RECORDS AND MORE
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021
OBITUARIES
COMMUNITY
Briefs
RSVP for next takeout
Cove senior meal
COVE — The Cove senior meal
program is off ering takeout lunch-
es on the fi rst and third Tuesday of
the month. Due to restrictions in
place caused by the coronavirus
pandemic, meals are picked up
in front of Founders Hall instead
of being served inside. The lunch
will be handed out from noon to
12:30 p.m. Enter the driveway in
front of the Ascension Founders
Hall on Church Street from the
north.
The menu for the May 4 lunch
is Swedish meatballs with egg
noodles, green beans, green salad,
rolls and sugar cookies. There is a $5
charge per meal. If you haven’t been
contacted, call Imie Bristow at 541-
568-4545 by Wednesday, April 28, to
order your meal.
Bring a bike, take a bike
at bike swap and safety rodeo
LA GRANDE — La Grande Parks
and Recreation and the Safe Routes
to School Program are holding a bike
swap at Pioneer Park Saturday, April
24, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The event gives the community
the opportunity to buy, sell or trade
their used bicycles. There also will be
a bike safety course, known as a bike
safety “rodeo,” where children can
learn bicycle safety. Children must
have their own bicycle and helmet
to participate. In addition, door
prizes will be drawn every hour.
To preregister, contact Jessie
Wilson, Safe Routes to School coordi-
nator, at srts@cityofl agrande.org or
541-962-0514. Registration also will
be available at the event.
Ivy J. (Stark) Read
1935-2021 • La Grande
Ivy Jean Read, 85, of La
Grande, died April 15 at her
home. A graveside service
will be held April 24 at noon
at Grandview Cemetery,
La Grande. The
service will
be streamed
live for those
who cannot
attend; join
via Zoom at
https://us04web.zoom.us/
j/8403266406?pwd=em-
NOK111RTFncU1OYz-
B1R2ZHT09vUT09
(meeting ID is 8403266406).
Arrangements are by Dan-
iels-Knopp Funeral and Cre-
mation Center, La Grande.
Ivy was born July 29,
1935, in La Grande, to
Lee Max and Wilmerth
(Weimer) Stark. She grad-
uated from Battle Ground
High School in Battle
Ground, Washington, with
the class of 1953. She then
attended LDS Nursing Col-
lege in Idaho Falls, Idaho,
where she met her future
husband, Alexander Clark
Read.
Ivy and Alexander were
married Dec. 11, 1959. They
moved several times but pri-
marily raised their family
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer, call 541-
963-3161.
in The Dalles, where Ivy
worked for many years as
a nurse. Later they moved
to La Grande, where she
worked and retired from
Grande Ronde Hospital. She
then worked as a nurse and
in-home caretaker for many
others.
Ivy was a devoted
member of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. She belonged to
the First Ward and served
many callings, not the least
of which was at the Family
History Center. She was a
great mom and very ser-
vice oriented. She took care
of anyone and everyone and
gave quality medical care
whenever needed.
Surviving relatives
include her children, Wil-
liam Dale Read of La
Grande, Carl Alan Read of
Marshall Islands, and Kath-
leen Irene Grappmayer of
Woodinville, Washington;
siblings, John Stark, Lois
Conner, Roger Stark, Wil-
liam Stark, Beth Spitzer
and Nita Smith; and 13
grandchildren and eight
great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in
death by her parents
and husband of 61 years,
Alexander Read.
MONDAY, APRIL 19
6:59 a.m. — A caller
reported a large branch was
about to fall on a power
line on the 58600 block of
Pierce Road, La Grande.
Dispatch advised a Union
County sheriff ’s deputy and
Oregon Trail Electric Coop-
erative about the situation.
9:06 a.m. — A caller
reported dogs on the loose
at the Island City Cemetery,
10605 Island Ave., Island
City. An animal enforce-
ment offi cer returned the
dogs to their owner.
12:05 p.m. — A caller
reported a burglary on the
2600 block of Cove Avenue,
La Grande. Offi cers took
information.
2:01 p.m. — La Grande
police responded to the 1500
block of Portland Street for
a harassment call. Offi cers
took a report at the scene.
2:08 p.m. — A Union
County sheriff ’s deputy
responded to the 100 block
of West Arch Street, Union,
on a call about an assault.
The deputy took a report.
5:08 p.m. — La Grande
police received a report of a
possible sex crime.
10:38 p.m. — Local
law enforcement arrested
BRADEN
Continued from Page 1A
“It’s very frustrating for
me to do my job,” Braden
said in that meeting. “We
currently are not compliant
with the city charter. We
are not compliant with the
council rules and almost
every single aspect of my
employment contract has
been violated. Doing my
job in a functional, effi cient
manner is almost impossible
right now.”
Braden’s departure leaves
a critical hole in the staffi ng
of the city. He served the
city of Joseph for just more
than two years.
“Now, we are right in the
middle of budget season and
we need to get something in
place to assist you (Admin-
istrative Assistant Jamie
Collier) at city hall until we
can get this job posted and
fi lled,” Buswell said after
reading the letter.
But the major issue may
be the harassment Braden
alleged. Buswell initially
suggested she could be
of help to Collier, having
worked as city recorder until
July and being familiar with
many of the workings of city
hall. However, others were
uncomfortable with that.
“I actually feel that given
the nature of the letter, it
sounds like there’s some
harassment from city council
members, I’m not sure
that I’m comfortable with
giving access,” Councilor
Lisa Collier said. “I don’t
feel like giving anybody
that power right now. I feel
like the council, we need to
sit down with Wyatt Baum
(city attorney) and say, ‘OK,
what do we do?’ Because we
could play a whole bunch
of diff erent scenarios. What
Upcoming local services
Memorial contribu-
tions may be made to the
Family History Center, 1802
Gekeler Lane, La Grande
97850, or a charity of
choice.
Linda Cowan
Haines
Linda Cowan, 71, of
Haines, died April 14 at St.
Alphonsus Regional Med-
ical Center in Boise, Idaho.
Linda took care of many
Union County residents at
her Serenity Farms Adult
Foster Home. Arrangements
are by Tami’s Pine Valley
Funeral Home and Crema-
tion Services, Halfway.
Lois L. Bigler
La Grande
Lois L. Bigler, 83, of
La Grande, died April 19
at Grande Ronde Hospital.
Arrangements are by Love-
land Funeral Chapel & Cre-
matory, La Grande.
Nancy Biechler
La Grande
Nancy Biechler, 88,
of La Grande, died April
20 at a local care facility.
Arrangements are by Dan-
iels-Knopp Funeral, Cre-
mation & Life Celebration
Center, La Grande.
Please follow guide-
lines regarding face
coverings and social
distancing at all
services.
April 24 — IVY
READ: noon grave-
side service, Grand-
view Cemetery, La
Grande (join livestream
via Zoom at https://
us04web.zoom.us/
j/8403266406?pwd=em-
NOK111RTFncU1OYz-
B1R2ZHT09vUT09;
meeting ID is
8403266406); recep-
tion follows at 1:30 p.m.,
Birnie Park, La Grande.
April 24 —
RICHARD BID-
WELL: 2 p.m. grave-
side service, Elgin
Cemetery.
April 24 — LARRY
KEFFER: 2 p.m.
graveside service,
Grandview Cemetery,
La Grande; casual dress
preferred.
April 24 — BECKY
ROBERSON: 2 p.m.
celebration of life, Elgin
Community Center.
April 29-30 —
ROBERT STALEY:
10 a.m. April 29 Rec-
itation of the Rosary
and 10:30 a.m. Mass of
Christian Burial, Our
Lady of the Valley Cath-
olic Church, La Grande;
2 p.m. April 30 grave-
side service, Juniper
Haven Cemetery,
Prineville.
May 1 —
MICHELLE SAN-
DOVAL: 10 a.m.
celebration of life, Riv-
erside Park Pavilion, La
Grande.
May 17 — JERRY
BROOKSHIRE: 2 p.m.
graveside service, Union
Historic Cemetery;
reception follows at
Catherine Creek Com-
munity Center, Union.
June 26 — DAVID
COUNCIL: 1 p.m. cel-
ebration of life, North
Powder City Park.
June 27 — MERI
OLMSTEAD: 1 p.m.
memorial service, Riv-
erside Park Pavilion, La
Grande.
— calendar courtesy
of Loveland Funeral
Chapel, La Grande
PUBLIC SAFETY REPORT
Lottery
Megabucks: $1.6 million
4-8-14-18-26-44
Powerball: $79 million
10-21-26-41-49 — PB 25 x2
Mega Millions: $257 million
6-23-43-49-52 — MB 5 x3
Win for Life: April 19
8-23-34-57
Pick 4: April 18
• 1 p.m.: 0-8-4-3
• 4 p.m.: 7-3-4-3
• 7 p.m.: 5-3-0-1
• 10 p.m.: 0-3-3-1
Pick 4: April 19
• 1 p.m.: 5-6-5-2
• 4 p.m.: 2-0-2-0
• 7 p.m.: 4-7-4-8
• 10 p.m.: 6-7-2-9
THE OBSERVER — 3A
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Joseph Mayor Belinda Buswell, right, reads City Administrator/Recorder
Larry Braden’s resignation letter during an emergency city council meet-
ing Friday, April 16, 2021, at the city library. Braden cited unspecifi ed “ha-
rassment” as his reason for resigning. City Administrative Assistant Jamie
Collier takes notes at left.
if we get the harasser actu-
ally in there, and then what?
What kind of stuff would
Larry have in his offi ce?”
The council member
emphasized she wasn’t
pointing any fi ngers.
“I’m not blaming any-
body,” she said. “I feel that
we have to move forward,
but there’s somebody or
an individual on the city
council who is the reason
why we don’t have our
city administrator. I think
we need to look at that.
Maybe not tonight, but I feel
uncomfortable appointing
people when we don’t even
know who we’re dealing
with obviously.”
The council agreed to
have Baum begin an inves-
tigation into the alleged
harassment. Baum was
not available for comment
Monday, April 19.
Although she’d ini-
tially off ered to help at city
hall, Buswell withdrew her
off er, understanding the dis-
comfort council members
expressed.
Councilors suggested
reaching out to various com-
munity members, including
those throughout the county,
who might be able to assist
both in the day-to-day oper-
ations at city hall and in the
budgeting process.
“My priority is we get the
budget done,” Buswell said.
“I don’t care who is doing it,
as long as we get somebody
in there.
The council approved
motions to fi ll the gap left
with Braden’s departure.
One such action will
be a workshop on council
rules scheduled for Monday,
April 26, which will instead
focus on reviewing the
job description for city
administrator/recorder.
“That way we can get it
posted as soon as possible,”
Councilor Kathy Bingham
said.
The motions largely
involved delegating to var-
ious members to reach out
for information, such as
posting the job vacancy with
the League of Oregon Cities,
learning if the city can get
an extension on submit-
ting its budget and fi nding
someone who could help
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Michael Patrick Piggott,
23, for charges of fraudu-
lent use of a credit card and
fi rst-degree theft.
TUESDAY, APRIL 20
8:47 a.m. — La Grande
police received a report of a
transient camp on the 2100
block of Island Avenue. An
offi cer made contact and
explained options.
10:29 a.m. — A Union
County sheriff ’s deputy
responded to the 700 block
of K Avenue, La Grande,
on a complaint about tele-
phonic harassment between
with the budget process.
Offi cials with Wallowa
County and the city of
Enterprise are being asked
if they know of someone to
help Jamie Collier with day-
to-day operations at city
hall. The council also agreed
— on Baum’s advice — to
stay out of city hall.
Public Works Director
Levi Tickner reminded
the council that city hall
once had fewer business
hours. The council agreed
to ease Collier’s workload
and to have city hall open
only from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Monday through Thursday
until suffi cient staffi ng can
be found.
The council also is
seeking help at city hall
from someone who knows
the ins and outs of zoning
and land-use laws.
“There’s a lot of traffi c
right now with zoning,
and all I’ve really started
tackling is running the
water and sewer billing,”
the administrative assis-
tant said. “People come in
the door with zoning ques-
tions. I really haven’t had
time to study zoning or to
be able to go out and check
out their markings to see if
they’re in the right place. I
don’t know anything about
that. It’s a really hot item
right now. We have a lot of
people building RV pads,
rebuilding fences.”
Although councilors rec-
ognized they needed to keep
their distance from day-
to-day operations at city
hall, they were highly sup-
portive of the city’s admin-
istrative assistant. Several
asked if there is anything
they can do to help.
“Even if it’s mowing
your lawn,” Councilor
Stephen Bartlow said,
“we’ll help.”
two individuals. The deputy
warned one subject not to
contact the other.
11:18 a.m. — The La
Grande Police Department
arrested Mung Trong Bui,
38, of La Grande, for vio-
lation of a stalking order
and unlawful use of a GPS
tracking device. Bui was
the man police arrested
Nov. 8, 2020, following a
shooting in La Grande that
left another man injured.
3:32 p.m. — La Grande
police received a complaint
about fraud. An offi cer made
contact and took a report.
5:28 p.m. — A caller
reported possible illegal
camping about 4 miles
north of La Grande. A
Union County sheriff ’s
deputy advised people they
were not allowed to park
in the Mount Emily Recre-
ation Area parking lot.
7:18 p.m. — La Grande
police received a report of
possible animal neglect on
the 600 block of Y Avenue.
9:13 p.m. — A caller
reported a loud distur-
bance on the 700 block of
Palmer Avenue, La Grande,
near the railroad tracks. An
offi cer warned people on
the tracks for trespassing.
Wallowa County Farmers
Market holds vendor
symposium Saturday
The Observer
WALLOWA COUNTY
— The Wallowa County
Farmers Market is holding
its 2021 vendor sympo-
sium virtually on Sat-
urday, April 24, from
10-11-30 a.m. The free
event is open to the public.
According to the event
information, market man-
ager Kimi Starner will
provide the latest updates
on vending this season,
including COVID-19 reg-
ulations, market protocols
and safety procedures.
A group of panelists —
Theresa Stangel of Stangel
Bison Ranch, Lauren
McBurney and Annie
Rose Miller of Lo and Ro
and Brittany Lee of Earth
and Ether — will describe
their experiences and rea-
sons for vending at the
Wallowa County Farmers
Market and off er tips and
information on marketing,
booth display and cus-
tomer service. There also
will be a Q&A with the
board.
The event will include
a door prize that will be
awarded at the conclusion
of the symposium.
There are several ways
to register. Visit tinyurl.
com/vendwallowacounty,
the Wallowa County
Farmers Market website
at www.wallowacounty-
farmersmarket.com, or on
Facebook or Instagram.
Following registra-
tion, and prior to the sym-
posium, registrants will
receive a Zoom link to
virtually attend the sym-
posium. Eventbrite, which
is coordinating registra-
tion, will send registrants
a reminder and the Zoom
link before the symposium
begins. Registration is
required to be part of the
door prize drawing.
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