2A — THE OBSERVER
Daily
Planner
Fear of old epidemic delayed 1928 build
Dick Mason
TODAY
The Observer
Today is Tuesday, Oct. 13,
the 287th day of 2020. There
are 79 days left in the year.
LA GRANDE —Unlike
today, 92 years ago the res-
idents of La Grande were
talking about the echoes of
a past epidemic.
Here is why: Inlow Hall,
Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity’s first building, is sit-
uated over an old pioneer
cemetery.
In 1928, after excavation
work started, a crew uncov-
ered skeletal remains of pio-
neers. The pioneers were
believed to have died in an
epidemic that struck the
Grande Ronde Valley in the
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On Oct. 13, 1775, the
United States Navy had its
origins as the Continental
Congress ordered the con-
struction of a naval fleet.
ON THIS DATE
In A.D. 54, Roman Emper-
or Claudius I died, poisoned
apparently at the behest of
his wife, Agrippina.
In 1792, the cornerstone
of the executive mansion,
later known as the White
House, was laid by President
George Washington during
a ceremony in the District of
Columbia.
In 1932, President Herbert
Hoover and Chief Justice
Charles Evans Hughes laid
the cornerstone for the U.S.
Supreme Court building in
Washington.
In 1960, John F. Kennedy
and Richard Nixon held the
third televised debate of
their presidential campaign.
In 1972, a Uruguayan
chartered flight carrying 45
people crashed in the Andes;
survivors resorted to feeding
off the remains of some of
the dead in order to stay
alive until they were rescued
more than two months later.
In 1974, longtime televi-
sion host Ed Sullivan died in
New York City at age 73.
In 1999, the Senate
rejected the Comprehensive
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, with
48 senators voting in favor
and 51 against.
In 2000, South Korean
President Kim Dae-jung was
named winner of the Nobel
Peace Prize.
In 2016, Bob Dylan was
named winner of the Nobel
prize in literature.
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $2.9 million
1-10-16-30-38-45
Mega Millions: $60 million
5-11-25-27-64—13 x2
Powerball: $62 million
5-18-23-40-50—PB-18 x3
Win for Life: Oct. 10
5-24-49-75
Pick 4: Oct. 11
• 1 p.m.: 0-9-5-4; • 4 p.m.: 3-2-1-1
• 7 p.m.: 7-2-0-8; • 10 p.m.: 3-5-3-3
Pick 4: Oct. 10
• 1 p.m.: 3-4-9-3; • 4 p.m.: 5-6-6-2
• 7 p.m.: 8-5-5-6; • 10 p.m.: 6-0-4-0
Pick 4: Oct. 9
• 1 p.m.: 2-3-9-5; • 4 p.m.: 7-4-3-1
• 7 p.m.: 0-4-5-1; • 10 p.m.: 1-7-9-8
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer,
please call 541-963-3161.
Dick Mason/The Observer
Inlow Hall, Eastern Oregon University’s first building,
stands over an old pioneer cemetery.
East Oregonian
UMATILLA COUNTY
— State Rep. Greg
Smith and state Sen. Bill
Hansell are facing some
unusual circumstances in
their reelec-
tion bids — a
Democratic
challenge.
Hansell,
who rep-
resents Senate
Hansell
District 29
from his home
in Athena,
hasn’t faced
a Democrat
since he was
first elected
Smith
in 2012. This
will be Smith’s first gen-
eral election opponent
since the Heppner busi-
ness owner ran for District
57 in 2010.
Although Demo-
crats are contesting these
heavily Republican seats,
neither Irrigon contractor
Roland Ruhe, who’s run-
ning against Smith, nor
Joseph retiree Mildred
O’Callaghan, Hansell’s
opponent, returned
requests for comment by
the East Oregonian’s dead-
line on the afternoon of
Oct. 9.
While there may not be
another cap-and-trade bill,
the environment promises
to come up again as a per-
tinent topic after wildfires
across the state displaced
thousands of residents and
caused air quality to drop
to dangerous levels.
Hansell said the Leg-
islature should review its
forest management policy,
but he thought state, tribal
and private forests were
better maintained com-
pared to federal forests. He
added that the state should
1870s, according to a pre-
sentation given on May 15,
2000, by Rebecca Farrester,
then a student at Eastern.
The type of epidemic is not
known but it is known there
were outbreaks of diph-
theria in the Grande Ronde
Valley in the 1870s.
The construction
workers feared in 1928
they would contract what-
ever disease had swept
through the valley if they
touched the bones of those
who had died from it. The
men refused to continue
working.
“They staged a sit-down
strike,” Farrester said.
The construction
workers refused to change
their minds. Finally state
officials gave in and
changed construction plans,
eliminating the need for
additional excavation work
for Inlow Hall, which was
completed in 1929. Eastern
was initially named Eastern
Oregon Normal School.
People were first buried
in the cemetery Farrester
spoke of in the 1860s. The
graveyard was La Grande’s
lone cemetery until 1878.
By 1900 the cemetery was
no longer in use.
OTEC’s vehicle
auction coming up
For more information,
contact OTEC purchasing
manager Todd Nice at
541-524-2844.
News Briefs
Local woman grows 55-pound squash
Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
When Mary McCracken
of La Grande went out
to harvest her garden
Monday, Oct. 12, she got
a big surprise. She discov-
ered some of the squash
she had planted had grown
larger than she intended.
Much larger.
The largest of the plants
measures 51 inches long
and weighs 55 pounds.
She also harvested two
more large squashes, a
long squash measuring
36 inches and 40 pounds,
and a 36-pound round
one with a nearly 48-inch
circumference.
McCracken said she
has not decided yet what
she will do with the giant
vegetables.
“I would love to turn it
into a fundraiser of some
kind, so if anyone has any
ideas they should reach
out to me,” McCracken
said.
McCracken planted
the jumbo pink banana
squashes at her house in
the spring along with pep-
pers, tomatoes, berries
and corn. For McCracken,
planting these vegeta-
bles and fruit is a form of
therapy. She said when
COVID-19 regulations
required people to stay at
home, she had to decide if
Sabrina Thompson/The Observer
La Grande resident Mary McCracken poses Monday,
Oct. 12, 2020, with her 51-inch, 55-pound jumbo pink
banana squash, and her second and third largest har-
vests of the season. McCracken said she did not intend
to grow such large vegetables and hopes to find a way
to turn them into a charitable donation.
she should spend her time
gardening or cleaning the
house.
“Given the choice, I’ll
pick gardening,” she said.
Growing the squash
so large was not inten-
tional, McCracken said.
However, she is happy
and excited with how big
they grew by the time she
picked them.
She said she likes
to grow her own food
GOP incumbents discuss challenges,
and their plans for next term
By Antonio Sierra
TuESday, OcTOBER 13, 2020
LOCAL/REGION
be focused on working
with the federal govern-
ment to improve forest
management.
Hansell compared leg-
islating to a football team
playing on offense and
defense.
On the offensive side,
Hansell said he plans to
work on bills that tackle
issues relating to sexual
abuse and domestic vio-
lence. On defense, Hansell
plans to stay vigilant on
any bills that may hurt
the agriculture industry
and work to reverse the
Oregon Department of
Corrections’ decision to
end its contract with Blue
Mountain Community
College and other com-
munity colleges to run its
adult education programs.
Hansell expressed pride
in the bills he passed with
bipartisan support and
the capital projects he
helped bring to his dis-
trict, but his optimism
was tempered by a legis-
lative career spent in the
minority.
“I’m not at the table
where a lot of these deci-
sions are made,” he said.
Walkouts were the
defining moments of some
of the two previous ses-
sions as GOP legislators
left Salem to prevent the
passage of a cap-and-trade
bill favored by Democrats.
Neither Smith nor Hansell
anticipated another
walkout in 2021, although
both admitted they hadn’t
anticipated the previous
walkouts either.
During his 10th term
in the Oregon Legisla-
ture, Smith received an
increased level of scru-
tiny from media across the
state.
Willamette Week said
Smith “may be the best
compensated lawmaker in
Salem,” highlighting con-
nections between his day
job as an economic devel-
opment specialist and the
projects he approves as a
legislator. The Malheur
Enterprise investigated the
public contracts he holds
through his personal com-
pany, including his role as
the director of the Malheur
County Economic Devel-
opment Department
Smith said he drew
attention to his nonleg-
islative work because of
his willingness to declare
potential conflicts of
interest on the House floor.
“I don’t know how
much more transparent I
can be,” he said.
Smith said he has a
bigger target on his back
because of his seniority
and his close relationship
to House Speaker Tina
Kotek and Senate Presi-
dent Peter Courtney, who
are both Democrats.
Smith said he’s able to
leverage those relation-
ships into projects back
in his district, pointing to
funding for a new Head
Start facility in Boardman.
Smith continues to sit
on the Joint Committee on
Ways and Means, which
will be responsible for
tackling a budget with a
COVID-19-shaped hole
in it.
While recent budget
projections have appeared
rosier than expected,
Smith said those numbers
were inflated by federal
stimulus money. He said
he anticipates legislators
will have to make cuts,
reprioritize funding, and
even explore new sources
of revenue, which could
include new taxes.
more than buying from
the market because she
doesn’t totally trust the
agriculture industry. She
said all of the food she
eats is locally sourced,
including meat.
“I like to know where
my food is from, where
it has been and what
has happened to it,”
McCracken said. “Plus it
keeps the money in the
valley.”
BAKER CITY —
Oregon Trail Electric
Cooperative announced
in a press release it has
five vehicles for sale in its
annual surplus auction at
the cooperative’s Baker City
headquarters.
The five vehicles will
be available for viewing
Oct. 22 and 23 from 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m. at OTEC’s head-
quarters at 4005 23rd St.
(enter through OTEC’s
gate on Pocahontas Road).
Members also can view the
vehicles and download bid
sheets at www.otec.coop/
annual-auction.
Bid sheets also will be
available at the viewing.
The cooperative will
require social distancing
and mask wearing at the
viewings. People inter-
ested can submit sealed bids
at the time of the viewing
or drop them in one of
OTEC’s secure dropbox
locations at each of the four
district offices. Bids are due
no later than 5 p.m Oct. 26.
The cooperative will notify
successful bidders no later
than 5 p.m. Oct. 27.
OTEC will accept only
cash, cashier’s check or
money order, and payment
is due at the time win-
ners take possession of the
vehicle. All vehicles need
to be off OTEC property no
later than 5 p.m. Oct. 30.
Baker City Council
to name finalists for
city manager job
BAKER CITY — The
Baker City Council will
announce Tuesday, Oct.
13, the names of finalists
to replace the retiring Fred
Warner Jr. as city manager.
Councilors interviewed
five candidates, from an
original list of 14 appli-
cants, during meetings this
Monday and Tuesday.
Councilors interviewed
two candidates on Monday
and three others on Tuesday
in Zoom meetings.
Mayor Loran Joseph
said he expects councilors
to invite two to four can-
didates to visit Baker City
and meet citizens and coun-
cilors, including the people
who are elected Nov. 3. Six
of the seven seats on the
Council are on the ballot,
and among the 13 candi-
dates for those seats are
three incumbents.
Although the current
Council plans to pick the
new manager, as few as one
of those seven, and as many
as four, if all three incum-
bents are re-elected, will
remain on the Council when
it convenes for the first time
in January 2021.
— EO Media Group
Dayville’s almost 100-year-
old campus getting a facelift
DAYVILLE — Day-
ville School is getting
upgrades.
The new school year
brought many projects
to improve, renovate and
add to the school, thanks
to the help of grants and
a bond measure passed in
2019.
Dayville Superin-
tendent Kathryn Hed-
rick said some of the
work includes a new roof
on the main building,
ADA access to the main
building and across the
campus and a seismic
upgrade to the gym.
“We are so excited and
pleased with the upgrades
and improvements and are
so grateful to the Dayville
community for putting
its trust in us by passing
the bond measure back in
May 2019,” Hedrick said.
Residents of Dayville
in May 2019 approved
a $700,000 bond, which
received a $700,000
match from the Oregon
School Capital Improve-
ment Program for $1.4
million in improvements.
Hedrick said the
school’s roof and awnings
are almost finished with
some work left for the
installation of the new
ADA-access sidewalks
and entries. An ADA-ac-
cessible restroom attached
to a modular for the
early learning center was
installed. She said they
are in the middle of the
electrical upgrades project
in the elementary school.
Hedrick said she hopes
the bond measure repairs
and renovation projects
will be completed by Oct.
16 with possible land-
scaping done later. Once
Blue Mountain Eagle/Contributed Photo
Dayville’s school is undergoing some much needed ren-
ovations. Dayville Superintendent Kathryn Hedrick said
repairs to the school’s roof and awnings are almost fin-
ished.
finished, the school will
begin the seismic upgrade
for the gym.
A Business Oregon
grant of $2 million is
covering the cost of the
seismic upgrades. The
new career technical edu-
cation classroom will be a
smaller standalone space
built alongside the current
shop.
Hedrick said some of
the improvements, such
as fixing the drainage
for the kitchen or elec-
trical upgrades, are not as
obvious but will enhance
safety. The new lighting
improves the learning
environment, she said.
Hedrick said the board
deserves credit for being
such prudent stewards
and protecting the com-
munity’s investment in
a nearly 100-year-old
campus.
She said the school’s
maintenance coordinator
Lonnie Dickens has been
invaluable in his exper-
tise with great help from
Scott Spencer, the custo-
dial assistant.
CB Construction has
been working on the
improvements, and the
Dayville School Board
recently named CB Con-
struction as the general
manager/construction
manager for the seismic
upgrades to the gym.