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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 2021)
LOCAL/REGION 2A — THE OBSERVER Today in History Today is Saturday, March 27, the 86th day of 2021. There are 279 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On March 27, 1964, alaska was hit by a magnitude 9.2 earthquake (the strongest on record in North america) and tsunamis that togeth- er claimed about 130 lives. ON THIS DATE: In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted present-day Florida. In 1884, the first telephone line between Boston and New york was inaugurated. In 1942, during World War II, congress granted american servicemen free first-class mailing privileges. In 1945, during World War II, General dwight d. Eisenhower told reporters in Paris that German defenses on the Western Front had been broken. In 1973, “The Godfather” won the academy award for best picture of 1972, but its star, Marlon Brando, refused to accept his Oscar for best actor. Liza Minnelli won best actress for “cabaret.” In 1975, construction began on the Trans-alaska Pipeline, which was completed two years later. In 1980, 123 workers died when a North Sea floating oil field platform, the alexander Kielland, capsized during a storm. In 1995, “Forrest Gump” won six academy awards, including best picture and a second consecutive best actor Oscar for Tom Hanks. In 2015, Italy’s highest court overturned the murder conviction of amanda Knox and her ex-boy- friend in the 2007 slaying of Knox’s roommate, bringing to a definitive end the high-profile case that had captivated trial-watchers on both sides of the atlantic. In 2019, Jake Patterson, pleaded guilty to kidnapping Jayme closs, 13, and killing her parents; the plea spared the girl from the possible trauma of having to testify at his trial. Facebook said it was extending its ban on hate speech to prohibit the promotion and support of white nationalism and white separatism. Ten years ago: International air raids targeted Libyan leader Moam- mar Gadhafi’s hometown of Sirte for the first time as rebels quickly closed in on the regime stronghold. Five years ago: a bombing in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore killed 65 people in a park crowded with christians, including many children; a breakaway faction of the Taliban claimed responsibility. The Syrian government recaptured the historic city of Palmyra from Islamic State fighters who had waged a 10-month reign of terror there. Eagle Cap Shooters to build new facility By BILL BRADSHAW Wallowa County Chieftain ENTERPRISE — Plans call for a groundbreaking in April for a new educa- tional building at the Eagle Cap Shooters Range north of Enterprise, according to a press release. The Eagle Cap Shooters Educational Alliance received a $50,000 grant from the National Rifle Association in 2020, and the alliance has nearly raised the required matching funds to pay for the new structure, said Stephen Wolfe, president of the alliance. “We’re almost to the deadline of $50,000,” he said. Wolfe said the alliance continues to raise money through donations and gun raffles, both on its website and at the Stubborn Mule in Joseph. “We’re planning on asking a group of people to come in and give some donations,” Wolfe said. “We’re almost there and we’ll probably need a bit more.” Gina Birkmaier, vice president of the alliance, Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain The Eagle cap Shooting Range north of Enterprise, as it appeared Monday, March 8, 2021, will receive an ad- dition of a new indoor educational facility thanks to fundraising and a $50,000 grant from the National Rifle association. said in the press release that the multipurpose building will provide an indoor facility for classes, events and training activi- ties. Classes will be offered to range members, law enforcement personnel, nonprofit groups and to civic and charitable orga- nizations, the release said. The current facilities at the range include a 1,000- yard covered rifle range, a 50-yard covered pistol range, a 1,150-yard black powder cartridge range, a shotgun range with an electric turret, and five competition bays. Wolfe said he expects the new building will take 60-90 days to con- struct, and septic facil- ities already have been installed. With a new education building, there will be a Don’t stay in one spot too long consistent location avail- able for such instruction as Hunters Education Pro- grams, concealed carry and range safety officer training and more. The purposes of the ECSEA include: • To provide educational classes. • To provide educational materials in a variety of formats and media. • To conduct related The Observer Phil Wright/The Observer a La Grande code enforcement officer marks a tire Thursday, March 25, 2021, on Fourth Street near cook Me- morial Library in downtown La Grande. The city resumed issuing warnings for first-time parking violations on Monday, March 22. after april 5, the warnings become parking tickets. By JADE MCDOWELL Hermiston Herald Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald darrell “Pete” Rollins poses with his Eastern Oregon Recovery center certificate of completion on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at McKenzie Park, Hermiston. EASTERN OREGON RECOVERY RESOURCES • • • • • • • Grande Ronde Recovery center: 541-663-4104 Eastern Oregon detoxification center: 541-278-2558 Eastern Oregon Recovery center: 541-278-2558 ext. 102 umatilla county Human Services: 541-564-9390 Power House Residential drug Treatment center: 541-567-2593 New Horizons: 541-289-0190 National Substance abuse and Mental Health hotline: 1-800-662-4357 atrician, to whom he con- fided his drug problem. His primary care physi- cian. The people at Uma- tilla County Human Ser- vices, who helped get him into treatment and have supported him in the outpa- tient phase. His probation officer. Those who attend Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings with him. His boss at Bud Rich Potato, who held his job for him while he was in treatment. He said he couldn’t have done it without his chil- dren, either. “I’m really fortunate my kids never turned their back on me,” he said. “That was my support.” He also credited the staff at Eastern Oregon Recovery Center for their help. He said they man- aged to “teach an old dog new tricks” and could see through his excuses and get to the heart of the problem. “I couldn’t believe the love and compassion they had for someone like me,” he said. While staff can’t com- ment on individual patients’ treatment, employees of EORC can talk about the facility in general. Eastern Oregon Recovery Center began as Eastern Oregon Alco- holism Foundation in 1960. The overarching organi- zation includes the 36-bed inpatient treatment center for men and women, the Eastern Oregon Detoxifi- cation Center and transi- tional housing. Located in Pendleton, it serves people throughout the state who are seeking treatment for addiction. Kati Jokinen, clinical supervisor for the recovery center, said connecting people to a network of sup- portive people and to com- munity resources for after they leave the center is crucial. They work with human services, Lifeways and other organizations to help “set people up for suc- cess” beyond the inpatient treatment phase. “We do what we can to make sure their needs are met,” she said. She and other staff said the pandemic has made some of that net- work-building more dif- ficult. Family and friends have to video chat instead of visit in person to protect patients from COVID-19 exposure, for example, which doesn’t always have the same effect as in-person interactions. Eryn Griffin, nursing superintendent at the detox- ification center, said she saw people come through her doors last year who said a significant factor in their relapse was that NA and AA meetings and other support groups had stopped suddenly in the spring and then took a while to get going again virtually or in small groups outdoors. “The isolation definitely played a huge role in a lot of peoples’ relapse,” she said. Darren Cole, execu- tive director, said he can’t emphasize enough that if people want to over- come addiction, or want their loved ones to over- come addiction, they have to understand that having a support system during and after treatment is critical. The road to recovery isn’t easy, but Jokinen pointed out that’s some- thing EORC staff know well — many of them are in recovery themselves and know exactly what it takes. Rollins said once he reaches two years of sobriety, he hopes to work in addiction recovery in some way, perhaps as a motivational speaker. For now, he’s focused on his newfound outlook on life. “I got my self-respect back,” he said, “and my life back and my health back.” educational programs that will educate people about responsible, proper, legal and safe ownership, storage, transport and use of firearms. The classes and pro- grams are open to all interested members of the public. The ECSEA is especially eager to edu- cate young people who are interested in becoming hunters, as well as those who are gun owners, secu- rity workers and those who have or want to acquire permits for concealed weapons for personal safety, their families or places of employment. For more informa- tion on the ECSEA, visit its website at eaglecap- shooters.com or its Face- book page. Member- ship fees are listed on the website. “We’ve been after this building for a lot of years,” Wolfe said. “I’m looking forward to opportunities we’ll have for hands-on training for youths and anyone else who wants to learn to handle their fire- arms. It’s going to open up a whole new avenue for us.” Gonzaga basketball program has an EOU connection By DICK MASON Treatment center puts man on road to recovery PENDLETON — When Darrell “Pete” Rollins entered inpatient treatment for addiction at Eastern Oregon Recovery Center in Pendleton, he didn’t think anything counselors there had to teach him would work. “I packed my stuff every day for the first 30 days, wanting to leave,” the Hermiston man said. One day, he said, he broke the rules of the center and was asked to give up his cellphone for a week. He asked for time to think about it and called his adult son, hoping his son would be outraged on his behalf and come to get him. Instead, his son asked him if he had really broken the rules, and when he said yes, told him he needed to own up to his mistake. So he handed over his phone, and in the process decided to embrace the recovery program instead of resisting it. “When I gave up my phone, that was the best thing I ever did,” he said. There were setbacks, after that. He almost left when his younger brother was killed in a motorcycle accident, before deciding his brother would have cared more about him get- ting clean than attending his funeral. But Rol- lins graduated from the recovery center in February and said he hasn’t used drugs since. He is thrilled. He said he’s happier, healthier and has a better relation- ship with his children. He enjoys more activities and has a steady job. “I wish I had done this 35 years ago,” he said. “The world has opened up to me.” He has a lot of people to thank — his child’s pedi- SaTuRday, MaRcH 27, 2021 LA GRANDE — Mil- lions of basketball fans are following the prog- ress of Gonzaga Univer- sity’s undefeated men’s basketball team as it con- tinues to steamroll its way through this year’s NCAA tournament. The face of its program is head coach Mark Few, who with a career record of 627-124 in 22 seasons is the winningest coach in Gonzaga history. Few does not have a Eastern Oregon connection but the coach he passed in 2009 to claim the honor, Hank Anderson, does. Anderson played for Eastern Oregon University, then named Eastern Oregon Normal School, in the late 1930s under coach Robert Quinn, according to a 1985 story in The Observer. Anderson later transferred to the University of Oregon and played basketball there under Howard Hobson. Anderson, who grew up in Burns, served as Gon- zaga University’s head bas- ketball coach from 1951- 72, compiling a record of 290-275. Gonzaga played in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics classification during Ander- son’s first eight years there before moving into the NCAA Division I category it now is in, according to a story in the Sept. 7, 2005, edition of the Spokesman Review by John Blanchette. Blanchette described Anderson as “the architect” of Gonzaga’s move into major college basketball. Anderson, who also served as Gonzaga’s ath- letic director, left the uni- versity in 1972 to become the head men’s basketball coach at Montana State University. He coached at MSU for two seasons before leaving to become North Arizona University’s athletic director, where he worked for 10 years before retiring. Anderson, who died in 2005 at age 84, was known during his playing career for an unorthodox, leaping, two-handed shot, according to the book “Shooting Ducks” by Howard Hobson. The shot was so successful, Hobson wrote, that Anderson was featured in 1941 in “Rip- ley’s Believe It or Not,” which then had a syndi- cated newspaper feature. Regional News Briefs Baker City man jailed after hit-and-run BAKER CITY — A Baker City man was jailed after he allegedly crashed his car into another vehicle early Saturday morning, March 20, and then drove away. Josiah Arenas, 19, is charged with felony hit and run, reckless driving and three counts of reck- lessly endangering another person. The incident hap- pened about 2:01 a.m. at Auburn Avenue and Oak Street, according to a press release from the Baker City Police Department. A woman told police that she was driving, with her two minor children in the car, when another vehicle crashed into her car and then drove away. The driver and one of her children sustained minor injuries, and her car had to be towed. Police identified Arenas as a suspect “with commu- nity help along with anony- mous reports,” according to the press release. About 7:45 p.m. Sat- urday, police found a silver 2008 Chevrolet Impala that is connected to Arenas and that had crash damage con- sistent with the collision earlier that day. Police interviewed Arenas at his home about 8 p.m. Saturday. Arenas admitted to being the other driver, the release stated, and police arrested him at 8:08 p.m. 13 inmates test positive at Umatilla County Jail PENDLETON — Thir- teen inmates at the Uma- tilla County Jail, Pend- leton, tested positive for COVID-19 last week, according to Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan. The outbreak Tuesday, March 16, the same day the jail had begun offering the first COVID-19 vaccines to inmates, Rowan said. By the end of the week, 11 more tests came back positive, but the 13 inmates who tested positive have shown “no symptoms what- soever,” he said. Rowan said the jail has been following a variety of safety protocols to ensure the infection doesn’t con- tinue to spread, including keeping the quarantined inmates in a unit where ventilation does not reach the rest of the jail. — EO Media Group
