2A — THE OBSERVER
Today in
History
Today is Tuesday, Feb. 16,
the 47th day of 2021. There
are 318 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN
HISTORY:
On Feb. 16, 1959, Fidel
Castro became premier of
Cuba a month and a-half
after the overthrow of Ful-
gencio Batista.
ON THIS DATE:
In 1945, American troops
landed on the island of
Corregidor in the Philippines
during World War II.
In 1948, N-B-C T-V began
airing its first nightly news-
cast, “The Camel Newsreel
Theatre,” which consisted of
Fox Movietone newsreels.
In 1961, the United States
launched the Explorer 9
satellite.
In 1968, the nation’s first
911 emergency telephone
system was inaugurated
in Haleyville, Alabama, as
the speaker of the Alabama
House, Rankin Fite, placed a
call from the mayor’s office
in city hall to a red telephone
at the police station (also in
city hall) that was answered
by U.S. Rep. Tom Bevill.
In 1996, 11 people were
killed in a fiery collision be-
tween an Amtrak passenger
train and a Maryland com-
muter train in Silver Spring,
Maryland.
In 1998, a China Airlines
Airbus A300 trying to land
in fog near Taipei, Taiwan,
crashed, killing all 196 peo-
ple on board, plus seven on
the ground.
In 2001, the United States
and Britain staged air strikes
against radar stations and
air defense command cen-
ters in Iraq.
In 2006, Russia’s Evgeni
Plushenko beat world cham-
pion Stephane Lambiel of
Switzerland by 27.12 points
to win the gold medal in
men’s figure skating at the
Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
In 2019, the Vatican
announced that former Car-
dinal Theodore McCarrick,
who served as archbishop of
Washington, D.C., had been
found guilty by the Vatican
of sex abuse and had been
defrocked; McCarrick was
the highest-ranking church-
man and the first cardinal to
face that punishment as the
church dealt with clerical sex
abuse.
Ten years ago: Book-
store chain Borders filed
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection and said it would
close nearly a third of its
stores. (Borders closed all of
its remaining stores in Sept.
2011.) Huge crowds called for
a political overhaul in Bah-
rain, and leaders appeared
to shift tactics after attempts
to crush the uprising stoked
protesters’ rage.
TuESday, FEBRuaRy 16, 2021
LOCAL/REGION
More snow on the way as system moves in
By PHIL WRIGHT
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
National Weather Service
in Pendleton is forecasting
more snow through Tuesday,
Feb. 16, as another winter
storm moves through the
region.
“So we’re going on the
third storm,” said meteorol-
ogist Jim Smith, speaking
Sunday from the agency’s
office in Pendleton.
The NWS issued a winter
storm warning that is in
effect until Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Temperatures Monday look
to crest in the upper 30s,
Smith said, and Tuesday’s
highs are likely to be in the
mid 30s.
While temperatures rise
for the next couple of days,
there also will be more
snow.
“We’re expecting snow to
continue on through tonight,
tomorrow and right on
through Tuesday,” he said.
Locals in the Grande
Ronde Valley and Wallowa
County can expect 5-10
inches of snowfall through
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Jesse Aldrich rests against his car, which is stuck in the snow, on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021,
on Third Street and Main Avenue, La Grande. The National Weather Service has a winter
storm warning in effect for the area through Tuesday at 4 p.m.
then, according to the storm
warning.
However, Smith
explained, that does not
necessarily translate to
accumulation totals on the
ground. Melting and com-
pression can lead to lower
measurements on surfaces,
Smith said, and volunteer
weather observers are trying
to measure the snow when
it’s at a maximum depth.
“That’s what we’re trying
to catch,” he said.
Sunday morning, snow
was about 12 inches deep
in Cove, 9 inches deep
in Union and up to a foot
in La Grande. Smith said
the record snowfall for La
Grande for the month of
February was 19.7 inches in
1966.
Rob Brooks, another
meteorologist for the
Weather Service in Pend-
leton, said on Saturday if
residents should choose to
travel, they should prepare
their vehicles, bring warm
clothing and remain cautious
while driving.
The weather service
has warnings and adviso-
ries along Highway 97 and
throughout the foothills of
the Blue and Cascade moun-
tains, Brooks said.
Local roads proved
treacherous at times during
the weekend. The La
Grande Police Department
and Union County Sheriff’s
Office according to daily
police reports responded
to approximately 20 calls
about disabled vehicles, cars
causing a traffic hazard or
stuck in snow and minor
collisions due to the winter
driving conditions.
— East Oregonian
reporter Bryce Dole con-
tributed to this report.
Free snow removal service a weekend hit
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A
six-man volunteer snow
removal team made its
mark in Union County
during the weekend.
The team, using shovels
and other manual equip-
ment, cleared snow from
the driveways of between
40 and 50 homes in the La
Grande and Island City
area plus two in Union.
Almost everyone they
helped were seniors or
people who are physically
compromised, said Jaxson
LaFeber of Austin, Texas.
LaFeber and the other
members of the snow
team are age 19-21 and
with The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints
in La Grande for a por-
tion of their two-year mis-
sion work. As missionaries,
they are volunteer repre-
sentatives of the church
who engage in church ser-
vice, humanitarian aid and
community service.
The snow busting team’s
members began working
Friday, Feb. 12, after
Dick Mason/The Observer
Jaxson LaFeber, left, and Bridger Bodily shovel show in La Grande on Feb. 15, 2021. They
and four other missionaries with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints volun-
teered their snow-removal services and were busy as the snow fell.
offering free snow removal
service via Facebook.
“We had a good
response right away,”
LaFeber said.
The gratitude of the
locals they helped struck
him.
“Some people wanted to
pay us,” he said.
But the group
would not hear of it.
“We were happy to do
something to help people
for free,” LaFeber said.
The Austin resident
was joined in his snow
removal efforts by Eli
Sampson of Arlington, Vir-
ginia; Bridger Bodily of
Kingman, Arizona; Josiah
Moulton of Gilbert, Ari-
zona; Samuel Palmer of
Deer Park, Washington;
and Brian Wilkinson of
Dallas, Texas.
The team worked
through the early eve-
ning of Sunday, Feb. 14.
The biggest challenge the
young men encountered
was clearing snow from
a home with a four-car
garage.
“It had a huge
driveway,” Bodily said.
Wilkinson said he
wanted the people he was
helping to see there are
individuals eager to reach
out to others.
Moulton said the sense
of urgency he felt energized
him, knowing how crit-
ical it was to keep the snow
from hemming people in.
“There was an imme-
diate need,” he said.
The team will offer its
snow removal services for
at least another week.
To request their
help, call 541-216-8393.
One year later: Memories of digging out after flooding disaster
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Todd
Taylor knows disaster.
Taylor, a North Caro-
linian who oversees U.S.
teams from an international
disaster relief organization
called Samaritan’s Purse,
has experienced the after-
math of hurricanes, tor-
nados, fire and floods. In
2020, his teams responded
to deadly tornados in Ten-
nessee, flooding in Mich-
igan and Hurricane Laura
in Louisiana. They spent
three months in Southern
Oregon after fire ripped
through the cities of Talent
and Phoenix, and burned
more than 2,000 homes.
Even with one disaster
after another, Taylor clearly
remembers Pendleton.
Swollen rivers and creeks
had jumped the banks on
Feb. 7, 2020, and by the
time Taylor’s team reached
the area a week later, it
encountered devastation
and numerous flooded-out
residents who were still
reeling.
“When we arrived in
Pendleton, we saw hun-
dreds of homes with severe
flash flood damage from the
very rapid snowmelt and
heavy rains,” Taylor said.
The team parked its
semitrailer in the First
Assembly of God parking
lot to use as a headquarters
and got to work. In the next
three weeks, 209 volun-
teers (many of them local)
worked a total of 4,424
hours to clear debris and
prep homes for reconstruc-
tion. This marked the first
West Coast flood response
for the relief organization,
which is funded by private
donations.
Some images remain
lodged in Taylor’s brain.
“One home just out-
side the town of Pend-
leton was a farmstead that
was completely inundated
with mud,” he said. “It
was such a trauma for that
family, which had young
kids. To see the damage to
the farmland surrounding
that homestead, just
knowing they had a long
road to recovery ahead of
them.”
Taylor also remembered
the devastation experienced
by residents living in
Riverside Mobile Home
Estates in Pendleton.
“I remember that trailer
park and the utter dev-
astation,” he said. “It
was so hard for those
homeowners.”
Taylor said his teams
don’t help residents rebuild,
but rather to clear out muck
and debris and prep their
homes for reconstruction.
Some of the residences,
however, were beyond
repair.
“In Pendleton, we saw
homes that were washed
completely off the foun-
dation or sitting on the
ground,” he said. “Home
owners have to deal with
flood plain maps and city
ordinances. There may
be flood plain mitigation
that has to be done. They
can’t simply get a building
permit and replace their
home. The structure may
have to be elevated. It may
be damaged beyond a cer-
tain threshold that will
allow simple repairs to be
made. It’s a detailed pro-
cess to deal with a flooded
home. We don’t want them
to jump into things and
make hasty decisions that
could hurt them in the long
run.”
Volunteers spent their
days clearing away debris,
tearing off sheetrock, rip-
ping up flooring and pulling
out nails. They treated the
homes with Shockwave, a
chemical that suppresses
mold growth for 30 days
and gives homes a chance
to dry out.
Ray Thompson, a chap-
lain with the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association’s
Rapid Response Team,
which often teams with
Samaritan’s Purse, also
spent time in the Pend-
leton area with the crews.
Thompson, a Southern
Californian who had a
career as a fire captain
in the Los Angeles Fire
Department, has com-
forted victims of floods,
fires, earthquakes, explo-
sions, mass shootings,
tornados, hurricanes and
snowstorms. The common
thread they share is a par-
alyzing sense of loss. He
said he finds the simple
act of listening gets people
into recovery mode.
“When we listen, people
want to tell their story,”
Thompson said. “I really
believe that starts them on
the path of moving forward.”
DA: Murder, arson charges being dismissed in Grant County case
Judge rules
confession was
improperly obtained
By SEAN HART
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Murder
charges related to the
missing couple whose house
burned in Grant County are
being dismissed because the
confession was not properly
obtained.
Charges of first-de-
gree murder and arson
against Isaac Connery, 23,
and his mother, Gabrielle
Connery, 47, will be dis-
missed without prejudice —
meaning the state could file
the charges again if further
evidence is discovered —
according to a press release
Friday, Feb. 12, from Grant
County District Attorney
Jim Carpenter.
The charges are in con-
nection with the deaths of
Terry and Sharon Smith,
whose house on Nans Rock
Road near Mount Vernon
burned to the ground in the
early morning hours of July
17-18, 2018.
“This is heartbreaking
on many levels,” Carpenter
said. “Through Isaac Con-
nery’s confession, we know
who did it and how it was
done. The mystery is gone
but the accountability is, at
least for now, out of reach.”
Judge Daina Vitolins
ruled Feb. 10 the confession
Grant County Undersheriff
Zach Mobley obtained
from Isaac Connery could
not be used at trial because
state prosecutors could
not prove the confession
was knowing, intelligent
and voluntary because of
Miranda violations.
Vitolins said Mobley
never asked whether Con-
nery understood his
Miranda rights — the right
to remain silent and have
an attorney present during
questioning. She also said,
after Connery invoked his
right to defense counsel,
Mobley continued talking to
him in violation of the law.
“Once an individual
invokes their right to
counsel, law enforcement
must scrupulously honor
that request and stop ques-
tioning,” she said.
Vitolins said Mobley’s
testimony at the Feb. 10
hearing was “not helpful”
because he did not review
the interview tapes before
the hearing and often said
on the witness stand he was
unsure and would have to
review the tapes. She also
said a face mask blocked
the camera in one of the
recordings, and a bag of
chips blocked the view in
another.
Without the confes-
sion, Carpenter said in the
release the state had only
“limited circumstantial evi-
dence that does not prove
beyond a reasonable doubt”
the Connerys murdered the
Smiths.
“Rather than push for-
ward and risk jeopardy
attaching, the State will dis-
miss the murder and arson
cases without prejudice,”
Carpenter said. “Investiga-
tion of the case will con-
tinue and possibly other
evidence will come to light
that will allow the State to
proceed.”
Isaac Connery admitted
in an interview that he
took a handgun from Terry
Smith and shot him during
an altercation at the Smith
residence and then shot
Sharon Smith, according to
Carpenter’s release.
“He used gasoline to
start the Smith residence on
fire, then took the (Smiths’)
pickup and left,” Carpenter
said. “He drove to the Boise
area where he parked the
pickup, removed the plates
and rejoined his family on
their travels.”
Carpenter said Isaac
Connery later disassem-
bled the gun and put it in
the trash.
The fire destroyed the
home, but former Sheriff
Glenn Palmer later discov-
ered the remains of two
people at the site, Carpenter
said.
On the stand, Mobley
said he is required to stop
questioning a suspect if
they request a lawyer but is
not required to stop talking
to them. Instead of stop-
ping the interview, Mobley
said he told Connery how
he planned to proceed, by
arresting two of his siblings
and a family friend in con-
nection to the murders.