LOCAL/REGION
2A — THE OBSERVER
TODAY IN
HISTORY
Today is Tuesday, April 13, the
103rd day of 2021. There are 262
days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN
HISTORY:
On April 13, 1970, Apollo
13, four-fi fths of the way to the
moon, was crippled when a tank
containing liquid oxygen burst.
(The astronauts managed to
return safely.)
ON THIS DATE:
In 1613, Pocahontas, daugh-
ter of Chief Powhatan, was cap-
tured by English Capt. Samuel
Argall in the Virginia Colony.
(During her yearlong captivity,
Pocahontas converted to Chris-
tianity and ultimately opted to
stay with the English.)
In 1742, “Messiah,” the ora-
torio by George Frideric Handel
featuring the “Hallelujah” chorus,
had its fi rst public performance
in Dublin, Ireland.
In 1743, the third president
of the United States, Thomas
Jeff erson, was born in Shadwell
in the Virginia Colony.
In 1861, at the start of the
Civil War, Fort Sumter in South
Carolina fell to Confederate
forces.
In 1870, the Metropolitan Mu-
seum of Art was incorporated in
New York. (The original museum
opened in 1872.)
In 1943, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt dedicated the Jef-
ferson Memorial in Washington,
D.C. on the 200th anniversary of
the third American president’s
birth.
In 1964, Sidney Poitier
became the fi rst Black performer
in a leading role to win an Acad-
emy Award for his performance
in “Lilies of the Field.”
In 1992, the Great Chicago
Flood took place as the city’s
century-old tunnel system and
adjacent basements fi lled with
water from the Chicago River.
“The Bridges of Madison County,”
a romance novel by Robert
James Waller, was published by
Warner Books.
In 1997, Tiger Woods became
the youngest person to win
the Masters Tournament and
the fi rst player of partly African
heritage to claim a major golf
title.
In 1999, right-to-die
advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian
was sentenced in Pontiac,
Michigan, to 10 to 25 years in
prison for second-degree mur-
der in the lethal injection of a
Lou Gehrig’s disease patient.
(Kevorkian ended up serving
eight years.)
In 2005, a defi ant Eric
Rudolph pleaded guilty to car-
rying out the deadly bombing
at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics
and three other attacks in
back-to-back court appearances
in Birmingham, Alabama, and
Atlanta.
In 2015, a federal judge in
Washington sentenced former
Blackwater security guard Nich-
olas Slatten to life in prison and
three others to 30-year terms
for their roles in a 2007 shooting
in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square
that killed 14 Iraqi civilians and
wounded 17 others.
Ten years ago: Ousted Egyp-
tian President Hosni Mubarak
and his two sons were detained
for investigation of corruption,
abuse of power and killings of
protesters.
A federal jury in San Francisco
convicted baseball slugger
Barry Bonds of a single charge
of obstruction of justice, but
failed to reach a verdict on the
three counts at the heart of
allegations that he’d knowingly
used steroids and human growth
hormone and lied to a grand
jury about it. (Bonds’ conviction
for obstruction was ultimately
overturned.)
Five years ago: A task force
issued a report saying that Chi-
cago police had “no regard for
the sanctity of life when it comes
to people of color.”
A judge in Fort Worth,
Texas ordered 19-year-old
Ethan Couch, who had used an
“affl uenza” defense in a fatal
drunken-driving wreck, to serve
nearly two years in prison.
The Golden State Warriors be-
came the NBA’s fi rst 73-win team
by beating the Memphis Grizzlies
125-104, breaking the 1996 72-
win record of the Chicago Bulls.
Kobe Bryant of the Lakers
scored 60 points in his fi nal
game, wrapping up 20 years in
the NBA.
TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021
CTUIR opens COVID-19 vaccine clinic
The Observer
MISSION — The Con-
federated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reserva-
tion has opened its two-day
mass vaccination event to
any resident 16 and older
who resides in the 11 coun-
ties that span the CTUIR
ceded territory.
The 11 counties are
Benton, Walla Walla,
Columbia and Garfi eld
counties in Washington and
Morrow, Umatilla, Union,
Wallowa, Grant, Baker
and Malheur counties in
Oregon. Residents of all
11 counties are eligible to
participate.
The mass vaccina-
tion event is taking place
Monday and Tuesday, April
12-13, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
both days at Wildhorse
Resort & Casino off Inter-
state 84 at exit 216.
People can walk in for
an appointment or register
online at airtable.com/shrb-
74wCvIR6fnNJR. The link
and a QR code also are
online on the Yellowhawk
Tribal Health Center Face-
LOCAL COVID-19 VACCINATION AVAILABLE TO ALL
LA GRANDE — On Monday, April 19, COVID-19 vaccinations will be avail-
able to all Oregonians.
Locally, the Center for Human Development is holding vaccine clinics at
the Riveria Activity Center, 2609 Second St., La Grande. The center is taking
appointments, which are required, for next week’s clinics.
For more information or to schedule your vaccination, go to www.chdinc.
org/gv. or call 541-962-8800 (option 8).
CTUIR/Contributed Graphic
This images shows the number of cases of COVID-19 in counties in and
around the ceded territory of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation. The CTUIR has opened a two-day mass vaccination
event April 12-13, 2021, to anyone 16 and older who resides in the 11
counties that span the CTUIR ceded territory.
book page. For more infor-
mation or to register by
phone, call 541-240-8733.
“We have more than
1,700 fi rst doses to pro-
vide but only 600 appoint-
UNION COUNTY —
Law enforcement in Union
County during a three-
hour period Friday, April
9, conducted 79 traffi c
stops in a crackdown on
distracted driving.
The La Grande Police
Department in a press
release announced local
law enforcement from
noon to 3 p.m. partici-
pated in a saturation patrol
to increase awareness and
deter distracted driving.
residents in the 11 coun-
ties will be eligible for that
event as well.
The ceded territory of
the CTUIR encompasses
the 6.4 million acres upon
which the Walla Walla,
Umatilla and Cayuse
people relinquished sole
occupancy and use rights
in the Treaty of 1855 with
the United States. The
CTUIR reserved other
use and access rights for
hunting, fi shing, gath-
ering and traditional pur-
poses throughout the ceded
territory.
Yellowhawk Tribal
Health Center is the
public health authority
for the Umatilla Indian
Reservation.
EOU teacher prep
programs receive
funding boost
The Observer
The Observer, File
The pig train rolls along during the 2012 Hog Wild Days celebration in Island City. The Island City Lions Club
canceled the event for 2021 — the second year in a row — due to the pandemic.
Hog Wild Days in Island City
canceled again due to COVID-19
Hog Wild Days, always
held the fi rst weekend
in June, long included a
Friday dinner, a Saturday
breakfast put on by the La
Grande Rural Fire Depart-
ment, a parade, a pig train
for children to ride and a
four decades and has often
drawn more than a thou-
ISLAND CITY —
sand people. Dan Cosner,
Hog Wild Days, long
a member of the Island
Island City’s most pop-
City Lions Club, cred-
ular annual event, will
ited the event’s consistent
remain quiet for the
popularity in part to its
second year in a row due
timing, noting it is usu-
to the COVID-19
ally the fi rst major
pandemic.
summer season
Shelia Evans,
event in Union
the event’s
County.
director, said it
“We have
would not be pos-
always tried to
sible to safely con-
have it before the
duct the event
Eastern Oregon
— Shelia Evans, a member of the
because of the
Livestock Show
Island City Lions Club and Hog Wild
large crowds it
(conducted the
Days director
draws. Evans
second full week
explained that
in June),” Cosner
making sure
said.
everyone coming was
fl ea market.
Evans said every eff ort
wearing masks and social
This year’s Hog Wild
will be made to revive
distancing would be
Days would have included Hog Wild Days in 2022,
diffi cult.
a new infl atable bouncy
if the pandemic is over by
The Island City Lions
house the Lions Club pur-
then.
Club, which puts on the
chased for children to play
“We want to continue it
the event, decided on
in.
next year,” she said.
Friday, April 9, it had to
The event is one of the
Cosner is confi dent that
cancel.
Island City Lions Club’s
once Hog Wild Days is
“We do not have the
major fundraisers, with
revived, its popularity will
manpower to keep people
money going to scholar-
remain strong.
“It is a big summer
safe,” said Evans, a
ships for local students.
event,” Cosner said. “A lot of
member of the Island City
Hog Wild Days has
people look forward to it.”
Lions Club.
been conducted for about
By DICK MASON
The Observer
“We do not have the
manpower to keep
people safe.”
Police make 79 stops during distracted driving crackdown
The Observer
ments are fi lled,” said Lisa
Guzman, Yellowhawk
Tribal Health Center CEO.
“We are eager to support
our surrounding counties
and get more people in the
door.”
The National Guard will
be on hand to administer
the vaccine along with staff
from Yellowhawk.
Appointments for the
second dose will be made
via email after people
receive their fi rst dose this
week. The second dose will
be provided approximately
21 days later.
Yellowhawk will be
scheduling another mass
vaccination event in May
to provide fi rst doses to an
additional 2,000 people. All
The eff ort is a partner-
ship that also includes
the Oregon Department
of Transportation, Union
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce
and Oregon State Police.
During the three-
hour span, the violations
included the use of mobile
electronic devices while
driving. The traffi c stops
yielded 29 distracted
driving citations and warn-
ings, according to La
Grande police, “and mul-
tiple citations and warn-
ings for other off enses.”
Distracted driving
has become one of the
most common reasons
for vehicle crashes on
America’s roadways.
The National Highway
Traffi c Safety Administra-
tion reports 3,142 people
died in motor vehicle
crashes involving dis-
tracted drivers in 2019
— nearly one-tenth of
all fatal crashes that
year were reported as
distraction-aff ected.
According to ODOT,
from 2014-2018, distracted
drivers in Oregon were
involved in 13,603 crashes
that resulted in 137 fatali-
ties and 20,992 injuries.
La Grande police also
reported this was the fi rst
of three events agencies
planned this year in Union
County to educate dis-
tracted drivers and enforce
distracted-driving laws.
LA GRANDE — Two
teacher preparation pro-
grams at Eastern Oregon
University, La Grande,
received more than half a
million dollars from state
grants that will expand
collaboration and respon-
sive teaching practices in
rural Oregon.
EOU in a press release
announced the Educator
Advancement Panel and
Oregon Department of
Education awarded grants
to two EOU programs —
one that already is suc-
cessful and one that is new.
The Oregon Teacher
Pathway program received
$350,000 from the Edu-
cator Advancement Panel’s
Grow Your Own/Teacher
Pathways grant.
Tawnya Lubbes,
Pathway program director
and education professor,
said in the press release the
new funds will improve
opportunities for profes-
sional development and
increase stipends for high
school teachers who intro-
duce teens to a career in
education. The grant also
will support data analysis
and collection to evaluate
the program, connect fi rst-
and second-year teachers
with grants and provide
multicultural libraries for
their classrooms.
OTP began in 2014,
according to EOU’s
announcement, and has
allowed more than 250
high school students
to explore a career in
teaching while being
mentored by Eastern U
students. High schoolers
who matriculate from
the program to EOU can
earn tuition reductions
and serve as mentors
themselves. More than a
dozen graduates of the
program are teaching in
regional classrooms.
Educator Advancement
Panel reported it received
27 grant applications and
has awarded 26 so far for
a total amount of $6.8
million.
Additionally, EOU
reported its Teach
Rural Oregon and the
Eastern Oregon Teaching
Academy received
$200,000 in partnership
with the Wallowa Educa-
tional Service District.
Education professor
Dave Dallas founded the
two programs to open the
door for community col-
lege students, paraprofes-
sionals and other individ-
uals to become teachers
in rural areas of the state
as well as provide profes-
sional development oppor-
tunities for teachers in
underserved rural schools.
Grant funding will pro-
vide an opportunity for
community college stu-
dents from Gresham to
visit rural Eastern Oregon
for three weeks in May to
observe classrooms and
converse with and learn
from rural colleagues.
A student board, crisis
intervention for teachers,
access to EOU faculty and
stipends for guest speakers
also are part of the vision
for the teaching academy.
Ultimately, according to
Dallas, the program aims
to recruit more teachers to
the rural areas of Oregon.
Eastern also reported
the Oregon Teacher
Pathway program qualifi ed
to apply for an additional
$100,000 grant through the
Meyer Foundation.
You can learn more
about the Oregon Teacher
Pathway at eou.edu/otp
and Teach Rural Oregon
and the Eastern Oregon
Teacher Academy at eou.
edu/teach-rural-oregon.
LG School District names
new business director
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
Michelle Glover, the
Baker School Dis-
trict’s busi-
ness man-
ager, is set
to join the
La Grande
School
Glover
District.
Glover
has been named the La
Grande School District’s
next business director.
She will succeed Chris
Panike, who will retire at
the end of June. Panike
has been the LGSD’s
business director since
he joined it in late 2006.
Glover will become
the La Grande School
District’s new busi-
ness director July 1.
Glover has more than
30 years of experience
in the fi elds of fi nance
and accounting, with 17
coming in an educational
environment.
La Grande School
Superintendent George
Mendoza said in a press
release he is pleased that
Glover will be joining
his district.
“She has signifi cant
experience in the fi scal
management of school
districts and she will
contribute a great deal
to our district leadership
team,” Mendoza said.