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TUESDAY EDITION
June 29, 2021
West Coast chlorine shortage reaches Eastern Oregon
Power failure at
Washington plant
leads to issue
By CARLOS FUENTES
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Cer-
tain cities across North-
eastern Oregon are experi-
encing chlorine shortages
for their water supply due
to a major electrical failure
at a Washington chlorine
manufacturing facility that
supplies chlorine for much
of the West Coast.
According to Doug Wig-
gins, city administrator for
the city of Union, the city
has a six-month supply of
gas chlorine, which is used
to clean drinking water.
However, there is a shortage
of liquid chlorine, which is
used to treat wastewater, he
said.
“There’s just not a lot
we can do, because people
are going to continue going
to the bathroom,” Wiggins
said. “On the water side,
we’re okay. There doesn’t
seem to be a need for any
restrictions, but that might
be something we have to
discuss in the future.”
The city receives its
chlorine in barrels, each
of which provides 10 days
of sanitation. The city of
Union currently has about
1-1/2 barrels’ worth of
liquid chlorine for waste-
water, or a 15-day supply,
according to Wiggins.
“We’re hoping they
fi gure out the supply,
because you can’t stockpile
the liquid, so we’ve been
barely keeping up every
week,” Wiggins said. “If
it gets worse, we could be
in danger of violating state
regulations.”
Union receives its chlo-
rine from OXARC in La
Grande, a company that
supplies industrial gases
and chemicals. OXARC
gets its chlorine from West-
lake Chemical, a chlorine
manufacturer in Longview,
Washington, which expe-
rienced a power failure in
early June when a piece of
equipment connected to an
electrical transformer at the
facility stopped working.
Offi cials expected the
repair to take several
weeks, but on Wednesday,
June 23, NORPAC, a cus-
tomer of Westlake, gave
the company a spare trans-
former that allowed produc-
tion to resume.
“Westlake Chemical’s
Longview, Washington,
plant successfully installed
See, Chlorine/Page 5A
The Observer, File
Residents make use of La Grande’s community Veterans’ Memorial
Pool in this undated photo. A major electrical failure in early June
2021 at Westlake Chemical, a chlorine manufacturing facility in
Longview, Washington, has caused chlorine shortages across the
West Coast. According to La Grande Parks and Recreation director
Stu Spence, there is no chlorine shortage at the Veterans’ Memorial
Pool for the time being.
Inlow
Hall to
receive
facelift
EOU’s 1st building
to be restored and
modernized with
$18.5M in funding
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
future of Inlow Hall,
Eastern Oregon University’s
oldest building, now looks
as solid as the face of Indian
Rock near Mount Emily.
The building is set to
receive major restoration
and modernization work
after a committee in the
Oregon Legislature voted
on Thursday, June 24, to
allow the use of nearly $446
million in state bonds to
fi nance major building and
renovation projects. The
request for the $446 million
in funding by the state’s
universities later received
fi nal approval from the
Legislature.
EOU’s share of this
funding will be $18.520
million, all of which will be
used for work at Inlow Hall.
“It will be a great
upgrade and update,” said
Tim Seydel, EOU’s vice
president for university
advancement.
The funding, which
includes about $500,000
in matching funds from
Davis Carbaugh/The Observer
Reese Delaney, of Cove, sits in his soap box derby car in a tune-up session in the family’s garage on Tuesday, June 22, 2021. The 14-year-old qualifi ed for the 2021
All-American Soap Box Derby World Championships in Akron, Ohio.
Facing the world’s best
Cove youth travels to Ohio next month for Soap Box Derby World Championships
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
COVE — When Sam Del-
aney saw his son, Reese Del-
aney, fl ying down the road on
a scooter at the age of 5, he had
an idea.
Fast forward 10 years and the
father-son duo is headed to the
All-American Soap Box Derby
World Championships on July
24, 2021, in Akron, Ohio. Reese
Delaney, 14, took fi rst place in
See, Inlow/Page 5A
the Soap Box Derby Oregon
Championship to advance to the
Super Bowl of soap box derbies.
“It makes me happy when
you work hard toward some-
thing, then you step back and
see the success,” Reese Delaney
said.
Humble beginnings
The journey toward making
it to Derby Downs, home of the
All-American Soap Box Derby,
has been one of modest origins
for Reese Delaney.
For the Delaneys, it all started
when Reese Delaney fearlessly
rode down that hill in Cove on
his scooter in his early child-
hood. Sam Delaney saw his
son’s size and fearlessness, and
his son was looking for a sport
to get involved with. In 2016,
they bought the parts for their
fi rst soap box derby car and put
it together in the family’s garage.
“We had no idea what we
were doing,” Sam Delaney said.
Sam Delaney grew up
in Salem, home to the most
esteemed soap box derby track
in Oregon. While he was never
involved in soap box derby com-
petition, he heard stories from
his dad and used to skateboard
down the track in Salem.
With no experience in soap
box racing, the Delaneys started
entering local competitions and
paid their dues as rookies.
See, Derby/Page 5A
The Local opens doors for business downtown
By CARLOS FUENTES
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Three
years after the Texaco gas
station closed in downtown
La Grande, the site is now
occupied by The Local —
downtown’s newest coff ee
and ice cream shop —
which opened Friday, June
25.
The menu consists of
coff ee drinks, tea, milk-
shakes, ice cream and var-
ious pastries.
According to man-
ager Randy McPhetridge,
the most important part
in opening the shop was
making sure the product
was high quality.
“We know our product is
good. We’re using the best
stuff , so we’re just excited
to get customers driving
through so we can deliver
them these high-quality
INDEX
Classified ...............3B
Comics ....................7B
Crossword .............3B
Dear Abby .............8B
products,” McPhetridge
said.
For now, only the drive-
thru is open, although cus-
tomers may go inside to
order beverages to go.
“The drive-thru will
be opening fi rst, and with
a limited menu until we
get everyone trained,”
co-owner Karin Tsiatsos
said.
See, Local/Page 5A
WEATHER
Home & Living .....1B
Horoscope .............6B
Local........................2A
Lottery ....................2A
THURSDAY
Opinion ..................4A
Records ..................3A
Sports .....................8A
State ........................6A
Carlos Fuentes/The Observer
The Local, a new business off ering coff ee drinks, tea, ice cream and
pastries, nears completion in early summer 2021 in downtown La
Grande. The drive-thru window opened Friday, June 25, and the shop
will also have indoor and outdoor seating.
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Wednesday
68 LOW
106/68
Clear and warm
Very hot
ELGIN YOUTH ACTORS WIN NATIONAL AWARD
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 75
2 sections, 16 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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