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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 2021)
Wallowa shop changes hands In Business & Ag Inside Get java to go in Cove, 2A MLB Hall of Fame shutout, 8A Follow us on the web THURSDAY • January 28, 2021 • $1.50 Good day to our valued subscriber Diana Bolin of Enterprise COVID-19 LG City Council sets course for coming year Drop in infections will allow Oregon to loosen restrictions Council members question $400,000 for business park amid pandemic By GARY A. WARNER Oregon Capital Bureau graduates by the state. The other three are now completing their graduation requirements. Elgin High School’s gradu- ation rate also is up, bounding from 75% in 2018-19 to 82.8% in 2019-20. Elgin School Dis- trict Superintendent Dianne Greif credited the increase to the ability of her staff members to focus on helping students fi nish graduation requirements despite the enormous distractions the COVID-19 pandemic caused. The state required all Oregon school districts to provide only online instruction the fi nal three months of the 2019-20 school year due to the public health crisis. “Our staff stayed on top of it,” Greif said. Graduation rates in the Cove and Imbler school dis- tricts were down from 2018-19 but still topped the state average of 82.6%. Imbler High School had a graduation rate of 85.7%, down from 100% in 2018-19, and Cove High School had a rate of 84.2%, down from 93.1% the year before. Cove School District Super- intendent Earl Pettit said Cove’s status as a charter school district sometimes hurts it in terms of SALEM — Falling COVID-19 infection rates will allow the state to lift some restrictions on busi- nesses and activities over the next three weeks, the state’s top health offi cial said Monday, Jan. 25. Oregon Health Authority Director Pat Allen told the Senate Committee on Health Care that the infection rate in Oregon had dropped to 5.1% for the week of Jan. 17, the lowest rate since late October. The rate has been steadily dropping since the fi rst week of January and has reached a point where growth in the daily number of cases is expected to stay rela- tively fl at or drop further. The rates means the state can move more of the state’s 36 coun- ties lower on the four-tier risk level measures. The latest two-week rat- ings will be released in the next two days and will show some counties dropping a level, while no county’s risk level is on the rise. “It’s the hard work of Orego- nians,” Allen told the panel. Allen said Oregon has the fourth lowest infection rate and the fi fth lowest death rate of the 50 states. Allen said that if the trend sustains for another two weeks, several more counties will move down the risk level scale, including some with larger populations. Gov. Kate Brown is also expected to make an announce- ment this week to allow some gyms and other indoor recreation to operate again. The lower rate of infection is good news as the state continues to struggle with obtaining enough of the new Pfi zer and Moderna vaccines to ramp up inoculations. The two-shot vaccines are the key to ending the pandemic that has killed 420,000 people nationwide, including 1,882 Oregonians. “Our real challenge right now is just fl at out not having enough vaccine,” Allen said. The state has received more than 492,000 doses See, Rates/Page 5A See, Loose/Page 5A By KALEB LAY The Observer LA GRANDE — The city council of La Grande held its annual work retreat, which this year took the form of two nights of hours-long video con- ferences, to discuss priorities for the coming year. The fi rst was a session Monday night, Jan. 25, of the council in its role as the Urban Renewal Agency on economic development that also touched on COVID-19 relief. During the second meeting Tuesday evening, the council set the city’s goals and priorities for the future. The council made no deci- sions during the retreat, but La Grande Mayor Steve Clements said the meetings were key in setting the council’s course for the rest of 2021, and councilors made their positions clear on issues from pandemic response and wildfi re preparedness to downtown development. COVID-19 response and recovery The city of La Grande already allocated more than $430,000 in funds toward COVID-19 relief programs for businesses, according to City Manager Robert Strope, and the council largely expressed a reluctance to increase that fi gure for the time being. “Currently, we still have quite a bit of money that’s available for loans of up to $10,000 apiece for businesses, and we’re still seeing some interest on those,” Strope said. Strope explained he expected the city’s role moving forward to be geared more toward serving as a “conduit for information” about federal COVID-19 relief and recovery programs than as a provider of its own such programs. Councilor David Glabe said he believed the council would be wise to keep some funds set aside to help businesses get across the fi nish line. “I like the idea that we’ve got some money set aside to help businesses, because I think we have to realize that we’re still fairly early on in the winter,” Glabe said. “For restaurants, as long as they’re still having outdoor seating or See, Retreat/Page 5A Dick Mason/The Observer Union High School students walk across the school’s campus on Jan. 26, 2021. Union High School had a 100% graduation rate in 2019-20. GRAD RATES RISE Union, North Powder districts reach 100%; Cove, Imbler see rates drop By DICK MASON LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATES The Observer UNION COUNTY — The COVID-19 pandemic is not proving to be an albatross overall for Union County high schools in terms of graduation rates, according to the Oregon Depart- ment of Education. The ODE’s annual gradua- tion report of Jan. 21 paints a bright picture for Union County high schools. It indicates gradu- ation rates for 2019-20 increased or were at 100% in four of its six public high schools and above the state average in all six districts. Leading the way are Powder Valley and Union high schools, which each had 100% gradua- tion rates. Powder Valley’s rate was perfect for the second year in a row. “We are extremely proud,” said North Powder School Dis- trict Superintendent Lance Dixon. Union School District Super- intendent Carter Wells said the Union High School’s perfect graduation rate refl ects tireless diligence by his staff. “Our teachers work before and after school with students who need assistance to make sure that they understand the content being taught in class,” Union Powder Valley La Grande High School Imbler Cove Elgin High School 100% 100% 89.4% 85.7% 84.2% 82.8% Wells said. “They make sure our students make it to the fi nish line.” La Grande High School had the biggest increase among Union County’s high schools, jumping 9.5% to 89.4%. LHS Principal Brett Baxter said the increase was due to his staff’s laser focus on helping students get to commencement. “This just shows that we never give up,” Baxter said. “We pull out all the stops.” So many opportunities for help are available to LHS stu- dents that Baxter said for a stu- dent not to receive a diploma, one almost has “to choose not to graduate.” The principal said at the end of the 2019-20 school year, LHS had seven seniors who had not met graduation requirements. Four of those students completed their necessary course work by the August deadline, allowing them to be counted as 2020 Gyms can partially reopen under new COVID-19 rule Local fitness centers weigh in on what it means as Union County remains in extreme risk category By GARY A. WARNER Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Gyms can reopen under tight guidelines to control COVID-19 infections, Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday, Jan 26. The new rules for “indoor recreation” were included in an update of county risk levels. Brown’s announcement means Mountain Valley Fitness & Health, La Grande, will be able to open again starting Jan. 29, said its executive director, Shayla Hewitt. Hewitt said on Jan. 27 she started getting calls from mem- bers not long after Brown’s announcement, and the calls are continuing to come in. She said INDEX Business ....... 1B Classified ...... 4B Comics .......... 7B Crossword .... 4B Dear Abby .... 8B Horoscope .... 4B Letters ........... 4A Lottery........... 3A SATURDAY Nation ........... 8A Obituaries ..... 3A Opinion ......... 4A State .............. 7A anyone who wants to exercise at Mountain Valley should call and make an appointment. Hewitt said Brown’s announce- ment surprised her because Union County still is in the extreme risk category for COVID-19. Moun- tain Valley Fitness & Health is part of a center at 2519 Cove Ave. that includes Mountain Valley Therapy, which has been able to operate while fi tness gyms have been closed. There was little movement among counties from their risk levels two weeks ago. Nearly all of the state’s most populous counties were among the 26 that remained in the extreme risk category. See, Gyms/Page 5A WEATHER The Observer, File Mike Wood, a La Grande resident and certifi ed personal trainer at Mountain Valley Fitness & Health, demonstrates the use of a leg press machine in June 2017. Starting Jan. 29, 2021, gyms in Oregon will be allowed to reopen under tight guidelines to control the spread of COVID-19. Full forecast on the back of B section Tonight Friday 33 LOW 40/29 Cloudy, a shower Rather cloudy LOCALS IN INAUGURAL PARADE CONTACT US 541-963-3161 Issue 12 3 sections, 24 pages La Grande, Oregon Email story ideas to news@lagrande observer.com. More contact info on Page 4A. 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