RECORDS & MORE
THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020
OBITUARIES
COMMUNITY
Briefs
Island City experiences
power outage
BAKER CITY — Accord-
ing to a press release from
the Oregon Trail Electric
Cooperative, a power out-
age in Island City Tuesday
affected approximately 860
members. The outage was
reported at 7:40 p.m., and
power was restored to most
members at 8:17 p.m. Power
was restored to the remain-
ing members at 8:35 p.m.
The outages were caused by
debris in the line.
OTEC, based in Baker
City, reminds residents in its
coverage area to stay away
from downed power lines.
To report an outage or the
cause of any outage, call
1-866-430-4265.
Bandits rumored to be
planning train robbery
SUMPTER — The Sumpter
Valley Railroad is offering
round-trip train robbery
excursions from McEwen
Depot this weekend, July
25-26. Trains depart at 10 a.m.
and at 1 p.m. Saturday and
Sunday. These excursions
take about two hours and in-
clude a layover in the historic
mining town of Sumpter.
Tickets may be purchased
in advance at www.sumpter-
valleyrailroad.org (under the
2020 Calendar tab; must be
printed and presented at the
depot). Fares are $24 adults,
$20 military and seniors,
$14 age 4-18; age 3 and
younger ride free. For more
information, email info@
sumptervalleyrailroad.org,
call 541-894-2268 or see the
railroad’s Facebook page.
Brown Bag looks at Wal-
lowa County’s hydroelec-
tric generation programs
JOSEPH — The guest
speaker at the Josephy
Center’s next installment of
its Brown Bag lecture series
will be Matt King, Wallowa
Resources’ renewable
energy program manager.
Beginning at noon next Tues-
day, July 28, via Zoom, King
will address the fast-growing
small hydroelectric gener-
ation programs happening
now in Wallowa County.
For the time being, Brown
Bags will be held online,
twice a month. For the
Zoom link and information
on future talks, go to www.
josephy.org/brown-bags.
La Grande
offi cer
graduates
from police
academy
The Observer
LA GRANDE — La
Grande police offi cer
Colton Wright graduates
this month from Oregon’s
Public Safety Academy.
Wright, from Oregon
City, joins 36 others
graduating from the
Oregon’s Department
of Public Safety Stan-
dards and Training 398th
Basic Police Class. The
16-week course covered
numerous training areas,
from survival skills and
fi rearms to ethics and
cultural diversity.
La Grande Police Lt.
Jason Hays said Wright
already has proven him-
self to the La Grande
Police Department.
Wright started as a cor-
rections deputy for the
Union County Sheriff’s
Offi ce after graduating
from Lewis and Clark
College, and the police
department hired him fi ll
to a vacant position in
November 2019.
In addition to the
police course, Wright has
completed nearly a year
of training, including
three months on the job.
THE OBSERVER — 3A
Roy H. Booth Sr.
1933-2020 • Meacham
Roy Herbert Booth Sr.,
86, of Meacham, died July
19. A graveside service will
be held July 24 at 10 a.m.
at Grandview Cemetery,
La Grande. Attendees must
wear a mask
and practice
social dis-
tancing. The
service will be
livestreamed
for those who
cannot attend.
Go to www.
lovelandfuner-
alchapel.com
and click on
the “Funeral
Video” button near the
bottom of the home page
just before the service
begins.
Roy was born July 22,
1933, in Finley, Oklahoma,
to Hal and Mary (Wil-
liams) Booth. He resided in
Lakeview and Prineville;
Dayton, Washington; and
La Grande. He attended
school in Prineville. Roy
served in the U.S Army
1953-1955. On March 12,
1953, he married Joan
Reeves.
Roy was a timber
feller and owned Booth
Chain Saws. He was an
avid hunter and fi sherman
and enjoyed camping
and dancing. He received
numerous trophies for log-
ging sports including World
Champion Homelite Tour-
nament of Kings in the
1970s and ’80s. He also
received numerous trophies
at archery tournaments
in the 1990s and 2000s.
Roy was a member of the
Grande Ronde Bowman
and Old Time Fiddlers.
Surviving relatives
include his daughters and
sons-in-law, Nita and Lloyd
Baker of La Grande, Car-
olyn and John Stewart of
Cove, and Jolene Smith
of Meacham; sisters and
brothers-in-law, Linda
and Ted Jewett of Dayton,
Washington, Barbara and
David Phinny of Dayton,
Washington, and Sandra
Hanson of Kennewick,
Washington; 12 grandchil-
dren and eight great-grand-
children; and many nieces
and nephews.
He was preceded in
death by his parents, Hal
and Mary; wife, Joan
Booth; son, Roy Booth Jr.;
and three sisters and one
brother.
In lieu of fl owers, memo-
rial contributions can be
made by donating a tree for
a dollar in Roy’s name at
www.teamtrees.org.
Online condolences
may be made to the family
at www.lovelandfuneral-
chapel.com.
Natasha Roba
Elgin
Natasha Roba, 35, of
Elgin, died July 20 at her
residence. Arrangements
are by Loveland Funeral
Chapel & Crematory of La
Grande.
Glen R. Marshall
1929-2020 • Formerly of La Grande
Glen Raymond Mar-
shall, 90, of Sumpter and
formerly of La Grande,
died July 9 at his residence
of natural causes. At his
request, there will not be
a service. A family gath-
ering will take place for the
spreading of his ashes at a
later date. Arrangements
are by Gray’s West & Co.
Pioneer Chapel, Baker City.
Glen was
born Dec. 5,
1929, in Pitts-
burgh, Penn-
sylvania, to
Floyd and
Amanda
“May” Marshall.
He joined the U.S.
Army at the age of 17 and
served as a paratrooper in
the 11th Airborne Divi-
sion, receiving a World
War II Victory Medal. Fol-
lowing his honorable dis-
charge, he held a variety of
jobs including working on
the Hanford Nuclear Plant
and the Bonneville Dam.
In 1952 he went to work for
the Union Pacifi c Railroad.
Glen married Pauline
Gardner in 1953 and they
raised fi ve children. They
separated in 1987.
Glen was passionate
about music and enjoyed
dancing, socializing and
meeting new people.
While living in La
Grande and working for the
UPRR, Glen owned the Mt.
Emily Cycle shop, where he
sponsored himself and his
sons as a competitive racing
team. Glen was highly rec-
ognized in the sport and
was very proud of his sons’
accomplishments. After 35
years, he retired from the
railroad as the manager of
the Portland Terminal Rail-
road Company.
Upon his retirement,
Glen made his home in
the Sumpter/Baker Valley
where he enjoyed the
hunting, fi shing, snowmo-
biling and beautiful scenery
of the Elkhorn Mountains.
He served as the presi-
dent of the local snowmo-
bile club, and in his later
years he could often be
seen riding on the mountain
trails near his home in his
side-by-side with his dog
and constant companion,
Biscuit.
Survivors include his
partner, Berta Goodin;
children and their spouses,
Larry and Diane Mar-
shall, Paula and Tom Hat-
fi eld, Lane and Brenda
Marshall, Randy and
Karen Marshall, and
Scott Marshall; and seven
grandchildren and 12
great-grandchildren.
Upcoming
local
services
July 24 — ROY
BOOTH SR.: 10 a.m.
graveside service, Grand-
view Cemetery, La
Grande; masks and social
distancing required;
watch the livestream
at www.lovelandfuner-
alchapel.com (click on
“Funeral Videos” near
bottom of page).
July 24 — IRMA
ROGERS: noon graveside
service, Hillcrest East
Cemetery, La Grande;
please wear a mask.
July 25 — DAVE
MURRILL: 11 a.m. grave-
side service, Enterprise
Cemetery.
— Calendar cour-
tesy of Loveland
Funeral Chapel, La
He was preceded in
death by his parents and
older brother, Edward.
To light a candle in
Glen’s memory or leave a
condolence for the family,
visit www.grayswestco.
com.
Eye to the sky: What meteorologists really do
hen you tell
someone you’re
a meteorologist,
the fi rst thing you’re likely
to hear is, “Really? What
channel are you on?” fol-
lowed by, “I sure wish I
could fi nd a job where I was
W
MARC
AUSTIN
METEOROLOGIST
wrong 50% of the time and
still got paid.” These are
musings we weather profes-
sionals are used to, and as
someone who really enjoys
engaging the public, they
don’t bother me. In fact, I
use them to better inform
people on what meteorolo-
gists really do, and how our
forecasts are actually right
most of the time. The truth
is, the world of meteorology
careers is more diverse than
people think.
First, you have your aca-
demic meteorologists who
largely work in public and
private universities. Thank
God they exist or nobody
would ever understand how
weather works. There are
literally dozens of complex
equations and atmospheric
laws. Without researchers
and professors, we would
never understand these con-
cepts, and I assure you our
forecasts would be about as
accurate as Bob’s Weather
Forecasting Stone.
Then there are the pro-
grammers — the
ones who are con-
stantly seeking to
improve numerical
weather models and
developing apps and
tools to aid in weather fore-
casting and warning deci-
sion-making. More on this
in a future column. There’s
just way too much to
expand upon here.
Then you have your TV
meteorologists. Believe it
or not, some of the most
famous TV personali-
ties don’t actually have
a degree in meteorology,
but rather one in com-
munications. You com-
bine this with formidable
people skills and a great
smile, and amazing things
happen. A heavy majority
of the folks who go into
TV are meteorologists, and
all of them do a fantastic
job because most people
are mortifi ed to get in front
of a dozen people, much
less an unknown number
of critics watching from
home.
Finally, you have your
operational meteorologists
or weather forecasters. A
large number of us work in
the private sector for com-
panies like AccuWeather
or Weather Underground,
but a sizable number are
employed by the govern-
ment. Most federal posi-
tions are in the military or
the National Weather Ser-
vice, which is made up of
meteorologists, program-
mers and technicians. We
all work diligently toward
a unifi ed mission of saving
lives and protecting prop-
erty from potential damage
or loss due to adverse
weather.
While many in the gen-
eral public have heard of
the NWS, not all are aware
of the variation or techni-
cality of the work we do,
so it’s worth touching on.
We put together fore-
casts out to the next seven
days for that weekend
barbecue, outdoor wed-
ding, or upcoming trip you
have planned. We know
weather impacts every
facet of life, whether it is
life-threatening or not.
More importantly, we issue
watches and warnings
for hazardous weather,
such as severe thunder-
storms, winter storms, and
fl ooding. We also work
hard to educate people on
the dangers of weather and
how they can stay safe and
prepare ahead of time to
prevent any potential harm
to themselves or their
families.
More recently, the NWS
has embarked on a mission
to provide weather infor-
mation to decision makers.
We call this Impact-based
Decision Support Ser-
vices, and the goal is to
provide partner agencies
in emergency management
and public safety infor-
mation on threatening
weather well in advance.
This enables them to posi-
tion resources and employ
mitigation strategies to
minimize potential dam-
ages and casualties. We
will discuss IDSS fur-
ther in a future article, but
the bottom line is there’s
a lot more that goes into
forecasting than simply
reviewing a model, com-
posing a forecast, and
transmitting it.
Interpretation of
impacts-based weather
information has become a
cornerstone of NWS oper-
ations. Helping our core
partners make better deci-
sions enables them to do
their jobs more effectively,
and keeps you and your
families safer during dan-
gerous weather.
So the next time
someone tells you they are
a meteorologist, instead of
settling for the traditional
quips about forecast accu-
racy, what channel they
work for, or recanting the
“Great Storm of ‘93,” ask
them what they actually
do in weather. I’m certain
most would be happy to
oblige, and you’ll probably
learn something new about
the fascinating world of
weather and the people who
make it their life’s work.
———
About the Author
Marc Austin is the
warning coordination mete-
orologist for the National
Weather Service in Pend-
leton, the station that pro-
vides weather forecasts
for Union and Wallowa
counties.
OHA publishes COVID-19 test site locator
EO Media Group
SALEM — The Oregon
Health Authority announced
it has published a COVID-19
test site locator to help Ore-
gonians across fi nd testing
sites in their community.
The OHA in a press
release Tuesday, July 21,
reported the interactive
map is available on pages
in English and Spanish and
can be toggled into mul-
tiple other languages. The
webisites are healthoregon.
org/covid19testing or
healthoregon.org/pruebasde-
covid19 (Spanish).
Union County has two
testing sites: Center for
Human Development, 2301
Cove Ave., La Grande,
541-962-8800; and Grande
Ronde Hospital Community
Clinic, 570 S. Eighth Ave.,
Elgin, 541-437-2273.
The Grande Ronde clinic
requires an appointment
and a screening and limits
testing to individuals iden-
tifi ed through investigations
or individuals that meet
Oregon State Public Health
Lab criteria.
For Wallowa County,
there are two testing sites in
Enterprise: Winding Waters
Community Health Center,
603 Medical Parkway,
541-426-4502, and Wal-
lowa Memorial Hospital,
601 Medical Parkway,
541-426-3111.
Both require appoint-
ments, a physician order and
other restrictions. Winding
Waters also requires
screening.
There also are several
testing sites in neighboring
counties, according to the
website.
People who experience
COVID-19 symptoms,
including fever, cough or
shortness of breath, should
contact a health care pro-
vider to discuss whether to
be tested. Health care pro-
viders determine whether
testing is appropriate based
on symptoms and test avail-
ability in their area.
“Removing barriers to
testing is important to help
Oregonians stay healthy
and to slow the spread of
COVID-19,” said Dean
Sidelinger, MD, state epi-
demiologist and state health
offi cer. “This new resource
can help people fi nd ongoing
testing locations in their
community.”
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