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June 3, 2021
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THURSDAY EDITION
School board member asks for more transparency
Ed McDonald says Imbler School Board
wasn’t transparent in superintendent search
By DICK MASON
The Observer
IMBLER — A member
of the Imbler School Board
charged on Tuesday, June
1, the board had not been
transparent while con-
ducting its search for a suc-
cessor to Superintendent
LA GRANDE
Hard
work
pays off
High school
students rack up
$830,000 in awards,
scholarships
Angie Lakey-Campbell,
who is leaving to take a
position leading the Hansen
School School District near
Twin Falls, Idaho.
Board member Dan
McDonald made this
charge prior to the board
voting 4-1 to name Doug
Hislop interim superinten-
dent. Hislop, who served
as Imbler’s superintendent
from 2004 to 2014 before
retiring, will serve as
interim superintendent in
2021-22 beginning July 1.
McDonald voted against
naming Hislop as superin-
tendent because he said the
selection process was not
open enough. In a letter he
read at the June 1 school
board meeting before its
vote, McDonald said he
has great respect for all
members of the school
board but in his opinion
the hiring process lacked
transparency.
McDonald, who said he
does not believe the school
board did anything illegal
or violated state rules, pro-
posed that the vote on His-
lop’s selection be canceled
and that the school board
reconsider its options. The
board voted 4-1 against
McDonald’s motion.
The school board named
Hislop as interim super-
intendent after initially
attempting to pursue hiring
a permanent superinten-
dent earlier this month. The
board, though, decided to
pursue an interim superin-
tendent after interviewing
three fi nalists because it
did not believe it had a can-
didate with the experience
needed or who would be
the right fi t for the school
district.
Imbler School Board
member Ken Patterson said
on June 2 that he believes
the board is transparent.
“We take a lot of pride
See, School/Page 5A
Riding in style
Horse-drawn carriage
offers a unique
experience in La Grande
By DICK MASON
The Observer
By DICK MASON
LA GRANDE — The
number, even with a cal-
culator in hand, is eye
popping.
La Grande High
School’s class of 2021 has
been off ered a combined
$830,000 in college scholar-
ships and awards to a total
of 55 students, according to
information provided by La
Grande High School.
“This is a testament to
the hard work of our stu-
dents,” said LHS Assistant
Principal Eric Freeman.
The assistant principal
also said the scholarship
total is a credit to people in
the community reaching out
to young people. Freeman
noted that a number of the
scholarships are from local
organizations.
“They are the lifeblood
of La Grande,” he said.
The sum total of what
LHS students have been
off ered is comparable to
what it has been in previous
years, according to LHS
Principal Brett Baxter.
Not all of the schol-
arships and awards
off ered to members of
the class of 2021 will be
accepted, Chelsee Rohan,
an LHS counselor, said.
She explained that some
The Observer
L
A GRANDE
— The popu-
larity of electric
cars appears to be
growing in Union
County.
So too is another mode
of transportation, one whose
story predates electrical power
— horse-drawn carriage rides.
Hundreds of Union County
residents have received rides
in a horse-drawn carriage over
the past fi ve months, many for
the fi rst time, thanks to a new
service provided by Matt and
Veronica Henneke, the owners
of Henneke Farm Carriage in
La Grande.
The Hennekes are pro-
viding quarter-mile horse-
drawn carriage rides
throughout Union County, plus
much longer ones for celebra-
tory events, such as weddings,
prom dates and birthdays. All
rides are given in an elegant
carriage that would fi t right in
at a royal wedding in London,
with comfortable red velvet
seats, ornate designs and an
immaculate white exterior.
Matt and Veronica Hen-
neke began providing the ser-
vice in January after receiving
their carriage from community
members who had purchased it
from a La Grande owner.
“It is such an amazing gift,”
Veronica Henneke said. “We
wanted to give back.”
Matt Henneke is the
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
ABOVE: Matt Henneke pauses for a portrait in front of his team and carriage
on Saturday, May 29, 2021. He and his wife, Veronica Henneke, own Henneke
Farm Carriage in La Grande, which provides horse-drawn carriage rides.
BELOW: Matt Henneke drives down Leff el Road near La Grande with his two
horses, Jill and Annie, on Saturday, May 29, 2021, as a part of his side business
providing carriage rides.
See, Riding/Page 5A
See, Awards/Page 5A
WALLOWA COUNTY
Josephy Center receives large grant
$30,000 grant part
of $4.3 million
OCF awarded
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
JOSEPH — The Josephy
Center for Arts and Cul-
ture has received a grant that
will give it a major boost
in funding its programs in
2021, especially as the non-
profi t looks to expand on the
information it presents.
The center has received
a grant of $30,000 from the
Oregon Community Founda-
tion, an award that was part
of more than $4.3 million
OCF announced in May.
“This funding was pri-
marily for us to build upon
our existing programs, But
in a way that really refl ects
what’s going on in our com-
munity and in the world,”
INDEX
said Kellee Sheehy, Jose-
phy’s development director.
“For instance, with our
youth services, the funding
is helping to pay to main-
tain the programs we already
have in place. A lot of the
momentum really came to a
screeching halt in 2020.”
Oregon Community
Foundation said in a press
release the grant monies
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
See, Grant/Page 5A
The Josephy Center for Arts and Culture in Joseph received a grant
of $30,000 in 2021 from the Oregon Community Foundation.
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Issue 64
3 sections, 24 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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