RECORDS AND MORE
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021
PUBLIC SAFETY REPORT
COMMUNITY
Briefs
Republican candidate
forum live tonight
on Facebook
LA GRANDE — Union
County Republicans and
Young Republicans of
Oregon are hosting an online
forum with candidates for
the Oregon Republican Party
Executive Committee Thurs-
day, Feb. 18, at 6 p.m.
The forum features Sen.
Dallas Heard, Roseburg,
for chair, Josephine County
Commissioner Herman
Baertschiger for vice chair,
Sen. Dennis Linthicum,
Klamath Falls, for treasurer,
and Sen. Chuck Thomsen,
Hood River, for secretary. The
forum will be livestreamed
on the Facebook pages of
Union County Republicans
and Young Republicans of
Oregon.
Viewers can submit
questions for ask candidates
during the forum. For more
information, contact Alex
McHaddad, Union County
Republicans chair at 541-805-
2630 or me@alexfor.us.
Gardening class focuses
on natural pest control
COVE — Nella Mae’s Farm
is offering an online class for
home gardeners on natural
pest control. The class runs
6-7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23.
Market farmer Nella Mae
Parks of Cove will share
her best tips on managing
aphids, fl ea beetles, slugs,
deer, rodents and more.
Participants also will learn
which insects and wildlife
are garden friends and how
to attract and keep them
around.
Class fees are on a sliding
scale and all are welcome.
To register or for more
information, go to www.
nellamaesfarm.com/events
or visit Nella Mae’s Farm on
Facebook or Eventbrite.
Lottery
Megabucks: $1.9 million
2-5-6-18-31-45
Powerball: $56 million
20-28-33-63-68 — PB 20 x2
Mega Millions: $98 million
1-36-44-54-66— MB 10 x3
Win for Life: Feb. 15
13-33-37-40
Pick 4: Feb. 16
• 1 p.m.: 0-9-7-2
• 4 p.m.: 2-6-9-6
• 7 p.m.: 0-6-2-3
• 10 p.m.: 1-3-1-7
Pick 4: Feb. 15
• 1 p.m.: 6-3-9-9
• 4 p.m.: 2-8-7-2
• 7 p.m.: 3-9-8-1
• 10 p.m.: 1-7-4-1
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer, call
541-963-3161.
MONDAY, FEB. 15
9:10 a.m. — A caller
reported an assault on the
63200 block of Highway
203, La Grande. A Union
County sheriff’s deputy
and Oregon State Police
trooper responded. Law
enforcement separated the
parties, who then moved
on.
11:27 a.m. — A caller
reported a dog bit someone
on the 2700 block of Birch
Street, La Grande. An
offi cer responded and took
a report.
12:43 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to the
1900 block of H Avenue
for a domestic disturbance
at a residence. The parties
separated.
3:01 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to the 600
block of Y Avenue for a
domestic disturbance at a
residence. Police arrested
Samuel A. Longe, 50, of La
Grande, for fourth-degree
assault.
6:57 p.m. — La Grande
OBITUARY
police responded to a res-
idence on a report of a
person who was suffering a
mental health crisis. Police
provided assistance.
11:10 p.m. — The Union
County dispatch center
received a suspicious 911
call. Offi cers responded
and determined there was
a domestic disturbance and
the parties separated.
TUESDAY, FEB. 16
2:31 a.m. — The Union
County dispatch center
received a 911 call with
yelling in the background
at a residence on the
1200 block of U Avenue,
La Grande. Offi cers
responded and resolved
the situation, which was an
argument.
11:53 a.m. — A caller
complained about “inap-
propriate artwork at a busi-
ness” on the 1100 block
of Washington Avenue,
La Grande. An offi cer
contacted the caller, said
there was no crime and
explained options.
2:37 p.m. — The Union
County Sheriff’s Offi ce
received a report of pos-
sible sex abuse in Elgin. A
deputy responded and took
a report.
5:56 p.m. — A caller
reported possible animal
neglect along Riddle Road,
La Grande.
7:52 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to the
1500 block of Fifth Street
for a domestic disturbance.
Offi cers separated the
parties.
9:34 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to a resi-
dence on the 600 block of
Y Avenue for a domestic
disturbance. Offi cers —
again — arrested Samuel
A. Longe, 50, of La
Grande, this time for vio-
lating a no-contact order.
9:59 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to the
1500 block of Fifth Street
on a report of a domestic
disturbance. Police
separated the parties.
Upcoming local services
Van G. Brown
La Grande
Van G. Brown, 57,
of La Grande, died
Feb. 13 at his res-
idence. Arrange-
ments are by Love-
land Funeral Chapel
& Crematory, La
Grande.
Please follow guidelines
regarding face coverings
and social distancing at all
services.
Feb. 20 — HARRY
BIGLER: 2 p.m. military
honors ceremony, Union
City Park.
Feb. 20 — LORI GRE-
ENWAY: 3 p.m. memo-
rial service, Enterprise First
Baptist Church.
— calendar courtesy of
Loveland Funeral Chapel,
La Grande
OTEC crews helping in ice storm
The Observer
BAKER CITY —
Oregon Trail Electric Coop-
erative’s four-man crew
is working to help fellow
utilities restore power in
Western Oregon.
Communities in the
Willamette Valley and
beyond in Western Oregon
have been power after
severe winter weather
swept through the area.
OTEC in a press release
reported fellow electric
cooperative Consumers
Power Inc., based in Phi-
lomath, sent out a call for
assistance on Saturday,
Feb., 13 after ice and
snowstorms caused signifi -
cant damage to infrastruc-
ture throughout its terri-
tory, which extends from
the coast to the Cascades.
OTEC answered the call
for help as part of a mutual
aid agreement through the
Oregon Cooperative Net-
work, the press release
stated. OTEC in 2020 sent
a crew to assist Consumers
Power during the destruc-
tive Labor Day fi res.
“The cooperative spirit
is alive and well,” said
Mike Pommarane, OTEC’s
Director of Operations, said
in the press release.
“We take great pride
in our electric coopera-
tive family and are always
willing to be able to help
fellow members in need,”
he stated.
The top priority of each
local Oregon cooperative,
including OTEC, is service
to its own member-owners
and the safety of the com-
munities they serve.
Since OTEC has available
resources and manpower, it
made the decision to send a
crew into the storm to help.
“OTEC member-owners
can rest assured that if we
found ourselves in a similar
emergency situation,”
Pommarane said, “co-ops
from across Oregon would
be at our doorstep in a
moment’s notice to help us.”
Union County couple sues doctor,
hospital after man’s knee surgery
Mark and Lynne
Brown seek
$26 million
By CHRIS COLLINS
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — A
Union County couple have
fi led a $26 million lawsuit
against former Baker City
surgeon Dr. Eric Sandefur
and St. Alphonsus Med-
ical Center-Baker City.
Mark and Lynne Brown
fi led the lawsuit on Feb.
11 in Baker County Cir-
cuit Court. They are
demanding a jury trial.
The Browns allege that
Mark Brown suffered a
lifetime disability — the
loss of mobility in his
right leg — because of the
defendants’ negligence.
Sandefur performed a
total knee replacement of
Mark Brown’s right leg
on Oct. 16, 2018, at Saint
Alphonsus Medical Center
in Baker City, the com-
plaint states.
Mark Brown is asking
for economic damages
of up to $10 million for
complications he alleges
resulted after Sandefur
performed the surgery.
Mark Brown claims
as a result of an infection
that developed and con-
tinued to worsen over the
course of his recovery,
and which he alleges San-
defur was negligent in
treating, Brown’s right leg
has been left immobile.
Because of his immo-
bility, according to the
complaint, Mark Brown is
permanently disabled and
can no longer work as a
THE OBSERVER — 3A
certifi ed diesel and heavy
equipment mechanic.
The lawsuit claims
Mark Brown expects to
“incur economic damages
in the form of past and
future medical care and
expenses as well as med-
ical devices and imple-
ments, including pros-
thetics; past and future
lost wages and impaired
earnings; and past and
future substitute domestic
services.”
Mark Brown also is
seeking noneconomic
damages of up to $12 mil-
lion to be determined at
trial. According to the
complaint, Brown has
experienced “severe pain,
suffering, disability, anx-
iety, emotional distress,
scarring, multiple hos-
pitalizations, multiple
surgical interventions,
disfi gurement, loss of
self-esteem and perma-
nent limitation on motion,
together with interference
of all aspects of his daily
life.”
The Browns’ complaint
also includes a second
claim for relief against
Saint Alphonsus Medical
Center alleging that the
hospital was negligent in
credentialing and granting
privileges for Sandefur to
practice at the hospital.
The lawsuit alleges
Saint Alphonsus should
have known that prior to
Sandefur’s treatment of
Mark Brown, Sandefur
“had a history of surgical
outcomes that resulted
in the development of
infections.”
The lawsuit claims that
the hospital should have
performed “reasonable cre-
dentialing and ongoing
peer review” of Sandefur
to ensure the safety of its
patients.
(A $5.2 million law-
suit fi led Sept. 8, 2020,
in Baker County Circuit
Court accuses Sandefur,
Veronica Crowder, a physi-
cian assistant who worked
with Sandefur, and Saint
Alphonsus Medical Center
of negligence in connec-
tion with treating a frac-
ture to 6-year-old Avery
Martin’s right arm after
she was injured on May 5,
2018.)
As part of the Browns’
lawsuit, Lynne Brown also
is seeking $2 million for
what she claims is the loss
of her husband’s “society,
companionship, consor-
tium, services and sup-
port” as a result of the
defendants’ negligence and
violations.
In a fourth claim for
relief, Lynne Brown seeks
an additional $2 million
in noneconomic damages.
She alleges that as a result
of Mark Brown’s injuries
caused by the defendants’
negligence and violations,
she has suffered “severe
emotional distress and anx-
iety with depression.”
The Browns are repre-
sented by Brian C. Dretke
of the Dretke Law Firm of
Bend.
Sandefur is represented
by Connie Elkins McK-
elvey, of Lindsay Hart LLP,
a Portland law fi rm.
As of press time
Wednesday afternoon,
Feb. 17, McKelvey had
not responded to a voice-
mail message and an email
seeking comment on the
lawsuit.
Saint Alphonsus
Health System declined to
comment.
“Saint Alphonsus cannot
comment on pending liti-
gation,” Mark Snider, Saint
Alphonsus Health System
spokesman, stated in an
email to the Herald.
In a letter to his
patients dated Dec. 21,
2020, Sandefur announced
that “after 23 years of ded-
icated service with Saint
Alphonsus, I have decided
to explore new opportuni-
ties in healthcare.”
The letter stated that
Sandefur’s last day of
seeing patients would be
Dec. 31, 2020.
In closing, he wrote: “I
truly appreciate the trust
you have placed in me to
partner in your care and
wish you the very best in
health going forward.”
NEWS BRIEFS
Josephy Center
hosts online Black
History Month
discussion
JOSEPH — It’s Black
History Month, and the
Josephy Center will look
at Oregon’s own rela-
tionship to race and gov-
ernment in a virtual
discussion of historian
Greg Nokes’ “Breaking
Chains: Slavery on Trial
in the Oregon Territory,”
on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at
noon.
Nokes will
join this ses-
sion of the
Brown Bag
lecture series.
Participants
do not have to
Nokes
have read the
book. The one-hour online
gathering is free and open
to all.
“Breaking Chains”
tells the story of the only
slavery case adjudicated
in Oregon’s pre-Civil
War courts: Holmes v.
Ford. Through the lens
of this landmark case,
Nokes explores the his-
torical context of racism
in Oregon and the West.
According to a press
release from the Josephy
Center for Arts and Cul-
ture, Nokes drew on
court records and offers
an intimate account of
the relationship between
a slave and his master.
He explores the experi-
ences of other slaves in
early Oregon, examines
attitudes toward race and
reveals contradictions in
the state’s early history.
Oregon came into the
Union as a “free state,”
but it also came in with
a voter-approved con-
stitutional clause ban-
ning African Americans.
Many came to Oregon
with slaves, and others
tolerated slavery and sup-
ported politicians who
advocated for slavery,
including Oregon’s fi rst
territorial governor.
The Brown Bag dis-
cussion will explore the
impacts of this on Ore-
gon’s subsequent racial
history.
“This will be a wide-
open Zoom meeting,”
stated the release. “Bring
your questions and con-
cerns, and join us.”
Find the Zoom link at
www.josephy.org/event/
black-history-month-book-
group-brown-bag.
Union County
students named to
BMCC honor roll
PENDLETON — Blue
Mountain Community
College announced the
names of Union County
students who earned honor
roll recognition during
the summer and fall terms
of the 2020-21 academic
year.
To qualify for this rec-
ognition by Pendleton’s
community college, stu-
dents must be full-time.
Students who earn a GPA
of 3.5-3.74 are named to
the Vice President’s List,
and those who earn a GPA
of 3.75 and higher are
named to the President’s
List.
SUMMER TERM
2020
President’s List (3.75-
4.0 GPA): Tonya Evans.
Vice President’s List
(3.5-3.74 GPA): Paige
Barker, Loren Simon.
FALL TERM 2020
President’s List (3.75-
4.0 GPA): Stacey Adams,
Zoe Adamson, Wyatt
Erickson, Tonya Evans,
Alisa Fox, Carissa Gia-
La GRANDE
AUTO REPAIR
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Vice President’s
List (3.5-3.74 GPA):
Samantha Graham, Kath-
erine Oglesbee, Mat-
thew Orthmann, Mara
Sampson, Isaac Seg-
german, Sierra Teeman,
Kenzie Williams, Kelly
Winebrenner.
Free computer
software classes
offered
LA GRANDE —
Training & Employment
Consortium, La Grande,
continues to offer free
computer classes, with
online interactive Word
and Excel courses
planned in March and
April.
All classes are held
8:30-11:30 a.m., and reg-
istration is required. Par-
ticipants must have on
their home computer
a version of Microsoft
Offi ce 2010 or newer and
a microphone. Also, a
camera is preferred.
A one-day Intro to
Word class is set for
Monday, March 8. The
class is designed to intro-
duce basic word pro-
cessing functions. Par-
ticipants will learn how
to create documents; cut,
copy and paste informa-
tion; format documents;
know the difference
between the Save and the
Save As feature; and use
the spellcheck and the-
saurus features.
Intermediate Word, a
four-day course, follows
on March 9-11 and 15.
Students will review fea-
tures taught in the Intro
to Word class plus learn
how to create, format and
use the different features
of tables, place informa-
tion into columns, and
add graphics to a docu-
ment. The instruction is
entirely hands-on with a
lot of exercises.
Excel classes will be
offered in April. Intro
to Excel will be taught
on Tuesday, April 6.
The class is designed for
the beginning student
to learn how to develop
spreadsheets; enter for-
mulas that will calculate
desired rows and col-
umns; and enhance doc-
uments by modifying
fonts, font size and color.
Students may then
move on to the fi ve-day
Intermediate Excel
course, held April 7- 8
and 13-15. Participants
will learn how to create
graphs; use the abso-
lute function, subtotal
and comment features;
and how to use the soft-
ware’s more advanced
functions.
Call Lynn at 541-963-
7942, ext. 4, or email
lynn@tecteam.org to
register and get enrolled
through I-Match.
Training & Employ-
ment Consortium is an
EOE/Program. Auxil-
iary aids and services are
available upon request
(TTY dial 711).
“Real Food for
the People”
Open
Fri-Sun Take-out
Menu
5pm-8pm Updated
Weekly
www.tendepotstreet.com
541-963-8766
tendepotstreet@gmail.com