LOCAL
TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2020
CHURCHES
“If we’re risking our lives to go to church, if
we survive, great. If we die, then we’re going
to heaven. If we want to take that risk, then
it’s on us.”
Continued from Page 1A
concerns against the constitu-
tional right of freedom of worship.
Attorney Marc Abrams urged
the judge to put a hold on his
ruling until the state Supreme
Court could review it.
The governor’s offi ce will fi le
Monday asking for “rapid review”
by the state Supreme Court,
Abrams said. The governor will
cite the importance of Brown’s
emergency restrictions on social
gathering due to the “loss of life,
spread of the disease,” Abrams
said. He also noted that most
states in the United States have
taken actions similar to that of
Brown.
“There’s evidence that this is
working and the hardship balance
calls at least for the court to stay
its order to allow for legal review
and in the interest of maintaining
the status quo,” he argued.
But the judge denied the
request.
Ten churches from across
the state asked the court to fi nd
the governor’s social distancing
order infringed on their religious
THE OBSERVER — 5A
Ray D. Hacke, attorney representing the religious group
freedoms.
“If we’re risking our lives
to go to church, if we survive,
great,” said Salem-based attorney
Ray D. Hacke, who had fi led the
motion. “If we die, then we’re
going to heaven. If we want to
take that risk, then it’s on us.”
Hacke fi led the lawsuit earlier
this month on behalf of the non-
profi t group Pacifi c Justice Insti-
tute, which takes on religious lib-
erty cases. It’s representing the
churches and 21 individuals. The
churches are in Baker City, Bend,
Camas Valley, Klamath Falls,
Lincoln City, Newberg, Portland,
Roseburg and Salem.
They so far have respected the
governor’s order banning gather-
ings of more than 25 people and
discouraging Oregonians from
being around more than 10 people
at a time, according to Hacke.
But the churches no longer
believe such an order is justifi ed,
the suit says.
Brown earlier this month mod-
ifi ed the order, allowing social
gatherings of up to 25 people with
social distancing for counties
with state-approved reopening
plans. But the churches said that’s
not suffi cient.
“If a congregation has 250
members, what are they going
to do? Hold 10 services? That’s
just not realistic,” Hacke said.
“It’s an infringement on religious
liberty.”
The governor’s offi ce urged
the suit be dismissed, arguing
that public health is paramount.
“The Executive Orders issued
by Governor Brown are not
designed to hinder any specifi c
faith, not designed to impede
worship any more than any other
activity that, by the mere act of
gathering in large numbers, puts
lives at risk. They are designed
to keep Oregonians alive and to
stop the spread of COVID-19,”
Abrams argued in court fi lings.
“And they have been working. In
large part because of the Gover-
nor’s Executive Orders, the deaths
in Oregon have been tragic, but
relatively limited.”
Abrams took issue with
Hacke’s quote about parishioners
willing to take their own risks.
“But when behavior endangers
others, it is not just a matter of
individual choice and is, instead,
a threat to public health,” Abrams
wrote.
Plaintiffs successfully argued
that ORS 443.441 limits declared
public health emergencies to
14 days, or up to 28 days max-
imum, and because COVID-19 is
a public health crisis, that limita-
tion applied.
But the governor’s attorney
argued that Brown declared a
state of emergency under a dif-
ferent state law, ORS 401.165,
which is not limited to any par-
ticular time period and continue
indefi nitely.
The churches named as plain-
tiffs in the suit are: Elkhorn Bap-
tist Church in Baker City, Calvary
Chapel Newberg, Calvary Chapel
Lincoln City, Calvary Chapel
Southeast Portland, New Horizon
Christian Fellowship in Klamath
Falls, Camas Valley Christian
Fellowship, Peoples Church in
Salem, Prepare The Way religion
nonprofi t ministry in Bend, Bend
Community Church, Covenant
Grace Church in Roseburg.
Conservative activist Kevin
Mannix, former legislator and
gubernatorial candidate, on
behalf of the nonprofi t group
Common Sense Oregon, also fi led
a motion to intervene in support
of the churches’ suit against the
governor.
In a similar case brought
in California, a federal judge
ruled this month that state and
local stay-at-home orders were
a valid exercise of emergency
police powers and didn’t violate
a church’s constitutional rights.
The judge in that case noted that
the U.S. Supreme Court more
than 100 years ago upheld the
government’s right to exercise
police powers to promote public
safety during a public health
crisis.
VETERANS
GRANT
Continued from Page 1A
Continued from Page 1A
week to limit public gath-
erings to no more than 25
people.
The number of large
fl ags on displayed will be
cut to 30 this weekend.
These fl ags will all be
placed around Grandview’s
Veterans Circle, a site
where veterans are buried.
No other other large
fl ags will be displayed
because of the nega-
tive economic impact
the COVID-19 pandemic
has had on the Amer-
ican Legion Post 43. Craig
explained Post 43 has
not been able to raise the
money it needs to pay to
keep the large fl ags illu-
minated at night during
Memorial Day Weekend.
The local post usually rents
gas-powered generators to
operate the portable lights
that illuminate the fl ags.
American Legion Post
43 raises much of its money
for the lighting at its hall,
which was not able to
operate for two months
because of the COVID-19
restrictions. The post wasn’t
able to raise money by
renting the building out for
events such as weddings
and anniversaries, Craig
said.
Craig said the Veterans
Circle fl ags will be illu-
minated this year thanks
to Eastern Oregon Rental,
which will donate portable
lights, electrical generators
would be paid for design,
engineering and planning
work.
O’Toole said the foun-
dation already has the
required $20,000 in
matching funds in hand.
Funds from the grant
would help pay for work
including:
• Raising the stage fl oor
3 feet: The 1,500-square-
foot stage fl oor is 3 feet
lower than it was when
the theater was operating.
This has created a gap
between the bottom of the
backstage door to the rear
exit and the fl oor. Per the
application, elevating the
stage fl oor would improve
the view of the stage from
the auditorium.
• Seating: The Liberty
Theatre has no auditorium
fl oor or balcony seating,
and the grant would pro-
vide money to add about
350 seats to the auditorium
fl oor and balcony.
• Restrooms: The lobby
needs unisex bathroom
facilities to be compliant
with the federal Ameri-
cans with Disabilities Act
and in line with building
code requirements. In
addition, the women’s and
men’s restrooms on the
mezzanine, now in poor
condition, would receive
upgrades.
The Liberty Theatre
Foundation will learn this
summer whether it will
Observer fi le photo
Grandview Cemetery in La Grande was awash in color at the 2019 annual Avenue of
Flags ceremony. This year, American Legion Post 43 has to scale back the event due to
the coronavirus crisis.
and fuel for them.
A federal resolu-
tion, which the American
Legion wrote and Con-
gress adopted, requires all
American fl ags on display
after dark to be illuminated
enough for identifi cation,
Lonnie Myers of La Grande
American Legion Post 43
said in a previous Observer
interview.
Craig said another reason
a large number of fl ags
cannot be on display is it
would require a large group
of people, which would
present social distancing
issues. Members of Amer-
ican Legion Post 43 will put
up the fl ags Saturday at the
Veterans Circle. They will
take them down May 25 at
3 p.m.
In addition to the Vet-
erans Circle fl ags, mem-
bers of VFW Post 299 will
place small American fl ags
at the headstones of vet-
erans at Grandview Ceme-
tery on Friday and retuned
to retrieve the fl ags after
3 p.m. May 25. Craig added
that La Grande American
Legion Post 43 will do the
same thing at Hillcrest East
Cemetery and the Sons
of the American Legion
will place fl ags at Hillcrest
Cemetery.
Craig said it is important
to have at least a scaled
back Avenue of Flags this
weekend at Grandview to
keep its tradition alive.
“We want to sustain our
commitment to honoring
veterans,” Craig said.
receive the grant, O’Toole
said.
The historic theater,
which opened in 1911 as
the Arcade, closed in May
1959 and was then trans-
formed into a space for
retail businesses. Occu-
pants of its space included
Western Auto, which
operated there for many
years. The retail space had
a false ceiling and fl oor
and most customers didn’t
realize the Liberty The-
atre was above and below
them.
The foundation’s res-
toration work to date
includes extensive
improvements to the exte-
rior, from facade and brick
repair to a sign replacing
the original.
Portions of the build-
ing’s facade and bricks
have been repaired or
replaced, and a sign rep-
licating its original was
installed as part of this
process. Much of this
work, which started about
fi ve years ago, has been
funded with help of grants,
including one in 2019 from
the Oregon Main Street
Project that provided
$100,000 to the effort.
The work in 2019
includes the completion
of a new roof, the install-
ment of blond bricks on
the facade and entryway
at street level, extensive
auditorium and stage work
and the installment of
an underground conduit
for improved electrical
service.
Offi cials take precautions as
Oregon votes during pandemic
By Andrew Selsky
Associated Press
Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson
La Grande Farmers Market drew chalk lines to help customers remain 6 feet apart Satur-
day morning as part of COVID-19 restrictions at the market’s opening day.
MARKET
Continued from Page 1A
customers are safe when
they visit her booth.
“We are all wearing face
masks, gloves and prac-
ticing vigilant social dis-
tancing, including when we
are dealing with produce as
we grow it,” Fisher said. “I
live with the philosophy that
no one will be hurt if we are
cautious, but people might
if we are not, so better to be
on the safe side and be more
cautious.”
One draw of the market’s
opening day was the chance
to get out of the house
and socialize. However,
because many are still under
self-quarantine, Bogard
said, there weren’t as many
people who came to the fi rst
market as in previous years.
Union County was
among Oregon’s 31 coun-
ties that received permis-
sion Friday to enter Phase 1
of Gov. Kate Brown’s plan
to reopen the state. Those
counties must maintain cer-
tain public health criteria
for at least 21 days before
moving onto Phase 2 and
further reopening.
While the market was
going on, a couple of mem-
bers of the Union County
Republicans returned to the
sidewalk across the street
and in front of La Grande
City Hall to protest for the
full reopening of the state of
Oregon.
SALEM — Hand san-
itizers. Social distancing.
Licked envelopes con-
taining ballots.
Tuesday’s primary in
Oregon amid the corona-
virus pandemic and other
challenges has created
some unprecedented issues
for offi cials and workers
handling the vote-by-mail
election.
“We are all very busy
and focused on making
this election work in
spite of the pandemic,
heightened cybersecurity
threats, misinformation,
disinformation and lack
of public attention to this
election understandably
due to pandemic health
and economic concerns,”
said Bill Burgess, presi-
dent of the Oregon Asso-
ciation of County Clerks.
At this point, all ballots
must be taken to offi cial
drop-off sites because it’s
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Ballots must be received
by 8 p.m. Tuesday to be
counted.
Despite the challenges,
Burgess, the county
clerk for Marion County,
expects to have initial
results at 8 p.m. Tuesday
and to certify fi nal results
within a predetermined
20-day window.
Locally, Union County
Clerk Robin Church also
reported her offi ce plans
to post results soon after
8 p.m.
There is no drama in
the primary race for the
White House. President
Donald Trump is the pre-
sumptive Republican nom-
inee and Joe Biden is the
presumptive Democratic
nominee.
Of more interest are
the party races for Oregon
secretary of state — the
second-highest statewide
offi ce after the governor
— and one to replace Rep.
Greg Walden, Republican
from Hood River, in the
huge 2nd Congressional
District covering eastern,
central and part of south-
west Oregon.
Walden, the only
Republican in the state’s
congressional delegation,
is not running for a 12th
term.
Republicans seeking to
succeed Walden include
Knute Buehler, a former
member of the Legislature
who unsuccessfully ran for
Oregon governor in 2018;
former state Sen. Cliff
Bentz; and former state
legislator Jason Atkinson.
Four Democrats are
seeking the seat.
Three Democrats are
running for secretary of
state: Sens. Shemia Fagan
and Mark Hass, and Jamie
McLeod-Skinner, who lost
to Walden in 2018.
State Sen. Kim
Thatcher is the only GOP
candidate.
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