2A — THE OBSERVER
SaTuRday, JanuaRy 2, 2021
LOCAL/REGION
History
and More
The ghost hunters of Milton-Freewater
Today is Saturday, Jan.
2, the second day of 2021.
There are 363 days left in
the year.
MILTON-FREEWATER
— Sandy Fujan recalls that
shortly after her father died,
she saw her husband’s razor
rocking back and forth on a
table. As one who believes
in the paranormal, the Mil-
ton-Freewater woman
assumed it was her late
father moving the shaver.
Indeed, she said, in
almost every house she
lived in she has encountered
spirits. They have all been
friendly so far, just coming
and going within a few
seconds.
“At first, I thought it was
the houses that we lived in,
but I kind of think it’s me,”
she said. “Probably because
they say, there is a theory,
that spirits know if you’re
open to seeing them.”
This year she’s taken that
theory and founded a group
of seven kindred spirits who
tour private homes as para-
normal investigators who
attempt to make contact
with the dead.
Called Northeast Oregon
Paranormal, the group
started in January 2020 and
conducted its first investiga-
tion in early March.
The crew went to the his-
toric Frazier Farmstead in
Milton-Freewater to see if
they could find any ghosts
in the 1880s home, now a
museum.
TODAY
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
IN HISTORY:
On Jan. 2, 1974, Presi-
dent Richard Nixon signed
legislation requiring states
to limit highway speeds to
55 miles an hour as a way
of conserving gasoline in
the face of an OPEC oil
embargo. (The 55 mph limit
was effectively phased out
in 1987; federal speed limits
were abolished in 1995.)
ON THIS DATE:
In 1788, Georgia became
the fourth state to ratify the
U.S. Constitution.
In 1811, Sen. Timothy
Pickering, a Federalist from
Massachusetts, became the
first member of the U.S.
Senate to be censured after
he’d improperly revealed
the contents of an executive
document.
In 1921, religious services
were broadcast on radio for
the first time as KDKA in
Pittsburgh aired the regular
Sunday service of the city’s
Calvary Episcopal Church.
In 1959, the Soviet Union
launched its space probe
Luna 1, the first manmade
object to fly past the moon,
its apparent intended target.
In 1960, Sen. John F.
Kennedy of Massachusetts
launched his successful bid
for the presidency.
In 1967, Republican Ron-
ald Reagan took the oath of
office as the new governor
of California in a ceremony
that took place in Sacramen-
to shortly just after midnight.
In 1971, 66 people were
killed in a pileup of specta-
tors leaving a soccer match
in Glasgow, Scotland.
In 1981, police in Shef-
field, England, arrested Peter
Sutcliffe, who confessed to
being the “Yorkshire Ripper,”
the serial killer of 13 women.
In 1983, the original
Broadway production of the
musical “Annie” closed after
a run of 2,377 performances.
In 2007, the state funeral
for former President Gerald
R. Ford began with a service
at Washington National
Cathedral, then moved to
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In 2015, California began
issuing driver’s licenses to
immigrants who were in the
country illegally.
In 2018, Sen. Al Franken
resigned from the Senate a
month after the Minnesota
Democrat announced his
plan to leave Congress amid
a series of sexual miscon-
duct allegations.
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $6.4 million
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Mega Millions: $262 million
1-31-35-48-62 — 19 x3
Powerball: $287 million
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Win for Life: Dec. 30
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• 1 p.m.: 9-8-0-3; • 4 p.m.: 6-3-5-0
• 7 p.m.: 8-2-1-1; • 10 p.m.: 1-5-6-6
DELIVERY ISSUES?
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By CHLOE LeVALLEY
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
“Hey, who’s here?”
Fujan said she heard the
question in a recording she
was using in a bedroom,
predicting it was one of
the Fraziers who had lived
on the property. Likely a
father, based on the low
tone.
“That was so exciting
to hear that because it was
very clear you didn’t have
to replay it,” Fujan said.
“It’s exciting, for me
anyway, when I get evi-
dence like that because
sometimes you think noth-
ing’s happening,” she
added. “And then you
go back and listen to the
recorders, and they’re
answering you, answering
Chloe LeValley/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Sandy Fujan and her husband Roger explain how to use their thermal imaging camera
below) to show temperature variations during paranormal investigations.
would turn on, meaning
“yes,” Fujan said.
Gearing up
your questions or some-
times just talking between
themselves.”
Kathy Thorberg, a Walla
Walla, Washington, resident
and member of the group,
said they also got to talk to
someone who died in a war.
Although they use sev-
eral instruments in their
investigations, they were
using a simple flashlight in
a room with military items.
Asked yes or no questions,
the spirit’s responses were
based on light flickers,
Thorberg said.
The flashlight must be
set with the switch almost
to the on position, so when
a spirit taps the flashlight it
flickers on, Fujan said.
The group asked ques-
tions, such as “Were you in
the war?” and “Did you die
in the war?” The flashlight
Much of what the group
does is try to disprove evi-
dence. That’s why they
bring in Fujan’s husband
Roger, the “tech guy” and
“resident skeptic.”
He said he has fun dis-
proving evidence based
on what else might have
caused specific readings
from their equipment, such
as car driving by or a dog
barking in the distance.
As such, the investiga-
tors must be aware of their
surroundings so they can
record when a seeming
paranormal activity is actu-
ally, for example, someone
clearing their throat.
Before an investigation
begins, the group does an
initial walk-through of a
home with their equipment,
such as an electromag-
netic field reader to note
emissions from appliances
or electricity in the walls.
That will help determine
whether something beyond
those readings might be
paranormal activity, Sandy
Fujan said.
A digital video recording
system, night vision camera
and a thermal imaging
camera are among other
investigative tools. The
latter indicates temperature
variations and shows up on
their phones as a heat map,
with blue showing a cold
spot in a room.
Sandy Fujan said she
is still skeptical about a
recently purchased device
that scans radio frequencies
that supposedly ghosts can
use to talk through.
But the gear isn’t all
hi-tech. They will take
dowsing rods, tradition-
ally used to detect under-
ground water sources, on
their next investigation. The
person holding the rods will
remain still, and a ghost is
supposed to move the rods
to answer questions and
point to people.
Learning the history of
the place they will inves-
tigate also is vital, group
members said. It allows
them to ask more specific
questions if they encounter
a possible paranormal
activity.
“We’re all kind of his-
tory buffs, and so we want
to know the history of the
place, and some of the
names so we’re familiar of
who to talk to and who to
ask,” she said.
Reconnecting
Like Fujan, Thorberg
said she also has had expe-
riences where she recon-
nected with a departed
loved one. She said she’s
felt her mother stroke her
hair, something she always
used to do in her earthly
life.
The group recently
conducted a paranormal
investigation in a private
home in Milton-Freewater,
where a woman’s mother
had died. The woman told
them that when she left her
kitchen the cabinet doors
would be closed, and when
she returned they would be
open.
Thorberg said a radi-
ating electro-magneticity
pod was used in the inves-
tigation. The device lights
up and makes a noise when
there are activities, such
as something touching it
or moving within a certain
perimeter of it. The pod
was on the bed in the living
room where the mother
died.
“I think the daughter
was asking, ‘Mom are
you here with us?,’ and
the REM pod would go
off, and I think she asked
more personal questions,”
Thorberg said.
The daughter told them
the answers confirmed
it was her mother. The
group’s electromagnetic
detector also went off when
the REM pod did.
“There was activity in
the home,” Thorberg said.
No voices were picked
up on the recorder,
however.
“I think she follows her,”
Thorberg said of the moth-
er’s spirit. “That’s what we
thought, you know, it would
stop when (the daughter)
would go outside, and it
would start back up when
she would come back in.”
Fujan said discovery of
paranormal activity in a
home can help bring clo-
sure to people who call on
Northeast Oregon Para-
normal to investigate.
“Who’s to say it’s a rel-
ative or not,” Fujan said,
“but sometimes ... you have
a good judgment.”
Enterprise council rescinds job offer to new police chief
City to restart hiring
process Jan. 4
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — The
Enterprise Police Depart-
ment is still in the market
for a new police chief,
the city having rescinded
its offer to Seaside Police
Chief David Ham.
City Administrator
Lacey McQuead confirmed
that in an email Wednesday,
Dec. 30.
“He will not be joining
the Enterprise Police
Department,” McQuead
wrote. “I am not able to go
into detail regarding this
decision.”
The vacancy arose
because EPD Chief Joel
Fish was elected Wal-
lowa County sheriff in
November. He was to
be sworn into that office
Monday, Jan. 4.
Ham said by telephone
Dec. 30 that the offer was
conditional based on the city
conducting a background
check, medical check and
other investigations. He
said the city would not go
into the details of why it
News Briefs
December warmer, wetter
than average
LA GRANDE — According to the
National Weather Service, La Grande
experienced an unusually warm and
wet December.
The average temperature in the
last month of 2020 came in at 33.7
degrees, which was a whopping 3.1
degrees above the 30-year average.
Average daily highs were even
warmer: 4.6 degrees above normal at
42.2 degrees.
Temperatures remained below
freezing on only one full day during
December 2020.
Precipitation also exceeded
the 30-year norm, reported to be
2.08 inches for the month. That’s
0.42 inches above the average for
December.
The NWS said the outlook for Jan-
uary is similar, with above average
temperatures and precipitation. Jan-
uary is typically La Grande’s snow-
iest month, and the winter of 2020-21
was forecasted to be a La Nina
winter, which often brings heavy
precipitation.
Wallowa County hospital
worker has severe allergic
reaction to COVID-19
vaccine
ENTERPRISE — The Oregon
Health Authority announced in a press
release a worker at Wallowa Memo-
rial Hospital suffered a severe allergic
reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine.
The worker experienced anaphy-
laxis after receiving their first dose of
the Moderna vaccine earlier this week.
That person was reportedly recovering
in the hospital.
Allergic reactions to the Pfizer
and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines,
which are the only vaccines cur-
rently approved for use in the United
States, have been rare but not unheard
of. Those who receive the vaccine
are monitored for signs of allergic
reactions after injection as a safety
measure.
“Those who have had an imme-
diate allergic reaction — even if it was
not severe — to a vaccine or inject-
able therapy for any disease should
ask their health care provider if they
should get a COVID-19 vaccine,” the
OHA stated in the release. “Your pro-
vider will help you decide if it is safe
for you to get vaccinated.”
More common side effects of the
Moderna vaccine include pain at the
injection site, muscle pain, joint pain
and chills.
Oregon has lagged significantly
behind its vaccination goals thus far.
The state had aimed to have 100,000
Oregonians receive their first injec-
tion by the start of 2021, but as of Dec.
31, 2020, the OHA reported that fewer
than 40,000 had been administered.
— The Observer
rescinded the offer.
“I think the best they fig-
ured it is not the best per-
sonality fit,” Ham said.
McQuead wrote the
chief-selection process will
be restarted.
“We will be reopening
the position Jan. 4,” she
wrote. “In the meantime,
I will be working with the
(police) department to keep
things moving forward. Our
hope is to have a chief hired
sometime in February.”
In the interim, the city
will have no official acting
police chief. McQuead
wrote that she would be
working with the three offi-
cers along with some assis-
tance from the Wallowa
County Sheriff’s Office, if
necessary.
“The Enterprise Police
Department will still be
providing the same services
we are providing now,”
McQuead wrote.
The city made the offer
to the 25-year law enforce-
ment veteran after dis-
cussing the matter in exec-
utive session Nov. 9. He
accepted the conditional
offer Nov. 13.
The city’s decision
was made after a three-
part hiring process, which
included an application
scoring committee and
interviews by a panel con-
sisting of the council’s
Executive Committee, law
enforcement personnel and
multiple community leaders
and partners. The deci-
sion was finalized through
a formal recommenda-
tion made to the council
by the Enterprise Police
Committee.
Ham remains at his posi-
tion in Seaside.
“If they change their
minds, they can give me a
call back,” he said.
Baker County’s COVID risk level drops
Move to ‘high risk’
means indoor dining
as well as gyms,
theaters opening
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — Baker
County dropped from the
extreme to the high risk cate-
gory for COVID-19 spread on
Friday, Jan. 1, which means
restaurants can have limited
indoor dining, and fitness cen-
ters, theaters and museums
can open, also with occupancy
limits, for the first time in
almost a month.
Baker County had been
in the extreme risk category,
and thus subject to the most
stringent restrictions on busi-
nesses and other activities,
since Oregon started the cur-
rent four-level risk system on
Dec. 3.
And until late Wednesday
morning, it appeared that the
county would remain in the
extreme category through at
least Jan. 14.
Baker County was one of
the 24 counties slated to be in
that category from Jan. 1-14,
according to a Tuesday, Dec.
29 press release from Gov.
30,000 — Baker County has
Kate Brown’s office.
about 16,800 residents — two
But then Baker County
statistics determine the risk
Commissioner Mark Ben-
level.
nett, in a Wednesday morning
If the county, during the
phone call with Patrick Allen,
two-week measuring period,
director of the Oregon
either has 60 or more
Health Authority (OHA),
new COVID-19 cases,
learned that state offi-
or it has a test positivity
cials had mistakenly
rate of 10% or higher,
inflated the county’s
then it falls into the
COVID-19 case total by
extreme risk category.
including recent infec-
During the most
Bennett
tions among inmates at
recent measuring
the Powder River Correctional
period, Dec. 13-26, Baker
County had a positivity rate of
Facility in Baker City.
7.9%, which qualifies for the
Although the prison cases
high risk level. But the total of
are included in the county’s
68 new cases would have put
overall total, when the inmate
cases would push a county into the county in the extreme risk
category.
a higher risk category, then
But Bennett said that total
those cases are deducted from
of 68 included nine inmates at
the total that the state uses to
determine a county’s risk level, Powder River who tested pos-
itive. The minimum-security
according to an email to the
prison has had 29 inmates and
Herald from Liz Merah, press
four employees test positive
secretary in the governor’s
since Dec. 13.
office.
A press release from the
Deducting those prison
governor’s office Wednesday
cases leaves the county’s two-
afternoon stated that the
week total at 59, just below
inmate cases aren’t used in
the 60-case threshold for the
determining the county’s risk
extreme risk category.
level because the inmates “do
“It’s not where we want to
not interact with members of
be, but it’s moving us in a pos-
itive direction,” Bennett said.
the broader community.”
“This is so important to our
For counties with a pop-
ulation between 15,000 and
businesses.”