2A — THE OBSERVER
Daily
Planner
TODAY
Today is Thursday, Aug. 6,
the 219th day of 2020. There
are 147 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On August 6, 1945,
during World War II, the
U.S. B-29 Superfortress
Enola Gay dropped an
atomic bomb code-named
“Little Boy” on Hiroshi-
ma, Japan, resulting in an
estimated 140,000 deaths.
(Three days later, the Unit-
ed States exploded a nu-
clear device over Nagasaki;
five days after that, Imperial
Japan surrendered.)
ON THIS DATE
In 1809, one of the lead-
ing literary figures of the
Victorian era, poet Alfred,
Lord Tennyson, was born
in Somersby, Lincolnshire,
England.
In 1911, actor-comedian
Lucille Ball was born in
Jamestown, New York.
In 1926, Gertrude Ederle
became the first woman to
swim the English Channel,
arriving in Kingsdown,
England, from France in 14½
hours.
In 1930, New York State
Supreme Court Justice
Joseph Force Crater went
missing after leaving a
Manhattan restaurant; his
disappearance remains a
mystery.
In 1965, President Lyndon
B. Johnson signed the Vot-
ing Rights Act.
In 1973, entertainer
Stevie Wonder was seriously
injured in a car accident in
North Carolina.
In 1978, Pope Paul VI died
at Castel Gandolfo at age 80.
In 1986, William J.
Schroeder died at Humana
Hospital-Audubon in Louis-
ville, Kentucky, after living
620 days with the Jarvik 7
artificial heart.
In 1991, the World Wide
Web made its public debut
as a means of access-
ing webpages over the
internet. TV newsman Harry
Reasoner died in Norwalk,
Connecticut, at age 68.
In 1993, Louis Freeh won
Senate confirmation to be
FBI director.
In 2009, Sonia Sotomay-
or was confirmed as the
first Hispanic Supreme
Court justice by a Senate
vote of 68-31. John Hughes,
59, Hollywood’s youth
movie director of the 1980s
and ’90s, died in New York
City.
In 2013, U.S. Army Maj.
Nidal Malik Hasan went on
trial at Fort Hood, Texas,
charged with killing 13
people and wounding 32
others in a 2009 attack.
(Hasan, who admitted
carrying out the attack, was
convicted and sentenced to
death.)
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $4.8 million
1-5-7-12-32-34
Mega Millions: $20 million
2-22-30-42-62—20 x3
Powerball: $137 million
6-25-36-43-48—PB-24 x3
Win for Life: Aug. 3
28-45-46-50
Pick 4: Aug. 4
• 1 p.m.: 4-6-9-7
• 4 p.m.: 1-2-9-3
• 7 p.m.: 1-0-2-9
• 10 p.m.: 3-2-3-1
Pick 4: Aug. 3
• 1 p.m.: 0-4-5-6
• 4 p.m.: 1-4-6-8
• 7 p.m.: 5-4-2-2
• 10 p.m.: 9-0-6-4
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer, call
the office at 541-963-3161.
THuRSday, auguST 6, 2020
LOCAL
La Grande, Eastern make baseball deal
By Dick Mason
“It is awesome that
we have a facility
like this already in
La Grande that the
team can use.”
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
city of La Grande will be
helping Eastern Oregon
University revive its base-
ball program.
The La Grande City
Council voted Monday,
Aug. 3, to enter into a
three-year agreement with
Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity that will allow it to
play games and practice
at Pioneer Park’s Optimist
Field starting next spring
when Mountaineer baseball
returns.
EOU announced in
2019 it would reinstate
baseball after cutting it
in 2006 for financial rea-
sons. Eastern, however,
does not have a home field
because the field house is
set to be built where its old
diamond, Snowflake Field,
once was.
La Grande Parks and
Recreation Director Stu
Spence said he is glad to
help Eastern revive its base-
ball program.
“We all want baseball,”
Spence said.
Eastern, however, will
not be able to practice or
play games at Optimist
Field in the late winter and
early spring when condi-
— Tim Seydel, EOU vice
president
Staff photo by Ronald Bond
The La Grande City Council has approved a three-year plan for Eastern Oregon Universi-
ty’s baseball team to play at Optimist Field in Pioneer Park when it takes the field in 2021.
tions are very wet and the
field more vulnerable to
damage.
“We will be protecting
the field,” said Spence,
noting this will be crit-
ical because others also use
Optimist Field, including
La Grande High School.
Tim Seydel, EOU’s vice
president for university
advancement, said Tuesday
he is pleased with the
agreement.
“It is awesome that we
have a facility like this
already in La Grande that
the team can use,” Seydel
said.
He said Eastern is plan-
ning to build a baseball
facility on campus. One site
under consideration is near
the softball field, which is
in the southwest corner of
campus. Seydel said one
advantage of building a
baseball diamond there
would be sharing resources,
such as water and parking.
In another move Monday
night, the city council voted
Free ride program expands
News Briefs
Hunting class
canceled, changes
to requirements
CAT Link now
gives rides
every weekday
By Dick Mason
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
weekly window of oppor-
tunity for the homebound
in Union County who
need assistance traveling
is expanding.
CAT Link, a program
run by Northeast Oregon
Public Transit that pro-
vides free rides any-
where in Union County to
anyone, now is offering
service five days a week.
CAT Link — short for
Connecting All Towns —
began operating July 1,
2019, and provided rides
three days a week its
first year. The expansion
now offers rides Monday
through Friday.
Heath Sell, the director
of Northeast Oregon
Public Transit, said his
agency always intended to
expand to five days a week
but started at three days
to give it a better chance
to work out and possible
glitches.
“We wanted to test it
out,” Sell said.
CAT Link provided 100
rides in July. People can
get a CAT Link ride for
any purpose, but Sell said
most people use it to get
to medical appointments,
pick up medications at a
pharmacy or go to a gro-
cery store.
“Our goal is to pro-
vide mobility to everyone
in the community so they
to table a proposal to have
La Grande residents decide
on a 3% tax on marijuana.
The city had scheduled
a second reading for the
tax ordinance for Monday’s
meeting, which would have
allowed the council to vote
and put the measure on the
ballot for the Nov. 3 gen-
eral election. The council
though, acting on the advice
of City Manager Robert
Strope, decided to table the
measure.
Strope said he made the
Staff photo by Dick Mason
Steve Konopacky and Breanna Harvey, both of North-
east Oregon Public Transit, set up a ramp for a car used
by the agency’s CAT Link free ride program.
Call Northeast Oregon Public Transit at the following:
Union County — 541-963-2877
Wallowa County — 541-426-3840
Baker County — 541-523-7433
can get the services they
need,” Sell said.
All of the vehicles that
provide CAT Link rides
are handicapped acces-
sible and have ramps to
help people get in and out
of vehicles.
Everyone wanting a
ride on CAT Link must
schedule a time to leave
(and to be picked up if it’s
a round trip) at least a day
in advance.
The program offers
rides between 7:30 a.m.
and 5:30 p.m. However,
people who get a ride that
starts late in the after-
noon but before 5:30 p.m.
will continue to receive
service past 5:30 p.m.,
until they arrive at their
destination.
To schedule a ride, call
Northeast Oregon Public
Transit between 7:30 a.m.
and 3 p.m. at least one day
before you plan to travel.
People canceling rides are
encouraged to call at least
an hour in advance.
Everyone getting a ride
must wear a mask and
sit in the back because of
COVID-19 restrictions.
Multiple people riding all
must be from the same
household, Sell said.
Breanna Harvey, an
office assistant and dis-
patcher with Northeast
Oregon Public Transit,
said people are apprecia-
tive of the service.
“They are so happy
when they call,” she said.
“They are so grateful.”
recommendation because
there is now no need the
measure.
Earlier this year Rona
Lindsey, owner of HWY30
Cannabis, the La Grande
medical marijuana dis-
pensary, started a petition
asking residents to con-
sider repealing the local ban
on the sale of recreational
marijuana.
Lindsey had until July 6
to submit her petition to the
city, but she did not submit
a petition by the dead-
line. Strope said it would
not make sense to have
the measure on the ballot
because there would be
nothing to tax.
Strope added that having
the measure on the ballot
also could confuse voters
by making it appear the sale
of recreational marijuana in
La Grande is legal or about
to be.
LA GRANDE —
The Oregon Department
of Fishing and Wildlife
announced it has canceled
the Aug. 15 hunting class at
Ladd Marsh, La Grande.
“Due to the uncertainty
and changing status of the
virus and county phases,
other hunter education
classes may be cancelled
suddenly,” ODFW spokes-
person Michelle Dennehy.
“For example, we are can-
celling the class scheduled
in Umatilla County soon
due to the county returning
to Stay Home status.
ODFW will notify students
when classes are cancelled.”
Due to the class cancel-
lations, the department also
is not requiring students to
attend a field day.
“Students who com-
plete the online course or
workbook course may hunt
without taking the field
day this year,” according
to Dennehy. “So these field
day cancellations will not
mean a youth cannot hunt
this fall.”
Three candidates
seek La Grande
City Council
Position No. 6
LA GRANDE — The
filing deadline for La
Grande City Council Posi-
tion No. 6 closed Thursday,
July 30. The three eligible
candidates who will be on
the November ballot are
John Bozarth, David Moyal
and Max Koltuv.
The position became
vacant with the resignation
of Councilor Jim Whitbeck,
who stepped down at the
beginning of July to move
to Corvallis and pursue
a Ph.D at Oregon State
University.
The candidate who takes
Whitbeck’s place will com-
plete the four-year term and
hold the city council seat
until December 31, 2022.
The mayor’s position and
council positions 2, 3 and
4 also are on the November
ballot.
Partnership leads
to more eBooks
LA GRANDE — Cook
Memorial Library, La
Grande, has announced a
partnership with publishing
company Unite for Lit-
eracy that has made more
electronic books avail-
able through the library’s
website.
According to a press
release from the library, the
partnership will provide “a
multilingual collection of
children’s eBooks,” which
will encompass “a variety
of topics.” The stories “are
told by native speakers in
celebration of their lan-
guage and culture.”
Part of the library’s goal
is to reach non-English
speaking families, and the
library is looking for indi-
viduals to help bridge the
gap between non-English-
speaking and immigrant
communities and its staff.
For more information on
the program call the library
at 541-962-1339.
— EO Media Group
New La Grande Parks and Rec program a summer hit with kids
By Dick Mason
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Paper
rockets have helped the
La Grande Parks and
Recreation Department
launch a new summer
activity, one whose popu-
larity is climbing beyond
expectations.
The Summer Camp Take
Home Kits program was
designed to make up for the
summer day camps the La
Grande Parks and Recre-
ation Department canceled
because of the coronavirus
pandemic. The program
provides children with kits
with themes based on the
department’s original day
camp schedule for 2020.
Each kit costs $5.
“People are really
excited about it,” said
McKayla Nitz, recre-
ation supervisor for the
department.
The outdoors is the
theme for this week
“We will keep doing it as long
as we can. We like to help the
community and the kids.”
McKayla Nitz, La Grande recreation supervisor
and bags children have
received contain items for
scavenger hunts. Engi-
neering was the theme for
last week when children
picked up bags with sup-
plies to construct a rocket
out of card stock and
straws.
The theme for the first
week was arts and crafts.
Children received bags
packed with items for dec-
orating masquerade masks
and sand art projects.
Nitz and Jessie Wilson
and Sean Crews of the
Parks and Recreation
Department prepare the
bags each week. The con-
tent is for children in kin-
dergarten through fifth
grade. The crew provides
about 40 bags a week, a
process that takes about
five hours.
The kits are available at
the Parks and Recreation
Department office, 2402
Cedar St. (in Pioneer Park
next to the tennis courts),
on weekdays 3-5:30 p.m.
Nitz said she initially
planned to conduct the
program for about two
weeks but is extending it
because of the response it
has received.
“We will keep doing it
as long as we can,” Nitz
said. “We like to help the
community and the kids.”
Contributed photo by Nicole Gilbride
Analisia Smith, 5, of Cove, works on an art project with materials from a Summer Camp
Take Home Kit the La Grande Parks and Recreation Department provided earlier this sum-
mer.