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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 2020)
2A — THE OBSERVER Daily Planner TODAY Today is Tuesday, Aug. 25, the 238th day of 2020. There are 128 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT On August 25, 1944, during World War II, Paris was liberated by Allied forc- es after four years of Nazi occupation. ON THIS DATE In 1718, hundreds of French colonists arrived in Louisiana, with some settling in present-day New Orleans. In 1916, President Wood- row Wilson signed an act establishing the National Park Service within the De- partment of the Interior. In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a measure providing pensions for former U.S. presidents and their widows. In 1967, George Lincoln Rockwell, founder of the American Nazi Party, was shot to death in the parking lot of a shopping center in Arlington, Virginia; former party member John Patler was later convicted of the killing. In 1980, the Broadway musical “42nd Street” opened. (Producer David Merrick stunned the cast and audience during the curtain call by announcing that the show’s director, Gower Champion, had died earlier that day.) In 1981, the U.S. space- craft Voyager 2 came within 63,000 miles of Saturn’s cloud cover, sending back pictures of and data about the ringed planet. In 2001, rhythm-and-blues singer Aaliyah was killed with eight others in a plane crash in the Bahamas; she was 22. In 2012, Neil Armstrong, 82, who commanded the historic Apollo 11 lunar land- ing and was the first man to set foot on the moon in July 1969, died in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2014, a funeral was held in St. Louis for Michael Brown, the Black 18-year-old who was shot to death by a police officer. LOTTERY Megabucks: $5.6 million 2-3-11-22-26-33 Mega Millions: $49 million 11-15-31-42-63—14 x2 Powerball: $29 million 19-30-36-42-66—PB-14 x3 Win for Life: Aug. 22 32-42-57-74 Pick 4: Aug. 23 • 1 p.m.: 2-6-3-8 • 4 p.m.: 3-1-4-0 • 7 p.m.: 1-7-3-7 • 10 p.m.: 7-6-9-3 Pick 4: Aug. 22 • 1 p.m.: 4-6-7-0 • 4 p.m.: 8-5-5-2 • 7 p.m.: 8-9-8-0 • 10 p.m.: 7-6-9-3 Pick 4: Aug. 21 • 1 p.m.: 3-5-5-8 • 4 p.m.: 2-9-5-0 • 7 p.m.: 7-7-7-1 • 10 p.m.: 6-1-7-8 DELIVERY ISSUES? If you have any problems receiving your Observer, call the office at 541-963-3161. TuESday, auguST 25, 2020 LOCAL/REGION Competing protests face off in Hermiston By Jade McDowell EO Media Group HERMISTON — Rising tensions pushed a Black Lives Matter protest and counter-protest in Herm- iston late into the night Friday, Aug. 21. A group of Hermiston residents have been holding a Black Lives Matter protest on Friday evenings, which organizers say usually draw 10 or fewer people. But a Facebook event created for the Aug. 21 protest sparked a rumor online that, in the words of one post shared 85 times, “BLM & ANTIFA Members from the Port- land area will be coming to Hermiston,” possibly in the range of 150 people. By 6 p.m. about 100 counter-protesters gathered in a parking lot on the west side of Highway 395 and Highland Avenue. Many were openly carrying hand- guns or rifles, and most were carrying flags instead of signs. The group’s apparent organizer, who declined to give his name, asked those gathered not to engage with the other group of protesters unless their life was threat- ened, and to avoid racial slurs and name-calling. He Staff photo by Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group A group of Black Lives Matter protesters skirmish with counter-protesters Friday, Aug. 21, in Hermiston as the sun begins to set. Supporters were quick to pull back the opposing sides as police arrived on scene. A crowd of roughly 40 BLM protesters were met with about 100 counter-protesters at Highway 395 and East Highland Avenue. said their goal was to pre- vent any vandalism. “We are Americans, we are patriots, and we will defend our home,” he told the crowd. Across the street, a group of Black Lives Matter protesters formed, even- tually reaching about 40 people. They carried signs with messages such as “Reform the Police, Convict the Guilty.” Cassandra Frost, standing on the BLM side, said she had shown up to protest systemic racism. As a person of color, she spoke of her worries about the safety of her children in America because of the color of their skin. She said she wished people could Crews contain some fires in Meacham Complex Three more COVID-19 cases in LG School District Local firefighters take on flare-up near Summerville LA GRANDE — Five of the most recent COVID-19 cases in Union County have come out of the La Grande School District. Superintendent George Mendoza in a letter dated Wednesday, Aug. 19, said three more staff members within the district have tested positive for the coro- navirus, and that five total cases are now confirmed in staff members. “We are working closely with Center for Human Development (CHD) to respond to this news and protect the health of our community,” Mendoza said in the letter. “Impacted locations are the La Grande School District Office building, Central Elementary and Island City Elementary. Our district has already deep cleaned each staff member’s work locations and all common work areas that have been utilized by those staff. In addition, those confirmed employees have not been in our buildings since last Friday.” Union County last week had 10 total cases, and its overall count is at 408. There were no new cases in the county reported by the CHD Sunday or Monday. The statewide total moved past 25,000 Monday, as there now are 25,155 known cases of COVID-19 in Oregon and 420 deaths attributed to the virus. There were 220 new cases reported Monday The Observer MEACHAM — A series of fires continue to burn in the Meacham area — collectively known as the Meacham Complex — but many of the blazes are contained or are in patrol status, according to an update Monday, Aug. 24, from Mike Almas, the incident commander of the Northern Rockies Incident Management Team. And local firefighters on Saturday dealt with a flare-up of Midnight Fire north of Summerville. Four of the fires in Meacham Complex— the Horse Fire, Hager Ridge Fire, 896 Fire and Rattle- snake Fire — are consid- ered the larger and more active ones, according to Almas’ press release. The Rattlesnake Fire, burning in the Pomeroy Ranger District, is moving south and has burned 300- 400 acres. The other three main fires are fraction of the size: the Horse Fire Photo from the La Grande Rural Fire Protection District A helicopter Saturday, Aug. 22, helps firefighters douse a flare-up of the Midnight Fire north of Summerville. sits at around 100 acres, the Hager Fire is between 50-60 acres, and the 896 Fire is about 35 acres. Along with the Northern Rockies Type 2 Incident Management Team, agencies working the Meacham Com- plex include the Oregon Department of Forestry, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reserva- tion, U.S. Forest Service and local volunteer fire departments. The Horse and 896 fires are burning to the east of Meacham, and the Hager Ridge blaze is northeast of the small town. And the La Grande Rural Fire Protection Dis- trict and others on Sat- urday at approximately 2:30 p.m. responded to assist the Imbler Rural Fire Department and Oregon Department of Forestry with a flare-up of the Midnight Fire north of Summerville. “Firefighters worked into the evening,” the La Grande Rural fire reported, “mopping up the perimeter of the fire and strengthening control lines.” Ontario woman raises awareness for USPS By Leslie Thompson The Argus Observer via AP StoryShare ONTARIO — An Ontario woman, who supports many local committees as a member and volunteer, went to bat on Saturday, Aug. 22, to support the U.S. Postal Service by orga- nizing a small peaceful demonstration from 11 to 11:45 a.m. outside the Ontario Post Office. Dubbed Save Our Post Office, the demonstration was part of a nationwide movement on Saturday that she heard about from Move On, Janet Komoto wants to help “let our elected leaders know that we support the U.S. Postal Service and we will not put up with dis- mantling and re-orga- nizing the service we currently have in place.” The biggest concern around the nation right now is citizens missing out in the electoral pro- cess for the upcoming presidential election in November, as the gen- eral election will be held largely by mail-in bal- lots due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time see the “bigger picture” and work together to make their community better despite their disagreements. She also took issue with a pass- er-by who said she didn’t support America or the troops. “My brother and my whole family are in the mil- itary, and none of them fought for this,” she said, gesturing to the people yelling insults across the road. On the counter-protester side of the street, Brian Fisher said he was there because he wanted to show support for law enforcement and the military, where he served for seven years. “I believe everyone matters,” he said. “Espe- cially in the military, in a situation like that, you’re closer than brothers and sisters. It doesn’t matter what race, sex or creed you are.” The protest often was a cacophony of sounds, as protesters on both sides of the street shouted, while the four lanes of traffic in between them honked and yelled their support for one side or the other. At times, individual protesters or small groups crossed the street to con- front the other side — most often counter-protesters visiting the BLM side — and those street cross- ings sometimes sparked close-up yelling matches that ended with both par- ties’ friends dragging them in opposite directions while telling them to keep things peaceful. Photo by The Argus Observer via AP StoryShare Locals gathered at the Ontario Post Office on Saturday morning, Aug. 22, to demonstrate their support for the United States Postal Service. local and state offi- cials are gearing up for mail-in elections — many for the first time — sweeping changes are being mandated at the post offices across the country, according to a Wednesday article on Oregon Public Broadcasting. A USPS spokesman cited declining mail as reason for the changes in that story. President Donald Trump just two weeks ago opposed funding for USPS, saying he didn’t want to see it for mail-in ballots. This caused a clamor from citizens and lawmakers, citing poten- tial voter suppression. New Postmaster Gen- eral Louis DeJoy has said he would suspend changes, but some post office workers indicate it may already be too late, with many citing direct impact on mail sorting capacity. Komoto said she can’t believe putting a new postmaster general in place has made things happen so quickly. It would seem they would want to keep items such as sorting machines that “make the job of letter carriers more efficient,” she said. Komoto said the pres- ident of JACL, who lives in Washington, D.C., just received his absentee ballot for the primary election there about 10 days ago — three-and-a- half months after it was postmarked in May. Everything has really slowed down when it comes to the U.S. mail at this time, Komoto said, saying that Priority Mail has been sometimes taking two weeks to arrive at its destination. Due to the smoky air in recent days, Komoto kept the demonstration at less than an hour. The Observer by the Oregon Health Authority and three deaths. The total is the seventh time in the last nine days Oregon has reported fewer than 260 cases. The positive test rate in the state has moved up to 4.57%, but the number of individuals currently hos- pitalized due to the virus has decreased. Monday, OHA reported 98 people in Oregon hospi- tals with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and an addi- tional 45 with suspected cases. The state’s mor- tality rate in known cases is holding at 1.67%, giving a survival rate of 98.33%. Survival rate of known Oregon cases in those 80 and older continues to be the lowest at 76.7%, but is at 99.1% for those under 80. Cases requiring hos- pitalization in Oregon are just over 8%. The Centers for Dis- ease Control and Preven- tion on Monday updated its guidance for COVID-19 testing, now saying that an individual who has been in close contact with an infected person but doesn’t have symptoms doesn’t nec- essarily need to be tested. The exception to that is if they are a “vulnerable” individual or its recom- mended by a health care provider or by state health officials. Previously, the CDC recommended testing for anyone who was in close contact with a known case — within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes. News Briefs School bond could Wallowa County gets be on ballot in 2021 BAKER CITY — The grant for nonprofits EO Media Group LEWISON, Idaho — Three Wallowa County organizations are among 21 approved for Fast-Track Small Grants from June through August by the Lewis-Clark Valley Health- care Foundation. More than $138,000 in grants was provided to non- profit agencies in a nine- county area that included Wallowa County, five Idaho counties and three in Wash- ington state. The Fast-Track Small Grant, is a quick-turn- around grant intended for small nonprofits that focus on health, wellness or dis- ease prevention. The three groups in Wallowa County that have received grants are Friends of Wallowa School District, Divide Camp and the Rotary Foun- dation of Wallowa County. Baker School Board will be weighing whether or not to ask voters in 2021 to approve a property tax-sup- ported bond measure to pay for infrastructure improve- ments to Baker’s aging school buildings. The district intended to ask voters in the May 19 election to approve a $7.5 million bond measure to be repaid over 10 years. But the school board decided in March to not put the bond on the ballot to avoid poten- tially adding another finan- cial burden to residents already affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Had the measure passed, that money would have been coupled with a $4 mil- lion Oregon School Capital Improvement Match grant and a $5 million District contribution to pay for $16.5 million in improvements.
