2A — THE OBSERVER
Daily
Planner
TODAY
Today is Saturday, July
25, the 207th day of 2020.
There are 159 days left in
the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On July 25, 1866, Ulysses
S. Grant was named General
of the Army of the United
States, the first officer to
hold the rank.
ON THIS DATE
In 1814, the Battle of
Lundy’s Lane, one of the
bloodiest battles of the
War of 1812, took place in
present-day Niagara Falls,
Ontario, with no clear victor.
In 1943, Benito Mussolini
was dismissed as premier of
Italy by King Victor Emman-
uel III, and placed under
arrest. (However, Mussolini
was later rescued by the
Nazis, and re-asserted his
authority.)
In 1946, the United States
detonated an atomic bomb
near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific
in the first underwater test
of the device.
In 1952, Puerto Rico
became a self-governing
commonwealth of the Unit-
ed States.
In 1956, the Italian liner SS
Andrea Doria collided with
the Swedish passenger ship
Stockholm off the New En-
gland coast late at night and
began sinking; 51 people
— 46 from the Andrea Doria,
five from the Stockholm
— were killed. (The Andrea
Doria capsized and sank the
following morning.)
In 1960, a Woolworth’s
store in Greensboro, North
Carolina, that had been
the scene of a sit-in protest
against its whites-only lunch
counter dropped its segrega-
tion policy.
In 1972, the notorious
Tuskegee syphilis experi-
ment came to light as The
Associated Press reported
that for the previous four de-
cades, the U.S. Public Health
Service, in conjunction with
the Tuskegee Institute in
Alabama, had been allowing
poor, rural Black male
patients with syphilis to go
without treatment, even al-
lowing them to die, as a way
of studying the disease.
In 1985, a spokeswoman
for Rock Hudson confirmed
that the actor, hospitalized
in Paris, was suffering from
AIDS. (Hudson died in Octo-
ber 1985.)
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $4.3 million
1-13-17-29-30-33
Mega Millions: $113 million
14-25-26-41-43—15 x3
Powerball: $106 million
16-25-36-44-55—PB-14 x3
Win for Life: July 22
15-19-43-59
Pick 4: July 23
• 1 p.m.: 1-9-9-3; • 4 p.m.: 6-9-7-3
• 7 p.m.: 8-9-5-7; • 10 p.m.: 0-9-5-8
Pick 4: July 18
• 1 p.m.: 3-9-2-3; • 4 p.m.: 0-1-8-1
• 7 p.m.: 7-7-0-5; • 10 p.m.: 2-9-0-3
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer, call
the office at 541-963-3161.
Elgin schools to open Aug. 31
By Dick Mason
ELGIN — School is
set to reopen in the Elgin
School District late next
month.
The Elgin School Board
endorsed via consensus
Monday night a plan
Superintendent Dianne
Greif proposed to have the
district reopen for classes
Aug. 31. The opening
would mark the first time
Elgin’s public schools
have been open since mid-
March when they and
all of the state’s schools
were closed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Greif said another local
spike in the number of
COVID-19 cases could
delay reopening.
“Hopefully our num-
bers will keep going down
in the community,” Greif
said.
Her plan calls for con-
ducting classes at Stella
Mayfield Elementary
School in a traditional
manner, though with pre-
cautions to protect against
the virus.
Extensive sanitizing
will be a part of the work
day, students will eat
meals in classrooms and
students will not move to
different sites throughout
the building for classes.
“Everything will have
to be controlled,” Greif
said. “Children will not
be running out of school
when the bell rings.”
Elgin High School stu-
dents will learn in cohorts.
The district will determine
the number of students in
each group later. Cohort
members will remain in
their classroom while
teachers come in and out
during the school day.
“We will transition
teachers instead of kids,”
Staff photo by Dick Mason
Schools in Elgin will open Aug. 31 under a plan School District Superintendent Dianne
Greif revealed earlier this week barring a local spike in the number of COVID-19 cases.
“Everything will have to be controlled. Children will
not be running out of school when the bell rings.”
— Dianne Greif, Elgin School District Superintendent
Greif said.
Greif said this would
be more efficient than
moving students from
room to room for classes,
which would mean more
cleaning. That would not
be the case each time a
teacher enters a classroom.
A major advantage
of keeping students in
cohorts, Greif said, is if
one gets COVID-19 only
a relatively small number
will have to be isolated.
The COVID-19
reopening issues the board
discussed included school
supplies. Greif and the
board agreed it would be
best for the school district
to provide school supplies
to students rather than
have them bring their own
to avoid contamination.
“This would be a good
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
United States is facing its
first coin shortage since
the 1960s, and Kelly
McPhee, vice president
of communications for
Banner Bank, La Grande,
said a convergence of
challenges is the cause.
“There’s a perfect
storm brewing,” she said.
“We have a pandemic that
is a health crisis that, for
a lot of families and busi-
nesses, had turned into
a financial crisis. No one
could have foreseen that.
We’re facing a number of
components we didn’t see
coming.”
Some businesses that
go through a lot of coin or
cash transactions remain
closed, or businesses that
are open are restricting
the amount of coins for
transactions unless a cus-
tomer has exact change.
“You have a lot of
other businesses that
handle cash and coin that
have asked their cus-
tomers to use plastic,” she
said, while also pointing
to a reduction of hours at
businesses slowing the
circulation of coinage.
Additionally banks
are being rationed in
the amount of coinage
they receive from the
U.S. government and are
restricted on the amount
they can give out.
“It’s coming right
year not to give out school
supply lists,” Greif said.
The superintendent
said some parents may
be pulling their children
out of school because of
the pandemic, and so far
the parents of at least four
children have indicated
they will keep their chil-
dren out of school. But
Greif said the families
intend to re-enroll their
children in the district
next year.
“They are not upset
with the school district
about anything,” Greif
said.
Teachers nationwide
have indicated they are
worried about returning
due to risks of catching
the virus. Greif said the
district’s teachers have
not raised that concern,
but if employees do and
working from home is not
an option, they have paid
and unpaid leave choices.
She said they also will
be able will to submit a
written request for paid
leave available through the
Families First Coronavirus
Response Act, the Oregon
Family Leave Act and
Oregon Sick Leave.
The Elgin School Dis-
trict later will post a letter
about its reopening plan
on its website and seek
advice from the Union
Public Health Depart-
ment regarding how best
to meet social distancing
standards. All Oregon
school districts must
submit their reopening
plans to the Oregon
Department of Education
by Aug. 15.
Joseph City Council member dies
By Bill Bradshaw
EO Media Group
JOSEPH — Richard
Pointer, a member of
the Joseph City Council,
died Thursday, July 16,
at his home in Joseph,
City Administrator
Larry Braden said.
Pointer had been
resting at home for sev-
eral weeks after under-
going surgery on a leg,
Braden said. He did not
attend any city meetings
during that time.
“He was kind of quar-
antined because of the
surgery,” Braden said.
down from the federal
reserve that the change
shortage is happening,”
said Loretta Bly, service
manager at the La Grande
Wells Fargo. “It defi-
nitely doesn’t help with
taking care of our cus-
tomers with the supply
and demand. You have
customers that need it for
laundry. ... We do have to
limit the rolls of denomi-
nation that go out.”
McPhee said the fed-
eral response to the
shortage has been to
accelerate the timeline
at which it produces new
coins. The decision to
ration and restrict the
amount given out also is
part of the plan.
Bly and McPhee said
the shortage is restricted
only to coin and not cash.
The feds began to
notice the shortage in
early June, according to
McPhee, and she said the
impact of it began to be
felt in the Northwest a
few weeks later.
“We’ve been in it
about six weeks right
now. It affects different
parts of the country dif-
ferently. We didn’t see it
until the last three weeks
in the Northwest,” she
said.
The expectation from
the government, McPhee
said, is as more busi-
nesses open back up, the
shortage should be short
lived.
News Briefs
The Observer
Former Enterprise
thief faces new
charges
The Observer
“He hadn’t
been around
anyone since
mid-June.”
No cause
of death
Pointer
could be
confirmed.
A memorial, of sorts,
was posted on the city’s
Facebook page mourning
the loss of Pointer.
“The city of Joseph,
the Joseph City Council
and Joseph Charter
School have lost a great
man. There are not
words to describe the
hole that is left in our
hearts and in our com-
munity,” the post said.
“Councilman Richard
Pointer passed away at
his home the night of
July 16. Richard and his
wife, Jeanette, had only
lived in Joseph a few
years. However, if you
didn’t know better, you’d
think they had been
here their whole lives.
Richard truly loved
this community and the
people who call it home.
Richard loved his wife
and family and spoke
about them everyday. He
loved his Joseph Eagles
and took so much pride
in them. He loved those
kids and if you spent
much time with him, he
would tell you all about
them. But, above all, he
loved God.”
Pointer is survived by
his wife, Jeanette.
Pointer had served on
the council only about
six months, Braden said,
having been appointed
to fill one of two vacant
seats. Filling the vacancy
left by Pointer’s death
will be discussed at the
next council meeting,
scheduled for Aug. 13.
La Grande at sunset
Fewer coins making the rounds
By Ronald Bond
SaTuRday, July 25, 2020
LOCAL
ALBANY — A former
Enterprise woman who
stole thousands of of dol-
lars from two local organi-
zations now faces similar
charges in Linn County.
Amber Wulff in 2010
took a deal and pleaded
guilty to multiple counts of
theft and forgery for ripping
off the Enterprise Educa-
tion Foundation and Wal-
lowa Valley Little League.
Now Wulff, who lives in
Scio, faces once count each
of first-degree theft, identity
theft and money laundering
and eight counts of first-de-
gree aggravated theft.
All the charge are fel-
onies. According to court
documents, the state has
accused Wulff of stealing
more than $300,000 from a
one person.
The state indicted her
on the charges on July 10.
Court records also show
she used a credit card to
pay $10,000 — 10% of her
$100,000 bail — on July 13
to get out of jail. Her next
court appearance is Aug. 17.
The Wallowa County
Circuit Court in 2010
handed Wulff a sentence
of 130 days in jail, three
years of probation and
ordered her to pay $8,223
to the Wallowa Valley Little
League Association and
$8,798 to the foundation,
plus thousands of dollars in
fines.
Grant helps vet
transportation roll
on
UNION COUNTY —
The Oregon Department
of Transportation provided
Union County Veterans
Services with a $50,000
grant for its Veterans Ride
to Wellness program. The
grant will fund the program
for the next fiscal year,
according to Union County
Veterans Service officer
Brian Blais.
The Veterans Ride to
Wellness program provides
veterans with transportation
to nonemergency medical
appointments at no cost.
According to Blais, the pro-
gram gives veterans the
ability to seek medical care
at veteran’s medical facili-
ties outside Union County.
“There can be many dif-
ferent reasons why a vet-
eran needs a ride to and
from a medical appoint-
ment,” Blais said. “Espe-
cially when their appoint-
ment is in Walla Walla or
Boise. Transportation for
veterans to get to and from
outside of the area medical
appointments is something
that we need here in rural
Eastern Oregon, and the
Veterans Rides to Wellness
program is instrumental in
meeting this need.”
The state transportation
department also provided
grants to six other coun-
ties for a total of $230,000
under the Rural Veterans’
Healthcare Transportation
Grant Program.
Neighbors Together
receives boost from
coffee company
Staff photo by Phil Wright
The sun sets Thursday behind La Grande. The town’s temperature that day peaked at
82, according to the National Weather Service, and the weekend looks to have clear
skies and warm days. But the Weather Service forecast shows temperatures reaching
the mid 90s starting Monday.
Cove Cherry Fair canceled but parade marches on
By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
COVE — The Cove
Cherry Fair came to a
demise this year because
of the coronavirus. While
the event will not see its
21st year until 2021 at the
earliest, the parade of cars
and trucks that would have
marked its kickoff still will
roll.
“People like to do this
stuff, it’s fun and everyone
needs a little bit of joy this
year, and I am hoping the
Cherry Fair Parade does
that,” Cherry Fair coordi-
nator Cindy Edwards said.
The parade is Aug. 15
and starts at 10 a.m. and
features residents and
organizations from cities
across Union County. The
route follows Highway 237
from Ash Street to Church
Street in the hamlet. The
parade does not allow
political floats but anyone
who would like to partici-
pate is welcome to sign up.
“This year’s parade will
look different in that spec-
tators will be expected to
use their judgements in
following the governor’s
orders,” Edwards said.
“I’m sure you’ll see a lot of
masks and face coverings.”
LA GRANDE — The
Dutch Brothers Foundation
donated almost $1,000 to
the Neighbors Together of
Union County food bank.
The nonprofit that pro-
vides food for residents of
Union County reported the
donation Wednesday in a
press release. The funding
has gone toward purchasing
food and supplies for people
in need, according to Neigh-
bors Together President
Hannah Voetberg.
“We would not be able
to provide nearly as much
food to the neediest in our
community without support
from groups like the Dutch
Bros. Foundation,” Voet-
berg said in the release.
The Dutch Brothers
Foundation is the phil-
anthropic arm of Dutch
Brothers Coffee and has
been donating to Neigh-
bors Together throughout
the COVID-19 crisis as
the need for assistance has
increased, according to
Voetberg.