LOCAL
2A — THE OBSERVER
SaTuRday, JunE 12, 2021
County
earns
‘Bright
Spot’
honor
TODAY
Today is Saturday, June 12, the
163rd day of 2021. There are 202
days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
IN HISTORY:
On June 12, 1987, President
Ronald Reagan, during a visit
to the divided German city of
Berlin, exhorted Soviet leader
Mikhail S. Gorbachev to “tear
down this wall.”
ON THIS DATE:
In 1630, Englishman John
Winthrop, leading a fleet car-
rying Puritan refugees, arrived
at the Massachusetts Bay
Colony, where he became its
governor.
In 1939, the National Base-
ball Hall of Fame and Museum
was dedicated in Cooperstown,
New York.
In 1942, Anne Frank, a Ger-
man-born Jewish girl living in
Amsterdam, received a diary
for her 13th birthday, less than
a month before she and her
family went into hiding from
the Nazis.
In 1963, civil rights leader
Medgar Evers, 37, was shot
and killed outside his home in
Jackson, Mississippi. (In 1994,
Byron De La Beckwith was con-
victed of murdering Evers and
sentenced to life in prison; he
died in 2001.)
In 1964, South African Black
nationalist Nelson Mandela
was sentenced to life in prison
along with seven other people,
including Walter Sisulu, for
committing sabotage against
the apartheid regime (all were
eventually released, Mandela
in 1990).
In 1967, the U.S. Supreme
Court, in Loving v. Virginia,
unanimously struck down state
laws prohibiting interracial
marriages.
In 1971, Tricia Nixon and
Edward F. Cox were married in
the White House Rose Garden.
In 1981, major league base-
ball players began a 49-day
strike over the issue of free-
agent compensation. (The
season did not resume until
Aug. 10.)
In 1991, Russians went to the
polls to elect Boris N. Yeltsin
president of their republic.
In 1994, Nicole Brown
Simpson and Ronald Goldman
were slashed to death outside
her Los Angeles home. (O.J.
Simpson was later acquitted of
the killings in a criminal trial but
was eventually held liable in a
civil action.)
In 2004, former President
Ronald Reagan’s body was
sealed inside a tomb at his pres-
idential library in Simi Valley,
California, following a week of
mourning and remembrance
by world leaders and regular
Americans.
In 2015, Joyce Mitchell, a
worker at the maximum-secu-
rity Clinton Correctional Facility
in Dannemora, New York, was
arrested on charges of helping
two convicted killers escape;
Mitchell later pleaded guilty to
promoting prison contraband
and was sentenced to 2 1/3 to
seven years in prison.
Today’s Birthdays: Song-
writer Richard M. Sherman is
93. Sportscaster Marv Albert
is 80. Singer Roy Harper is 80.
Actor Roger Aaron Brown is 72.
Actor Sonia Manzano is 71. Rock
musician Bun E. Carlos (Cheap
Trick) is 70. Country singer-mu-
sician Junior Brown is 69. Sing-
er-songwriter Rocky Burnette
is 68. Actor Timothy Busfield
is 64. Singer Meredith Brooks
is 63. Actor Jenilee Harrison is
63. Rock musician John Linnell
(They Might Be Giants) is 62.
Actor John Enos is 59. Rapper
Grandmaster Dee (Whodini)
is 59. Actor Paul Schulze is 59.
Actor Eamonn Walker is 59.
Actor Paula Marshall is 57. Actor
Frances O’Connor is 54. Actor
Rick Hoffman is 51. Actor-come-
dian Finesse Mitchell is 49. Actor
Mel Rodriguez is 48. Actor Jason
Mewes is 47. Actor Michael
Muhney is 46. Blues musician
Kenny Wayne Shepherd is 44.
Actor Timothy Simons is 43.
Actor Wil Horneff is 42. Singer
Robyn is 42.
LOTTERY
Wednesday, June 9, 2021
Megabucks
02-03-14-22-23-43
Jackpot: $3.9 million
Lucky Lines
02-08-10-16-19-23-28-29
Estimated jackpot: $56,000
Powerball
19-28-46-50-54
Powerball: 9
Power Play: 2
Jackpot: $31 million
Win for Life
20-42-45-47
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 6-3-2-9
4 p.m.: 1-4-4-3
7 p.m.: 3-2-8-2
10 p.m.: 2-5-2-9
Thursday, June 10, 2021
Lucky Lines
01-06-10-16-20-24-26-29
Estimated jackpot: $57,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 8-2-9-8
4 p.m.: 5-6-6-0
7 p.m.: 1-4-4-5
10 p.m.: 7-2-4-4
Wallowa County
one of 54
communities in
nation recognized
Ronald Bond/Wallowa County Chieftain
This building at the home of the Wallowa History Center will eventually be converted into an interpretive center.
Milestone celebration
Wallowa History
Center celebrates
20th year with
open house
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA — The
Wallowa History Center is
closing in on its 20th anni-
versary celebration, and
will be hosting an open
house in celebration on the
Fourth of July.
The celebration will
take place in conjunction
with the town’s Fourth of
July Parade at the home of
the center at the corner of
1st and Madison streets in
Wallowa, the former home
of the U.S. Forest Service
station.
The open house will
feature displays and give
visitors an opportunity to
look at the location that
will be in the process of
being converted into a
library, interpretive center
and more in the next few
years.
“We have a brochure.
You can read the bro-
chure (and) do a tour of the
facility up there,” center
director Mary Ann Bur-
rows said.
The center has under-
gone a lot of growth since
its beginning 20 years ago.
Burrows said it started
with not much more than a
display board that was set
up at the Wallowa County
Library.
“We really started out
on the Fourth of July with
one of our first displays,”
she said. “We had a pre-
sentation board with mate-
rials in the library, and just
moved on from there. We
got a 501(c)3 to buy a com-
puter and some materials.”
David Weaver, presi-
dent of the board for the
center, credited both Bur-
rows and Mark Highberger
for their efforts in growing
the center.
“They started out really
small and have moved
around over time previ-
ously before landing here,”
he said, “and kind of really
expanding the work they
have done. Both Mark
and Mary Ann are really
instrumental. … Mary Ann
is the heart of the organiza-
tion. It was her inspiration
that got it going, and she
knows a ton about Wallowa
County history.”
Part of what got Bur-
rows started building up
the center was seeing a loss
of town history.
“There were so many of
the older families that were
leaving. Nothing was being
saved,” she said. “I’ve
always been a history buff.
I hated to see the history of
the town disappearing.”
Highberger said Bur-
rows would gather infor-
mation and track down
old photographs of the
area. She even salvaged
archivable items that were
being thrown away.
“She did that by going
through archives, talking
to people, rescuing a lot of
material from places like
the city dump,” he said.
Many of the items the
center has collected over
the past 20 years will be
on display when the new
center is complete.
But on this Fourth of
July, visitors will get to see
what the future holds for a
place designed to preserve
the past.
Council holding special session on floodplain map
New maps have
been in the works
for several years
HOW TO WATCH
The La Grande City Council’s June 14 meeting will be held virtually.
The meeting can be viewed on Eastern Oregon Alive TV and public
comments regarding the floodplain mapping will also be answered
during the meeting.
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The La
Grande City Council meets
Monday, June 14, at 6 p.m.
to consider revisions to the
Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency floodplain
map.
The council will discuss
the updated map and vote on
whether or not to send it to
FEMA to begin the official
federal process of creating
the new floodplain map.
According to La Grande
Community Development
Director Michael Boquist,
the new maps have been in
the FEMA floodplain map
the works for several years
center in the southwest part
and the original designs are
of La Grande, where
from the mid-1970s.
Mill Creek flows
La Grande-based
toward the neighbor-
Anderson Perry
hoods surrounding
& Associates per-
formed most of the
Eastern Oregon Uni-
versity. Several areas
engineering on the
in this region that were
city and crafted the
previously not identi-
modeling for how
Boquist
fied in the floodplain
stormwater would
would now be included.
flow through the city. The
Areas near where Deal
Army Corps of Engineers
Canyon approaches toward
worked on the Taylor Creek
N Avenue on the west side
section along 12th Street
of La Grande would be
through the Sunny Hills
reduced closer to where the
subdivision.
channel is located.
Some major changes on
Another major area of
change on the floodplain
map is on the east end of
La Grande north of Gekeler
Lane, near the drive-in the-
ater. Recent improvements
to the Gekeler Lane storm-
water channels led to a sig-
nificant reduction in the size
of the floodplain areas in the
new proposed plan.
The proposed floodplain
remapping also includes
the addition of AH zones,
which address areas without
flowing water that are in low
enough elevations to cause
buildups of water in the
event of a flood.
Additionally, the city’s
public works department has
been working on updating
storm drainage and culvert
plans to improve their infra-
structure toward a long-term
planning process.
NEWS BRIEFS
OTEC asks member-owners
to be on the lookout for
trees near power lines
BAKER CITY – Oregon Trail
Electric Cooperative is asking mem-
ber-owners to be on the lookout
for trees or branches hanging or
leaning too close to power lines,
according to a press release from the
cooperative.
Trees that grow too close to power
lines can cause outages or create
other hazardous conditions.
“Although most trees do not
present a problem, some of them
grow into or crowd power lines
or other utility equipment,” said
Maaike Schotborgh, OTEC’s safety
and loss control manager. “When
greenery becomes too close for com-
fort, we have to address it because
overgrowth can interfere with power
distribution and create a hazard for
those on the ground.”
Tree branches that come in con-
tact with power lines can interfere
with electrical service. For example,
the lights in a home or business may
flicker when tree branches brush
power lines during high winds.
Stormy weather can also cause limbs
to break off and land on lines.
To report a tree or limb near a
power line, call OTEC at 541-523-
3616 and the cooperative will come
out and fix the problem.
Joseph Hathaway/Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative
Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative is asking member-owners to be on the lookout for trees
or branches hanging or leaning too close to power lines.
Team 7 releases
management of fires to
local control
ENTERPRISE — Interagency
Team 7 turned back management of
the Joseph Canyon and Dry Creek
fires to local agencies at 6 a.m.
Friday, June 11, according to a press
release.
Interagency Team 7 took over
management of the blazes on June
7, but favorable weather conditions
helped fire crews gain the upper hand.
The Joseph Canyon Fire, which
was caused by overnight lightning
last week, has burned more than
7,600 acres but is 95% contained, the
press release said. The fire is approx-
imately 23 miles southwest of Lew-
iston, Idaho.
The Dry Creek Fire, also caused
by overnight lightning last week, has
burned nearly 1,600 acres and also
is 95% contained. The fire is located
in a remote, rugged part of Hells
Canyon, northeast of Joseph.
— The Observer
By CARLOS FUENTES
The Observer
WALLOWA COUNTY
— The Campaign for Grade-
Level Reading announced
last month that Wallowa
County has been named
a 2021 Bright Spot Com-
munity due to its efforts in
keeping students engaged
after COVID-19 forced
school doors to shut.
Wallowa County is one
of 54 communities that were
recognized nationwide, and
the only one in Oregon.
Every year, the Campaign
for Grade-Level Reading
announces a list of Bright
Spot communities based on
school district achievements
in early STEM curriculum,
attendance, literacy rates
and other criteria. This year,
the organization highlighted
communities that adapted to
COVID-19 by introducing
programs which effectively
aided distance learning.
Community organization
Building Healthy Families
is partially responsible for
these efforts due to their col-
laboration with local libraries
around Wallowa County to
provide children, specifically
pre-kindergartners, with “to-
go” reading kits.
“This has been a very
challenging time to serve
families and children in
Wallowa County,” Maria
Weer, executive director of
BHF, said. “Many of our
usual activities have had to
be reformatted because of
COVID-19.”
Soon after Wallowa
County announced its tran-
sition to online learning,
Building Healthy Fam-
ilies introduced “Story
Time To Go” bags at Enter-
prise and Wallowa County
libraries, which children and
their families pick up every
Monday to receive a new
book and activities. The pro-
gram has been ongoing since
March of 2020, and the tran-
sition from in-person activi-
ties to this distanced version
has increased community
engagement, according to
BHF Special Projects Coor-
dinator Autumn Wilburn.
“In 2019, on an average
month we were serving 64
families, and last September,
we were able to provide 72
families with these activi-
ties,” she said.
Building Healthy Fam-
ilies, founded in 1999 and
based in Enterprise, has
helped families throughout
Eastern Oregon with its
many support programs,
including after-school
tutoring programs, a youth
entrepreneurship program
and numerous parent educa-
tion workshops.
The Campaign for Grade-
Level Reading is a collab-
orative effort by funders,
nonprofit partners, business
leaders, government agen-
cies, states and communi-
ties to ensure that more chil-
dren in low-income families
succeed in school and grad-
uate prepared for college.
CGLR focuses on promoting
early school success as an
important building block
of more hopeful futures for
children in economically
challenged families and
communities.
“The program has been
a major success, mainly
because every book that a
child reads improves their lit-
eracy skills,” Wilburn said.
“We’ve gotten so much pos-
itive feedback from families,
so even with libraries in the
area opening back up, there’s
no reason to stop the pro-
gram yet.”