INSIDE
SOPHOMORE SWIMMER AT LA GRANDE HIGH SCHOOL CONTINUES TO ADD ACCOLADES |
SPORTS, A7
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TUESDAY EDITION
July 6, 2021
WHAT.A.BLAST.
Fireworks fill the sky over Buffalo Peak Golf Course in Union
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
The Nilson family and hundreds of other spectators watch as fi reworks light up the night sky at the Buff alo Peak Golf Course in Union Sunday, July 4,
2021. The “Thunder at the Peak” fi reworks display was mostly without incident, with only a small fi re erupting and quickly doused by fi refi ghters on
scene.
Excursion
train back
on track
Eagle Cap Excursion
Train starts 2021 season
after year-long break
ELGIN — The Eagle Cap
Excursion Train, which has been
closed to the public since the onset
of the pandemic, commenced its
summer season on Saturday, July
3, with 88 passengers onboard.
The train, which has run every
year since 2004 — except last
year because of COVID-19 — is
scheduled to complete 16 rides
between July and October. The
excursion train is based out of
the Elgin Train Depot and will
off er rides most weeks during the
summer.
“It was a hard, tough year
without rides, because you have
to keep the train maintained even
when it’s not running,” David
Arnold, one of the locomotive
engineers, said. “We’ve been
doing a lot of preparation, so it
feels good to be back and running
the train. This is the easy part.”
Passengers on the season’s
inaugural train enjoyed scenic
views along the Grande Ronde
River and parts of the Wallowa
River for a 38-mile round trip,
which takes about three and a half
hours.
“I loved it. I would defi nitely
do it again,” Jon Richards, a fi rst-
time passenger, said. “It’s pretty
neat they have this here. It’s a
good way to enjoy the views that
you don’t get to see in a car.”
The excursion is entirely oper-
ated by volunteers from the
Friends of the Joseph Branch,
although the engineers all have
years of experience operating
trains.
“I’ve been working with trains
for about 40 years now,” Mat-
thew Sirrime, another engineer,
said. “I’d guess I’ve operated over
6,000 trains in that time.”
The railroad also off ers sev-
eral extended trips, including a
six-hour round trip to Minam. On
most rides, food and drinks are
provided.
According to Ed Spaulding,
president of the Friends of the
Joseph Branch, the organiza-
tion will remain cautious while
COVID-19 regulations are still in
place.
“We’ve spread seats out for
the COVID-19 regulations, and
we still are telling people to wear
masks, because we’re technically
public transportation, which still
has those rules,” Spaulding said.
See, Train/Page A5
Union County asks for ‘seat at the table’
Commissioners
express opposition
to expanding Wild
and Scenic Rivers
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
Union County Board of
Commissioners is taking a
stand against proposed fed-
eral legislation that would
known
as the
River
Democ-
racy Act.
The bill,
Wyden
Merkley
Scarfo
Beverage
co-spon-
sored by
signifi cantly expand the
Wyden and Merkley, would
Wild and Scenic River
add 4,684 miles to the Wild
system in Oregon.
and Scenic River system
The commissioners have in Oregon, including 135
written a letter to be sent to miles in Union County.
Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley
The letter will be sent
and Ron Wyden expressing
to Merkley and Wyden on
opposition to the legislation Tuesday, July 6, according
INDEX
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to Union County Commis-
sioner Donna Beverage.
Beverage said the board
of commissioners is trou-
bled by the lack of commu-
nication between county
leadership and the sena-
tors over the draft bill. She
said the county has not had
a chance to enter into dis-
cussions with Wyden’s or
Merkley’s staff about which
rivers and creeks in Union
County should be desig-
nated as wild or scenic
under the act.
The bill was introduced
Feb. 3 and a hearing on
it was conducted June 23
in Washington, D.C., by
the National Parks Sub-
committee, which is part
of the Senate Committee
on Energy and Natural
Resources.
Beverage does not
believe the bill should go
forward until Union County
commissioners and other
elected offi cials have a
See, Rivers/Page A5
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RARE APPLE FOUND IN WALLOWA COUNTY
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La Grande, Oregon
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