2A — THE OBSERVER
SaTuRday, JanuaRy 16, 2021
LOCAL/REGION
Today in Three LGSD administrators to retire in June
History
TODAY
Today is Saturday, Jan.
16, the 16th day of 2021.
There are 349 days left in
the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN
HISTORY:
On Jan. 16, 2020, the im-
peachment trial of President
Donald Trump opened in
the Senate, with senators
standing and swearing an
oath of “impartial justice.”
Trump again denounced the
proceedings as a “hoax,”
while House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi said new evidence
reinforced the need to call
additional witnesses.
ON THIS DATE:
In 1865, Union Maj.
Gen. William T. Sherman
decreed that 400,000 acres
of land in the South would
be divided into 40-acre lots
and given to former slaves.
The order, later revoked by
President Andrew Johnson,
is believed to have inspired
the expression, “Forty acres
and a mule.”
In 1912, a day before
reaching the South Pole,
British explorer Robert Scott
and his expedition found ev-
idence that Roald Amundsen
of Norway and his team had
gotten there ahead of them.
In 1919, pianist and states-
man Ignacy Jan Paderewski
became the first premier of
the newly created Republic
of Poland.
In 1920, Prohibition began
in the United States as the
18th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution took effect, one
year to the day after its ratifi-
cation. (It was later repealed
by the 21st Amendment.)
In 1969, two manned
Soviet Soyuz spaceships
became the first vehicles to
dock in space and transfer
personnel.
In 1987, Hu Yaobang
resigned as head of China’s
Communist Party, declaring
he’d made mistakes in deal-
ing with student turmoil and
intellectual challenges to the
system.
In 1989, three days of ri-
oting began in Miami when
a police officer fatally shot
Clement Lloyd, a Black mo-
torcyclist, causing a crash
that also claimed the life
of Lloyd’s passenger, Allan
Blanchard. (The officer, Wil-
liam Lozano, was convicted
of manslaughter, but then
was acquitted in a retrial.)
In 1991, the White House
announced the start of Oper-
ation Desert Storm to drive
Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.
In 2002, Richard Reid was
indicted in Boston on federal
charges alleging he’d tried to
blow up a U.S.-bound jetlin-
er with explosives hidden in
his shoes.
In 2007, Democratic Sen.
Barack Obama of Illinois
launched his successful bid
for the White House.
Ten years ago: Former
Haitian strongman Jean-
Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier,
who’d been living in exile
in France, made a surprise
return to Haiti as the country
wrestled with a political
crisis, cholera outbreak and
stalled reconstruction from
a devastating earthquake.
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A trio
of La Grande School Dis-
trict administrators are set
to retire.
La Grande Middle
School Principal Kyle
McKinney and Central Ele-
mentary School Principal
Suzy Mayes will retire at
the end of the school year,
Superintendent George
Mendoza told the school
board Wednesday, Jan. 13.
McKinney and Mayes will
join school district Business
Manager Chris Panike, who
also plans to retire at the
end of the school year.
Panike has been the
business manager after
joining the school district
in Nov. 28, 2006. Panike
came to La Grande from
the Ontario School District
where he was its payroll
clerk and had worked five
years. Panike said he had to
weigh a number of factors
carefully before deciding to
retire.
“I have mixed emotions.
I enjoy my job, I enjoy what
I do,” Panike said.
He ultimately decided to
retire, though, because the
move will give him more
time to travel to Southeast
Asia with his wife Linda,
who is from Singapore,
after the COVID-19 pan-
demic is over. The Panikes
recently celebrated their
35th wedding anniversary.
McKinney is completing
Dick Mason/The Observer
La Grande Middle School Assistant Principal Chris Wagner talks with LMS Principal Kyle
McKinney, right, on Jan. 14, 2021. McKinney is one of three La Grande School District
administrators set to retire at the end of the school year.
his 14th year as principal
of LMS. He earlier was the
school’s assistant principal
for four years and taught
math at La Grande High
School for six years. He,
too, said retiring was a hard
decision to make.
“I love my staff, I feel
like I have the best staff
in the district,” McKinney
said. “I will also miss my
kids.”
McKinney said he plans
to remain in La Grande
with his wife of 35 years,
Eva, a secretary at Green-
wood Elementary School.
Kyle McKinney plans to
maintain his ties with the
school district as a substi-
tute teacher. This will give
him a chance to do what
he most enjoys, instructing
students.
“I still miss being in the
classroom with kids,”
McKinney said.
The principal said one
of the changes he has noted
during his career is today
more grandparents are
raising students than when
he joined LMS 18 years ago.
“I take my hat off to
grandparents who are
raising their grandchil-
dren,” McKinney said.
Mayes has served
as Central Elementary
School’s principal since the
fall of 2014.
Mayes earlier served as
an alternative school prin-
cipal in the InterMountain
Education Service Dis-
trict for eight years through
June 2014. She has lived in
Union County since 1978.
Mayes said she has won-
derful recollections of her
tenure at Central.
“I have so many fond
memories of my time at
Central School. As I reflect
on my best part of being a
principal, without a doubt
I would have to say the
children,” Mayes said in
an email. “Watching them
grow up over the years
and become great human
beings is my greatest joy. A
close second would be col-
laborating with a staff that
have been as passionate
about children as I am.
I’ve also been very fortu-
nate to have been blessed
with incredible PTO teams
and an admin team that I
admire.”
Mayes said she is
looking forward to
spending more time with
husband Jerry Mayes,
a retired educator who
worked for many years
in the La Grande School
District.
“We have so much in
common and we both love
to travel and learn new
things. Our top three travel
destinations will be Italy,
Ireland, an African safari,
and of course a Disney
World trip with the grand-
children,” Suzy Mayes
stated.
Mayes also will be
devoting much time to her
family and volunteer work
in the La Grande School
District. She added she
always will hold Central
close to her heart.
Pandemic threatens funding to control noxious weeds
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — Wal-
lowa Resources is spear-
heading an effort to retain
funding for noxious weed
programs in Wallowa
County, despite funds being
diverted elsewhere because
of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are in the process of
seeking partner support for
a letter stressing the impor-
tance of Oregon Depart-
ment of Agriculture nox-
ious weed program staff
and the Oregon State Weed
Board grant program to
our region of the state with
the goal of encouraging
funding of these programs
that have been impacted
by the economic situation
stemming from the pan-
demic,” said Kris Crowley,
Wallowa Canyonlands Part-
nership manager for Wal-
lowa Resources in an email
Dec. 30.
After a deadline of
Wednesday, Jan. 6, to col-
lect the signatures passed,
Krowley said Thursday he
had collected at least 44
signatures from Eastern
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain, File
Andy Marcum, manager of the Wallowa County Vegeta-
tion Department, patrols a field just outside of Enterprise
in June 2020 to identify weeds he’ll need to spray before
they spread. The COVID-19 pandemic threatens funding to
control noxious weeds.
Oregon residents, land-
owners and other partners
with Wallowa Canyonlands.
The goal is to present the
letter to lawmakers in time
for the coming legislative
session that’s scheduled to
begin Tuesday, Jan. 19.
A copy of the letter
can be found at https://
www.change.org/
OregonNoxiousWeeds.
“For the most part, we’ve
got good local support,”
Krowley said, adding that
the WCP regularly works
with 30-60 landowners
each year to stem the spread
of noxious weeds.
Crowley said that
although the deadline has
passed to sign on to support
the letter, concerned resi-
dents are welcome to con-
tact their legislators and
express their support.
He said that in the past,
Wallowa Resources has
received two grants of
$75,000-100,000 each from
the Oregon State Weed
Board to help keep nox-
ious weeds in check in the
county.
“Almost all (of the grant
money) stays in Northeast
Oregon for contracting with
landowners to stop nox-
ious weeds, salaries, etc.,”
he said.
The letter, in part, says:
“In the past five years,
the WCP has received a
total of $486,715 in OSWB
funding for high-priority
noxious weeds such as
rush skeletonweed, yellow
starthistle, common bugloss
and meadow hawkweed.
This funding has been
matched by over $650,000
from private landowners
and federal funds and over
2,000 hours of in-kind labor
from private landowners.
Over 90% of this funding
stayed in Northeast Oregon
through wages, supply pur-
chases and contracting with
local small businesses.
“Results of this
important investment
include thousands of acres
of noxious weed treat-
ments, an improved rural
economy, prevention of
new invaders, strong part-
nerships to manage weeds,
increased quality and quan-
tity of forage for livestock
and habitat for native spe-
cies. Our success in con-
trolling noxious weeds is
just one of many examples
throughout the state where
the OSWB and ODA nox-
ious weed program staff
have been vital to mobi-
lizing resources for on the
ground work.”
It also acknowledges that
weed control isn’t the only
demand on state funding.
Still, Crowley said, the
demands on state funding
by the pandemic are felt
even by weed control
funding.
“It’s been taken away
or been substantially
reduced since the onset
of COVID,” he said.
Don’t toss envelope containing your federal stimulus aid into the trash
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY —
Cherie Ward considered
tossing the envelope into
the trash.
It would have been the
most valuable piece of gar-
bage in the sack.
The piece of mail that
arrived Saturday, Jan. 9,
actually contained a Visa
card that was preloaded
with the federal pandemic
stimulus payment to Cherie
and her husband, Bob, who
live in Baker City.
Cherie Ward said her
initial thought was the
envelope contained a credit
card offer.
“The kind you get all
the time and that you throw
away,” she said.
But she was intrigued
by the phrase “Economic
Impact Payment,” which
was printed in two places.
Ward said she read the
letter inside but was still
skeptical, considering
the prevalence of credi-
ble-looking scams.
For one thing, she said
the couple’s first federal
payment last spring was a
direct deposit to their bank
account.
“To get a Visa card in the
mail is strange,” Ward said.
Only after consulting
the AARP website and
calling her bank was Ward
satisfied that the mail was
legitimate. She and her
husband called to activate
the card.
Ward emailed the
Herald Monday morning
because she was concerned
other residents would
receive the envelope and
throw it away.
According to the IRS,
the debit cards are intended
to speed payments to
Americans. Some people
who received a check or a
direct deposit this spring
got the card this time.
In all, the IRS said it
will mail about 8 million
debit cards this month.
People who don’t receive
a check or a direct deposit
should watch their mail
carefully for an envelope
containing the card.
Unlike the cards mailed
last spring, these enve-
lopes include the Treasury
Department seal.
Logging company sues, halts distributions from COVID-19 fund for Black Oregonians
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — A John
Day-based lawsuit has
halted further distributions
of COVID-19 funds ear-
marked by the governor for
Black-owned businesses and
families.
The state’s $62 mil-
lion relief fund for Black
Oregonians will no longer
issue grants, as it depos-
ited the remaining $8.8 mil-
lion with a federal court
Dec. 17, 2020, as legal chal-
lenges to its constitutionality
continue.
John Day logging com-
pany Great Northern
Resources, which lists Tad
Houpt and Grant County
Commissioner Sam Palmer
as agents, filed a lawsuit
alleging race-based discrim-
ination when its grant appli-
EO Media Group, File
Tad Houpt, part owner of Great Northern Resources, ad-
dresses a crowd in John Day in 2016.
cation was denied. The law-
suit is ongoing.
Great Northern and
a Portland-based, Lati-
no-owned coffee company
and restaurant had asked
U.S. Judge Karin Immergut
to issue a preliminary
injunction or restraining
order to stop the fund dis-
tributing money based on
race, according to a com-
plaint filed in U.S. District
Court Dec. 11.
Immergut denied those
requests in November,
according to an amended
class-action lawsuit filed
with the U.S. District Court
Dec. 6. In those instances,
the Oregon Cares Fund
set aside $200,000 for
Great Northern if they pre-
vailed in their legal chal-
lenges, according to a legal
brief filed Nov. 10. This led
Immergut to find that they
couldn’t show the irrepa-
rable harm needed to war-
rant an injunction in a Nov.
20 legal opinion.
This time around, Great
Northern Resources — the
original plaintiffs in the case
— joined with Salem elec-
trical contractor Dynamic
Service Fire and Secu-
rity and sought class-action
status for the suit, according
to a complaint filed Dec. 6.
According to the
amended class-action law-
suit, the plaintiffs applied
for grants from other federal
and state sources but were
unsuccessful.
Great Northern applied
for a grant through two Ore-
gon-based community orga-
nizations designated by the
state to review and admin-
ister funds earmarked for
Black-owned businesses and
families, the Contingent and
the Black United Fund of
Oregon, in early October.
According to the Dec. 6
complaint, the online appli-
cation asked what per-
centage of owners of this
business identify as Black.
Great Northern answered
zero. The complaint goes on
to say that Great Northern
sued the state on Oct. 29 to
“stop them from enforcing
their racial exclusionary
policy.” The complaint states
the Contingent denied Great
Northern’s application on
Nov. 9.
The logging company
intends to reapply for a
relief grant when “the courts
enjoin the enforcement of
the racial exclusion that ren-
ders Great Northern ineli-
gible for relief for the Fund.”
Salem-based Dynamic
Service Fire and Security
saw their business go from
grossing roughly $40,000
a month to nearly $10,000
to $18,000, according to the
Dec. 6 complaint.
The business tried to
apply for relief from the
state’s small business grant
program in November, but
by the time they logged on
to the website they could
not submit an application as
the funds were exhausted,
the Dec. 6 complaint stated.