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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 2021)
Inside Bugs and buttercups Eagle Cap Shooters building new facility, 2A Tigers volleyball seniors, 6A In Outoors & Rec Weekend Edition SATURDAY– MONDAY • March 27, 2021 • $1.50 Good day to our valued subscriber Allen Sather of La Grande Federal COVID-19 relief on the way American Rescue Plan Act sends $9 million to Union County By DICK MASON and JAYSON JACOBY EO Media Group UNION COUNTY — Union County will receive $5.2 million from the federal COVID-19 aid bill President Joe Biden recently signed. Shelley Burgess, Union County’s administrative offi cer, said that is at least twice as much as the county received in CARES funding from the federal govern- ment in 2020. Oregon U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, Democrat, who voted for the leg- islation, touted the fi nancial aid for local governments during a Zoom interview with the Baker City Herald on March 16, prior to a virtual town hall with Baker County residents. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act includes $350 billion for state, local and tribal governments. The seven other incorporated cities in Union County will receive funds ranging from $30,000 to $450,000, Alex Wittwer/The Observer Ty Bowen places a stone on the go board during an opening sequence, or joseki, of a game at Brother Bear Cafe on Sunday, March 21, 2021. Bowen, along with a handful of others, play casually at the cafe on Sundays. Ready, set and ‘go’ Locals play one of the world’s oldest board games See, Relief/Page 5A Elgin Chamber awards honor eight By ALEX WITTWER The Observer LA GRANDE — On Sunday after- noons, a group meets at Brother Bear Cafe in downtown La Grande to play one of the world’s oldest board games — go. Throughout the afternoon, the local players trickle into the small cafe on Adams Avenue to play each other. Ty Bowen, the de facto leader of the club, is normally the fi rst one at the cafe. He started playing go in college. At the time, he would play matches against his roommate, Forest Farris, with a board Farris had purchased online. “He comes into my room one day and he had found some Buzzfeed-esque list of ‘the 10 philosophical arts that all wise men should know’ — something stupid like that — and one of them was the game of go,” said Bowen “So he buys it, we look up the rules and just start playing.” At the start, the pair knew little about the game and simply enjoyed passing the time between classes and playing through the evening. “We played, probably, 200 to 300 games never studying any theory,” said Bowen “He By DICK MASON The Observer ELGIN — Two people who helped open doors to the local past were among those the community of Elgin honored Wednesday, March 24, during the Elgin Chamber of Commerce’s awards ceremony at Elgin City Hall. Charlie Horn and Dina Allen helped reopen the Elgin Museum, and their eff orts earned them rec- ognition as the chamber’s Man and Woman of the Year. The Elgin Museum operated at the Elgin Opera House before closing for several years. Horn is the curator of the museum, which reopened in 2020 at its new loca- tion in Elgin’s former city hall at 180 N. Eighth St. He played a major role in cataloging the Alex Wittwer/The Observer Ty Bowen struggles with a diffi cult go opening his opponent Zaquarie Mendenhall played Sunday, March 21, 2021, at the La Grande Go Club’s usual get together. beat me probably 80% of the time, but we were both really bad.” Bowen later would end up meeting Zaquarie Mendenhall, a college student who also was interested in go, and who had been playing it for nearly seven years. But it wasn’t until the two met that Mendenhall played his fi rst live, over-the-board game. Until then, Mendenhall only had played online matches versus strangers. Unknown to Bowen then, Mendenhall fought for a perfect draw in their match — an outcome common with chess that is exceptionally diffi cult to achieve in go. After the match, Bowen’s interest in go grew, and he began studying and playing regularly with Mendenhall. Once he had grown in strength he began beating Farris, See, Game/Page 5A Bill barring fi rearms from state buildings advances See, Elgin/Page 5A By PETER WONG Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — All fi rearms would be barred from state buildings, and local governments would have the option of bar- ring them from their own build- ings, under a bill that is halfway through the Oregon Legislature. The Senate voted 16-7 on Thursday, March 25, for Senate Bill 554. It goes to the House after a debate lasting more than three hours and refl ecting the national arguments about gun regulation. Majority Democrats defeated a Republican-proposed substi- tute that would have affi rmed the INDEX Classified ...............2B Comics ....................5B Crossword .............2B Dear Abby .............6B “I think you are safer without a gun; the National Rifl e Association thinks you are safer with a gun. Neither of us gets to decide. The local community gets to decide. That’s as it should be.” — State Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland constitutional right to bear arms and required a study of gun-free zones. They also rejected seven other Republican motions that would have delayed or killed the bill. The bill would bar about 300,000 holders of concealed WEATHER Horoscope .............2B Letters ....................4A Lottery ....................3A Obituaries ..............3A TUESDAY Opinion ..................4A Outdoors ...............1B Sports .....................6A Sudoku ...................7B handgun licenses from bringing their fi rearms into state build- ings, including the Capitol. Some places, such as state courts, already are off -limits. Cities, counties, schools and other local governments would have the option under the bill to Full forecast on the back of B section Tonight Sunday 39 LOW 67/26 A moonlit sky Clouding up CROSS-COUNTRY RECORD SETTER bar fi rearms from their build- ings, although adjacent garages and parking lots are excluded. A ban also can apply to airport terminals; the federal Transpor- tation Security Administration oversees boarding areas and the shipment of fi rearms in stored luggage. Violations would be con- sidered a Class C felony, max- imum penalties for which are a $125,000 fi ne and fi ve years in prison, although unlikely to be levied on a fi rst off ense. The bill also would raise ini- tial fees for concealed handgun See, Guns/Page 5A CONTACT US 541-963-3161 Issue 37 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
