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Good day to our valued subscriber Karen Mudd of Union
Senate backs
civics grad
requirement
Search to
continue
for missing
woman
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
Deb Hendrichs of
Idaho was last seen
Jan. 11 near Meacham
By DICK MASON
The Observer
MEACHAM — Cindy
Taylor is not losing count of
the days her sister has been
missing. She also is not losing
hope.
Taylor’s sister, Deborah
“Deb” Hendrichs, 56, of Star,
Idaho, went missing Jan. 11 at
about 5 p.m. just outside Mea-
cham, where her car, a black
Toyota RAV4, ran out of gas at
a bridge entrance.
“This is day 87. I do not
want this to become a cold
case,” Taylor said Thursday,
April 8.
Taylor has been working
feverishly since Jan. 11 to
fi nd her sister. Taylor was in
Northeast Oregon Monday and
Tuesday, April 5-6, scouring
the Meacham area with
her husband and two metal
detector operators. The search,
as previous ones, proved
fruitless.
“We found nothing. We
were hoping to fi nd personal
eff ects there,” said Taylor, who
lives in Merrill near Klamath
Falls.
Oregon State Police Lt.
Daniel Conner of Union
County shares Taylor’s frustra-
tion, explaining no new leads
have surfaced.
“The case has gone abso-
lutely dark,” Conner said.
To get the investigation to
move forward, OSP again is
encouraging people to report
any information they have.
State police is particularly
eager to talk with anyone who
may have seen suspicious
people late in the afternoon of
Jan. 11 near where Hendrichs’
compact SUV stalled, Conner
said.
An Oregon Department
of Transportation worker is
the last person who reported
seeing Hendrichs after her
vehicle ran out of gas. Conner
said the ODOT employee
asked Hendrichs if she needed
help and she said her cellphone
was not working in the area but
someone was coming to help.
The ODOT employee then put
out safety fl ares to protect Hen-
drichs and called OSP, which
sent a trooper to assist.
The trooper arrived 20 min-
utes later to fi nd an empty
See, Missing/Page 5A
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Roszanne Moldovan, a crisis response advocate with Shelter From the Storm, Island City, carries bags of donated food from the
main lobby of the shelter to the pantry in the back room on Thursday, April 8, 2021. The Woodgrain Lumber donation, which is
double the usual size, has fi lled up the pantry at the shelter.
Donations overflowing
Shelter From the Storm receives boon during Sexual Assault Awareness Month
By ALEX WITTWER
The Observer
ISLAND CITY — A suc-
cessful food drive stocked the
pantry at Shelter From the
Storm in Island City courtesy of
Woodgrain Lumber.
The Idaho-based company
delivered nearly 1,500 pounds of
food to the local nonprofi t that
helps survivors of interpersonal
violence, lining the pantries and
hallways with food and supplies.
Staff at the shelter said it’s far
more than they were expecting,
and they still are determining the
best way to store the excess food.
The gift came at a time when the
pandemic has severely limited
fundraising activities.
“It’s been pretty rough this
year, just because of COVID.
We haven’t had a whole lot of
opportunity to get fundraising
done,” said Roszanne Moldovan,
a crisis response advocate with
Shelter From the Storm. “We’ve
had people who have donated to
us personally.”
Woodgrain runs a food drive
for the shelter each year, usu-
ally bringing in around 500-800
pounds of donated goods. This
year, they nearly doubled that.
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
A teal ribbon hangs along a lamppost on Adams Avenue, La Grande, Thursday, April
8, 2021. The ribbons are a part of a campaign to raise awareness about sexual assault
during the month of April.
in April that aims to broaden
awareness about sexual assault
and prevention and raises
funds to support survivors and
advocates.
Throughout the month, the
shelter plans several events to
raise awareness about sexual
assault.
The online exhibit “What I
Workers at the mill donate the
food.
“It’s so impressive that
they’ve not only come together
and made this happen but also
went above and beyond when
people are struggling,” said
Krista Evans, program manager
at the shelter.
The donation comes during
Sexual Assault Awareness
Month, an annual campaign
SALEM — Democrats and
Republicans in the Oregon Senate
are divided on many issues — but
not on the importance of teaching
how democratic government
works.
A 25-3 vote by the Senate on
Wednesday, April 7, approved
Senate Bill 513, which would
require high school students to
complete one semester (one-half
credit) of civics before graduation
starting in 2025-26. The bill goes
to the House, which has similar
legislation pending.
Oregon students already are
required to complete 24 credits
before graduation, four in English
and three in math, the rest deter-
mined by administrative rule.
Lawmakers in 2017 passed a bill,
also sponsored by a Republican,
to “encourage” districts to off er
civics instruction. But it was not a
requirement.
Senate Republican Leader Fred
Girod of Lyons said civics should
be added, given that only 24% of
students tested in a 2018 National
Assessment of Educational Prog-
ress — otherwise known as the
nation’s report card — were pro-
fi cient or better in civics. The
average score on civics was 153
of 300, largely unchanged from
150 (and 22% profi cient) in 1998.
Except for 2002, civics has been
assessed every four years since
then.
Girod, the bill’s chief sponsor,
said it is common for his staff and
that of other legislators to get calls
and messages relating to federal,
county and city matters.
“This bill plays an essential
and critical role in ensuring that
Oregon students not only have
a grasp of the democratic pro-
cess, but also learn how to par-
ticipate in it,” he said. “As a leg-
islative body, we very well know
how government works. It is our
duty and responsibility to make
sure that generations after us do
as well.”
The bill has mustered sup-
port from a variety of individuals
and organizations, including the
Classroom Law Project based in
Portland.
Kevin Lepley, president of the
Oregon Council for the Social
See, Civics/Page 5A
See, Shelter/Page 5A
La Grande increases
ambulance fees
New rates go into effect
July 1; council also OKs
utility relief program
By PHIL WRIGHT
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Ambu-
lance fees are increasing in the
city of La Grande, and residents
enduring fi nancial hardship
because of the pandemic could
get some utility bill relief.
The La Grande City Council
during its meeting Wednesday,
April 7, voted 7-0 in favor of
bumping up ambulance fees,
which the council discussed
during a work session March 8.
“We have not increased our
ambulance fees since 2009,” City
Manager Robert Strope told the
INDEX
Classified ...............3B
Comics ....................7B
Crossword .............3B
Dear Abby .............8B
council during the
Wednesday night
meeting, “and the
cost of doing busi-
ness, as everyone
knows, continues to
Strope
go up.”
In addition to the
new fees, Strope said, the city is
implementing one rate for people
who are residents of La Grande
and a higher rate for those out-
side the city limits. La Grande
residents already are paying
property taxes in the city, he
said, and providing a “discount”
acknowledges that.
The rate for advanced and
basic life support has been
$1,000. That is increasing to
$1,950 for nonresidents and to
See, Fees/Page 5A
WEATHER
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Obituaries ..............3A
TUESDAY
Opinion ..................4A
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Sudoku ...................7B
SECURE RURAL SCHOOLS
Ronald Bond/The Observer, File
La Grande Fire Department’s Medic 2 made its debut in 2019, replacing a 1996 model.
The city council on Wednesday, April 7, 2021, increased ambulance service fees, the fi rst
time in 12 years. The new fees go into eff ect July 1.
NEW LA GRANDE AMBULANCE FEES
• Advanced and basic life support $1,450 for residents, $1,950 for nonresidents.
•Aid call for residents $300, for nonresidents $500
• Special care transport $2,500.
• Per hour rate for special events increasing to $200.
• New rates take eff ect July 1.
For a full list of the fees, visit www.cityofl agrande.org, follow the link under “City Offi ce” to the city
council webpage and click on the link under “Recent Council Agenda.”
Full forecast on the back of B section
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CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 43
2 sections, 14 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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to news@lagrande
observer.com.
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on Page 4A.
Online at lagrandeobserver.com