LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
Today is Saturday, July 3, the
184th day of 2021. There are 181
days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
IN HISTORY:
On July 3, 1775, Gen. George
Washington took command of
the Continental Army at Cam-
bridge, Massachusetts.
SaTuRday, July 3, 2021
Boosting safety on Morgan Lake Road
County OKs plan to
install new guardrail
on west side of
Morgan Lake Road
ON THIS DATE:
In 1863, the three-day Civil
War Battle of Gettysburg
in Pennsylvania ended in a
major victory for the North as
Confederate troops failed to
breach Union positions during
an assault known as Pickett’s
Charge.
In 1913, during a 50th anni-
versary reunion at Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, Civil War veterans
reenacted Pickett’s Charge,
which ended with embraces
and handshakes between the
former enemies.
In 1944, during World War II,
Soviet forces recaptured Minsk
from the Germans.
In 1950, the first carrier
strikes of the Korean War took
place as the USS Valley Forge
and the HMS Triumph sent
fighter planes against North
Korean targets.
In 1971, singer Jim Morrison
of The Doors died in Paris at
age 27.
In 1976, Israel launched its
daring mission to rescue 106
passengers and Air France
crew members being held at
Entebbe Airport in Uganda
by pro-Palestinian hijackers;
the commandos succeeded
in rescuing all but four of the
hostages.
In 1979, Dan White, convicted
of voluntary manslaughter
in the shooting deaths of
San Francisco Mayor George
Moscone (mahs-KOH’-nee) and
Supervisor Harvey Milk, was
sentenced to seven years and
eight months in prison. (He
ended up serving five years.)
In 1986, President Ronald
Reagan presided over a gala
ceremony in New York Harbor
that saw the relighting of the
renovated Statue of Liberty.
In 1988, the USS Vincennes
shot down an Iran Air jetliner
over the Persian Gulf, killing all
290 people aboard.
In 1996, Russians went to the
polls to re-elect Boris Yeltsin
president over his Communist
challenger, Gennady Zyuganov
(geh-NAH’-dee zhoo-GAH’-
nahf), in a runoff.
In 2003, the U.S. put a $25
million bounty on Saddam Hus-
sein, and $15 million apiece
for his two sons. (The $30
million reward for Odai and
Qusai Hussein went to a tip-
ster whose information led U.S.
troops to their hideout, where
the brothers were killed in a
gunbattle.)
In 2013, Egypt’s first dem-
ocratically elected president,
Mohammed Morsi, was over-
thrown by the military after just
one year by the same kind of
Arab Spring uprising that had
brought the Islamist leader to
power.
Ten years ago: Novak
Djokovic won his first Wim-
bledon, beating defending
champion Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-1,
1-6, 6-3.
Five years ago: A devastating
truck bombing on a bustling
commercial street in down-
town Baghdad killed nearly
300 people. Actor Noel Neill,
who played Superman’s love
interest, Lois Lane, in both a
movie serial and on TV, died in
Tucson, Arizona, at age 95.
One year ago: Speaking
at the foot of Mount Rush-
more on the eve of Indepen-
dence Day, President Donald
Trump asserted that protesters
pushing for racial justice were
engaging in a “merciless cam-
paign to wipe out our history.”
Amid a rampant resurgence of
the coronavirus, Texas began
mandating face coverings
on the orders of Republican
Gov. Greg Abbott, who said it
seemed that people were “not
comprehending the magnitude
of the problem.”
LOTTERY
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
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Jackpot: $4.8 million
Lucky Lines
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Powerball: 14
Power Play: 4
Jackpot: $101 million
Win for Life
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Pick 4
1 p.m.: 4-0-9-8
4 p.m.: 1-7-5-6
7 p.m.: 4-0-9-8
10 p.m.: 9-8-0-8
Thursday, July 1, 2021
Lucky Lines
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Jackpot: $14,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 8-0-0-9
4 p.m.: 3-4-6-0
7 p.m.: 0-7-9-7
10 p.m.: 8-5-6-5
By DICK MASON
Vote removes Kathy
Bingham from role
as mayor pro-tem
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
Driving down Morgan
Lake Road will be much
safer several years from
now.
The Union County
Board of Commissioners
voted Wednesday, June
30, to approve a $1.2 mil-
lion cooperative funding
agreement that will fund
the installation of a new
guardrail almost a mile
long from Skyline Lane to
Marvin Road on Morgan
Lake Road. The guardrail
will replace an old one on
the south side of Morgan
Lake Road, the one drivers
moving downhill travel
alongside.
A portion of the funding
will also pay for road
grading work over the
same stretch of road.
About 92% of the
project will be paid for
through the state’s All
Roads Transportation
Safety Program with
Union County picking up
the tab for the remainder of
the project. The All Roads
Transportation Safety Pro-
gram addresses safety for
all public roads in the state.
It is funded by the federal
government.
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation will
administer the work, which
will likely start in 2023,
according to Doug Wright,
Union County’s public
works director.
Wright said Union
County was awarded the
grant primarily because of
the relatively high number
of crashes on the 1-mile
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
alex Wittwer/The Observer
The guardrail along Morgan Lake Road in La Grande shows signs of wear and tear on Wednesday, June
30, 2021. City officials approved funding for replacing an aging guardrail that stretches along a 1-mile
portion of the road, paving the way for a safer ride between La Grande and the lake.
stretch of Morgan Lake
roadway. The safety record
of stretches of roads plays
a role in determining who
qualifies for All Roads
Transportation Safety Pro-
gram grants.
Wright said that once
the guardrail is installed,
Union County will main-
tain it.
Other business
During the June 30
meeting, the board of com-
missioners also voted
to ratify a new three-
year contract for Union
County’s public works
employees. The contract,
negotiated by the public
works employee’s union
and Union County, calls
for the wages of employees
to be increased by $1.25
per hour starting July 1 and
$1 an hour beginning July
1, 2022, and July 1, 2023.
Terms of the agreement
call for the county’s contri-
butions to health insurance
for employees to remain at
$1,208 per month for the
remainder of 2021 and to
be boosted by up to $75
a month each of the fol-
lowing two years of the
contract.
Union County has 19
public works employees.
The Union County
Commission, in another
acton item, voted to adopt
a total 2021-22 budget of
$50.5 million, one which
does not call for personnel
cuts or program reductions
and adds four corrections
officers and one reentry
officer.
The $50.5 million
spending plan is about $1
million less than the cur-
rent 2020-21 budget. Union
County Administrative
Officer Shelley Burgess
said one reason for the
budget decrease is many
grant-funded projects,
including a major one at La
Grande/Union County Air-
port, were completed in the
past fiscal year.
The spending plan was
recommended for adoption
in May by Union County’s
budget committee.
On the animal con-
trol front, the board of
commissioners voted to
adopt a new animal con-
trol ordinance, which is
an updated version of
the current one. One of
the biggest changes in
the ordinance is a new
limit on the number of
cats Union County resi-
dents can own. The ordi-
nance restricts ownership
to 10 cats that are at least
4 months old. The ordi-
nance took effect immedi-
ately after being adopted.
ODF official urges caution this summer
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — Fire
managers in Wallowa
County and throughout
the state are particularly
concerned as weather and
drought combine to make
for a potentially explosive
Fourth of July weekend.
During a meeting of the
Wallowa County Board
of Commissioners, Matt
Howard, deputy agency
administrator for the
Oregon Department of
Forestry’s Wallowa Unit,
expressed his concerns
over the conditions for
potential wildfires.
“As we go into the
July fireworks tomorrow,
there’s no doubt that in my
34-year career, that this
is the most critical July 1
going into the July Fourth
weekend that I’ve seen in
my career, both from fire
danger and fire severity
that we’re seeing August-
like conditions,” Howard
said. “Every measure we
look at on fire severity is
setting new records for
this date. We’re usually
four to six weeks ahead
of time in some of our fire
indices. It’s kind of spooky,
because we’re still six
weeks out to the middle of
August, which is typically
and historically our highest
potential for costly wild-
fires and damaging wild-
fires. So, fire prevention
Joseph
council
censures
councilor
u.S. Forest Service/Contributed Photo
The Joseph Canyon Fire was first reported Friday, June 4, 2021.
Fire officials are urging caution as the Fourth of July weekend
approaches.
is heavy on my mind. It’s
heavy on all fire managers’
minds across the state. It
doesn’t matter what the
agency you’re from.”
Howard told the com-
missioners the year so far
has seen a marked increase
in fire calls.
“In April, alone, just due
to the drought, here in Wal-
lowa County, we went on
16 fire runs,” he said. “A lot
of those were mutual aid
with some of the rural and
the city departments, but 16
fire runs in April is unprec-
edented, really.”
While some fires have
been lightning-caused, too
many are human-caused,
which are preventable.
“In my opinion, people
were burning for the time
of year and not for the con-
ditions, and that’s one of
my concerns going into
the Fourth,” he said. “I’m
going to be one of the first
ones to celebrate our inde-
pendence. (But) one of my
biggest concerns is human-
caused fires started specif-
ically around the Fourth of
July use of fireworks.”
Commissioner Todd
Nash asked Howard to
clarify between official
fireworks displays and per-
sonal use of fireworks.
“To be clear, regarding
the conversation we had
earlier, you weren’t as con-
cerned about the organized
event on Wallowa Lake as
with individuals doing fire-
works,” Nash said.
Howard agreed, saying
that the “Shake the Lake”
display set for Sunday night
and another professional
display in Troy are done
by reputable professional
pyrotechnics and cause
little concern. It’s usually
unsupervised youths who
are the most worrisome.
“We want everybody
to celebrate our indepen-
dence, but we want people
to do it smartly,” he said.
“And if they have youths
participating, that they be
supervised and safe.”
Howard emphasized that
it’s illegal to use fireworks
on ODF and U.S. Forest
Service Land. He also said
people who are not cautious
about fire could be held
liable.
“There’s a message
going out from ODF in the
Eastern Oregon District,
talking about fire liability
and if there’s a human-
caused fire and we can
find the responsible party
and we can prove that they
were willful, malicious
or negligent in the cause
of that wildland fire, then
they could be liable for all
suppression costs — air-
craft, ground resources,
right from the begin-
ning,” he said. “It’s a cau-
tion, I think, for the gen-
eral public because nobody
wants to have that liability
on their shoulders. I’m cer-
tain there’s nobody out
there who wants to start a
fire, but we’ve already had
a high amount of human-
caused fires and anything
I can do to prevent those ...
I’m all about.”
NEWS BRIEF
No fireworks ban
planned in Island City
ISLAND CITY — The city of
Island City, unlike La Grande, will
not be banning the use of fireworks
as the Fourth of July approaches,
according to a press release from the
city.
“We believe that our community
members will be responsible and will
take all necessary precautions to cel-
ebrate our country’s independence
safely and responsibly. We applaud
the desire to celebrate the patriotism
of our great nation,’’ the press release
said.
The press release came out around
9 a.m. Thursday, July 1, two days
after the La Grande Fire Department
announced that fireworks and out-
door recreational fires are prohibited
in the La Grande city limits until fur-
ther notice. The ban was announced
in the wake of abnormally dry con-
ditions and hot temperatures for this
time of year in Northeastern Oregon.
“Statewide and regionally,
extremely dry, hot conditions are
causing a lot of cities to press ‘pause’
on their Fourth of July celebrations.
There are a few fireworks displays
still scheduled for our area, and we
encourage our residents to view those
that are conducted by professionals,”
the Island City press release stated.
Island City has been working with
the La Grande Rural Fire Depart-
ment for guidance when it comes to
providing guidelines for setting off
legal fireworks.
— The Observer
JOSEPH — Joseph City
Councilor Kathy Bingham
was removed from her
office as mayor pro-tem,
removed from her com-
mittee assignments and
banned from interaction
with city employees after
being censured by the
council after it addressed
complaints against her
Wednesday, June 30.
Five letters of com-
plaint were submitted to
City Hall in recent months,
largely alleging Bingham
acted inappropriately in
her role as a councilor.
One of the complaints
the council considered
most serious was the Feb.
21 claim by local busi-
nessman Gary Beth-
scheider that Bingham
accused him of “flipping
her off” during a heated
discussion at the Feb-
ruary council meeting. He
denied that happened in
his letter.
In a motion agreed
upon during executive
session and made formal
during the open session,
Councilor Tammy Jones
moved, “I make a motion
that regarding Gary Beth-
scheider’s complaint that
he did not ‘flip off’ Coun-
cilor Bingham. Further-
more, the council finds
that Councilor Bingham
did not make a formal
complaint against Mr.
Bethscheider. Finally, the
council regrets the way
this matter was handled
and letting the accusations
become public and for-
mally apologizes to Mr.
Bethscheider.”
Other claims against
Bingham — detailed
during executive ses-
sion and therefore not part
of the public record —
included harassment of
city employees, violation
of executive session pri-
vacy and letters supporting
the claims.
Repeatedly, council
motions found the allega-
tions “unsubstantiated”
and thus, no action was
taken.
However, while claims
of harassment did not “rise
to the level of harassment,”
Bingham was found to
have not acted appropri-
ately under council rules.
Several of the complain-
ants said they were sat-
isfied with the council’s
actions, even though their
complaints were deemed
unsubstantiated.
During the discus-
sion of a motion he made,
Councilor Stephen Bartlow
said, “We keep hearing the
word ‘unsubstantiated.’
What is asked for are the
names of witnesses and
specific details that can be
checked out. I don’t want
to discourage anyone from
our city to bring com-
plaints. We’re just asking
for some substantial wit-
nesses or other evidences
that will help us pursue the
complaint.”
Jude Graham, who
wrote two of the complaint
letters, said, “They did a
good job tonight.”
She agreed more sub-
stantial evidence was
needed, as Bartlow
explained.
“Councilor Bartlow
explained that — he
explained what they meant
by unsubstantiated,” she
said. “They wanted wit-
nesses and I witnessed
some things, but they
wanted more. I understand
that. If you have situations,
you need more than two
witnesses.”
Michael Lockhart,
another complainant, also
agreed the council acted
properly.