The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current, June 18, 2020, Image 2

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The Observer., June 18, 2020, Page 2, Image 2

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Newspaper Page Text2A — THE OBSERVER DAILY PLANNER TODAY Today is Thursday, June 18, the 170th day of 2020. There are 196 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT On June 18, 1983, astro- naut Sally K. Ride became America’s ﬁ rst woman in space as she and four col- leagues blasted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger on a six-day mission. ON THIS DATE In 1812, the War of 1812 began as the United States Congress approved, and President James Madison signed, a declaration of war against Britain. In 1815, Napoleon Bona- parte met defeat at Waterloo as British and Prussian troops defeated the French in Belgium. In 1940, during World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged his countrymen to conduct themselves in a manner that would prompt future gen- erations to say, “This was their ﬁ nest hour.” Charles de Gaulle delivered a speech on the BBC in which he rallied his countrymen after the fall of France to Nazi Germany. In 1945, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower received a tumultuous welcome in Washington D.C., where he addressed a joint session of Congress. In 1953, a U.S. Air Force Douglas C-124 Globemas- ter II crashed near Tokyo, killing all 129 people on board. Egypt’s 148-year-old Muhammad Ali Dynasty came to an end with the overthrow of the monarchy and the proclamation of a republic. In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Georgia v. McCo- llum, ruled that criminal defendants could not use race as a basis for excluding potential jurors from their trials. In 1996, Richard Allen Davis was convicted in San Jose, California, of the 1993 kidnap-murder of 12-year- old Polly Klaas of Petaluma. (Davis is on death row.) In 2018, President Donald Trump announced that he was directing the Pentagon to create the “Space Force” as an independent service branch. LOTTERY Megabucks: $2.7 million 2-7-16-36-41-42 Mega Millions: $22 million 21-23-33-35-42—6 x3 Powerball: $20 million 2-12-32-50-65—PB-5 x3 Win for Life: June 15 5-28-60-71 Pick 4: June 16 • 1 p.m.: 2-2-1-9; • 4 p.m.: 5-5-5-2 • 7 p.m.: 4-0-4-5; • 10 p.m.: 6-2-7-2 Pick 4: June 15 • 1 p.m.: 5-5-2-3; • 4 p.m.: 2-1-0-2 • 7 p.m.: 4-5-7-1; • 10 p.m.: 8-0-2-5 DELIVERY ISSUES? If you have any problems receiving your Observer, call the ofﬁ ce at 541-963-3161. TODAY’S QUOTE “Most of the successful people I’ve known are the ones who do more listening than talking.” — Bernard M. Baruch, American businessman and statesman (1870-1965) THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2020 LOCAL/REGION Summer lunch program a hit at Riveria By Dick Mason The Observer LA GRANDE — Many summer traditions, including festivals, parades and sporting events, are on hold in La Grande this summer because of the coronavirus pandemic, but at least one is continuing in a big way — the serving of free lunches at the Riveria Activity Center. Community Connec- tion of Northeast Oregon is again providing free midday meals at Riveria to all youths age 1-18 each weekday just as the nonproﬁ t has done each summer since 2005. The program got off to a bit of a slow start its ﬁ rst day on June 8 when just 40 youths showed up for lunch. But it gained momentum with micro- wave-like quickness. Now an average of close to 100 youths a day have been coming for lunch with a high of 144 on June 12. Loran Moltman, the summer food program supervisor at the Union County Senior Center, credits the increase to rapid communication among the families the program is helping. “The word got out,” Moltman said. The lunches Moltman helps prepare are available on a grab-and-go basis. Nobody is allowed to eat meals inside the Riveria Activity Center because of state social distancing rules to protect people from the coronavirus pandemic. The food service staff at Staff photo by Dick Mason Marissa Johnson and her brother, Braden, step out of the Riveria Activity Center, La Grande, on Tuesday with their free lunches provided by Community Connection. Staff photo by Dick Mason Volunteers Gerry Montgomery, right, and Jeanette Wilson prepare meals Tuesday for children at the Riveria Activity Center, La Grande. the Union County Senior Center prepares the meals under the leadership of Sydney Gleeson, the cen- ter’s food service manager. In previous summers, staff prepared the meals for youngsters at the Riveria Activity Center. This year, however, workers are pre- paring the meals at the senior center. The staff already prepares the meals for seniors, so preparing the meals for youth boosts efﬁ ciency. Moltman serves the meals at Riveria with assis- tance from volunteers, including Gerry Mont- gomery, who is heart- ened by the enthusiastic responses she receives from children. “Their faces light up,” Montgomery said. Montgomery noted during one particu- larly busy day a boy who appeared to be 9 or 10 asked her if she was being paid. When Montgomery said she was a volunteer, the boy seemed upset. “He said, ‘You should get paid, you work too hard not to be paid,’” Mont- gomery recalled. She said children like that make working as a vol- unteer a joyful experience. Jeanette Wilson, a fellow volunteer, shared this senti- ment, noting that time ﬂ ies for her because she so likes helping others. “An hour (assisting at Riveria) seems like a few minutes,” Wilson said. Judy Sherman, also a volunteer, offered a similar expression. “I have so much fun I can’t stand it,” Sherman said. The lunches Sherman helps serve are funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which reimburses Community Connection. The lunches are avail- able each weekday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. As 12:30 p.m. approaches Moltman goes outside and announces that second servings are available. The main courses of the meals served include enchi- ladas, roast pork, chicken and hot dogs. Moltman said hot dogs have proven the most popular entree this summer. They were the main course on Friday when the lunch program had its highest turnout of 144. Like her volunteer staff, Moltman indicated her work is a labor of love. “It is super fun,” she said. “I have always liked cooking because I like making people happy.” Superintendents already planning for next school year School reopening recommendations prompt concerns  By Sabrina Thompson The Observer UNION COUNTY — The Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority June 10 delivered requirements and recommendations for the reopening of schools in a guidebook titled, “Ready Schools, Safe Learners.” Guidelines include 35 square feet per person when determining room capacity, minimizing time standing in lines and ensuring stu- dents stay 6 feet apart. The Oregon Department of Education has identiﬁ ed three models a school can adopt with the recommen- dations. Schools can return to in-classroom instruc- tion as long as they meet requirements or schools can go to online instruction, and the third is a mixed model with some days in the class- room and some learning from home. Superintendents from La Grande, Elgin and Union school districts shared their districts’ progress and their thoughts on the regulations. La Grande School District Superintendent George Mendoza said the district is looking into how to follow the state’s regulations, par- ticularly in regard to the amount of space in the school buildings. He said it is the school district’s pri- ority to serve as many stu- dents as possible. Mendoza said the district is working with local health ofﬁ cials to determine if the schools can meet guide- lines to bring all students back into the classroom full time. If that requirement can’t be met, Mendoza said, the school will likely adopt an attendance model with select students in the build- ings on alternating days. “Ultimately our goal is to ensure we have a plan that allows for distance learning options, hybrid options based on learning needs and all students back at school as options in our community,” Mendoza said. Elgin School District Superintendent Dianne Greif posted on the school’s Facebook page as a way of updating the community on the school’s plan. Greif said the district is creating plans for multiple scenarios with the worst case being school at home and the best case being everyone back in the class- room as usual. She said her biggest concern is the pos- sibility these guidelines could change again. While parents normally would be involved in reviewing the plans, the district will wait a few weeks before engaging in parental review. In the meantime, staff and faculty are developing potential plans for reopening. “Near the end of July, I will invite parents to come in and review the plans our District has developed,” Greif said. “You will have the opportunity to respond, offer your ideas, and par- ticipate in ﬁ nalizing the draft we send in to the state. Some of our best ideas this spring have come from par- ents’ feedback. ” Union School District Superintendent Carter Wells echoed Mendoza’s concern about the square footage of the school build- ings. While La Grande schools have around 2,000 students compared to Union’s 375, the Union School District has one location for its students. La Grande has multiple sites. To combat this issue, Wells said the district is looking at potential hybrid models that allow students to spread out. “Trying to create a model where the envi- ronment is as clean and hygienic as possible is going to be a barrier for us, and we are going to have to do some outside-of-the-box thinking,” Wells said. The district is developing models for the school board to consider when it meets in July. Parents and students during that meeting also can provide input regarding the proposals. Once the school boards approve plans and receive approval from the Oregon Department of Education, students and parents will have a better sense of what the 2020-21 school year will look like. Oregon lawmakers ready to meet in special session next week By Peter Wong Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Bills to tighten the accountability of police after the death of George Floyd in Min- neapolis would lead a list of about two dozen action items proposed for a spe- cial session of the Oregon Legislature targeted for Wednesday, June 24. Gov. Kate Brown called for a session Tuesday morning. The session will exclude talks of potential spending cuts in the current two-year state budget. Leg- islative budget subcommit- tees are just starting to look at the cuts submitted by agencies, hearing from the public and coming up with their own proposals. Two of them have scheduled meetings. Topping the list are bills dealing with police accountability, as proposed by the nine-member People of Color Caucus and sup- ported by Brown and Dem- ocratic legislative leaders in the aftermath of street pro- tests in Portland and other cities. Floyd died May 25. One bill would bar a labor arbitrator from reducing discipline against a police ofﬁ cer if the employing agency con- cluded there was miscon- duct on the ofﬁ cer’s part. This bill has passed the Senate without dissent in 2019 and 2020, but failed to reach a vote in the House before the abrupt close of the 2020 session on March 5. Others may prove to be more controversial. There are proposals to set up a statewide database for police disciplinary cases, designate the attorney gen- eral instead of district attor- neys to investigate police when use of force results in death or serious inju- ries, require police to report misbehavior by other police, and outlaw the use of chokeholds, tear gas and other methods. Several proposed action items stem from Brown’s executive orders during the coronavirus pandemic, such as moratoriums on residen- tial and commercial evic- tions, changes to public meeting requirements, and shielding payments made under the federal corona- virus aid act. Others are bills that were proposed but failed to advance in the 2020 ses- sion. One of them would make technical changes in the commercial activity tax that Oregon lawmakers enacted in 2019. Business groups have urged a sus- pension of the tax for the ﬁ rst two quarters of 2020, but Brown has declined so far to do so. The Depart- ment of Revenue did defer payments by the smallest businesses subject to the tax to April 2021, and it will not penalize businesses for late reports if they show good- faith efforts. One bill would adjust deadlines for court cases, particularly for some crimes that are subject to speedy-trial requirements. The courts do not have the legal authority to change the deadlines, which were affected when courts cur- tailed operations during the pandemic. Charles Boyle, spokes- FAMILY OWNED person for the governor, said her ofﬁ ce expected to make an announcement on special session this week. Once a session is underway, issues are not limited, but legislative leaders can control the ﬂ ow of bills through the com- mittee system. Oregon has had 41 spe- cial legislative sessions since statehood, ranging from one to 37 days in length, the latter during the 1982 recession. More than half of them (22) have taken place since 1980. The governor has called all but three of them, although leg- islators called themselves into session in 2008 and 2010 to test the concept of annual sessions. Voters decided in 2010 to move to annual sessions; only four states still have legislatures that meet every other year. STORAGE BUILDINGS www.CountrysideSheds.com Small Cabin (541) 663-0246 Locally owned and operated for over 25 years Home Away From Home La GRANDE AUTO REPAIR 975-2000 www.lagrandeautorepair.com MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE Joe Horst ACDelcoTSS RENT to OWN 215 Elm Street La Grande (541) 963-5440 northwestfurnitureandmattress.com starting at $ 68 Month 10505 N. 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