LOCAL
THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2020
FIRES
Online
For a longer version
of this story, go to
lagrandeobserver.com.
Continued from Page 1A
cut 17 percent of their cur-
rent budgets. It’s a base-
line for discussions with
the Legislature on how
to save some areas from
the chopping block while
deepening cuts in other
areas or increasing rev-
enue. The result would
be hammered out when
Brown calls on lawmakers
to return to Salem to deal
with the crisis.
Evans said he has no
timetable for when that
might be.
“I don’t know when and
if there will be a special
session,” Evans said.
Andrew Phelps, director
of the Oregon Offi ce of
Observer fi le photo
Firefi ghters with the Oregon Department of Forestry
training in June 2017. Fire crews this year will have to
take on blazes while not spreading the coronavirus.
Emergency Management,
said the coronavirus was
the longest, biggest and
most expensive disaster in
state history. Because the
pandemic hit every state
FOOD
Continued from Page 1A
morning. Then at 8 a.m. she begins
distributing the boxes just outside the
senior center’s main entrance to people
who have called ahead to arrange
pickup.
Much of the food provided by Har-
vest Share, just as it was before the
pandemic, is donated by Safeway,
Market Place Fresh Foods, the Oroweat
warehouse in La Grande and the
Oregon Food Bank. Most of the items
are tasty but nearing their expira-
tion dates. Many are collected each
morning by Andrea’s husband, Steve
Konopacky, and Thomas Houck, who
are members of the Community Con-
nection of Northeast Oregon’s regional
food bank staff.
Andrea Konopacky said the demand
for food has increased signifi cantly
in the past three months, since the
COVID-19 pandemic forced the state
to shut down many businesses and put
countless people out of work.
“We are busy, busy,” she said.
“People are so happy to have food.”
Items provided in food boxes
Wednesday include peanut butter,
cereal, pancake mix, rice, canned
fruit and vegetables and fresh pro-
duce. Konopacky, as she does all week-
days, also brings out milk, eggs and
fruit juice to those who request it.
Konopacky once greeted many people
coming to Harvest Share with hugs, but
that is no longer possible because of
social distancing rules. That does not
and almost every nation,
the usual network of shared
resources between govern-
ments collapsed under the
unprecedented demand.
Phelps said that even if
prevent her from playful give-and-take
with those she greets.
“I have fun with them. We have a
good time,” she said.
Those who came for food Tuesday
included Rod Zollman of La Grande
who arrived with his 6-month-old
Yorkshire terrier named Meghan.
Konopacky embraced the tiny dog
while holding it in her hands with
plastic gloves. The dog was one many
she greets each day while making Har-
vest Share distributions. Each time she
picks up a pet she must afterward put
on a new pair of gloves.
“I go through so many gloves. I love
pets,” she said.
The food boxes are meant to last for
about two days. Some come every day
for new boxes and for good reason.
“They are giving (their food) to
shut-ins,” Konopacky said.
She said running Harvest Share
is more work now that it was before
because so many food boxes need
to be assembled and they contain
heavy items like canned goods. Still,
Konopacky doesn’t seem to mind.
“I love what I do. I love helping
people,” Konopacky said.
Konopacky said that in working as a
volunteer for Harvest Share she is fol-
lowing the lead of her Polish grand-
parents who raised her from the time
she was 9 months old. She said people
often came to their door asking for
food and her grandparents never let
anyone leave empty-handed.
“They instilled that (the impor-
tance of reaching out to others) in me,”
Konopacky said.
a vaccine is found within
the next year, the recovery
from the damage wrought
on the health and economy
of the state will likely last
through the end of the
decade.
“Hopefully this is a
once in a lifetime event,”
he said. “This will be the
largest natural disaster to
hit Oregon by a factor of
10.”
The virus will still be
circulating through the
state population as the
summer fi re season starts.
Doug Grafe, fi re pro-
COVID
Continued from Page 1A
state’s economy. The number
also is encouraging due to the
fact the average is decreasing
even as the number of corona-
virus tests in Oregon is on the
rise. The nine highest totals
of tests administered in the
state have all come since May
8. OHA reported Wednesday
that the weekly number of
tests last week was up 5%
over the previous week, with
more than 17,000 tests admin-
istered, while the number of
positive cases last dropped
more than 25% for the second
week in a row.
The 14-day average also
has been on a steady decline.
That tally actually peaked
on April 9 at 71.8 cases. It
held at near 70 for a few days
before breaking below 60
and bottoming out at 53.7
on April 28. New infec-
tions saw another rise, and
the average peaked at 69.7
on May 16 before dropping
again. The 14-day average
hit 43.5 Tuesday, the lowest
since March 31 when it was
at 44.6, then ticked up to 44.4
Wednesday. The last time it
was below 40 was March 30.
Five of the lowest daily
positive counts since late
March also have come in the
THE OBSERVER — 5A
tection chief of the Oregon
Department of Forestry,
said COVID-19 was
shaping the way the state
will fi ght blazes. The key
will be early fi re suppres-
sion to hold down the
number of crews that have
to be deployed.
“We have to be aggres-
sive on the initial attack,”
Grafe said. “We have to
keep large fi res off the
landscape.”
Grafe said that likely
won’t be easy with about
90 % of the state in
drought condition and a hot
summer forecasted.
Smokey conditions as
in past summers would
aggravate the breathing
problems of those who are
struggling with COVID-
19’s attack on their lungs.
last 11 days, which accounts
for the drop in the average
daily case total, with the
lowest number at 11 on May
17. That’s followed by 16
cases on the 21st, 18 cases
on the 26th, 22 cases on the
25th and 24 cases on the
23rd. Prior to that, Oregon
had not seen a day with fewer
than 30 cases since March
24, when there were 18 new
confi rmations.
Monday’s and Tuesday’s
combined total of 40 was the
lowest consecutive-day tally
since March 19 and 20, and it
was the fi rst time with consec-
utive days with fewer than 25
cases since March 21 and 22.
Currently, 1,981 individ-
uals statewide are listed as
having recovered from the ill-
ness. It has claimed the lives
of 148 people, and 1,909 cases
are listed as active.
Union County, which has
seen six cases, currently has
just one active case. Wallowa
County has two cases, one of
which is active.
Multnomah, Washington,
Clackamas and Marion coun-
ties — the four hardest-hit
counties in Oregon — cur-
rently account for 83.5% of
all active cases in the state.
Twenty counties currently
have fi ve or fewer active
cases, and 23 counties have
10 or fewer.
JUDGE
Continued from Page 1A
injunction, the lawsuit could
proceed to trial in Baker
County Circuit Court.
The plaintiffs in the law-
suit, led by Elkhorn Bap-
tist Church of Baker City
and represented by Salem
attorney Ray Hacke of
the Pacifi c Justice Insti-
tute, which defends reli-
gious freedom, argue that
Brown, by invoking in her
executive orders a state law
dealing with public health
emergencies, is subject to
that law’s 28-day limit on
such emergencies.
By that measure the
executive orders ended in
early April, and the plain-
tiffs contend the gov-
ernor no longer has the
legal authority to restrict a
variety of activities, such
as the current 25-person
limit on public gatherings,
including church services.
Shirtcliff agreed with
the plaintiffs and cited the
28-day limit in his May 18
decision granting the pre-
liminary injunction.
Brown’s attorneys,
meanwhile, argue that the
governor’s executive orders
are not subject to the 28-day
limit in that law because
her initial declaration of an
emergency related to the
coronavirus was under a
different law — a general
emergency statute that has
no time limit.
Brown has since
extended the emergency
declaration to July 6.
Kevin Mannix, a Salem
attorney and former state
legislator who represents a
group of intervenors who
support the plaintiffs in the
lawsuit, issued a statement
about Shirtcliff’s letter.
“I am pleased that Judge
Shirtcliff chose to stand by
his original decision, which
I fi rmly believe is strongly
supported by proper anal-
ysis of the statutes,” Mannix
wrote. “We will now have
the opportunity to fully
engage with the Governor’s
representatives in front of
the Supreme Court.”
LA GRANDE HIGH SCHOOL
COMPLETED PATHWAY
Industrial Arts- Black
*Westin Blake
Tristan Eggert
Stanley Hurd
Ethan Johnson
Ashton Morwood
Trevor Powers
Craig Romine
Medical- White
Agriculture- Orange
James Burnell
*Isaak Carson
Craig Romine
Business- Red
Nicholas DuVernay
Henry Fager
*Lara Insko
Mia Moschkau
Kaleb Myer
Audrianna Neustel
Aspyn Wallender
Chelsea Williamson
Culinary Arts- Maroon
Haily DeHart
Jenna Freels
Brittany Robles Jimenez
*Sarah Witten
Zoe Adamson
Lindsay Adkins
Victoria Bechtel
Alexandra Brock
Julie Chandler
Jaiden Hafer
Felicity Houston
Jacie Howton
Justin Jenner
*Kristal Jensen
Rachael Keniry
Alexander Larvik
Renna Martinez
Kaleb Myer
Cuahutemoc Rivas
Alyssa Schelin
Jayce Seavert
Karsen Williams
*Kenzie Williams
Natural Resources-
Forest Green
James Burnell
Isaak Carson
Craig Romine
*Zachary Wiggins
Performing Arts-
Kelly Green
Victoria Bechtel
Molly Chadwick
Julie Chandler
Joseph Davidson
Sarah Durfee
Aubrey Fields
Portia Hayden
*Corinne Hines
Jacob Huntsman
Brooklyn Hutchins
*Christopher Kirby
Alexander Larvik
Cooper Markham
Reilly Morris
Lian Moy
Audrianna Neustel
Michael O’Rourke
Lillian Parker-Halstead
Katie Perry
Katie Rolf
Savannah Shorts
Cameron Snider
Maia Vandervlugt
John VanderZanden
Brixtin Walker
Visual Arts- Light Blue
Mykyla Baker
McKinzie Beaudry Roe
Josie Bornstedt
Tori Bowen
*Alexyss Chamberlain
Haily DeHart
Amanda Gelowicz
Felicity Houston
Ashton Morwood
Lian Moy
Lillian Parker-Halstead
Brittany Robles Jimenez
Maia Vandervlugt
Savannah Walsh
Karsen Williams
Camryn Willson
* Received Scholarship
LHS LOCAL
SCHOLARSHIP/RECIPIENTS
Soroptimist of La Grande- Union County High
Mid Columbia Bus Company
Edward W. & Marian C. Brog Foundation
Addleman Family Scholarship & Raymond K.
Addleman Scholarship
Westin Blake
Brooklyn Hutchins
Molly Chadwick
Lian Moy
Ashley Rasmussen
Josie Bornstedt
Anderson Perry & Associates, Inc.
Brooklyn Hutchins
The Bank of Eastern Oregon
Brooklyn Hutchins
Dr Martinez - Brace Face Scholarship
Carpet One Floor and Home
La Grande High School Class of 1958
La Grande High School Class of 1961
Katie Perry
Corrine Hines
La Grande High School Class of 1962
Josie Bornstedt
DeWuhs-Keckritz Educational Trust
Lara Insko
Nicholas Duvernay
Katie Perry
Molly Chadwick
Julie Chandler,
Rachael Keniry
Kristal Jensen
Markham Cooper
Jacie Howton
Brittany Robles
Cameron Snyder
Island City Lions Club Memorial Scholarship
Josie Bornstedt
Jacie Howton
Jayce Seavert
Kiara Hayes-Smith
Aspyn Wallender
Camryn Wilson
La Grande Lions Club - The Annual Dale Wyatt
Scholarship
Josie Bornstedt
Savannah Shorts
La Grande Rotary Noon Club- Scholar/Athlete
Scholarship
Nathan Reed
Lara Insko
La Grande Presbyterian Church Scholarship
Lara Insko
James Thurman
La Grande High School Tiger Booster Club
Loveland Funeral Chapel
Kiara Hayes-Smith
Corrine Hines
Ashley Rasmussen
Northeast Oregon Board of Realtors
Scholarship
Jacie Howton
OTEC (Oregon Trail Electric Co-op)
Old West Federal Credit Union
Oregon Hunters Association
Zachary Wiggins
Riana Scott
Savannah Shorts
Logan Paustian
Graduating High School Student and the
OTEC-EOU Rural Scholarship
Keith Oswald
Brittany Robles
Julie Chandler
Lara Insko
Katie Perry
Blaine Shaw
Nathan Reed, OTEC/EOU
Josie Bornstedt, OTEC/EOU
The La Grande Education Foundaton - Ruth
Crousee Kilby & Riveria Scholarship
Adrianna Neustel
Aubrey Fields
Katie Perry
School Scholarship
Kristal Jensen
Katie Perry
Sophia Madsen
Josie Bornstedt
Union County Sheriff’s Office
Union county 4-H Leaders Association
Scholarship[
Union County P.E.O. Tri-Chapter
Carolyn Castro
Valley Insurance
National Wildlife Turkey Federation
Eastern Oregon Women for Agriculture
We Paint La Grande, LLC
Hayden Robinson
Gabe Shukle
Unon County Farm Bureau
Dale Wyatt Memorial Athlete Award
Nathan Reed
Gabe Shukle
Arnie Hallmark Outstanding Senior
Athlete Award
Jayce Seavert
Kenzie Williams