TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
THE OBSERVER — 5A
SYMPHONY
Continued from Page 1A
gatherings. In addition to
Block on violin and Banks
on cello, “A Night In” will
feature Matt Cooper on
piano.
Block said while this
season has felt emptier than
previous years, it is by no
means less important —
the show must go on, even
if it requires adapting to
unprecedented times.
Streaming the perfor-
mances, she also said,
allows the symphony to
reach a larger audience and
new listeners. That matters,
she noted, because reaching
more people and sharing
music and performance
during the pandemic helps
us feel connected when we
have to be so far apart.
“Music specifi cally
doesn’t require words
or the understanding of
a language — it is uni-
versal,” Block said. “To
me, music has always
been a comfort to hear and
then feel or be reminded
of a resulting emotion, and
know someone else has
CLEMENTS
Observer fi le photo
The Grande Ronde Symphony Orchestra begins its 2020-21 season Saturday, Oct. 3, with
“A Night In with the Symphony,” a virtual performance. Unlike this photo, the event will
not feature the entire orchestra but three musicians: violinist Viet Block, pianist Matt Coo-
per and music director Zach Banks on cello.
felt that way too, and it’s
OK to feel great variations
in ups and downs. Espe-
cially when life is full of
turmoil, and in 2020 it is
even more important that
no one feels alone in the
human condition, and to
have the option to refuge
within a musical escape.”
Cooper shared sim-
ilar sentiments and said
although the performances
are prerecorded, the virtual
event will have the feel of a
live performance.
“Unlike most commer-
cial recordings, which are
CATTLE
CONTESTED LOCAL RACES
Continued from Page 1A
Additional issues Cle-
ments wants to work
on, if reelected, include
addressing housing avail-
ability. The city is com-
pleting a study on this and
is expected to present a
report to the city council
in the near future. Clem-
ents said he wants the city
council to do what it can
to address this issue based
on the report’s fi ndings.
He said this could mean
the city will need to make
land code changes or work
more closely with agencies
like the Northeast Oregon
Housing Authority.
Addressing the lack
of downtown parking
is another issue Clem-
ents would hope to help
tackle in his fourth term.
He said he wants to keep
all options open, including
those involving high tech.
Clements noted there is a
city in the eastern United
States that created a Smart-
phone app to let people
know where there are
open parking spaces. The
mayor said it is unlikely La
Grande has the resources to
do something similar, but
he would like to have the
city look at creative ideas
when taking on the issue.
Clements is optimistic
McHADDAD
Continued from Page 1A
would take steps such as
creating a business advi-
sory committee. The com-
mittee, which would con-
sist of community members,
would meet regularly to dis-
cuss ways businesses could
be supported in La Grande.
It would address matters
such as regulations that
make it diffi cult for busi-
nesses to operate. The group
would make recommenda-
tions to the city council on
what could be done.
“It would address regula-
tory burdens,” he said.
McHaddad also said
he would try to boost
La Grande’s economy
by working to improve
internet through getting
better broadband service,
which has greater band-
width, into the community.
This would help La Grande
recruit more businesses and
help the city draw more
people here who could work
remotely from home while
far from the companies
employing them.
On the law enforcement
front McHaddad, the exec-
utive director of the Blue
Mountain Translator Dis-
trict, said he would strive to
help community members
become better acquainted
with the members of the
city’s police department
who patrol their neighbor-
• Voters soon will decide several local races, including for mayor
of La Grande, where Alex McHaddad, executive director of the
Blue Mountain Translator District, is challenging incumbent
Steve Clements, a retired Eastern Oregon University business
faculty member.
• Ballots for the 2020 election will be mailed Oct. 14 and must
be returned by 8 p.m., Nov. 3. The voter registration deadline is
Oct. 13.
about the future of La
Grande’s downtown in
part because of the new
businesses that are being
established with the help
of funding from the city’s
Urban Renewal Agency.
These include the Brick-
yard Lanes bowling center
nearing completion and The
Local Station, a revamped
version of the old Texaco
Station on Adams Avenue
that will offer boutique ice
cream, meeting spaces —
including one that is glass
enclosed — mercantile
shops and more. The Local
Station may open next
summer.
The accomplishment he
takes the greatest pride in is
the establishment in 2019 of
a quiet zone in La Grande
that prohibits train opera-
tors from sounding horns
through multiple crossings.
Clements said the zone
has and will continue to
give La Grande an eco-
nomic boost. Downtown
businesses are among the
big benefi ciaries. Clem-
ents said in the past, some
guests in motels would
cut their stays short due to
loud train horn blasts in the
middle of the night. The
mayor noted that increased
motel business means the
city’s motel tax will gen-
erate more revenue.
Clements also said he
anticipates the quiet zone
will boost property values.
The zone went into effect
only after safety signs and
devices were installed at
its fi ve downtown railroad
crossings, costing the city
close to $100,000.
“My guess is that we
will get much more back (in
terms of economic benefi t),”
Clements said.
Clements, who is retired,
previously served on the La
Grande City Council from
1998 to 2010. He does not
hesitate when asked why
he is committed to public
service.
“I’m inspired (to serve)
because of a debt of grati-
tude to the La Grande com-
munity” Clements said,
“which has given me so
much.”
hoods. Again, he would
form a community advi-
sory committee to address
concerns people have about
local law enforcement and
would arrange for police
offi cers to meet with com-
munity members.
“Every month there
could be a coffee hour,”
McHaddad suggested. “It
would be a chance for the
police and the community
to introduce themselves.”
McHaddad said he wants
people to get to know those
patrolling their neigh-
borhoods so they would
be more comfortable
approaching them if they
need help or are concerned
about something.
He also said as major
he would push to get the
city council to change its
snow policy to require the
public works department
to promptly remove snow
every time the depth on
city roads reaches 2 inches.
McHaddad said initially
the standard would be 2
inches on arterial routes
and 4 inches on the other La
Grande streets. Eventually,
he said, he would like to see
a 2-inch standard for more
roads in La Grande.
McHaddad moved to
La Grande six years ago
from Southern California
to attend Eastern Oregon
University. He graduated
in 2016 with a degree in
public administration, pol-
itics and economics. He
has served as executive
director of the Blue Moun-
tain Translator District
for the past three years.
The district provides over-
the-air television signals
to Union and Baker county
residents.
Continued from Page 1A
mutilation was later
reported at the border of
Lake and Deschutes coun-
ties in September that
year.
According to a report
from the Capital Press,
a cow was found muti-
lated earlier this year near
Fossil in Wheeler County
on July 23. The carcass
was found upright with
its legs tucked underneath
it, and authorities located
a partial boot print about
100 yards away from the
scene.
“There’s a lot of con-
cern about this, and there
needs to be,” Stubblefi eld
said.
Theories around cattle
mutilations and their cul-
prits have ranged from
UFOs and aliens to gov-
ernment conspiracies and
satanic cults, which Stub-
blefi eld isn’t subscribing
to.
“I’m a believer that
this is a little more prac-
tical and this is criminal
behavior,” he said.
With that in mind,
Stubblefi eld is asking
all ranchers and resi-
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dents in the area to be
on the lookout for addi-
tional mutilations or sus-
picious activity. Those
with information or who
come across anything sim-
ilar are encouraged to call
the nonemergency line
for the Pendleton offi ce of
the Oregon State Police at
541-278-4090.
“If anybody fi nds one
of these unusual ones, they
need to stay away from it
— don’t even come close
to it — and call Oregon
State Police immediately,”
he said. “Any evidence
that can be preserved is
going to help solve this
seemingly unsolvable
case.”
For now, the carcass of
Stubblefi eld’s mutilated
cow remains in the same
spot he found it. Though
none were in place prior to
Cooper said. “The audi-
ence is still ‘there’ though,
and you are still communi-
cating with them.”
Echoing Block, Cooper
said one of the best parts
about sharing music and
performing, especially in
today’s public health and
political climate, is its
ability to unite people.
“Art and music remain
important ways to con-
nect with a deeper exis-
tence and to transcend the
superfi cialities of daily
life,” Cooper said. “That
is as true as ever, though
nowadays people prob-
ably need such experi-
ences even more than ever.
Also, in today’s climate of
divisiveness, it’s good to
know that such experiences
can unite people from all
walks of life, including dif-
ferent political or religious
persuasions.”
The virtual concert is
taking the place of the
annual fundraiser for
the 73-year-old music
ensemble. Two more
chamber concerts will
follow through the season,
whether it be virtual or in
person.
the discovery of the dead
cow, trail cams are now
staged in the area to mon-
itor it.
According to Stub-
blefi eld, that footage
revealed another discon-
certing detail: Preda-
tors and scavengers are
avoiding and not eating
the carcass. Coyotes have
approached the area but
keep their distance, he
said, and birds will land
on the body briefl y before
fl ying away.
Stubblefi eld read the
reports and heard the
stories of other Oregon
ranchers fi nding mutilated
cattle before, and now
he’s hoping the death of
his own will fi nally pro-
vide some answers to the
decades-long mystery.
“This is too much,” he
said. “It’s got to stop.”
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multi-tracked using a click
track and can be made per-
fect by punching in to fi x
mistakes or altered to cor-
rect errors in timing or
pitch, allowing essentially
anyone to theoretically
make a perfect recording,
recordings such as the
Oct. 3 performance rely
on complete ‘takes’ and
for the most part can’t be
fi xed,” Cooper explained.
“In a sense, they are like
live performances in that
you aim to fi nish the entire
piece or movement, but
with the added pressure of
trying to come up with a
good recording or at least
one that is acceptable to all
parties.”
Trindle in a press
release about the show said
the Grande Ronde Sym-
phony Orchestra wanted to
“create an evening where
people can tune in, perhaps
having gathered family
members, along with
refreshments, to make for a
special and unique musical
event.”
Cooper has been able to
livestream performances
during the pandemic and
said while there is a lim-
itation to the number of
people in the room to help
with recording, he directs
the music to the audience
beyond the walls.
“You have to imagine an
audience that is listening
or watching but who is
not in the room with you,”
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