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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2020)
2A — THE OBSERVER D AILY P LANNER TODAY Today is Thursday, Feb. 20, the 51st day of 2020. There are 315 days left in the year. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020 LOCAL Public Safety Trooper’s career nears finish line ■ Oregon State Police Sgt. Kyle Hove to retire at end of March TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT By Dick Mason On Feb. 20, 1962, astro- naut John Glenn became the fi rst American to orbit the Earth as he fl ew aboard Project Mercury’s Friendship 7 spacecraft, which circled the globe three times in a fl ight lasting 4 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds before splashing down safely in the Atlantic Ocean 800 miles southeast of Bermuda. The Observer ON THIS DATE In 1792, President George Washington signed an act creating the United States Post Offi ce Department. In 1809, the Supreme Court ruled that no state legislature could annul the judgments or determine the jurisdictions of federal courts. In 1862, William Wallace Lincoln, the 11-year-old son of President Abraham Lincoln and fi rst lady Mary Todd Lincoln, died at the White House, apparently of typhoid fever. In 1942, Lt. Edward “Butch” O’Hare became the U.S. Navy’s fi rst fl ying ace of World War II by shooting down fi ve Japanese bomb- ers while defending the aircraft carrier USS Lexing- ton in the South Pacifi c. In 1965, America’s Ranger 8 spacecraft crashed on the moon, as planned, after sending back thousands of pictures of the lunar surface. In 1971, the National Emergency Warning Center in Colorado erroneously ordered U.S. radio and TV stations off the air; some stations heeded the alert, which was not lifted for about 40 minutes. In 1987, a bomb left by Unabomber Ted Kaczynski exploded behind a com- puter store in Salt Lake City, seriously injuring store owner Gary Wright. In 2003, a fi re sparked by pyrotechnics broke out dur- ing a concert by the group Great White at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, killing 100 people. In 2007, in a victory for President George W. Bush, a divided federal appeals court ruled that Guantana- mo Bay detainees could not use the U.S. court system to challenge their indefi nite imprisonment. LOTTERY Megabucks: $4.4 million 21-25-26-29-41-48 Mega Millions: $50 million 6-12-39-61-70-4 x3 Powerball: $50 million 16-32-35-36-46-3 x3 Win for Life: Feb. 17 17-36-70-76 Pick 4: Feb. 18 • 1 p.m.: 6-7-9-0 • 4 p.m.: 4-4-1-8 • 7 p.m.: 2-5-8-7 • 10 p.m.: 3-4-4-8 Pick 4: Feb. 17 • 1 p.m.: 9-5-5-4 • 4 p.m.: 8-0-0-8 • 7 p.m.: 4-0-5-1 • 10 p.m.: 5-2-7-1 COVE — Oregon State Police Sgt. Kyle Hove knew early in his career that anything could happen while he was on patrol. One night it did. Hove was on patrol with another trooper in Wallowa County about two decades ago when they received a call about gun shots in an area north of Wallowa. The two troopers were rushing to the address when they saw an unrecognizable object in the middle of its long driveway, one which piqued their curiosity but did not immediately alarm them. “We almost drove past it,” Hove said. Stopping to take a closer look, the troopers were stunned to discover it was a man in his early 20s wrapped in duct tape almost like a mummy. The individual was unharmed, but Hove and his partner soon learned the man was the one responsible for the disturbance they were responding to. He had been involved in raucous behavior that had so angered the people he was with, some who were relatives, they wrapped him in duct tape and put him in the roadway. The police later arrested him. “That was one of the stranger things that has hap- pened,” Hove said of his career. Such moments stand out from less bizarre but nevertheless fulfi lling experiences in a line of work rapidly nearing its end. Hove is set to retire at the end of March after 20 years with the Oregon State Police. The agency based Hove in Wallowa County his fi rst two years and in Union County the next 18. “It has been a great career. I have been so blessed to have had the opportunity to work with so many wonderful people. I would not do anything any differ- ently,” Hove said. Hove started in law enforcement 30 years ago when he joined the U.S. Army and served for about 10 years as a member of its Military Police. His responsibilities included checking areas for explosive devices, including sites where U.S. presidents were set to visit. Much of his work was done with bomb- sniffi ng dogs. He worked with a total of three bomb-sniffi ng Staff photo by Dick Mason Oregon State Police Sgt. Kyle Hove is about to end his days patrolling the local stretches of Interstate 84 and other roads. He plans to retire in March after 20 years with the state police. dogs and cared for each. He said one of his favorite duties was brushing his dog each day, something the canines loved. “That was a bonding experience,” Hove said. He said his stint of military service was arduous but forged meaningful personal ties. “I couldn’t wait to get out, but once I did I really missed it. I missed the camaraderie, the sense of family,” Hove said. He joined the Oregon State Police about six months after leaving the military after attending a job fair in Fort Lewis, Washington, where OSP had a booth. A lot has changed at the agency since Hove joined, especially in terms of technology. “At fi rst all we had (in patrol cars) were radios,” Hove said. Today, all patrol cars have speed detection equip- ment, computers and camera systems. “It is a mobile offi ce,” Hove said. “It has made us more effi cient.” All local OSP troopers and offi cers spend much of their time patrolling Interstate 84 looking for speeding drivers and aiding motorists who have been in crashes or are stranded due to mechanical breakdowns. Hove said in recent years the number of crashes in the winter on I-84 has declined signifi - cantly. He credited the drop to the Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation’s use of salt to reduce the formation of ice. “ODOT is doing a terrifi c job,” Hove said. Whether on Interstate 84 or other roadways in the region, Hove said the life of a trooper on patrol is re- warding because of the opportunity to assist others. “You are fi nding people in crisis,” Hove said. Still, the challenges of the job leave troopers tightly wound. “You are hyper vigilant, you are always aware of your surroundings,” he said. Dramatic shifts in emotional tenor also can add to the strain. “There is a lot of boredom and extreme chaos,” Hove said. Life will be on a more even keel for Hove after he retires but will remain fast-paced. He plans to spend much of his time helping his wife, Angela, run a growing business at their home in Cove. The busi- ness, Hove Industries, sells an array of test kits for hydrology and other fi elds. Hove said he feels good about the direction OSP is moving locally because of the leadership Lt. Daniel Conner provides out of the La Grande offi ce and the quality of the young troopers the agency has hired in recent years. He said they are bright, have outstanding work ethics and care deeply about their community. The OSP sergeant mentored a number of troopers, including Robert Routt, now a senior trooper. He said his career got off to a good start because of the wealth of knowledge Hove shared and his patience. “I could not have had a better coach,” Routt said. Public Money County holds off funding film festival By Dick Mason The Observer LA GRANDE — The East- ern Oregon Film Festival likely will not receive fund- ing from the Union County Board of Commissioners this fi scal year. The board of commission- ers voted 3-0 against a mo- tion Wednesday to provide $6,000 to the fi lm festival in the fi scal year that runs until June 30. The EOFF received $3,500 from the county in 2018-19. Film festival organizers asked the county to provide $7,800 this year. The board in December considered providing the annual event with $6,000 in 2019-20. The board delayed voting on that motion until Wednesday because commissioners wanted to discuss the proposal at a Feb. 12 work session. Commissioner Matt Scarfo said the festival would have spent the $6,000 on opera- tional expenses, including staff. The money would have come from the county’s motel tax fund. Commis- sioner Donna Beverage said county policy prohibits it from spending money from this fund for the operation of once-a-year events. The $3,500 the East- ern Oregon Film Festival received earlier from Union County was for advertising, Beverage said. Scarfo said he is a sup- porter of the fi lm festival and he would like to see it seek other sources for money, including the Union County Chamber of Commerce. Chris Jennings, director of the Eastern Oregon Film Festival, wrote in an email he was disappointed in the board’s vote. “EOFF is disheartened by the actions of the commis- sioners,” Jennings said. He said the festival will be diligent in creating partner- ships “to support the growth of our nationally acclaimed fi lm festival.” The 2020 Eastern Oregon Film Festival runs Oct. 22-24 in La Grande. FAMILY OWNED Coming Soon T H E N E X T S TO P O N O U R A DV E N T U R E I S I S L A N D C I T Y Who are we? 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