LOCAL/REGION
2A — THE OBSERVER
SaTuRday, May 1, 2021
Today in COVID-19 outbreak closes Wallowa High School
History Wallowa County
Today is Saturday, May 1, the
121st day of 2021. There are 244
days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN
HISTORY:
On May 1, 2011, President Barack
Obama announced the death of
Osama bin Laden during a u.S.
commando operation (because of
the time difference, it was early May
2 in Pakistan, where the al-Qaida
leader met his end).
ON THIS DATE:
In 1707, the Kingdom of Great
Britain was created as a treaty
merging England and Scotland
took effect.
In 1915, the RMS Lusitania set
sail from New york, headed for Liv-
erpool, England (it was torpedoed
and sunk by Germany off the coast
of Ireland six days later).
In 1941, the Orson Welles motion
picture “Citizen Kane” premiered in
New york.
In 1945, a day after adolf Hitler
took his own life, admiral Karl doe-
nitz effectively became sole leader
of the Third Reich with the suicide
of Hitler’s propaganda minister,
Josef Goebbels.
In 1960, the Soviet union shot
down an american u-2 reconnais-
sance plane over Sverdlovsk and
captured its pilot, Francis Gary
Powers.
In 1963, James W. Whittaker be-
came the first american to conquer
Mount Everest as he and Sherpa
guide Nawang Gombu reached the
summit.
In 1971, the intercity passen-
ger rail service amtrak went into
operation.
In 1975, Hank aaron of the
Milwaukee Brewers broke baseball’s
all-time RBI record previously
held by Babe Ruth during a game
against the detroit Tigers (Milwau-
kee won, 17-3).
In 1992, on the third day of the
Los angeles riots, a visibly shaken
Rodney King appeared in public to
appeal for calm, pleading, “Can we
all get along?”
In 1998, Eldridge Cleaver, the
fiery Black Panther leader who later
renounced his past and became
a Republican, died in Pomona,
California, at age 62.
In 2009, Supreme Court Justice
david Souter announced his retire-
ment effective at the end of the
court’s term in late June. (President
Barack Obama chose federal judge
Sonia Sotomayor to succeed him.)
In 2015, Baltimore’s top prosecu-
tor charged six police officers with
felonies ranging from assault to
murder in the death of Freddie Gray,
who’d suffered a spinal injury while
riding in a police van.
Ten years ago: Pope Benedict
XVI beatified Pope John Paul II,
moving his predecessor a step
closer to sainthood.
Five years ago: a wildfire broke
out near Fort McMurray, alberta,
Canada; in the days that followed,
the blaze destroyed 2,400 homes
and other buildings and forced
more than 80,000 people to
evacuate. after a half-century of
waiting, Cuban-born passengers set
sail from Miami on a historic cruise
to Havana, the first such trip from
the u.S. since recent policy changes.
Elephants performed for the last
time at the Ringling Bros. and Bar-
num & Bailey Circus in Providence,
Rhode Island.
cases increase to
172, Union County
stands at 1,432
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA — Wal-
lowa High School closed for
the next two weeks, effec-
tive Thursday, April 29,
after several COVID-19
cases were confirmed at
the school, Superintendent
Tammy Jones said in a post
to the district’s Facebook
page.
According to the post,
six individuals have tested
positive for COVID-19 —
two Wednesday night, and
four other positive tests ear-
lier in the week. In a post
Tuesday evening that first
outlined the details of the
outbreak, the district said it
did not plan to close. That
plan changed Thursday
morning.
“We are working closely
with our local and state
health authority to respond
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa High School closed Thursday, april 29, 2021, because of an outbreak of COVId-19. School officials said
they expect the closure to last two weeks.
to this news and protect the
health of our community,”
Jones wrote in the Thursday
morning post. “We are rap-
idly putting the contact
tracing logs together and
providing them to local
health officials for contact
tracing. Given the timing
and the numbers of contacts
that local health officials
will needing to contact, we
are immediately closing our
high school.”
Students in grades six
through 12 were moved to
distance learning starting
Thursday and will remain
there through May 11. A
local health official will
contact parents who have
a student who is required
to quarantine, Jones said in
the post.
Increasing the ease of voting Reflecting on a
Union County adds
three ballot drop
boxes at city halls
By DICK MASON
The Observer
UNION COUNTY —
Participating in elections
now is easier in three Union
County cities.
The Union County
Clerk’s Office has installed
new ballot drop boxes out-
side city hall buildings in
Elgin, Island City and North
Powder. The drop boxes,
which cost a total of $5,000,
are replacing old ones that
were inside the three city
halls. Now voters in those
cities can drop off their bal-
lots round the clock during
any election, including the
current one, which con-
cludes May 18 at 8 p.m.
The county installed
the outdoor drop boxes to
make it more convenient
for people to vote, Union
County Clerk Robin Church
said.
Voters in Elgin, Island
City and North Powder
previously could only
drop their ballots off while
their city hall was open,
she said. In most cases
this is only on weekday
mornings and afternoons.
alex Wittwer/The Observer
a union County election box
stands outside Elgin City Hall on
Thursday, april 29, 2021. The new
election boxes came in time for
the May 18 election.
“People who wanted to
drop their ballots off after
work or on the weekend
could not,” Church said.
Voters, of course, have
the option of mailing their
ballots to the Union County
Clerk’s Office. But voters
should mail in ballots at
least five days before an
election day so the ballot
arrives on time for the elec-
tion. Anything less and
voters should place their
ballots in a drop box.
The addition of the new
drop boxes means Summer-
ville is the only incorpo-
rated city in Union County
without a drop box.
All of Union County’s
drop boxes are at city halls
except in La Grande, where
there is a drop box at the
Cook Memorial Library,
2006 Fourth St., and two at
the Union County Clerk’s
Office, 1001 Fourth St.,
where there is an outdoor
and indoor box.
La Grande City Hall had
an indoor drop box until
last year, when the corona-
virus pandemic led to the
closure of the building. To
make up for this, an outdoor
drop box site was estab-
lished at Cook Memorial
Library, where it remains in
place, Church said.
The $5,000 for the
new drop boxes in Elgin,
Island City and North
Powder came from federal
COVID-19 relief funding
for election security. Union
County has spent $25,000
of the $30,000 it was
allotted for election secu-
rity. The other funding paid
for items such as better
lighting at drop box sites.
High-speed chase ends with arrest of Utah man
Baker City Herald
BAKER COUNTY —
Baker City Police Depart-
ment officers deployed a
spike strip Wednesday eve-
ning, April 28, to stop a car
that led Oregon State Police
troopers on a high-speed
chase along Interstate 84.
Clayton Ted Snell, 36, of
Sandy, Utah, was arrested
on multiple charges,
including driving under the
influence of intoxicants,
fleeing in a vehicle and on
foot and reckless driving.
Around 7:07 p.m. on
Wednesday, OSP noti-
fied the Baker County
Dispatch Center about
a pursuit in the west-
bound lanes of I-84. Due
to excessive speeds, OSP
troopers stopped the chase,
according to a press release
from the Baker County
Sheriff’s Office.
Shortly after the call,
Baker City police found the
vehicle leaving the freeway
and heading east on
Highway 86 toward Rich-
land. As officers followed
the car, it made a U-turn.
Police set up the spike strip,
which flattened the car’s
tires.
Snell then tried to flee
on foot, according to police,
but after a brief chase,
Baker County sheriff’s dep-
uties caught and arrested
him. Snell was taken to the
Baker County Jail.
Wallowa Lake Lodge prepares for new season
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA LAKE —
Leadership at the Wallowa
Lake Lodge is hoping to
have a new, improved and
expanded deck completed
by next month — just in
time for the start of the new
season.
It’s the latest improve-
ment at the lodge, and
one that became a clear
need last year after the
COVID-19 pandemic forced
business outside.
“It became really
apparent last year when
we had to move outside as
much as possible because of
coronavirus to stay open,”
said Madeline Lau, general
manager of the lodge. “We
had to limit our capacity
in the dining room by half,
so we could only get 42
people. Also with the views
and the ambiance and the
beauty of our location,
people want to be outside
anyway. It became apparent
our deck had some struc-
tural issues last year.”
Students in kindergarten
through fifth grade will
remain on campus, Jones
said.
The Facebook post
Tuesday evening linked the
outbreak to a community
prom, which the post said
was not a school sponsored
activity.
“Many Wallowa County
students attended this
event, along with commu-
nity chaperones,” the post
stated. “(Tuesday) afternoon
we learned that a number
of individuals attending the
prom have tested positive
for COVID-19.”
Jones on Thursday con-
firmed to the Wallowa
County Chieftain that
the six reported cases are
students.
She added that any ath-
letes will be able to com-
pete during the move to dis-
tance learning as long as
they are not in quarantine.
Oregon Health Authority
has reported 12 new
COVID-19 cases in Wal-
lowa County the last two
days, including four in its
Friday, which brings the
county total to 172.
Union County from
Sunday through Wednesday
added three new cases,
according to the OHA, then
added five on Thursday
but none on Friday. The
county’s total number of
cases as of Friday morning
was 1,432, including 23
fatalities.
Lau isn’t quite sure when
the deck was assembled for
the 98-year-old lodge, but
said she thinks it was pos-
sibly built during a renova-
tion to the building in 1988.
Lau said the old deck
was ripped out during the
winter, and the rebuild
started April 5.
The new deck will have
a bowtie design and, at
roughly 2,000 square feet,
will be about 30% larger
than the one it’s replacing.
The new deck will be built
of cedar, and will include
posts made of locally
sourced juniper with a
stainless-steel tension cable
for the railing. The deck is
being built by local commu-
nity members.
The hope is to have the
deck completed by May
21, in time for the lodge’s
opening May 28.
“It’s our goal to make
the most beautiful deck in
Eastern Oregon and a place
where everyone is wel-
come,” she said.
It’s a season where Lau
hopes to see the lodge being
used by both locals and
tourists. The local commu-
nity has sustained the his-
toric place and saved it five
years ago.
“We are announcing
that I want the community
to use the lodge in a much
bigger way,” she said.
Lau said in the past, the
lodge has been more of a
destination for tourists, and
the locals have wondered
about the accessibility to
them.
“It is my goal to make the
lodge as accessible as pos-
sible to the widest variety
of guests and customers,
but also to see the commu-
nity use the lodge more than
they have before,” she said.
“I want this to be a gath-
ering place, I want the com-
munity to feel very wel-
come here. For a long time
the lodge was set apart and
felt almost inaccessible. We
want to be a place that the
community uses.”
Among the adjustments
this season, which will run
through Oct. 31, are restau-
rant hours being changed,
and now being from noon
to 9 p.m. Tuesday through
Sunday. It will have a happy
hour from 3-5 p.m. on
Tuesday through Sunday,
and a brunch from 8-11 a.m.
Saturday and Sunday.
The restaurant will have
a “Scandanavian-inspired
menu,” Lau said.
There also is a plan to
have live musicians on the
deck from 5-7 p.m. Friday
nights, and pianist Gail
Swart will play Sundays
from 6-9 p.m. in the dining
room.
With the deck coming
in at about double the
expected price due to a
spike in lumber prices,
the lodge has launched a
gofundme.com page to help
with expenses. The page
has a goal of $15,000.
“Initially, the cost of
the deck was half of what
it now is, so we can use
community support to
get us there. Any little bit
helps,” Lau said.
memorable evening
EOU grad attends Academy Awards
By DICK MASON
The Observer
The 93rd annual
Academy Awards cere-
mony on Sunday, April
25, was one of the smallest
in its history in terms of
audience size because of
social distancing limita-
tions in place due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Still, the
importance
and magni-
tude of the
event in Hol-
lywood,
Fitzgerald California,
will forever
loom large in the mind of
Skye Fitzgerald, a 1993
Eastern Oregon University
graduate.
Fitzgerald attended the
ceremony as the director
of the film “Hunger
Ward,” which received
an Oscar nomination in
the best short documen-
tary category. The cere-
mony, which about 300
people attended, was a
stark contrast to the 2018
Academy Awards that
Fitzgerald also attended
when his film “Lifeboat,”
which focuses on search
and rescue operations off
the coast of Libya, also
received an Oscar nom-
ination for best short
documentary.
Fitzgerald said the
April 25 Academy Awards
was “a smaller, more inti-
mate affair” with less
dialogue.
“Hunger Ward” chron-
icles doctors struggling to
save the lives of starving
children in war-torn
Yemen. The film did not
win an Oscar, but Fitz-
gerald emerged from the
Academy Awards grateful
to have been part of the
event.
“Whether or not you
walk off with an Oscar,
anyone who gets in that
room is part of the highest
celebration of an art form.
It was a special celebration
regardless of scale,” Fitz-
gerald said. “Even though
it was diminished, it ele-
vated cinema.”
ABC TV’s broadcast
of the event showed Fitz-
gerald sitting at a table
when the five nominees
for best documentary
short were announced.
Fitzgerald said he was not
aware he was on camera at
the time.
Audience members,
all of whom had been
tested multiple times for
COVID-19, did not wear
masks, but those outside
the venue did.
Fitzgerald was present
when actress Glenn Close
did a surprising dance to a
1990s song by Experience
Unlimited after answering
a trivia question about it.
The dance was one of the
most talked about events
at the Academy Awards.
“It was hilarious. It felt
spontaneous,” said Fitz-
gerald, who was EOU’s
2019 graduation speaker
and now lives in the Port-
land area.
Fitzgerald said “Hunger
Ward” has received much
more distribution and
attention since the nomi-
nation in March. He said
he desperately hopes this
can lead to resolution of
the conflict in Yemen and
the end of the blockade
triggering the starvation
of its people.
Pendleton Grain Growers
HQ on the auction block
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — One
of Pendleton’s most prom-
inent buildings is on the
market, and all anyone
needs to buy it is as little
as $2 million.
On behalf of Pendleton
Grain Growers, Realty
Marketing/Northwest
is auctioning off PGG’s
mostly vacant Pendleton
facility for the reserve
price of $1.995 million, a
slight reduction from the
company’s $2.1 million
asking price.
The 3-acre, 1000 S.W.
Dorion Ave. property
includes a 42,000-square-
foot building that once
housed the grain co-op’s
headquarters, retail show-
room, automotive service
center and warehouse.
PGG once was a thriving
organization with agricul-
tural and retail operations
across Eastern Oregon,
but the Pendleton facility
has sat mostly vacant for
about half a decade after
it decided to shutter retail
operations in 2014 and
voted to completely dis-
solve the co-op in 2016.
Many of PGG’s other
properties have been sold
to various businesses
and organizations, and
the former PGG Energy
building near the main
Pendleton facility was
recently sold to Hines
Meat Co., which turned it
into a butchery and restau-
rant. But PGG hasn’t yet
sold its flagship property.
That’s what Realty
Marketing/Northwest and
President John Rosenthal
are trying to change.
Rosenthal said he’s
already heard interest
from several prospective
bidders both locally and
from the Portland area.