FROM PAGE ONE
SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2021
THE OBSERVER — 5A
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
A lone pathway sits between fi elds at Eastern Oregon University on Friday, May 7, 2021. La Grande city offi cials
have proposed installing a new path that connects Gekeler Lane and G Street at EOU near Community Stadium.
PATHS
Continued from Page 1A
of traffi c. La Grande stu-
dents need a designated
route, Carpenter said, and
such a route could involve
a paved pathway through
campus.
Carpenter also said, if
the city receives the grant,
he hopes to look into
ways of helping people on
EOU’s campus to more
easily walk or bike into
downtown La Grande.
“We would like to create
some type of a corridor,”
Carpenter said. “We want to
add continuity from Eastern
to downtown.”
Steps to achieve this
could involve making use
of right-of-way property
between EOU and down-
town La Grande.
“We would like to create
walking and biking oppor-
tunities separated from
vehicles,” Carpenter said.
He said the city would
hire a consultant to look
into such options if the
Oregon Community Path
program grant comes
through. Once the city has
a plan, it would be able
to apply for construction
grants from the Oregon
Community Path program
or other sources.
Carpenter said he is
optimistic about the poten-
tial for creating corri-
dors via OCP. He said the
opportunities the grant
could provide are exciting
and such additions would
address a need he often
hears people discuss.
WELLS
Continued from Page 1A
counties have 18 school dis-
tricts the IMESD serves
plus Nixyaawii Commu-
nity School on the Umatilla
Indian Reservation.
“Carter Wells is a long-
time educator who has pos-
itively impacted hundreds
of staff and students over
the years. I consider him a
colleague and friend and
admire the work he does
on a daily basis,” Mulvihill
said in a press release.
Mendy Clark, the Union
School District’s deputy
clerk, said one of Wells’
best qualities is his belief in
the potential of students.
“He believes every stu-
dent can succeed, every
single one,” Clark said.
Chuck Moore, region
vice president of Mid
Columbia Bus Company,
said he was pleased that
Wells was the recipient of
the award.
“We know Carter is
a hardworking and dedi-
cated superintendent who
wears many hats in the
district and the commu-
nity of Union. As a long-
time partner with the Union
School District, we at Mid
Co have seen fi rsthand the
caring commitment Carter
puts forth to the students,
parents and staff of the Dis-
trict,” Moore said in a press
release.
Wells does a multitude of
tasks for the district, from
running lawn mowers on
occasion in the summer to
counseling students about
their graduation status and
monitoring lunch periods.
He thrives on the variety
and the fact he cannot pre-
DAMS
Jon Hanley is working to complete a mural at the Old Pine Market in Halfway. The painting depicts the history
of horses in Pine Valley.
ARTIST
Continued from Page 1A
cartoons for the weekly
Eastern Oregon Review,
then freelanced for The
Observer during high
school, from 1976-1979.
“That was my foray into
professional illustrating,”
he said.
He became a full-time
cartoonist while attending
Portland Community
College.
He’s drawn cartoons
of every president from
Nixon to now.
“It’s delightful,” Hanley
said. “I’m bipartisan in
my cartooning. I won all
my cartooning awards
doing (Ronald) Reagan and
(Mikhail) Gorbachev.”
From his time at col-
lege, he developed a cer-
tain approach to political
cartoons.
“We were conscientious
that the editorial cartoons
made an impact, made
a diff erence. I’ve always
done that,” he said. “It’s
been a good career. I’ve
enjoyed it.”
Other artistic ventures
Along with the car-
toons, Hanley’s work
includes murals and set
painting for live theater.
Another venture is cre-
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Jon Hanley shows an example of his illustrated maps. This one is for
Island Park, Idaho.
ating cartoon-style maps of
towns. So far, he’s mapped
92 places, and this year
he’s focusing on Halfway.
The map will cover
about 30 miles from Hells
Canyon to Sparta.
“It will incorporate the
history of the area and be
fi lled with trivia,” he said.
The fi nished map will
measure 11 inches by 7
inches and will be folded
into the size of a brochure.
Although one side is a
highly stylized depiction
of businesses and land-
marks, the opposite side
has a more traditional map
of the area.
“It makes a souvenir
for years to come,” Hanley
said.
This is the fi rst map
project where he’s spent
extensive time in the area,
which has helped him col-
lect its history.
“I’ve met all the old-
timers — we can sit down
and talk about history,” he
said. “Pine Valley has been
really hospitable. Everyone
has been so sweet.”
It was time to map
Halfway, he said, because
he’s already completed
similar projects across
Eastern Oregon, including
Baker City, La Grande,
Joseph and Ontario, and
Weiser, Idaho.
Although he has a
few trips planned back to
Pocatello, he will stay with
family in Halfway this
summer until the map is
fi nished. He’s also
scheduled to paint a mural
in La Grande.
InterMountain Education Service District/Contributed Photo
Union School District Superintendent Carter Wells, left, poses Monday,
May 3, 2021, with Mark Mulvihill, superintendent of the InterMountain
Education Service District, after Mulvihill presented Wells with the Doug
Flatt Memorial Leadership Award.
dict what each day will
hold.
“It makes the job fun and
exciting. You never know
what you will face,” Wells
said.
Wells fi rst joined the
Union School District in
2008 as its high school
principal. He began his
career as a social studies
teacher in the La Grande
School District in 2002 and
then worked for fi ve years
in the Umatilla School Dis-
trict. Wells graduated from
Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity in 2002 and earned a
master’s degree in educa-
tion administration from
Concordia University in
November 2009.
Wells comes from a
family with a proud educa-
tion legacy. He is following
in the footsteps of his
grandfather, Thomas Wells,
who was a longtime school
record of public service to
the State of Idaho that does
Continued from Page 1A
not need to be listed here to
prove the absurdity of that
be working on the plan in
notion.”
secret when he has
Simpson argued
been working on it for
that “nothing under-
three years, speaking
mines regional dia-
with everyone
logue more than
who would listen,
refusing to talk.”
including New-
He called the
Brown
house and McMorris
Center for Biological
Rodgers.
Diversity one of the
He said he wanted
“extreme environ-
as many answers as
mental groups” that
possible before going
opposes his concept,
public with the con-
“because it would end
cept, and he is trav-
their business model
Simpson
eling around the
of keeping the stake-
region taking and
holders in the region
incorporating feedback.
in perennial litigation over
“I expected pushback
the four Lower Snake River
when this all started,”
dams.”
Simpson stated. “What I
“It is interesting that
did not expect was col-
Reps. Cathy McMorris
leagues with whom I have
Rodgers, Dan Newhouse
worked for a number of
and Cliff Bentz are using
years on a number of issues this group’s work in their
to question my integrity,
eff ort to discredit me,”
to insinuate I have lied
Simpson stated.
about my motivation and in
Agricultural stake-
fact have nefarious inten-
holders and power compa-
tions to — what? Sabo-
nies also oppose the plan,
tage the economy of my
saying removal of the dams
is a nonstarter.
own state? I have a strong
administrator in Oregon
and was superintendent of
the Astoria School District
about six decades ago.
“I was close to him
while I was growing up. It
is an honor to be following
his path,” Wells told The
Observer in 2013.
Wells also draws inspira-
tion from his wife, Kailin.
“I would not be the
person I am today if I had
not married Kailin 20-plus
years ago,” Wells said.
The superintendent said
the Flatt Award is a refl ec-
tion of not his skills but
of the wealth of talented
educators in Northeastern
Oregon who have taught
him.
“I put to use what I have
learned from them on a
daily basis,” Wells said.
“This award is a refl ection
of the amazing people
of this region.”

Shining the GRH Spotlight on:
HONORING OUR ENTIRE NURSING STAFF
National Nurses Week May 6-12, 2021
Since the 1950s, nurses have been celebrated
and recognized for their incredible work in the
medical field during Nurses Week. This year es-
pecially, we honor and thank them for every-
thing they have endured during the past year.
With courage, compassion, and resilience our
nurses have persevered during the pandemic to
care for the rest of us. Over the coming year, we
plan to shine the GRH spotlight on who they are,
GRH Oncology Services Nursing Team
what they have learned this year and how they
keep moving forward in challenging times. Watch for our GRH Spotlight in the weeks ahead to
learn more about our AMAZING nurses and others—your hometown health care heroes.
Your neighbors, your friends, your community hospital: We Are GRH.