Temporary Trails
Inside
In Outdoors
New deputy in Union, 2A
Rent moratorium deadline, 6A
Weekend
Edition
SATURDAY-MONDAY • November 28, 2020
COVID-19
Union
County
death toll
increases
Union County recorded
85 new cases betwen
Nov. 22-27 after gaining
107 the week before
By Kaleb Lay
The Observer
UNION COUNTY — The
week of the Thanksgiving hol-
iday proved tragic for the Union
County community and for
the state of Oregon as a whole.
COVID-19 continued its rapid
November spread, and Oregon
surpassed a number of grim mile-
stones, prompting Gov. Kate
Brown to effectively extend
restrictions on social activity
across much of the state.
Death toll rises
COVID-19 claimed the lives
of three Union County residents
during Thanksgiving week,
according to reports from the
Oregon Health Authority. The
fi rst was an 89-year-old man
who died Monday, Nov. 23.
The second was an 87-year-old
woman who tested positive on
Nov. 4 and died Tuesday at her
residence. The third also was an
87-year-old woman who tested
positive on Nov. 17 and died
Tuesday at her residence.
See, COVID-19/Page 5A
Gov. Brown
to loosen
Oregon’s
restrictions
• $1.50
Good day to our valued subscriber Mary Lu Pierce of La Grande
Hunting with Heroes
La Grande veteran given a memorable hunting trip
By Dick Mason
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Nicolina Anderson of
La Grande recently enjoyed one of the most
exciting hunting experiences of her life —
downing a branch antlered bull elk from about
450 yards in southeast Wyoming with her
Tikka 308 bolt-action rifl e.
Adrenaline coursed through her veins.
“I was shaking so much that I could not
hold my binoculars still (to get a better view of
the elk),” said Anderson, who had to switch to
a mounted spotting scope.
Anderson’s mid-October adventure was
about to get more interesting, though a bit
more interesting than she and her guides may
have wanted.
Anderson was with a Hunting with Heroes
party. The program provides free guided hunts
in Wyoming for disabled veterans. Anderson
suffered a serious abdominal injury while
serving in the U.S. Army.
A rugged and thick draw separated the
group from the bull Anderson had shot and it
was too late in the day for her group to hike
across it, gut the elk and pack it out. They had
no choice but to return to their cabin.
When the hunters arrived to get the elk
not long after sunrise the next day, they knew
something was wrong, for the elk had already
been partially gutted and dragged several feet.
“Some of its organs were gone,” Anderson
said.
The members of the hunting party quickly
determined a female cougar with a kitten had
ripped into the elk. The cougars’ tracks looked
fresh, and steam still rose from the freshly
opened carcass, indicating the mountain lions
had been present minutes earlier.
Anderson and her party, which included
guides Jeff Grende of North Powder, feared the
two cougars might return for the elk.
“We had someone on point (with a pistol
watching for the cougars),” said Grende, who
has been volunteering as a guide for Hunting
with Heroes for four years, with his brothers
Gee and Steve of Wyoming, who also assisted
with Anderson’s hunt.
Jeff Grende said he has never had a cougar
partially gut an elk someone in his party has
taken.
“I’ve heard about it, but this was the fi rst
time I’ve seen it,” he said.
Fortunately the cougars did not reap-
pear and the party was able to get the elk out
Nicolina Anderson/Contributed Photo
Nicolina Anderson of La Grande shows the branch antlered elk she shot in October 2020
while with a Hunting With Heroes party in southeast Wyoming.
“I was shaking so much that I could not hold my
binoculars still.”
See, Hunt/Page 5A
Bars and restaurants can
open for outdoor dining
next week
By Aimee Green
— Nicolina Anderson, La Grande
Anthony Lakes slopes open for season
Resort requires
guests wear masks,
stay 6 feet apart
The Oregonian/OregonLive
SALEM — Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown announced Wednesday,
Nov. 25, that she’s loosening
many restrictions she placed just
a week ago on bars, restaurants,
gyms, stores and religious orga-
nizations in order to stem the
unprecedented, out-of-control
spread of COVID-19.
Starting Thursday, Dec. 3,
By Kaleb Lay
The Observer
See, Loosen/Page 5A
BAKER CITY — Skiers and
snowboarders rejoice: Anthony
Lakes Mountain Resort opened
to season passholders for the fi rst
turns of the season on Saturday,
Nov. 28.
Peter Johnson, who man-
ages the resort, said snow condi-
tions were better than had been
expected earlier in the year.
“It’s looking really good,”
Johnson said. “This is by far the
best snow, the most snow we’ve
had this early. All the forecasts
sound really good. We’ll see if
those come through or not, but
obviously with (COVID-19), that
changes everything for us.”
The slopes at Anthony Lakes
can be expected to look a bit dif-
ferent this year. For a start, the
resort is adopting a “zero tol-
erance policy” regarding the
wearing of masks.
“We have a business to run,
and it’s not a discussion point,”
INDEX
Classified ...... 2B
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Dear Abby .... 5B
Chelsea Judy/Anthony Lakes Ski Area, Contributed Photo, File
Skiers and snowboarders will notice changes this winter at Anthony
Lakes Mountain Resort, which will reduce capacity in the lodge and
in other buildings due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Johnson said. “Wear a mask or
not come up. There are a lot of
other places to go skiing. For the
state of Oregon, it’s required, so
we’re going to be enforcing it.”
All guests and employees will
be required to mask up “from
the moment you pull into the
Anthony Lakes parking lot to
WEATHER
Horoscope .... 2B
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TUESDAY
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when you leave,” except while
eating or drinking, and Johnson
said that anyone who refuses to
wear one will be asked to leave.
The resort also is adopting a
sort of cohort-style approach to
the ride up the mountain on the
ski lift.
“If you show up in the same
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Sunday
25 LOW
42/32
A moonlit sky
Periods of sun
vehicle, you can ride the lift
together,” Johnson said. “We’re
not going to force someone to
ride with someone they don’t
know.… We’re going to have a
lot of changes to our lift line and
just asking people to ride with
the people they drove up with.”
For example, someone who
arrives at the resort alone will
ride the ski lift to the top alone,
and a group who carpooled to
the resort will ride only with the
members of that group.
Guests also will have to main-
tain a social distance of 6 feet,
and Anthony Lakes will have
a “fl oor walker” patrolling the
lodge during business hours to
help guests maintain their dis-
tance, disinfect surfaces and
answer questions as needed.
The Starbottle Saloon will fea-
ture a new “ski-through” window
for service and will place an
emphasis on providing out-
door seating, though a reduced
amount of indoor seating will be
available.
Notably, Anthony Lakes will
limit the number of day tickets
it sells to reduce the number of
people on the mountain each day.
See, Resort/Page 5A
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 142
2 sections, 14 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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