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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2020)
2A — THE OBSERVER D AILY P LANNER SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2020 LOCAL Air Quality Rory Becker at EOU Colloquium Eastern Oregon Univer- sity associate professor of anthropology Rory Becker discusses the technique his team of researchers devel- oped to measure electrical resistance in sediment to help answer two key ques- tions at archeological dig sites: Where to dig and how deep? Becker presented the research Thursday at the campus in La Grande. He and the team used the electri- cal resistance tomography to map cave dig sites in Croa- tia. Becker told the crowd the work proved promising enough to receive funding for four more years. TODAY Today is Saturday, Feb. 15, the 46th day of 2020. There are 320 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT On Feb. 15, 2018, the last of the bodies of the 17 victims of a school shooting in Florida were removed from the building after authorities analyzed the crime scene; 13 wounded survivors were still hospitalized. In response to the Florida school shooting, President Donald Trump, in an address to the nation, promised to “tackle the dif- fi cult issue of mental health,” but avoided any mention of guns. Nikolas Cruz, the suspect in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, was ordered held without bond at a brief court hearing. ON THIS DATE In 1933, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escaped an assassina- tion attempt in Miami that mortally wounded Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak; gunman Giuseppe Zangara was executed more than four weeks later. In 1961, 73 people, including an 18-member U.S. fi gure skating team en route to the World Champi- onships in Czechoslovakia, were killed in the crash of a Sabena Airlines Boeing 707 in Belgium. In 1989, the Soviet Union announced that the last of its troops had left Afghanistan, after more than nine years of military intervention. In 2004, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Daytona 500 on the same track where his father was killed three years earlier. In 2005, defrocked priest Paul Shanley was sentenced in Boston to 12 to 15 years in prison on child rape charges. Staff photo by Phil Wright Union School District Bend firm lands design bid ■ BLRB Architects will design Union School District’s $8M renovation project By Dick Mason The Observer UNION — The Union School District is another step closer to starting major bond-funded renovation work this summer. The school board Wednes- day night named BLRB Architects of Bend as the fi rm to design the district’s $8 million renovations. Funding comes from the $4 million bond voters ap- proved in November plus a $4 million matching grant the district received from the state. “We feel it would best meet the needs of the com- munity and the district,” superintendent Carter Wells said of BLRB, which has offi ces in Portland, Tacoma and Spokane. BLRB was one of two fi rms that put in bids for the project. A committee composed of Union teachers, staff, school board members and an administrator plus community members inter- viewed the two fi rms earlier this week. The architects during the interviews had to come up with plans for making the foyer of Union High School’s Observer fi le photo Bond funds will pay for major renovation work on Union High School’s gym. The Union School Board named BLRB Architects of Bend as the fi rm to design the district’s $8 million project to improve school buildings. gym more accessible. This is one element the $8 mil- lion worth of projects will address. BLRB’s work on the foyer design was a factor in it winning the con- tract for the Union project. Other projects the renova- tion work will cover include: • Safety improvements at all schools, including secure entries and key card systems for better access control • Energy effi ciency improvements at all schools, including upgrading the heating and ventilation systems • Improvements to the district gymnasium and athletic complex Wells said he hopes the schedule for all the projects will be devised this spring. The majority of the work will be done over the next two summers, he said, but some could occur when school is in session as long as it is safe for students. “This would speed up the process,” Wells said. The school board’s next step in the renovation project is to fi nd a general contractor. The district’s oversight committee will begin screening applicants at the end of the month and interview fi nalists in early March. Elgin LOTTERY Megabucks: $4.0 million 1-3-9-27-33-35 Mega Millions: $40 million 4-6-32-52-64-6-x2 Powerball: $40 million 14-47-54-55-68-PB-25-x2 Win for Life: Feb. 12 20-22-40-43 Pick 4: Feb. 13 • 1 p.m.: 1-1-7-0 • 4 p.m.: 4-3-6-3 • 7 p.m.: 9-4-2-4 • 10 p.m.: 5-3-1-1 Pick 4: Feb. 12 • 1 p.m.: 4-0-4-7 • 4 p.m.: 8-0-5-9 • 7 p.m.: 3-8-5-5 • 10 p.m.: 4-0-7-5 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) Town rallies to help flood victims By Sabrina Thompson The Observer ELGIN — Despite deal- ing with fl ooding in their own backyards after severe weather last week, Elgin residents have come together to help the fl ood relief efforts in Pendleton. Locals as of Friday morn- ing gave enough items to fi ll about a third of a 30-foot trailer outside Cowboy and Angel’s restaurant. “Elgin is full of good people who just want to help each other out,” donation or- ganizer Dave Fuhrman said. Fuhrman started collect- ing items Tuesday and the local Lions Club provided the trailer. Donations include clothing, bedding, furniture, food, cleaning supplies and pet supplies. Fuhrman on Facebook FAMILY OWNED stated there remains a need for coffeepots, toasters, ev- eryday household items and baby formula. Donations can be dropped off outside the restaurant at 795 Alder St., between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. until Sunday, when the trailer will be taken to Pendleton. Fuhrman has collected $100 in person to purchase additional items. There also is the “Umatilla County Disaster Relief Fund” on the fundraising website gofundme.com. As of Friday morning, the fund has received $2,060 toward its $5,000 goal. L Photo contributed by Dave Fuhrman As of Friday morning, this 30-foot trailer is about one- third full of donations of items to be donated to fl ood relief efforts in Pendleton and Umatilla County. Take a deep breath, La Grande ■ Air quality generally good, state report finds By Phil Wright The Observer LA GRANDE — La Grande’s air quality was gen- erally better than air quality in Portland and The Dalles, ac- cording to a report the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality released Thursday. The department an- nounced the release of its “2018 Oregon Air Toxics Monitoring Summary” for six locations around the state — The Dalles, La Grande and four sites in the Portland- metro area. The goal was to determine concentrations in certain communities, includ- ing urban and rural areas, and compare the results. DEQ selected fi ve represen- tative air toxics – benzene, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, arsenic and cadmium – to track over time. “With the exception of acetaldehyde and formalde- hyde,” the report stated, “the La Grande site experienced some of the lowest levels of air toxics among all six of the monitoring locations.” The levels of acetaldehyde and formaldehyde in La Grande were higher than all four of the Portland-metro area sites, as well as the national urban average, but lower than levels found at The Dalles. “While most sources of air toxics are human-caused, smoke from wildfi res can increase the levels of some air toxics and contribute to the overall average concen- trations throughout the year,” the report stated. Sampling schedules at each site generally consisted of one 24-hour sample every six days for a minimum of one year of a total of 109 analytes, includ- ing PM10 metals — that is, inhalable coarse particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromat- ic hydrocarbons and carbonyl compounds. Results showed that 36 of the air toxics tested for were below the detection limit in at least 90% of the samples across all sites. Six air toxics — arsenic, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, naphthalene, acetaldehyde and formal- dehyde — were found at levels above their ambient benchmarks at all monitor- ing locations, demonstrating these pollutants are present at levels of concern in both urban and rural areas. DEQ will use the informa- tion to track pollution and determine ways to reduce air toxics in Oregon. Data showed that no air toxics were found at levels that would pose an immediate health risk. ! lf! se ur Yo E V Take care of you. Make sure you’re on target: Retirement Financial goals Aging concerns d Limite 0: e c a p S fi rst 2 to the REE F Women and Wealth Call to reserve yo ur spot! Ackerman Hall #208 Alumni Room, EOU campus Saturday, February 15th @ 10am Tuesday, February 18th @ 6pm Questions? 541-963-7433 www.walkerwellsfinancialadvisor.com 215 Elm Street La Grande (541) 963-5440 northwestfurnitureandmattress.com Securities and Advisory Services offered through Client One Securities, LLC Member FINRA/SIPC and an Investment Advisor. Walker-Wells Financial Representative and Client One Securities, LLC are not affiliated. OR license #6224564
