2A — THE OBSERVER
SaTuRday, JanuaRy 30, 2021
LOCAL/REGION
Today in
History
Low clouds and sunny highlights
Today is Saturday, Jan.
30, the 30th day of 2021.
There are 335 days left in
the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN
HISTORY:
On Jan. 30, 1948, Indian
political and spiritual leader
Mohandas K. Gandhi, 78,
was shot and killed in New
Delhi by Nathuram Godse a
Hindu extremist. (Godse and
a co-conspirator were later
executed.)
ON THIS DATE:
In 1649, England’s King
Charles I was executed for
high treason.
In 1862, the ironclad USS
Monitor was launched from
the Continental Iron Works
in Greenpoint, New York,
during the Civil War.
In 1933, Adolf Hitler
became chancellor of Ger-
many.
In 1945, during World War
II, a Soviet submarine torpe-
doed the German ship MV
Wilhelm Gustloff in the Bal-
tic Sea with the loss of more
than 9,000 lives, most of
them war refugees; roughly
1,000 people survived.
In 1968, the Tet Offensive
began during the Vietnam
War as Communist forces
launched surprise attacks
against South Vietnamese
towns and cities; although
the Communists were beat-
en back, the offensive was
seen as a major setback for
the U.S. and its allies.
In 1974, President Richard
Nixon pledged to rein in
rising prices without the
“harsh medicine of reces-
sion” and establish a nation-
al health care plan that every
American could afford.
CORRECTIONS
The business story
on the Lee’s Beans
coffee stand in Cove in
the Thursday, Jan. 28,
2021, edition of The
Observer misspelled the
name of the stand’s man-
ager, Teara Howard. The
Observer regrets the
error.
The business story on
Back Achers building
supply in the Thursday,
Jan. 28, 2021, business
section of The Observer
contained errors. Owner
Ben Deal’s son Jack
Deal’s in-laws own Little
Bear Drive-in in Wal-
lowa. Ben Deal had three
sons and two daugh-
ters and all but one son
helped in the store. Deal
started his first business
in Berkeley, California.
The storefront downtown
is 10,000 square feet, and
Jack Deal is putting in a
flea market in the semi-
trailers at the main store.
Phil Wright/The Observer
Low clouds touch the tops of the peaks while the sun peeks through and reaches the lowlands north of La Grande the morning of Thursday, Jan. 28,
2021.
Locals ride in virtual Inauguration Day parade
By KALEB LAY
The Observer
UNION COUNTY
— In lieu of a traditional
parade in Washington,
D.C., for the Jan. 20 inau-
guration of President Joe
Biden, people gathered
in small groups across
the nation to take part in
a virtual “parade across
America.” In Oregon,
members of the American
Sidesaddle Association
with deep Union County
roots participated.
Julie Murphy, formerly
of La Grande, was one of
eight riders who donned
costumes themed in Orego-
nian blue and gold, sham-
pooed her steed and rode in
honor of the nation on Jan.
20. Her mother, daughter
and grandson joined the
parade as well.
“With the election
and everything, how the
country is so divided
and so split — some of
us are Republican, some
of us are Democrat, we
ride together, we’re great
friends — when we were
asked if we wanted to par-
ticipate, we decided repre-
senting Oregon was abso-
lutely awesome,” Murphy
said. “It was a great honor
Marie Rampton/American Sidesaddle Association
Three generations of Oregonians dress in blue and gold in honor of their home state. Del-
aney Kenney (from left), Barbara Baum and Julie Murphy took part in a virtual inaugural
parade across America on Jan. 20, 2021, as Joe Biden became the 46th President of the
United States. Murphy is Baum’s mother and a longtime Union County resident.
to do that. All of us partic-
ipated just because we love
our country. We’re proud of
being from Oregon, and it
was a thing to do where we
could show other people
that we can be united, and
we hope other people will
be as well.”
The group’s efforts even
garnered a shoutout from
Gov. Kate Brown, who
offered congratulations to
the group on her Facebook
page.
Murphys’s mother,
89-year-old Barbara Baum,
a longtime county resident
and Union native, hefted
the Oregon state flag along-
side Old Glory as the group
walked and rode in proces-
sion to honor the nation on
Inauguration Day.
Public Safety Report
158 units donated at LG blood drive
WEDNESDAY,
JAN. 27
By DICK MASON
8:08 a.m. — La Grande
police responded to the
1000 block of 13th Street
on a report of possible
fraud. An officer resolved
the situation.
11:55 a.m. — A resi-
dent on the 67800 block of
Craig Loop, Summerville,
reported a hit-and-run
to a fence. A Union
County sheriff’s deputy
made contact and logged
information.
2:33 p.m. — A caller on
the 200 block of Terrace
Avenue, La Grande, asked
to speak to law enforce-
ment about a possible
restraining order violation
and a welfare check. An
officer will attempt to con-
tact the other party.
3:46 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to the
1600 block of Adams
Avenue for a female cre-
ating a disturbance. She
moved on.
6:28 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to the
400 block of Adams
Avenue on a report of a
male waving around a
shovel. The person told
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
Red Cross-operated La
Grande Community Blood
Drive is off to a promising
start for 2021.
A two-day drive Tuesday
and Wednesday, Jan. 26 and
Jan. 27, collected 158 units
of blood. This was two
short of the drive’s goal of
160 units — still the effort
puts it on pace to get its
highest total in at least 20
years, said Sheldon Strand,
co-coordinator, with his
wife, Linda, of the La
Grande blood draw.
A total of 643 units
of blood were donated to
the La Grande Commu-
nity Blood Drive in 2020.
Four more blood drives are
scheduled in La Grande
for 2021. If the most recent
rate of donations continues
through the year, the com-
munity effort will collect
790 units, well over last
year’s mark.
Sheldon Strand said the
drive this week likely would
have reached the goal of
160 if not for icy road con-
ditions on Wednesday.
“That kept some people
from coming,” he said.
The blood the Red Cross
collects at drives in La
Grande is normally used to
help people in the Pacific
Northwest. However, if
there is a major emergency,
some blood from this region
may be sent to another part
of the country, Linda Strand
said. Most people partic-
ipating in blood drives
donate one unit, which is
about a pint.
Three of the La Grande
blood drives conducted in
2020 were one-day events
and the final two went
two days. All of the 2021
drives will run for two days
because of the increased
local interest in donating,
Sheldon Strand said.
The next La Grande
blood drive will be March
30-31 at the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints,
1802 Gekeler Lane from
noon to 6 p.m. March 30
and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
March 31. Sign up online at
redcross.org/blood.
Baker County risk level might stay extreme
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
BAKER COUNTY —
Baker County might have
met one of the two require-
ments to move down from
extreme to high on the
state’s COVID-19 risk level
starting Friday, Jan. 29.
But though the coun-
ty’s rate of new virus cases
slowed substantially in
recent days, its test posi-
tivity rate might keep the
county in the extreme-
risk category for two more
weeks.
Baker County, with
16,800 residents, is in the
“medium” group, those
with a population between
15,000 and 30,000.
The risk level for medi-
um-size counties is based
on two statistics. Those are
the number of new cases
over a two-week period,
and the test positivity rate
during that period. If Baker
County has either 60 or
more new cases during
the most recent measuring
period — Jan. 10-23 — or
a test positivity rate of 10%
or higher, it will remain at
extreme risk. That category
includes the most stringent
restrictions on businesses,
including a ban on indoor
dining at restaurants, and
the closure of fitness cen-
ters and gyms, theaters and
museums.
County Commissioner
Mark Bennett said Monday
afternoon, Jan. 25, the
state’s preliminary figures
for Baker County are 66
new cases and a positivity
rate of 14.6%. Either would
keep the county in the
extreme category.
But Bennett said the
county’s tally for new
cases is 54, including 15
between Jan. 16-24. That’s
the slowest rate of new
cases in the county since
October 2020. He said he
suspects the discrepancy
is due to state officials
failing to deduct from the
county’s total any cases
involving inmates at the
Powder River Correctional
Facility in Baker City.
Baum’s ties to Union
County are as deep as her
ties to horseback riding.
Her father, Orville Roberts,
rode broncs and a white
horse named Stranger he’d
trained to do tricks at the
Eastern Oregon Livestock
Show, and Baum’s mother,
Ina Deering, worked at the
Union Hotel. After the two
married, Roberts worked
and trained horses for local
ranchers.
Barbara inherited a love
of horses from her father
and went on to become a
princess in the EOLS rodeo
court while attending
Union High School.
Her daughter Julie later
attended La Grande High
School, and the passion for
working with horses has
been passed down two gen-
erations further since.
Orville and Ina’s great-
great-grandson, Aidan,
riding since the age of 3 and
a member of the American
Sidesaddle Association,
also took part in the virtual
inaugural parade of 2021
— an event his predeces-
sors could likely never have
imagined in their wildest
dreams.
“We really enjoyed
doing it, and it’s not some-
thing we’ll soon forget. It
was very special and meant
a lot to all of us,” Murphy
said.
In their pandem-
ic-era participation in the
inaugural parade across
America, Murphy and her
group sent a message of
national unity and pride
and honored a rich family
history and tradition.
police he would go to the
Union County Warming
Station, 2008 Third St.,
Suite B, La Grande.
7:09 p.m. — A caller
reported a man was yelling
on the corner of Third
Street and Adams Avenue,
La Grande. Police arrived,
and the man from the com-
plaint about the shovel
again said he would go to
the warming station.
8:50 p.m. — Staff at the
Union County Warming
Station asked police to
remove a person from the
premises. Police responded
and the person left for the
night.
THURSDAY, JAN. 28
2:46 a.m. — A
caller reported a female
screaming at O Avenue
and Cherry Street, La
Grande. Officers checked
the area but did not find
anyone.
10:13 a.m. — A caller
on the 62200 block of Pea-
cock Road, La Grande,
reported an aggressive
dog. The animal enforce-
ment responded and coun-
seled the owners.
11:50 a.m. — La
Grande police responded
to the 1100 block of 11th
Street on a burglary call
and took a report.
12:30 p.m. — La
Grande police responded
to the 1900 block of U
Avenue on a burglary call
and took a report.
1:15 p.m. — A caller
reported the theft of a
trailer from the 10 block
of Highway 82, Elgin. A
Union County sheriff’s
deputy responded and took
a report.
5:04 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to the
2100 block of Adams
Avenue on a report of
a disturbance. Officers
determined this was a
landlord-tenant argument
and provided options.
8:57 p.m. — The Union
County Sheriff’s Office
responded to an Elgin
address on a report of child
abuse. A deputy took a
report and contacted the
Oregon Department of
Human Services.
9:10 p.m. — La Grande
police took a report of a
sex crime and furnishing
alcohol to minors.
Wallowa County records 100th COVID-19 case
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA COUNTY
— Wallowa County has
been one of the regions
of the state least-hit
by COVID-19, but late
Tuesday, Jan. 26, Oregon
Health Authority reported
one more case of the coro-
navirus, which is the 100th
in the county since the
start of the pandemic last
year. Only three counties
have had fewer cases, and
one of those — Wheeler
— is the only county
with a county-wide infec-
tion lower than Wallowa’s
1.4%. The county remains
at three deaths.
The vaccine has con-
tinued to reach people,
as now 325,473 doses
have been administered
statewide. In Wallowa
County, 710 people have
received the vaccine,
with 32 of them having
received both doses for
full immunization.