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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 2020)
2A — THE OBSERVER Daily Planner TODAY Today is Thursday, Aug. 20, the 233rd day of 2020. There are 133 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT On August 20, 1964, Pres- ident Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Economic Oppor- tunity Act, a nearly $1 billion anti-poverty measure. ON THIS DATE In 1862, the New York Tribune published an open letter by editor Horace Greeley calling on President Abraham Lincoln to take more aggressive measures to free the slaves and end the South’s rebellion. In 1920, pioneering American radio station 8MK in Detroit (later WWJ) began daily broadcasting. In 1940, exiled Commu- nist revolutionary Leon Trotsky was assassinated in Coyoacan, Mexico by Ramon Mercader, a Spanish Communist agent working at the behest of Josef Stalin. (Trotsky died the next day.) In 1953, the Soviet Union publicly acknowledged it had tested a hydrogen bomb. In 1955, hundreds of peo- ple were killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria. In 1968, the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations began invading Czechoslovakia to crush the “Prague Spring” liberaliza- tion drive. In 1981, Michael Devine, a member of the Irish National Liberation Army, died after a 60-day hunger strike at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland; he was the tenth and last hunger-striker to die that year. In 1986, postal employee Patrick Henry Sherrill went on a deadly rampage at a post office in Edmond, Okla., shooting 14 fellow work- ers to death before killing himself. In 1989, entertainment executive Jose Menendez and his wife, Kitty, were shot to death in their Beverly Hills mansion by their sons, Lyle and Erik. Fifty-one people died when a pleasure boat sank in the River Thames in London after colliding with a dredger. In 2005, Northwest Airlines mechanics went on strike rather than accept pay cuts and layoffs; Northwest ended up hiring replace- ment workers. In 2008, a Spanish jetliner crashed during takeoff from Madrid, killing 154 people; 18 survived. In 2017, actor, comic and longtime telethon host Jerry Lewis died of heart disease in Las Vegas at the age of 91. LOTTERY Megabucks: $5.4 million 3-9-20-21-43-48 Mega Millions: $40 million 4-18-26-27-58—23 x4 Powerball: $20 million 5-12-34-45-56—PB-3 x3 Win for Life: Aug. 17 10-54-55-58 Pick 4: Aug. 18 • 1 p.m.: 3-2-1-0 • 4 p.m.: 4-5-7-5 • 7 p.m.: 8-7-5-1 • 10 p.m.: 6-5-7-6 Pick 4: Aug. 17 • 1 p.m.: 2-4-5-0 • 4 p.m.: 4-3-3-7 • 7 p.m.: 8-3-8-3 • 10 p.m.: 3-7-9-9 DELIVERY ISSUES? If you have any problems receiving your Observer, call the office at 541-963-3161. THuRSday, auguST 20, 2020 LOCAL/REGION Pendleton teen makes face masks High school student makes face coverings for students, staff EO Media Group Photo by Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group Chloe Taber poses for a portrait outside of Pendleton High School on Friday, Aug. 15. Taber plans to print and distribute 1,000 masks for the students and staff at Pendleton High School. to life. That’s when they began contacting friends, family and community members to request dona- tions. Taber said everyone has been really supportive of the project and has donated, including Altrusa International of Pendleton and the Pendleton Rotary Club. Michael Williams, president of the Pendleton Rotary Club, said he felt it was important to support community projects, such as Taber’s, and after she reached out to the club, they were happy to help. “We have a good strong club here in Pendleton and we like to be able to support community endeavors,” he said. According to John Taber, they have raised enough funding to cover just more than $2,000 of the roughly $3,500 project, and they are hoping more donations will come through to cover the full cost ahead of the school year. For the Taber family, the mask-making project has become a family affair with everyone chipping in to help out whenever possible. “We’ve helped where we can and I’m very proud of her,” Terri Taber, Chloe Taber’s grandmother, said. “I hope she ends up get- ting all of the dollars she needs to pay for the mask, and if and when those kids go back to school, everyone will have one, including staff.” Taber plans on handing out the masks before fall term for students and fac- ulty to wear once school is back to holding in-person classes. Although changing rules surrounding face-to- face classes have made the timeline a little uncertain, Taber said ideally there would be some form of drive-thru supplies pickup before the school year where she could distribute masks. If no such event exists, she said she would dis- tribute masks in person when the school year even- tually gets underway. She said the mask project is a community effort that would not have been possible without everyone’s support. “We’re wearing masks because we care about others,” she said. “A lot of people have helped me and donated to me. Friends of friends, community mem- bers, family. It’s really cool to see people that actu- ally care. It seems like the community actually cares.” Elgin to start year with closed campus By Dick Mason The Observer ELGIN — The Elgin School District will have a closed campus for at least the first month of the 2020-21 school year. The Elgin School Board passed a resolu- tion Monday, Aug. 17, requiring all students to stay on campus for their full school day for the first month of the school year after school starts on Aug. 31. The board passed the resolution while dis- cussing reopening plans. Students will be on campus for the first time in more than five months when classes start in 11 days. The Elgin School District, like all of those in Oregon, have been closed since mid March by state order because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Elgin School Board discussed the pos- sibility of allowing high school students to leave campus during lunch but decided against it because that might create confu- sion, said Dianne Greif, the school district’s super- The Observer Passing thunderstorms ignite fires across Eastern Oregon By Nada Sewidan and Ben Lonergan PENDLETON — What if everybody had the same face mask? Pendleton High School student Chloe Taber asked that question to Pend- leton High School biology teacher Stacy Hansen, before embarking on a project that would eventu- ally create 1,000 identical masks for all of the high school’s students and staff. Taber created the mask project as a way to encourage everyone to wear masks. If everybody had the same mask, she thought, they’d be more likely to wear it, not only because they’ll have the resource more readily available, but also no one would feel singled out or awkward about wearing masks at school. The masks will all be screen printed with “I (heart) my Bucks.” “It’ll make it where everybody has the same mask,” Taber said. “It’s also for school spirit, too. Some people might think it’s embarrassing to wear one or it’s not cool, but having everyone have the same one might make some people feel better.” John Taber said once his daughter came up with the idea, they brain- stormed ways they could bring the mask project News Briefs Staff photo by Dick Mason Students in Elgin will attend classes in person when school resumes Aug. 31, but they will have to remain on campus for the full day of school during the first month of the new school year. intendent. The board will evaluate how having a closed campus is working a month into the school year and then decide on whether to open the dis- trict’s campus for a por- tion of students. The school district’s reopening plans call for cohorts of students at Stella Mayfield School to stay primarily in their classrooms throughout Lightning over Chief Joseph Mountain the day. The same will hold true at Elgin High School, where students will stay in cohorts while teachers move among the classrooms to provide instruction. Cohorts at Stella May- field and the high school will be assigned to spe- cific entrance and exit points to prevent students in different cohorts from mingling. Micah Agnew to leave Enterprise City Council By Bill Bradshaw EO Media Group Photo by Ellen Morris Bishop/EO Media Group Lightning strikes the east slope of Chief Joseph Mountain at about 6:45 p.m on Monday, Aug. 17. Red-flag fire warnings accompanied the belt of thunderstorms and disturbanc- es that extended from northern California across Oregon and into northern Idaho. The storm delivered winds of more than 50 mph, according to josephoregonweather.com, knocking over trees and causing power outages around Joseph. Stella Mayfield prin- cipal Tom Sorensen told the board that informing all children of the new rules will be challenging because he does not have the option of telling all of them at once. The state’s COVID-19 rules prohibit large school assemblies. The school district’s plans for reopening with on-site education could change if there is a spike in COVID-19 cases, which would force the district to again provide only dis- tance education, just as it did in the spring. To prepare for this pos- sibility, Greif said the district will be making sure all students become familiar with Google Classroom, an internet tool for distance educa- tion. Greif said the school district also is trying to make sure all families have internet service. She said the district has found a handful of families with students without internet access, and they will be assisted if it becomes nec- essary to again provide only distance education. ENTERPRISE — The Enterprise City Council agreed to fill its most recent vacancy, Monday, Aug. 10, after Councilor Micah Agnew announced his resignation. Agnew’s announce- ment was made at the August council meeting. “We are packing as we speak,” Agnew said. “It’s been a real privilege, and this experience has helped prepare me for the next stage in my life.” He is the pastor of the Abundant Life Assembly of God Church in Enter- prise and recently accepted a position to begin Sept. 1 at a church in Grants Pass. The council made quick work to fill Agnew’s position. The outgoing councilor nominated Brandon Miller to fill the seat through the end of the year. The council voted to approve the nomination. Miller noted he ran unsuccessfully for the council once before and remains eager to serve. “We just really love the city,” he said. Miller will take his oath of office at the next council meeting and take over Agnew’s duties, serving on the city’s library, public works and fire committees. But Miller’s appointed seat will be up for election in November, as will the position of mayor and two other council seats. Since former Mayor Stacey Karvoski stepped down in June, Councilor Jenni Word has served as mayor pro tem. Word plans to return to her council seat once a new mayor is elected and is sworn in. LA GRANDE — The Oregon Department of For- estry reported thunder- storms caused several fires the night of Tuesday, Aug. 18. Fire crews in north- east Oregon and southeast Washington responded to multiple reports of smoke and fire Tuesday night and during the day Wednesday. Around 40 incidents were reported, with 16 confirmed fires. “Currently, fire danger in the Blue Mountains ranges from high to extreme,” according to the report from the for- estry department. “Public Use Restrictions involving campfires and chainsaw use are in effect. Regulated clo- sures have also been imple- mented on State and private lands protected by Oregon Department of Forestry in northeast and central Oregon.” The National Weather Service is not forecasting any thunderstorms through Tuesday, Aug. 25. However, a red flag warning for fires remains in effect. Baldy fire growing near Baker/Malheur county border BAKER COUNTY — A wildfire that started Monday evening near the Baker/Malheur county border north of Ironside is growing, producing a tow- ering smoke plume. Al Crouch, fire mitiga- tion/education specialist for the Bureau of Land Management’s Vale Dis- trict, said additional fire- fighters, including aircraft and ground-based crews, were en route to help those already working on the blaze, which is burning in sagebrush and grass. The fire was estimated at 475 acres early Tuesday, Aug. 18, but Crouch said it has grown beyond that. The fire started near Baldy Mountain, about a mile and a half south of the county border, but it has burned north and crossed into Baker County. Larisa Bogardus, public affairs officer for the BLM’s Vale District, said the fire has two main areas that are advancing, one toward the northwest, the other toward the northeast. The fire is about 10 air miles southeast of Here- ford, 6 miles southwest of Bridgeport, and about 4 miles south of the junction of Highway 245 and the Burnt River Canyon Road. That junction is about 20 air miles due south of Baker City. Suzan Ellis Jones, who lives east of Bridge- port, said strong winds are blowing in that area, and smoke is settling in the Burnt River Valley. Jones said at least one rancher was moving cattle that were grazing in the area. Lostine man faces charges of coercion, witness tampering LOSTINE — Wallowa County deputies arrested Russell J. Hanson, 39, of Lostine, at a home north of Lostine on Sunday, Aug. 16, according to an arrest report with the sheriff’s office. The man faces prelim- inary charges of coercion, tampering with a witness, resisting arrest and inter- fering with a peace officer. The coercion and tam- pering charges are fel- onies, the other two are misdemeanors. According to state court documents, the Wallowa County District Attorney’s office has accused Hansen of threatening to harm a woman’s minor child if the woman testified. The sheriff’s office late Sunday booked Hanson into the Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton, according to the booking report, and state court records show he bailed out Tuesday.
