2A — THE OBSERVER
SaTuRday, dEcEmBER 5, 2020
LOCAL/REGION
Daily Northeastern Oregon’s mountains show 100% snowpack
Planner Region should expect near normal
TODAY
Today is Saturday, Dec. 5,
the 340th day of 2020. There
are 26 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN
HISTORY:
On Dec. 5, 2013, Nelson
Mandela, the anti-apartheid
leader who became South
Africa’s first Black president,
died at age 95.
ON THIS DATE:
In 1791, composer Wolf-
gang Amadeus Mozart died
in Vienna, Austria, at age 35.
In 1792, George Washing-
ton was re-elected president;
John Adams was re-elected
vice president.
In 1848, President James
K. Polk triggered the Gold
Rush of ’49 by confirming
that gold had been discov-
ered in California.
In 1933, national Prohibi-
tion came to an end as Utah
became the 36th state to rat-
ify the 21st Amendment to
the Constitution, repealing
the 18th Amendment.
In 1952, the Great Smog
of London descended on the
British capital; the unusually
thick fog, which contained
toxic pollutants, lasted five
days and was blamed for
thousands of deaths.
In 1977, Egypt broke dip-
lomatic relations with Syria,
Libya, Algeria, Iraq and
South Yemen in the wake of
criticism that followed Pres-
ident Anwar Sadat’s peace
overtures to Israel.
In 2002, Strom Thurmond,
the oldest and longest-serv-
ing senator in history, cele-
brated his 100th birthday on
Capitol Hill.
In 2008, the Labor De-
partment reported that an
alarming half-million jobs
had vanished in Nov. 2008
as unemployment hit a 15-
year high of 6.7%.
In 2018, former President
George H.W. Bush was
mourned at a memorial
service at Washington
National Cathedral attended
by President Donald Trump
and former Presidents
Barack Obama, Bill Clinton
and Jimmy Carter along
with their spouses; former
president George W. Bush
was among the speakers,
eulogizing his dad as “the
brightest of a thousand
points of light.”
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Mega Millions: $214 million
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Powerball: $202 million
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Win for Life: Dec. 2
6-12-58-662
Pick 4: Dec. 3
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• 1 p.m.: 4-6-7-5 • 4 p.m.: 1-5-6-4;
• 7 p.m.: 1-7-3-6; • 10 p.m.: 0-9-7-2
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer,
please call 541-963-3161.
precipitation, temperatures this month
By Katy Nesbitt
For the East Oregonian
PENDLETON —
Early season storms have
Northeast Oregon snow
enthusiasts anticipating
a snowy winter, and the
extended forecast shouldn’t
disappoint.
Most of Oregon’s moun-
tains were well above 100%
of average snowpack by
mid-November, a drastic
difference from many win-
ters in the past decade when
some ranges didn’t reach
100% the entire year or
at least until well into the
spring.
“The snowpack in
Eastern Oregon, as well as
the rest of the state, looks
pretty good right now,” said
Rob Brooks, a National
Weather Service fore-
caster in Pendleton. “What
we anticipate is a normal
amount of precipitation for
Pendleton.”
The Emigrant Springs
Snotel, an automated snow
and precipitation measuring
station near Emigrant
Springs State Park south of
Pendleton, had as of Dec.
3 measured 6.7 inches of
precipitation since the start
of the water year Oct. 1,
slightly below the average
of 7.3 inches for that period.
The High Ridge Snotel,
near Tollgate east of Pend-
leton, has recorded 12.2
inches of precipitation
since Oct. 1, compared to
the average of 10.8 inches.
The water equivalent in the
snowpack as of Dec. 3, was
4.9 inches, slightly above
the average of 4.7 inches.
With vast differences
in elevation across the
region, Brooks said snow-
fall and weather patterns
can also vary considerably.
He said La Nina weather
patterns from the Pacific
that bring a lot of mois-
ture, as is predicted for this
winter, have an impact in
Eastern Oregon, but most
inland Northwest weather
depends on the timing and
speed of the systems and air
temperature.
“Our weather patterns
occur on micro scales,”
he said. “We have small
areas where an inversion
sets up — the basin can be
28 degrees with fog, while
it can be sunny and 60
SALEM — The Oregon
Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality has
extended an air quality
advisory for much of
Eastern Oregon.
The state agency on
Monday, Dec. 1, issued an
advisory due to stagnant
air trapping smoke and
other air pollutants near
the ground where people
breathe. That advisory was
in effect until Saturday for
most of Oregon.
The DEQ on Thursday
extended the adversity
through Tuesday for parts
of the state east of the Cas-
cades. It applies to the fol-
lowing counties: Baker, Gil-
liam, Grant, Harney, Hood
River, Jefferson, Malheur,
Morrow, Sherman, Uma-
tilla, Wasco and Wheeler.
The advisory also applies to
northern Deschutes County
and the Prineville area in
Crook County.
DEQ fines Pendleton
business $7,200
for violations in La
Grande
LA GRANDE — An
Pendleton business faces a
state fine of $7,200 for envi-
ronmental violations in La
Grande.
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Environmental
Quality recently reported
issuing civil penalties in
October against six busi-
nesses, including Sheldon
degrees in Meacham.”
Precipitation for Pend-
leton and the basin averages
1.55 inches in December,
1.51 inches in January and
1.17 inches in February.
Winter temperatures and
precipitation can vary.
“Last year, we packed
up pretty good and then
had floods caused by rain
on top of the snowpack,”
Brooks said.
According to the
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Adminis-
tration website, North-
east Oregon should expect
normal to slightly below
normal precipitation with
near normal to slightly
above normal temperatures
for the rest of December.
When discussing
what’s “normal” winter
weather, Brooks pulled
up some interesting data.
It’s not unusual to have a
70-degree day in Pendleton
in late January or early
February. Despite the wel-
come reprieve from win-
ter’s grip, sometimes these
false spring days cause
disaster. In 1996, a year of
much flooding in Eastern
Oregon, Brooks said it was
minus 12 on Feb. 3 and 75
degrees on Feb. 8.
Grant pays for firebreaks at MERA
By Dick Mason
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Union
County will soon be much
less vulnerable to a dev-
astating wildfire thanks to
almost $200,000 in grants
from the Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry and the
Natural Resources Conser-
vation Service.
The grants will help fund
the creation of two major
firebreaks in the Mount
Emily Recreation Area.
Work on the firebreaks,
which may start late this
month, should be completed
by the end of 2021, said
Union County Parks Coor-
dinator Sean Chambers.
“They will put us
in a much better posi-
tion to defend ourselves
from wildfires,” said Paul
Anderes, chair of the
Union County Board of
Commissioners.
Two firebreaks will
be established, one along
Forest Service Road
3120 and the other along
MERA’s 201 Mainline
Trail. Both firebreaks,
which will cover a com-
bined total of 6 miles, will
run north-south.
The firebreaks will be
created through a tree thin-
ning process. Once com-
pleted, all trees in the fire-
breaks will be at least 25
feet apart. This will make
it much less likely for a fire
to spread from tree to tree,
Anderes said.
“Open spaces will be
created, which will make it
much easier for us to defend
fires,” he said.
The commissioner
explained if a wildfire is
ignited, the breaks will pro-
vide firefighters a position
to set up resources to stop
the blaze. If a wildfire starts
on the face of Mount Emily,
firefighters will be able to
position themselves at a
break to stop it from racing
into the Grande Ronde
Valley.
“It will be a great stand
for stopping fires,” he said.
“It will give them a tremen-
dous advantage.”
Forest debris such as
fallen branches will be
removed in the firebreaks.
“This will reduce the
continuity of fuel,” Anderes
said.
The county board on
Wednesday awarded one of
the contracts for the work
to Gary Wright Contracting
Inc. of Union. The county
board now is in the pro-
cess of selecting a second
contractor for the firebreak
project.
Starting the work on
creating the firebreaks in
the winter will be ideal
because the sites where
a portion of the breaks
will be are on rocky ter-
rain, which can be hard on
some equipment, such as
blades.
The snow and ice that
likely cover the rocks will
buffer equipment from
those rocks, Chambers said.
Chambers added the
heavy equipment also
would do less damage to
frozen ground.
Anderes credited Cham-
bers, Union County Emer-
gency Manager J.B. Brock
and Mike Burton of the
Natural Resources Con-
servation Service with
playing major roles in
helping the county obtain
the grants for the creation
of the firebreaks.
person for DEQ, explained
Sheldon Petroleum has not
appealed or paid the fine.
The company had 20 cal-
endar days from Oct. 29,
when it received the notice,
to request a hearing, which
would be the first step in the
appeals process.
before it opened.
The warming sta-
tion’s hours are 6 p.m. to
7:30 a.m. each day of the
week. Volunteers there
work three-to-four hour
shifts.
“We always have at least
two volunteers on duty,”
Smith said.
The warming station’s
new home is its third in
four winter seasons in La
Grande. The station was
first at the Zion Lutheran
Church in 2017-18 and in
a Willow Street building
in 2018-19. The warming
station did not operate in
2019-20 because of issues
related to the move to its
Third Street location.
The station’s new
building has more space
than its previous locations.
The building has seven
rooms plus a lobby. The
rooms have a capacity of
two people each under state
social distancing standards.
The capacity can be higher
if all of those in a room are
with the same family. The
lobby’s capacity is four
guests.
Smith said most over-
night guests go right to
sleep after eating a meal at
the warming station.
“They are quite tired
when they come in,” Smith
said.
They also get a place to
sleep soundly.
“From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. it
is usually quiet,” Smith said.
Each room has an air
filter and plastic dividers
to protect guests from
COVID-19.
— The Observer
News Briefs
DEQ extends
air quality advisory
for much of
Eastern Oregon
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Snow covers Highway 204 near Summit Road on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. Early season
storms have Northeast Oregon’s snowpack above 100%.
Petroleum Services, 811
S.E. Byers Ave., Pend-
leton, for failing to submit a
work plan for failing to take
corrective actions after it
decommissioned a heating
oil tank in La Grande.
Sheldon Petroleum Ser-
vices in May 2019 decom-
missioned an underground
storage take at 1602 Walnut
St., La Grande. Tests of
groundwater at the site
revealed oil was leaking
from the tank.
Sheldon Petroleum
was also fined $16,800 in
August for similar viola-
tions in Hood River and
The Dalles.
The company in July
of that year reported it
removed the tank and
contaminated soil, but
according to the DEQ’s
“Notice of Civil Penalty
Assessment and Order” of
Oct. 27, 2020, those reports
did not include receipts for
the removal and disposal of
the tank, piping or the soil.
The environment depart-
ment rejected the reports
and in August 2019 asked
Sheldon Petroleum to
submit a plan for additional
work at the property. The
company, however, told the
state it was done working at
the site.
The DEQ in the notice
detailed how it calculated
the $7,200 fine, which
included the magnitude of
the violation and the finding
that Sheldon Petroleum Ser-
vices “failed to take rea-
sonable care to avoid a
foreseeable risk of conduct
constituting a violation.”
Lauren Wirtis, spokes-
Union County
Warming Station off
to smooth start
LA GRANDE — The
Union County Warming
Station is attracting more
guests after briefly experi-
encing a slow start.
The warming station,
which opened Nov. 15 at
its new home in Suite B
at 2008 Third St. had just
one guest its first night,
but since then the number
of people coming in has
increased.
Its high counts
included 13 the evening of
Wednesday, Dec. 2, five shy
of its capacity of 18, said
Audrey Smith, chair of the
Union County Warming
Station Board.
An average of about four
people are coming a night
to sleep and receive a hot
meal or just receive a meal.
La Grande Police Chief
Gary Bell said the opening
has gone smoothly from
his perspective. He said his
department on Thursday
afternoon responded to a
total of three calls at the
warming station, none for
major issues. The calls were
for complaints of harass-
ment, trespassing and for
someone staying outside the
warming station too long
La Grande Rural Fire Protection District/ Contributed Photo
Local firefighters on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020, fight a
blaze as it burns through a home on Foothill Road, La
Grande.
Blaze destroys home
The Observer
LA GRANDE — No
people were hurt in a
house fire late Wednesday
morning, Dec. 2, on Foot-
hill Road near the Inter-
state 84 interchange, La
Grande.
But the fire destroyed
the house and claimed the
lives of three dogs, said
Craig Kretschmer, chief of
the La Grande Rural Fire
Department.
The district and La
Grande Fire Depart-
ment a little after 11 a.m.
Wednesday responded to
the scene on a report of a
fire threatening structures.
The house fire started
when strong winds blew
flames from a slash burn
to several smaller shed-
like structures and then to
the one-story house, Kret-
schmer said. The slash
burn was about 40 yards
from the house.
Nobody was in the
house when the fire
started.
The fire protection dis-
trict on its Facebook page
reported the fire spread
to the nearby structures
due to high and sustained
winds, which “resulted
in rapid fire spread, ham-
pering the structural fire
suppression efforts.”
The North Powder
Rural Fire Protection Dis-
trict, Imbler Rural Fire
Department and Union
Fire Department provided
mutual aid, and the Union
County Sheriff’s Office
and Oregon Trail Electric
Cooperative assisted at the
scene.
The La Grande Rural
Fire Protection District
also expressed its sym-
pathy to the homeowners
for their loss.
GRR starts adopt a senior
for Christmas program
By Dick Mason
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
Grande Ronde Retirement
Residence is extending
an invitation to everyone
who wants to reach out
to seniors this Christmas
season.
The assisted living
facility is encouraging
people to participate in its
new “Adopt a Resident for
Christmas” program.
Through the program,
anyone who wants to
adopt a resident can call
the retirement center. They
will be asked if they want
to reach out to a male or
female resident. They will
receive the resident’s room
number and their first
name plus a wish list for
the person.
“We wanted to do
something special because
this has been such a
hard year,” said Denise
Wheeler, a life enrich-
ment assistant at Grande
Ronde Retirement. “We
want them to have a joyous
experience.”
The program started
Wednesday, Dec. 2, and
already many of the 90
residents at Grande Ronde
Retirement have someone
signed up to send them
gifts and cards.
“The response has been
incredible,” Wheeler said.
Wheeler said the first
residents who are being
matched are those who do
not have family or friends
in this area.
Participants will be
able to mail their gifts and
cards or bring them to
Grande Ronde Retirement
Residence, 1809 Gekeler
Lane, La Grande. The
center is not allowing the
public to enter its building
due to COVID-19 restric-
tions, but people can ring
its doorbell and someone
will come pick up the
gifts.
Anyone interested in
participating in the pro-
gram should call Grande
Ronde Retirement Res-
idence at 541-963-4700
between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
seven days a week. Indi-
viduals have until Dec. 21
to sign up for the program.