That should come by
September.
Patterson said ODOT welcomes
public comments and gives them
serious consideration. He said the
department is not only interested
in receiving input on the plan but
wants to hear from people who have
recommendations regarding future
projects they want the agency to
pursue. He said the transportation
department has taken on projects
in the past after the public made
recommendations.
“We want to be a responsive
agency,” he said. “We want to meet
the needs of everyone because we
live and work here.”
What’s still moving, what’s spiked in Legislature
By Jake Thomas
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — The fi rst major
deadline of this year’s legis-
lative session hit the Capitol
on Friday.
Legislation with no date
by the deadline for a commit-
tee vote were headed for the
political dustbin.
These proposals may not
have made headlines, but
they could have affected
Oregonians nonetheless.
Sometimes lawmakers
introduce legislation that
is unlikely to pass just to
get the matter attention
or to win the startup of a
policy workgroup with the
aim of it passing in a future
session.
Although the fi rst dead-
line means most bills won’t
advance, there is a chance
for them to be revived. The
deadlines don’t apply to the
Joint Committee on Ways
and Means, as well as other
committees that deal with
rules or fi nance. So bills sent
to those committees might
have more time.
For the moment, here’s
a sampling of what seems
dead and what’s still moving
forward:
•The issue: It’s illegal to
carry a fi rearm into a public
building. But a court case
made an exception for people
who have a concealed carry
license.
What it does: Allows local
governments to ban people
with concealed carry permits
from bringing guns into
public buildings.
Bill number: Senate Bill
1538
Status: Still moving. The
Senate Judiciary Commit-
tee sent the bill to the Rules
Committee.
•The issue: Firearms
left unlocked by their own-
ers have been blamed for
suicides and as well as other
shootings.
What it does: Requires
gun owners to lock up their
fi rearms when not in use
or face penalties as well as
liability if their guns fall in
the wrong hands.
Bill number: House Bill
4005
Status: Still moving. The
House Judiciary Committee
held a work session on the
bill.
•The issue: Oregon cur-
rently has no effective limits
on the amount of money that
can be donated to political
campaigns. A court case and
a constitutional amendment
that will go before voters
could allow limits.
What it does: Would estab-
lish a task force to propose
campaign fi nance regula-
tions.
Bill number: House Bill
4124
Status: Still moving. The
House Rules Committee has
scheduled a work session.
•The issue: Contests to
kill coyotes drawn criti-
cism that such events are
inhumane.
What it does: Makes it
illegal to hold coyote-killing
competitions.
Bill number: House Bill
4075
Status: Still moving. The
House Natural Resources
Committee has scheduled a
work session.
•The issue: Vaping
devices that deliver fl avored
nicotine have been criticized
for being used by tobacco
companies to hook kids.
What it does: Bans stores
from selling fl avored vaping
products.
L
Bill number: Senate Bill
1559
Status: Spiked. Stuck in
Senate Health Committee.
•The issue: Oregon has
experienced increasingly
destructive wildfi res.
What it does: Attempts
to address wildfi res with
updates to Oregon’s build-
ing codes, land-use plan-
ning, mapping of high-risk
areas, treatment of forest
debris, mitigation of smoke
on public health and forest
protection.
Bill number: Senate Bill
1536
Status: Still moving. The
Senate Committee On Wild-
fi re Reduction and Recovery
held a hearing on the bill.
•The issue: Despite an
Oregon law that limits law
enforcement’s cooperation
with federal immigration
authorities, a facility in
The Dalles holds contracts
to detain people suspected
to be in the country il-
legally.
What it does: Prevents the
Northern Oregon Regional
Correctional Facility, a state-
run detention complex, from
contracting with the U.S.
Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement.
Bill number: House BIll
4121
Status: Spiked. Died in
House Judiciary Committee.
last legislative session came
to a halt after Senate Re-
publicans staged a walkout,
depriving the chamber of
the number of senators to
conduct business.
What it does: Changes the
number of legislators that
need to be present in the
House and Senate respec-
tively in order to take votes
and conduct business.
Bill number: Senate Joint
Resolution 201
Status: Still moving.
Referred to Senate Rules
Committee.
•The issue: Record
amounts of money have
poured into elections as a re-
sult of a U.S. Supreme Court
decision.
What it does: Seeks to
start a process to amend the
U.S. Constitution intended to
reform how political cam-
paigns are funded.
Bill number: Senate Joint
Memorial 201.
Status: Still moving.
Referred to Senate Rules
Committee.
•The issue: Because of
a quorum requirement, the
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