2A — THE OBSERVER
Daily
Planner
TODAY
Today is Saturday, Nov.
28, the 333rd day of 2020.
There are 33 days left in the
year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN
HISTORY:
On Nov. 28, 1520, Portu-
guese navigator Ferdinand
Magellan reached the Pacific
Ocean after passing through
the South American strait
that now bears his name.
ON THIS DATE:
In 1942, fire engulfed the
Cocoanut Grove nightclub
in Boston, killing 492 people
in the deadliest nightclub
blaze ever.
In 1961, Ernie Davis of
Syracuse University became
the first African-American
to be named winner of the
Heisman Trophy.
In 1994, Jeffrey Dahmer
was slain in a Wisconsin
prison by a fellow inmate.
In 2012, New Jersey Gov.
Chris Christie said his state
would need nearly $37
billion to recover and rebuild
from Superstorm Sandy.
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $4.9 million
1-2–5-33-34-48
Mega Millions: $200 million
9-15-34-61-64 — 6x2
Powerball: $202 million
2-57-58-60-65—PB-26 x2
Win for Life: Nov. 25
7-10-47-68
Pick 4: Nov. 26
• 1 p.m.: 1-4-0-5; • 4 p.m.: 7-3-7-3;
• 7 p.m.: 7-5-0-4; • 10 p.m.: 7-7-9-8
Pick 4: Nov. 25
• 1 p.m.: 2-1-9-3 • 4 p.m.: 7-7-7-5;
• 7 p.m.: 7-7-1-1; • 10 p.m.: 6-2-3-2
Pick 4: Nov. 24
• 1 p.m.: 2-4-0-0 • 4 p.m.: 2-0-1-4;
• 7 p.m.: 4-7-6-1; • 10 p.m.: 9-3-2-2
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer,
please call 541-963-3161.
Resident deputy now on duty in Union
By Dick Mason
The Observer
UNION — Union
County sheriff’s deputy
Dan Johnson never has to
worry about being late for
work.
All he has to do is open
the front door of his house
and he is on the job.
A job making him a key
player in the launch of a
new law enforcement era in
Union.
The city, for the first
time in four years, is
receiving enhanced law
enforcement service from
the Union County Sher-
iff’s Office. The city con-
tracted with the sheriff’s
office for 40 hours of patrol
work a week from Johnson,
a Union resident. Until
Johnson came on board at
the start of November, the
town lacked a regular police
presence. Its service from
the sheriff’s office was lim-
ited to periodic patrols plus
calls for service for emer-
gencies and less immediate
matters.
Having Johnson avail-
able, said Union County
Sheriff Boyd Rasmussen,
means Union will be
receiving better and faster
law enforcement service.
“Being closer to the citi-
zens on a regular basis will
allow Dan to more quickly
and efficiently address their
needs,” Rasmussen said.
Johnson has lived in
Union since 2008 and
was a volunteer firefighter
for its fire department for
eight years through 2016.
Dick Mason/The Observer
Union County sheriff’s deputy Dan Johnson works Monday, Nov. 20, 2020. Johnson is the
new deputy on patrol in Union, where he also lives.
Johnson also served as an
emergency medical techni-
cian during his final four to
five years with the Union
Fire Department. This
familiarity with Union will
serve the town well, Ras-
mussen said.
The resident deputy
took his new position
after serving as a correc-
tions deputy at the Union
County Jail for 3-1/2
years and then graduating
from a training program
at the Oregon Depart-
ment of Public Safety
Standards and Training,
Salem. Johnson said he is
delighted to be in his new
first responder position.
Hermiston lengthens lead as
largest city in Eastern Oregon
By Jade McDowell
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Herm-
iston continues to expand
its lead as Eastern Oregon’s
largest city, adding an esti-
mated 360 new residents
between July 2019 and July
2020, according to data
released by Portland State
University’s Population
Research Center.
The center released its
preliminary estimates for
the year on Nov. 15. They
showed Umatilla County
as a whole gained an esti-
mated 335 people, bumping
the population up to about
81,495 residents.
Pendleton gained five
residents, putting Herm-
iston at an estimated 18,775
and Pendleton at 17,025.
The Population Research
Center shows La Grande’s
population increased from
13,290 to 13,460. Yet the
data show preliminary pop-
ulation estimate for Union
County’s remained at
26,840, the same as 2019.
Wallow County, however,
gained 10 residents for a
total of 7,160, and Baker
County increased by 90 to
reach 16,910.
Baker City eclipsed
the 10,000 mark, reaching
10,010, an estimated 45
more than in 2019. And
Enterprise added 10 for a
total of 1,995.
As Hermiston’s popula-
tion has grown, its housing
stock has too. According
to a news release from the
city of Hermiston, the city
SaTuRday, NOVEmBER 28, 2020
LOCAL/REGION
issued permits for 83 new
homes inside city limits
in 2020 through the end
of October. Assistant City
Manager Mark Morgan said
the city has worked to pro-
mote additional housing
development in several
ways, including investing
in a new water tower and
other infrastructure to bring
down the cost of developing
housing in the northeast
part of the city.
“Hermiston, Umatilla
and Stanfield can really all
be thought of as neighbor-
hoods in a larger west-end
real estate market,” he said
in a statement. “Our hope
with these targeted public
investments was certainly
to drive housing in north-
east Hermiston, but also to
allow private developers to
negotiate better prices for
land region-wide.”
Other Umatilla County
cities also grew, according
to PSU’s estimates. Uma-
tilla added 135 residents
for a total of 7,605. Mil-
ton-Freewater added 65 res-
idents for 7,210. Stanfield
added 35 residents for a
total of 2,280. Echo added
10 residents for a total of
720, while Weston, Athena
and Adams stayed at 2019
estimates.
In Morrow County,
Boardman added 75 for a
total of 4,580 and Irrigon
added 10 for a total of
2,040. Heppner stayed the
same at 1,275. Morrow
County as a whole grew by
an estimated 145 residents,
up to 12,825.
In Hermiston, Morgan
said, just two of the housing
developers the city is cur-
rently working with rep-
resent about 350 planned
new homes for Hermiston
over the next few years. He
suggested a few reasons
for Hermiston’s continued
housing growth, including
“expansive work in 2017
through 2019 to actively
build a deeper bench of
housing developments just
waiting for the right con-
ditions to pull the trigger.”
Historically low interest
rates have helped pull that
trigger, he said.
Morgan also referenced
the area’s comparatively
quick rebound in unemploy-
ment rates from the unprec-
edented spike in the spring.
According to the news
release, Umatilla County’s
unemployment rate spiked
to 13.9% in April 2020, but
fell back to just 6.2% by
September.
Portland State Univer-
sity’s Population Research
Center is the lead agency
for the Oregon State Data
Center, a state-level part-
nership with the U.S.
Census Bureau. The PSU
center creates detailed
annual population esti-
mates by analyzing birth
records, death records,
driver’s licenses, school
enrollment, Medicare
enrollment, voter registra-
tions and other records.
— Observer staff con-
tributed to this report.
Flying Old Glory day in and out
Dick Mason/The Observer
Craig Beverage, the owner of Craig’s Antiques, 1409 Adams Ave., La Grande, puts up
a United States flag, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020, outside his store. The flag is one of three
American flags he puts up each morning while opening his shop. The other two are an-
other flag of the Stars and Stripes and a centennial flag.
“This is my calling. It is
my passion. This is what I
was meant to do,” Johnson
said.
He added he cares a lot
about helping put Union in
a position to succeed.
“I am invested in seeing
this community thrive,” he
said.
As a patrol officer,
Johnson views himself as
an educator who wants to
first teach people about the
value of laws they may have
been breaking.
“I am striving to correct
behavior. I educate before I
enforce,” Johnson said.
He said, for example, if
he sees someone making an
illegal U-turn he may first
issue a warning and counsel
the driver on the danger of
such violations and only
later issue a ticket if the
practice continues.
The new Union
patroller has a lot experi-
ence working with youths,
having headed the Union
Wrestling Club for age 5-14
for many years. The club,
which conducts its practices
at Union High School, has
not been able to meet since
the COVID-19 pandemic
hit earlier this year. Johnson
said he is anxious to get the
club rolling again after the
pandemic is over. Johnson,
a 2004 Imbler High School
graduate, was introduced to
wrestling while growing up
in Imbler and La Grande.
Regardless of what age
of people he is working
with, the burly Johnson
strives to refrain from being
intimidating.
“I want everybody to
feel comfortable,” he said.
Johnson also said he
tries to be understanding
of the perspective of those
who call for help. He said
he understands they may
not be in the best of emo-
tional states or they would
not have contacted him.
“People don’t call the
police when they are having
their best days,” he said.
Johnson said serving
as a resident deputy is a
fulfilling experience, but
added a high stress level is
built in, one he will focus
on managing. He said
working as a corrections
deputy helped him learn
the importance of listening
to people and improved his
communication skills. He
said many times inmates
who cause problems only
need someone they can
talk to about their life
issues.
The new contractual
agreement calls for Union
to receive four years of
enhanced services from the
sheriff’s office.
The position is funded
primarily from a $125,000
Community Oriented
Policing federal grant the
sheriff’s office received
and $200,000 from the
city of Union.
News Briefs
Red Cross blood drive reaches
goal
LA GRANDE — Union County is
filled with generous people.
This was proven again during the Red
Cross-operated La Grande Community
Blood drive conducted Nov. 17 and 18.
Local residents donated 198 units of
blood during the drive, according to a
press release from Sheldon and Linda
Strand, coordinators of the La Grande
Community Blood Draw. Each unit rep-
resents a pint.
Sheldon Strand said in a press release
this is the highest total the La Grande
Community Blood Drive has had since at
least 2000.
‘We are grateful for those who partic-
ipated by donating blood and supporting
the effort in any way,” the Strands said.
Sheldon Strand said according to the
American Red Cross, each unit of blood
can save the lives of three people.
“This means that our two-day effort
can have a lifesaving affect on just under
600 people in need of this life preserving
substance,” the press release stated.
The Nov. 17-18 blood draw was one of
five conducted as part of the La Grande
Community Blood Drive in 2020. A total
of 643 units were drawn, 178 more than
in 2019.
Sheldon Strand said he is grateful for
the volunteers who helped run the La
Grande Community Drives this year.
“You may think it a small thing to take
temperatures, register or escort donors,
or contact the media and others in the
community. And, don’t forget the people
doing set-up and clean-up. Without these
things the drive wouldn’t run smoothly,”
Sheldon Strand told volunteers in a blood
drive report.
Stephen Dalmas, a blood drive recruit-
ment manager for the American Red
Cross in Boise, said blood being donated
now is checked for COVID-19 antibodies,
an indication someone had the virus.
Dalmas said when COVID-19 antibodies
are detected, plasma from the blood is
used at hospitals to treat patients suffering
from the virus.
Cove City Council seeks to fill
vacancies
COVE — The Cove City Council will
meet Tuesday, Dec. 1, to discuss the res-
ignation of council president Nate Conrad
and to enter agreements for the use of fed-
eral and state grant funding.
Conrad resigned the position after
selling her home and moving out of Cove.
“She moved out of the city,” said
Donna Lewis, Cove’s city recorder. “She
had her house for sale for the longest
time.… She went ahead and ran, then it
sold.”
Cove has multiple city council posi-
tions open, and Lewis said the city has
reached out to those who received the
most write-in votes in the most recent
elections to fill the vacancies. Rather than
holding an election, the city council will
make appointments to fill the seats.
Lewis added the parties have until
Dec. 14 to return a response.
The council also will consider agree-
ments to spend grant funding from the
federal CARES Act, which the city plans
to use to purchase equipment to help its
employees work safely during the pan-
demic, and the Small Cities Allocation,
which awarded Cove $100,000 to make
road improvements.
Lewis said the council also plans to
bring up the city’s planned development
of a municipal court, but the only action
the council is likely to take would be to
schedule a work session.
The city council meeting will begin
at 7 p.m. at Cove City Hall, 504 Alder
St. The city is encouraging attendees to
connect virtually. Visit www.cityofcove.
org, or email cityadmin@cityofcove.
org to request the link and an agenda.
You may also dial in using your phone:
dial 1-877-309-2073 and use access code
566-891-733.
To submit public comment send e-mail
to cityadmin@cityofcove.org before
6:45 p.m. the night of the meeting.
GRH announces entrance
screening changes
LA GRANDE — Grande Ronde Hos-
pital, La Grande, announced in a press
release that patients with appointments,
visitors and those not seeking emer-
gency medical care should use the visitor
entrance during the day.
The hospital on Tuesday, Dec. 1, will
again reserve the emergency entrance for
patients seeking emergency medical care.
The visitor entrance is open 7 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m. (except for holidays). Those
entering the hospital for nonemergency
purposes will be screened at the visitor’s
desk, the release stated. After hours, the
emergency entrance will be open for all
purposes.
Patients with COVID-19-like symp-
toms, or those who are within two weeks
of a COVID-19 diagnosis, should remain
in their cars and call 541-963-8421 to
request assistance, the hospital empha-
sized in the release. A screener will come
out to the car.
Wallowa County removes
parole and probation from
under sheriff’s office
ENTERPRISE — The Wallowa
County Board of Commissioners has
removed Community Corrections from
under the umbrella of the sheriff’s office.
The board made the move at its regular
meeting Wednesday, Nov. 18. Commis-
sioners agreed to place Community Cor-
rections, which handles parole and pro-
bation, and its agencies under the county
board.
Commissioner Susan Roberts
explained this came after the county’s
auditor recommended the change because
Community Corrections and its oper-
ations are grant funded. She said the
auditor found Wallowa County is the
only county in the state where parole and
probation was under purview of sher-
iff’s office. It would be better to have the
county board oversee the department
because of the grant funding.
“They felt it would be cleaner and
we’d have less issues with our audit,”
Roberts said.
— EO Media Group