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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 2021)
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2021 THE OBSERVER — 5A DAMS Continued from Page 1A presence, how those bene- fi ts might be replaced if the dams were removed and how expensive it would be to ensure they continued. Ensuring that commu- nities whose economies depend upon the dams con- tinue to prosper is critically important, Simpson said. Simpson’s congressional website proposes a “con- cept” that outlines some advantages to planning dam removal now, and also pro- poses a timeline. The advantages of plan- ning dam breaching now, he noted, include the presence of Washington, Oregon and Idaho legislators in senior congressional positions, and a potential multi-billion- dollar federal infrastructure and clean energy stimulus package that could provide funding for his estimated $33.5 billion program. Simpson’s outlined con- cept includes developing replacement power sources such as small modular reac- tors as well as increasing transmission capacity. He proposes the breaching of all four dams be completed by the summer/fall of 2031. EOU Continued from Page 1A type of testing is especially important when students are returning to campus from many different areas after winter break, and may have been unknowingly exposed, or are already infectious but are not showing any symptoms.” Carrie Brogoitti, COVID-19 incident com- mander at Union Coun- ty’s public health authority, the Center for Human Development Inc., said the organization has a long- standing, positive relation- ship with EOU that has helped mitigate the spread of COVID-19 locally. “Of all the places in our community where there could be risk of spread or potential outbreaks, EOU has done a tremendous job of being proactive,” Bro- goitti said in the release. “They have great plans in place and have been swift to act in isolating and quar- antining COVID-19 cases to limit or stop the spread in our community. They have really taken it seriously and have worked really hard to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Contributed Photo Ice Harbor Dam on the Lower Snake River holds back Lake Sacajawea, a source of irri- gation water for 47,000 acres of farmland. Idaho 2nd Congressional District Rep. Mike Simpson is calling for a $33.5 billion program to remove this and the three other dams on the Snake River. As part of his concept, Simpson also is calling for providing a 35-year extension on licenses for all remaining large power generating dams in the Columbia basin, a 35-year moratorium on fi sh pas- sage-related lawsuits in the Columbia basin, funding for irrigation, agriculture and other measures to sup- port and bolster the regional economy. “I have found that replacing the benefi ts of the four Lower Snake River dams would be very expen- sive at a minimum of $33.5 billion,” he said. “How- ever, this may prove to be a bargain when compared to what it may cost in out- of-pocket dollars for fi sh recovery and future costs put on stakeholders. Despite spending over $17 billion on fi sh recovery efforts, Idaho salmon and steelhead numbers are not improving and will continue to get worse. Will we spend $20 billion more in the next 30 years only to have them go extinct anyway? The worse they get, the more we will spend.” Reaction to Simpson’s “concept” has been mixed. “These dams are the beating heart of Eastern Washington and provide the entire Pacifi c Northwest with clean, renewable, reli- able and affordable energy,” Eastern Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said. “Spending more than $33 billion to breach them – with no guarantee that doing so will restore salmon populations – is a drastic, fi scally irresponsible leap to take. I look forward to continued conversations with my colleagues on the importance of the Lower limit the risk to their stu- dents and the community.” She said EOU helped inform and coordinate many aspects of the pan- demic response, and the university’s presence in La Grande is not a primary reason for the county’s “extreme risk” status. “Over the last year we have seen COVID-19 activity and outbreaks touch almost every area of our community. In many of these instances, to the best of our knowledge, this activity has been commu- nity spread,” Brogoitti said. “EOU has coordinated their testing events with public health and these testing events have led to identifi - cation of cases, quick treat- ment, and immediate isola- tion to prevent spread.” EOU’s systems con- tained a minor outbreak in mid-January after stu- dents who had tested neg- ative began experiencing symptoms, EOU reported. Contact tracing found no employees or shared spaces were exposed. EOU assigned each affected stu- dent a caseworker to pro- vide wrap-around ser- vices. And a newly hired COVID-19 response nurse provided direct care and consultation for the students. Wiggins said East- ern’s COVID-19 case man- agement team is there to ensure students have the support they need. The response nurse is on the team along with represen- tatives from student affairs, residence life, the student health center and the ath- letic department. This team meets routinely to help provide support to all stu- dents who are in isolation or quarantine. Faculty also provided remote-access resources for students since the pandemic began last spring. Adapting in-class curriculum to suit remote and hybrid courses also allows students to self-isolate or quarantine if they are ill or potentially exposed to the virus. Evans said in the fall she had two classes online and four in person, but her roommates that term were taking all their courses all online. The fi rst week of classes for winter term were all online, she said, but now she has three online and two in person. Evans said she fi nished her high school classes all online, so she and other freshmen are used to this. “I don’t mind online, but I don’t feel I’m getting the best education,” she said. Face covering require- ments, physical distancing measures and daily health checks also contributed to the university’s ongoing capacity to offer in-person instruction. Free COVID-19 tests are available to stu- dents experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or who have been in contact with a positive case. How well EOU is han- dling the virus is not a big topic of conversation with Evans and her roommates, she said, maybe because by now students are getting use to the circumstances. Looking ahead to spring term, Evans said she does not see much change in the mix of online and in-person classes. She said two of her classes for spring term already are hybrids of online and real class time. “Hopefully in the fall,” she said, “we’re back to in-person, though.” Learn more about EOU’s When instructing his wrestlers, Hislop will use the power of storytelling to convey messages to ath- letes and salute previous stars, such as recounting how an earlier wrestler’s technique vaulted him to success. “He keeps (the memo- ries of) kids alive from the past,” Osterloh said. Hislop displays an almost photographic memory when recalling what his and other school’s wrestlers in this region have accomplished over the past decades. “He’s an encyclopedia,” Osterloh said. Osterloh also credited Hislop’s wife, Patty, with having excellent recall of this region’s wrestling his- tory. He said when Doug does not know something, Patty almost always will. Doug Hislop also draws upon the expertise of others. Osterloh said when he has a point to share, Hislop will note he was the head coach at Enterprise High School when it won the 2002 state title. Hislop does not know how much longer he will coach, but he said this winter has been diffi cult because he has not been able to be involved in the sport he loves due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I have really missed coaching,” he said. COACH Continued from Page 1A cutting, in some cases, to build connections. Hislop is not only a coach but a lifelong school teacher and administrator. Hislop was a teacher and principal in the La Grande School District for 33 years before serving as the superintendent of the Imbler School District in 2004. He took the reins of the Imbler High School’s wrestling program in 2007 and has continued as its head coach since then, even after retiring as Imbler superintendent in 2014. Imbler High had just one athlete win a state title in wrestling before Hislop came. Since then, four of its athletes have won individual state championships. Hislop credited much of the program’s success to support from his wife, Patty, and the work of his assistant coaches Ron Osterloh and Mike Camp- bell and earlier assistants Steve Anthony and Doug Noyes. Osterloh said Hislop is Ronald Osterloh/Contributed Photo The National Federation of High School Sports in January 2021 named Imbler High School wres- tling coach Doug Hislop the National Coach of the Year for wrestling. adept at using stories to inspire his wrestlers. “He has thousands of stories to tell,” Osterloh said. These tales help Hislop draw athletes to his team. “He has a magical ability to attract wres- tlers,” Osterloh said. Snake River Dams and solutions that will benefi t all users of the Columbia River System.” Conservation organi- zations and the Nez Perce Tribe support Simpson’s proposal. “More than 1,000 miles of clear, cold rivers and perennial streams fl ow out of Northeast Oregon into the Lower Snake,” said Christina de Villier of the Greater Hells Canyon Council in La Grande. “That means that our com- munities steward about 20% of the network of waterways whose salmon and steelhead fi sheries (an important part of our cul- ture and economy) are impacted by the four Lower Snake River dams. For that reason alone, we have a stake in what happens on the lower Snake. It’s our watershed.” Nez Perce Tribe Execu- tive Committee Chairman Shannon F. Wheeler in a statement Saturday, Feb. 6, said, “We view restoring the lower Snake River — a living being to us, and one that is injured — as urgent and overdue. Congressman Simpson, in focusing on the facts and on a solu- tion, speaks the truth — that restoring salmon and the lower Snake River can also reunite and strengthen regional communities and economies. We will support Congressman Simpson’s initiative and we respect the courage and vision he is showing the region. This is an opportunity for multiple regional interests to align with a better future for the Northwest: river restoration and salmon recovery; local and regional economic investment and infrastruc- ture improvement; and long-term legal resolution and certainty,” “It would be a tragedy,” Simpson said, “if future generations looked back and wished our generation of leaders and stakeholders would have taken the time to explore this opportu- nity to develop our own Northwest solution to pro- tect stakeholders and save salmon.” For the full “concept” proposal visit: simpson. house.gov/salmon/. 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