LOCAL/REGION
2A — THE OBSERVER
SaTuRday, apRil 17, 2021
Today in Ladd Marsh Bird Festival to take wing again
History
Today is Saturday, april 17, the
107th day of 2021. There are 258
days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN
HISTORY:
On april 17, 1970, apollo 13
astronauts James a. lovell, Fred W.
Haise and Jack Swigert splashed
down safely in the pacific, four
days after a ruptured oxygen tank
crippled their spacecraft while en
route to the moon.
ON THIS DATE:
in 1492, a contract was signed
by Christopher Columbus and a
representative of Spain’s King Fer-
dinand and Queen isabella, giving
Columbus a commission to seek a
westward ocean passage to asia.
in 1905, the u.S. Supreme Court,
struck down, 5-4, a New york State
law limiting the number of hours
that bakers could be made to work.
in 1961, some 1,500 Cia-trained
Cuban exiles launched the disas-
trous Bay of pigs invasion of Cuba
in an attempt to topple Fidel Castro,
whose forces crushed the incursion
by the third day.
in 1969, a jury in los angeles
convicted Sirhan Sirhan of assassi-
nating Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.
in 1972, the Boston Marathon
allowed women to compete for
the first time; Nina Kuscsik was the
first officially recognized women’s
champion, with a time of 3:10:26.
in 1973, Federal Express (later
FedEx) began operations as 14
planes carrying 186 packages took
off from Memphis international
airport, bound for 25 u.S. cities.
in 1975, Cambodia’s five-year
war ended as the capital phnom
penh fell to the Khmer Rouge,
which instituted brutal, radical
policies that claimed an estimated
1.7 million lives until the regime
was overthrown in 1979.
in 1986, at london’s Heathrow
airport, a bomb was discovered
in the bag of anne-Marie Murphy,
a pregnant irishwoman about to
board an El al jetliner to israel; she’d
been tricked into carrying the bomb
by her Jordanian fiance, Nezar
Hindawi.
in 1991, the dow Jones industrial
average closed above 3,000 for
the first time, ending the day at
3,004.46, up 17.58.
in 1993, a federal jury in los an-
geles convicted two former police
officers of violating the civil rights
of beaten motorist Rodney King;
two other officers were acquitted.
Turkish president Turgut Ozal died
at age 66.
in 2013, sports returned to
Boston two days after the deadly
Marathon bombing as the Buffalo
Sabres defeated the Bruins in a 3-2
shootout (players on both teams
wore “Boston Strong” decals on
their helmets).
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A pop-
ular bird-watching event,
which the COVID-19 pan-
demic grounded in 2020,
will take flight again this
spring at the Ladd Marsh
Wildlife Area.
The annual Ladd Marsh
Bird Festival returns May
15-16. The event, which has
drawn an average of 300
participants in recent years,
will be a scaled-down ver-
sion of those in the past
to allow for COVID-19
social distancing rules to be
followed.
“It will not be tradi-
tional,” said the Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife’s Kyle Martin,
manager of the Ladd
Marsh Wildlife Area.
Past festivals included
meals, field trips and pre-
sentations from experts.
All of that will be missing
this year, but there is still
plenty to offer for birders.
Much of Ladd Marsh
will be open to the public
during the two-day event,
giving bird-watchers the
opportunity to see some of
the more than 200 species
of birds that live at Ladd
Marsh year-round, nest
East Oregonian, File
in this undated photo, ladd Marsh Wildlife area biologist Cathy Nowak helps visitors find and identify birds. The
ladd Marsh Bird Festival returns in 2021 after it was canceled the year before due to the COVid-19 pandemic.
there or make migration
stops annually.
Everyone coming
to the event on May 15
must check in at Ladd
Marsh’s Tule Lake Access
Area along Peach Road
between between 6 a.m.
and noon. Volunteers at
the access area will greet
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Grant
County had the highest
rate of COVID-19 infec-
tions per capita in Oregon
last week, and the county
also has the worst vaccina-
tion rate in the state.
The county’s rate of
COVID-19 infections was
625 per 100,000 people,
according to data from the
Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention.
As of Sunday, April 11,
Grant and Coos counties
had the lowest vaccination
rate in the state, 17.4%,
according to the CDC,
which calculates the per-
centage based on complete
vaccinations.
Kimberly Lindsay,
Grant County public health
birders at the event. Bray is
delighted the bird-viewing
festival is returning. He
said it will fill an important
need because he believes
the number of people
who have become inter-
ested in bird-watching
has increased during the
COVID-19 pandemic,
Union County mulls spending $5.2M in stimulus funds
Possible projects include improvements
at industrial park, recreation area
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
Union County Board of
Commissioners is tack-
ling a challenge that likely
will prove difficult yet
fulfilling.
The commissioners are
in the early stage of deter-
mining how to spend the
$5.2 million Union County
will receive from the
COVID-19 aid bill Pres-
ident Joe Biden signed
March 11. The process
started Wednesday, April
14, when the commis-
sioners met to make sug-
gestions at a work session.
Many of the recommen-
dations reflect what people
in the community want the
commissioners to consider,
said Matt Scarfo, chair of
the Union County Board of
Commissioners.
“We put known projects
on the list,” Scarfo said.
“We were brainstorming.”
Suggestions for boosting
business include the paving
of Baum Industrial Park
and adding a railroad spur
to the park to allow rail
shipping; assisting busi-
Grant County has highest infections,
lowest vaccination rate in Oregon
By STEVEN MITCHELL
bird-watchers and provide
directions for reaching sta-
tions where experienced
birders will be present to
provide advice and help
participants identify birds.
Trent Bray, owner of
the Bobolink, a La Grande
birding supply store, will
be among those helping
because it can be done
alone and outside.
“So many people have
gotten excited about doing
this for a hobby,” Bray said.
Bray, like Martin, said
the festival could not be
conducted in its tradi-
tional mode because that
would make it hard to
follow social distancing
rules. Bray noted in the
past, for example, partici-
pants would travel together
in vehicles during events,
such as field trips.
“It is better to play it
safe,” Bray said.
He said Ladd Marsh is
hard to beat as a place to
find a variety of avian spe-
cies. To illustrate his point,
Bray said the approx-
imately 187,000-acre
National Malheur Wildlife
Refuge in Harney County
is regarded by many as one
the 10 best in the United
States for bird-watching.
“Ladd Marsh is a minia-
ture version of the Malheur
National Wildlife Refuge,”
he said.
Additional informa-
tion about the Ladd Marsh
Bird Festival is available at
the Friends of Ladd Marsh
website, www.friends
ofladdmarsh.org.
administrator, estimated
that around 30% of the
county’s residents are par-
tially or fully vaccinated.
Lindsay said the county
has stopped requesting
additional vaccine doses
from the Oregon Health
Authority because of a lack
of demand. She said the
county put first shots into
the arms of 73 residents
last week, along with 273
second shots for the two-
shot vaccines.
On April 12, Jessica
Winegar, health depart-
ment clinic manager, said
the health department had
1,200 doses on the shelf
that she would not be
taking to that day’s vacci-
nation event.
Greg Armstrong, the
owner of Len’s Drug, told
the Eagle the pharmacy
has more doses than people
coming in to get the shot.
The surge in cases
and the county’s low vac-
cination rate, particu-
larly among seniors, also
concerns public health
officials.
As of April 11, Grant
County had vaccinated
34.8% of residents 65
and older, the lowest rate
among Oregon’s 36 coun-
ties, according to CDC
data.
Meanwhile, in Harney
County, 53.1% of people
65 and older received
the vaccine. In Lake
County, 48.7% rolled up
their sleeves. In Umatilla,
57.7%; Morrow, 55.1%;
Union, 53%; Baker, 99.9%;
and Malheur, 58.5%.
nesses hurting from the
COVID-19 pandemic;
adding lights at the Elgin
train depot; and purchasing
new golf carts for the Buf-
falo Peak Golf Course.
Recommendations also
call for installing lights
at the Mount Emily Rec-
reation Area to increase
security and for improve-
ments at Morgan Lake
Park.
Infrastructure sugges-
tions included the repair
of bridges on the Wallowa
Union Railroad, mainte-
nance work on U.S. Forest
Service roads and the
repaving of several roads
in the county.
Recommendations for
construction include the
building of a new county
jail to replace the Union
County Correctional
Facility, which is almost
five decades old, a new
building for the Imbler
Rural Fire Department
and the construction of a
new North Powder City
Hall. The structure there
is nearing the age of 100
years.
Another suggestion
called for money to help
pay off the loan Union
County took out when it
purchased Buffalo Peak
Golf Course.
Recommendations also
included one on the his-
toric preservation front —
the restoration of Eastern
Oregon University’s grand
staircase on the north side
of Inlow Hall. The stair-
case, built in the late
1920s, has been closed for
at least 10 years because of
its declining condition.
Just what the county
can spend the money on
remains a question because
the federal government has
yet to hand down funding
guidelines. Commissioner
Donna Beverage said the
guidelines may be released
by Wednesday, April 21.
Beverage said the proj-
ects in total are far from
what the county can afford.
“It is a dream list,”
Beverage said.
Pine Eagle High School senior wants to resurface track
By LISA BRITTON
For the Baker City Herald
HALFWAY — Grace
Davis wants future Pine
Eagle High School stu-
dents to have a real track,
and she’s dedicated her
senior project to raising the
necessary money.
Davis lives in Oxbow,
along the Snake River at
the Oregon/Idaho border,
and is a senior at Pine
Eagle in Halfway, about 17
miles west of Oxbow.
“I chose this as my
senior project because
I’ve been a track and field
athlete ever since my
freshman year and I know
how much it would mean
to have an official track to
future generations of Pine
Eagle athletes,” she said.
Davis launched her
project in January 2020
by writing a paper on her
Contributed photo
Grace davis, a senior at pine Eagle
High School in Halfway, started a
GoFundMe account and has done
other fundraisers for her project to
resurface the track at the school.
goal. She started fund-
raising in May 2020 with
a raffle for flights at the
annual fly-in in Rich-
land. Her goal is to raise
$50,000 for a “good
quality surface on the
track.” All donations are
for the upgrade.
Davis set up a
GoFundMe account to
gather online donations.
As of Monday, April 12,
the account raised $2,035.
Go to www.gofundme.com
and search for “Help sur-
face Pine Eagle’s track.”
People also can send
checks for “Pine Eagle
Track” directly to the
school at 375 N Main St.,
Halfway OR 97834.
“If we end up getting
more money than needed,
the excess will be put
toward making our field
events qualified for compe-
titions,” she said.
She must present her
senior project by the end
of April. But Caleb Brown,
who will be a senior next
year, is continuing the
fundraising effort.
Roof replacement major component of Enterprise schools bond project
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE BOND PROJECT
ENTERPRISE — The
Enterprise School District’s
plan for how it intends to
use the funding from the
bond tax levy approved by
voters in November is in
place.
Roof repair, HVAC
update, asbestos abate-
ment and installing ener-
gy-efficient windows are
among nine projects that
will be performed at all
three schools in the dis-
trict and paid for by the $8
million the district has on
hand — $4 million from
the bond levy 57% of voters
said yes to late last year and
$4 million matching from
an Oregon School Capital
Improvement grant from
the Oregon Department of
Education.
The roof at all three
schools will be tackled
first, as Superintendent
Erika Pinkerton called
that the most urgent com-
Below is a list of the projects the Enterprise School district will perform with
funding from the bond levy voters passed last November.
For all three buildings:
• Replace membrane roof.
• address stormwater runoff.
• install hydronic water piping to serve new HVaC distribution system.
• abate asbestos.
• install energy efficient windows.
• Remove and replace damaged sidewalks.
• Remove and replace damaged asphalt.
• Safety and security upgrades.
• Remodel key restroom to ada standards.
For the high school and junior high school:
• Remodel and update science rooms.
• install elevator.
For the junior high school only:
• Remodel locker rooms.
• install a ramp and a lift from the gym foyer to the gym floor level.
Source: Enterprise School District Superintendent Erika Pinkerton
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
The Enterprise School district’s $8 million refurbishment project calls for
replacing the flat-top membrane roof of Enterprise High School with a
peaked roof this year. The district has planned other improvements, such
as energy-efficient windows and HVaC.
ponent of the project.
“We’re in crisis mode
with the roof, to be honest,”
Pinkerton said.
She shared a story of
being at a Christmas play
in the school her first year
on the job and felt a drip of
water hit her shoulder. She
asked high school Principal
Blake Carlsen, who was
standing next to her, about
it, and he pointed to a tarp
on the ceiling full of water
that was starting to drip.
A flat membrane roof
is currently what is on the
building, but there are times
when there is standing
water on it, and when the
water freezes then thaws, it
causes cracks in the roof.
“The installation quality
was not at par,” Pinkerton
said of the roof, which she
said was put in place about
15 or 16 years ago. “There
were multiple issues when
that roof was installed.”
The new roof will have
a pitch on it to allow better
runoff.
Of the $8 million in the
project, Pinkerton said $1.12
million is budgeted for the
roof. She added that had the
bond not passed, the district
still would have addressed
the problem, but it would
have done so building by
building and not the three
schools at once.
“The roofs, there are
multiple leaks throughout
the entire campus, (and)
there are harder-hit areas
than others,” she said.
Construction on the roof
is set to begin in June.
The rest of the resto-
ration or replacement proj-
ects will begin later in the
year and will run through
next summer.
Among them is another
project of high impor-
tance — getting the dis-
trict to ADA standards.
That includes remodeling
restrooms and upgrading
wheelchair ramps cur-
rently in the schools that
are too steep, Pinkerton
said. Part of the upgrades
also include installing ele-
vators in the junior high
and high school building,
and installing a lift and a
ramp from the foyer to the
gym.
“I’m really excited about
the lifts,” Pinkerton said.
“There’s going to be an ele-
vator. Our ramps are going
to be at an appropriate
incline.”
She said that because
of the current ramp slant,
portions of the school are
more difficult to access by
someone in a wheelchair.