2A — THE OBSERVER
D AILY
P LANNER
TODAY
Today is Thursday, March
12, the 72nd day of 2020.
There are 294 days left in
the year.
THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2020
STATE
Coronavirus
Grant County puts
deputy in charge of
coronavirus task force
■ County’s emergency management coordinator
resigns over concerns about process
By Steven Mitchell
EO Media Group
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On March 12, 2003, Eliza-
beth Smart, the 15-year-old
girl who vanished from her
bedroom nine months ear-
lier, was found alive in a Salt
Lake City suburb with two
drifters, Brian David Mitchell
and Wanda Barzee. (Mitchell
is serving a life sentence;
Barzee was released from
prison in September 2018.)
ON THIS DATE
In 1864, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S.
Grant assumed command as
General-in-Chief of the Union
armies in the Civil War.
In 1912, the Girl Scouts
of the USA had its begin-
nings as Juliette Gordon
Low of Savannah, Georgia,
founded the fi rst American
troop of the Girl Guides.
In 1913, Canberra was of-
fi cially designated the future
capital of Australia.
In 1925, Chinese revolu-
tionary leader Sun Yat-sen
died in Beijing.
In 1933, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt delivered the
fi rst of his 30 radio ad-
dresses that came to be
known as “fi reside chats,”
telling Americans what was
being done to deal with the
nation’s economic crisis.
In 1947, President Harry
S. Truman announced what
became known as the
“Truman Doctrine” to help
Greece and Turkey resist
Communism.
In 1955, legendary jazz mu-
sician Charlie “Bird” Parker
died in New York at age 34.
In 1980, a Chicago jury
found John Wayne Gacy Jr.
guilty of the murders of 33
men and boys. (The next
day, Gacy was sentenced to
death; he was executed in
May 1994.)
In 1987, the musical play
“Les Miserables” opened
on Broadway.
In 1993, Janet Reno was
sworn in as the fi rst female
U.S. attorney general. A
three-day blizzard that came
to be known as “The Storm
of the Century” began inun-
dating the eastern third of
the U.S. A series of bomb-
ings in Mumbai, India, killed
257 people (the explosions
were allegedly mastermind-
ed by India’s most wanted
man, Dawood Ibrahim).
In 1994, the Church of
England ordained its fi rst
women priests.
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $5.8 million
6-19-24-37-42-45
Mega Millions: $80 million
6-17-48-54-69-12 x5
Powerball: $110 million
7-15-21-33-62-23 x2
Win for Life: March 9
4-20-53-66
Pick 4: March 10
•1p.m.:8-8-2-3
•4p.m.:5-8-1-3
•7p.m.:4-6-9-6
•10p.m.:9-2-0-8
Pick 4: March 9
•1p.m.:2-1-5-8
•4p.m.:4-7-2-9
•7p.m.:8-8-9-7
•10p.m.:7-1-3-2
JOHN DAY — The Grant County
Court in an emergency meeting Fri-
day to address the new coronavirus
named deputy Dave Dobler, county
search and rescue coordinator, as
incident commander of a new task
force.
Although there are no known
cases in Grant County, Dobler,
along with his 30 search and rescue
volunteers, will track people in the
community who may have the virus
using search and rescue software
and will share the information with
agencies such as police, fi re and
emergency medical services.
“We owe it to our community to be
proactive,” Dobler said.
Dobler said the task force also
would focus on prevention. He said
there is more the county could do,
such as hiring a part-time employee
to circulate through the community
to sanitize frequently used surfaces,
such as door handles, surfaces and
keypads in public places.
“You can say, ‘Well, those are the
businesses’ problems,’” Dobler said.
“Actually, those are all of our prob-
lems.”
Dobler said the area has limited
police, fi re and emergency services
“Our ability to respond is limited
if we are sick, and our community
deserves better,” he said.
Dobler proposed the creation of an
emergency operations center to oper-
ate during business hours. Dobler
said he wants to set up phone lines,
a website and an exclusive email
addresses to track information about
illnesses within the community.
He said, should there be any
outbreaks within any neighboring
communities, the hours could be
increased, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. And
should there be any confi rmed cases
in the county, the center could oper-
ate around the clock.
Dobler said the task force would
work with the schools, health care
providers and senior centers to
ensure people are following “good
hygene.”
“We are a small community, and the
nice thing about being small is that
we can be agile and do things that big-
ger communities are not going to do
because politically they are afraid to
take those steps,” Dobler said. “I don’t
think we are in a community that is
afraid to take those steps.”
Dobler said he would like to have a
plan in place should any emergency
dispatchers get sick. Dobler said he
does not know what that plan would
look like, but would like to have it
tested within seven days. He said he
Steven Mitchell/EO Media Group
Grant County Undersheriff Zach Mobley, left, and deputy Dave Dobler
address the Grant County Court in an emergency meeting Friday to
plan for the coronavirus. The court pegged Dobler to head up a task
force that will use search and rescue volunteers to track people who
may have the new coronavirus. Ted Williams, the county’s emergency
management coordinator, resigned over concerns about the task force.
would like to coordinate with Condon
and Baker City on the testing. He
said there is a process in place, but
he needs to test it.
County Judge Scott Myers said
the county has an Offi ce of Emer-
gency Management. Myers asked
if Dobler’s intent was to change
emergency management or include it
in the process.
Dobler said it was to include emer-
gency management.
Ted Williams, the county’s emer-
gency management coordinator, said
he had been monitoring the corona-
virus and the county health depart-
ment should be the lead agency.
Dobler said the health department
was invited to work within the struc-
ture his organization has created.
“They will decide how much they
will be in,” Dobler said. “Hopefully it
will be all in.”
Williams said he wanted to work
together and not create redundancy
by duplicating efforts. He said he
worked on an emergency plan for
four years.
The court suggested Williams and
Dobler work together and said now,
given the seriousness of the virus, is
not the time for infi ghting.
Williams resigned Monday, citing
concerns about the task force and
the lack of an emergency plan being
followed.
Williams said the emergency plan
he submitted in 2019 covered pandem-
ics, viruses and other biohazards, and
listed the health department as the
lead agency. He said he was blindsided
by the creation of the task force by the
sheriff’s offi ce at Friday’s meeting.
“We have a vulnerable population
in Grant County,” Williams said. “For
county court and the sheriff’s offi ce
to go off on their own puts people at
risk.”
2020 Election Season
Candidate filing deadline clarifies picture
By Sam Stites
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — With the dead-
line for fi ling for the May pri-
mary passing Tuesday, the
picture of how Oregon’s 2020
election season will play out
in statewide and legislative
races became clearer.
In the Oregon House,
several key races will settle
whether Democrats maintain
or extend their majority. In the
Senate, half the seats are up
for election where Democrats
also hold a strong majority.
With a contentious end
to the past two legislative
sessions over a bill to reduce
carbon emissions and long-
time political players vying
for secretary of state, 2020
is expected to be an exciting
year for those tuned into
Oregon’s politics.
Secretary of state
On the day of the fi ling
deadline, Cameron Smith,
one of four Democrats seek-
ing the offi ce, exited the race.
That leaves Jamie McLeod-
Skinner, former congressio-
nal candidate and Terrbonne
lawyer; 13-year political
veteran Sen. Mark Hass,
D-Beaverton; and Sen. Sh-
emia Fagan, D-Portland, all
vying to replace Bev Clarno,
a Republican appointed to
the job who is not seeking
election.
Sen. Kim Thatcher, a
Keizer Republican who has
served in both chambers of
the Legislature beginning in
2005, will face off in the May
primary against Republican
Dave Stauffer, who grabbed
headlines in 2016 when he
ran for governor as a Demo-
crat with an idea to solve
traffi c problems across the
Interstate 5 bridge spanning
the Columbia River by build-
ing water slides.
Thatcher, who along with
Republican Senate colleagues
took part in the third walkout
in February, is aiming to
use the offi ce of secretary of
state’s Corporation Division
to encourage business devel-
opment and reaffi rm Oregon
as a business-friendly state.
She’s also touts herself as a
fi erce proponent of govern-
ment accountability and
transparency.
Key races in the House
Democrats will work to
maintain and potentially
grow their supermajority in
the House, especially after
House Republicans joined
their Senate counterparts
in a walkout the fi nal two
weeks of the legislative ses-
sion, halting any semblance
of progress.
“For the fi rst time in
recent memory, and dat-
ing back before 2000, not
a single House Republican
in Oregon is going unchal-
lenged in 2020,” said Bar-
bara Smith Warner, leader
of the House Democrats.
“It’s no coincidence that this
historic fi ling day comes in
the wake of House Republi-
cans walking off the job and
taking a taxpayer-funded
vacation, effectively ending
the 2020 session and leaving
hundreds of critical bills to
die without a vote.”
Seats Oregonians should
keep an eye on include
House District 54, which
covers parts of Bend, where
Republican Rep. Cheri Helt
is facing a tough race. Helt
was one of two Republicans
to break from their caucus
— the other was fellow Bend
Republican Sen. Tim Knopp
— and remained in the
Capitol as the rest walked
out in a boycott.
Democrats are backing Ja-
son Kropf, a Deschutes County
deputy district attorney, as
their candidate in a district that
boasts a 12-point advantage in
Democratic voter registration
and was won handily by Hillary
Clinton in 2016.
Elsewhere in the state,
Rep. Tiffi ny Mitchell,
D-Astoria, announced she
decided against seeking
reelection in House District
32, which covers much of
Clatsop County and parts
of Tillamook, Columbia and
Washington counties. Mitch-
ell beat a recall effort against
her at the end of 2019, but
she’s come under pressure
from Oregon’s unions for
votes on retirement reform.
According to her party,
Mitchell’s exit is for personal
reasons rather than political,
with her husband taking a
new job out of state.
The seat has been held by
Democrats for nearly two
decades, and two Demo-
cratic candidates fi led to
run. They include Warren-
ton resident Debbie Booth-
Schmidt, a small-business
owner and trial assistant for
Clatsop County, and George
Kiepke, a retired main-
tenance supervisor from
Astoria.
FAMILY
OWNED
Two Republicans have
also fi led for the race:
Vineeta Lower, Mitchell’s
2018 opponent and a teacher
from Seaside, and Tillamook
Mayor Suzanne Weber.
In the Portland metro area,
two seats held by Democrats
— House District 37 held by
Rep. Rachel Prusak, D-West
Linn, and House District 26
held by Rep. Courtney Neron,
D-Wilsonville — will be inter-
esting to watch.
Republicans Larry
McDonald, Peggy Stevens,
Derrick Kitts and Dan
Laschober will face off in
the May 19 primary for the
opportunity to run against
Neron, who stunned political
pundits in 2018 by unseating
Republican House member
Richard Vial.
“We look forward to taking
back seats across the state
of Oregon where Governor
Brown and House Demo-
crats have hitched their
wagon to a very unpopular
cap and trade bill,” said
Jihun Han, political direc-
tor for Evergreen Oregon,
the House Republicans
campaign arm. “We plan on
carrying the energy we have
seen from all corners of the
state to November.”
Key races in the Senate
The Senate will be a bit
less exciting to watch with
only half of the 30 seats up
for reelection or open, but
enthralling all the same as
Senate Democrats try to
maintain and extend their
majority following an explo-
sive legislative session where
only three bills were passed.
Coos Bay Democrat Sen.
Arnie Roblan is retiring, and
the race will be highly con-
tested with Democrats hold-
ing a 4,000-vote advantage
over Republicans in Senate
District 5.
Coos County Commis-
sioner Melissa Cribbins has
fi led for the May primary as
a Democrat and will likely
face Republican primary
candidate Richard Ander-
son, a Lincoln City fi nancial
analyst.
In Bend, retired Daimler
executive Eileen Kiely of
Sunriver has fi led for the
Democratic primary and will
likely face Knopp for Senate
District 27 in November.
Another key fi gure in the
Republican walkout, Sen.
Denyc Boles, is up for elec-
tion after being tapped to fi ll
the seat following the death
last year of longtime Repub-
lican Sen. Jackie Winters.
Boles will face one of two
Democrats: Deb Patterson,
a faith-based health care
executive from Salem, or
Kenji Sugahara, a pilot from
Polk County.
www.CountrysideSheds.com
FREE DELIVERY
STORAGE
BUILDINGS
(541) 663-0246
Locally owned and operated
for over 25 years
10505 N. McAlister Road
(Corner of Hwy 82 & N. McAlister Rd.)
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer,
please call the offi ce at 541-
963-3161.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“A proverb is a short
sentence based on long
experience.”
— Miguel de Cervantes,
Spanish novelist,
dramatist and poet
La GRANDE
AUTO REPAIR
We offer free
delivery to
most areas
in Eastern
Oregon and
South Eastern
Washington.
975-2000
www.lagrandeautorepair.com
MOST
ADVANCED
TECHNOLOGY
AVAILABLE
Joe Horst
ACDelcoTSS
RENT to OWN
215 Elm Street La Grande (541) 963-5440
northwestfurnitureandmattress.com
starting at
$
68 Month