2A — THE OBSERVER
Daily
Planner
TODAY
Today is Saturday, Oct. 31,
the 305th day of 2020. There
are 61 days left in the year.
This is Halloween.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN
HISTORY
On Oct. 31, 1941, work
was completed on the
Mount Rushmore National
Memorial in South Dakota,
begun in 1927.
ON THIS DATE:
In 1926, magician Harry
Houdini died in Detroit of
peritonitis resulting from a
ruptured appendix.
In 1961, the body of
Joseph Stalin was removed
from Lenin’s Tomb as
part of the Soviet Union’s
“de-Stalinization” drive.
In 1968, President Lyndon
B. Johnson ordered a halt
to all U.S. bombing of North
Vietnam, saying he hoped
for fruitful peace negotia-
tions.
In 1998, a genetic study
was released suggesting
President Thomas Jefferson
did in fact father at least
one child by his slave Sally
Hemings.
In 1999, EgyptAir Flight
990, bound from New York
to Cairo, crashed off the
Massachusetts coast, killing
all 217 people aboard.
In 2001, New York hospital
worker Kathy T. Nguyen died
of inhalation anthrax, the
fourth person to perish in a
spreading wave of bioter-
rorism.
In 2005, President George
W. Bush nominated Judge
Samuel Alito to the Supreme
Court. Civil rights icon Rosa
Parks was honored during
a service in Washington, D.C.
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $3.8 million
6-8-21-27-42-47
Mega Millions: $109 million
6-13-34-46-62 —1 x3
Powerball: $116 million
1-28-37-40-53—PB-13 x2
Win for Life: Oct. 28
4-31-41-72
Pick 4: Oct. 29
• 1 p.m.: 9-9-5-1; • 4 p.m.: 6-0-3-0;
• 7 p.m.: 2-6-2-7; • 10 p.m.: 7-6-1-4
Pick 4: Oct. 28
• 1 p.m.: 6-0-5-8; • 4 p.m.: 7-3-4-9;
• 7 p.m.: 7-9-9-1; • 10 p.m.: 8-5-1-2
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer,
please call 541-963-3161.
Correction
The Thursday, Oct. 29,
story “Community Kind-
ness of Northeast Oregon
expands” incorrectly
names the store in the
title. The correct name is
Community Kindness of
Eastern Oregon.
LGSD set for facilities assessment
By Dick Mason
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande School Dis-
trict’s buildings are set to
receive a comprehensive
assessment.
It will be an exam that
could help the La Grande
School Board decide
whether to ask voters to
later approve a bond levy
to raise funds for the resto-
ration or replacement of its
oldest buildings.
The school district hired
the firm BLRB architects,
which has Oregon offices in
Bend and Portland, to con-
duct the assessment, which
will involve all of the dis-
trict’s buildings and adhere
to a formula and standards
set by the Oregon Depart-
ment of Education.
The assessment, which
the school board dis-
cussed during a work ses-
sion Wednesday, Oct. 28,
will include information on
the condition of electrical,
heating and plumbing sys-
tems and hazardous mate-
rials in buildings.
“It will provide us with
a snapshot of what we
have,” said Joseph Waite,
the school district’s facili-
Dick Mason/The Observer
The Annex is one of the La Grande School District’s oldest buildings. A new assessment
of the district’s buildings could help determine whether the district keeps the building or
demolishes and replaces it.
ties and bond manager.
The school district,
Waite said, will be most
interested in what the
inspection reveals about
the district’s three oldest
structures, its Willow,
Annex and maintenance
buildings, all of which are
at least 90 years old.
BLRB’s Facilities
Assessment is expected to
be completed by January.
After that, BLRB will
help organize a committee
of community stake-
holders to create a long-
range facility plan for the
school district. The plan
will be developed after
taking extensive input
from the community.
The Annex building,
constructed in 1924 and
just north of La Grande
Middle School, may be the
structure that receives the
most attention. It houses a
gym used extensively by
the school district before
By Kaleb Lay
The Observer
ELGIN — The Elgin
branch of U.S. Bank is set
to close on Jan. 2, 2021,
leaving the small Eastern
Oregon town with just
one remaining financial
institution.
“Obviously we’re sad
that we’re losing a bank
and with that we lose
a few local jobs,” said
Elgin Mayor Allan Duffy.
“Anyone that was local that
was employed (at the bank)
... we want to make sure
they’re taken care of.”
U.S. Bank recently
announced the closure of 32
Oregon branches, including
the Elgin branch. The
impending loss will leave
only one financial institu-
tion in town.
“It’s definitely not a
good thing if there are less
financial institutions in a
community,” said Scott
McConnell, who teaches
economics at Eastern
Oregon University, La
Grande. McConnell noted
“financing is the lifeblood
of a local economy.”
The closure leaves only
a Community Bank branch
in Elgin. With no banks
in nearby Imbler, those
seeking an alternative will
have to travel 20 miles into
La Grande.
“I would guess that
Community Bank is seeing
some influx and some new
accounts,” Duffy said. “We
loved having two banks,
but if we have one bank
and we have people moving
accounts over there, hope-
fully that kind of secures
them in our community.”
According to a Fed-
eral Reserve report on
rural banking access from
November 2019, the dis-
tance a person has to travel
to access financial services
can make banking more
expensive.
“Studies find that
interest rates increase as the
distance between a busi-
ness and the local branch of
its lender grows — a poten-
tial reason why the majority
of small businesses borrow
from institutions with a
By Jayson Jacoby
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — Hunters renting
a historic Forest Service log cabin in
the Elkhorn Mountains doused a fire
that spread from the cabin’s fireplace
to a wall and the ceiling Tuesday, Oct.
27. No one was hurt in the fire.
Their efforts saved Peavy Cabin,
built in 1934, said Kendall Cikanek,
Whitman District ranger.
The cabin, along the North Fork of
the John Day River between Anthony
Lakes and Granite, was built in 1934
by George Wilcox Peavy, then dean
of the School of Forestry at Oregon
State University. A Forest Service
employee, Larry Bilyeu, restored the
cabin in the early 1990s.
The Forest Service makes the
cabin available for rent through a con-
tract administered by Anthony Lakes
Mountain Resort.
“While the fire at Peavy Cabin was
an unfortunate incident, it was also a
local presence,” the report
stated.
McConnell said the clo-
sure represents a trend with
larger banking organiza-
tions, which are moving
their services online while
shuttering much of their
brick-and-mortar presence.
But smaller, more locally
focused banks have been
slower to move online.
McConnell noted there
might be a silver lining in
that trend.
“Banks that are more
regionally or locally owned
are more invested in
keeping the local economy
moving,” McConnell said.
The news of the closure
comes as concerns abound
over the potential loss of
Elgin’s Boise Cascade ply-
wood plant this winter.
“It’s been tough, you
know, there’s no doubt
about it,” Duffy said.
“Being smaller and rural
obviously puts a little more
burden on us, but I think we
have a strong community
and, you know, we’ll pull
out of this.”
Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest/Contributed Photo
George Peavy, dean of the School of
Forestry at Oregon State University,
built the Peavy Cabin in 1934. The For-
est Service later acquired the cabin.
shining example of cooperation and
shared stewardship,” Kendall said.
“Everyone is safe, and the cabin is still
standing, and that is thanks to a coor-
dinated response from the hunters
staying at the cabin, the North Powder
Rural Fire Protection District, and
Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort.”
The fire started when heat escaped
from the fireplace chimney, set-
ting fire to a wall and the ceiling,
according to Cikanek.
Jay Moore, recreation specialist
for the Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest, said: “Clearly, the cabin will
need to be repaired, although we are
relieved to see that it remains sealed
from the winter weather. We will
also explore alternatives to firewood
heat to reduce the risk of a future
fire.”
Peavy Cabin was set to close for
the season on Oct. 31 regardless. The
Whitman District’s goal is to have it
ready for rental by May 1, 2021.
Two dead, one hurt in shooting outside Hermiston
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — The
Umatilla County Sher-
iff’s office reported two
men were killed and a third
injured in a shooting outside
Hermiston on Thursday,
Oct. 29.
According to a press
release from the sheriff’s
office, the shooting occurred
about 8:30 p.m. on Thursday
on Sagebrush Road near
Bensel Road just outside
Hermiston. Deputies arrived
to find two men dead and a
third man receiving med-
ical treatment for a gunshot
wound.
“At this time, there is no
reason to believe there is
the COVID-19 pandemic
hit. The long-range facility
plan committee will want
to determine if the Annex
building should receive
moderate or major resto-
ration work or be demol-
ished to make way for a
new structure.
School District Super-
intendent George Men-
doza said he would prefer
removal and replacement
of the Annex building,
but the district will abide
by the wishes of the
community.
“We will do what the
people want,” Mendoza
said.
The long-range plan
should be finished by June,
Waite said.
Once the plan is com-
plete, the La Grande
School District will be eli-
gible to apply for a Oregon
School Capital Matching
grant from the state. Most
school districts awarded
OSCM grants will receive
up to $4 million in funds
if district voters approve
a bond for capital con-
struction and maintenance
of that amount or more.
Some school districts can
receive up to $8 million in
matching funds, according
to the Oregon.gov website.
The BLRB firm cur-
rently is doing design work
for the Union School Dis-
trict’s $8 million building
renovation project. Waite
said this is a plus for La
Grande because it means
the firm’s architects will
be in Union County more
often.
“This is fortunate for us
because we will have more
access to them,” Waite said.
Elgin losing U.S. Bank branch
Fire damages historic Forest Service cabin
By Jade McDowell
SaTuRday, OcTOBER 31, 2020
LOCAL/REGION
any outstanding danger to
the community,” the release
stated.
The release, sent out
Friday at 7:30 a.m., stated he
sheriff’s office is working
with the Umatilla Morrow
Major Crimes Team to
investigate the shooting. The
incident is the latest in an
unusually high number of
shootings for the Hermiston
area this year, including the
following, according to pre-
vious information from law
enforcement:
•On Oct. 19, Cuauthemoc
Romero of Hermiston told
policehe had been driving
along Westland Road out-
side Hermiston when
someone in another vehicle
shot his truck multiple
times. No one was injured,
but police found bullet holes
in the truck and a building.
•On Aug. 21, Julian
Zapien, 27, of Hermiston,
was shot in the parking lot
of the Hermiston Safeway.
•On June 20, Travis
Scott Meadows, 29, of Hood
River, was found dead of a
gunshot wound near Lamb
Road and Interstate 82 out-
side Hermiston. In connec-
tion with the his death the
Umatilla County Grand
Jury indicted Jaime Ubay-
Farfan, 24, on murder and
weapons charges.
•On July 7, the Uma-
tilla County Sheriff’s Office
asked the public for infor-
mation on two drive-by
shootings that took place
July 5 and July 6 in the
Hermiston area. The bullets
struck houses but there were
no reports of injuries.
•On June 9, Jesus Eli
Lopez, 21, of Hermiston
was found dead from a gun-
shot wound at a residence
in Hermiston. His death
is being investigated as a
homicide.
•On June 27, a man shot
into the cab of a pickup
with several occupants
on Interstate 82 outside
Hermiston. No one was
injured. Oregon State Police
arrested Steven Dario Quir-
iconi, 62, on murder and
weapons charges.
Bill Bradhsaw/Wallowa County Chieftain, file
Gwen Trice, founder and executive director of the Max-
ville Heritage Interpretive Center, Joseph, points out
her father in a photograph of loggers at Maxville, which
existed north of Wallowa from 1923-33. The Cultural
Advocacy Coalition recently endorsed the center’s re-
quest to receive $750,000 in Cultural Resource Econom-
ic Funds and is among 11 locations in Oregon to receive
endorsements for the funding.
Cultural centers
could receive grants
By Rachel Hart
For the Wallowa County Chieftain
JOSEPH —The
Josephy Center for Arts
and Culture and the Max-
ville Heritage Interpre-
tive Center are two of 11
capital construction proj-
ects The Cultural Advo-
cacy Coalition endorsed
in Oregon to receive
$9.5 million in Cultural
Resources Economic
Funds.
The coalition’s board
of directors identified
the most broadly sup-
ported and impactful
projects recommended
for funding, given limited
state dollars, and urged
Gov. Kate Brown to
include these projects in
the 2021-23 budget, which
has to receive approval of
the Legislature.
In June, the coalition
issued a statewide call
for capital construction
proposals and received
44 submissions, which a
subset of the coalition’s
volunteer board reviewed.
The board selected 26
submissions and meticu-
lously reviewed the final
applications resulting in
the 11 endorsements.
“The organizations
behind these projects have
all demonstrated com-
mitment and momentum
in their endeavor and are
ready to engage in the
collective advocacy nec-
essary for success of the
entire slate,” said Isaac
Marquez, Eugene Cul-
tural Services director
and chairman of the coa-
lition’s capital construc-
tion committee.
The Maxville center
requested $750,000
toward the preservation
of the Maxville townsite
with the estimated project
cost totaling $2.5 million.
“The funding will be
crucial to match addi-
tional funding to bring
preservation back to
the Maxville site,” said
Gwendolyn Trice, exec-
utive director. “We have
recently entered into a
purchase agreement for
240 acres including the
Maxville townsite. We
have received multiple
grants toward this work
and will be campaigning
for funds right away for
the purchase of the site.”
Using its collections
and the Maxville town-
site itself, the center envi-
sions more robust educa-
tional experiences with
access and events for
K-12 students and intern-
ships through Eastern
Oregon University, as
well as increased tourism
activity. The organi-
zation has pledged to
hire locally and partner
with the community in
rebuilding and relocating
the historic lodge and in
building a fence around
the site.
The Josephy Center
requested $600,000 for
facility expansion and
renovation with the
estimated project cost
totaling $1,892,330. The
center is raising funds to
purchase the building it
is renting in downtown
Joseph to secure a perma-
nent home. A new facility
will have an expanded
ceramics studio, a dedi-
cated space for Nez Perce
education and artifacts
and more.
“I am pretty excited
about what it could mean
for our county,” said
Kellee Sheehy, develop-
ment director.
The Americans for the
Arts reported in its Arts
& Economic Prosperity
study that Oregon’s arts
and culture sector con-
tributed $687 million and
22,299 jobs to the state’s
economy in 2015.
And the Eastern
Oregon Regional Theatre
in Baker City requested
$295,000 toward the ren-
ovation of the iconic
vaudeville Orpheum
Theatre.