LOCAL
2A — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
Today is Saturday, June 26,
the 177th day of 2021. There are
188 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
IN HISTORY:
On June 26, 2013, in
deciding its first cases on the
issue, the U.S. Supreme Court
gave the nation’s legally mar-
ried gay couples equal federal
footing with all other married
Americans and also cleared the
way for same-sex marriages to
resume in California.
ON THIS DATE:
In 1483, Richard III began his
reign as King of England.
In 1917, the first troops of
the American Expeditionary
Force deployed to France
during World War I landed in St.
Nazaire.
In 1919, the New York Daily
News was first published.
In 1945, the charter of the
United Nations was signed by
50 countries in San Francisco.
In 1948, the Berlin Air-
lift began in earnest after the
Soviet Union cut off land and
water routes to the isolated
western sector of Berlin.
In 1963, President John F.
Kennedy visited West Berlin,
where he delivered his famous
speech expressing solidarity
with the city’s residents,
declaring: “Ich bin ein Berliner”
(I am a Berliner).
In 1977, 42 people were killed
when a fire sent toxic smoke
pouring through the Maury
County Jail in Columbia, Ten-
nessee. Elvis Presley performed
his last concert at Market
Square Arena in Indianapolis.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton
announced the U.S. had
launched missiles against Iraqi
targets because of “compelling
evidence” Iraq had plotted to
assassinate former President
George H.W. Bush.
In 1996, the Supreme Court
ordered the Virginia Military
Institute to admit women or
forgo state support.
In 1997, the first Harry Potter
novel, “Harry Potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone” by J.K.
Rowling, was published in the
United Kingdom (it was later
released in the United States
under the title “Harry Potter and
the Sorcerer’s Stone”).
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme
Court struck down a handgun
ban in the District of Columbia
as it affirmed, 5-4, that an indi-
vidual right to gun ownership
existed.
Ten years ago: New York
City’s gay pride parade turned
into a carnival-like celebration
of same-sex marriage as hun-
dreds of thousands of revelers
rejoiced at the state’s new law
giving gay couples the same
marital rights as everyone else.
Five years ago: Fourteen
people suffered stab wounds,
cuts and bruises when fighting
erupted outside the California
state Capitol in Sacramento
between more than 300 count-
er-protesters and about 30
members of the Traditionalist
Worker Party, a white nation-
alist group. Fireworks exploded
as a huge Chinese-owned con-
tainer ship made the inaugural
passage through the newly
expanded Panama Canal.
One year ago: After pro-
testers in Washington, D.C.,
attempted to pull down a
statue of Andrew Jackson, Pres-
ident Donald Trump signed an
executive order to protect mon-
uments, memorials and statues.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan
met with demonstrators who
had thwarted the city’s effort to
dismantle an “occupied” protest
zone. (The zone would be dis-
mantled five days later.) Texas
and Florida reversed course
and clamped down on bars as
the daily number of confirmed
coronavirus infections in the
U.S. surged to an all-time high
of 40,000. Clemson said 37 foot-
ball players had tested positive
for the coronavirus since the
school reopened facilities for
workouts earlier in the month.
A federal judge ordered the
release of children held with
parents in U.S. immigration jails.
LOTTERY
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Megabucks
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Jackpot: $4.5 million
Lucky Lines
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Estimated jackpot: $70,000
Powerball
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Powerball: 1
Power Play: 3
Jackpot: $75 million
Win for Life
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Pick 4
1 p.m.: 8-0-5-2
4 p.m.: 5-0-3-1
7 p.m.: 7-5-5-1
10 p.m.: 0-2-2-2
Thursday, June 24, 2021
Lucky Lines
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Jackpot: $71,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 8-0-1-8
4 p.m.: 2-2-1-0
7 p.m.: 7-2-4-3
10 p.m.: 1-4-3-2
SaTuRday, JunE 26, 2021
‘A huge win for everybody’
La Grande Bike
Blast promotes
safe riding for kids
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Sev-
eral lucky children took
home their own bicy-
cles thanks to La Grande
Parks and Recreation.
Through the Safe
Routes to School pro-
gram, the department
gave away bikes, hel-
mets, safety advice and
cotton candy to kids at the
inaugural Bike Blast on
Thursday, June 24. The
event took place at Benton
Park in La Grande.
“The goal is to get
more bicycles into the
community and get more
education out to families,”
said Jessie Wilson, coor-
dinator of Safe Routes to
School.
La Grande Parks and
Recreation lined up 10
bicycles to give away,
along with adjustable hel-
mets. Wilson and three
other parks and recre-
ation workers set up tents
and tables to fit kids with
their new helmets, teach
safe riding techniques and
serve cotton candy.
The bikes came from
the Police Department
after being impounded for
more than 90 days. Moun-
tain Works Bicycles in
La Grande serviced and
repaired the bikes to a
like-new condition for the
Bike Blast event.
Dozens of children
and their family members
came out to Benton Park
to participate in cycling
event.
Wilson and La Grande
Parks and Recreation
closed off a section of
North Fourth Street at the
corner of Division Street
for the kids to test out
their new bikes, as well
as Bike Blast participants
who brought their own.
“I’ve had two bikes
before, but 10 days ago
I learned how to ride
Nearly 600,000
Oregonians
expected to travel
for holiday
By CARLOS FUENTES
The Observer
alex Wittwer/The Observer
Cousins Peyton and Jax Louden race through the street on their bikes during Bike Blast held at Benton
Park in La Grande on Thursday, June 24, 2021. Dozens of kids and family members showed up to the
event, hosted by La Grande Parks and Recreation’s Safe Routes to School program, which promotes
bike safety. During the event, volunteers gave away several helmets, instructional material, cotton
candy and even bikes.
alex Wittwer/The Observer
Jax Louden receives a stick of cotton candy at the Bike Blast event
held at Benton Park in La Grande on Thursday, June 24, 2021.
without training wheels,”
La Grande youth Oliver
Fry said.
Fry took home a bike
and has a sibling who is
looking forward to getting
his own at the next Bike
Blast on Thursday, July 8,
at Candy Cane Park.
“I think it’s really awe-
some because it offers
low-income families an
opportunity to get their
kids bikes,” said Kaylin
Fry, Oliver’s mother.
“It’s also just great to see
things going on in the
community again.”
The new bicycle
owners and La Grande
Parks and Recreation both
filled out registration and
buyer forms upon giving
away the bikes, trans-
ferring ownership of the
bikes to the children.
With summer picking
up steam, Bike Blast
served as a way to get
kids active.
“If we can get more
bikes on the road, then
we’re promoting physical
wellness,” Wilson said.
“If we can get kids get
active early on, it’s a huge
win for everybody.”
Safe Routes to School
promotes active and safe
transportation for chil-
dren on their way to
school and other activi-
ties. The program aims
to teach safe bicycle and
pedestrian habits as well
as supplying the nec-
essary infrastructure
through events like Bike
Blast.
“I’m hoping that we
can do larger events,”
Wilson said. “My main
hope is to get helmets and
bikes into the commu-
nity and teach kids how to
safely ride their bikes.”
LG school board adopts budget for 20-21
$44 million budget
has no program
cuts or layoffs
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — It’s
official, the La Grande
School District has a
solid budget in place for
2020-21.
The La Grande School
Board voted Monday, June
21, to adopt a total 2021-22
budget of $44.345 million,
$3.180 million more than
its current year’s budget.
The budget calls for
July 4
travel may
be second
busiest in
history
no program reductions or
layoffs and a net increase
of .55 of one full-time
employee position.
The district’s budget is
stable despite the loss of 140
students since the start of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
The school district receives
about $8,600 from the state
for each student. The loss of
the 140 students since the
pandemic hit has cost the
school district about $1.2
million in state funding.
Typically, such a loss
in funding would mean
the school district would
be forced to make cuts
in staff and programs to
balance its budget. This
year the school district’s
reserve fund is strong in
part because of COVID-19
relief money.
The school district has
$7.01 million in federal
funding available to it to
offset the impact of the
pandemic. This is funding
the La Grande School Dis-
trict will be reimbursed for
once it is spent, according
to La Grande School Dis-
trict Budget Director Chris
Panike.
A significant portion
of the COVID-19 relief
funding will be put in the
school district’s reserve
fund, helping offset the
money the school dis-
trict lost due to declining
enrollment, Panike said.
The budget was built on
the assumption that about
80 of the students lost will
return in the fall. If the
number is less, the school
district will draw on its
reserves to make up the
difference, Panike said.
“The success of the
budget moving forward
largely depends on student
enrollment in the fall,” he
said.
Panike said that will go
a long way toward deter-
mining the level of funding
the La Grande School Dis-
trict will have the next two
or three years.
NEWS BRIEFS
‘Shake the Lake’ fireworks
planned again
JOSEPH — A local businessman
is partnering with the Joseph
Chamber of Commerce to fund a
bigger and better Fourth of July
fireworks display over Wallowa
Lake this year.
Gary Bethscheider, owner of the
Stubborn Mule, said they are trying
to raise about $20,000 this year.
“I am trying to make it better
this year than last year,” Beth-
scheider said in a press release.
Donations can be brought to him
at the Stubborn Mule, mailed to the
chamber at P.O. Box 1001, Joseph
97846, or dropped off in donation
boxes located around town.
Checks should be made out to the
Joseph Chamber of Commerce.
The annual “Shake the Lake”
fireworks display, which usually is
put on from a raft floating in the
north end of the lake, is scheduled
to begin at 10 p.m. July 4.
Last year, because of the coro-
navirus pandemic and social dis-
tancing restrictions, the Wallowa
County Board of Commissioners
and the Wallowa County Chamber
of Commerce both canceled plans
to help fund the effort.
Bethscheider said the Wal-
lowa County Chamber is donating
$1,000.
“So far, the county commis-
sioners have allowed us access to
the county docks and Sheriff Joel
Fish said he will assist us with
the county boat,” and the board is
donating $2,000, Bethscheider said.
Oregon State Police partner
in efforts to stop speeding
SALEM — The Oregon State
Police Department is joining 11
other highway patrols, state patrols
and police forces across 12 states to
limit excessive speeding accidents.
The Western States Traffic Safety
Coalition will conduct an excessive
speed enforcement safety campaign
June 25-27. The goal of the WSTSC
campaign is to decrease roadway
deaths related to speeding.
During the COVID-19 pan-
demic, traffic on roadways
decreased significantly. However,
drivers who did take the roads fre-
quently during the pandemic con-
tributed to a significant increase in
roadway deaths due to excessive
speeding. The WSTSC is joining
forces to face this trend head-on
and focus on educating the public
about the risk involved in driving at
an unsafe speed.
The WSTSC includes the Ari-
zona Department of Public Safety,
California Highway Patrol, Col-
orado State Patrol, Idaho State
Police, Montana Highway Patrol,
Nevada Highway Patrol, North
Dakota Highway Patrol, South
Dakota Highway Patrol, Utah
Highway Patrol, Washington State
Patrol, Wyoming Highway Patrol
and Oregon State Police.
Excessive speeding reduces reac-
tion times and a vehicle’s stopping
distance, causing hazards in the
case of an accident. According to
the National Safety Council, 26% of
traffic fatalities in 2019 were related
to excessive speeding.
The coalition is choosing to
focus on the issue of excessive
speeding at the beginning of the
summer, when travel and tourism
begin to increase significantly.
The WSTSC hopes that the focus
on excessive speeding will elimi-
nate deaths due to speeding, espe-
cially over the Fourth of July hol-
iday weekend.
— The Observer
LA GRANDE — With
56% of all adult Ameri-
cans now fully vaccinated,
travelers are gearing up for
Fourth of July weekend.
According to the Amer-
ican Automobile Associa-
tion, 597,000 Oregonians
are expected to travel for
the holiday, a 40% increase
from 2020.
This will be the second
highest number of travelers
for Independence Day in
Oregon, only slightly under
the 2019 record of 609,000.
AAA says the easing of
COVID-19 travel restric-
tions, increased vaccina-
tions, and lower unemploy-
ment are giving Americans
increased confidence to
travel for vacations and fire-
works this year.
“People are eager to
travel this summer after
staying close to home for
the last year-and-a-half,
Doreen Loofburrow, senior
vice president of travel at
AAA Oregon/Idaho, said in
a press release. “With pan-
demic restrictions easing
and more people getting
vaccinated, we saw a strong
kick-off to the summer
travel season over Memo-
rial Day and that trend con-
tinues for Independence
Day.”
Oregonians won’t be
traveling alone: 48 million
Americans are expected to
travel between July 1 and
July 5 — 14.4% of the total
population, according to
AAA.
According to AAA, the
most popular destinations
for Oregonians include
Central Oregon, national
parks of Utah, Yellowstone,
Hawaii, Disneyland and Las
Vegas. With record num-
bers of travelers hitting the
road, traffic is expected to
cause major delays on high-
ways and in metropolitan
areas.
“With travelers eager to
hit the road this summer,
we’re expecting nationwide
traffic volumes to increase
about 15% over normal this
holiday weekend. Drivers
around major metro areas
must be prepared for more
delay,” Bob Pishue, trans-
portation analyst at INRIX,
said in a press release.
“Knowing when and where
congestion will build can
help drivers avoid the stress
of sitting in traffic.”
To avoid major traffic
delays, AAA recommends
avoiding travel on Thursday
and Friday afternoons and
Monday mid-day.
More traffic will likely
lead to more accidents and
delays. AAA expects to
rescue more than 468,000
motorists nationally and
8,000 in Oregon this Inde-
pendence Day weekend,
with the most common
issues being dead batteries,
lockouts and flat tires.
However, not all acci-
dents are so minor.
According to the U.S.
Department of Trans-
portation, Fourth of July
weekend usually sees
an increase in impaired
driving crashes. According
to their website, between
2015 and 2019, 1,339 drivers
died in motor vehicle
crashes over the holiday
weekend — over a third of
whom were drunk.
Nearly 3.5 million
Americans are expected to
use airline travel over the
holiday weekend; 12% of
Oregon travelers will be
flying to their destinations,
compared to the 86% of
drivers who will pay for the
highest gas prices on July 4
in seven years, according to
AAA.