LOCAL
Saturday, april 11, 2020
TOLAN
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his first 20 years at Island
City Elementary. He next
taught physical education
at Central and Willow ele-
mentary schools for 1-1/2
years before taking the
principal position. Tolan
said Island City Elementary
and its community have
been a perfect fit because of
the support he has received
from his school’s staff and
community.
“It has been such a won-
derful place for me that I
have never wanted to go
anyplace else,” Tolan said.
“It has been a home away
from home.”
Mark Mulvihill, super-
intendent of the InterMoun-
tain Education Service Dis-
trict, which serves the the
La Grande School District,
said Tolan is deserving of
the salute.
“John is the type of edu-
cator this award is meant
for,” Mulvihill said. “I’m
thrilled for John and the La
Grande School District.”
Mendoza said Tolan’s
ability to connect positively
with those around him has
contributed to the excellent
culture and school climate
at Island City Elementary.
“His mentorship of staff
and administration, as
well as his sense of humor
and positive demeanor,
has helped our district
build strong relationships
with staff, students, fami-
lies and our community,”
Mendoza said in a news
release. “John Tolan is very
deserving of this award and
recognition for the many
lives he has impacted.”
Under Tolan’s guidance
and leadership, the scores
of Island City students
on state assessment tests
have been strong, atten-
dance rates have risen, and
chronic absenteeism rates
have declined, according
to COSA. In the 2018-19
school year, Island City Ele-
mentary was rated on its
state report card as “High”
in academic progress.
The recent state award
is far from the first salute
Tolan has received. Honors
he has received include the
Union County Chamber of
Commerce’s 1997 Union
County Educator of the
Year award, Island City’s
2008 citizen of the year
award and the 2014 Apple
Eyecare Fred Award for
community service.
When Tolan retires at
the end of June, Brett Smith
will succeed him at Island
City Elementary. Smith
is completing his second
year as the La Grande High
School’s assistant principal.
Tolan said he and his
are looking forward to
spending more time with
their grandchildren and
traveling after he retires.
CASES
Continued from Page 1A
the virus.
After someone contracts
COVID-19, illness usually
develops 2-14 days after
exposure. The primary
symptoms of COVID-19
include fever, cough and
shortness of breath. If you
have trouble breathing or
feel very ill, consider con-
tacting your healthcare pro-
vider. Those considered
“high risk” include adults
60 and older, or anyone
with a serious health con-
dition, including lung or
heart problems, kidney dis-
ease, or diabetes, or anyone
who has a suppressed
immune system.
Many recover at home
without seeing a health
care provider. Individuals
•If you do not have a
doctor or need help finding
a clinic call 211 for a list of
clinics near you.
And every resident
should take these basic
steps to protect those most
at risk:
•Wash your hands often
with soap and water for at
least 20 seconds.
•Avoid touching your
eyes, nose, or mouth with
unwashed hands.
•Cover your mouth and
nose when you cough or
sneeze.
•If you have to go into
public, wear a cloth face
cover.
•Stay home if you feel
ill.
Additional information
can be found by visiting
www.chdinc.org/covid19 or
calling 211 or 971-673-1111.
Oregon Air National Guard ready to fly
By Dick Hughes
For the Oregon Capital Bureau
HISTORY OF THE 142ND FIGHTER WING
PORTLAND — In
times of war, Oregon Air
National Guard’s citi-
zen-airmen and airwomen
may fly fighter missions
abroad, infiltrate hostile
territory to establish air-
fields or go behind enemy
lines to rescue downed
pilots and crews.
Within the U.S., they
put those skills to use
assisting with search-and-
rescue missions in the
Pacific Northwest, pre-
paring for the Cascadia
earthquake and responding
to such disasters as hurri-
canes and the 2007 flood in
Vernonia. They also have
helped with Oregon’s coro-
navirus response.
And 24 hours a day,
they guard America’s skies
from Northern California
to the Canadian border.
That wide-ranging mis-
sion is reflected in a new
designation for about 1,400
members of the Oregon
Air National Guard: 142nd
Wing. However, the mis-
• The 142nd Wing has been redesignated numerous times
since the unit’s founding:
• •July 1943 — 371st Fighter Group
• •May 1946 — 142nd Fighter Group
• •April 1951 — 142nd Fighter-Interceptor Group
• •August 1961 — 142nd Fighter Group
• •October 1972 — 142d Fighter-Interceptor Group
• •March 1992 — 142nd Fighter Group
• •October 1995 — 142nd Fighter Wing
• •March 2020 — 142nd Wing
• Retrospective video of 142nd
Wing: https://www.dvidshub.net/
video/746052/142nd-fighter-wing-re-designates-142nd-wing
Photo courtesy of Oregon Military Department
Members of the Oregon Air National Guard 142nd Wing
stand during a presentation. The 142nd counts 1,400
members in all.
sion remains the same.
The wing, based at Port-
land Air National Guard
Base, has flown fighter
missions since World War
II and currently operates
F-15 Eagle fighter jets.
“We are still fully com-
mitted to flying fighters,
and we’ll continue to excel
in that mission area,” said
Col. Adam Sitler, wing
commander.
The 142nd Wing also
includes one of only two
Air National Guard special
tactics squadrons in the
nation, which is why the
old name of 142nd Fighter
Wing was outdated.
Special tactics airmen
and airwomen are “amaz-
ingly well-suited” for a
range of complex tasks,
Sitler said. They include air
traffic controllers, weather
forecasters, communication
specialists and pararescue
experts. They are trained to
operate in hostile territory
and behind enemy lines.
The wing’s members,
which includes 450 who
are full-time, come from
Oregon and Southwest
Washington.
“We’re here. We’re
part of the community.
A great majority of our
members have grown up
here. They’ve gone to high
school here or college
here,” Sitler said.
Oregon National Guard
units have been deployed
around the world for
combat, peacekeeping
or humanitarian mis-
sions. As with the rest of
the National Guard, Ore-
gon’s air and army units
serve both the state and the
nation. “Not only do we
report to President Trump
but we also report to Gov.
Brown,” Master Sgt.
Steven Conklin said.
The Oregon Air
National Guard also
includes the Klamath Falls-
based 270th Air Traffic
Control Squadron and
173rd Fighter Wing, which
trains F-15 pilots.
Grande Ronde Hospital opens second location for COVID-19 cases
By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
Grande Ronde Hospital
Pavilion is set to become
a secondary care loca-
tion for residents of Union
County. Though not oper-
ational yet, equipment is
on site in case the hos-
pital were to recieve an
influx of patients due to
the spread of the novel
coronavirus.
“As we had begun to
see the modeling and
surge numbers coming
from the state — we took
action,” said Elaine LaRo-
chelle, director of facili-
ties at Grande Ronde Hos-
pital. “GRH initiated the
Hospital Incident Com-
mand System per our
Emergency Operations
Plan. Rather than wait to
pull it together if we need
it, we have the site ready
to go.”
The site cannot pro-
vide treatment now. LaRo-
chelle and Annette Powers
from the Northeast
Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson
Local officials selected Grande Ronde Hospital Pavilion, La Grande, as a secondary care
site for residents of Union County during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Oregon Joint Informa-
tion Center said there is
not yet a need for it. When
operating, the location
will separate employees
and patients and allow for
proper air flow exchange
and any medical and com-
cant’s word, basically on an
honors system. Businesses
that apply are “eligible for
this 10K grant, plus (will)
be eligible to apply for up
to $2 million in short-term
funding and financing to
get through the coming
months,” Smith said.
LIFELINES
Continued from Page 1A
business owners has been
quite positive.
“They are very appre-
ciative of the outreach,” he
said.
He noted many had not
been fully aware of all of
the help available, some-
thing he hopes the phone
call campaign can change.
“Our primary purpose
has been to make sure they
have links to the resources
they need,” Strope said.
Local loan program
Two key programs
The Payroll Protection
Program and the Economic
Injury Disaster Loan Pro-
gram, both through the
Small Business Associa-
tion, are key programs for
funding.
The PPP provides loans
to businesses for keeping
employees on their payroll.
If they are able to keep the
employees on their pay-
roll for eight weeks the loan
becomes forgivable if it
was spent only on payroll,
rent, a mortgage, interest or
utilities. The program allo-
cates up to 2.25 times the
monthly payroll of a busi-
ness. Smith said businesses
that laid employees off
prior to the availability of
the PPP are eligible if they
commit to bringing those
employees back.
who feel very ill should
seek appropriate care as
follows:
•If it is an emergency,
call 911.
•If it is not an emer-
gency but you feel sick
enough to need a med-
ical appointment, call your
doctor’s office. Let your
health care provider know
you are concerned about
COVID-19 before you visit.
tHE OBSErVEr — 5A
Staff photo by Ronald Bond
The city of La Grande, Union County Chamber of Com-
merce and Eastern Oregon University Small Business
Development Center have been assisting businesses
throughout La Grande and Union County in how they can
attain funding during the coronavirus outbreak.
The loan has to be
applied for through a bank.
The Economic Injury
Disaster Loan Program
takes just 30 minutes to
apply for. Smith said the
EIDL “provides up to an
immediate $10,000 grant to
businesses who are willing
to self verify immediate
economic harm. Folks can
go onto the SBA website
and fill out an application.”
He explained the eco-
nomic harm businesses
have to claim to receive
the EIDL is essentially
accepted on the appli-
The city of La Grande
also launched its own
Emergency Loan Program
in response to the mea-
sures to control the out-
break. Through the pro-
gram, business can receive
a loan of up to $10,000 at
1% interest with deferred
payments and interest for
the first six months. Money
for the loans will come
from the city’s general fund
contingency.
The loans will have a
48-month payback term.
To be eligible, businesses
must be located within the
La Grande city limits, have
had 50 or fewer employees
when operating at full
scale, and were generally
stable or strong prior to the
COVID-19 crisis.
The city initially
announced businesses could
apply for the loans this
week. Strope said the city
extended the deadline to
April 16 to give more busi-
nesses an opportunity to
apply and to allow those
who submitted incomplete
applications the chance to
puter equipment needs on
the ground floor.
Grande Ronde spokes-
person Mardi Ford said
turn in documents meeting
the city’s standards for
consideration.
Business owners
feeling uncertain
Union County Chamber
of Commerce executive
director Suzannah Moore-
Hemann said the chamber
has reached out to more
than 400 businesses in
Union County to help them
understand the application
process for the federal loans
and connect them with the
appropriate resources.
“They do not know
when they will have a rev-
enue stream again,” she
said. “There is a lot of
uneasiness, I guess, a lot of
wanting to make sure they
take care of their employees
and families”
System backlogs, she
added, also are causing
additional stress.
“We heard from one
business, they turned in
theirs, and they were No.
6,000 to turn in a loan that
day,” Moore-Hemann said.
“She obviously was pretty
distraught over that.”
Smith said business
owners are expressing an
uncertainty about what is
coming, calling it “opti-
mism that this is going to
turnaround shortly,” but
added “with that anxiety
is the concern of what if it
doesn’t.”
Moore-Hemann said
the hospital is set up
to treat 60-75 patients
during the crisis, and
the GRH Pavilion adds
space for another 60-75.
The pavilion would pro-
vide a transitional space
for patients who are no
longer critical but not well
enough to go home, Ford
said. Those who need
medical care at a higher
level will remain at the
hospital intensive care
unit and medical surgical
unit.
Powers said getting
supplies and equipment
took working with part-
ners and making requests
to state officials. Addi-
tional cots, blankets and
medical supplies were
brought to Union County
by the National Guard,
and Snake River Cor-
rectional Institution, the
state’s medium security
prison in Ontario, pro-
vided a mobile kitchen
and refrigerated trailer for
food storage to be utilized
at the secondary site.
there is anxiety among the
business owners she’s met
with, who are unsure of the
steps they want to — or can
— take.
“We’ve heard some
say ‘I don’t know if I
can reopen. Bills are still
coming, income is not
coming,’” she said. “We’ve
heard some say ‘I don’t
want to take a loan out right
now.’”
Some business owners,
she said, expressed reser-
vations about seeking loans
because they have little
money coming in and do
not know when they will,
because it is not known
when COVID-19 restric-
tions will end. Business
owners are leery of loans
because they do not want to
be saddled with payments
before they have funds to
pay them.
The overarching mes-
sage, she said, is businesses
“really need this to end,
really need support (and
are) really nervous.”
Smith said the state gov-
ernment still is waiting to
learn how much money
Oregon will get from the
CARES Act before deter-
mining what it will be
able to give struggling
businesses.
“We’re trying to figure
that out, and then were
trying to figure out what are
the conditions that go with
that money,” Smith said.