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THURSDAY • March 11, 2021
• $1.50
Good day to our valued subscriber Laurie Larson of La Grande
Quarry
vote
delayed
Most callers oppose
project during county
planning group’s
hearing on Monday
By PHIL WRIGHT
The Observer
UNION COUNTY — The
Union County Planning Com-
mission held off Monday night,
March 8, on saying yea or nay
to the proposal to create a rock
quarry at the bottom of Robbs
Hill Road near Perry. Instead,
the commission voted to delay
the decision until its next regular
meeting, March 22.
The move came after about
two and a half hours of testimony
during a phone-in only hearing
to consider approving the plan
for the 250-plus acre quarry on
the property of James Smejkal of
Banks.
Curtis Shuck of Shelby, Mon-
tana, attorney for the quarry
applicants, represented the project
along with Smejkal’s son, Bob
Smejkal of Eugene. Shuck said
putting together the 400-page
application “has been a journey
of discovery” that has made the
project stronger.
The quarry aims to use trains
to ship more than 2,000 tons of
rock per day for more than 100
years, he said, and the application
lays out plans to control pollution
and curtail noise. He asserted the
regulation of quarries has never
been more stringent. Quarry
operations that don’t abate these
issues, he said, face severe fi nes
and even the revocation of oper-
ating permits.
He also said the project would
not be visible from La Grande or
Perry, although he admitted east-
bound drivers on Interstate 84
coming into the Grande Ronde
Valley would see the quarry near
milepost 256.
Still, Shuck said, this quarry
would be a model of “how quality
of life and industrial develop-
ment are not mutually exclusive”
and the quarry would be a “22nd
century opportunity here to be a
smart development.”
Bob Smejkal said his father,
who is in his late 80s, loves and
enjoys this property for all pur-
poses and its natural beauty. He
said the application’s big game
management plan, conservation
easement and forest steward-
ship plan are integral to how the
area would function. The project
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Taylor Gould, acting director of the Union County Warming Station board, rests against a refrigerator at the station in La Grande on Tues-
day, March 9, 2021, near piles of donated food and supplies. The station is set to close March 16 for spring and summer.
Warming station wraps up
Union County location will end first season in new home March 16
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The curtain is drawing
to a close on a pivotal chapter of the Union
County Warming Station, one lacking high
drama but fi lled with characters who have
stories of trial and inspiration to share.
The station’s fi rst winter season at its new
location in Suite B of a business building at
2008 Third St., La Grande, concludes the
morning of Tuesday, March 16.
An average of 13 people have been
coming to the warming station each night
since February after a slow start on Nov. 15,
2020, when one man was the lone guest on a
chilly night.
“That man told us he would get his
friends to come and the next night we had
fi ve people (he and four friends). He is
their guardian — he looks out for homeless
people in town,” said Taylor Gould, acting
director of the warming station’s board.
The warming station drew an average of
eight people a night for two and half months
after it opened, until snow hit in February
when the average jumped. Gould said snow-
fall has a bigger impact on the warming sta-
tion’s turnout than temperature.
“A lot of our people sleep in the woods
and when the ground is wet they come
here,” Gould said.
The warming station moved from a home
on Willow Street in late 2019 to its present
location for more space. The switch, which
required approval from the La Grande Plan-
ning Commission, stirred major controversy
with proponents arguing the warming sta-
tion fi lled a critical void and others con-
tending its presence would boost crime in
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
A note from a visitor to the Union County Warming Station reads, “I just wanted to take the
time to say thank you from the bottom of my heart and I appreciate you guys, your time,
and what you do. Thank you. Happy Holidays. — Trapped Traveler”
the west part of the city.
La Grande Police Department records
indicate the warming station’s presence
has caused relatively few disturbances.
City police, as of Tuesday, March 9,
have responded to 13 calls for service at
the warming stations site since Nov. 15,
2020, according to records from LGPD
Chief Gary Bell. The most serious calls
have been for complaints of loitering,
assault, trespassing, theft from a vehicle
and harassment at the site of the warming
station. Police offi cers, however, made
no arrests and issued no citations with
regard to these complaints.
“I would offer we have not had any sig-
nifi cant problems at the warming station (in
2020-21),” Bell said.
Bell noted his department has been in
contact with people living in the neighbor-
hood of the warming station and continues
to invite them to contact him if they have
any concerns.
Gould said the warming station and the
police department have a strong working
relationship. She noted La Grande police
See, Warming/Page 5A
See, Quarry/Page 5A
Redistricting hearings start despite uncertainty
Legislature working
without maps, data
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Despite no redis-
tricting maps or data to show
voters, the Legislature moved
ahead this week with hearings
on plans for redrawing 2020
political districts.
Ten hearings are planned, two
for each congressional district.
See, Hearings/Page 5A
INDEX
Business ....... 1B
Classified ...... 4B
Comics .......... 7B
Crossword .... 4B
REDISTRICTING HEARING SCHEDULE
1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Includes Clatsop, Columbia, parts of
Multnomah, Washington and Yamhill
counties.
First hearing: March 9 at 5:30 p.m.
Second hearing: March 20 at 9 a.m.
2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Includes Deschutes, Umatilla,
Jackson, Baker, Crook, Gilliam,
Grant, Harney, Hood River, Jefferson,
Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Morrow,
Sherman, Union, Wallowa, Wasco
and Wheeler counties and parts of
Josephine County
First hearing: March 10, 5:30 p.m.
Second hearing: March 20, 1 p.m.
WEATHER
Dear Abby .... 8B
Horoscope .... 4B
Letters ........... 4A
Lottery........... 3A
SATURDAY
Obituaries ..... 3A
Opinion ......... 4A
Spiritual ........ 6A
Sudoku ......... 7B
COVID-19 UPDATE
3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Includes parts of Multnomah and
Clackamas counties
First hearing: March 11, 5:30 p.m.
Second hearing: April 10, 9 a.m.
4TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Coos, Curry, Douglas and Lane coun-
ties and parts of Benton Linn and
Josephine counties
First hearing: March 16, 5:30 p.m.
Second hearing: April 10, noon
5TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Includes parts of Benton, parts of
Clackamas, Lincoln, Marion, parts
of Multnomah, Polk and Tillamook
counties
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Friday
22 LOW
53/25
Cold
Sunny
First hearing: March 18, 5:30 p.m.
Second hearing: April 10, 3 p.m.
MORE INFORMATION
Legislature’s redistricting web-
site: www.oregonlegislature.gov/
redistricting/
Map to locate your legislative and
congressional representatives: www.
oregonlegislature.gov/fi ndyourlegis-
lator/leg-districts.html
Sign up to testify online or submit
written comments: olis.oregonleg-
islature.gov/liz/2021R1/Committees/
SRED/Overview
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 30
3 sections, 22 pages
La Grande, Oregon
Email story ideas
to news@lagrande
observer.com.
More contact info
on Page 4A.
Online at lagrandeobserver.com