2A — THE OBSERVER
SaTuRday, May 23, 2020
REGIONAL
Daily
Planner
TODAY
Today is Saturday, May
23, the 144th day of 2020.
There are 222 days left in
the year.
Pilot Rock floodwaters recede slowly
By Kathy Aney
and Alex Castle
EO Media Group
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On May 23, 1984, Surgeon
General C. Everett Koop
issued a report saying there
was “very solid” evidence
linking cigarette smoke to
lung disease in non-smok-
ers.
ON THIS DATE
In 1915, Italy declared war
on Austria-Hungary during
World War I.
In 1945, Nazi official
Heinrich Himmler commit-
ted suicide by biting into
a cyanide capsule while in
British custody in Luneburg,
Germany.
In 1984, “Indiana Jones
and the Temple of Doom,”
starring Harrison Ford, was
released by Paramount
Pictures.
In 2001, The Senate
passed an 11-year, $1.35
trillion-dollar tax cut bill.
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $1.7 million
5-10-21-31-46-47
Mega Millions: $298 million
8-19-25-36-66-9 x2
Powerball: $104 million
18-34-40-42-50—PB-9 x2
Win for Life: May 20
19-48-52-68
Pick 4: May 21
• 1 p.m.: 8-5-1-8
• 4 p.m.: 9-5-8-1
• 7 p.m.: 4-7-2-3
• 10 p.m.: 8-5-6-8
Pick 4: May 20
• 1 p.m.: 1-2-6-4
• 4 p.m.: 5-5-2-1
• 7 p.m.: 8-4-1-4
• 10 p.m.: 5-8-7-6
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PILOT ROCK — Ray
Arriola stood in the muddy
middle of Main Street in
Pilot Rock and watched
water sluicing over a
parking lot that sits between
rushing East Birch Creek
and a second hand store
called “Jer and Ter’s.”
He gestured toward a
twisted length of metal
safety fence at creekside
that rushing water had flung
aside like nothing during
Wednesday’s flooding of
downtown Pilot Rock.
“The power of water is
amazing,” he said shaking
his head, “but I think we’re
over the hump now.”
Arriola lives on the
other side of the creek. A
row of sandbags did its job,
keeping water out of his
home.
Residents still are a bit
shellshocked at how quickly
the creek overflowed its
banks and flooded Highway
395 where the road curls
through the downtown core.
Water had receded some-
what by Thursday morning,
but the Pilot Rock Market
parking lot was still a lake.
The highway remained
closed to through traffic.
At nearby Coffee Station
No. 1, patrons sipped the
local brew and exchanged
information about where
the creek is jammed up
and whose basements are
Photo by Kathy Aney/EO Media Group
An emergency vehicle sends up spray as it travels Thursday along Highway 395 through
Pilot Rock.
flooded. At City Hall, Pilot
Rock Police Chief Bill Cal-
dera was up almost 30
hours straight. He and his
officers had knocked on
doors to warn homeowners
of rising water and helped
wherever they were needed.
He marveled at the esprit de
corp of the city’s residents
who flocked to two sand-
bagging stations at opposite
ends of town. Caldera said
the Red Cross took three
evacuated families and put
Former La Grande police
chief takes on deputy role
TODAY’S QUOTE
“Sometimes you have
to be silent in order to be
heard.”
— Swiss proverb
them up at Pendleton hotels.
The damage is still
coming to light. Umatilla
County Commissioner John
Shafer said county road
crews were out Thursday
attempting to assess and
work on the most impacted
areas, though Pilot Rock
appeared to have suffered
the worst of the floods.
There’s been no confirmed
reports of bridges that have
been washed out, but Shafer
said the approach to one on
West Birch Creek Road in
Pilot Rock was impassable
and some residents are cur-
rently unable to reach their
homes in the area.
“Our road crews can’t
get out there to work on it
until the waters recede,” he
said.
Wednesday’s and Thurs-
day’s flooding was the
result of excessive rain-
fall throughout the region
in recent days. The rainfall
reached record levels for the
Pendleton area Wednesday.
According to the National
Weather Service in Pend-
leton, the area received 1.11
inches of rain Wednesday,
shattering the previous
record for May 20 that was
set in 1894 at 0.79 inches.
The recent rainfall led
to rising levels in rivers
throughout the region
and surrounding streams,
including the Umatilla,
Walla Walla, John Day,
Grande Ronde and Imnaha
rivers.
The National Weather
Service in Pendleton
extended minor flood warn-
ings until Thursday after-
noon for the Gibbon area
on the Umatilla Indian
Reservation and along
the Umatilla River, which
was recorded above flood
stage at 7.4 feet at 4:15 a.m.
Thursday by the Northwest
River Forecast Center.
The river levels were
expected to decrease
throughout the day, and
were recorded below flood
stage by the forecast center
at 6.7 feet as of 11:15 a.m.
Though it feels a bit like
groundhog day after his-
toric flooding ravaged the
county in February, Shafer
said initial reports indicate
that county infrastructure
damages won’t come close
to the $25 million dealt by
floodwaters months ago.
“The peak is over and
we’re starting to see the end
of it,” he said.
Helix couple certifies as EMTs
By Kathy Aney
EO Media Group
Organizers
cancel Vale
4th of July
Rodeo
By Pat Caldwell
Malheur Enterprise via AP
StoryShare
Photo contributed by Baker County Sheriff’s Office
VALE – There will
be no Vale 4th of July
Rodeo this year.
Rodeo president Kurt
Haueter announced
Wednesday that the
iconic, 106-year-old
event was canceled.
The decision, he said,
was made reluctantly by
the rodeo board.
“It is a decision we
didn’t want to make. I
kind of feel like it was
a decision that was not
ours to make and it was
kind of made for us,”
said Haueter.
What the cancellation
will mean for Vale busi-
nesses remains unclear
but the rodeo is seen by
many as an important
economic event that
pumps needed dollars
into the Vale economy.
“I wanted to hold off
as long as possible and
give us the opportunity
to collect as much infor-
mation as we could to
see if we could find any
way we could do it,” said
Haueter.
Earlier this week the
75th annual Nyssa Nite
Rodeo also was can-
celed. That followed can-
cellations of the Jordan
Valley Big Loop Rodeo
and the Malheur County
Fair in Ontario. The Four
Rivers Cultural Center’s
summer concert series
also was called off.
Gov. Kate Brown’s
restrictions on larger
gatherings played a key
role in the decision.
Brown announced earlier
this month a broad out-
line to reopen the state
in phases, but still pro-
hibited gatherings of 25
or more people. The gov-
ernor said fairs and fes-
tivals should be canceled
through September.
Brian Harvey, right, former chief of police in La Grande,
takes his oath of office Tuesday as a deputy for the Bak-
er County Sheriff’s Office. Harvey retired effective May 4
from the La Grande Police Department and then moved to
Baker County, where he will work in the in the Richland/
Halfway/Oxbow area.
Caring for the critters
Caretakers give wildlife at closed museum
their only attention during pandemic
J
By Kyle Spurr
EO Media Group
BEND — Most of the
animals at the High Desert
Museum south of Bend
can’t tell that the natural
history museum has been
closed since March due to
the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the three resident
otters, Brook, Rogue and
Pitch, have sensed some-
thing changed. Instead of
showing off their tricks for
hundreds of people each
day, the social mammals
eagerly wait to be fed by the
museum’s curator of wild-
life, Jon Nelson.
Nelson and his three
staffers are the only interac-
tion the animals get during
the day. Nelson feeds fish to
the otters three times a day
and spends an hour a day
cleaning their enclosure.
“The other animals don’t
really know whether we
are open or closed,” Nelson
said, “but these guys get
real excited when they see
people.”
Nelson, 41, has worked
for the museum since 2009,
when he started as a volun-
teer. He walks about 8-10
miles a day around the 135-
acre museum as he cares for
the wildlife. He is respon-
sible for more than 150
creatures, including about
25 birds, 11 mammals —
such as porcupines, badgers
and a bobcat — and 64 spe-
cies of reptiles, amphibians
and fish.
“Whether we are doing
programs or not, the ani-
mals need to have a lot of
enrichment so they are get-
ting attention every day,”
Nelson said.
The museum still waits
for direction from Gov.
Kate Brown about when it
will be allowed to reopen.
Businesses such as retail
shops, restaurants and
salons reopened May 15.
“It’s really not up to us,”
said Dana Whitelaw, exec-
utive director of the High
Desert Museum. “We will
wait for the governor’s
order.”
In the meantime, the
museum is creating a
reopening plan. Part of it
includes one-way routes
through the museum, lim-
iting the number of visi-
tors at one time and making
sure everyone is main-
taining a six-foot distance.
Island City Cemetery
For your convenience
WATER will be available a the back of the
cemetery for flowers during the
Memorial Day Weekend
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Insurance Agency
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Nicole Cathey
HELIX — Mark and
Karen Woolbright tried to
ignore their nerves.
As the Helix couple
drove to Eugene sev-
eral weeks ago to take the
national exam required
to certify them as emer-
gency medical technicians,
they worked to remember
every piece of knowledge
gleaned during a six-month
course at Blue Mountain
Community College.
If they passed, their
little town again would
have EMTs in residence.
The East Umatilla County
Ambulance Area Health
District, based in Athena,
would be able to better
cover a sizable district that
extends 450 square miles.
Mark and Karen would
keep a quick response
vehicle at their home
and respond to 911 calls
in their part of Umatilla
County.
That was the dream.
Mark, who pastors the
Helix Community Church,
led Sunday services the
day before the test. After-
ward, they headed out. As
the miles blurred by, they
quizzed each other.
There was a lot to
know. They had attended
three-hour classes twice
a week and Saturday labs
for two semesters. They
studied 25-30 hours per
week.
This isn’t the first time
the Woolbrights have been
study partners. Mark, 61,
and Karen, 60, grew up
four houses apart, mar-
ried, raised five children
and started careers. Mark
farmed peaches, berries,
pumpkins and other crops
for a Sauvie Island agricul-
tural operation. Karen did
in-home day care and later
worked as office manager
for the Oregon Department
of Fish & Wildlife. After
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Photo by Kathy Aney/EO Media Group
Karen and Mark Woolbright of Helix recently completed
more than six months of EMT classes and testing. They
will use their quick response vehicle to respond to 911
calls, mostly in the Helix/Adams area.
an awakening of sorts,
they decided to see where
God led them and enrolled
in Bible college together.
After graduating, the
couple arrived at the Helix
Community Church five
years ago. Karen helps
Mark with his ministry
and works as the office
manager at ODFW’s Pend-
leton office. Mark started
volunteering with the
Helix Rural Fire Protection
District in 2015.
When the couple
enrolled in the EMT
course, church mem-
bers supported the effort
by providing meals
each week. Since the
Wednesday class fell on
the same night as the
church’s youth group, other
leaders made sure the
couple left on time.
“They shooed us out the
door,” Karen said.
On the morning of the
test in Eugene, Mark and
Karen tamped down their
butterflies. The test is
adaptive, using questions
from a live item pool that
recalibrates depending on
each answer given. When
the Woolbrights finished,
both believed they’d failed.
“The test blows your
confidence completely,”
Karen said.
“We went back to the
hotel room and sat there
thinking, ‘Oh, man,’”
Mark said.
The next morning at
6 a.m., Mark located the
results on his phone and
grinned. He’d passed. He
woke Karen, who fumbled
for her phone, shaking as
she logged on. She too had
passed.
“I sat up in bed and
squealed,” Karen said.
“We were on cloud
nine,” Mark said.
Their journey wasn’t
finished. They passed a
state practical demonstra-
tion of emergency care
skills. Next came a finger-
printing session. David
Wernland, a Helix resident
whose certification lapsed,
completed the BMCC class
with the Woolbrights and
will join them after testing.
The family of
Beverly Hays
would like to thank everyone who
sent texts, cards, prayers, and
well wishes during the loss of our
mom and nanny. Special thanks
to Grande Ronde Hospital staff for the extra care
and attention given to us during this crazy time.
Also special thangs to Elgin Ambulance, Encom-
pass Home Health, Heart ‘n Home Hospice, and
Daniels Valley Funeral Home.
Jerry and Tammy Hays, Dee Dee McClune,
Gail and Eddie Toney, Denise and Don
Ludwig, & Jennifer and Rick Smith
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Kevin Reed