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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 2021)
2A — THE OBSERVER Today in History Today is Tuesday, Jan. 26, the 26th day of 2021. There are 339 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On Jan. 26, 2020, NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others were killed when their helicopter plunged into a steep hillside in dense morning fog in Southern California; the former Lakers star was 41. ON THIS DATE: In 1907, Congress passed the Tillman Act, which pro- hibited corporations from making direct campaign contributions to federal election candidates. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Dr. Janet G. Travell to be his per- sonal physician; she was the first woman to hold the job. In 1962, the United States launched Ranger 3 to land scientific instruments on the moon — but the probe ended up missing its target by more than 22,000 miles. In 1988, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Phantom of the Opera” opened at Broadway’s Majestic Theater. In 1992, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton, appearing with his wife, Hillary, on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” acknowl- edged “causing pain in my marriage,” but said past problems were not relevant to the campaign. In 1993, Vaclav Havel was elected president of the newly formed Czech Republic. In 1994, a scare occurred during a visit to Sydney, Australia, by Britain’s Prince Charles as college student David Kang lunged at the prince, firing two blank shots from a starter’s pistol. In 2005, a man parked his SUV on railroad tracks in Glendale, California, setting off a crash of two commuter trains that killed 11 people. In 2009, Nadya Suleman gave birth in California to six boys and two girls; criticism came after the public learned that the unemployed, single mother had gotten pregnant with the octuplets and six elder children through in vitro fertilization. CORRECTION The business story that ran Thursday, Jan. 21, about 1917 Lumber in Wallowa County con- tained inaccurate infor- mation. The business is not the only lumberyard in Wallowa County. TuESday, JanuaRy 26, 2021 LOCAL/REGION Volunteers offer time, resources to fix trail Local group works to improve Red Apple Trail in MERA By KALEB LAY The Observer LA GRANDE — A sec- tion of trail in the Mount Emily Recreation Area got a facelift last week thanks to the generosity of some local outdoor enthusiasts. Volunteers with the Blue Mountain Singletrack Trails Club chipped in their time to improve a section of the Red Apple Trail, notorious for becoming swampy in the spring months. “There’s a section that goes through a meadow, and in the spring and the fall, it’s just like a mud pit,” said Sean Lerner, a member of the club’s board of direc- tors. “It’s been something that’s on the list of things to fix for a long time.” Lerner said the Trails Club had been considering looking for grant money to pay for the repairs until a benefactor stepped in to donate a load of gravel toward the effort. After that, all it took was people willing to work to improve the trail, and club members Sean Lerner, Blue Mountain Singletrack Trails Club/Contributed Photo Sean Lerner, Blue Mountain Singletrack Trails Club/Contributed Photo Members of the Blue Mountain Singletrack Trails Club work Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, to repair the Red Apple Trail in the Mount Emily Recreation Area outside La Grande. Blue Mountain Singletrack Trails Club member Mike Ri- ley unloads gravel Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, for fellow club members to make repairs to the Red Apple Trail. stepped up to fill the role. “One of our club mem- bers, Mike Riley, who does local excavation work, offered to donate and deliver like 12 or 13 yards of gravel,” Lerner said. “So he came and dropped that off, and we had six of us throughout the day and throughout the morning going in and moving wheel- barrows and shaping the new raised trailbed.” Lerner said the Blue Mountain Singletrack Trails Club had some 150 mem- it has also helped build trails in the Anthony Lakes area. Lerner explained that areas such as the Mount Emily Recreation Area were an asset to the com- munity, both during and outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Especially now, during the pandemic, we’ve seen that we’re pretty lucky to have places we can go and do stuff in a way that’s safe,” Lerner said. “Even beyond that, we’re really bers, many of whom were families. He noted that membership nearly doubled in recent months, citing the pandemic. “Being outside really took off this past year,” he said. The club, which Lerner said was founded in 2007, was responsible for the ini- tial purchase of Mount Emily Recreation Area just north of La Grande. The club also does much of the non-motorized trail building in MERA, though lucky here to have such access to outdoor recreation that’s so close to town. It’s pretty well proven that even just going for a walk in the woods is good for your mental and physical health.” Those interested in learning more about the Blue Mountain Singletrack Trails Club, including a spring work day when the club encourages community members to chip in to help with trail repairs, can visit the BMSTC website at bluemountainstc.org. Hurricane Creek Grange finishes flooring project By BILL BRADSHAW Wallowa County Chieftain JOSEPH — After three years of fundraising, the Hurricane Creek Grange near Joseph has had its new hardwood floor installed, according to a press release. To make the $24,000 red oak project possible, the grange held chili feeds, dessert auctions, provided lunches during Jingle Thru Joseph and other fun events to start a dedicated fund for the flooring. In addition, some of the com- munity members made individual contributions as did some of our members. The grange’s contractor, Jeff Micka, waited patiently while the grange applied for grant monies to help finish the amount needed. The project ran into some unexpected costs, part of which was covered by a matching grant program offered by Oregon State Hurricane Creek Grange/Contributed Photo Bob Wadsworth salvages wood from the old red fir floor of the Hurricane Creek Grange on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, in preparation to install a new, red oak floor that was com- pleted around Christmastime. Grange that had a limit of $5,000. The Hurricane Creek Grange is now inviting the public to a “dinner to go” event Sunday, Jan. 31 from noon to 3 p.m. for a suggested donation of $10. Dinner will include homemade savory beef pie, refrigerated pickles and a sweet pie for dessert. This will be prepared and packaged ready to take home and enjoy to main- tain the safety of the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Barbara McCormack, public relations representa- tive for the grange, said the donations will go toward future projects grange members are looking ahead to. “We’re starting from scratch with our fund- raising,” she said. “We hope you come see our new flooring and plan to use it at future events.” The grange was con- structed around 1927 and the original 93-year-old red fir flooring served well for meetings, dances, ban- quets, weddings, funerals and many other functions. But after repeated use and necessary sanding and restaining, the tongue-and- groove wood had become so thin it was splintering and becoming unsafe, according to the release. Anyone with questions can call McCormack at 541-605-8233. Grant program would give $5,000 per month to Pendleton restaurants By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian PENDLETON — A pro- posed grant program that could provide Pendleton restaurants with a series of grants to help them stay open during the COVID-19 shutdowns now has a name. And a price tag. Following up on a Jan. 12 presentation with Pend- leton Economic Devel- opment Director Steve Chrisman, Cheri Rosen- berg, the CEO of the Pend- leton Chamber of Com- merce, returned to city council chambers on Tuesday, Jan. 19, with more details on what’s now being called the “Save Our Amazing Restaurants” relief program. Under the proposal, the city and its urban renewal district would spend $400,000 for the program. The program’s propo- nents argue that it wouldn’t just save a vital part of Pendleton’s business and tourism community, but Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Osa Lange, Left, and Alexia Miller work the front count- er at Great Pacific Wine & Coffee Co. In Pendleton on Fri- day, Jan. 22, 2021. The city of Pendleton is considering a grant program to help restaurants stay open during the COVID-19 shutdown. also avoid a significant drop in property tax rev- enue from the empty store- fronts that would pop up if restaurants closed down permanently. “That may seem like a lot of money to some, but the long-term costs of failing to act now, in this unprecedented time of need, will almost assuredly dwarf that figure over the next decade,” a slide from Rosenberg and Chrisman’s slideshow states. The program would pro- vide eligible restaurants with a monthly grant of up to $5,000 for four months. If a restaurant can’t stay open during a lockdown, the grant would turn into a loan that would be forgiven for each month it stays open after reopening. Should a restaurant reopen before the four-month period is up, they would be eligible for an additional month to help with reopening. The majority of the restaurants for the pro- gram are inside the urban renewal district, meaning the Pendleton Development Commission can use urban renewal funds for the pro- gram. But the proposal also calls for using money from the city’s community devel- opment fund to offer grants to seven restaurants outside the district. “If this isn’t the answer, we’ll just keep working,” Rosenberg said, calling the grant program “a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound.” Five thousand dollars is unlikely to cover all the monthly expenses of most Pendleton restaurants, but a couple of longtime restau- rateurs still saw a benefit to the program. Since the shutdown, Prodigal Son Brewery & Pub has dramatically scaled back its operations, now mostly operating as a growler filling station while it waits for the state’s COVID-19 restrictions to lift. Prodigal Son co-owner Tim Guenther said that even if the state began to loosen restrictions, he would want to wait until enough were lifted that reopening would make financial sense. Guenther said the grant program would help Prod- igal Son pay the bills on the fixed costs they need to be able to meet. Addison Schulberg, a manager at the Great Pacific Wine & Coffee Co., said his restaurant isn’t pushing for a full reopening, espe- cially considering the health risks of gathering crowds of people together in an indoor space during the pandemic. But he added that Great Pacific is still making an effort to pay its staff as much as possible despite a cut in hours. Other costs, like packaging, have gone up as Great Pacific pro- cesses more takeout orders. Schulberg said the money would go toward making long-term improve- ments that would help the restaurant come back stronger once it reopened. Guenther is also looking into using the down time for improvements like making some building ren- ovations and revamping the menu. The members of the council didn’t seem to have any major objections to the program. Councilor Kevin Martin, the chairman of the development commission, said the commission would hold a special meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 26, instead of workshop, meaning the grant program could be approved as soon as Jan. 26. Baker City plans virtual meeting Wednesday to discuss transportation plan Changes to 10th Street, Hughes Lane and Cedar Street part of proposal By SAMANTHA O’CONNER Baker City Herald BAKER CITY — Baker City has scheduled a virtual public meeting for Wednesday, Jan. 27, to discuss possible transportation improvements to sections of 10th Street, Hughes Lane and Cedar Street. The Northern Baker Transpor- tation Improvement Plan started last fall, and the city’s schedule calls for work to be finished by the fall of 2021. The virtual meeting will run 6-7 p.m., with the online link opening at 5:45 p.m. To join the meeting, use the link on the city’s website, www.bakercity. com/2289/NBTIP City officials are looking at potential improvements designed to improve driving, walking and biking on sections of four streets: • 10th Street from Hughes Lane to Broadway Street. • Cedar Street from Hughes Lane to Campbell Street. • Hughes Lane from 10th Street to Cedar Street. • Pocahontas Road from 10th Street to 17th Street/Chico Street. “This area has seen an increase in people walking and biking, and the plan will seek to improve facilities, safety and connections for these users,” according to a project overview from the city. “The plan will also address traffic safety and flow and freight mobility.” S. John Collins/Baker City Herald, File Baker City officials are inviting residents to attend a virtual public meeting Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, to discuss possible transportation improvements to 10th Street.
