Saturday, March 27, 2021
RELIEF
Continued from Page 1A
while the three other
cities in Wallowa County
will receive $50,000 to
$230,000.
Burgess said Union
County should receive half
of the $5.2 million within
60 days and the other half
about a year later. Baker
County Commissioner
Mark Bennett said Merkley
told him the county and
cities also will receive two
separate payments, one this
year and one next.
Union County Commis-
sioner Paul Anderes said
the federal government has
yet to provide guidelines on
how the county can spend
the money. Anderes said he
anticipates getting guide-
lines in the near future.
“The rules are starting
to roll out and sometime
next week we should have
a better idea, that is my
hope,” Anderes said.
The county in late 2020
received a little more than
$730,000 in federal Corona-
virus Aid, Relief and Eco-
nomic Security Act funding
thE OBSErVEr — 5A
from the state for grants to
help businesses negatively
impacted by the pandemic.
County commissioners
distributed that money as
grants to 94 businesses.
Union County Commis-
sioner Donna Beverage said
the board of commissioners
will meet to determine
how to use the funds after
receiving the rules from the
feds.
“As always we want to
use it wisely and we want to
do whatever we can to help
our county in future years,”
Beverage said. “We want to
make sure we have a long-
term vision.”
Bennett also said he is
waiting for guidelines, but
the goal will be the same
as with CARES Act money
— to distribute money to
businesses and other local
entities that have struggled
due to closures and other
restrictions.
“Our goal would be to
get the money out, and to
make it the most efficient
that we can,” Bennett said.
“We don’t want to leave
any holes. Our business
community has suffered so
many losses.”
FEDERAL COVID-19 RELIEF FOR
LOCAL COUNTIES, CITIES
union county, pop. 26,840 —
$5.2 million
La Grande, pop. 13,460 —
$2.77 million
union, pop. 2,175 — $450,000
Elgin, pop. 1,730 — $370,000
Island city, pop. 1,140 — $210,000
cove, pop. 555 — $130,000
North Powder, pop. 445 — $90,00
Imbler, pop. 305 — $70,000
Summerville, pop. 135 — $30,000
———
Wallowa county, pop. 7,160 —
$1.4 million
Enterprise, pop. 1,995 — $410,000
GUNS
Continued from Page 1A
licenses from $50 to $100,
and renewals from $50 to
$75.
The debate got so heated
that Senate President Peter
Courtney — who apolo-
gized earlier for a comment
about “crushing opponents”
that referred to Oregon
opponents in the NCAA
basketball tournaments —
said, “People are getting
angry about this measure
from all sides.”
But it was clear that
Democrats had the votes to
prevail, rejecting Repub-
lican motions to send the
bill to various committees.
The Senate Judiciary
Committee spent four hours
Feb. 22 listening to testi-
mony, much of it from gun-
rights advocates opposed
to the bill, and passed it on
Joseph, pop. 1,120 — $230,000
Wallowa, pop. 840 — $170,000
Lostine, pop. 215 — $50,000
———
Baker county, pop, 16,910 —
$3.13 million
Baker city, pop. 10,010— $2 million
haines, pop. 415 — $90,000
huntington, pop. 445 — $90,000
halfway, pop. 300 — $60,000
Sumpter, pop. 210, — $40,000
richland, pop. 175 — $40,000
unity, pop. 75 — $10,000
— Population information source:
Oregon Blue Book
a 4-3 party-line vote a few
days later.
What supporters said
The bill’s chief sponsor
and floor manager was Sen.
Ginny Burdick, a Demo-
crat from Portland and a
long-time supporter of gun
regulation.
Burdick said that under
a state law dating back to
1969, possession of fire-
arms in a public building is
a felony unless that person
has a concealed handgun
license. But until 1989, Bur-
dick said, when state law
changed to require issuance
of licenses to people who
met specified standards,
sheriffs had broad discre-
tion over who could obtain
licenses. Oregon now has
about 300,000 people with
such licenses.
“The events of 2020
are a flashing red light
that we need to do some-
GAME
Continued from Page 1A
who in turn became more
enthralled with the game
and started studying as
well.
By chance, the group
met members of the Walla
Walla Go Club during an
event at Art Center East
in La Grande. The players
had come to town to pro-
mote and garner an interest
in the game. At the behest
of Steve Tanner, an asso-
ciate professor of mathe-
matics at Eastern Oregon
University, they decided to
found the La Grande Go
Club.
As a history major,
Bowen holds a keen
interest in famous
games that were played
throughout antiquity —
particularly, a story about
a young go player named
Honinbo Shusaku who
had played a famous move
against Japan’s stron-
gest player, Inoue Gennan
Inseki, at the annual castle
games during the Edo
period.
During the game,
a doctor in attendance
noticed Inseki’s ears
became red after Shusaku
placed his stone, a sign
Inseki was flustered. Shu-
saku, who was only 17,
would end up winning the
match by two points. The
“ear-reddening game” and
Shusaku’s “ear-reddening
move” entered into go
history.
Another favorite story
of Bowen’s is the match
between Honinbo Jowa and
Akaboshi Intetsu, when the
latter vomited blood onto
the go board in the middle
thing,” Burdick said.
She referred to armed
invasions of the Michigan
Capitol in Lansing — sev-
eral men were arrested in
an attempt to kidnap Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer — and
the U.S. Capitol in Wash-
ington, D.C., on Jan. 6.
(Anti-lockdown protesters
also breached the Oregon
Capitol during a special ses-
sion Dec. 21, but they were
confined to a vestibule and
police ejected them.)
Burdick said the bill
would give local govern-
ments flexibility, rather than
impose a state policy.
“I think you are safer
without a gun; the National
Rifle Association thinks
you are safer with a gun,”
she said. “Neither of us
gets to decide. The local
community gets to decide.
That’s as it should be.”
Sen. James Manning Jr.,
a Democrat from Eugene
ELGIN
Continued from Page 1A
museum’s materials and in
restoring Elgin’s old jail,
built in 1895 and now on
public display just outside
the museum.
Allen received the
Woman of the Year award
for her volunteer work
with the Elgin Museum
and the Women’s Service
Club. She played a big role
in refurbishing museum
materials for display.
“She is not afraid to roll
up her sleeves and get it
done,” Elgin Mayor Risa
Hallgarth said.
Allen and Horn, like
all the recipients, received
awards saluting what they
did in 2019, said Elgin
Chamber President Kathy
Bonney. The chamber
scheduled the ceremony
for 2020, but the pandemic
meant postponing the
event until this week.
Each winner received
their award at city hall.
Only one recipient plus
members of their fami-
lies and several presenters
were in attendance at each
presentation to allow for
social distancing.
The Elgin Chamber
of Commerce’s Spirit
award went to Terry Hale,
the Elgin Opera House’s
executive director of cre-
ativity. The award recog-
nizes Hale’s work with
young people through the
Opera House Youth Actors
program. It also recog-
nizes Hale for winning a
alex Wittwer/The Observer
Zaquarie Mendenhall (left) watches as ty Bowen (center) and Forrest Farris play go on Sunday, March 21,
2021, at La Grande’s Brother Bear cafe. the pair started playing go in college. Below, a complicated position
forms in a match. a large group of stones is under threat of capture if either player blunders a placement.
but the collection of ter-
ritory — points along the
board that your stones sur-
round and control.
Players place stones on
a board with a grid in an
attempt to gain territory
and subsequently score
more points than their
opponent. Players cannot
move stones once they
place them. As the game
progresses, complex shapes
and tactics emerge and
players fight to hold on to
territory and to deny space
to their opponent. Cor-
ners, in general, are easier
to defend and hold, but a
well-played invasion can
be devastating.
There are thousands of
these opening variations,
called joseki, and stacks
of books outlining their
strengths and weaknesses.
Tanner is the club’s
strongest player and Men-
denhall is the second stron-
gest. The two are close
in rankings, so battles
between them can be fierce.
“Watching the enjoy-
ment they get out of playing
each other,” Bowen said,
“really spurred me on.”
Achieving a dan
ranking — equivalent to
earning a master title in
chess — makes the list of
the go group members’ life
goals. But for now, they are
content with sandwiches,
coffee and ruthlessly
attacking one another
over the go board.
But Sen. Tim Knopp,
R-Bend, argued the oppo-
site. He said the bill would
deprive thousands of con-
cealed handgun license
holders from being able
to defend themselves. He
also said he could think
of only one instance — a
2019 shooting at a Eugene
middle school that resulted
in police killing a male
parent involved in a custody
dispute — when there was a
conflict.
“What we have here is a
bill in search of a problem,”
Knopp said.
Knopp said if supporters
were confident the bill had
public support, they should
vote to put it on a statewide
ballot.
A motion to that effect
failed on a party-line vote.
Sen. Bill Hansell, a
Republican from Athena
and a former Umatilla
County commissioner, said
counties do not want the
burden of having to decide
whether firearms should be
allowed in public buildings.
While Oregon voters
are removing criminal
penalties, including those
for possession of small
amounts of drugs other than
marijuana, “we are crim-
inalizing this,” Sen. Lynn
Findley, R-Vale, said.
Sen. Betsy Johnson
of Scappoose was the
lone Democrat to join six
Republicans to oppose it.
Four other Republicans
— Dallas Heard of Rose-
burg, Dennis Linthicum of
Klamath Falls, Art Rob-
inson of Cave Junction and
Kim Thatcher of Keizer,
among the most conserva-
tive senators — chose not to
attend the session and were
considered absent.
Three other senators
were officially excused,
including Sen. Brian
Boquist of Dallas, now an
Independent, whose stepson
took his own life with a
firearm in 2016.
rodeo, and for serving as
head coach of the Elgin
High School girls basket-
ball team.
The Employee of the
Year award went to Shay
Marshall, who works for
Timber’s Feedery in Elgin
and Local Harvest Eatery
and Pub in La Grande —
both are pizza and sand-
wich restaurants.
“She is an outstanding
employee who can fill
in at every position if
needed,” said Bruce
Rogers, co-owner of both
restaurants.
The Elgin Chamber’s
Business of the Year award
was given to Timber’s
Feedery.
“They have a philan-
thropic attitude,” Hall-
garth said. “If someone
in the community needs
a helping hand, they are
there to give it.”
The Elgin Chamber of
Commerce will present
the award for Educator of
the Year at an upcoming
meeting of the Elgin
School Board.
of the match.
The group meets at the
cafe every Sunday, boards
in hand with two small
pots containing 180 white
stones and 181 black stones
— the maximum number
of points on the board,
though nearly all games
end long before the stones
cover the board.
Much like chess, go is
full of tactics. But while
chess follows a hierarchical
structure where pieces hold
varying degrees of value,
go is imperialistic. The
goal isn’t to capture pieces
and a 24-year Army vet-
eran, said the bill is con-
sistent with a 2008 U.S.
Supreme Court decision
that recognizes an indi-
vidual right to bear firearms
under the Second Amend-
ment. The decision, written
by Justice Antonin Scalia,
also allows regulation of
firearms in sensitive places
such as schools and govern-
ment buildings.
“This bill does not take
anyone’s freedoms from
them,” Manning said.
Sen. Floyd Prozanski,
a Democrat from Eugene
and Judiciary Committee
chairman, said even Tomb-
stone, Arizona, barred guns
from town limits back in
1880 as violence grew.
What opponents said
La GRANDE
AUTO REPAIR
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Joe Horst
Elgin chamber of commerce/Contributed Photo
Shay Marshall, left, who works for timber’s Feedery in Elgin and Local
harvest Eatery and Pub in La Grande, receives the Elgin chamber of
commerce’s award for Employee of the year from Lezlie reid, the pre-
vious honoree, during the chamber’s recognition ceremony Wednesday,
March 24, 2021, at Elgin city hall.
Freddie G Fellowship in
2020, a coveted honor for
directors of youth theater.
Freddie Gershon created
the award. He is the recip-
ient of a Tony Honor for
Excellence in Theatre and
is co-chair of Music The-
atre International.
The Elgin Chamber’s
Organization of the Year
award went to the Elgin
Alumni Association,
whose members attended
classes in the Elgin School
District. The association
conducts an annual ban-
quet that anyone who went
to school in the Elgin
School District can attend.
The association held the
banquet almost every year
for at least five decades,
until 2020 when the pan-
demic led to its cancella-
tion. Lara Moore of Elgin
said at the presentation
the association is a huge
supporter of everything
that happens in the Elgin
School District.
Megan Myers received
the Young Woman of the
Year award. Myers is a
classroom aid at Elgin
High School and previ-
ously taught at Stella May-
field Elementary School’s
preschool.
“She is a huge volunteer
at sporting events and any
other community events
that need a helping hand,”
said Moore, the 2018
Young Woman of the Year
award winner.
Brian Evans received
the Young Man of the Year
award for his work as a
volunteer for the Elgin
Stampeders, which puts on
the annual Elgin Stampede
ACDelcoTSS