THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2020
THE OBSERVER — 5A
Jim and Connie
Voelz property —
1701 Adams Ave.
GRANTS
Continued from Page 1A
of the company’s $211,761
project.
The project will give
the butcher shop and meat
market that opened in
2016 the funding to build
a new cooler room, spice
room and smoker area and
acquire equipment. Further,
the grant allows Hines Meat
to hire fi ve new staff mem-
bers to meet production and
distribution demands. The
new elements also will help
the company achieve USDA
certifi cation.
“This project will help
us create quality fami-
ly-wage jobs,” Paige Hines,
co-owner of Hines Meat
Company, said. “The gift of
Urban Renewal dollars, our
tax money, is not lost on us
and we hope that blessing
circles back to our commu-
nity and beyond. We are so
excited and thankful.”
Raul’s Taqueria and
Flavors — 1302-1304
Adams Ave.
The Mexican eatery
on Adams Avenue will
expand into the adjacent
retail space to offer more
customer dining space, a
SCHOOLS
Continued from Page 1A
7,360, according to data
used by OHA, that one case
pushes it over the threshold.
Even Union County’s
three cases last week count
as a failure under the new
standard, as that puts the
county at 11.2 cases per
100,000 people, according
to the OHA’s update.
Exemption allows coun-
ties to open classrooms
for kindergarten through
third grade or for districts
with 100 or fewer stu-
dents. Counties can do so if
they have less than than 30
cases per 100,000 individ-
uals as long as spread is not
among students. Locally,
Union County would have
to stay at eight or fewer
cases a week to be within
this metric. Baker County
would have to be at fi ve,
and Wallowa County could
have only two cases.
Counties that would be
able to open to kindergarten
through third grade under
the provision include Grant,
Tillamook, Linn, Lincoln,
Lane, Josephine, Douglas,
Curry, Coos, Columbia and
Benton. Union and Wallowa
counties could in theory be
a week away from reaching
that barrier, and Harney,
Klamath and Lake could
with two more good weeks.
A handful of small districts
also could potentially open.
But even if schools are
able to reopen later this fall,
many counties would need
to maintain near perfec-
tion to continue teaching in
person.
The rules from OHA
state if a county has 30
cases per 100,000 people
during a week, it is required
to move back to distance
learning. Oregon’s three
smallest counties in popu-
lation — Sherman, Gilliam
and Wheeler — all would
transgress that rule with
one new case.
Wallowa, Harney, Grant
and Lake — all of which
50 years. Urban Renewal
funds will help to offset the
increased costs associated
with this building’s one of a
kind architectural features
and design.”
In addition, the proposal
continues, restoring the his-
toric storefronts along Fir
Street would continue to
grow the commercial dis-
trict resulting from the new
railroad quiet zone.
The project includes
replacing all electrical,
HVAC and plumbing sys-
tems in the 10-12 apart-
ments as well as the histor-
ical restoration of the facade
of the building.
The Urban Renewal
Agency considers the
Adams Avenue and Island
City Avenue intersection
as one of the gateways into
downtown La Grande,
according to a press release
from the city. To help with
making the entrance more
inviting and to assist a
local business, the Urban
Renewal Agency granted
$20,000 to Jim and Connie
Voelz, owners of property
on the southeast corner, for
their renovation project.
Improvements at 1701
Adams Adams Ave. will
include planting trees and
shrubs, resurfacing the
parking lot and putting in a
new fi re door and roof over
the entryway. Connie Voelz
said she would like to set
up a fl ag pole and bench
for people to enjoy as they
pass by.
“That corner was get-
ting to be a real eyesore
and there isn’t much you
can do with all the con-
crete, but we wanted to try
and add something nice
to the corner,” she said.
“The grant funding means
we can do more than we
planned to at the start.”
in La Grande, and my par-
ents lived near the library,
and we were great library
patrons. I am sure that had
a huge infl uence.”
Bushman led the project
on the library’s end. She
said she remembered how
people enjoyed the tem-
porary StoryWalk in 2014
and liked the idea of a per-
manent installation.
“This is a great time
for it,” Bushman said.
“I wanted to this before
COVID came out, and now
that COVID happened it is
a good thing to (get outside
and do).”
The cost for the project
is around $6,200, and
funding comes from grants
and sponsorships. Commu-
nity members can sponsor
a book for $40, or one of
the fi ve remaining unspon-
sored posts for $300. A
plaque with the sponsors’
names will be on display
along the StoryWalk.
Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson
Staff Photo by Sabrina Thompson
Owners of the apartments at the Slater Building, 212-214
Fir St., received a $75,000 grant from the city’s Urban Re-
newal Agency to help cover the cost of updates and ren-
ovations.
Jim and Connie Voelz will update their property at 1701
Adams Ave., La Grande, with help from a $20,000 grant
from the city’s Urban Renewal Agency grant, one of four
the agency recently approved.
full-service bar and elec-
tronic gaming.
“It means a lot to have
this grant,” co-owner
Arturo Escamilla said. “It
is going to help with all of
the improvements we are
making.
The project costs $42,143
and the company received
$21,072 in grant funding.
Additional improvements
include installation of more
plumbing, renovations to
the building’s facade, new
signage and hiring four new
employees.
“This expansion is some-
thing we’ve wanted to do
for a long time,” Escamilla
buildings in La Grande on
the National Historic Reg-
ister. The URA awarded the
project $75,000 to offset the
costs. In his proposal, Mike
Sattem said the building has
remained unchanged over
the last 130 years.
“As one of the largest
buildings by square
footage (in the downtown),
updating key systems has
proven to be too costly
for most private owners,”
Sattem stated in the pro-
posal. “Restoring the
building with new mechan-
ical systems will help to
ensure the building’s safety
and lifespan for another
have 7,000-8,000 people —
would be forced into dis-
tance learning with three
cases in a week. Union
County would be sent out
of the classroom if there
were nine cases in a week,
and Baker County would
strike out at six cases in a
week.
In the last week, sev-
eral counties exceeded in
a single day the weekly
number needed to stay
open. As an example, Uma-
tilla County on Monday
had 64 cases — close to
triple the 24 it must stay
at or under for a week
in order to open class-
rooms. Morrow County
had eight on Sunday, more
than double its allowed
threshold for a week. Mal-
heur County had 10 on
Sunday, which would force
schools to closed if they
had reopened.
And while the regula-
tions do not include a state
mandate for this number,
the number of cases state-
wide gives a good reference
for how far Oregon schools
may be from reopening.
The state would need to be
at about 424 cases a week
— roughly 60 per day — to
be cleared to reopen, and
triple that — 180 per day
— to stay open.
July 6 was the last time
Oregon was under 180 cases
in a day when it posted 168.
The last day with fewer than
60 was June 2 when it had
33 cases.
Just breaking under the
5% statewide positivity rate
could be a challenge in the
weeks ahead, as the rate
has been hit just once in the
past fi ve weeks. During that
time, the state has processed
an average of 36,226.4 test
results. To get to 5%, there
could be only 1,811.32 pos-
itives per week, or less than
259 a day, and that metric
would need to be satisfi ed
three weeks in a row.
That would be accom-
plishing a feat that hasn’t
been met since mid- to
late-June.
said. “The store is too small
sometimes for our cus-
tomers, and with the exten-
sion we can offer more and
sell more drinks, provide
our customers with more
options.”
Dry Creek Capital —
212-214 Fir St.
Mike and Laura Sattem
of Dry Creek Capital sub-
mitted the largest project
proposal, estimating they
need around $345,506
to complete interior and
exterior renovations of
the newly acquired Slater
Building, one of the fi ve
STORYWALK
Continued from Page 1A
Storywalk exhibits out-
side its building in down-
town La Grande. The Riv-
erside Park Storywalk will
be permanent and display
a variety of authors. The
fi rst pages on display are
from “My Octopus Arms”
by local artist Keith Baker,
a children’s book about
all you can do with your
hands and arms.
NELSON
Continued from Page 1A
Nelson leaves with the
respect of his fellow board
members.
“Whether he is partic-
ipating in a one-on-one
friendly discussion or
chairing a meeting of the
EOU Trustee Board, David
is respectful, caring and
attentive,” Trustee Richard
Chaves said. “He has the
ability to work through
sensitive discussions and
situations, bringing them
gracefully to resolution. I
am honored to know David
and call him friend.”
Former EOU interim
president Dixie Lund, also
a member of the board
of trustees, said she has
learned by listening to and
observing Nelson’s style of
leadership.
“He’s also become a
very good friend, who I
will greatly miss when he
steps down from the board.
He makes sure all opin-
ions are voiced, but is also
perceptive when a speaker
tends to monopolize, ‘get
into the weeds,’ or speak
on a personal agenda rather
than on what’s best for
the university,” she said.
Baker wrote and illus-
trated the book for chil-
dren ages 2-5. Because it is
the inaugural book for the
project, Baker’s book will
remain up a little longer
than future displays.
Bushman said she is
eager to see how the Story-
Walk project is received by
the community.
“I think it is really
sweet to share a book that
way,” Baker said. “I am
really curious to see how
that all works. I grew up
Retired Hermiston
School District Superinten-
dent Jerry Pratton, another
member of the board of
trustees, has a long history
of working with Nelson.
“David and I have
known each other and
worked together on many
things regarding educa-
tion since I was a super-
intendent and he was in
the Legislature,” he said.
“I have such great admi-
ration for him and how he
preserves the dignity of
people while moving to
a sometimes tough solu-
tion. David Nelson is like
the North Star to sailors —
he is always there, always
a guidepost to the right
direction, always can be
counted on, and is a very
bright spot in an often vast
and dark world.”
“In the Legislature,”
Nelson said, “you’re never
quite sure if you’re suc-
cessful, but in the univer-
sity you see things grow
and change every year.
Serving on the board was
a worthwhile endeavor,
on par with serving in
the Legislature. Thank
you to the community
for allowing me to serve
and giving me this great
opportunity.”
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