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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (July 30, 2020)
LOCAL/REGION 2A — THE OBSERVER Daily Planner TODAY Today is Thursday, July 30, the 212th day of 2020. There are 154 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT On July 30, 1945, the Portland class heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis, having just delivered components of the atomic bomb to Tinian in the Mariana Islands, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine; only 317 out of nearly 1,200 men survived. On This Date In 1619, the first represen- tative assembly in America convened in Jamestown in the Virginia Colony. In 1792, the French nation- al anthem “La Marseillaise,” by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, was first sung in Paris by troops arriving from Marseille. In 1844, the New York Yacht Club was founded. In 1908, the first round- the-world automobile race, which had begun in New York in February, ended in Paris with the drivers of the American car, a Thomas Flyer, declared the winners over teams from Germany and Italy. In 1916, German sabo- teurs blew up a munitions plant on Black Tom, an island near Jersey City, New Jersey, killing about a dozen people. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a measure making “In God We Trust” the national motto, re- placing “E Pluribus Unum” (Out of many, one). In 1960, the recently founded American Football League saw its first pre-sea- son game, in which the Boston Patriots defeated the host Buffalo Bills 28-7. In 1965, President Lyn- don B. Johnson signed a measure creating Medicare, which began operating the following year. In 1975, former Teamsters union president Jimmy Hof- fa disappeared in suburban Detroit; although presumed dead, his remains have never been found. In 1980, Israel’s Knesset passed a law reaffirming all of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state. In 2001, Robert Muel- ler, President George W. Bush’s choice to head the FBI, promised the Senate Judiciary Committee that if confirmed, he would move forcefully to fix problems at the agency. ( LOTTERY Megabucks: $4.5 million 3-8-20-25-36-42 Mega Millions: $20 million 17-20-27-31-34—19 x4 Powerball: $117 million 5-21-36-61-62—PB-18 x2 Win for Life: July 27 6-10-13-16 Pick 4: July 28 • 1 p.m.: 8-7-5-1; • 4 p.m.: 6-4-9-5 • 7 p.m.: 3-5-2-1; • 10 p.m.: 0-9-5-9 Pick 4: July 27 • 1 p.m.: 7-9-4-5; • 4 p.m.: 6-5-1-3 • 7 p.m.: 8-6-5-2; • 10 p.m.: 2-0-7-6 DELIVERY ISSUES? If you have any problems receiving your Observer, call the office at 541-963-3161. Black Lives Matter sign up in Pendleton Crowdfunding campaign raises money for sign By Alex Castle EO Media Group PENDLETON — People traveling west through Pendleton can look up and to the right to see an example of the area’s local connection to the Black Lives Matter movement. A billboard on Southeast Seventh Street and Court Avenue prominently dis- plays the phrase used as a unifying message of the nationwide protest move- ment against police brutality and systemic racism. The billboard is set to display the message in Pendleton until at least mid-October thanks to a local crowdfunding campaign. “I think it’s a symbol that this isn’t something that just impacts a small marginal- ized group because lots of people had to come together to donate their money to get this billboard up,” said Briana Spencer, one of the campaign’s donors who is Photo by Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group A billboard on Southeast Seventh Street and Court Avenue, Pendleton. displays the phrase “Black Lives Matter” on Monday, July 27. The billboard, paid for through a crowd- funding campaign, went up on Monday, July 20, and will stay up through mid-October. Black and Puerto Rican and a member of the Confeder- ated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. “People always say put your money where your mouth is, and we did that.” The campaign raised $2,670 as of Friday, July 24, and was inspired by a sim- ilar one in St. Helens, where residents raised enough funds to put up a Black Lives Matter billboard ear- lier this July. Paige Snively, a 29-year-old living in Chi- cago who is originally from Pilot Rock, helped orga- nize the campaign from afar after seeing local res- idents expressing interest in doing something similar on a Pendleton community Library brings browsing outside By Sabrina Thompson The Observer LA GRANDE — Cook Memorial Library card- holders can browse books again with the library’s Take-out(side) option. The inaugural effort was Tuesday, July 28, from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in front of the Library in downtown La Grande. “I love this. I think it is really great,” La Grande mother Valerie Colwell said. “My kids have been starving for books so we order a bunch of them online at one time. But it is really great to be able to browse through the books.” The Take-out(side) move by the library pro- vides an avenue for indi- viduals to peruse through books that may otherwise be left indoors while the library is closed to the public. “We noticed our new book shelf was full, and people tend to find books more while browsing,” Library Director Kip Rob- erson said. “We are going to gauge how popular it is after the first few days and will likely move for- ward and bring out more books.” The library selected children and young adult Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson Aiyana Colwell and her mother Valerie Colwell browse Cook Memorial Library’s young adults collection Tues- day afternoon, July 28, in downtown La Grande, during library’s’ first Take-Out(side) event. books, new books, audio- books and DVD bundles and brought them outside the front of the library with a laptop and scanner to check out materials. Patrons had to wear masks and gloves to browse the outside stacks. A small cart of free books and the community pantry also were avail- able outside, along with book returns and pickup. Roberson said the library is eager to reopen fully to the public but is doing what it can in the mean- time to continue to serve the community. Census takers are on their way to Union County In-person interviews for the census begin for people who did not return forms By Sabrina Thompson Facebook page. “That’s when I jumped in where I’m truthfully just a project manager for the cause,” Snively wrote in an email. “The real effort is being put in by those in the community every day to raise Black voices and awareness for the movement.” The campaign raised the Photo contributed by U.S. Census Bureau Census takers will be knocking on doors in Union County starting Thursday, July 30, of homes where locals have not responded to the 2020 census. Census takers have to wear a mask, maintain distancing and be clearly identifiable with a badge and bag. Bureau received more than 40 million items of per- sonal protective equipment for office and field staff nationwide, including 2.4 million masks and 48,000 gallons of hand sanitizer. Nationally, more than 91.6 million housing units have self-reported. The U.S. Census Bureau had set a goal of 60.5% response, and by July 8 the rate was at 61.9%. The internet has yielded 73 million of the responses. The online option is new to the census and helped provide a safe and secure way to respond, according to Albert Fon- tenot, associate director for the Decennial Census Pro- grams. He also reported more than 17 million res- idents responded by mail and 1.2 million responded over the phone. The U.S. Census Bureau did not provide the number of local responses at the time of publication. The Bureau pushed back key days for the census, including the start of in-person census takers visiting homes. The plan is to complete this phase by Oct. 31. The primary reason for the change in dates is due to the COVID-19 pan- demic forcing a change in operations, according to Fontenot. $1,200 necessary to install the billboard on July 20 and rent the space for one month within 24 hours of Snively setting it up July 1 on GoFundMe.com and adver- tising it on social media. The quick response within the community sur- prised Snively as the cam- paign hit $1,845 on July 9, enough to rent the space for a second month, and then hit a goal of $2,495 on July 20, enough for a third month. “I think that speaks to the level of belief and sup- port in the community around the cause,” Snively stated in an email. There have been 74 donors to the campaign so far, with contributions aver- aging a bit more than $35 and individual donations ranging from $5-$100. If the campaign falls short of the making the monthly rent and billboard has to come down, the campaign indicates on its GoFundMe page the left- over donations will go to organizations supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. News Briefs Stabbing injures La Grande man LA GRANDE — The La Grande Police Depart- ment is investigating a stab- bing that took place early Wednesday, July 29, and sent one man to the hospital. A 911 caller at 1:29 a.m. reported a stabbing occurred at the intersec- tion of 16th Street and Washington Avenue in La Grande, according to the press release from the police department. Officers arrived shortly after and made contact with Adrianna Gockley, 20, and Shawn McAdams, 29, both of La Grande. According to the press release, officers learned Gockley stabbed McAdams in the abdomen one time following a phys- ical altercation between them. McAdams suffered a non-life-threatening injury, and an ambulance took him to Grande Ronde Hospital, La Grande. The early investigation revealed drugs and alcohol may have played a factor in this incident, police reported, and while Gockley is cooperating in the investi- gation, McAdams is not. The La Grande Police Department received assis- tance from the La Grande Fire Department, the Union County Sheriff’s Office and the Oregon State Police. La Grande police also reported the investigation is ongoing and there have been no arrests, but anyone who may have information about this case should contact Erica Rush, special victim’s detec- tive, at 54-963-1017. EOU helps students with funding during pandemic The Observer UNION COUNTY — Starting Thursday, July 30, census takers will begin knocking on the doors of Union County residents who have not responded to their 2020 census. Efforts to ensure public safety during the pandemic have been a focus for the U.S. Census Bureau, according to Timothy Olson, associate director of field operations. “Our commitment throughout the census pro- cess has been to protect every employee and the American people through all interactions we have,” Olson said at a press con- ference. “Our protective equipment, along with training and expectations that all staff meet social distancing and all very interactions are the corner- stones of our commitment to protect people’s health during this pandemic. You may have noticed we updated our policies very recently and now require all census employees who have any public interac- tions to wear a face mask regardless of location or geography.” The U.S. Census THuRSday, July 30, 2020 LA GRANDE — Eastern Oregon University awarded almost $308,000 to 282 students through funding from the federal CARES Act. The university in a press release reported it received $579,164 from the federal government to distribute directly to on-campus stu- dents to help with housing, food, health care, child care or unpaid unemployment benefits. To be eligible for the benefits, students had to be registered for EOU classes and have submitted their Federal Application for Financial Student Aid form. The legislation also helps students attend on-campus classes and students cannot use the funds to directly cover tuition costs. As of June 30, 282 stu- dents at the university in La Grande met the require- ments, the press release stated. But students who were eligible for CARES Act funding received help through the EOU Founda- tion’s Student Crisis Fund. According to the univer- sity, the fund raised more than $16,000 in a matter of weeks to help students stay in college. International student Samantha Blake attends EOU virtually while living in Baker City. Blake did not qualify for CARES Act funding because she is taking classes online. When her husband lost his job with the pandemic and unemployment payments stalled, she turned to EOU to cover phone and internet costs, according to the press release, and the Stu- dent Crisis Fund kept her on track to graduate in June 2021. “The Financial Aid Office told me about the help available,” Blake said in the press release. “We were so far behind on bills it was scary. For someone who didn’t qualify for assistance through other channels, I was so lucky (EOU Founda- tion donors) were willing to be generous.” Eastern Oregon Univer- sity also stated it has more than $271,000 remaining in CARES funds and will con- tinue to distribute to stu- dents in need. VA reports security breach at Walla Walla vet center WALLA WALLA — A privacy breach at the Walla Walla Veterans Affairs Medical Center is bringing more security measures to the facility, according to a press release from U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The Walla Walla facility is mailing notices to 687 veterans whose information was involved in the attack, according to the press release. Letters for veterans who have died have been sent to next of kin to be on the lookout for suspicious behavior. According to Veterans Affairs, Benefits Recovery Specialists Inc., a former contractor with the VA, notified the department on June 4 about malware it found on company systems on April 30. BRSI hired cyber secu- rity specialists and began an internal investigation taking the affected systems offline to remove the mal- ware and ensure the secu- rity of its information sys- tems, according to the press release. A forensic investigation found that on or about May 29, the press release stated, “an unauthorized actor deployed Maze ransomware within BRSI’s systems.” Veterans Health Admin- istration files containing personal information may have been among those accessed or acquired between April 20-30. — The Observer
