INSIDE
AN APRIL PILGRIMAGE TO MEASURE SNOW IN THE ELKHORN MOUNTAINS |
April 24, 2021
OUTDOORS & REC, 1B
$1.50
WEEKEND EDITION
Education
Let there be light
Local school
districts OK
with state
testing
New residency program
increases La Grande’s
status as film mecca
By DICK MASON
The Observer
UNION COUNTY — Leaders
in some Oregon school districts,
including Astoria, are rejecting
standardized assessment testing,
which normally happens each
spring, because of instruc-
tional time lost to the COVID-19
pandemic.
Assessment testing still is alive
this spring in Union County, how-
ever, where all six of its public
school districts are conducting
it through May. Educators in the
districts said they believe the tests
provide valuable insight.
“They tell us when we have
gaps in our instruction. They
drive our instruction,” said Cove
School District Superintendent
Earl Pettit.
Elgin School District Super-
intendent Dianne Greif also
said assessment test scores are
meaningful.
“They help us develop future
instructional strategies,” Greif
said.
Union County educational
leaders agree lost class time is a
By ALEX WITTWER
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The Eastern Oregon
Film Festival plans to light up the screen at
one of La Grande’s seminal landmarks.
The fi lm festival, which was held only
online last year due to the pandemic, aims to
serve moviegoers and fi lm buff s a special treat
this October — the festival will take place in
the Liberty Theatre, the newly renovated his-
toric building that dates back to 1910.
There also will be showings at the per-
forming arts space HQ in downtown La
Grande and the newly renovated Loso Hall
at Eastern Oregon University. But the Lib-
erty will be the main attraction. With the new
venues, new technology will help increase the
overall quality of the festival.
“This the fi rst time there’s been a good
screen and projector,” said Chris Jennings,
the main organizing force behind the EOFF.
“We’ve been a grassroots screen for so long,
we’ve been hustling projectors. It’ll be great
to move to more solid ground.”
Each year, the fi lm festival shows nearly
two dozen fi lms ranging from feature-length
fl icks to bite-sized shorts to the fi lm fanatics
of La Grande and Eastern Oregon. Artists
from around the country come and speak
about their fi lms and their process in creating
them.
The pandemic last year posed a challenge
to the festival, with the event moving to an
online format that didn’t generate as much
interest as previous years. Jennings said he is
optimistic this year will provide a way for the
festival to return stronger than before.
“The challenge is getting people excited
again,” he said. “But the future is bright.”
The fi lm selection process, which in pre-
vious years involved the members of EOFF
coming together and watching back-to-back
fi lms over a several-hour period before giving
recommendations and discussion, has evolved
to fi t with the pandemic. Last year members
watched on their own or through watch par-
ties via Zoom. This year marked a return of
those watch parties and a new addition — a
residency program.
Jennings said he wanted even more high-
quality talent congregating in La Grande each
See, Testing/Page 5A
Cook
Memorial
off ers new
memberships
Nonresidents can
receive full access
to library services
for $50 a year
By PHIL WRIGHT
The Observer
LA GRANDE — La Grande’s
Cook Memorial Library has long
off ered basic library services to
locals living outside La Grande.
Starting May 1, nonresidents can
purchase memberships that give
them access to all of Cook Memo-
rial’s services.
Library Director Kip Roberson
explained Cook Memorial Library
is making the move to distinguish
between who lives inside the city
limits of La Grande and who does
not.
Residents of La Grande on a
per capita basis spend approx-
imately $50 annually in taxes
to support library services,
See, Library/Page 5A
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Patrons at the Liberty Theatre Cafe sit outside and enjoy a meal Friday, April 23, 2021. The theater is set to open later
this year, with a portion of the Eastern Oregon Film Festival taking place in the renovated venue hall.
“We’ve been a grassroots screen for so long, we’ve
been hustling projectors. It’ll be great to move to
more solid ground.”
See, EOFF/Page 5A
— Chris Jennings, Eastern Oregon Film Festival organizer
Oregon’s wolf population on the rise
151 of Oregon’s 173
wolves live in
Northeastern Oregon
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
SALEM — Oregon’s wolf
population grew almost 10%
during 2020, and 20 of the state’s
22 wolf packs live in the north-
east corner of the state.
Those are among the statis-
tics in the annual wolf report the
Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife released Wednesday,
April 21. The report is based on
wolf statistics at the end of 2020.
ODFW offi cials confi rmed at
least 173 wolves were in the state,
an increase of 9.5% from the 158
wolves tallied at the end of 2019.
Those numbers are based on
sightings, tracks and photographs
from remote cameras, according
to ODFW.
ODFW acknowledges there
are likely more than 173 wolves
living in the state, as not all
wolves are seen, or their presence
INDEX
Classified ...............2B
Comics ....................5B
Crossword .............3B
Dear Abby .............6B
Letters ....................4A
Lottery ....................3A
Obituaries ..............3A
Opinion ..................4A
TUESDAY
Outdoors ...............1B
Sports .....................8A
State ................ 6A, 7A
Sudoku ...................5B
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife/Contributed Photo
A remote camera in December 2018 captured this photo of a breeding female of the
Wenaha Pack on U.S. Forest Service land in northern Wallowa County. The Oregon De-
partment of Fish and Wildlife on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, released its annual wolf
report, which shows the state has at least 173 wolves, an increase of 9.5% from 2019
to 2020.
confi rmed by other evidence,
during the annual winter census.
Although two wolf packs and
two other groups of wolves are
living in the Cascade Mountains
or in Central Oregon, a majority
WEATHER
INTEGRATED CARE FACILITY
of the state’s wolves inhabit the
northeast corner.
That’s been true since wolves
started migrating into the state
from Idaho about 20 years ago.
“While Northeast Oregon con-
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Sunday
38 LOW
53/33
A shower or two
Cloudy and cool
tinues to host majority of state’s
wolf population, dispersal to
other parts of Oregon and adja-
cent states continues,” Roblyn
Brown, ODFW’s wolf coordi-
nator, said in a press release.
Of the minimum statewide
population of 173 wolves, 151
— 87% — are in the northeast
corner, including Baker, Uma-
tilla, Union, Wallowa, Grant and
Morrow counties.
That region also is home to 20
of the state’s 22 documented wolf
packs, according to ODFW. The
agency defi nes a pack as four or
more wolves traveling together
during winter. Pack populations
ranged from four to 15 wolves.
The three biggest packs are all
in Northeast Oregon:
• Noregaard Pack, 15 wolves,
including six pups born in the
spring of 2020 that survived
through the end of the year. This
pack’s area includes parts of the
northern Union, Wallowa and
Umatilla counties.
• Five Points Pack, 15 wolves,
See, Wolves/Page 5A
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 47
2 sections, 14 pages
La Grande, Oregon
Email story ideas
to news@lagrande
observer.com.
More contact info
on Page 4A.
Online at lagrandeobserver.com