High above the hawks
In Outdoors & Rec
SATURDAY– MONDAY • March 13, 2021
• $1.50
Good day to our valued subscriber Leonard Erickson of La Grande
Sewer work includes eyes on the underground
COVID-19
Virus
takes the
life of
local man
Oregon needs big
influx of vaccine to
meet president’s
inoculation goal
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Logan Stanley (left) pulls on a line connected to a string of high-powered ultraviolet lights that snake through the sewer by Gekeler Lane, La Grande,
on Thursday, March 11, 2021. The company, Allied Trenchless, of Chelan, Washington, installs fi berglass sewer lining using ultraviolet light to cure
the fi berglass in place in the sewers, removing the need to excavate. Numerous cameras along the line allow operators to watch the progress of the
work. After the completion of the install, Stanley enters the sewer to remove excess fi berglass using a rotary saw.
Big change in works for archery elk hunts
Hunters critical of state’s approach to move to some controlled archery seasons
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
A major change to archery elk
hunting seasons in most of North-
east Oregon could start in 2022.
The Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife is proposing to
shift the archery season in 13 units
and parts of three others from the
current general hunt — meaning
there’s no limit on the number of
tags sold — to a controlled hunt,
with a limited number of tags.
In controlled hunt, archers
would have to apply for a tag
through the state’s computer lot-
tery system.
In June 2020, ODFW
announced the Oregon Fish and
Wildlife Commission would con-
sider changing the archery season
in all units east of the Cascades
from general to controlled hunts,
and for elk as well as buck deer
hunting.
But in August 2020 the agency
said the commission would decide
on changes to buck deer archery
seasons, but it would delay any
decision on elk seasons.
In September 2020 the com-
mission approved the proposal to
change buck deer archery hunting
from a general season to a con-
trolled season starting in 2021.
Oregon has had general archery
hunts in Eastern Oregon, for buck
deer and for elk, since 1979. Since
1983 the archery season for both
species has lasted for one month,
starting in late August.
ODFW offi cials have cited mul-
tiple reasons for proposing the
shift from general to controlled
archery seasons.
One is the increasing number of
archery hunters over the past few
decades. ODFW said the number
of archers hunting elk in Eastern
Oregon rose from about 12,300 in
1995 to about 18,500 in 2019.
Another is improvements in
technology, which allow hunters
to make longer kill shots, archery
hunters have higher success rates.
But because the archery seasons
have remained general seasons,
with no limits on how many tags
are sold, ODFW’s lone tool to limit
hunting to protect deer and elk
Gary Lewis/Contributed Photo
See, Elk/Page 5A
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is proposing signifi cant
changes to elk-hunting rules for archers in Northeastern Oregon.
UNION COUNTY
— The Oregon Health
Authority reported a
43-year-old man in Union
County died this week from
COVID-19. He became the
20th victim to die of the dis-
ease in the county and the
2,314th victim statewide.
He died Tuesday, March
9, at Grande Ronde Hospital,
La Grande, and tested posi-
tive for COVID-19 the next
day, according to the OHA.
He also had underlying
conditions.
Oregon’s COVID-1
death toll as of Friday stood
at 2,319, according to the
OHA.
A Baker County resident
also died after testing posi-
tive for COVID-19, bringing
the county’s death toll
during the pandemic to 11.
The Oregon Health
Authority reported an
85-year-old man in Baker
County who tested positive
on Feb. 22 died on March 6
at his home. He had under-
lying conditions.
OHA reported earlier two
Baker County residents died
after testing positive, but
one of those was mistakenly
listed as a county resident,
said Holly Kerns, a spokes-
person for the county.
Four Baker County res-
idents have died from
COVID-19 since Feb. 26,
according to the OHA,
including a 64-year-old
woman who died March 7
after testing positive for the
virus on Feb. 18. She, too,
had underlying conditions.
Union County had 12
news cases Thursday and
four on Friday, bringing the
county’s total to 1,332 con-
fi rmed cases of the disease,
according to the Oregon
Health Authority. Wallowa
County’s total is 144, with
no new cases Thursday or
Friday. Baker County had
three new cases Friday,
See, Virus/Page 5A
Island City preps for major wastewater system upgrades
$2.26 million project means city must
raise sewer rates to $45-$50 per month
By DICK MASON
The Observer
ISLAND CITY — The
Island City Area Sanitation
District’s collection system,
which pumps wastewater to
La Grande for treatment, is
set to get a major boost.
The district has
announced that $2.26 mil-
lion in upgrade work for
the district will begin
later this year. The district
board kickstarted a prelim-
inary phase of the project
Wednesday, March 10,
when it voted to advertise
for bids for the work. The
sanitation board will select a
contractor in April or May.
Karen Howton, secretary
of the Island City Area San-
itation Board, said the work
could begin in June and
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should progress quickly.
“We hope to have the
work fi nished by the end of
the year,” Howton said.
The pumping portion
of the district’s wastewater
system is deteriorating due
to age. The system relies
on fi ve lift stations, each of
which have two pumps. All
the pumps at four of the lift
stations must be replaced.
“These lift station
pumps are on the verge of
failure,” Howton said of the
40-year-old pumps.
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TUESDAY
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Most of the district’s lift
stations are in residential,
commercial or industrial
areas. The wastewater over-
fl ow pump failures in these
areas could put public health
at risk, she said.
Dave Wildman, the
project engineer, said it is
not unusual for the district
to have both its pumps at
a given lift station go out.
When a pump fails, oper-
ators must use a portable
engine-driven backup pump
on a trailer. The backup
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Sunday
27 LOW
57/28
Mainly clear
Partly sunny
PARKING ENFORCEMENT
pump requires hand oper-
ation, and staff must mon-
itor it 24/7. That work,
which Wildman said he
has observed, is time con-
suming and exhausting.
“It is not a fun process,”
he said.
This work is so critical
that Wildman compares
those called in to do it to
fi rst responders.
“They are on the front
lines keeping us healthy
See, Project/Page 5A
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 31
2 sections, 12 pages
La Grande, Oregon
Email story ideas
to news@lagrande
observer.com.
More contact info
on Page 4A.
Online at lagrandeobserver.com