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Good day to our valued subscriber Gary Tucker of La Grande
Canoeing trip on Grande Ronde turns into rescue
Father recounts
capsizing in river
with son

By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
LA GRANDE — When
La Grande residents Eric
Hansen and his 11-year-old
son Louis went on their
second trip down the
Grande Ronde River in a
canoe May 4, their day trip
into nature ended up as a
search-and-rescue mission.
“We got ready to leave
and discovered that I had a
fl at tire and had to get that
fi xed,” Hansen said. “That
gave a later start than what
I’d hoped for. Other than
that, everything was pretty
normal. We launched from
a bridge several miles up
the Grande Ronde. Every-
thing was great, we were
having a great time.”
Hansen, 49, said the sit-
uation changed when they
came near the Bird Track
Springs Camp Ground
off Highway 244 a couple
miles southwest of Hilgard
Junction State Park. There,
a 45-degree bend in the
river trapped the canoe,
and the father and son
went overboard.
Hansen said he was
able to get himself and his
son out of the river after
swimming 50-60 yards
downstream.
“Once I got out of the
river I was fi ne,” he said. “I
knew it wasn’t anything to
fear. I knew we had some
unpleasantness ahead of us.
My panic was in the river.
I have never really been
faced with the thought of,
for a few seconds, I might
not get my son back. Once
that passed everything else
was a lot easier.”
From there, the goal was
fi nding a way back to the
highway or a bridge. Their
plan that day called for
a family member to pick
them up at the end of the
trip. The pair never showed,
and Hansen’s mother called
Union County Search and
Rescue at 10:11 p.m.
Rescuers found them just
before midnight, and the
pair reunited with family
around 2 a.m.
The father and son
started walking toward the
last bridge they had gone
under. Hansen had lost a
shoe and cut up some of
See, Rescue/Page 5A
Staff photo by Dick Mason
Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson
Kentrell La’van Farmer receives his high school diploma from Randy Shaw, a member of
the La Grande School Board, during Saturday’s drive-thru commencement.
While onlookers at Cove High School’s graduation Saturday morning hold to social
distancing measures, seniors hold to the tradition of tossing their caps into the air.
Coronavirus doesn’t dampen
LHS seniors celebrate
commencement
extraordinary graduation Cove’s
Class of 2020 takes to the road to gather

Cars line up close
to a half mile

By Dick Mason
The Observer
LA GRANDE — These
teenagers took one of the
biggest steps of their lives
Saturday without putting a
single foot forward. They
are the 165 La Grande High
School seniors who gradu-
ated on the go.
The graduates received
their diplomas at a drive-
through commencement
ceremony on K Avenue
outside the school’s main
entrance. The vehicle-based
approach was in lieu of a
traditional commencement
because of the coronavirus,
which has forced the state
to prohibit large gatherings.
Late Saturday morning
each senior, sitting in the
front passenger seat in a
vehicle with their family,
received their diploma
either from La Grande
School District Superin-
tendent George Mendoza,
school board chair Merle
Comfort or fellow board
member Randy Shaw. Each
was awarded at a diploma
station, complete with a
sound system, offi cial pho-
tographers and a drone
See, La Grande/Page 5A
their diplomas in time of COVID-19
By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
COVE — Cove High
School’s 17 graduating
seniors took to the starting
line Saturday for a drive-
thru commencement cer-
emony. The event marked
the fi rst time the class-
mates where together
albeit socially distant since
the the order came down
in mid-March to close
schools due to the new
coronavirus outbreak.
Rather than sitting on
folding chairs in the gym,
the seniors lined up their
cars on the football fi eld
and listened with their
supporters through radios
as they ended their high
school careers and began a
new chapter.
Each senior had a sign
with their name and photo
to designate their parking
spot, and many students
decorated their cars. As
commencement began, the
Union County Sheriff’s
offi ce escorted the vehi-
cles, which parents drove,
onto the fi eld.
“This is crazy, totally
unexpected and way better
See, Cove/Page 5A
La Grande girl organizes protest for racial equality
Subsequent demonstration set 4-5 p.m.
Tuesday outside La Grande City Hall

By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
LA GRANDE — As the
rest of the nation protests
and mourns the death of
George Floyd, 11-year-old
Miri Koltuv of La Grande
wanted to bring home the
fi ght for racial equality.
“I woke up Friday
morning and was reading
the New York Times and
saw the rally happening
there and decided I want
to have one here,” Koltuv
said.
She organized a pro-
test for Saturday morning
in front of La Grande City
Hall at Adams Avenue and
Fourth Street. After con-
tacting a few families and
friends, word about the
protest spread through
the community. The event
drew about 20 participants.
“It is not as big of an
issue here as in New York,
because there is not as
many people of color here,”
Koltuv said, “but there are
still people here and it is
important that we let them
know we see them and are
protesting for them.”
Cheryl Simpson of La
Grande joined the effort.
She said a second pro-
test is planned for Tuesday
from 4-5 p.m. again out-
side the city hall building.
Because of the short
notice on Saturday, many
people expressed a desire
but inability to attend. So
Simpson organized a fol-
low-up protest to give those
who want a chance to come
out and support the cause.
“I am happy that I had
that idea and inspired
people to do more stuff,”
Koltuv said.
Simpson said to combat
See, Protest/Page 5A
Contributed photo by Max Koltuv
Around 20 people gather Saturday outside La Grande City
Hall to protest for racial equality. Another event is set for
Tuesday.
Outbreak shines spotlight on public health organization
Improving communications is key to
CHD fighting virus on local front

By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
UNION COUNTY —
Public health offi cials in
Union County were pre-
paring for a pandemic
before the new coronavirus
struck Oregon. But the
actual outbreak has pushed
the Center for Human
Development Inc. into the
role as the central player in
the local response.
Center spokesman
George Thompson said
before the pandemic there
wasn’t as much aware-
ness of what the center
did daily. That was a good
thing, he said, because if
the center is doing its job,
the public would not be
hearing from it as much.
But Public Health Adminis-
trator Carrie Brogoitti said
because the coronavirus is
so visible, so is CHD Public
Health.
“For the most part we
are doing our job, but the
magnitude of what we are
experiencing is different,”
Brogoitti said.
The center in May 2019
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completed a bubonic plague
drill, a statewide exercise to
test the response from local
agencies.
The practice run assessed
the county’s emergency
response team’s communi-
cation and its speed at set-
ting up countermeasures
to a fake plague. The exer-
cise also tested response
time in sending assistance.
Thompson said the county
was seamless in its work in
the drill and performed well.
While drills and guide-
books on how to respond
to a pandemic are valuable
tools for the center, they
are not a one size fi ts all,
according to Thompson and
Brogoitti, especially with a
novel virus.
“We have to adapt and
modify our tools to some-
thing we don’t know,”
See, CHD/Page 3A
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Issue 66
2 sections, 14 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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