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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2021)
2A — THE OBSERVER TuESday, JanuaRy 12, 2021 LOCAL/REGION Today in New SRO on La Grande School District beat History Justin Hernandez TODAY Today is Tuesday, Jan. 12, the 12th day of 2021. There are 353 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On Jan. 12, 2000, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Illinois v. Wardlow, gave police broad authority to stop and question people who run at the sight of an officer. ON THIS DATE: In 1773, the first public museum in America was organized in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1828, the United States and Mexico signed a Treaty of Limits defining the boundary between the two countries to be the same as the one established by an 1819 treaty between the U.S. and Spain. In 1910, at a White House dinner hosted by Presi- dent William Howard Taft, Baroness Rosen, wife of the Russian ambassador, caused a stir by requesting and smoking a cigarette — it was, apparently, the first time a woman had smoked openly during a public function in the executive mansion. In 1915, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected, 204-174, a proposed consti- tutional amendment to give women nationwide the right to vote. In 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that state law schools could not discriminate against applicants on the basis of race. In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. founded Motown Records in Detroit. In 1969, the New York Jets of the American Football League upset the Balti- more Colts of the National Football League 16-7 in Super Bowl III, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami. In 1971, the groundbreak- ing situation comedy “All in the Family” premiered on CBS television. In 1976, mystery writer Dame Agatha Christie died in Wallingford, England, at age 85. In 1995, Qubilah Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X, was arrested in Minneapolis on charges she’d tried to hire a hitman to kill Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan (the charges were later dropped in a settlement with the government). In 2006, Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish gunman who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, was released from an Istanbul prison after serving more than 25 years in Italy and Turkey for the plot against the pontiff and the slaying of a Turkish journalist. In 2010, Haiti was struck by a magnitude-7 earth- quake; the Haitian govern- ment said 316,000 people were killed, while a report prepared for the U.S. Agen- cy for International Develop- ment suggested the death toll may have been between 46,000 and 85,000. Ten years ago: President Barack Obama visited Tucson, Arizona, the scene of a shooting rampage that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six others; he urged Americans to refrain from partisan bickering and to embrace the idealistic vision of de- mocracy held by 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, the youngest of the victims. takes over role By DICK MASON The Observer LA GRANDE — A Union County sher- iff’s deputy who previ- ously was a star Eastern Oregon University football player soon will be helping young people tackle life’s challenges. Justin Hernandez is the La Grande School District’s new school resource officer helping to maintain school district security and mentor students. Hernandez launched the latest chapter in his career Monday, Jan. 11, when he introduced himself to students in kindergarten through sixth grade as they returned to in-person education following the Christmas break. “I’m very excited about being able to work with kids,” said Hernandez, who has been with the Union County Sheriff’s Office for five and a half years and is a 2015 Eastern Oregon Uni- versity graduate who played football for the Mountain- eers in 2013 and 2014. Hernandez is succeeding Cody Bowen as the SRO. Bowen held the position for six years before stepping down in late December to serve as Union County’s new sheriff. Bowen won the election Nov. 3, 2020. Dick Mason/The Observer Justin Hernandez, right, the La Grande School District’s new school resource officer, talks with Judy Lucius on Jan. 11, 2021. Lucius is a paraprofessional at Greenwood Elementary School whose duties include working as a crossing guard. Bowen said he was hoping Hernandez would apply for the open school resource officer job because of his ability to connect with young people. Bowen said Hernandez is an excel- lent example for youth. “He is a role model. He always does what is right when no one is looking,” Bowen said. Hernandez was a star receiver at EOU with 79 receptions, 1,215 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns in two seasons, according to eousports.com. Off the field during his senior year, Hernandez started serving as a reserve deputy. A native of Lapwai, Idaho, Hernandez said a career in law enforcement long interested him in part because his father, a retired Marine, was a lieutenant in the Nez Perce Tribal Police Department in his home- town. Today, Hernandez is following in his father’s footsteps even more closely. His dad was an SRO at his high school in Lapwai. Hernandez, after serving as a reserve deputy, a volun- teer position and receiving training at the Oregon Police Academy, worked in the Union County Jail for six months. He then worked the Elgin patrol beat for two years and then two years as a narcotics officer. The deputy said one of his objectives as SRO is for stu- dents to see law enforce- ment officers as people. He will be following the lead of Bowen, well known in the local schools for his person- able nature. “I want to continue Cody’s mission of human- izing the badge,” Her- nandez said. He said he hopes to make connections with stu- dents and build relation- ships based on trust. “I don’t want them to run from me,” Hernandez said. “I want them to run to me.” A sense of humility likely will help him in this regard. “Just because I have a badge and a gun does not make me superior to anyone,” said Hernandez, who also wants to establish community partnerships. Bowen said Hernandez has a head start on estab- lishing connections with students in the La Grande School District because he attended school dis- trict activities before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, including sporting events. “He is invested in the community,” Bowen said. Hernandez said people such as Tim Camp, EOU’s football coach since 2008, instilled this attitude in him. Camp requires his players to be involved in public service projects. Her- nandez credits Camp with teaching him that “commu- nity is everything.” Bowen said the ties he made as a school resource officer made it difficult to step away from the job. “It was very hard. For the last six years I have poured my heart and soul into it,” Bowen said. But he said he takes solace knowing Hernandez is at the helm. “I know that the schools are going to be in good hands,” Bowen said. Briefs Historic cabin open for rental Anthony Lake Guard Station usually serves as Nordic ski center By JAYSON JACOBY Baker City Herald ANTHONY LAKE — The COVID-19 pan- demic has made it possible for some people to spend a couple of nights this winter in a snowbound log cabin high in the Elkhorn Mountains. But if you wait long you might miss your chance. Reservations for the his- toric Anthony Lake Guard Station, built in the 1930s by a Civilian Conservation Corps on the north shore of Anthony Lake, became available Jan. 1 on the web- site for Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort. Within a couple of days, the two-story cabin had been reserved for almost every weekend through the ski season, which ends in early April. The guard sta- tion opens for renting on Wednesday, Jan. 13, (that night and the next were both available for reservations as of Thursday, Jan. 7). The guard station rents for $350 per night, with a two-night minimum. Chelsea Judy/Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort The historic Anthony Lake Guard Station is open for over- night rentals this winter. “People are always looking for a place to stay up here,” said Chelsea Judy, marketing director for the ski area about 35 miles northwest of Baker City. The resort doesn’t have overnight lodging except for a pair of yurts. And reservations for those structures are quickly snapped up, Judy said. As of Thursday, one of the yurts had been reserved for all but two days — Jan. 26 and 27 — and the other was claimed on every day but the final day of the season, April 4. The guard station nor- mally is open for over- night stays only during the spring, summer and fall. During the ski season, the structure usually serves as the Nordic center for Anthony Lakes, with cross- country ski and snow- shoe rentals, trail passes to groomed routes, lesson registrations, coffee and a warm fireplace to sit beside. But not during the pan- demic. The issue, Judy said, is size. The guard station, though it can accommodate eight people for overnight stays, has the typical tidy dimensions of a log cabin. That, combined with its single entrance, makes the cabin unsuitable as a Nordic center while the ski area follows social distancing guidelines, she said. Morrow County homicide suspect found dead in jail PENDLETON — Staff at the Umatilla County Jail in Pendleton on Saturday, Jan. 9, found homicide suspect David Lee Bowles dead in his cell. Bowles, 43, was in the jail on charges of first-de- gree manslaughter and felon in possession of a weapon. Oregon State Police previously reported he turned him- self in to the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 7, after the office named him as a “person of interest” in the shooting death of his wife, Marlen Bowles, in Hep- pner on Dec. 15. According to a press release from the sheriff’s office, in the early morning hours of Saturday, jail staff were making rounds when they discovered Bowles dead in his bed. “At this time, there is no apparent evidence of foul play,” the release stated. The sheriff’s office is investi- gating the cause of death. Hansell to serve on five committees for 2021 legislative session SALEM — Veteran Eastern Oregon Republican leg- islator Bill Hansell received five committee assignments for the Oregon Senate for the upcoming 2021 Legisla- ture, according to a Thursday, Jan. 7, press release. Hansell, entering his ninth year as a state senator, will serve as vice-chair of labor and business, as well as on the redistricting committee, the joint committee on ways and means, the public safety subcommittee and the transportation and economic development subcommittee. “I’m excited about my committee assignments and honored to get to work on behalf of the voters of North- east Oregon,” Hansell. “With COVID-19 recovery and budget cuts there are a lot of challenges ahead of Oregon, but I look forward to meeting those challenges head-on.” Hansell represents Senate District 29, which com- prises all of Gilliam, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union and Wallowa counties, as well as parts of Wasco County. The 2021 Oregon Legislature begins its session on Tuesday, Jan. 19. — EO Media Group More COVID-19 vaccine arriving in Wallowa County, but availability limited County hits 92 COVID-19 cases after highest one-day total in two months By RONALD BOND Wallowa County Chieftain ENTERPRISE — More and more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are arriving in Wallowa County. But the opportunity to get inoculated is not available to the general public yet. That was a point of emphasis for Wallowa Memorial Hospital Communications Director Brooke Pace in an interview with the Chieftain Friday, Jan. 8, noting she received numerous calls from residents on when they will be able to get vaccinated. “We just want to stress that this isn’t open to the general public yet,” Pace said. The Oregon Health Authority dictates the rollout of the vac- cine — in particular, who is eli- gible to get it. The state is in the first part of Phase 1A of vaccina- Brooke Pace/Wallowa Memorial Hospital Ruthie Mann, infection control of- ficer at Wallowa Memorial Hospi- tal, Enterprise, holds a case of the Moderna vaccine Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. The county has received 500 doses of the vaccine as of Fri- day, Jan. 8, 2021. tion, meaning health care workers, residents and staff at long-term care facilities and first responders receive the vaccine first. “This is a state rule. This is not a county rule,” Pace said. “We are just following the rules. We have a lot of people who are upset they don’t qualify yet. We’re not just cherry picking, we’re following the state guidelines. We’ll con- tinue to do so as we receive more doses.” The simple answer for why the general public cannot yet get the vaccine is supply and demand. “The No. 1 reason for that is because demand far outweighs supply at this point in time,” Pace said. “Every state has a vac- cine sequencing plan in effect to address those who are the highest risk and the most vulnerable to make sure those people are the first to receive the supply. Not everyone agrees with that assess- ment, but that is what has been put forth by the Oregon Health Authority.” Health care workers are at the top of the list because of their likelihood to be in proximity to someone with COVID-19, fol- lowed then by those living and working in a long-term care facility. As of Friday morning, Pace said there have been 160 doses of the vaccine administered in Wal- lowa County to those in Phase 1A. The county just received another shipment of 100 doses, raising the total dose count distributed to the county to 500. Until this week, part of what Wallowa County had was to be held to use as second doses — given 28 days later — to complete the inoculation process. Pace said, though, the county has received guidance it could now use those as first doses, opening the door for further movement through Phase 1A. “That number (of vaccinations given) will go up significantly beginning next week now that we have clearance to be able to vacci- nate people who fall into group 3 and 4 in the Phase 1A,” Pace said. That, Pace said, led to rush to schedule shots for those on the lower tier of Phase 1A. She added the hope is for all Phase 1A initial vaccinations to be given within the next two weeks. Second-dose administration is set to begin Jan. 19. The county does have some autonomy on when it can move from one phase to the next, but who is in the next phase is not yet set by the state. OHA in a press release Thursday said the state’s Vaccine Advisory Committee will “co-create a vac- cine sequencing plan focused on health equity to ensure the state’s vaccine distribution plan meets the needs of populations who are most at-risk and hardest hit by the pandemic.” OHA said the next group to be made eligible for vaccination will be educators in pre-K through 12th grade. How many doses are on-hand also plays a role in how the county moves through phases. As for when vaccines possibly could be available to the general public? “We have absolutely no idea or indication at this time, because it relies on a multitude of factors,” Pace said. “It relies on the federal supply that is allo- cated to the state and then the supply that is allocated to Wal- lowa County. We haven’t seen manufacturing projections to even forecast what might be coming down the pipeline and in what time frame.”
