COMMUNITY CORNER
TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2020
THE OBSERVER — 3A
COMMUNITY Safe Communities: The power of building developmental assets
Meetings
• PENDLETON — The Board
of Directors of the InterMoun-
tain Education Service District
Budget Committee will meet
Wednesday, May 27, at 5 p.m.
A regular board meeting will
follow at 6 p.m. Both meetings
will be held at the IMESD, 2001
SW Nye Ave., Pendleton.
Briefs
Beware of
COVID-related scams
LA GRANDE — The NE
Oregon Joint Information
Center warns the commu-
nity that COVID-related
scams continue to increase
throughout the nation and in
Oregon. Authorities caution
citizens to continue to be
alert. Both the Federal Trade
Commission and the Federal
Communications Commis-
sion have reported a spike
in scams concerning the
coronavirus, including fake
home testing kits, fake cures
and other malicious attempts
to prey on COVID-19 fears.
According to the local
information center, the U.S.
Treasury Department will not
ask you to pay anything for
the CARES Act funding most
citizens will receive, and
will not contact you for your
bank account information.
If someone contacts you
and claims to be from the
government and asks for
this type of information,
report them to www.ftc.gov/
complaint. Learn more at
www.ftc.gov/coronavirus/
scams-consumer-advice.
Minam Curve work
begins Tuesday
n these unprecedented
COVID-19 times, do
out-of-school (and out-
of-the-house) programs
such as the arts, sports,
parks and recreation camps
sions. These assets aim to
protect youth from high-
risk behaviors and help
them become healthy,
productive and respon-
sible adults. Some exam-
ples include positive
adult relationships,
family support and
STU SPENCE
caring neighbor-
LA GRANDE PARKS & REC
hoods and schools.
Out-of-school
and classes and events
programs are some of the
help reduce youth use of
strongest asset builders in
alcohol, tobacco and other
youth. Sports, for example,
drugs? Not only do they,
provide a support system
but research shows when we of positive peer and adult
build developmental assets
relationships through team-
in youth, they are least
building activities on and
likely to have problems with off the fi eld. The relation-
alcohol, illicit drugs, vio-
ships that grow from being
lence and sexual activity.
part of a team give youth
What’s a developmental
lifelong tools to succeed.
asset? These are research-
Through the arts and other
based tools we can use to
camps, classes and events,
support youth as they grow youth can build important
up to make healthy deci-
assets. Children with sim-
I
OBITUARIES
6:16 a.m. — La Grande
police responded to a noise
complaint at Washington
Avenue and Fir Street. The con-
struction team there agreed to
quiet down.
7:44 a.m. — La Grande
police responded to a report
about vandalism on the 2100
block of First Street.
2:15 p.m. — A caller report-
ed a burglary at a residence on
the 1900 block of Alder Street,
La Grande.
3:19 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to the 2900
block of Fourth Street and took
a report for vandalism to a
vehicle.
7:22 p.m. — The Union
County Sheriff’s Offi ce
responded to a request for a
welfare check on a person in
Union who may be suffering
from a mental crisis. The per-
son was OK.
Joseph A. Small
La Grande
Joseph A. Small, 54,
of La Grande, died May
22 at his home. Loveland
Funeral Chapel & Crema-
tory will be handling the
arrangements.
Carrie Morton
Carrie Morton, 31, of
La Grande, died May 24
at Grande Ronde Hospital.
Loveland Funeral Chapel
& Crematory will be han-
dling the arrangements.
Upcoming
local
services are
pending due
to efforts to
curb the
spread of the
coronavirus.
Anto Jally
Miriam Hill
Anto Jally, 70, of La
Grande, died May 21 at
his residence. Loveland
Funeral Chapel & Crema-
tory will be handling the
arrangements.
Miriam Hill, 99, of La
Grande, died May 23 at a
local care facility. Loveland
Funeral Chapel & Crema-
tory will be handling the
arrangements.
La Grande
college, I had the oppor-
tunity to co-coordinate a
summer camp for older ele-
mentary school and early
middle school youth. It was
stressed to us as staff mem-
bers to build a relationship
with the children every day,
to take an interest in their
life every day. We instilled
a sense of belonging by
including everyone, gave
them infl uence in deci-
sion making by giving
them ownership in plan-
ning activities, and a sense
of competence by teaching
them life skills. Being a
positive infl uence involved
setting a good example but
also was as simple as asking
about their day or how they
were doing. Building these
assets wasn’t hard, after all
— it just involved the magic
of building a sincere rela-
tionship and simply taking
an interest in them.
In our small town, we
have the best opportunity
to help these youth succeed.
By caring, setting high
expectations and providing
opportunities for youth to
participate in programs, we
can all reduce youth use of
alcohol, tobacco and other
drugs.
This is the very reason
I joined the Union County
Safe Communities Coali-
tion when I moved here,
and I would encourage
you to do the same. We
are working together for a
safe, healthy and drug-free
community.
About the Author
Stu Spence is the city
of La Grande Parks &
Recreation director and
a member of the Union
County Safe Communities
Coalition.
PUBLIC SAFETY REPORT
FRIDAY
La Grande
MINAM — Work be-
ginsTuesday at 6 a.m. for
switching traffi c from the ex-
isting curve to the new curve
near Minam on Highway 82.
The Oregon Department
of Transportation reported
crews will work double shifts
for at least two days to make
the connections at each end
of the new alignment.
Travelers can expect up
to 20 minute delays. The
contractors aim to complete
this by Friday.
ilar interests learning skills
together naturally builds
positive relationships among
peers.
While these types of pro-
grams help build develop-
mental assets, families and
infl uential adults continue
to play the most important
roles in determining how
youth handle the lure of
alcohol, tobacco and other
drugs. That’s why, as a
parent, it’s so important to
talk to your children about
these issues and set high
expectations for them not to
engage in these behaviors.
It’s why at the La Grande
Parks & Recreation Depart-
ment we strive to train all
staff to build positive rela-
tionships with our youth
participants, whether it be
through youth sports, the
arts or summer camp.
When I was fresh out of
La Grande
SATURDAY
12:36 a.m. — Callers
reported a loud party on the
1400 block of Ninth Street, La
Grande. Police responded and
the subjects agreed to keep
down the volume.
11:25 a.m. — A caller report-
ed a live cow fl oating down
the river along Highway 244
near La Grande.
3:13 p.m. — A La Grande
resident reported receiving
harassing phone calls. Police
took information.
9:07 p.m. — A Union County
sheriff’s deputy responded to
the 62200 block of Dove Road,
La Grande, on a report of a
domestic disturbance and sep-
arated the parties involved.
10:13 p.m. — La Grande po-
lice responded to a complaint
about a loud party on the 1800
block of 26th Street. The par-
tygoers said they would keep
down the noise.
11:01 p.m. — Another com-
plaint about a loud party came
in from the 800 block of Brooks
Road, Imbler. Union County
sheriff’s deputies responded,
and the owners said they
would keep down the noise.
11:40 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to the 1200
block of Hall Street on a report
of an assault. Offi cers separat-
ed the parties.
SUNDAY
9:06 a.m. — A Union County
sheriff’s deputy responded to
the Flying J Travel Plaza, 63276
Highway 203, La Grande, on a
report of a dissatisfi ed custom-
er who refused to leave.
10:38 a.m. — The U.S. Forest
Service arrested Anthony
Charles Heise, 49, of Sum-
merville, on accusations of
driving under the infl uence of
intoxicants.
3:43 p.m. — A caller report-
ed the railroad arms were
malfunctioning at Greenwood
Street, La Grande.
5:30 p.m. — A caller report-
ed fi nding a gun at Walmart,
11619 Island Ave., Island City. A
Union County sheriff’s deputy
returned the gun to its owner.
7:36 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to Grande
Ronde Hospital, 900 Sunset
Drive, for a dog bite victim and
took a report.
Two-faced kitt en surprises Albany family
Janus cat lived
short life with
caring family

By Nia Tariq
Corvallis Gazette-Times via AP
StoryShare
ALBANY — A two-
faced cat was born
Wednesday morning on a
farm east of Albany. Not
that the kitten is cunning
and deceitful. It literally
has two faces on one head.
“We didn’t know it was
anything that cool at fi rst,”
said Kyla King, who looks
after the barn cats that fre-
quent her property.
A 1-year-old cat started
giving birth around 5 a.m.
Wednesday in a makeshift
kennel in King’s backyard.
King periodically checked
on the mother, seeing four
newborns around 7 a.m.,
then fi ve, and fi nally six
little ones appearing. But
the last one confused her.
The gray, tabby-coated
kitten had two mouths, two
noses and four eyes atop
one head.
King’s husband, BJ,
broke the interesting news
Submitted photo
The HMT Rohna, a British transport ship carrying American troops, was hit by a German
missile off the coast of North Africa on Nov. 26, 1943. The attack killed 1,138 troops,
including 1,015 from the U.S.
SEARCH
Continued from Page 2A
B. Perkins of Multnomah
County.
Their parents were never
told what happened, Ballo
said. The attack was clas-
sifi ed so the Germans
wouldn’t know how suc-
cessful it was, but the cen-
sorship was painful for the
families, he said.
The Oregon soldiers and
other troops sent Christmas
cards home before they
boarded the ship. All the
families received the cards
and assumed everything
was fi ne, but by that time
many of the troops were
already dead, Ballo said.
“One of the driving
forces of making this fi lm
is understanding what these
families went through,” he
said.
Two months after the
attack, families started to
receive telegrams that said
their sons were missing in
action. Five months later,
they received reports that
their sons were presumed
dead. No other details were
given, other than they died
in a ship sunk in combat,
Ballo said.
“Just imagine your son
Submitted photo
A memorial that honors
those killed in the HMT
Rohna attack is on display
at the Fort Mitchell Na-
tional Cemetery in Seale,
Alabama. The incident re-
mained classifi ed for years.
goes to war and you get
a card in the mail telling
you he died,” Ballo said.
“No body. No funeral. No
closure.”
It wasn’t until 50 years
later that details of the
attack became widely
known.
A group of survivors
met for a reunion in 1993
and that resulted in more
public attention. The survi-
vors then created a memo-
rial and spoke more openly
about their experience.
“Survivors didn’t tell
their families,” Ballo said.
“That’s why the story never
really got any traction. It
took 50 years before these
survivors got together
again, and that’s when they
started talking.”
Still, the attack is a lit-
tle-known piece of World
War II history Ballo is
seeking to highlight in his
fi lm.
“It was a long time ago,”
Ballo said. “That’s why
I consider this fi lm a last
chance to tell this story.”
to Facebook that after-
noon. His photos and
videos showed the kitty
eating from both mouths
and breathing from both
noses.
The birth defect the
kitten is believed to have is
called diprosopus, or cra-
niofacial duplication. It’s
very rare, according to
Oregon State University
veterinarian Jennifer War-
nock. Cats with this con-
dition are often referred to
as Janus cats, named for a
Roman god with two faces.
The disorder is believed
to be caused by an overac-
tive developmental protein
known as sonic hedgehog
(or SHH), named after the
popular video game char-
acter. The gene responsible
for SHH controls the width
and placement of facial
features. Too much SHH
can result in duplicate or
larger-than-usual features.
Many Janus cats don’t
live past a few days, and
The Oregonian reported
that the kitten died Sat-
urday night.
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A two-faced kitten born last week near Albany. Abnor-
mal protein activity causes the deformity.
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