LOCAL/REGION
2A — THE OBSERVER
Today in
History
Today is Tuesday, april 27, the
117th day of 2021. There are 248
days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN
HISTORY:
On april 27, 1978, 51 construc-
tion workers plunged to their
deaths when a scaffold inside a
cooling tower at the pleasants
power Station site in West Virginia
fell 168 feet to the ground.
ON THIS DATE:
in 1521, portuguese explorer
Ferdinand Magellan was killed by
natives in the philippines.
in 1791, the inventor of the
telegraph, Samuel Morse, was born
in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
in 1810, ludwig van Beethoven
wrote one of his most famous
piano compositions, the Bagatelle
in a-minor.
in 1865, the steamer Sultana,
carrying freed union prisoners of
war, exploded on the Mississippi
River near Memphis, Tennessee;
death toll estimates vary from 1,500
to 2,000.
in 1941, German forces occupied
athens during World War ii.
in 1973, acting FBi director l.
patrick Gray resigned after it was
revealed that he’d destroyed files
removed from the safe of Watergate
conspirator E. Howard Hunt.
in 1982, the trial of John W.
Hinckley Jr., who shot four people,
including president Ronald Reagan,
began in Washington. (The trial
ended with Hinckley’s acquittal by
reason of insanity.)
in 1994, former president Rich-
ard M. Nixon was remembered at
an outdoor funeral service attended
by all five of his successors at the
Nixon presidential library in yorba
linda, California.
in 2009, a 23-month-old Mexico
City toddler died at Texas Children’s
Hospital in Houston, becoming the
first swine-flu death on u.S. soil.
in 2010, former panamanian
dictator Manuel Noriega was
extradited from the united States to
France, where he was later convict-
ed of laundering drug money and
received a seven-year sentence.
in 2015, rioters plunged part of
Baltimore into chaos, torching a
pharmacy, setting police cars ablaze
and throwing bricks at officers after
thousands attended a funeral for
Freddie Gray, a Black man who died
from a spinal injury he’d suffered in
police custody.
Ten years ago: Tornadoes raked
the South and Midwest; more than
120 twisters resulted in 316 deaths.
an afghan officer, Col. ahmed Gul,
killed eight u.S. airmen and one u.S.
civilian during a meeting at an af-
ghan air force compound in Kabul;
Gul died in an exchange of gunfire
that followed his attack.
Five years ago: Former House
Speaker dennis Hastert was
sentenced in Chicago to more than
a year in prison in a hush-money
case that revealed accusations he’d
sexually abused teenagers while
coaching high school wrestling.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed
a bill allowing mental health coun-
selors to refuse to treat patients
based on the therapist’s religious or
personal beliefs.
Head Start building expansion starting
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Pre-
liminary work is begin-
ning for the installation of
a $1.6 million building that
will expand the capacity of
Eastern Oregon University
Head Start.
The building will pro-
vide EOU Head Start with
two classrooms, each with a
capacity for at least 20 stu-
dents, plus five offices. It
will be adjacent to the pro-
gram’s La Grande center,
810 14th Street, La Grande.
Work on the foundation
of the building is starting.
Once the foundation is in,
a structure now being built
in Western Oregon will be
transported to La Grande
and installed.
“It should be in by June
15,” said Robert Kleng, the
director of EOU Head Start.
The addition of the
building will put the pro-
gram in a position to sig-
nificantly increase the
overall number of hours it
provides to the 100 children
who attend its La Grande
center.
Kleng said once the
building is in place, EOU
Head Start will attempt to
alex Wittwer/The Observer
above, Billy McCallister with Earp’s Concrete Finishing & Construction,
island City, speaks with curious children at the site of the Eastern Oregon
university Head Start campus on Monday, april 26, 2021. The local com-
pany is building the foundation for the EOu Head Start program’s $1.6
million building. at left, McCallister begins setting boards for the new
building’s foundation.
obtain funding from the
state to pay for the addi-
tional teachers and staff the
program needs to provide
the extra instructional time
to students the new structure
will make possible. Kleng
said he is optimistic Head
Start will land the funding.
He noted Gov. Kate Brown’s
proposed 2021-23 budget
includes significant funding
Forest officials warn of conditions
in Umatilla National Forest
East Oregonian
PENDLETON —
Officials with the Uma-
tilla National Forest are
warning visitors looking to
adventure into the forest as
spring begins to use cau-
tion or refrain from trav-
eling on forest roads.
Though snow is begin-
ning to recede in the foot-
hills of the Blue Moun-
tains, most roads remain
impassible due to snow or
mud cause by the melting
snowpack, a press release
from the Umatilla National
Forest said.
“We typically see inci-
dents this time of year
where families head up
for the day, get stuck, and
end up spending the night
or making a very long
hike out to look for help,”
said Shane Dittlinger,
the recreation program
manager for the Umatilla
National Forest.
Much of the Blue
Mountains also lacks cell-
phone service, so officials
are advising that people
looking to explore the out-
doors bring along extra
warm clothing, food and
water in case they get
stuck and have to spend
the night in the forest.
Officials also are
encouraging visitors to
“minimize” their impact
on the forest as the
weather warms and snow
melts and roads become
more susceptible to rut-
ting, the press release said.
“Forest roads are not
constructed to be all-
weather roads, so they can
be easily damaged when
wet, especially during the
spring season,” said Shaun
Oliver, Umatilla National
Forest engineer. “Tire ruts
that are just an inch deep
can leave lasting impres-
sions that only grow with
rain and erosion.”
Although some ear-
ly-season forest visi-
tors seek “mudding” or
“mud-bogging” opportu-
nities, the officials noted
“it is illegal to operate a
vehicle on or off-road in a
manner that damages or
unreasonably disturbs land
and vegetation.”
Officials are asking
people who see evidence
of damage to report it.
Despite the early acces-
sibility, some roads are
closed for wildlife or
resource concerns. Others
are closed in areas dam-
aged by the 2020 February
and May floods.
You can find maps and
updates on closures and
flood repair activities on
the Forest Service website
and at any Forest Service
office. Closure signs will
be posted on the ground,
the press release said.
Winding Waters receives windfall of COVID-19 cash
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — The
federal American Rescue
Plan provided a major
financial boost for com-
munity health centers.
Winding Waters Medical
Clinic in Enterprise was
among those who received
help.
More than $84 million
was allocated to health cen-
ters in Oregon through the
ARP, Democratic Sen. Jeff
Merkley’s office announced
last month, with Winding
Waters receiving more than
$1.2 million.
Nic Powers, CEO of
Winding Waters, said he
was aware of the money
set apart for health centers
in the $1.9 trillion bill, and
expected Winding Waters
TuESday, apRil 27, 2021
Winding Waters Medical Clinic/Contributed Photo
Winding Waters Medical Clinic, a community health center in Enter-
prise, is receiving more than $1.2 million from the federal american
Rescue plan for COVid-19 relief.
would be able to apply for
a grant.
“I absolutely was
shocked by the amount,”
he said of the $1,210,625
awarded to WWMC. “It
was unexpected.”
The money was dis-
persed to 30 centers
in Oregon, with dollar
amounts ranging from
about $671,000 to nearly
$11 million. The money,
which will be available
once WWMC budgets
the funds approved by the
Bureau of Primary Health
Care, is a one-time, two-
year award.
“Over the next two
years, this one-time
funding will go toward our
COVID response efforts,
staff development and
the tools, equipment and
spaces we need,” Powers
said.
He noted that part of the
use for the money will be
expansion of services in
Joseph and Wallowa, but
the uses can be varied, and
are more than just COVID
response.
Community needs,
Powers said, will be
heavily in mind as staff
and the volunteer board
of directors formulate a
budget, which it has to turn
in by May 31 — 60 days
after WWMC was made
aware of the award.
for expanding preschool
education.
“It is very supportive of
early learning,” Kleng said.
Kleng said he is confi-
dent the budget the Legis-
lature eventually approves
will include at least as much
for expanding preschool
programs as Brown’s pro-
posed plan.
Kleng said he has not
met any legislators who
oppose Brown’s preschool
funding proposals.
“I know of several who
want to provide even more
funding,” he said.
Head Start instruc-
tion is free for students if
their families meet income
standards. For example, a
family with two parents and
two children that has an
annual income of $52,000
could send its children there
for no charge.
EOU Head Start also has
centers in Elgin, Union and
Baker City.
News Briefs
62 people show up
for Baker County
vaccination clinic
BAKER COUNTY —
The Baker County Health
Department had more than
1,100 doses of COVID-19
vaccine available during a
free drive-thru vaccination
clinic on Saturday, April
24, at the fairgrounds.
But just 62 people
showed up to be inoculated.
“It was extremely dis-
appointing,” said Baker
County Commissioner
Mark Bennett, who has
served as the county’s inci-
dent commander during the
pandemic.
Almost one-third of the
county’s 16,800 residents
are fully vaccinated (4,401
people) or partially vac-
cinated (1,120), according
to the Oregon Health
Authority.
The county’s vaccination
rate, per 10,000 residents,
ranks 20th among Oregon’s
36 counties.
Oregon’s rural university
holds global classes
LA GRANDE —
Eastern Oregon University
business professor Michael
Fields in 2020 created a
bridge for his students to
connect with Japanese stu-
dents on a group project.
EOU recently reported the
relationship continues to
grow.
Fields and Kansai Uni-
versity/Institute for Inno-
vative Global Education
took up an official partner-
ship in early 2020 to expose
both universities to global
cultures.
So far, Fields has com-
pleted multiple projects
with the school since the
spring of 2020.
Recognizing this con-
nection expanded his stu-
dents’ cultural awareness,
Fields and his class met late
at night to accommodate
the time difference between
Oregon and Japan.
In the fall, Fields’ Busi-
ness in a Global Environ-
ment class worked with
Japanese students to create
a website or app and mar-
keting plan.
Excited for the potential
this partnership has, Fields
explained the opportunity is
available to all EOU profes-
sors. In the future, his Japa-
nese colleagues have voiced
interest in forming con-
nections with the English
department at EOU.
“For a lot of the students
it’s their first time really
interacting with students
or anyone from another
country and so it’s really
just that lightbulb moment,
that ‘aha’ moment that the
world is a lot bigger than La
Grande and EOU,” Fields
said.
Even at EOU, Oregon’s
Rural University, he added,
“we still forge these global
partnerships and have inter-
national work.”
Wyden announces
online town halls
PORTLAND —
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
announced he will have live
online town halls for resi-
dents of Morrow, Umatilla,
Union, Wallowa and Wasco
counties.
The virtual town hall
schedule is as follows:
• Morrow County, Sat-
urday, May 1, at 3 p.m.
• Umatilla, Union and
Wallowa counties, Sunday,
May 2, at 11:30 a.m.
• Wasco County, Sunday,
May 2, at 3:30 p.m.
People’s Town Hall on
Facebook is hosting the
town halls. Visit www.face-
book.com/PeoplesTH/ for
links to each event.
For Oregonians in
those counties who want
to submit questions for
Wyden, visit bit.ly/3ax-
RmUo or email info@peo-
plestownhall.org.
— EO Media Group
Drilling done on Baker City’s new well; tests show good water quality
Project costs $677,000 with goal of
producing 2.16 million gallons per day
By JAYSON JACOBY and
SAMANTHA O’CONNER
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY —
Baker City’s new drinking
water well is finished, but
considerably more work is
needed before it starts put-
ting water into pipes.
The city’s contract,
Schneider Water Services
of St. Paul, near Salem,
finished drilling the well
last week, said Michelle
Owen, the city’s public
works director.
The company drilled
down 654 feet at the site
on the east side of the
parking lot at the city-
owned Quail Ridge Golf
Course at 2801 Indiana
Ave., Owen said.
The company had esti-
mated the well, which
has a casing 12 inches in
diameter, would be about
700 feet deep.
Owen said a brief
pumping test showed good
water quality.
A liner for the well,
which will be custom
made, has been ordered
and should arrive within a
couple weeks, she said.
Schneider Water Ser-
vices workers will return
in May to install the liner
and a test pump, finish
pump tests and video the
well. They should be fin-
ished by early June, Owen
said.
The city council voted
in April 2020 to hire the
company to drill the well,
at a cost of $677,000.
Drilling started in early
October 2020, and initial
progress was slower than
the company expected
as the drill encountered
thicker layers of clay soils
that anticipated based on
the drilling logs from an
older well elsewhere on
the golf course.
The second, and more
expensive, phase of the
well project will go out for
bid soon, Owen said.
The work includes
building a well house and
installing the piping to
connect the well to the
distribution system. That
phase will cost an esti-
mated $2 million. Owen
said work likely will start
in September 2021.
The well should be
available to start deliv-
ering water to homes and
businesses in the spring of
2022.
Owen said the goal is for
the well to produce about
1,500 gallons per minute,
approximately 2.16 million
gallons per day.
The city will use the
well during the summer,
when water demand peaks
but the volume from the
streams and springs in the
city’s watershed drops.
The well will also be
beneficial in some years
during spring, when rap-
idly melting snow in the
watershed, which is in the
Elkhorn Mountains west
of town, can temporarily
cloud streams with silt.
The new well is one
of the major projects that
prompted the city council
to boost water rates by
10% in 2016, 2017 and
2018.
Those increases will
pay for the well and for
the continuation of a long-
term effort to replace the
century-old, leaky con-
crete pipeline that brings
water to town from the
city’s watershed.
The new well will be
the city’s second.
The other well, which
the city drilled in 1977
near its water treatment
plant and reservoir on the
hill near Reservoir Road,
is about 800 feet deep.
Owen said the new
well, like the existing
one, will be part of the
city’s aquifer storage and
recovery system.
Baker City was the first
Oregon city to receive a
state permit allowing it
to divert water from sur-
face sources — the water-
shed streams and springs
— into a well during the
winter when the watershed
produces far more water
than the city needs.
That water is stored in
the well aquifer and can
be pumped later into the
city’s distribution system.