LOCAL/REGION
2A — THE OBSERVER
THuRSday, apRil 22, 2021
Today in ‘Normal’ returns to Wallowa Lake State Park
History
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
Today is Thursday, april 22, the
112th day of 2021. There are 253
days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN
HISTORY:
On april 22, 2005, Zacarias
Moussaoui pleaded guilty in a
federal courtroom outside Wash-
ington, d.C. to conspiring with the
Sept. 11 hijackers to kill americans.
(Moussaoui is serving a life prison
sentence.)
ON THIS DATE:
in 1864, Congress authorized the
use of the phrase “in God We Trust”
on u.S. coins.
in 1889, the Oklahoma land
Rush began at noon as thousands
of homesteaders staked claims.
in 1898, with the united States
and Spain on the verge of war, the
u.S. Navy began blockading Cuban
ports. Congress authorized creation
of the 1st u.S. Volunteer Cavalry,
also known as the “Rough Riders.”
in 1915, the first full-scale use of
deadly chemicals in warfare took
place as German forces unleashed
chlorine gas against allied troops
at the start of the Second Battle of
ypres (EE’-preh) in Belgium during
World War i; thousands of soldiers
are believed to have died.
in 1937, thousands of college
students in New york City staged a
“peace strike” opposing american
entry into another possible world
conflict.
in 1952, an atomic test in Nevada
became the first nuclear explosion
shown on live network television
as a 31-kiloton bomb was dropped
from a B-50 Superfortress.
in 1954, the publicly televised
sessions of the Senate army-McCar-
thy hearings began.
in 1970, millions of americans
concerned about the environment
observed the first “Earth day.”
in 1994, Richard M. Nixon, the
WALLOWA LAKE —
Things are getting back
a bit more to normal this
year, now that state parks
are beginning to reopen —
including Wallowa Lake
State Park, which began
taking reservations earlier
this month for the group
campsites that open May 1.
According to a press
release from the Oregon
Parks and Recreation
Department, some state
parks started taking reser-
vations April 15. A com-
plete list of which are
opening is available at the
OPRD website at www.
oregon.gov/oprd/Pages/
index.aspx.
Mac Freeborn, man-
ager at Wallowa Lake State
Park, said a few campers
already were at the park.
But they were the ones who
could do without park-pro-
vided water, which won’t be
turned on until May 1.
“My park has been
taking reservations for a
while now,” he said. “The
ones opening May 1 are
group campsites.”
The park’s website bills
it as being “ideally posi-
tioned as a base camp for
both wilderness treks and
water sports fun.”
He said those there now
are ones who take advan-
tage of the park’s opening
throughout the offseason.
“We had a recent request
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Campers are already moving into Wallowa lake State park on Wednesday, april 14, 2021. The park was set to
begin taking reservations the next day for the season that opens May 1.
for more reservations
… and we’re accepting
walk-ins,” he said.
Last year, the park was
forced to be closed until
June 5 by the closures asso-
ciated with the COVID-19
pandemic. The group facil-
ities are reopening after
being closed for more than
a year due to revenue short-
falls and reduced staffing
the pandemic caused.
“Summer is quickly
approaching, and we want
to give visitors plenty of
time to plan their group
events,” said Jason Resch,
communications manager
Blaze destroys home of Wallowa man
for the OPRD. “Although
we can’t open all group
areas in all parks and the
lower group limits isn’t
what we are used to, we
ask for your patience as we
move forward.”
But now it’s returning to
closer to normal.
“As normal as it can be,”
he said. “We’re back on
track for bringing back sea-
sonals in hiring. … Normal
is a subjective term, but
we’re going to be back for
full operation this summer.”
He said the docks won’t
go back into the water until
around May 1.
“We start really ramping
up things in early May,”
Freeborn said.
But campsite reserva-
tions are already nearly
fully booked.
“If people are not
finding anything online,
it’s because we’re already
booked. It’s been fast and
furious with reservations,”
Freeborn said.
He said that’s probably
a combination of people
missing last year’s camping
season and an eagerness
to recreate outdoors where
they’re not cooped up in a
hotel or the like.
He said that if recre-
ationists find they can’t rent
day-use areas, they can look
into getting a special-use
permit. Day-use areas con-
sist of two reservable picnic
sites and one reservable
covered shelter named Ice
Creek. Boat reservations
and information are avail-
able at www.wallowalake-
marina.com.
He said the park — and
all Oregon parks — are
still closely adhering to
COVID-19 guidelines set
by the U.S. Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Preven-
tion and the Oregon Health
Authority. Those, he said,
can be subject to change.
Wallowa Lake State Park
offers:
• 121 hookup sites
(including two ADA sites)
• 88 nonhookup sites
• Two hard-sided rustic
yurts
• Three group tent areas
• A hiker-biker area
Site-specific alerts and
information can be found
by clicking on the site name
then scrolling to the bottom
of the Reserve America
website page.
Freeborn said those
interested in trying for a
reservation can still try to
get one at 541-432-4185,
ext. 26. Reservations must
be made one day ahead of
arrival and can be made up
to six months in advance.
“We booked out pretty
fast,” he said.
Rollover on Interstate 84 injures one
By ELLEN MORRIS BISHOP
For the Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA — A fire
that likely started in an
attached woodshed severely
damaged the home of Merel
Hawkins on Bear Creek
Road southwest of Wal-
lowa on Tuesday afternoon,
April 13.
Firefighters from Wal-
lowa, Lostine, Enterprise
and Joseph responded along
with Oregon Department of
Forestry fire crews.
The house was a total
loss, said Merel Hawkins’
daughter Mary Hawkins on
Saturday.
“The fire looked like it
started in the woodshed,”
she said. “It spread really
fast.”
Merel Hawkins, 84, was
shaken, but unhurt and con-
soled by family, friends
and neighbors at the scene.
His caregiver, Michaela
Shane, had taken the wheel-
chair-bound family patri-
arch and former packer
out the front door to safety
promptly at the first sign
of smoke before the fire
spread.
The property includes
the Hawkins Sisters
Chicken Ranch, where sev-
Ellen Morris Bishop/For the Wallowa County Chieftain
Firefighters douse the last embers of the fire that severely damaged the
home of Merel Hawkins on Bear Creek Road southwest of Wallowa on
Tuesday, april 13, 2021. The structure was ruled a total loss, according to
his daughter Mary Hawkins.
eral sparks landed.
“Thanks to the Lostine
Fire Department’s careful
work, nothing caught fire,
including a trailer I had
that was full of hay,” Mary
Hawkins said.
ODF fire crews extin-
guished a grass fire that
spread about 200 feet from
the house.
She also praised the
quick arrival of the Wal-
lowa Fire Department.
“They were here fighting
the fire only 11 minutes
after we called,” she said.
Lending Heart Com-
munity Resources offered
assistance. The Wallowa
nonprofit provided replace-
ment equipment to meet her
father’s medical needs so
he could comfortably take
up residence at the Mingo
Motel after the fire, she said.
Although the house
and a significant amount
of memorabilia were lost,
Merel Hawkins remains
upbeat.
“Dad’s said it’s a chance
for a new start,” Mary Haw-
kins said. “I just hope I can
have that kind of attitude
when I’m 84.”
Looking back
Joan Mondale spoke in La Grande in 1992
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
Former Vice President
Walter Mondale, who died
Monday, April 19, at age 93,
never made an appearance
in La Grande, but his wife,
Joan, did.
The former Second Lady
spoke at Eastern Oregon
University on Oct. 10, 1992,
at a Oregon Art Education
Conference.
Mondale told an audi-
ence in Loso Hall she
believed art should be inter-
twined with education and
the idea that it is a “frill”
rather than “essential stuff”
was dangerous, according
to an article in the Oct
11, 1992, edition of The
Observer.
“If a nation believes
that art is unimportant it
becomes a nation that pro-
duces unimportant art,”
Mondale said.
Such nations rarely
achieve greatness, she
added.
“Art teaches us about
excellence and creativity,”
Mondale said. “It teaches
us to get the best from
ourselves.”
Mondale, who was a
potter, said art gives people
amy Sancetta/Associated Press, File
Former Vice president Walter Mondale smiles with his wife, Joan, during
the democratic National Convention July 26, 2004, at the FleetCenter in
Boston. Mondale, a liberal icon who lost the presidential election in 1984,
died Monday, april 19, 2021. He was 93. Joan Mondale spoke at Eastern
Oregon university in 1992.
a unique sense of their own
identity and individuality
that can never be lost. She
quoted a drama teacher
who said, “You own your
own imagination. No one
else has one exactly like
yours.”
La Grande was one of
many places where Mon-
dale, who was born in
Eugene and grew up in
Pennsylvania, spoke on
behalf of art.
Mondale worked so
hard to generate public
and private support of the
arts that she became affec-
tionately known as “Joan
of Art” according to an
obituary published in the
Feb. 5, 2014, Minneapolis
StarTribune.
Joan Mondale, who died
in 2014 at age 83, spoke
in La Grande a little more
than a decade after her hus-
band finished serving as
vice president under Pres-
ident Jimmy Carter from
1977-81. Walter Mondale
was the Democratic nom-
inee for president in 1984
but lost in the general elec-
tion to incumbent President
Ronald Reagan.
alex Wittwer/The Observer
a la Grande Fire department crew and Oregon State police trooper respond Tuesday morning, april 20,
2021, to a single-vehicle rollover near milepost 274 on the eastbound side of interstate 84. Oregon State
police reported the crash was a result of distracted driving. The male driver was not wearing a seat belt at
the time of the crash, according to police, and was ejected and injured. The ambulance took him to Grande
Ronde Hospital, la Grande, for treatment. State police also reported the female passenger was uninjured.
News Briefs
Traffic stop leads to
drug, weapons charges
BAKER CITY —
Three people, including
two from La Grande, were
arrested on a variety of
drug and weapons charges
early Sunday, April 18, in
Baker City after an Oregon
State Police trooper
stopped their car because
the front passenger was not
wearing a seat belt.
According to a report
from trooper Dakotah
Keys, he stopped the
vehicle about 1:16 a.m. in
Baker City.
The front passenger,
Jefferson Eli Cole Sharp,
26, of La Grande, had two
arrest warrants, for sec-
ond-degree theft in Baker
County Justice Court, and
for probation violation
from Union County Circuit
Court.
Keys wrote in his
report that Sharp also
“verbally provided false
information.”
While searching Sharp,
Keys found two unlaw-
fully concealed handguns,
more than two grams
of methamphetamine,
in excess of the amount
that constitutes a viola-
tion rather than a crime
under a new state law, and
“suspected fentanyl,” a
painkiller.
Keys reported the
rear passenger, Taylor
Gordon Morris, 29, of
La Grande, consented to
a search, which yielded
a weapon that Morris, a
convicted felon, is not
allowed to have, and
a criminal amount of
methampetamine.
Keys searched the
vehicle and found a
semi-automatic rifle, a
Taser, a criminal amount
of heroin and “addi-
tional items of drug
paraphernalia.”
The driver, Fran-
cisco Garcia Torres, 38,
of Boardman, who also
is a felon, was arrested
on charges of illegal pos-
session of a firearm and
another weapon, and pos-
session of 1 gram or more
of heroin.
Morris was cited and
released.
Torres and Sharp were
both taken to the Baker
County Jail.
Community leaders
host virtual meeting
on food system
LA GRANDE — Local
community leaders on Sat-
urday, April 24, will host
Union County FEAST
2021 in collaboration with
Oregon Food Bank, and
the public can participate.
FEAST is a community
conversation about “Food,
Education and Agricul-
ture in the community
and building Solutions
Together” for a more equi-
table and resilient local
food system, according
to the press release from
Oregon Rural Action,
which is helping with the
event.
“Although FEAST
is traditionally held in
person, we are happy to
have the opportunity to
come together virtually
this year,” according to
Kagan Koehn, commu-
nity organizer for Oregon
Rural Action. “Conver-
sations about food in
our community are too
important to be postponed
until we can all gather
together again in person.”
This year’s event will
be online 2-5 p.m. on
Saturday and offers the
opportunity to hear from
local leaders about how
the pandemic has affected
the people in Union
County with discussions
on volunteer food distribu-
tion events, new capacity
for promoting food secu-
rity through the Northeast
Oregon Regional Food
Bank and Double Up Food
Bucks at the La Grande
Farmers Market.
Panelists include
Audrey Smith, the coor-
dinator of the regional
food bank through Com-
munity Connection of
Northeast Oregon, Cami
Miller of Housing Matters
Union County and Ramon
Fukuichi of Eastern
Oregon Compact of Free
Association Alliance
National Network.
The idea of the event
is to “inspire all to start
or continue to work to
improve our local food
system in Union County,”
according to the press
release.
After the event there
will be an opportunity for
community members or
groups to apply for a mini
grant to support their work
that is relevant to food and
our community.
To register for the
event, visit oregonrural.
org or search Facebook for
“Union County FEAST.”
— EO Media Group