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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2020)
2A — THE OBSERVER Daily Planner TODAY Today is Tuesday, Oct. 27, the 301st day of 2020. There are 65 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY On Oct. 27, 1904, the first rapid transit subway was in- augurated in New York City. ON THIS DATE In 1787, the first of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays calling for ratification of the United States Consti- tution, was published. In 1858, the 26th president of the United States, Theo- dore Roosevelt, was born in New York City. In 1941, the Chicago Daily Tribune dismissed the possibility of war with Japan, editorializing, “She cannot attack us. That is a military impossibility. Even our base at Hawaii is beyond the effective striking power of her fleet.” In 1954, U.S. Air Force Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was promoted to brigadier general, the first Black officer to achieve that rank in the USAF. In 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a U-2 aircraft was shot down while flying over Cuba, killing the pilot, U.S. Air Force Maj. Rudolf Anderson Jr. In 1978, Egyptian Presi- dent Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for their progress toward achieving a Middle East accord. In 1995, a sniper killed one soldier and wounded 18 others at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch cut through the western Caribbean, pummeling coastal Honduras and Belize; the storm caused several thousand deaths in Central America in the days that followed. In 2001, in Washington, the search for deadly an- thrax widened to thousands of businesses and 30 mail distribution centers. In 2004, the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 4, 3-0. In 2018, a gunman shot and killed 11 congregants and wounded six others at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life syna- gogue in the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history. LOTTERY Megabucks: $3.5 million 4-12-35-36-42-45 Mega Millions: $86 million 46-54-57-58-66 —10 x3 Powerball: $102 million 18-20-27-45-65—PB-6 x2 Win for Life: Oct. 24 12-57-59-66 Pick 4: Oct. 25 • 1 p.m.: 5-1-5-3; • 4 p.m.: 1-7-9-4; • 7 p.m.: 4-2-8-4; • 10 p.m.: 4-1-0-8 Pick 4: Oct. 24 • 1 p.m.: 1-9-6-0; • 4 p.m.: 5-9-1-6; • 7 p.m.: 3-2-6-8; • 10 p.m.: 2-2-1-0 Pick 4: Oct. 23 • 1 p.m.: 8-2-9-4; • 4 p.m.: 9-0-6-3; • 7 p.m.: 3-4-4-9; • 10 p.m.: 0-2-5-5 DELIVERY ISSUES? If you have any problems receiving your Observer, please call 541-963-3161. Forest management is one tool to fight climate change in Eastern Oregon By Alex Castle East Oregonian PENDLETON — In May, the Scripps Insti- tution of Oceanography and the National Oce- anic and Atmospheric Administration reported carbon dioxide levels were recorded at an average of over 417 parts per million. Those levels indicate there’s more carbon dioxide in our atmosphere than at any other point in human history, and may be the highest they’ve been in three million years. During the Eastern Oregon Climate Change Coalition’s monthly virtual meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 20, Richie Gardner of the Umatilla National Forest gave a presentation of how these historic levels connect to forest management and what can be done to address them. The presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere isn’t inherently a problem, Gardner said, but the rising abundance of it is connected to rising global tempera- tures that have problematic impacts on our climate. “Those concentrations of CO2 — as they increase — that greenhouse effect becomes a little hyperac- tive and things get warmer,” he said. One of the results of that change in climate has been the increase in preva- lence and severity of natural disasters, such as wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes and droughts. According to the National Oceanic and The Observer LA GRANDE — The La Grande School District’s school resource officer pro- gram is set for the 2020-21 school year. The Union County Board of Commissioners voted Oct. 21 to approve a one-year intergovernmental agreement for the program, which has been in place at least five years. The vote came a week after the La Grande School Board also approved the agreement. The program provides the La Grande School Dis- trict with a deputy from the Union County Sher- iff’s Office. The deputy works throughout the aca- demic year, visiting schools and meeting with stu- dents, faculty and staff. Union County Commis- sioner Donna Beverage said school resource officers serve vital roles in schools. “A school resource officer builds relationships with school kids and keeps schools secure,” Beverage said. The school district first Atmospheric Administra- tion, 2020 already is the sixth consecutive year in which there’s been a $10 billion weather disaster in the United States. Of the 16 such events this year as of Oct. 7, 188 people have been killed. One tool for taking on troubling carbon dioxide levels is trees, and their natural process of pho- tosynthesis that captures carbon in a process called sequestration. However, sequestration can be foiled by the abun- dance of carbon dioxide as temperatures rise, for- ests get dryer and wildfires increase in frequency and severity. Drawing on data from 1990 to 2011, Gardner said that 57% of carbon released from forests in the Pacific Northwest was a result of fires. Another 36% was from harvests and 7% from insect disturbances. A 2011 estimate from the National Research Council indicated that an increase of 1.8 degrees in temperature could con- tribute to two or three more fires per year in some parts of the Umatilla National Forest, and at least six more Umatilla National Forest/ Contributed Photo, File The Wildcat project area in the Umatilla National Forest spans 10,280 acres. The area was subject to thinning and prescriptive burning as a means of reducing the spread of wildfires. fires per year in other parts. Gardner pointed to a few steps that can be taken to address these risks — reduce forest loss, conserve and manage older forests, restore forests when they’ve been converted to other uses or been damaged by fires and use more wood prod- ucts over steel and concrete. One way to reduce forest loss, he said, was by thin- ning out shorter trees that can help carry a wildfire from the forest floor into its canopy. “You see a very large carbon benefit with those trees still alive after you have a thinned forest that can withstand fires,” Gardner said. “An unthinned forest experi- encing the same fire condi- tions, your carbon goes up with the smoke.” Gardner also highlighted strategies, such as deploying burns that leave biomass residue that can hold carbon for significantly longer periods of time, encour- aging the investment in bio- mass plants and considering changes in climate, while planning for the planting of future forests. That includes planning for reforestation using new tree species, Gardner said. In the Blue Mountains, for example, gambel oak and pinyon pine are two tree species expected to emerge in the future. Above all else, Gardner emphasized the need to have these discussions and begin planning for the future of forest management now with the knowledge of what’s to come from climate change. “What we have to do is expect these hotter tempera- tures, expect bigger insect outbreaks, expect bigger fires because it’s not playing it safe, it’s just being real,” Gardner said. “It’s what we’re experiencing.” ——— The article is part of Climate Changed, the EO Media Group’s series that explores how climate change is affecting life across Oregon. Eastern Oregon Film Festival makes virtual format work By Sabrina Thompson The Observer LA GRANDE — The 2020 Eastern Oregon Film Festival was a success, fes- tival Director Christopher Jennings declared, even as the event was all online due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Going into the festival this year there were a lot of unknowns,” Jennings said. “Our hopes were to do our best to share our region, audience and spirit with vis- iting filmmakers.” Transforming the tra- ditional weekend full of live screenings and ses- sions with directors to a digital format wasn’t easy, according to Jennings, and there were a couple of tech- nical hurdles to overcome Union County OKs SRO contract of almost $40,000 By Dick Mason TuESday, OcTOBER 27, 2020 LOCAL/REGION had an SRO about 15 years ago, who at that time was an officer from the La Grande Police Department. The school district later discontinued the program because of financial con- straints before reinstating it in 2015. The new contract calls for the school district to pay the sheriff’s office $39,657 for the September to December period in two payments of $19,828.50, but the sheriff’s office will pro- rate the amount for the Jan- uary to June period based on the salary and benefits of the deputy. Deputy Cody Bowen will be the SRO for Sep- tember to December. Bowen has been the school district’s primary SRO since 2015. However, Bowen is a candidate for Union County sheriff in the Nov. 3 election and might not continue as school resource officer. The school districts of Cove, North Powder and Union also have school resource officers through the sheriff’s office. during last weekend’s vir- tual event. One of the film selections had a file corrup- tion that was unable to be resolved before the festival started, and festival staff addressed smaller technical glitches. “Working hard to main- tain the unique energy of EOFF, our creative team pushed through tech- nical challenges to pro- vide Zoom Q&As via lives- tream through the Eventive platform. Three-camera live video from hq’s stage allowed for the director’s message, a fun set for Zoom and a great delivery for live music,” Jennings said. Virtual programing from the festival is likely to con- tinue as the event team pre- pares for next season. Even- tive will be the festival’s ticketing and event manage- ment tool moving forward, Jennings said. “This will allow EOFF to program virtually throughout the year, build an audience and attract vis- itors to EOFF 2021, while tracking all of our successes in one digital hub,” Jen- nings said. “As EOFF was able to reach a new level of audience participation this year, we can continue to serve an international audi- ence throughout the year via online streaming and attract more visitors to our physical events, the Liberty Theatre and the Grande Ronde Valley in the future.” Jennings said the only thing missing from the 2020 festival was the in-person interaction with festival-goers. For the last 11 years, he said, the film fes- tival has thrived because of the local and regional festival attendees. How- ever, through digital pro- graming, the festival was able to reach a larger audi- ence. The festival streamed more than 3,000 events over the weekend and sold more than 1,300 tickets, with 250 unique ticket holders from all over the world. “We missed being able to share our valley with visiting filmmakers. We missed getting sweaty and vulnerable with fellow humans through lively music, dance and spirits,” Jennings said. “There is a big loss suffered to the spirit of our festival, and for all cultural, in-person events across the globe, so being able to connect in some way was a blessing.” Still, Jennings also said, the shift to a virtual format allowed the EOFF team to reach new heights with technical achievements and creativity. “The creative team, as with filmmaking, is the core of telling a good story,” he continued. “Whether it is a short or feature film, or the story of a grassroots rural film fes- tival working hard to break barriers and build a space to support filmmakers, audiences and creatives in La Grande, Eastern Oregon and, now, all over the world.” La Grande Veterans Day Parade canceled By Dick Mason The Observer LA GRANDE — The annual Nov. 11 La Grande Veterans Day Parade has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. John Craig, commander of American Legion Post 43, which hosts the parade, said the Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 restrictions again large gatherings necessitated the cancellation. “We are hopeful that we will be able to start it up again in 2021,” Craig said. The parade has been conducted annually in La Grande since 1919. La Grande Unit 43 Auxiliary has traditionally The Observer, File The annual Veterans Day Parade in La Grande has been canceled this year. American Legion Post 43, which or- ganizes the Adams Avenue parade, hopes the public health situation will allow the parade to go on in 2021. served spaghetti dinners at the American Legion Hall after the parade. Craig said that again will be the case this year, only the meals will be in to-go boxes, which the Auxiliary will distribute in the parking lot of the American Legion Hall, 301 Fir St. The auxiliary will pre- pare 100 meals, and they will be available on Vet- erans Day 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. or until the meals are gone. The lunches also include garlic bread and homemade cookies. They will be free to all veterans and mem- bers of the auxiliary who are current on their dues. Everyone else will be charged $5 per meal, said Maggie LaMont, president of the La Grande Unit 43 Auxiliary. People picking up meals will be directed to enter the American Legion Hall parking lot from Fir Street and exit via Jef- ferson Avenue. $6,150 reward offered in wolf killing By Jayson Jacoby Baker City Herald BAKER CITY — The Oregon Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife announced a reward of $6,150 is being offered for information leading to an arrest in the fatal shooting of a gray wolf in eastern Baker County in late September. The wolf, the breeding male from the Cornucopia pack, was found dead off the 125 spur road about 1 mile east of Eagle Forks campground. The wolf was killed on or around Sept. 24, according to Oregon State Police. Oregon Wild and the Center for Biological Diversity each contrib- uted $2,500 to the reward fund. NE Oregon Eco- systems added $850, and the Turn in Poachers pro- gram, which involves the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon State Police and the Oregon Hunters Asso- ciation, is offering $300 or five hunter preference points. The breeding male and female from the Cornu- copia pack raised three pups in the spring of 2019 and denned again in 2020, although ODFW doesn’t yet know how many pups were born this year, said Brian Ratliff, district biol- ogist at the agency’s Baker City office. The killing of the male could jeopardize the future of the Cornucopia pack, Ratliff said.