2A — THE OBSERVER
Daily
Planner
TODAY
Today is Saturday, Oct. 10,
the 284th day of 2020. There
are 82 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On Oct. 10, 1845, the
U.S. Naval Academy was
established in Annapolis,
Maryland.
ON THIS DATE
In 1917, legendary jazz
composer and pianist
Thelonious Monk was born
in Rocky Mount, North
Carolina.
In 1957, President Dwight
D. Eisenhower apologized
to the finance minister of
Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gb-
demah, after the official was
refused seating in a Howard
Johnson’s restaurant near
Dover, Delaware.
In 1962, President John F.
Kennedy, responding to the
Thalidomide birth defects
crisis, signed an amendment
to the Federal Food, Drug
and Cosmetic Act requiring
pharmaceutical companies
to prove that their products
were safe and effective prior
to marketing.
In 1973, Vice President
Spiro T. Agnew, accused of
accepting bribes, pleaded
no contest to one count of
federal income tax evasion,
and resigned his office.
In 1985, U.S. fighter jets
forced an Egyptian plane
carrying the hijackers of the
Italian cruise ship Achille
Lauro to land in Italy, where
the gunmen were taken
into custody. Actor-director
Orson Welles died in Los
Angeles at age 70; actor Yul
Brynner died in New York at
age 65.
In 1997, the International
Campaign to Ban Land-
mines and its coordinator,
Jody Williams, were named
winners of the Nobel Peace
Prize.
In 2001, U.S. jets pound-
ed the Afghan capital of
Kabul. President George
W. Bush unveiled a list of
22 most-wanted terrorists,
including Osama bin Laden
In 2004, Christopher
Reeve, the “Superman”
of celluloid who became
a quadriplegic after a May
1995 horse riding accident,
died in Mount Kisco, New
York, at age 52.
In 2014, Malala Yousafzai,
a 17-year-old Pakistani girl,
and Kailash Satyarthi, a
60-year-old Indian man,
were jointly awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize for risking
their lives for the right of
children to receive an edu-
cation and to live free from
abuse.
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $2.8 million
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Mega Millions: $50 million
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Powerball: $52 million
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Win for Life: Oct. 7
6-33-58-63
Pick 4: Oct. 8
• 1 p.m.: 7-8-8-3 • 4 p.m.: 4-2-8-5
• 7 p.m.: 3-9-1-9; • 10 p.m.: 3-7-4-4
Pick 4: Oct. 7
• 1 p.m.: 2-5-3-8; • 4 p.m.: 3-4-7-6
• 7 p.m.: 2-8-1-4; • 10 p.m.: 4-9-5-5
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer,
please call 541-963-3161.
CORRECTION
An edit in Corrine
Dutto’s Oct. 6 letter to
the editor led to an error
in stating how long she
has served on the La
Grande City Council.
Dutto has served three
years.
Haunted house going up in Elgin
Warning — there
will be clowns
Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
ELGIN — Megan Jarrell
and Carmen Brown’s home
may be the spookiest house
in Elgin on Halloween.
The engaged couple
are constructing a themed
haunted house through their
shed and backyard at 35 N.
17th St.
The theme is based on
the popular Stephen King
novel and movie “IT” and
features, of course, killer
clowns. Jarrell said her
love for Halloween made
her want to construct the
haunted trail through her
home, and with the help
of friends and family it is
becoming a reality.
“Halloween is my
favorite holiday,” Jarrell
said. “After the Maridell
Center closed and ended
their haunted house walk-
through, we thought why
not put something on
here for people to come
through.”
An annual haunted
house event in La Grande
was held at the Maridell
Sabrina Thompson/The Observer
Carmen Brown works Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, on the haunted house she and Megan Jar-
rell are building in their backyard in Elgin for Halloween.
Center, but the family
center shut down at the end
of May.
Jarrell and Brown, who
are in the early stages of
construction, said the dona-
tions of wood pallets and
having volunteers to help
build are a big help.
“The nice thing about
the donations is they don’t
have to look nice and per-
fect,” Jarrell said. “The set-
ting of this experience is
in less than pleasant places
like sewers, so garbage can
work perfectly.”
The haunted walk will
start at the side gate to the
house, wind through the
large shed on the property
and through the backyard.
Elgin School District deems classes safe
after staff tests positive for COVID-19
Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
ELGIN — An Elgin
School District staff
member tested positive for
COVID-19.
District Superintendent
Dianne Greif announced
the finding Wednesday
night, Oct. 7, on the dis-
trict’s Facebook page.
“We had a staff
member who was notified
of exposure while away
from school on personal
business,” Greif said. “As
soon as he was notified, he
quarantined at home.”
The district reported
the exposure to the school
health nurse and the
Center for Human Devel-
opment, La Grande, which
oversees public health for
the county.
“The CHD contact
asked us to quarantine his
family also, which was
done,” Greif said, adding
that contacts have been
identified and notified,
quarantined and tested
where necessary.
The schools doors will
remain open and stu-
dents will continue with
in-person instruction.
“We followed all con-
tact tracing logs, looked
at exposure in the district,
which was none in most
areas because of the quar-
antine at home,” Greif
said. “The process of uti-
lizing the contact tracing
logs and making the deter-
mination that students
and staff were OK to con-
tinue in class was coordi-
nated between myself, our
school nurse and CHD.”
Carrie Brogoitti, the
public health adminis-
Sabrina Thompson/The Observer
Students at Stella Mayfield Elementary School, Elgin,
spend time on the playground Thursday afternoon, Oct.
8, 2020. Elgin School District Superintendent Dianne
Greif on Wednesday announced a staff member tested
positive for COVID-19.
trator for the Center for
Human Development,
said they followed the
process outlined by the
state education and health
department.
“When we have cases
in schools we look at
the situation and coordi-
nate with them individu-
ally,” Brogoitti said. “Ulti-
mately, though, it is up to
the school and the Oregon
Department of Educa-
tion to close the schools.
We have been in regular
communication with the
schools, like providing
them with regular updates
on COVID-19 activity
as it relates to the school
metrics, providing sup-
port on implementing the
ODE and (Oregon Health
Authority) guidance, and
answering specific ques-
tions about the virus and
situations that come up in
their schools.”
Before the start of
classes in the fall, every
district in Oregon had to
submit “Ready Schools,
Safe Learners” plans to
reopen schools and show
what actions they would
take to help mitigate the
spread of COVID-19 and
how they would respond
to a positive case.
Elgin’s plans included
notifying local health
authorities if a student or
staff member tested pos-
itive, quarantining the
person who tested positive
and implementing con-
tact tracing of students
and staff for any potential
close contacts.
“I feel confident that
we did follow our blue-
print and have, to the best
of our ability, assured a
safe environment for our
students and staff,” Greif
said.
Greif and Brogoitti said
the investigation into the
positive case and contact
tracing continues.
“We want to stop the
spread to the greatest
extent possible so kids
can stay in school,” Bro-
goitti said. “Everything
is going the way we
expected it to go.”
Sheriff’s office to provide service in Union
Town and county
agree on deal for
law enforcement
By Dick Mason
PAYING FOR A DEPUTY
• Funding to cover Union’s resident deputy for four years
will come from a $125,000 Community Oriented Policing fed-
eral grant the Union County Sheriff’s Office received and a
total of $201,080 from the city of Union. Union will pay this
amount in increments of $50,295 for salary and benefits
each year of the contract.
The Observer
UNION — Law
enforcement for the city
of Union received a note-
worthy boost Wednesday,
Sept. 7.
The Union County
Board of Commissioners
voted to approve a contract
between the city of Union
and the Union County
Sheriff’s Office for law
enforcement service.
The agreement will pro-
vide a deputy who will
work 120 hours a month in
Union and spend a much
smaller amount of time
in other portions of the
county.
The contract took effect
immediately. This means
Union has steady law
SaTuRday, OcTOBER 10, 2020
LOCAL/REGION
enforcement service from
the sheriff’s office for the
first time in four years.
Ever since the city did not
renew its contract with
the sheriff’s office, it has
received only emergency
service from the sheriff’s
office and periodic patrols.
Funding to cover
the position for four
years will come from a
$125,000 Community
Oriented Policing federal
grant the sheriff’s office
received and a total of
$201,080 from the city
of Union. Union will pay
this amount in incre-
ments of $50,295 for
salary and benefits each
year of the contract.
The deputy working in
Union also lives there, and
once on duty, the deputy
will have an office in the
town.
The deputy will come
on duty later this year after
finishing his enforcement
training, said Doug Wig-
gins, Union’s city admin-
istrator. Until then, other
deputies with the sheriff’s
office will provide Union
with law enforcement
services.
Union County Com-
missioner Donna Beverage
said she is pleased with the
agreement.
“I am excited that the
city of Union and the sher-
iff’s office have been able
to work together to bring
enhanced law enforcement
service to Union,” Bev-
erage said.
Union Mayor Leonard
Flint said having a deputy
in the city will be a plus
because it will mean
residents will become
familiar with the indi-
vidual. This will make
them feel comfortable
approaching the deputy to
express a concern about
something they saw or
heard about. The mayor
said the deputy will
develop a better idea of
what to be on the lookout
for and what to be less
concerned about by being
based in Union.
“It will be more like a
neighborhood police ser-
vice,” the mayor said.
“There will be more per-
sonal contact than if a
deputy comes in and out.”
Jarrell said she chose the
theme of “IT” and killer
clowns because they are
one of her favorite types of
scary movies to watch.
“Ever since I was a kid,
scary stuff has been my
thing,” Jarrell said. “I like
fear because it is raw and
unfiltered emotion.”
While the backyard
will be full of frights, Jar-
rell said one of her friends
is going to be building a
smaller maze for younger
children to walk through
that is not as scary. And
candy will be available for
everyone regardless if they
go through the haunted
house or children’s maze.
Jarrell and Brown said
their reasons for doing
the maze have little to do
with the coronavirus pan-
demic. However, the pan-
demic has been part of the
discussion on how to con-
struct and run the haunted
house. The Oregon Health
Authority said haunted
houses are in the moderate
risk category, provided
there is social distancing
and mask wearing. Jar-
rell said they plan on stag-
gering people entering the
haunted house to help pro-
vide the distance and will
be offering hand sanitizer
at the entrance or exit.
“Nobody will be
touching anyone or any-
thing,” she said.
The couple said if the
event is a success, they
would consider continuing
the tradition next year with
a different theme.
News Briefs
Democrat candidates
hold virtual forum
PENDLETON — Nolan
Bylenga, Democrat candi-
date for Oregon House Dis-
trict 58, will host a virtual
candidates’ forum via Zoom
and Facebook on Tuesday,
Oct. 13, from 6-7 p.m.
Bylenga, Alex Spenser,
a candidate for the Oregon
2nd Congressional District
in the U.S. House of Rep-
resentatives, and Carina
Miller, a candidate for Ore-
gon’s state Senate Dis-
trict 30, each will give a
brief introduction and then
answer a series of questions.
Spenser and Miller also are
Democrats.
Viewers can submit ques-
tions to Bylenga4HD58@
gmail.com or type them into
the Facebook comment sec-
tion of the event.
The forum may be
viewed on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/
events/348169409733942/,
or via Zoom with meeting
ID 889 5922 9655, pass-
code 940696. For more
information, email Bylen-
ga4HD58@gmail.com.
New Pendleton law
allows some forms
of outside sleeping
on public property
PENDLETON —
Starting Nov. 6, the city of
Pendleton will allow resi-
dents and visitors to sleep
outside on city-owned
property, provided it’s not
in a park, parking lot, alley
or sidewalk and is within
a designated time period
from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
At a Tuesday, Oct. 6
meeting, the Pendleton
City Council passed a city
law that attempts to create
restrictions to homeless
camping on public prop-
erty, while complying with
recent federal court deci-
sions that made it illegal
to punish people for public
sleeping unless there is an
alternative option.
Timber projects close
Bird Track Springs
Campground
The U.S. Forest Ser-
vice has closed Bird Track
Springs Campground off of
Highway 244 for a resto-
ration/timber project.
The Forest Service
closed the site in the Wal-
lowa-Whitman National
Forest on Sept. 30, according
to a notice on the webpage
for the forest, and it will
remain closed until further
notice.
Spool Cart Campground
off Forest Service Road 51 is
an alternative site, according
to the Forest Service.
Contact the La Grande
Ranger District at 541-962-
8537 or 541-963-7186 for
more information.
Maximum rent
increase established
for 2021
SALEM — The Depart-
ment of Administrative Ser-
vices set the maximum rent
increase at 9.2% for 2021,
preventing landlords from
increasing rent any higher
than the percent allowed. In
2020 the maximum allowed
was 9.9%.
Local property manager
Ashley O’Toole said the
John J. Howard & Associ-
ates’ office will not change
rent very much, as most
rental increases occur when
tenants move in and out.
Ranch-N-Home, La
Grande, follows that same
practice, office manager
Mandy Kassien said.
Century 21 property
manager Rosa Goodman
said the decision to increase
rent and the amount to
increase it is ultimately up
to the property owner. If
owners aren’t able to make
ends meet or are charging
below the rental’s market
value, they may decide to
increase rent during the
lease, Goodman said.
But, she said, the pan-
demic affects these
decisions.
“Right now, a lot of prop-
erty owners are holding
off on increasing due to
COVID,” Goodman said.
“Many owners would rather
stay below market rent
value than try to find renters
during COVID.”
State forestry
lifts public use
restrictions
LA GRANDE — The
Oregon Department of For-
estry announced is is lifting
its restrictions on the pub-
lic’s use in forests in the
Northeast Oregon District
effective Saturday, Oct. 10,
at 12:01 a.m.
Mitch Williams, La
Grande wildland fire Super-
visor, said in the release
while more seasonable
weather conditions have
arrived, a threat of fire
danger remains.
Forest users can have
campfires with landowner
permission, however they
must be fully extinguished
before leaving the site
unattended.
Logging and other indus-
trial operations must meet
requirements for fire preven-
tion, including having fire
tools, adequate water supply
and lookouts on lands under
the protection of the Oregon
Department of Forestry.
The Northeast Oregon
District encompasses lands
in Union, Baker, Uma-
tilla and Wallowa counties
as well as parts of Grant,
Morrow and Malheur
counties.
— EO Media Group