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THURSDAY
•
April 9, 2020
• $1.50
Good day to our valued subscriber Jean Dillon of La Grande
Wallowa County has first COVID-19 case
By Ellen Morris Bishop
EO Media Group
Updates for
Thursday
ENTERPRISE — Wal-
lowa Memorial Hospital
announced Wallowa County
has its fi rst in-county case
of COVID-19.
The hospital in a news
release Wednesday morning
reported the patient is iso-
Observer staff
lating and recovering at
home and does not require
hospitalization.
“The person was
exposed OUTSIDE of our
county, but was tested
here,” according to the
news release. “Confi denti-
ality remains paramount,
and no additional informa-
tion about this patient will
be released to the public.”
Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown recently called on
the Oregon Heath Authority
to provide more informa-
tion to the public about
COVID-19 cases, including
more specifi c age ranges of
people who have the virus.
Wallowa Memorial Hos-
pital also said the Oregon
Heath Authority is notifying
and investigating any recent
contacts of the patient.
“We are testing known
contacts for the COVID-19
infection as indicated,”
according to the news
release.
Spreading kindness
These are the latest
signifi cant local and
regional developments of
the coronavirus outbreak.
Look for more compre-
hensive coverage of these
and other COVID-19
stories on our website,
www.lagrandeobserver.
com, and in subsequent
issues of The Observer.
Union County’s number
of confi rmed cases of
COVID-19 remains at
three as of Wednesday
afternoon.
By the
numbers*
Worldwide cases:
1,356,780
Worldwide deaths: 79,385
U.S. cases: 395,011
U.S. deaths: 12,754
Oregon cases: 1,239
Oregon deaths: 38
Union County cases: 3
Union County deaths: 0
Wallowa County cases: 1
Wallowa County deaths: 0
*As of 3 p.m. Wednesday
April 8. Sources: World
Health Organization, Cen-
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention, Oregon Military
Department
LA GRANDE
•The NE Oregon
Joint Information Center
announced local author-
ities identifi ed a sec-
ondary site at the Grande
Ronde Hospital Pavilion,
La Grande, for an alter-
nate care facility in
preparation for a poten-
tial surge of hospitalized
patients due to COVID-
19. At the request of
the county, the Oregon
National Guard on
Wednesday delivered
cots, bedding and per-
sonal care items for this
site. The county also will
receive a mobile kitchen
and refrigerated trailer
for food storage for the
secondary site.
•Oregon Rural Action
announced Tuesday the
La Grande Community
Garden will not open
this year. The nonprofi t
in a news release stated
that keeping the garden
closed was due to the
importance of Gov. Kate
Brown’s “Stay Home,
Save Lives” executive
order.
“Staying home is the
primary way we can
contribute to slowing
the spread of the virus.”
according to the state-
ment from Kristin
Anderson Ostrom, exec-
utive director of Oregon
Rural Action.
•The La Grande Opti-
mist Club announced it
is postponing its annual
fi shing derby until fur-
ther notice.
Dr. Gary Zeigler,
attending physician, said in
the news release the hos-
pital’s “extensive planning
for this moment paid off.
Our systems and processes
worked. We properly pro-
tected our staff, they are
healthy and continue to
work.”
New neighborhood watch group
helps La Grande residents cope with crisis
By Dick Mason
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The homebound
of La Grande may be shut in, but
they are not being shut out during the
COVID-19 crisis.
A new La Grande neighbor-
hood watch group is doing its best to
make sure these community mem-
bers are not neglected. The volun-
teers are striving to keep the lives of
the homebound rolling in a positive
direction during the COVID-19 crisis
by delivering not only food but also
smiles.
“Our mission is to love our
neighbors,” said Spring Roberts
of La Grande, the founder of the
#LaGrandeStrong Corona Virus
Neighborhood Watch.
The neighborhood watch was cre-
ated about three weeks ago and has
“Our slogan is
‘Spread Kindness,
Not Virus,’”
Spring Roberts, founder of the
#LaGrandeStrong Corona Virus
Neighborhood Watch
been growing quickly since then.
It has a total of 1,500 members in
Union County, about 1,400 of whom
are from La Grande. All have been
directed to strictly follow Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
guidelines for preventing the spread
of COVID-19.
“Our slogan is Spread Kindness,
Not Virus,” Roberts said.
The watch is part of the broader
organization La Grande Strong,
which Roberts also started.
Members of the La Grande neigh-
borhood watch are concerned not
only with the virus but also law
enforcement. They are asked to be on
the lookout for suspicious people in
their neighborhoods and report any
concerns to the police. Roberts said
there have been reports of suspicious
people going to the homes of the vul-
nerable in other parts of the North-
west, and her group wants to prevent
that from happening here.
The well-being of those at risk is
constantly on the mind of Roberts.
She said this is particularly critical
now because those most vulnerable
to COVID-19-19 — seniors and indi-
viduals with pre-existing conditions
— may not be getting out to shop. In
See, Kindness/Page 2A
Staff photos by Dick Mason
Above left, Jordan Hovingh and her daughter, Ellla, are all smiles Wednesday after receiving a supply of food from
Spring Roberts. The mother and daughter have a genetic condition that prevents them from leaving their home
during the COVID-19 outbreak. At left, Spring Roberts, the founder of a new La Grande neighborhood watch, delivers
milk and bread Wednesday to the home of Josh and Jordan Hovingh.
Candidates for Legislature share diff ering opinions
Thoughts range from
conspiracy theories to
relief packages
By Alex Castle and Antonio Sierra
EO Media Group
PENDLETON — As the coro-
navirus has escalated into a global
pandemic that has killed more than
12,000 Americans and left mil-
lions unemployed, Barbara Wright, a
Pendleton woman running as a Dem-
ocrat for Oregon’s House District 58,
has been pushing a debunked con-
spiracy theory online claiming the
virus is a man-made “bio weapon”
that was intentionally released into
the public.
In February, Wright made posts
on an online knitting forum, knit-
tingparadise.com, detailing the
theory and citing military contacts as
her source. In a recent interview with
the EO Media Group, Wright con-
fi rmed she made the posts and dou-
bled down on her theory.
Wright claims she’s researched
and verifi ed the tips provided by
her “backchannel sources,” such as
a story about a Harvard professor
recently arrested for lying to author-
ities about his connection to a Chi-
nese lab in Wuhan, where COVID-19
was fi rst identifi ed in December
2019.
“Before people think that I’m a
crackpot and a kook, they need to do
some easy research on the internet
and see what I’m seeing and make
conclusions for themselves,” she said.
However, “easy research on the
internet” shows Wright’s theory
already has been debunked.
Charles Lieber, the now former
chairman of Harvard’s department of
chemistry and chemical biology, was
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arrested in January for lying about
his involvement with the Chinese
government program to recruit sci-
entifi c talent. He also was receiving
funding from a university in Wuhan.
Wright and others have claimed
Lieber’s arrest also is connected
to two Chinese students who were
arrested in January for allegedly
stealing U.S. research and biological
samples. But both of those arrests
took place at different universi-
ties. Nothing links those arrests to
the coronavirus nor is there a link
between those arrests and Lieber’s.
Additionally, 27 scientists pub-
lished a joint statement in February
in The Lancet, one of the most pres-
tigious peer-reviewed medical jour-
nals, denouncing such theories.
“We stand together to strongly
condemn conspiracy theories sug-
See, Opinions/Page 2A
Schools
closed
for rest of
school year
By Dirk VanderHart
Oregon Pubic Broadcasting
SALEM — Public
schools will not reopen
again this school year, Gov.
Kate Brown announced
Wednesday, as the state
works to stem the spread of
the novel coronavirus.
In a widely anticipated
move, Brown extended a
March school closure past
its April 28 expiration,
ensuring that students and
teachers will not congregate
in person before summer
break.
“This decision is
important because it is
about safety,” Brown
said at a press conference
where physical attendance
was strictly limited. “It is
fi rst and foremost to pro-
tect our kids and teachers.
It is impossible to adhere
to social distancing mea-
sures in our classrooms and
schools.”
Brown also announced
new Oregon Department
of Education guidelines
for graduating seniors.
The rules ensure that stu-
dents will graduate on time
if seniors were expected
to pass their courses. The
guidance also asks that
teachers work with students
who were struggling prior
to schools closing on March
12, so they can also receive
diplomas.
That could involve stu-
dents working with school
districts through August
in an attempt to get up
to a passing grade, ODE
Director Colt Gill said.
“We want them to know
one thing for sure. That is
that we believe in them,”
Gill said of Oregon seniors.
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Issue 43
3 sections, 18 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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