LOCAL
2A — THE OBSERVER
THuRSday, JunE 3, 2021
TODAY
WALLOWA COUNTY
Today is Thursday, June 3, the
154th day of 2021. There are
211 days left in the year.
Creating memories at the lake
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN
HISTORY:
On June 3, 1989,
Iran’s spiritual leader, aya-
tollah Ruhollah Khomeini,
died. On the same day, Chi-
nese army troops began their
sweep of Beijing to crush
student-led pro-democracy
demonstrations.
ON THIS DATE:
In 1621, the dutch West
India Co. received its charter
for a trade monopoly in parts
of the americas and africa.
In 1861, Illinois Sen. Ste-
phen a. douglas, the demo-
cratic presidential nominee
in the 1860 election, died in
Chicago of typhoid fever; he
was 48.
In 1937, Edward, The
duke of Windsor, who had
abdicated the British throne,
married Wallis Simpson in a
private ceremony in Monts,
France.
In 1943, Los angeles saw
the beginning of its “Zoot Suit
Riots” as white servicemen
clashed with young Latinos
wearing distinctive-looking
zoot suits; the violence finally
ended when military officials
declared the city off limits to
enlisted personnel.
In 1948, the 200-inch
reflecting Hale Telescope
at the Palomar Mountain
Observatory in California was
dedicated.
In 1962, air France Flight
007, a u.S.-bound Boeing 707,
crashed while attempting to
take off from Orly airport near
Paris; all but two of the 132
people aboard were killed.
In 1965, astronaut
Edward H. White became
the first american to “walk”
in space during the flight of
Gemini 4.
In 1977, the united States
and Cuba agreed to set up dip-
lomatic interests sections in
each other’s countries; Cuba
also announced the imme-
diate release of 10 americans
jailed on drug charges.
In 2004, President George
W. Bush announced the resig-
nation of CIa director George
Tenet amid a controversy
over intelligence lapses about
suspected weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq and the
September 11 terrorist attacks.
In 2008, Barack Obama
claimed the democratic pres-
idential nomination, speaking
in the same St. Paul, Minne-
sota, arena where Republi-
cans would be holding their
national convention in Sep-
tember 2008.
In 2010, BP sliced off a
pipe with giant shears to make
way for a cap in the latest bid
to curtail the worst oil spill in
u.S. history.
In 2016, heavyweight
boxing champion Muhammad
ali died at a hospital in Scotts-
dale, arizona, at age 74.
Ten years ago: Former
democratic presiden-
tial hopeful John Edwards
admitted he had “done
wrong” and hurt others but
strongly denied breaking the
law after federal prosecu-
tors charged him with using
$925,000 in under-the-table
campaign contributions to
hide his mistress and baby
during his 2008 White House
run. (after a 2012 trial in north
Carolina, jurors acquitted
Edwards on one count of
accepting illegal campaign
contributions and deadlocked
on five other counts; prosecu-
tors decided against retrying
the case.) yemeni President ali
abdullah Saleh was wounded
when rebel rockets barraged
his palace; he later went to
Saudi arabia for treatment.
Physician-assisted suicide
advocate dr. Jack Kevorkian
died at a Michigan hospital
at 83. actor James arness
(TV: “Gunsmoke”), 88, died in
Brentwood, California.
Camp for disabled
children holds
open house
By BILL BRADSHAW
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — Thanks
for his past work, forest, cli-
mate change, the Snake River
dams — and the ever-in-
creasing price of candy — were
among the focuses of a Wal-
lowa County virtual town hall
held by U.S. Sen.
Jeff Merkley,
D-Oregon, on
Tuesday, June 1,
that was attended
by more than 20
callers.
Merkley
“My dad told
me there used
to be penny candy,” said one
Enterprise sixth-grader. “Why
is the price going up?”
Leave it to a sixth-grader to
fluster a U.S. senator.
“I’ve never been asked about
the price of candy, but you’re
right, it goes up,” Merkley
agreed.
He recalled similar stories
from his mother of inexpensive
goods during the Great Depres-
sion. Ultimately, he blamed it
on inflation.
“There’s no such thing as
penny candy anymore,” the
senator agreed, saying infla-
tion is now low and he doesn’t
expect it to go up much.
“The good news is you
won’t see (the) price of candy
going up too much,” he said.
Introduced by Wallowa
County Commissioner Todd
Nash, who expressed the com-
mission’s appreciation the work
of Merkley and his fellow Dem-
ocrat Sen. Ron Wyden in facil-
itating the moving of federal
funds to the local level, Nash
noted Merkley is an Oregon
native who grew up the son of
a millwright in a working-class
environment. His approxi-
mately 40-year career in pol-
itics led to his being Oregon’s
junior U.S. senator in 2009.
Merkley first introduced
Maria Weer, executive director
of Building Healthy Families
of Enterprise, and congratu-
lated her on the work BHF has
done, particularly during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
One questioner expressed
his appreciation for Merkley
opposing Trump administra-
tion efforts regarding climate
change.
“I appreciate you’ve been
outspoken. … We have no time
to waste on climate change,”
the caller said, adding he was
particularly concerned about
rules limiting the harvest of
forests.
Merkley said more research
is needed.
“We need guidance on the
different types of forests. How
do you combine multiple use
of forests?” he said. “Carbon
storage and forest resilience
have to be part of that, as well
as thinning. … All those pieces
are part of the formulation.”
Stacy Green, of Enterprise,
who heads the Mentor Match
Teen Entrepreneurs program,
asked if Merkley had any influ-
ence that could help provide
funding for the teens.
Merkley admitted he hadn’t
heard of the program, but
has worked with other youth
programs and would check
with the federal Small Busi-
ness Administration to see
if funding could be made
available.
“I’m looking for one of your
students to appear on Shark
Tank,” the senator joked.
County Commissioner John
Hillock asked Merkley if he
could streamline the difficul-
ties local governments have
in using the federal funds pro-
vided. Sometimes, Hillock said,
the required deadlines make it
impossible to use the funds in
time. He mentioned a generator
Wallowa Memorial Hospital is
trying to get as an example.
Merkley said deadlines have
repeatedly been extended and
more along that line can be
done.
Another youth asked the
senator’s advice for young
people in small towns.
Reflecting on his own back-
ground, Merkley recalled
advice from his father.
“Really seize the oppor-
tunities provided by public
schools,” Merkley said. His dad
told him, “It’s up to you, how
much you want to learn.”
WALLOWA LAKE —
Memories were created
Saturday, May 29, when
the Creating Memories for
Disabled Children camp
held a Founders Day open
house attended by more
than 100 people.
“It’s just an open house
for people to come and see
the place,” said Jack Bur-
goyne, a Creating Memo-
ries board member. “We’ve
had it closed for so many
years. Now we’re open up
to the public; people have
complained that we closed
the way to walk to the falls
… but you couldn’t open
it to some people and not
others.”
In fact, the former Boy
Scout camp with a trail
to Wallowa Falls remains
closed to the public, since
its primary purpose is to
provide a place for an out-
doors vacation for the
disabled.
“It’s not just for kids;
it’s families,” Burgoyne
said.
Creating Memories
began as a nonprofit in
2012. The group took over
the former Scout camp
in 2014 and has a 50-year
lease on the property
with an option for another
50-year lease from the
Blue Mountain Council of
the Boy Scouts.
The organization to
assist disabled children can
be traced back to 1960,
when Ken Coreson, one of
the founders of Creating
Memories, worked to do
just that in Alaska, taking
kids hunting and fishing.
“That’s been my whole
career,” Coreson said.
Setting up camp
Coreson moved to
Oregon in about 2004 and
his work with children
developed into Creating
Memories in 2012.
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Music provided by a group organized by Jay Connolly, owner of J’s Place in Enterprise, entertained
the more than 100 people who turned out Saturday, May 29, 2021, for the Founders Day event at the
Creating Memories for Disabled Children camp above Wallowa Lake.
But when the nonprofit
took over the camp, it had
deteriorated after years of
neglect.
“We’ve had the park
closed because when we
took it over, there was a lot
of graffiti written on the
walls, there’d been a camp-
fire set in the lodge, the
walls were all blackened
from smoke,” Burgoyne
said. “It was terrible.”
Now, they have three
A-frame cabins and five
tepees that can be used by
children with special needs
and their families. One of
the A-frames and the lodge
are still works in progress.
“We’re looking at about
$350,000 to finish it,” Bur-
goyne said of the lodge.
The lodge and the
cabins are being com-
pletely refurbished, mostly
through donations of
cash and volunteer labor,
although some specialized
work has been done by
contractors.
“We basically gutted
out all the cabins. …
They’re named after dif-
ferent people,” Burgoyne
said.
He said families can
contact him online to
reserve a free stay at the
camp. All they need to do
is bring their own bed-
ding, towels and food. In
addition to the lodging in
a beautiful forested camp-
ground alongside the upper
Wallowa River, there is
a pontoon boat that takes
visitors out on Wallowa
Lake from the nearby
marina for fishing or just a
ride on the water.
For those who are able,
a short hike to Wallowa
Falls is nearby.
“We have taken some
hunting. We have kids who
want to go hunting,” Bur-
goyne said.
In fact, some of the dis-
abled have become vol-
unteers. One youth, who
lost both arms in a hay-
baling accident at age
17, now helps at Cre-
ating Memories’ fishing
derby on Brownlee Reser-
voir. Equipped with pros-
thetic arms, he helps run
the derby including tying
fishing tackle.
Showing what’s available
During the open house,
one disabled boy was
packed in on his father’s
back and another handi-
capped man who serves
on the group’s board sang
with a seven-person band
organized by Jay Con-
MORE
INFORMATION
For more information, call Jack
Burgoyne, a Creating Memo-
ries board member, at 541-398-
0169 or visit the camp’s Face-
book page.
nolly, owner of J’s Place in
Enterprise. After listening
to the music for a while,
many enjoyed a free bar-
becue of hamburgers and
hot dogs.
Burgoyne said the event
was an overall success.
“It was successful
because people saw (the
camp) for the first time
and said, ‘What can I do to
help?’” he said.
In fact, Creating Mem-
ories received cash or
pledged donations and
offers of volunteer labor.
Others signed up with their
email addresses to help at
the camp or on the pon-
toon boat on the lake.
But the main thing was
to show what’s available at
the camp for young people
who live with disabilities
and their families.
“It’s a great thing for
families of children with
special needs,” Burgoyne
said.
La Grande area sees above average temps in May
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande area experi-
enced warmer than normal
temperatures during the
month of May, according to
preliminary data received
by the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric
Administration’s National
Weather Service Office in
Pendleton.
The average tempera-
ture during the month was
56.5 degrees, 2.1 degrees
above normal. High tem-
peratures averaged 71.4
degrees, 4.7 degrees above
normal, according to the
monthly climate summary.
The highest temperature
was 86 degrees recorded on
May 17.
Low temperatures aver-
aged 41.5 degrees, 0.6
degrees below normal. The
alex Wittwer/The Observer
An old barn rests in the warm sun in a field outside of Elgin on
Highway 82 Thursday, May 20, 2021. May brought above-average
temperatures for the Grande Ronde Valley on top of drought con-
ditions, according to weather experts in Pendleton.
lowest temperature for the
month was 33 degrees,
recorded on May 5.
Precipitation for the
month totaled 0.55 inches,
which was 1.44 inches
below normal, the report
said. Measurable precipita-
tion — at least 0.01 inch —
was received on four days,
with the heaviest, 0.25
inches, reported on May 25.
Precipitation for the year
is 5.93 inches, which is
1.87 inches below normal.
Since October 2020, the
water year precipitation in
La Grande has been 10.51
inches, 2.27 inches below
normal.
The outlook for June
from NOAA’s Climate Pre-
diction Center calls for
above normal temperatures
and below normal precip-
itation. Normal highs for
La Grande rise from 70
degrees at the start of June
to 80 degrees at the end of
the month. Normal lows
rise from 46 degrees to
52 degrees. The 30-year
normal precipitation is just
under 1.54 inches.
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Tuesday, June 1, 2021
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Megaplier: 2
Estimated jackpot: $45 million
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1 p.m.: 4-5-3-7
4 p.m.: 5-5-7-0
7 p.m.: 0-1-1-4
10 p.m.: 5-2-8-0
Merkley
addresses
issues in
town hall
Couple hurt when
ATV rolls
SUMPTER — A
Condon woman sustained
a fractured femur, and her
husband had a leg fracture
and a torn knee ligament,
but their young grandson
was not hurt Sunday,
May 30, when their four-
wheeler rolled about 50
feet down a steep slope
in the mountains above
Sumpter.
Betty Jo Reed, 60, was
rescued by members of
the Baker County Sher-
iff’s Office’s search and
rescue team, and taken by
Life-Flight helicopter to
Saint Alphonsus Hospital
in Boise.
Reed had surgery on
her injured leg May 30,
according to the couple’s
daughter, Melissa Reed.
The accident happened
on a forest road near Silver
Creek, about 5 miles
northwest of Sumpter,
according to a press
release from the Baker
County Sheriff’s Office.
Robert Reed, 64, was
driving a Polaris ATV,
with his wife and their
grandson, who’s 3-1/2, as
passengers.
While Robert Reed
was turning the vehicle
around, the child grabbed
the throttle and the
vehicle went off the road
down the embankment,
rolling about three times,
according to the press
release. All three people
were thrown from the
four-wheeler.
The grandson was
wearing a helmet,
according to the press
release.
The sheriff’s office was
assisted by the Powder
River Rural Fire Protec-
tion District, Baker City
Fire and Rescue, Sumpter
Fire Department, Baker
County Search and Rescue
and Life Flight.
School district hires
new director of
student success
LA GRANDE — La
Grande School District
Superintendent George
Mendoza announced on
Tuesday, June 1, the hire
of Jose de Jesus Melendez
at the new director of stu-
dent success.
Melendez, who will
begin his duties on July 1,
replaces current director
Scott Carpenter, who is
moving into the director
of secondary programs/
assistant superintendent
role in the La Grande
School District.
“(Melendez) will be
providing leadership in
our district’s K-5 curric-
ulum, K-5 data and assess-
ment, directing the opera-
tion of our title programs
and services, overseeing
our K-8 behavior systems
and will be seeking to
improve our attendance,
achievement and gradua-
tion rates,” Mendoza said.
“Jose de Jesus comes to
us with a wealth of varied
experience and I look for-
ward to his help in sup-
port of our district’s stra-
tegic plan.”
Melendez is cur-
rently the superintendent
of schools in Kahlotus,
Washington. Prior to
his current position,
Melendez served for nine
years as a district-level
director in Oregon and
Washington, and has
been a principal in Idaho
and Oregon. He also has
teaching experience at
numerous grade levels.
— EO Media Group