COMMUNITY CORNER
TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2020
THE OBSERVER — 3A
COMMUNITY Library book drops open, takeout service coming soon
Meetings
• LA GRANDE — The La
Grande School District Budget
Committee will have its fi rst
meeting Wednesday, June 3,
at 6:30 p.m. Blue Mountain
Translator District will broad-
cast the meeting at www.
bmtd.org. Due to COVID-19,
attending the meeting will be
possible via phone (call 1-530-
395-1030; PIN: 993 524 122#)
or online (www.meet.google.
com/cnx-sgps-jiw). This
meeting will include the elec-
tion of the budget committee
offi cers. The committee also
will meet June 10 and June 26.
Briefs
Elgin Chamber of Com-
merce delays banquet
ELGIN — The Elgin Cham-
ber of Commerce resched-
uled its annual awards din-
ner due to the coronavirus.
The banquet, which was set
for March 17 then postponed
until June 16, is now tenta-
tively planned for Sept. 22 at
the Elgin Community Center.
Kathy Bonney, presi-
dent of the Elgin Chamber
of Commerce’s board of
directors, said hopefully by
September the restrictions
on the size of group gath-
erings in Oregon because
of COVID-19 will ease to the
point that awards dinner can
go on. Bonney said the an-
nual banquet usually draws
about 90 people.
Art Center East delays
Color Run, seeks teach-
ers for online classes
LA GRANDE — Given the
uncertainty of the pandemic,
the Art Center East Board of
Directors voted to postpone
the annual 5K Color Run
indefi nitely. The center will
announce updates as the
state continues to reopen.
The center is scheduling
online classes. Teaching
artists interested in offering
a class can contact Nancy
Knowles at president@art-
centereast.org. ACE will work
with teachers to fi gure out
the best way to offer their
classes online.
Wallowa County summer
lunch program readies
ENTERPRISE — Building
Healthy Families in a press
release announced it will
be operating the Summer
Lunch Program in Wallowa
County.
During the school year,
more than 22 million children
receive free and reduced
price breakfasts and lunches
through federal programs.
When school is out during
the summer, many children
no longer have access to
even one nutritious meal
each day. Research shows a
lack of nutrition during the
summer may set up a cycle
for poor performance once
school begins. Summer meal
programs help fi ll the gap.
Building Healthy Families
will offer grab-and-go curb-
side pickup of lunch at three
sites on Mondays, Tuesdays,
Wednesdays and Thursdays
beginning June 15 and run-
ning through Aug. 6. Pickup
of lunches are available noon
to 12:30 p.m. Lunches are
free to all children under the
age of 18.
The curbside grab-and-go
lunches will be offered in En-
terprise City Park on the east
side; Evans Park in Wallowa
on the east side; and at the
Methodist United Church
parking lot in Joseph.
Local fi scal sponsors of
this year’s lunches include
Bank of Eastern Oregon;
Grace Lutheran Church; The
Ford Family Foundation and
others. Anyone who would
like to support the pro-
gram can make a donation
through Building Healthy
Families. For menus or ques-
tions, call Building Healthy
Families at 541-426-9411.
How to wash cloth face
coverings
LA GRANDE — The North-
east Oregon Joint Informa-
tion Center in a recent update
included these suggestions
on caring for and cleaning
cloth face coverings:
Bandannas, face scarves
and masks made of fabric,
such as cotton, can be
washed in your regular
laundry using hot water.
After laundering fabric
masks, tumble dry in the
dryer on a high heat setting.
Hand washing masks is also
effective, using hot, soapy
water. Scrub the mask for at
least 20 seconds, and dry on
high heat in the dryer.
C
ook Memorial
library.org.
Library is excited to
Our online 2020
announce our book
Summer Reading Program,
drops are open Monday,
“Imagine Your Story,”
June 1, and our takeout ser- starts Monday and runs
vice starts Monday, June 8.
through Aug. 14. The pro-
Patrons
gram has
may place
tracks for
OFF THE
holds for
children,
SHELF
items in the
teens, and
ROSE PEACOCK
catalog and
adults. Reg-
over the
ister online
phone starting Monday.
under the Beanstack tab on
And come June 8, takeout
our website or download the
times will be scheduled
Beanstack app. Earn points
between 10:30 a.m. and
by logging reading time
5:30 p.m., Monday through
and badges by doing activ-
Friday, and 10:30 a.m. to
ities. Participants in each
3:30 p.m. on Saturdays.
category are entered into
When arriving at the build- weekly prize drawings: gift
ing’s Fourth Street entrance, cards to local businesses.
patrons need to call us or
New programs include
ring the new doorbell. Staff our Storyline — call 541-
will set bagged items on a
314-4256 to listen to a
table outside; no patrons
children’s storybook. A
are allowed in the building.
new story is posted each
For more details about our
Monday.
phased reopening plan, see
Trivia Tuesday live-
our website, cookmemorial- streams on Facebook at
5:30 p.m. each Tuesday in
June. The online events
last about 10 minutes and
includes six questions, and
the winner receives a $5
gift certifi cate to the La
Grande Farmers Market.
Email rpeacock@cook-
memoriallibrary.org with
suggestions for trivia
categories.
Foreign Film Festival is
June 12-14. This month’s
highlighted country is Laos.
Watch a suggested feature
fi lm, “The Rocket,” avail-
able on the Kanopy app.
Explore Laotian culture
with books, audiobooks and
documentaries available
for free on the Hoopla and
Kanopy apps. These apps
are all free and available on
our website.
Our YouTube channel,
Cook Memorial Library-La
Grande, Oregon, has Story-
time with Alicia, presenting
stories and a craft. Another
Public health in Union County
to expand COVID-19 testing
The Observer
LA GRANDE — More
testing for COVID-19 is
coming to Union County.
The Center for Human
Development Inc., which
oversees public health in
the county, announced
Friday afternoon it will
expand and offer more
COVID-19 testing begin-
ning this week.
The push is to support
Oregon’s plan to reopen
and expand testing capacity
and disease surveillance in
the area, according to the
press release. The center
will offer testing to individ-
uals who meet the Oregon
Health Authority’s revised
and expanded testing
criteria.
“OHA recommends that
any person with symptoms
consistent with COVID-19
may be tested for COVID-
19,” the press release
stated. “If you have one
of the following: cough,
shortness breath, diffi -
culty breathing: or two of
the following: fever, chills,
repeated shaking with
chills, muscle pain, head-
ache, new loss of smell or
taste, or sore throat, you
may be eligible for free
testing.”
The center also strongly
encouraged individuals in
the following categories
with symptoms to contact it
for testing:
•Health care workers and
fi rst responders
•Residents, staff, chil-
dren or others in a care
facility or group living set-
ting, such as a health care
or correctional facility.
When clinical laborato-
ries have suffi cient testing
capacity, people in these
settings without symptoms
also can be considered for
testing if disease clusters or
outbreaks warrant.
•Workers who provide
direct care or service in
multiple group facilities or
who provide in-home ser-
vices, such as hospice care
workers or occupational
therapists.
•Essential front-line ser-
vice workers who have
regular contact with large
numbers of people, such as
grocery stores clerks, food
service staff and delivery
workers.
•Patients at least 60 years
old.
•Patients with under-
lying medical conditions,
including hypertension,
diabetes, cardiovascular
disease and compromised
immune systems.
•People who identify as
Black, African-American,
Latino, Latina, Latinx, His-
panic, American Indian/
Alaska Native, Pacifi c
Islander or as having a dis-
ability. Data indicate these
communities are at higher
risk for COVID-19 and
associated complications
due to longstanding social
and health inequities.
•People from linguisti-
cally diverse populations
due to longstanding social
and health inequities.
•Pregnant women.
•Patients who had con-
tact with a suspect or
lab-confi rmed COVID-19
patient within 14 days of
their symptom onset.
Anyone interested in in
requesting testing should
call 541-624-2179 for more
information. No out-of-
pocket cost or insurance
required.
The center also advised
individuals who feel very
ill should seek appropriate
care. If it is an emergency,
call 911. If it is not an emer-
gency but you feel sick
enough to need a medical
appointment, call your pri-
mary care provider. If you
don’t have a doctor, call 211
for a list of providers near
you.
offering is Miss Carrie
Reads. Also, our children’s
librarian is recording Bruce
Coville’s series, Moon-
gobble and Me, accessible
on our website.
If you don’t have a
library card, you can apply
for an eCard. Online regis-
tration for a Cook Memorial
Library card is open only
to La Grande residents and
residents of Union County
who do not receive library
services from another city
within the county. Visit
www.cookmemorialli-
brary.org and click on the
“Request Library Card”
link. Include your email
address or phone number
so we can contact you with
your card number and PIN.
If you already have a reg-
ular library card, you do
not need an eCard. If you
need your PIN, call 541-
962-1339, Monday through
Friday, 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
PUBLIC SAFETY REPORT
FRIDAY
9:59 a.m. — La Grande
police received a report of a
possible burglary on the 1300
block of Willow Street. An offi -
cer took down information.
10:43 a.m. — A caller
reported possible animal
neglect on the 1600 block of
Russell Avenue, La Grande.
11:34 a.m. — A Union Coun-
ty sheriff’s deputy responded
to Grande Ronde Hospital, La
Grande, for a victim of a dog
bite. The deputy took a report.
8:44 p.m. — The Union
County Sheriff’s Offi ce
received a report of a vehicle
theft on the 65800 block of
Hemlock Street, Elgin. A depu-
ty took a report.
SATURDAY
7:36 a.m. — La Grande
police received a complaint
about ongoing problems with
an aggressive dog on the
loose on the 1200 block of
25th Street.
2:50 p.m. — A caller report-
ed seeing a dog inside a hot
car at Walmart, 11619 Island
Ave., Island City. Someone
took care of the problem
before a deputy arrived.
5:07 p.m. — A caller report-
ed vandalism at Wolf Creek
Reservoir, North Powder. A
Union County sheriff’s deputy
CHD
Continued from Page 1A
Brogoitti said.
One of the tools that
has become vital for CHD,
according to Thompson, is
communication. He said a
large portion of the chal-
lenge with the COVID-19
response is in the heavy
amount of information
reaching the pubic. And
with the issue becoming
more politicized, the infor-
mation becomes polarized,
he said.
“There is so much infor-
mation in the world right
now, it further complicates
getting accurate and good
information to those who
need it,” he said.
Locally, Thompson said,
he has seen the informa-
tion around wearing a mask
and the number of cases as
some of the biggest issues
in getting the public to
listen to accurate data from
the center.
However, the Center for
Human Development is
doing what it can to share
accurate information, uti-
lizing partnerships in the
community and with the
state and federal govern-
ment. Brogoitti said the fre-
quent meetings with the
strength of relationships
the community is building.
Thompson hopes this is
something that can continue
into the future.
“I want to carry for-
ward,” Thompson said. “I
think it is really important
to engage our commu-
nity at a local level and
to understand our local
dynamics. I think it is
important to work at a
local level and set politics
aside and work together.
My hope in the future is
the community as a whole
wants to learn more about
the organizations in it —
who supports us and how
we can support them. It is
really easy to disconnect
and isolate and hopefully
it reconnects people in our
community, helping our
community be vibrant and
thrive in the future.”
La GRANDE
AUTO REPAIR
975-2000
www.lagrandeautorepair.com
Joe Horst
made contact and planned to
follow up.
SUNDAY
6:02 a.m. — La Grande
police responded to the 1100
block of Jefferson Avenue
on a report of a trespasser.
Police arrested Gregory Rex
Stephens, 73, of La Grande,
on accusations of fi rst-degree
trespass, second-degree bur-
glary and third-degree theft.
1:02 p.m. — La Grande
police received a report of
harassment on the 2100 block
of Adams Avenue. Police
responded and arrested
Christopher Lee Cox, 35, of
La Grande, on accusations
of second-degree burglary,
second-degree trespass,
second-degree disorderly con-
duct and offensive littering.
4:51 p.m. — A caller report-
ed possible wolf depredation
on the 73000 block of High-
way 82, Elgin.
6:15 p.m. — The Union
County Sheriff’s Offi ce arrest-
ed Chucky Eugene Pool, 19,
of Elgin, on accusations of
trespass, using a minor in the
commission of a controlled
substance offense, endanger-
ing the welfare of a minor,
burglary, second-degree theft
and third-degree criminal
mischief.
OBITUARIES
Jennifer K.
Albert-Garcia
Formerly of La Grande
Jennifer Kellie Albert-
Garcia, 59, formerly of
La Grande, died May 14
in Rosarito, Mexico.
Martin U. Girrard
La Grande
incident management team,
which includes the county
emergency manager, rep-
resentatives from Grande
Ronde Hospital and emer-
gency response services,
have strengthened the orga-
nizations’ relationships with
one another.
“There are different
partners in the community
who are responding to this
public health emergency,”
Brogoitti said. “We get to
see their strengths and learn
about how they operate.
This experience really helps
us build that foundation.
For public health, we are
deepening and solidifying
these relationships. We are
all in this together. We have
this really strong mission to
protect the community. We
are all really committed to
the same objective.”
Thompson said the pan-
demic also has brought
more collaboration inter-
nally at the center as people
who were not working a
pandemic response type of
job are now stepping up to
help where it is needed.
According to Bro-
goitti, this global pandemic
remains in the beginning
stages, so changes in public
health are not entirely mea-
surable. But, the differences
that can be seen are in the
Online resources include
OverDrive and Libby for
eBooks, eAudiobooks and
magazines; Hoopla for
movies, TV shows and
comics; Kanopy for fi lms;
Freading for always avail-
able eBooks; Freegal for
music; and the genealogy
database MyHeritage.
The library’s WiFi
(LGPLWiFi) is on for
24-hour access. The signal
reaches to the building’s
entrances and the parking
lot and does not require a
password.
Call us at 541-962-1339,
Monday through Friday,
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Find out
more on our website and
our Facebook page, Cook
Memorial Library-La
Grande, OR.
About the Author
Rose Peacock over-
sees adult services at Cook
Memorial Library, La
Grande.
Martin U. Gir-
rard, 91, of La Grande,
died May 29 at Grande
Ronde Retirement Resi-
dence. Loveland Funeral
Chapel & Crematory
will be handling the
arrangements.
Upcoming
local
services are
pending due
to efforts to
curb the
spread of the
coronavirus.
Starting the
funnest phase
of your life
PROTECTING our
Residents during this
Pandemic
MOST
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1809 Gekeler Ln.
La Grande
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