The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current, June 27, 2020, Image 2

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The Observer., June 27, 2020, Page 2, Image 2

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Newspaper Page Text2A — THE OBSERVER SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 2020 LOCAL/REGION DAILY PLANNER TODAY Today is Saturday, June 27, the 179th day of 2020. There are 187 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT On June 27, 1991, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the ﬁ rst black jurist to sit on the nation’s highest court, an- nounced his retirement. (His departure led to the nomina- tion of Clarence Thomas to succeed him.) ON THIS DATE In 1844, Mormon leader Joseph Smith and his broth- er, Hyrum, were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois. In 1846, New York and Boston were linked by tele- graph wires. In 1880, author-lecturer Helen Keller, who lived most of her life without sight or hearing, was born in Alabama. In 1942, the FBI an- nounced the arrests of eight Nazi saboteurs put ashore in Florida and Long Island, New York. (All were tried and sentenced to death; six were executed while two were spared for turning them- selves in and cooperating with U.S. authorities.) In 1944, during World War II, American forces liberated the French port of Cher- bourg from the Germans. In 1950, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution calling on member nations to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North. In 1957, Hurricane Audrey slammed into coastal Louisiana and Texas as a Category 4 storm; the ofﬁ cial death toll from the storm was placed at 390, although a variety of state, federal and local sources have estimat- ed the number of fatalities at between 400 and 600. In 1974, President Richard Nixon opened an ofﬁ cial visit to the Soviet Union. In 1988, at least 56 people were killed when a commut- er train ran into a stationary train in Paris. In 1988, Mike Tyson retained the undis- puted heavyweight crown as he knocked out Michael Spinks 91 seconds into the ﬁ rst round of a champion- ship ﬁ ght in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled, in a pair of 5-4 decisions, that displaying the Ten Commandments on government property was constitutionally permissible in some cases but not in others. LOTTERY Megabucks: $3.1 million 10-14-25-29-30-45 Mega Millions: $35 million 6-20-37-40-48—15 x3 Powerball: $33 million 15-22-27-33-46—PB-23 x3 Win for Life: June 24 15-39-46-64 Pick 4: June 25 • 1 p.m.: 7-3-5-3 • 4 p.m.: 2-5-2-8 • 7 p.m.: 8-2-2-5 • 10 p.m.: 7-1-7-9 Pick 4: June 24 • 1 p.m.: 8-4-3-1 • 4 p.m.: 5-8-6-0 • 7 p.m.: 3-3-9-0 • 10 p.m.: 2-6-9-1 DELIVERY ISSUES? If you have any problems receiving your Observer, call the ofﬁ ce at 541-963-3161. La Grande teenager reported missing The Observer LA GRANDE — Local law enforcement is searching for a runaway teen. The La Grande Police Department in a press release Friday reported the family of 13-year-old Jarek Parker told police at noon Thursday the boy had run away from home. The family last saw the teen around The Observer LA GRANDE — Union County may receive a CARES grant in the next year. The $13.12 million 2020-21 general fund budget the Union County Board of Commissioners adopted Wednesday includes an appropriation for a Corona- virus Aid, Relief, and Eco- nomic Security Act grant of up to $750,000. The appro- priation was not included in the 2020-21 spending plan the county’s budget com- mittee approved on May 20 because it was not known if the county would receive a CARES grant. Since then, though, the likelihood of Union County receiving a CARES grant has become much greater, said Shelley Burgess, the administrative ofﬁ cer/ budget ofﬁ cer for Union Department did not report anyone found Jarek Parker by The Observer’s press deadline Friday. Police also asked anyone who informa- tion that may help in ﬁ nding Jarek Parker to call detective Ryan Miller at 541-963-1017. Jarek Parker, 13, of La Grande, was reported missing at noon Thursday. By Phil Wright The Observer LA GRANDE — Oregon Department of Forestry in a press release announced it is declaring ﬁ re season for its North- east Oregon District effec- tive 12:01 a.m., Wednesday, July 1. While wetter conditions were prevalent throughout the spring across much of the Northeast Oregon District, according to the press release, the weather is changing to a typical summer pattern of warmer and drier conditions, prompting ﬁ re managers to announce the beginning of ﬁ re season on the pri- vate lands under the depart- ment’s protection. “The fuel conditions will change rapidly with these summer weather condi- tions,” Joe Hessel, district forester, said in the press release. “In some areas, we have an abundance of light and ﬂ ashy fuels. These fuels will dry out quickly with the hotter and drier weather. These ﬂ ashy fuels will often carry ﬁ re rapidly when they have dried out.” The Oregon Depart- ment of Forestry also stated Image by Predictive Services of the National Interagency Fire Center declaring the start of ﬁ re season is a move to reduce the number of human- caused ﬁ res this summer. The declaration places ﬁ re prevention restrictions on landowners and the public. Additionally, ﬁ re prevention regulations on industrial logging and forest manage- Farmers Market moving back to Max Square The Observer LA GRANDE — The La Grande Farmers Market will move back to Max Square on Sat- urday, a week after the city moved it to the parking lot of Eastern Oregon Net Inc., City Manager Robert Strope said. “One of the reasons we moved it in the ﬁ rst place was the whole timing (of when) we had the out- break,” Strope said. He said the decision to move the market was out of an abundance of caution. “It was ‘let’s not put people in a situation where they could be exposed and let’s evaluate,’” he said. Strope added the inten- tion was for the move to be temporary, and given there has not been a major surge in cases since the outbreak County. The state will decide later when and how to dis- tribute federal CARES funds to counties. Burgess said having the CARES grant in its budget will put Union County in a posi- tion to quickly accept and receive it. Union County would have to adhere to U.S. Trea- sury Department guidelines when spending the CARES grant money. The addition of the grant in the budget means the county’s budget in 2020-21 will be about 5% greater than the current year’s budget. Despite these rosy num- bers, there are potential clouds of concern on the horizon because the ﬁ scal impact the COVID-19 pan- demic will have on Union County is not known at this time, Burgess said. — there were 218 conﬁ r- mations in two days, and 69 in the 10 days since — and the count since the out- break, he said, was lower than many speculated, moving the market back to its original location was OK. He also credited those at the farmers market for how they handled operating during the pandemic. “The farmers market from the beginning has done an exceptional job with social distancing and masks,” he said, adding he encourages those at the market to continue prac- ticing those measures. “They have been very responsible with what they are doing. We’re seeing a continuation of their being attentive to precautions they need to do.” ment activities are put into place. “This year, debris burning is prohibited from the beginning of ﬁ re season.,” Hessel said in the release. “We normally restrict debris burning a month or so into ﬁ re season, depending on conditions. This change is an effort to mitigate COVID-19 expo- sure potential for the public and our ﬁ reﬁ ghters. We also want to be sensitive to neg- ative smoke impacts for our vulnerable populations, and reduce the resource com- mitments typically associ- ated with escaped ﬁ res.” Contributed photo By Alex Castle EO Media Group UMATILLA COUNTY — The report of two mur- ders in the span of 72 hours between Saturday, June 20, and Tuesday, June 23, marks the fourth and ﬁ fth homicides reported in Umatilla County this year. On the west end of the county, the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Ofﬁ ce is working alongside Oregon State Police to investigate an apparent homicide after Tracey Scott Medows, 29, of Hood River, was found dead June 20 with gunshot wounds while stopped in a pickup at the intersec- tion of Lamb Road and Interstate 82 outside of Hermiston. On the east end, the Pendleton Police Depart- ment arrested William Harvey Butcher III, 28, on June 23 on one probable cause charge of second-de- 10106 N. ‘C’ • Island City By Dick Mason The Observer LA GRANDE — The La Grande School Board adopted a 2020-21 budget Wednesday designed to put it in a better position to weather possible ﬁ nancial shortfalls. The school board adopted a general fund spending plan of $26.39 million that will allow the district to maintain all programs and staff while boosting reserves signiﬁ - cantly. The proposal is $1.18 million greater than the 2019-20 budget and will allow the school dis- trict to build up reserves it likely will need a year from now to deal with expected state budget shortfalls due to the coronavirus-driven economic slowdown. gree murder for allegedly beating and killing Daniel Wade Self, 47, according to a press release from the Umatilla County District Attorney’s Ofﬁ ce. Both murders also occurred within 14 days of police initiating an inves- tigation in Hermiston after Jesus Eli Lopez, 21, was found shot to death June 9 at a residence on East Francolin Avenue. “There’s no linkage between the three separate crimes,” Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston said. “If there were a linkage then we’d all probably be singing a different tune rather than, in essence, just worrying about our own backyard.” While the killings may not have a connection, they appear to be a devia- tion from the norm. No homicides were reported in Hermiston An Independent Insurance Agency 541-975-1364 Meteorologist Joe Sol- omon of the National Weather Services in Pend- leton said the grasslands rather than timber lands could be the bigger concern when it comes to wildﬁ res. Fires in timber lands usu- ally kick up starting in early July, Solomon said, but more cool and wet weather is on the way and could create a delay. “Depending how much perception we get of this weather pattern, that could really knock down the ﬁ re potential going forward for the next week or two,” he said. The Predictive Ser- vices of the National Inter- agency Fire Center, Boise, in its June 1 report of the potential outlook for wild- land ﬁ res reported the Northwest had an above normal signiﬁ cant large ﬁ re potential starting in June in southwestern Oregon and expanded it to include all but the northwestern quarter of the region in July. That above normal designation, according to the outlook, will persist into September before the seasonal transi- tion begins. La Grande School Board adopts forward-looking budget The school district will not spend state money it has saved since mid- March when all schools in the state were closed to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The school district has saved a total of $900,000 since then, including $250,000 on substitute teaching costs, $300,000 on employee pay due to furlough days, and savings on transportation and athletics expenses, according to Chris Panike, the district’s business manager. The intent of building up reserves is to put the La Grande School District in a position to withstand projected decreases in state funding in 2021-22 and 2022-23. It appears there may not be a decrease in Umatilla County law enforcement report two homicides in 72 hours Reed & Associates for excellent service LOCALLY! Nicole Cathey appears Parker took a back- pack, a teal fanny pack, camping supplies, food and water with him. The Union County Sher- iff’s Ofﬁ ce, its search and rescue unit and Oregon State Police are assisting La Grande police and Parker’s family in the search for the boy. The La Grande Police State forestry initiates ﬁ re season in Northeast Oregon Union County may receive CARES grant By Dick Mason 8:30 a.m. that morning, according to the press release. Parker is 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighs 130 pounds and has light brown hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing a Star Wars shirt, shorts, glasses, a Harry Potter hat and blue tennis shoes, according to police. The family told police it Toll Free 1-866-282-1925 in 2019 and the city had been averaging just one reported homicide per year over the last 10 years. But now Hermiston police are investigating the murders of Medows and Lopez, along with the murder of Jordan Deloen Crandall, 28, who was found shot to death the morning of March 18 next to an irri- gation ditch near Alpine Drive and Punkin Center Road. The investigation into Crandall’s murder has yet to yield any arrests. Edmiston said his depart- ment’s recent investiga- tions have been challenged with the unfortunate luck of having relatively few leads to start with and the inherent difference between police, who need to show probable cause, and prosecutors, who need to show proof beyond a reasonable doubt. state funding in 2020-21. Local education leaders, including La Grande School District Superin- tendent George Mendoza, said they anticipate the Legislature will decide this summer to provide extra funding to schools. This would allow them to receive all the funding the Legislature indicated it would provide in 2020-21 when it passed an educa- tion budget of $9 billion for the biennium. Panike emphasized the budget was difﬁ cult to build because there are so many ﬁ nancial unknowns due the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think this budget is as good as it can be with what we know about funding for next year,” he said. NOW HIRING NOW HIRING The most valuable and respected source of local news, advertising and information for our communities. eomediagroup.com NOW HIRING NOW HIRING PRODUCTION WORKERS starting wage $19.65/hr. INTEGRITY SAFETY RESPECT EXCELLENCE That’s how We Do business. while building careers . Apply at bc.com/careers 90 S 21st Ave, Elgin, OR 97827 Boise Cascade is an equal opportunity employer and encourages women, minorities, and veterans to apply. Medicare, Auto, Home insurance and Annuities www.reed-insurance.net Kevin Reed