INSIDE
WRIGHT DEPARTS THE OBSERVER, RETURNS TO EAST OREGONIAN |
May 20, 2021
BUSINESS & AG, 1B
$1.50
THURSDAY EDITION
Merkley:
U.S needs
to stand
up to drug
companies
Lucky La Grande High School senior gets a Soul
Meeting
foster care
needs in a
child care
desert
Senator also calls
for Olympics to pull
winter games from
China
State hired people
to recruit and retain
placements for
children in need
By PHIL WRIGHT
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
Oregon U.S. Sen. Jeff
Merkley during an online
town hall discussed issues
ranging from universal
health care to pulling the
Winter Olympics out of
China.
The virtual
event Tuesday,
May 18, was
the Democrat’s
15th town hall
of 2021 and
his 447th since
Merkley
becoming
senator.
“When I hear that
number I can’t believe it’s
447 town halls. How’s that
happen?” he joked.
He started off the event
with an overview of the
American Rescue Plan,
the $1.9 trillion COVID-19
relief package that is
sending $350 billion to local
governments, including
about $2.8 million to La
Grande and $5.2 million to
Union County.
The plan was “designed
to rebuild the economy
from the ground up” and
avoid sending the money
to the states to distribute,
Merkley told the more than
30 people who attended
the virtual event. He also
touched on President
Joe Biden’s plan to rein-
vest in the United States’
infrastructure.
“I really feel like the
infrastructure in America
is sliding down,” Merkley
said, adding the nation has
not kept up with mainte-
nance and improvements.
And he expressed con-
cern about the erosion of
voting rights.
“The right to vote is
basic to the vision of a
republic,” the senator
said, adding the U.S. has a
See, Merkley/Page 5A
INSIDE
Observer reporter Dick Mason
interviewed U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
before his online town hall for
Union County on Tuesday, May
18. See Page 2A for more of what
Merkley had to say.
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
A white 2011 Kia Soul sits outside La Grande High School Wednesday, May 19, 2021. Legacy Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram of Island City donated the
Kia, which is set to be the grand prize for the senior graduation party. “This is just a small contribution that we felt we could make, and with the
pandemic, it’s been rough for the seniors,” said Brent Frizzell, a sales manager with the dealership. “Anything we can do to help is what we’re
all about.”
‘Superhero’ lifts Joseph’s clouds
Interim City
Administrator
Brock Eckstein
meets with key
figures regarding
harassment
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
JOSEPH — The clouds
that have covered Joseph
City Hall with gloom for
weeks — if not longer
— may be lifting thanks
to the eff orts of its new
interim city administrator,
Brock Eckstein.
Last week, Eckstein
met with Dennis Welch,
the city’s parks, Main
Street and facilities super-
visor, and discussed the
harassment allegations
that have kept Welch off
work since March 22. He
cited stress, “gaslighting”
and harassment as reasons
for his time off . Welch
returned to work Sunday,
May 16.
“The cloud is lifting
and the sun’s coming out
and that’s what I want,”
Welch said Monday. “I
just want to come to work
and do my job. I know the
people here appreciate me.
They’ve made that very
clear.”
Welch’s allegation
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Dennis Welch, parks, Main Street and facilities supervisor for the city of Joseph, turns on a water valve at
the Joseph City Park Monday, May 17, 2021, having returned to work after an eight-week absence because
of health-related issues stemming from alleged harassment.
was the second of two
that rocked Joseph City
Hall this spring. On April
1 former city admin-
istrator Larry Braden
told the city council that
unnamed members of
the council were in vio-
lation of the city charter,
council rules and his own
employment contract by
interfering with his work.
That sparked a debate
between Mayor Belinda
Buswell and Council-
woman Kathy Bingham
on what elected offi cials
were allowed to do when
it came to dealing with
city employees.
But Braden’s con-
cerns apparently went
unheeded, and on April
16 he submitted a letter of
resignation citing “con-
stant harassment from
members of the current
City Council.”
Braden has so far
declined to return calls
seeking comment.
Eckstein said May
17 he plans to meet with
Braden this week.
The interim admin-
istrator believes some
progress can be made,
though he does not know
if Braden is planning any
legal action regarding his
resignation or the harass-
ment allegations.
“I’m so glad he’s
Editor’s Note
This is the fi rst of a
three-part series on foster
care needs in Baker, Union
and Wallowa counties. Next
in the series: Meet fami-
lies who foster children in
Northeastern Oregon.
By LISA BRITTON
EO Media Group
The number of children
in foster care has decreased
across Oregon, but there
still is a need for certifi ed
foster homes.
“We have fewer children
in foster care than we have
in years, but we’re always
looking for more resource
families,” said Tammie
Blessing.
Blessing works for the
Oregon Department of
Human Services. She is
the resource family reten-
tion and recruitment cham-
pion for District 13, which
includes Baker, Union and
Wallowa counties.
“Resource family” and
“resource parents” are the
new terms describing a
foster family and foster
parents.
On average, Oregon has
about 6,000 children in
foster care. On April 1, that
number was 5,975.
In March, there were 40
children in certifi ed foster
homes across Baker, Union
and Wallowa counties.
“Baker County has
a high rate of abuse and
neglect, per capita, com-
pared to other places,”
Blessing said.
In Oregon, the DHS
Child Welfare Director
Rebecca Jones Gaston
has released a “Vision for
Transformation.” The docu-
ment is about 25 pages and
is online at www.oregon.
gov/dhs/CHILDREN/
CWTransformation/Pages/
index.aspx.
Blessing points to the
See, Foster/Page 5A
See, Joseph/Page 5A
Moving into medicine during a pandemic
2008 La Grande High grad to specialize
in family medicine after residency
By DICK MASON
The Observer
Jessica Roberts/Contributed Photo
Jessica Roberts, a 2008 graduate of La Grande High School, graduates
Friday, May 21, 2021, with a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree
from Western University of Health Sciences, Lebanon.
INDEX
Business .................1B
Classified ...............3B
Comics ....................7B
Community...........3A
Crossword .............3B
LA GRANDE — The
COVID-19 pandemic likely
is giving some medical stu-
dents reason to consider
leaving school because of
fear for their safety and the
potential of overwhelming
caseloads.
This thought never
crossed the mind of Jes-
sica Roberts, a 2008 La
Grande High School grad
set to graduate Friday, May
21, with a medical degree
WEATHER
Dear Abby .............8B
Horoscope .............4B
Letters ....................4A
Lottery ....................3A
Obituaries ..............3A
SATURDAY
Opinion ..................4A
Spiritual .................6A
Sports .....................8A
State ........................7A
Sudoku ...................7B
from Western University of
Health Sciences in Lebanon.
“Not at all. For me per-
sonally there has never been
anything else I have wanted
to become except a medical
doctor,” Roberts said.
She also is driven to
become a physician because
she wants to share in the
bond she observed among
health care providers. Rob-
erts said she has been struck
by how health care pro-
viders are reaching out
during the pandemic not
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Friday
40 LOW
52/39
A shower late
Showers around
DONATIONS TO LOCAL SCHOOLS
only to their patients but
also their co-workers. She
said this connection always
has existed but the pan-
demic magnifi ed it.
“It defi nitely has brought
it out,” Roberts said. “I want
to be part of it and ease the
medical burden.”
She said safety is not a
major concern because she
has been fully vaccinated
for COVID-19.
“I have a lot of confi -
dence in the vaccine,” Rob-
erts said.
If it were not for the
vaccine, safety would be a
See, Grad/Page 5A
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Issue 58
3 sections, 24 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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