2A — THE OBSERVER
Daily
Planner
TODAY
Today is Thursday, Dec.
10, the 345th day of 2020.
There are 21 days left in the
year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN
HISTORY:
On Dec. 10, 1964, Martin
Luther King Jr. received his
Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo,
saying he accepted it “with
an abiding faith in America
and an audacious faith in the
future of mankind.”
ON THIS DATE:
In 1898, a treaty was
signed in Paris officially
ending the Spanish-Ameri-
can War.
In 1950, Ralph J. Bunche
was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize, the first Black
American to receive the
award.
In 1967, singer Otis
Redding, 26, and six others
were killed when their plane
crashed into Wisconsin’s
Lake Monona.
In 1987, President Ronald
Reagan and Soviet leader
Mikhail S. Gorbachev con-
cluded three days of summit
talks in Washington.
In 1994, Yasser Arafat, Shi-
mon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin
received the Nobel Peace
Prize, pledging to pursue
their mission of healing the
anguished Middle East.
In 1996, South African
President Nelson Mandela
signed the country’s new
constitution into law during
a ceremony in Sharpeville.
In 2007, suspended
NFL star Michael Vick was
sentenced by a federal
judge in Richmond, Virginia,
to 23 months in prison for
bankrolling a dogfighting
operation and killing dogs
that underperformed.
In 2009, President Barack
Obama accepted the Nobel
Peace Prize with a humble
acknowledgment of his
scant accomplishments and
a robust defense of the U.S.
at war.
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $5.4 million
5-10-17-39-47-48
Mega Millions: $244 million
15-19-33-39-68 — 25x3
Powerball: $202 million
3-4-6-48-53 —PB-10 x2
Win for Life: Dec. 7
16-39-55-71
Pick 4: Dec. 8
• 1 p.m.: 1-7-8-9; • 4 p.m.: 1-7-5-1;
• 7 p.m.: 1-4-6-3 • 10 p.m.: 8-8-4-2
Pick 4: Dec. 7
• 1 p.m.: 8-5-4-5 • 4 p.m.: 7-2-8-4;
• 7 p.m.: 0-7-2-6; • 10 p.m.: 6–5-7-8
DELIVERY ISSUES?
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THuRSday, dEcEmBER 10, 2020
LOCAL/REGION
EOU continues focus on fieldhouse work
By Kaleb Lay
The Observer
LA GRANDE — With
upgrades to their stadium
and track complete, Eastern
Oregon University con-
tinues to focus on the con-
struction of the $9 million
fieldhouse on the south side
of campus.
The previous project
cost more than $2.5 mil-
lion to complete. Work on
installing the new turf sur-
face at Community Sta-
dium has been complete for
several years, which Tim
Seydel, Eastern’s vice presi-
dent for university advance-
ment, said gave the field
an added dimension of
versatility.
“We knew for years that,
if we could get a turf field,
we could use it not just for
football for the high school
and the college, but we
could use it for soccer for
the high school and the col-
lege, and those are men’s
and women’s teams so
there’s four more teams you
can get on there,” Seydel
said.
While the stadium
and track upgrades have
been, in a word, underuti-
lized this season due to
the COVID-19 pandemic
making play more unsafe
than usual and public
Kaleb Lay/The Observer
Heavy machinery sits beside a large leveled lot next door to Eastern Oregon University’s
Community Stadium on Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, where work is underway to build a new
fieldhouse that will supplement the university’s sporting programs.
health measures restricting
high-contact sports, Com-
munity Stadium’s use has
been sparse in 2020.
But the completion of
the upgrades to the stadium
free up resources for East-
ern’s other projects, namely
the big addition to EOU’s
sports infrastructure — the
fieldhouse.
“The fieldhouse, con-
struction for that is
underway right now,”
Seydel said. “You can see
it over on the south end of
campus, and that is going
to be really a multipurpose
facility.”
The fieldhouse will be
a large indoor space con-
taining a partial track and
a large turf surface where
teams can practice during
the months when outdoor
practice becomes diffi-
cult due to weather. The
space also may be used for
university events, such as
camps, and will house East-
ern’s Health and Human
Performance and Outdoor
Adventure program.
“I’d love to be able to
see it even be used for com-
munity access, for folks to
be able to get some exercise
in there,” Seydel said, “but
that’s going to be a whole
other step. We’re going to
get the facility built first.”
Seydel said the funds
from building the roughly
$9 million facility would
be staying in the commu-
nity. Mike Becker Gen-
eral Contractor Inc. of La
Grande is handling the con-
struction of the fieldhouse,
he said, and holding events
in the facility would bring
revenue to the rest of the
community.
Seydel cited the
increased revenue for local
contractors, the potential
for increased traffic at local
restaurants and hospitality
venues and an increase in
quality of the campus envi-
ronment as arguments that
the fieldhouse was a good
investment.
“There’s not a lot of
projects that size in this
area, so it’s great we’re able
to work with local contrac-
tors and subcontractors to
do a lot of the work for the
fieldhouse,” Seydel said.
“And again, a facility that
size brings people to the
community, helps bring
enrollments to the univer-
sity, which ultimately ben-
efits the community, as
well as having just a great
university and campus
environment.”
The project is in its
infancy, and some issues
such as occupancy still
have to be ironed out
before the fieldhouse can
be widely used. However,
it is certain to perma-
nently improve the land-
scape of EOU sports in
the long term.
Local athlete excels at junior nationals competition
By Kaleb Lay
The Observer
LA GRANDE — It has
been said by many a coach
that athleticism cannot
be taught. For some, it is
as natural as breathing or
falling asleep.
That appears to be espe-
cially true in the case of
Harley Creech, who took
up olympic weightlifting
after the COVID-19 pan-
demic derailed regular high
school sporting seasons.
Since then, she’s broken
state records, claimed the
title of state champion
and stood out at national
competitions.
“My first competi-
tion ever, I qualified
for nationals, which is
not something that we
expected,” Creech said.
Ronald Bond/The Observer, File
La Grande High School senior Harley Creech trains Sat-
urday, Aug. 1, 2020, at Eagle Cap Crossfit, La Grande. She
took sixth place in the virtually conducted junior nationals
competition Dec. 3-6.
Now a senior at La
Grande High School,
Creech claimed sixth place
in a junior national compe-
tition earlier this month —
less than a year after taking
up the sport. The contest
was conducted over Zoom
after the in-person event in
Atlanta, Georgia, was can-
celed due to the pandemic.
“It was my first ever
nationals, so it was a
bummer to be online, but
I’m still happy that I got to
compete,” Creech said.
Her family watched her
lift for the competition at
her local gym while others
watched via livestream.
Managing to beat her
personal best in-competi-
tion performance, Creech
lifted just shy of 363.7
pounds across two events
— 156.5 pounds in the
snatch and 207.2 pounds in
the clean-and-jerk, earning
her a top-10 spot.
“I would say I push just
as hard in training as I do
in competition,” she said.
“But I think the adrenaline
in competition helps for
sure.”
Creech said she misses
competing in team sports.
The Oregon School Activ-
ities Association has
delayed seasons until Feb-
ruary 2021.
“I like the team aspect
of softball, and with
weightlifting I’m kind
of on my own,” she said.
“There’s not a lot of
weightlifters in this area,
so I don’t have people to
train with necessarily, but
I love both (sports). I can’t
really compare.”
While Creech said that
she and her family haven’t
decided what comes
next, she hopes to com-
pete at the next national
competition in March in
Detroit, Michigan.
Oregon state parks officials seek
input on changes to reservations
The Observer
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Riders leave Echo on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020, for the 17th annual Echo Toy Run.
Motorcycles thunder through
Echo for annual toy run
By Ben Lonergan
East Oregonian
ECHO — The sound
of more than 50 motorcy-
cles thundered through the
town of Echo on Saturday,
Dec. 5, as the 17th annual
Echo Toy Run departed
to take donated gifts to
children at Good Shep-
herd Medical Center in
Hermiston.
The parade of riders left
Echo with their motorcy-
cles adorned with stuffed
animals and brightly col-
ored toys, a small line of
cars trailing behind them
loaded with more gifts.
The event, started by
Al Sells 17 years ago, has
taken on new meaning fol-
lowing Sells’ death in a
motorcycle crash in 2019.
Sells’ daughter, Amanda
Silvani, said it was incred-
ible to see support from
the community for the
event and her father’s
memory even in the midst
of a global pandemic.
“I was a little worried
about this year,” she said.
“But there was a great
turnout.”
Silvani, who works
in home health for Good
Shepherd, said she used
to work in the emergency
department at the hospital
and had the opportunity
to see firsthand the joy the
toys would bring to chil-
dren spending the holidays
in the hospital.
“It’s usually their
worst day that they’re in
the ER,” she said. “To be
able to give them a toy is
incredible.”
Silvani expressed her
gratitude to the many
people involved in car-
rying on the toy run in her
father’s memory and the
many people who donate
toys each year. This year,
participants filled three
large hospital linen carts
with toys and stuffed
animals.
Leading off the group
of riders were Phil and
Beth Spencer on their
2006 Honda VTX 1800,
Phil dressed as Santa
Claus with Beth riding in
a sidecar beside him. The
pair said they have been
taking part in the ride for
seven or eight years.
“It’s a real honor to
be part of this — with
Al Sells’ memory — and
everything,” Phil Spencer
said. “It’s an honor.”
For the Spencers, this
year’s toy run served as
more than an opportu-
nity to bring joy to chil-
dren and celebrate Sells’
memory, it served as a
release from the stresses
of a global pandemic
and an opportunity to
bring joy to an entire
community.
SALEM — The Oregon
Parks and Recreation
Department is seeking the
public’s input on proposals
to change reservations for
state parks.
The state in March
closed all its parks in
response to the COVID-19
pandemic and reopened
them in phases, with many
campgrounds reopening
in June, according to a
press release from the
department.
In Northeast Oregon,
state parks include Wallowa
Lake, Emigrant Springs,
Catherine Creek, Farewell
Bend, Clyde Holliday and
Unity Lake.
The department’s pro-
posal includes a range of
zero to $15 for transaction
fees to make, change or
cancel a reservation.
That charge now is $8
for each reservation.
The proposal also would
add flexibility to the reser-
vation window, allowing the
agency to vary the window
from same-day reservations
up to 18 months in advance
for specific camping sites.
“The current reserva-
tion window is 30 days, a
response to the uncertain-
ties surrounding COVID-
19,” according to the
department. “This is a tem-
porary change from the typ-
ical nine month reservation
window.”
OPRD is accepting
public comments on its pro-
posal until 5 p.m. Jan. 15,
2021. State parks also set a
virtual public hearing for
6 p.m. Jan. 7, 2021.
For more information
or to comment, visit the
state parks website at www.
oregon.gov/oprd and click
on the link “Comment on
Proposed Rulemaking.”
Public safety report
MONDAY, DEC. 7
9:26 a.m. — La Grande
police responded to the
1100 block of Adams
Avenue on a report of a sus-
picious person.
9:42 a.m. — La Grande
police received a report of a
sex crime.
11:28 a.m. — A caller
reported animal abuse on
the 700 block of 18th Street,
La Grande. The animal
enforcement officer took a
dog into custody.
12:28 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to the
2000 block of Gekeler Lane
for a disturbance. Officers
arrested Katherine Wright,
57, of La Grande, on accu-
sations of assault, criminal
mischief, harassment and
disorderly conduct.
1:59 p.m. — A caller
reported a pig at large
in the area of the 2000
block of Spruce Street,
La Grande. The animal
enforcement officer
returned the pig home.
3:59 p.m. — La Grande
police received a report of
possible animal abuse on
the 1900 block of Cedar
Street. The animal enforce-
ment officer will follow up.
4:34 p.m. — A caller
on the 500 block of Center
Street, North Powder,
reported a dog bit someone.
The animal enforcement
officer issued a warning.
8:33 p.m. — La Grande
police received a report of
an assault on the 1400 block
of T Avenue. An officer
took a report.
10:52 p.m. — La
Grande police received
a report of a suspicious
vehicle on the 300 block
of Polk Avenue. An officer
responded, and the driver
of the vehicle fled into the
railroad yard. Police towed
the vehicle and arrested
Cory Hamilton, 35, of La
Grande, on accusations of
fleeing, reckless driving
and first-degree trespass.
TUESDAY, DEC. 8
5:15 a.m. — A La
Grande resident on the 600
block of C Avenue reported
two dogs were in their yard
barking and tearing up the
jacuzzi cover. The animal
enforcement officer cited
the owner of the dogs.
8:17 a.m. — La Grande
police received a report of
two aggressive dogs on the
800 block of B Avenue. Offi-
cers cited the dogs’ owner.
12:05 p.m. — La Grande
police received a report of
vandalism on the 200 block
of Second Street.
1:20 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to
Safeway, 2111 Adams Ave.,
for a person creating a dis-
turbance. The person left
when the officer arrived.
8:54 p.m. — The Union
County Sheriff’s Office
received a report of a hazard
on the railroad tracks at
Curtis Road, Union. A
deputy responded and con-
tacted the railroad.