2A — THE OBSERVER
Daily
Planner
TODAY
Today is Thursday, Aug.
13, the 226th day of 2020.
There are 140 days left in
the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On August 13, 1961, East
Germany sealed off the bor-
der between Berlin’s eastern
and western sectors before
building a wall that would
divide the city for the next
28 years.
ON THIS DATE
In 1521, Spanish conquer-
or Hernando Cortez captured
Tenochtitlan, present-day
Mexico City, from the Aztecs.
In 1704, the Battle of
Blenheim was fought during
the War of the Spanish
Succession, resulting in a
victory for English-led forces
over French and Bavarian
soldiers.
In 1846, the American flag
was raised in Los Angeles
for the first time.
In 1889, William Gray of
Hartford, Conn., received a
patent for a coin-operated
telephone.
In 1910, Florence Nightin-
gale, the founder of modern
nursing, died in London at
age 90.
In 1913, British metallur-
gist Harry Brearley devel-
oped an alloy that came
to be known as “stainless
steel.” (Although Brearley
is often credited as the “in-
ventor” of stainless steel, he
was hardly alone in working
to create steel that resisted
corrosion.)
In 1932, Adolf Hitler reject-
ed the post of vice chancel-
lor of Germany, saying he
was prepared to hold out
“for all or nothing.”
In 1967, the crime caper
biopic “Bonnie and Clyde,”
starring Warren Beatty and
Faye Dunaway, had its
U.S. premiere; the movie,
directed by Arthur Penn, was
considered shocking as well
as innovative for its graphic
portrayal of violence.
In 1989, searchers in
Ethiopia found the wreckage
of a plane that had disap-
peared almost a week earlier
while carrying Rep. Mickey
Leland, D-Texas, and 14
other people — there were
no survivors.
In 1995, baseball Hall of
Famer Mickey Mantle died at
a Dallas hospital of rapidly
spreading liver cancer. He
was 63.
In 2003, Iraq began
pumping crude oil from its
northern oil fields for the
first time since the start of
the war. Libya agreed to set
up a $2.7 billion fund for
families of the 270 people
killed in the 1988 Pan Am
bombing.
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $5.1 million
4-15-21-38-43-48
Mega Millions: $24 million
8-22-29-43-56—9 x4
Powerball: $158 million
2-3-14-40-51—PB-24 x3
Win for Life: Aug. 10
4-10-52-69
Pick 4: Aug. 11
• 1 p.m.: 9-9-9-5; • 4 p.m.: 1-9-5-1
• 7 p.m.: 4-3-7-6; • 10 p.m.: 4-9-8-1
Pick 4: Aug. 10
• 1 p.m.: 9-7-9-5; • 4 p.m.: 3-8-1-2
• 7 p.m.: 0-0-4-9; • 10 p.m.: 8-6-4-2
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer, call
the office at 541-963-3161.
THuRSday, auguST 13, 2020
ODOT program eases mobility issues
By Dick Mason
The Observer
UNION — A Oregon
Department of Transpor-
tation pilot program is
giving wings to those with
mobility issues in Union.
A total of approximately
150 new curb ramps are
being installed in Union by
ODOT as part of a test pro-
gram that will later involve
the rest of the state. About
40 new ramps were put in
over the past six weeks,
and the remainder will be
installed next summer,
according to ODOT Region
5 Project Leader Howard R.
Postovit.
The small ramps built
into the curbs of side-
walks are designed to make
it easier for people using
wheelchairs to pass from
the sidewalk to the road.
Via the ODOT project,
ramps that are at least 20
years old are being replaced
with ones that have grades
of just 6.5-7%. The new
ramps are flatter than the
old ones, said construc-
tion project manager Dave
Davies, of David Evans
and Associates, a Port-
land-based firm ODOT has
contracted for the curb proj-
ect’s design work.
Postovit said Union was
chosen for the initial phase
of the pilot project because
of its flatness. He said this
made it easier for workers
to test out techniques for
Staff photo by Dick Mason
Howard Postovit and Leslie Hasse of the Oregon Department of Transportation examine
a new curb ramp recently installed in Union.
installing new ramps more
efficiently.
The ODOT pilot project
is now continuing in Enter-
prise and later work will
be done in Lakeview. After
the pilot project is com-
pleted, ODOT will upgrade
about 26,000 other curb
ramps along state highways
throughout the state.
The curb ramp upgrades
along state highways in
Union will be done on
Main Street (Highways 237
The Observer
ISLAND CITY —
Union businessman Mike
Becker is a step closer to
establishing a small com-
mercial center north of
Walmart in Island City.
Island City’s city
council Monday night
voted to approve a request
from Becker to establish
a 1.4-acre partition for
the development of a new
business on 10.5 acres of
land he owns, bordered
on the south by May Lane
and the Joseph branch
of the Union Pacific
Railroad.
This will allow a fourth
business to be established
on the land owned by
Becker. Other businesses
there now are KIE Supply
Corp., Fastenal and Oxac
Inc.
The council voted to
approve the partition fol-
lowing a land use hearing.
One concern expressed
at the hearing concerned
accessibility to Becker’s
land.
Living charged in its law-
suit that many curb ramps
in Oregon did not meet fed-
eral standards.
The organization and
ODOT settled out of
court in November 2016
after the transportation
agency agreed to upgrade
curb ramps on high-
ways throughout the state.
ODOT has until 2032 to
do this under terms of the
settlement.
The upgrades ODOT
Eastern makes changes to its ‘Week of Welcome’
Orientation event
adjusts for public
safety during
COVID-19
By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity will begin on-campus
instruction Sept. 23, but in
preparation for their time at
EOU, incoming freshmen
and transfer students will
participate in the Week of
Welcome orientation Sept.
19-22. Due to social dis-
tancing guidelines and
safety concerns around
COVID-19, this year’s ori-
entation will look a little
different.
“We will basically have
the same large-scale events
— we are just going to
spread them out,” Director
of Student Success and
Transition Kathryn Shorts
said. “We’re going to take
over the campus and will be
outside a lot.”
The university will
require face coverings
during all orientation
events, and hand sanitizer
stations have been placed
all over campus to help
keep proper health protocol.
The students will be sepa-
Photo contributed by EOU Student Success and Transition
Student volunteer leaders are gearing up for Week of Welcome, an orientation event for
incoming freshmen and transfer students that starts Sept. 19.
rated into groups of around
10 students, which Shorts
said has two benefits: It
will help mitigate poten-
tial spread of the corona-
virus, and will encourage
group members to build
lasting connections with
one another.
In previous years, large
groups of incoming stu-
dents were introduced to
IC council grants partition request
to allow new commercial center
By Dick Mason
and 203) and on Beakman
Street, which runs east out
of town as part of Highway
203.
ODOT is undertaking
the upgrade work because
of a lawsuit filed against
it in February 2016 by the
Association of Oregon Cen-
ters for Independent Living,
a statewide organization
promoting accessibility for
all Oregonians who have
mobility issues. Oregon
Centers for Independent
is making in Union and
Enterprise include not only
reducing the slope of some
ramps but also adding tex-
ture panels so that those
with vision impairments
can detect them with canes
or their feet.
Also, the panels are
bright yellow so they are
easier to see.
“We want (the curb
ramps) to jump out,” Davies
said.
Each ramp must be one-
16th of a inch within the
federal Americans with
Disabilities Act specifica-
tions. In some instances if a
ramp is slightly above spec-
ifications the concrete has
been ground down until it
met the guidelines.
Leslie Hasse, a right
of way agent with ODOT,
said that crews have been
greeted with positive com-
ments while working in
Union.
“The responses have
been very encouraging,”
Hasse said.
Davies said he has never
forgotten a comment a
person made about 35 years
ago when he was helping
to build sidewalk ramps in
another area.
“Someone told me, ‘You
are building these now for
your grandparents, then
they will be for your par-
ents and then, if you are
lucky, they will be for
yourself.’”
It was pointed out that
it appears there is only
one road in which the site
can be accessed and a rail-
road crosses it, which is
reason for worry since
it could be blocked by a
train in an emergency.
Becker, however, noted
that the site can also be
accessed via Railroad
Avenue, which provides
an east entrance.
The Union businessman
said at the hearing he has
done extensive work on
developing the site, all
with his own money.
Infrastructure installed
there includes sewer and
water and the road has
been upgraded.
Becker noted that the
road there is far better
than what was in place
several years ago.
“It was a farm road
before we started this,”
Becker said.
He stressed that no
public funding has been
spent on the project and he
was not starting now.
“I’m not asking for
public funds,” Becker
said.
City Councilor Clint
Williams is among those
who spoke out in sup-
port of the partition at the
council meeting following
the hearing.
“I think we should give
it support and move for-
ward,” Williams said. “It
is on track for we want to
see for the city.”
Becker hopes to estab-
lish a commercial center
that would provide a local
opportunity for one-stop
shopping.
“People will be able
to get in there and won’t
have to go anywhere else,”
Becker said.
He told the council he
has been open-minded
throughout the process
of creating the commer-
cial center and is receptive
to recommendations for
addressing issues.
Becker also told the
council he believes he has
had a good working rela-
tionship with the city of
Island City.
the downtown scene with
local businesses opening
their doors during the ori-
entation week. There also
traditionally has been a
WOW Fest event with
booths, inflatables and
activities. The downtown
block party will not occur
this year, and WOW Fest
will be more spread out to
allow for proper social dis-
tancing. This year events
during Week of Welcome
also include an outdoor
movie night.
“It will have a sim-
ilar feel to previous years
but we want to make sure
we are taking care of one
another and doing things
safely,” Shorts said.
Week of Welcome events
will include registration
sessions, getting students
familiar with campus, and
virtual performances and
training sessions for sexual
assault awareness. Other
events are being planned
and adjusted to keep up
with the latest COVID-19
mandates, according to
Shorts.
The university began
training the 24 volunteer
orientation leaders last
spring, and even as classes
moved online and students
went home due to the pan-
demic, the Student Success
and Transition teams met
online to prepare for the
fall. Additional students,
faculty and staff participate
in the Week of Welcome to
help new students get accli-
mated to being on-campus.
“WOW week has
impacted my college expe-
rience by networking with
faculty and the president
of the university,” WOW
leader Emily Gulch said.
“It’s a great opportunity to
navigate the campus and
meet new faces.”
More than 100 students
have already registered for
the week, and students can
register up to the first day of
orientation. Shorts expects
around 300 students will
participate in WOW this
year.
Crash in Umatilla County
kills Wallowa man
EO Media Group
PENDLETON — A
Wallowa man was killed
Monday, Aug. 10, in a
multiple-vehicle crash
on Highway 37 in Uma-
tilla County, according
to a press release from
the Oregon State Police.
Lester Estes, 60,
was driving a 2005
Dodge 2500 pickup
north on Highway 37
when, police said, for
an unknown reason the
vehicle crossed into
the southbound lane
and collided with a
1989 Kenworth oper-
ated by Harold Buell,
48, of Moses Lake,
Washington.
Estes sustained fatal
injuries and was pro-
nounced deceased at the
scene.
OSP was assisted by
the Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Office, Uma-
tilla County Fire Dis-
trict 1 and Oregon
Department of
Transportation.
Photo contributed by Oregon State Police
A 2005 Dodge 2500 pickup rests in the middle of a lane
of traffic on Highway 37 in Umatila County. Lester Estes
of Wallowa was killed when his pickup crossed into the
southbound lane and collided with a 1989 Kenworth semi-
truck.