2A — THE OBSERVER
SaTuRday, JunE 20, 2020
LOCAL
Daily La Grande schools add classrooms, boulder garden
Planner
By Dick Mason
The Observer
TODAY
Today is Saturday, June
20, the 172nd day of 2020.
There are 194 days left in
the year. Summer begins at
2:44 p.m., Pacific time.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On June 20, 1837, Queen
Victoria acceded to the
British throne following the
death of her uncle, King
William IV.
ON THIS DATE
In 1943, race-related
rioting erupted in Detroit;
federal troops were sent in
two days later to quell the
violence that resulted in
more than 30 deaths.
In 1967, boxer Muham-
mad Ali was convicted
in Houston of violating
Selective Service laws by
refusing to be drafted and
was sentenced to five years
in prison.
In 1994, O.J. Simpson
pleaded not guilty in Los
Angeles to the killings of
his ex-wife, Nicole, and her
friend, Ronald Goldman.
In 2014, the Obama
administration granted an
array of new benefits to
same-sex couples, including
those living in states where
gay marriage was against
the law.
LOTTERY
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Mega Millions: $22 million
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Powerball: $22 million
7-10-63-64-68—PB-10 x3
Win for Life: June 17
16-30-41-43
Pick 4: June 18
• 1 p.m.: 3-7-3-5; • 4 p.m.: 1-1-1-6
• 7 p.m.: 7-8-3-4; • 10 p.m.: 0-1-2-5
Pick 4: June 17
• 1 p.m.: 5-7-2-4; • 4 p.m.: 3-6-4-8
• 7 p.m.: 9-8-7-2; • 10 p.m.: 6-3-0-3
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer, call
the office at 541-963-3161.
TODAY’S QUOTE
“Anyone who keeps the
ability to see beauty never
grows old.”
— Franz Kafka, Austrian
author and poet (1883-1924)
La Grande
Farmers
Market
moves
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The La
Grande Farmers Market has
a temporary new home.
Beginning Saturday, the
market will move to Fourth
Street and Jefferson Avenue
in the parking lot of Eastern
Oregon Net, Inc.
The market is moving
from its previous loca-
tion at Max Square at the
request of the city because
of the COVID-19 spike in
Union County. It will con-
tinue operating at the EONI
parking lot until it can
return to Max Square.
La Grande City Manager
Robert Strope said in light
of the Union County Board
of Commissioners recom-
mending COVID-19 restric-
tions roll back to Phase
I and the city closing its
facilities, it would not be a
good idea for the city to be
encouraging gatherings on
public property.
“It was a very difficult
decision to make,” Strope
sad.
Jessica Bogard, manager
of the La Grande Farmers
Market, said she is very
grateful for the support the
market has received from
the city. Market organizers
contend it is important the
event continues. Bogard
said famers cannot sus-
pend their food produc-
tion and emphasized that
during a pandemic it is
more important than ever
that healthy food remains
available.
Because of the strict
social distancing rules the
market follows, and because
it is outdoors, Bogard said
she believes it is safer than
an indoor grocery store.
The market’s schedule
will remain the same: Sat-
urdays from 9 a.m. to noon,
and Tuesdays from 3-6 p.m.
LA GRANDE — Two
new classrooms, improved
security and a decorative
boulder garden.
All are on the La Grande
School District’s summer
projects list. Completing
the projects is making for a
busy summer for the school
district’s physical plant staff
and its contractors.
“We want to get as much
done as we can before the
students come back. We do
not want to disrupt classes,”
said Joseph Waite, the
school district’s bond and
facilities manager.
One of the most labor
intensive of the improve-
ments this summer will
involve adding two class-
rooms to La Grande Middle
School. Both will be on
the north portion of the
school’s library. The class-
rooms will occupy 40% of
the space the library has,
Waite said. The district
expects construction to
start in early July and finish
by late August. The class-
rooms will help the school
accommodate an expected
enrollment increase, Waite
said, and also make it easier
for the school district to
meet state social distancing
standards to protect people
from the coronavirus.
The cracked and crum-
bling concrete outside La
Grande Middle School’s
main entrance is getting
replaced as well. This will
boost safety, especially in
the winter. Waite explained
once the rough areas are
replaced with smooth con-
crete, it will be easier to
remove snow from the
expansive entrance area
each winter.
Extensive concrete
work also will be done at
La Grande High School
outside the Second Street
entrance to its gym and
auditorium. All of the con-
crete in this section, much
of which is deteriorating,
will be replaced, Waite
said.
A second summer
project involves the south
entrance to the high school
track and field complex.
Crews removed thick brush
about 10-20 feet inside the
entry to take away cover
where anyone could hide,
Waite said.
Now, at least 150 boul-
ders cover the site, and
native vegetation likely will
be planted in the area.
On the technology front,
the installation of addi-
tional cameras for moni-
toring activity in the school
district will boost security.
The cameras will expand
the area the school district
can monitor, Waite said.
The new cameras will be
part of a system with more
memory capacity, making
it possible for school dis-
trict officials to look further
back at photos for security
purposes.
The school district will
receive another tech boost
when the card key entry
system, which almost all of
its school buildings have,
will be linked into one net-
work. This will allow the
card key system to operate
much more efficiently,
Waite said.
The computerized
system, which the school
district has had for about
four years, is based on
coded cards employees
use to enter into build-
ings. It has been efficient
to operate, except when a
new employee is hired or
someone leaves. Then com-
puters at the card key sys-
tems of buildings have to
be manually uploaded to
recognize the new employ-
ee’s card or reject the card
of the employee who left.
This can be a time-con-
suming process depending
on how many buildings an
employee has or had access
to.
Waite said, for example,
that if a new employee
needed a card that pro-
vides access to all build-
ings, the uploading process
could take two hours. Once
the network is established,
however, this process will
be quick.
Work on reducing radon
levels at Willow School
and Island City Elementary
School also is underway.
Radon is a naturally occur-
ring below-ground radio-
active, colorless and taste-
less gas that can cause
health problems when there
is prolonged exposure.
Testing identified portions
of Willow and Island City
as having radon levels that
need to be lowered.
Much of the mitigation
work at Willow and in the
principal’s office at Island
City involves the installa-
tion of vents and exhaust
fans to suck out radon gas,
preventing it from entering
buildings.
Waite said he had hoped
to get a head start on
summer projects this spring
after schools were closed
because of the pandemic.
The work had to be post-
poned, though, because it
was not known how much
money would be available
for projects because of the
potential financial impact of
the coronavirus.
“There was too much
financial uncertainty,”
Waite said.
Today, however, the
school district, Waite said,
has a clearer idea of what
the range of the fiscal
impact might be, allowing
it to move ahead on projects
this summer.
Wallowa Lake fireworks on hold after rise in COVID-19 cases
No set date for
final decision on
popular event
J
By Ellen Morris Bishop
EO Media Group
ENTERPRISE — This
summer’s Fourth of July
fireworks show at Wal-
lowa Lake is on hold.
Fireworks coordinator
Mike Lockhart delivered
the update Wednesday
to the Wallowa County
Board of Commissioners,
citing the steep rise in
COVID-19 cases in neigh-
boring Union County.
“At this time, we have
most everything ready to
go,” he said. “The con-
tractor is ready. We have
the money. We have
approval from the sher-
iff’s office and Paul Kar-
voski, head of Wallowa
County Emergency Man-
agement. We are down to
the point of signing the
contract.”
But things can change
rapidly these days.
“As the situation in La
Grande popped up, the
landscape changed a little
bit,” Lockhart said. “At
this point in time we are
just holding off a little bit
to see how that develops.
We don’t want to do any-
thing that’s irresponsible.”
Lockhart said the
group is considering ways
people might be able to
attend by watching the
show from their vehicles
or other measures, which
he didn’t specify.
The fireworks are in a
similar situation to what
Chief Joseph Days had
been, he said.
“We will wait as long
as we can before we make
an announcement,” he
said. “But we don’t have a
set date for that decision
in mind.”
Commissioner Todd
Nash thanked Lockhart
for his transparency and
for voluntarily providing
the commission and the
public with an update on
plans.
“It’s going to be a hard
thing to give up. In light
of what’s gone on in La
Grande, you need to make
your decisions based on
that,” he said.
Wallowa County res-
ident Bruce Macke
expressed concern about
the potential for the
spread of coronavirus in
Wallowa County, now
that it has exploded in
a neighboring county.
Macke recently retired
from teaching science at
Cove High School. He
brought that experience
to bear in his pleas for
the commissioners to rec-
ognize and address the
threat posed by a serious
COVID-19 outbreak close
at hand.
“This outbreak is way
beyond the number posted
by the Oregon Health
Authority this week,” he
said. “Some 240 cases
have been out there (con-
tagious, spreading the
disease) for two weeks,
and the numbers are much
greater than those who
have been diagnosed. To
be honest about it, there
could be 1,000 infections
North Powder schools budget picture in limbo
By Dick Mason
The Observer
NORTH POWDER —
The North Powder School
Board will vote on the
adoption of a 2020-21
budget Tuesday, one which
would be about $100,000
greater than its 2019-20
spending plan.
The adoption, though,
will not give members of
the school board reason to
experience a sense of relief.
Superintendent Lance
Dixon said there is a chance
the board will have to make
spending cuts later.
The budget is built on
the assumption the Legisla-
ture will provide the state’s
school districts $8.97 bil-
lion for the 2019-21 bien-
nium. But the state expects
the school fund to lose
$490 million for 2020-21
due to the financial effects
from mitigating the corona-
virus pandemic.
The Legislature meets
to decide on this in the
summer.
“We will not have a true
idea (about the budget sit-
uation) until then,” said
Dixon.
in Union County, easily.
We have a wildfire in La
Grande.”
Commissioners
assured Macke they were
consulting with the med-
ical community.
Commissioner John
Hillock noted the board
was set to meet with the
hospital and other med-
ical leaders.
“We have a shipment
of N95 masks coming
and we are happy to give
one to anyone who wants
one,” Commissioner
Susan Roberts said.
The Oregon Health
Authority announced a
fifth positive COVID-19
case Thursday in Wallowa
County. The person is a
Wallowa County resident
in their 30s and isolating
while recovering.
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Staff photo by Dick Mason
A jogger moves past the new boulder garden the La Grande School District installed at
the high school’s track and field complex to replace thick brush. The project is among
several improvements the district is making this summer.
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