2A — THE OBSERVER
DAILY
PLANNER
TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Thursday,
March 19, the 79th
day of 2020. There are
287 days left in the
year. Spring arrives at
8:50 p.m. PST, the ear-
liest the vernal equinox
has occurred in 124
years.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On March 19, 1966,
the Texas Western
Miners defeated the
heavily favored Ken-
tucky Wildcats, 72-65, to
win the NCAA Champi-
onship played in College
Park, Maryland; making
the contest especially
noteworthy was that
Texas Western became
the fi rst basketball team
to start fi ve black players
in a national title game
as it faced an all-white
Kentucky squad.
ON THIS DATE
In 1931, Nevada Gov.
Fred B. Balzar signed
a measure legalizing
casino gambling.
In 1977, the series
fi nale of “Mary Tyler
Moore” aired on CBS-
TV, ending the situation
comedy’s seven-season
run.
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $6.1 million
13-19-23-24-25-38
Mega Millions: $96 million
20-27-28-58-59-25 x3
Powerball: $130 million
9-23-26-30-32—PB-8 x3
Win for Life: March 16
6-19-25-53
Pick 4: March 17
• 1 p.m.: 4-0-0-7
• 4 p.m.: 8-0-3-8
• 7 p.m.: 7-5-1-5
• 10 p.m.: 8-0-7-9
Pick 4: March 16
• 1 p.m.: 3-4-8-5
• 4 p.m.: 1-2-6-6
• 7 p.m.: 9-6-9-1
• 10 p.m.: 6-1-8-2
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any prob-
lems receiving your
Observer, please call the
offi ce at 541-963-3161.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The heaviest bag-
gage for a traveler is an
empty purse.”
— German proverb
THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020
REGION
Center active again for coronavirus crisis
Joint Information
Center opens for
Union, Wallowa
and Baker counties
By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
dormant NE Oregon Joint
Information Center in La
Grande is up and running
again.
Emergency managers
from Union, Wallowa and
Baker counties brought
together certain employees
to work phones and help
consolidate information
about the novel coronavirus
from the makeshift center
operating in offi ce space
near the Union County
Administration Offi ce at
1106 K. Ave. Law enforce-
ment, fi re departments,
medical providers, emer-
gency managers and state
and local agencies will use
the center to coordinate
communication.
Center manager Jamie
Knight explained having a
central point of information
can mitigate the spread of
fear and misinformation.
Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson
Emergency managers for Union, Baker and Wallowa counties have activated the NE Ore-
gon Joint Information Center near the Union County Administration Offi ce, La Grande, to
help coordinate and distribute information about the coronavirus pandemic.
“Everyone is taking
this matter very seriously,”
Knight said. “We are trying
to provide the best infor-
mation possible in a timely
manner.”
Emergency managers
organized the center in
2017 to track and manage
information about the
solar eclipse. The offi ce
space and its phone lines
went quiet from then until
Tuesday.
“If you don’t hear any-
thing from JIC, it is a really
good day,” Knight said.
The center will provide
information to the public on
Facebook with a daily sum-
mary plus additional posts
Rainbow Rebellion
Union County declares emergency
By Dick Mason
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
Union County Board
of Commissioners on
Wednesday declared a
state of emergency.
The commissioners
voted 3-0 to pass a res-
olution declaring an
emergency as a local
response to the outbreak
of COVID-19.
J.B. Brock, Union
County emergency ser-
vices manager, said the
resolution will help the
county to respond faster
to situations related to
the new coronavirus.
It will give the county
the authority to take cer-
tain steps, such as like
drawing money from a
variety of funds for the
purchase of protective
equipment and the like.
The declaration also
provides the county the
authority to take steps
such as bypassing the
bidding process if a con-
tractor needs to be hired
for an urgent project.
Commissioner Donna
Beverage said the emer-
gency declaration will
make it easier for the
county to help those in
need of assistance.
“It will unleash oppor-
tunities for us to help,’’
Beverage said, noting
that local business
owners are among those
who could be assisted by
the county.
Brock told the com-
missioners before their
vote that everyone needs
to help each other to
survive the COVID-19
crisis.
“We need to be taking
care of each other as a
community,’’ Brock said.
“We need to be
checking in our neigh-
bors, to call them or
knock on their doors to
see what they need.’’
Paul Anderes,
chairman of the county
board, encouraged
anyone from Union, Wal-
lowa or Baker counties
who needs help during
the COVID-19 crisis
to visit the NE Oregon
Joint Information Center
on Facebook to fi nd
resources.
as necessary. The center’s
focus is to provide infor-
mation to Union, Wallowa
and Baker counties, none of
which has confi rmed cases
of COVID-19.
The information center
also will use email to share
information with county
commissioners, health care
organizations and news
outlets.
Knight said the center
gathers and disseminates
information from offi cial
organizations. The emer-
gency managers for the
three counties participate
in a coordination call each
morning to discuss updates,
and the center gets that
information as well. The
public can expect the NE
Oregon Joint Information
Center to report on county
and local school closures
and COVID-19 cases if they
appear in the tri-county
area.
“We are trying to come
together as one voice,”
Knight said. “We are a
group of small communi-
ties, utilizing the strength
of (the joint information
center) to spread the same
message across all of the
counties.”
Photo by Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group
Bar customers depart the Rainbow Cafe shortly before
5 p.m. on Tuesday. The cash-only bar downtown Pendle-
ton throws the biggest St. Patrick’s Day party in the town,
and patron in past years fi ll the place to capacity. The bar
chose to fl out a state order banning on-site consumption
of food and drink at restaurants and bars as long as pos-
sible before choosing to close in light of possible criminal
charges.
Eastern Oregon students
leading school district’s
effort to cut energy use
Umatilla School District
Superintendent Heidi Sipe accepts
a check from Energy Trust of
Oregon
YOU WORK HARD ENOUGH.
MAKE YOUR PLACE WORK
HARDER FOR YOU.
You’ve been chipping away at the to-do list and the place is looking great.
But what about the things you can’t see—like energy being wasted?
No worries. Whether you’re a homeowner or making energy decisions at work,
Energy Trust of Oregon has you covered with low-cost and DIY solutions to save
energy and money.
+
Get more from your energy.
Call us at 1.866.368.7878
or visit www.energytrust.org/DIY.
Serving customers of Portland General
Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural,
Cascade Natural Gas and Avista.
Students in eastern Oregon are
learning energy management skills
through a hands-on program that
prepares them for jobs in the future
economy and helps their school dis-
trict save thousands of dollars per
year.
In the Umatilla School Dis-
trict, students take an active role
in making their schools more en-
ergy efficient. The students are
part of the district’s energy team,
which works with Energy Trust of
Oregon, a nonprofit created to make
sure Oregonians have access to
clean, affordable energy and renew-
able power.
Through an effort called Stra-
tegic
Energy
Management,
Energy Trust provides energy coach-
es who work with Umatilla students
and staff to find no-cost or low-cost
ways to cut energy usage. Eastern
Oregon customers of Pacific Pow-
er, Cascade Natural Gas and Avista
can access these energy coaches and
the Strategic Energy Management
effort.
The students are working on
other major efficiency improve-
ments as well. With an approved
$10 million bond measure, plus
$70,000 in incentives from
Energy Trust, the Umatilla School
District recently completed renova-
tions and energy upgrades at each of
its three schools.
These upgrades are now sav-
ing the school district an estimated
$30,000 per year in energy costs.
And because students are leading
the energy efficiency work, the su-
perintendent says they get to weigh
in on where the dollars go.
“If funds can be freed up
from energy expenditures
and invested in learning,
that’s a huge gain for
students.”
– Heidi Sipe, Umatilla School
District Superintendent.
“We’re always looking for ways
to increase opportunities for learn-
ing,” said Heidi Sipe, the district
superintendent. “Energy efficiency
dovetails with this objective and if
funds can be freed up from energy
expenditures and invested in learn-
ing, that’s a huge gain for students.”
Students and teachers are realiz-
ing that these improvements reach
beyond savings. For example, the
new heating and cooling systems
and new LED lighting create a more
comfortable learning environment.
To see more ways energy effi-
ciency and renewable energy are
creating better futures and com-
munities across Oregon, visit
energtrust.org/this-is-oregon.