2A — THE OBSERVER
Daily
Planner
TODAY
Today is Tuesday, Oct. 6,
the 280th day of 2020. There
are 86 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On Oct. 6, 1973, war
erupted in the Middle East
as Egypt and Syria launched
aa attack on Israel during the
Yom Kippur holiday. (Israel,
caught off guard, managed
to push back the Arab forces
before a cease-fire took hold
in the three-week conflict.)
ON THIS DATE
In 1927, the era of talking
pictures arrived with the
opening of “The Jazz Sing-
er” starring Al Jolson.
In 1939, in a speech to the
Reichstag, German Chancel-
lor Adolf Hitler spoke of his
plans to reorder the ethnic
layout of Europe — a plan
which would entail settling
the “Jewish problem.”
In 1979, Pope John Paul II,
on a week-long U.S. tour, be-
came the first pontiff to visit
the White House, where he
was received by President
Jimmy Carter.
In 2014, the Supreme
Court cleared the way for
a dramatic expansion of
gay marriage in the United
States as it rejected appeals
from five states seeking to
preserve their bans, effec-
tively making such marriag-
es legal in 30 states.
In 2018, in the narrowest
Senate confirmation of a Su-
preme Court justice in nearly
a century and a half, Brett
Kavanaugh was confirmed
by a 50-48 vote.
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $2.6 million
9-24-27-29-31-34
Mega Millions: $41 million
9-38-47-49-68—25 x2
Powerball: $43 million
18-31-36-43-47—PB-20 x2
Win for Life: Oct. 3
2-13-32-34
Pick 4: Oct. 4
• 1 p.m.: 6-4-8-9 • 4 p.m.: 0-5-0-1
• 7 p.m.: 1-8-6-5; • 10 p.m.: 5-8-5-6
Pick 4: Oct. 3
• 1 p.m.: 1-1-8-8; • 4 p.m.: 4-0-3-7
• 7 p.m.: 1-3-1-1; • 10 p.m.: 2-3-3-2
Pick 4: Oct. 2
• 1 p.m.: 2-8-4-8; • 4 p.m.: 9-0-3-9
• 7 p.m.: 8-0-0-3; • 10 p.m.: 4-5-2-4
TuESday, OcTOBER 6, 2020
LOCAL/REGION
Baker City man fulfilling a dream
Jesse Brown
qualifies for
National Finals
Rodeo
By Jayson Jacoby
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — Jesse
Brown is used to wres-
tling with several hun-
dred pounds of uncooper-
ative steer, but it turns out
sitting still and watching
his cellphone can be even
more stressful.
And cellphones, as
you’ve probably noticed,
lack horns.
The date was Sept. 26.
Brown, who grew up
and lives in Baker City,
had wrestled the last steer
of the last rodeo of a long
season in which he drove
more than 40,000 miles
and visited several states
for the first time.
He was in Stephenville,
Texas.
Whether Brown, 28,
would achieve his ulti-
mate goal of qualifying for
the Super Bowl of rodeo
— the National Finals —
depended on what other
steer wrestlers were doing
thousands of miles away.
Specifically, whether they
were earning money.
The top 15 steer wres-
tlers qualify for the
National Finals.
With two rodeos to go,
Brown was in 16th place,
$500 out of 15th.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Jesse Brown leaps from his horse onto a steer during the steer wrestling event at the 2019
Pendleton Round-Up. Brown won the event and set a new arena record of 3.7 seconds.
“I don’t care where it is. I’m just glad to be in the Finals.”
— Jesse Brown, Baker City
The previous two days
he competed at Rapid City,
South Dakota. He won the
second round and claimed
$2,010. That boosted
his season earnings to
$39,494.60.
He flew to Stephenville
thinking he probably had
to win some money. That
didn’t happen. So Brown
had to wait.
And watch as his com-
petitors — and, he empha-
sizes, his friends — wres-
tled their final steers.
Dirk Tavenner of Rigby,
Idaho, was competing
in, of all places, New
Jersey. Shayde Etherton of
Borden, Indiana, was back
in Rapid City.
“I was more nervous
watching them than any-
thing else,” Brown said.
“Those last two days were
everything. Every dollar
counts.”
His win at Rapid City
ended up being enough.
Brown finished 15th,
$1,560 ahead of Tavenner
in 16th place. Etherton was
17th, another $978 back.
“It was tough — I’m
friends with all those
guys,” Brown said.
But feeling badly for his
buddies didn’t diminish
Brown’s excitement at
realizing his dream.
After competing in
more than 60 rodeos
during the past four
months, after living out
of a horse trailer and
returning to Baker City
barely long enough to
wash his clothes, Brown
qualified for the ultimate
competition.
Ribbons raise domestic violence awareness
Public safety report
FRIDAY, OCT. 2
8:21 a.m. — The La Grande police received a report
of possible animal abuse on the 500 block of Second
Street.
10:57 a.m. — A caller on the 400 block of East
Bryan Street, Union, reported an aggressive dog on
the loose. A Union County sheriff’s deputy responded
and secured the dog.
2:40 p.m. — A Union County sheriff’s office
responded to the 400 block of East Dearborn Street,
Union, for a juvenile riding an all-terrain vehicle. The
deputy counseled the juvenile and the parents.
5:54 p.m. — A Union County sheriff’s deputy
responded to the area of Hunter Road and Woodell
Lane north of La Grande for someone firing a gun
near the road. The deputy counseled the shooter.
9:12 p.m. — La Grande police responded to the
area of Fourth Street and X Avenue for a domestic
disturbance call. An officer separated the parties
involved.
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer,
please call 541-963-3161.
Drive-thru
flu shot
clinics for
vets begin
Wednesday
SATURDAY, OCT. 3
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
Walla Walla VA Med-
ical Center is holding
two drive-thru flu shot
events for veterans at
the La Grande facility
in October. The drive-
thru clinics will run from
8-10 a.m. Wednesday,
Oct. 7, and again at the
same time Oct. 14 in the
La Grande VA Clinic
parking lot at 202 12th St.
Due to the coro-
navirus pandemic,
according to a press
release from the Walla
Walla VA Medical
Center, it is especially
important this year for
veterans to get a flu shot
to stay healthy. Flu vac-
cinations reduce the risk
of getting the flu and
spreading it to others.
Eligible veterans
can get their flu shot
for free without having
to exit their cars. Vet-
erans must wear a mask
(vented masks are not
allowed). The press
release encouraged vets
who are unable to attend
the flu shot clinics to get
the shot from their pri-
mary care team or at a
Veterans Administration
in-network pharmacy or
urgent care facility (to
find the nearest facility,
go to www.va.gov/
find-locations, enter
your ZIP code and select
“community pharma-
cies” or “urgent care”
under “Facility Type”).
More information on
the Walla Walla VA’s
scheduled drive-thru flu
shot clinics at all sites is
available at www.wall-
awalla.va.gov/features/
Flu_Season_2020.asp
as well as the medical
center’s Facebook page
under the “Events” tab.
But of course this being
2020, the year of the coro-
navirus pandemic, that
competition is nothing like
normal.
The National Finals,
scheduled for Dec. 3-12,
won’t take place in the
traditional venue, the
Thomas & Mack Center in
Las Vegas.
Due to the pandemic,
the rodeo has been moved
to Globe Life Field in
Arlington, Texas.
Trading the Vegas Strip
for the Lone Star State
isn’t the most significant
change, though, Brown
said.
Globe Life Field is an
outdoor baseball stadium.
The Thomas & Mack
Center is an indoor basket-
ball arena.
More importantly for a
steer wrestler, who leaps
from a horse galloping at
more than 25 mph, the two
venues are much different
in size and layout.
Brown said the set up
in Texas is different from
most rodeos, including
the location of the chutes
where competitors start
their runs.
He said he’ll set up his
practice arena in Baker
City with dimensions as
close as possible to those
in Arlington. Not that
Brown is complaining
about missing out on glit-
tering Vegas.
“I don’t care where it
is,” he said. “I’m just glad
to be in the Finals.”
Sabrina Thompson/The Observer
Light poles along Adams Avenue in downtown La Grande display purple ribbons to show support
and raise awareness of October being “Domestic Violence Awareness Month.”
La Grande weather was warmer,
drier than normal for September
The Observer
PENDLETON — The
National Weather Service in
Pendleton reported tempera-
tures in La Grande averaged
warmer than normal during the
month of September.
According to preliminary
data, the average tempera-
ture was 63.8 degrees, which
was 3.9 degrees above normal.
High temperatures averaged
82.5 degrees, which was 6.3
degrees above normal. The
highest was 97 degrees on the
Sept. 8.
Low temperatures averaged
45.2 degrees, which was 1.5
degrees above normal.
The lowest was 36 degrees
on Sept. 9.
Temperature exceeded
90 degrees on eight days,
according to the climate
summary.
Precipitation totaled 0.45
inches during September,
which was 0.22 inches below
normal.
Two days received measur-
able precipitation — at least .01
inch — with the heaviest, 0.30
inches, on Sept. 28.
Precipitation this year has
reached 16.59 inches, which
is 5.05 inches above normal.
Since October, the water year
precipitation at La Grande has
been 19.68 inches, which is
3.16 inches above normal.
The outlook for October
from National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s
Climate Prediction Center calls
for above normal temperatures
and near to above normal pre-
cipitation. Normal highs for La
Grande fall from 70 degrees
at the start of October to 54
degrees at the end of October.
Normal lows fall from 39
degrees to 33 degrees. The
30-year normal precipitation is
1.29 inches.
12:59 a.m. — A caller reported a suspicious person
on the 900 block of Cedar Street, Elgin. A Union
County sheriff’s deputy responded and gave a warn-
ing for misusing 911.
9:26 a.m. — The Union County Sheriff’s Office
received a report of a theft of a political sign from
the 900 block of North Main Street, Union. A deputy
contacted the person who reported the theft.
10:53 a.m. — The Union County Sheriff’s Office
responded to the 1700 block of Baltimore Street, El-
gin, on a report of a domestic disturbance. A deputy
spoke with the parties involved.
1:18 p.m. — The Union County Sheriff’s Office re-
turned to the 1700 block of Baltimore Street, Elgin, on
a report of a domestic disturbance. A deputy resolved
the situation.
4:42 p.m. — La Grande police received a report of
a possible disturbance on the 1100 block of Adams
Avenue. Officers responded and warned the person
involved for disorderly conduct.
5:22 p.m. — La Grande police responded to the
2400 block of Century Loop for a possible restraining
order violation. An officer took a report.
8:34 p.m. — A caller on Mount Harris Loop, La
Grande, reported a possible hit-and-run involving
cattle. A Union County sheriff’s deputy responded
and arrested a 52-year-old man on a Union County
warrant for driving while suspended or revoked.
9:16 p.m. — La Grande police responded to the
1000 block of Jackson Avenue on a report of a vehicle
crash. Officers arrested Tanner Ryan Johnson, 22,
of La Grande, for driving under the influence of
intoxicants.
10:50 p.m. — The Union County Sheriff’s Office re-
ceived a complaint about a loud party at a residence
on the 62600 block of Bird Lane, La Grande. A deputy
counseled the person involved.
10:54 p.m. — The Union County Sheriff’s Office re-
ceived a complaint about a loud party at a residence
on the 62800 block of Fruitdale Lane, La Grande,
which is the road one block north of Bird Lane. A dep-
uty responded and counseled that person as well.
SUNDAY, OCT. 4
1:17 a.m. — La Grande police received a complaint
about loud noise on the 1900 block of H avenue. Offi-
cers arrived and counseled the subjects involved.
1:58 a.m. — A caller on the 1200 block of Eighth
Street, La Grande, reported someone was pounding
on their door. Officers arrived and determined the
person was a friend of the caller.
10:12 a.m. — A caller reported a dead deer in the
road at Walton Road and Buchanan Lane, La Grande.
A Union County sheriff’s deputy responded and
removed the carcass.
12:52 p.m. — A caller reported a pug on the loose
on the 900 block of Fourth Street, La Grande. The
animal enforcement officer made contact with the
person, who said they would take the dog to the
shelter.
2:37 p.m. — A resident flagged down a Union
County sheriff’s deputy in the area of the 10500 block
of North McAlister Road, La Grande, for a juvenile
causing a disturbance. The deputy explained options.
4:38 p.m. — Oregon State Police booked Orlan-
do Sanchez Jr. into the Union County Correctional
Facility, La Grande, for felony methamphetamine
possession and third-degree rape.
7:54 p.m. — La Grande police received a report of
a handgun stolen from the 1900 block of Alder Street.
8:34 p.m. — A caller reported seeing a cougar
in the area of the 62200 block of Fruitdale Lane, La
Grande.