In Home & Living
The versatility
of turkey
Alex McHaddad for Mayor of La Grande
It’s Time to Renew La Grande!
Please visit www.alexfor.us
online to fill out a quick and simple
community issues survey.
Join me at:
541-605-2630 • alexforlgc@gmail.com
www.alexfor.us/contact
Follow us on the web
TUESDAY • June 16, 2020
• $1.50
Good day to our valued subscriber Bill Hall of Elgin
COVID-19 explosion hits county
99 new cases
identified in Union
County, taking total
to 123
By Sabrina Thompson
and Ronald Bond
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Union
County is in the midst of an
explosion of COVID-19.
The Center for Human
Development on Monday
afternoon announced 99
new cases. The spike puts
the county at 123 cases —
121 confi rmed and two pre-
sumptive — and moves
Union County to the top of
the state in cases per capita.
The center in a press
release stated 365 tests
were conducted over the
weekend, and the 99 new
cases are what has been
“identifi ed so far.”
“This announcement
raises a lot of different feel-
ings,” Carrie Brogoitti,
public health administrator
at the center, said in the
press release. “For me, it
raises concern. For others
it may raise fear, anxiety,
anger, uncertainty and even
skepticism. All of those
emotions make sense when
we have a new disease. I
think we all care about our
community. I hope that,
as a community, we come
together to protect each
other.”
Union County as of a
week ago had just six con-
Staff photo by Ronald Bond
The Lighthouse Pentecostal Church, Island City, is associated with the outbreak of COVID-19 in Union County, according to the Center for Human De-
velopment, which Monday confi rmed 99 new cases in the county.
fi rmed cases of COVID-
19, but added single cases
Tuesday and Wednesday,
then had fi ve more cases
Thursday. The county sat at
22 after Sunday.
All but fi ve of the cases
are considered active. To
date, nobody in Union
County has died from
COVID-19.
Outbreak involves
local church, more
The press release stated
several of the cases are
associated with Lighthouse
Pentecostal Church, Island
City, which recently hosted
a testing clinic.
“Local public health offi -
cials expressed appreci-
ation to the congregation
for hosting testing onsite,”
according to the press
release, “and underscored
that the results confi rm the
presence of COVID-19 in
the community.”
The church held services
in April and May, despite
Gov. Kate Brown’s execu-
tive orders limiting gath-
erings, and recently held a
wedding and a graduation
ceremony with more than
See, COVID-19/Page 5A
Observer fi le photo
The Center for Human Development on Monday reported many of the new positive cases
are not confi ned to one location and that large gatherings could pose a risk in spreading
the virus. Two weeks ago, hundreds of people attended a racial equality protest in La
Grande and did not follow social distancing regulations.
Restored jail is new feature of Elgin Museum
Museum opens
Thursday
By Dick Mason
The Observer
ELGIN — A small
weathered wooden building,
which lacks color but sports
a colorful past, is set to
be thrust into the Union
County spotlight.
The structure is one of
Elgin’s earliest jails, one
recently restored. The old
jail will be open to the
public for the fi rst time
since its renovation when
the Elgin Museum’s 2020
season begins Thursday.
“This is a dream come
true,” said Gerald Hop-
kins, president of the Elgin
Museum and Historical
Society, which restored the
old jail.
Hopkins helped lead the
effort to get the jail repaired
and moved to the museum.
The jail was fi rst located
on Seventh Street in Elgin
between Division and Alder
streets from 1895 to at least
1914. The small building
was moved to an Elgin farm
sometime after the Elgin
Opera House was built in
1912. A jail was put in the
opera house following its
construction.
The wooden jail building
in 2001 was moved to a site
about 50 feet east of the
Elgin Opera House, where
it stood unidentifi ed and
overlooked for nearly 20
years. In 2019, it was moved
by Countryside Sheds to
a spot about 20 feet away
from the east side of the
Elgin Museum.
Hopkins said it took the
Island City company about
eight hours to move the old
jail, which was in fragile
condition.
“It was tough to watch,”
he said. “I was sure that it
was going to collapse.”
Hopkins credits the
excellent and painstaking
efforts of Countryside
Sheds’ staff with the suc-
cessful move.
Next, Accelerated Con-
struction of La Grande rein-
forced the building’s roof
and put in a new rafter and
fl oor. Charlie Horn, curator
of the Elgin Museum and a
member of its board, then
did a signifi cant amount of
fi nishing work to complete
the project.
Horn is familiar with the
structure, for it had been on
a farm where he lived. He
raised chickens in the struc-
ture after cutting out a bar
in its front window to allow
roosters and hens to move
in and out of it.
The old jail’s two other
windows still have their full
complement of bars. These
windows were for its two
cells. One of the cells today
is barren while the other
sports a blacksmith tool
display.
See, Jail/Page 5A
Staff photo by Dick Mason
Gerald Hopkins, left, and Charlie Horn examine a lantern
Saturday in a cell which once served as Elgin’s jail. The
old jail will be open to the public for the fi rst time since its
renovation when the Elgin Museum’s 2020 season begins
Thursday.
Police investigate humane association’s former director
Current and former
BMHA members
respond to rumors
and allegations
By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The La
Grande Police Department
is looking into whether the
former director of the Blue
Mountain Humane Associ-
ation embezzled funds and
committed other criminal
acts.
La Grande police detec-
tive Ryan Miller said an
investigation is underway
and the department has
partnered with the FBI
to look into rumors and
accusations against John
Brinlee, including for
embezzlement and false
advertising.
Brinlee resigned from
the local animal shelter
and humane association
in June 2019. Miller could
not say what the investiga-
tion has turned up because
it remains in the early
stages, but he said the cur-
rent board members believe
Brinlee could have taken up
to $250,000.
The Observer tried
numerous times to contact
Brinlee without success.
Miller said the police have
not talked with Brinlee
because it is too soon in the
investigation.
Minutes from Union
County Board of Commis-
INDEX
Classified ...... 3B
Comics .......... 7B
Community .. 3A
Crossword .... 5B
sioner meetings and from
BMHA board meetings
detail a rocky relationship
with Brinlee.
Brinlee began his time
at the association working
at Barkin’ Basement, a sec-
ondhand store in La Grande
that supports the shelter.
He served as chairman of
the Blue Mountain Humane
Association Board of Direc-
tors and assisted with
animal control prior to
becoming director. By 2014,
Brinlee was the director
and living at the shelter. He
was not receiving fi nancial
compensation at the begin-
ning of his time as director,
according to a former board
member.
During Brinlee’s tenure,
the shelter went through
multiple changes and diffi -
culties. Bri Troutman, vice
president of the association,
said the shelter’s fi nances
were a serious problem
under Brinlee.
See, BMHA/Page 5A
CONTACT US
Dear Abby .... 8B
Home ............ 1B
Horoscope .... 5B
Lottery........... 2A
THURSDAY
Obituaries ..... 3A
Opinion ......... 4A
State .............. 6A
Sudoku ......... 7B
GOLF MATCH TO FUND SCHOLARSHIP
541-963-3161
Issue 72
2 sections, 14 pages
La Grande, Oregon
Email story ideas
to news@lagrande
observer.com.
More contact info
on Page 4A.
Online at lagrandeobserver.com