LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
Today is Tuesday, July 6, the
187th day of 2021. There are 178
days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
IN HISTORY:
On July 6, 1854, the first offi-
cial meeting of the Republican
Party took place in Jackson,
Michigan.
ON THIS DATE:
In 1777, during the American
Revolution, British forces cap-
tured Fort Ticonderoga.
In 1885, French scientist
Louis Pasteur tested an anti-ra-
bies vaccine on 9-year-old
Joseph Meister, who had been
bitten by an infected dog; the
boy did not develop rabies.
In 1917, during World War I,
Arab forces led by T.E. Lawrence
and Auda Abu Tayi captured
the port of Aqaba from the
Ottoman Turks.
In 1933, the first All-Star
baseball game was played at
Chicago’s Comiskey Park; the
American League defeated the
National League, 4-2.
In 1942, Anne Frank, her
parents and sister entered a
“secret annex” in an Amsterdam
building where they were later
joined by four other people;
they hid from Nazi occupiers for
two years before being discov-
ered and arrested.
In 1944, an estimated 168
people died in a fire that broke
out during a performance in the
main tent of the Ringling Bros.
and Barnum & Bailey Circus in
Hartford, Connecticut.
In 1957, the Harry S. Truman
Library, the nation’s first presi-
dential library, was dedicated in
Independence, Missouri.
In 1971, jazz trumpeter and
singer Louis Armstrong died in
New York at age 69.
In 1988, 167 North Sea oil
workers were killed when
explosions and fires destroyed a
drilling platform.
In 2005, New York Times
reporter Judith Miller was jailed
after refusing to testify before
a grand jury investigating the
leak of undercover CIA oper-
ative Valerie Plame’s identity
(Miller was jailed for 85 days
before agreeing to testify).
In 2015, Pope Francis
received a hero’s welcome in
Guayaquil, Ecuador’s biggest
city, as he celebrated the first
public Mass of his South Amer-
ican tour.
Ten years ago: Jury selec-
tion began in the perjury trial
of former baseball pitcher
Roger Clemens, who was
accused of lying under oath
to Congress when he denied
ever using performance-en-
hancing drugs during his
career.
Five years ago: Presi-
dent Barack Obama scrapped
plans to cut American forces
in Afghanistan by half before
leaving office. Double-am-
putee Olympian Oscar Pisto-
rius was sentenced to six years
in a South African prison for
murdering girlfriend Reeva
Steenkamp. Philando Cas-
tile, a Black elementary school
cafeteria worker, was killed
during a traffic stop in the St.
Paul suburb of Falcon Heights
by Officer Jeronimo Yanez.
The augmented-reality game
Pokemon Go made its debut
in the U.S., Australia and New
Zealand.
One year ago: The Trump
administration formally notified
the United Nations of its with-
drawal from the World Health
Organization; President Donald
Trump had criticized the WHO’s
response to the coronavirus
pandemic. (The pullout was
halted by President Joe Biden’s
administration.)
TuESday, July 6, 2021
‘An amazing experience’
Opera House Youth Actors win outstanding ensemble award from national festival
By CARLOS FUENTES
The Observer
ELGIN — Youth
musical actors from
the Opera House Youth
Actors group in Elgin
attended the Junior The-
ater Festival in Sugar
Land, Texas, June 25-27
and came back to Oregon
with a Freddie G. Excel-
lence in Ensemble Work
award from the national
festival.
The ensemble, which
has members from Wal-
lowa County, Union
County and Umatilla
County, won the award
despite their lack of live
performances since the
COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was really just
refreshing to see every-
thing going back to
normal and watching our
youth participate in a com-
petition like this,” Terry
Hale, director of OHYA,
said. “I’m really proud of
them because they worked
so hard to get there. Half
of the group was new and
they had to deal with a
lot.”
The group performed a
15-minute version of “The
Little Mermaid Jr.,” which
they had rehearsed for
more than three months.
They were one of 50
groups attending the fes-
tival in person, in addi-
tion to seven groups who
joined virtually.
“Being back after a
year filled with so much
uncertainty felt amazing,”
Hunter Adams, member of
the youth musical group,
said. “The environment
was so full of love and
support. I’ve never seen
Jennifer Harmon
received award for
outstanding
achievements
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
alex Wittwer/The Observer
Moss Morris, playing Ursula, extends a hand to Ariel, played by Maddie Nordtvedt, during a rehearsal
of “The Little Mermaid Jr.” behind the Elgin Opera House on Tuesday, June 15, 2021.
a competition like this,
where everyone just wants
everyone else to do well so
badly, even more than we
want ourselves to do well.”
Each performance was
adjudicated by two judges,
who praised OHYA’s per-
formance for the group’s
careful attention to detail.
“These students told
this beautiful story which
charmed the audience,”
Cindy Ripley, senior edu-
cational consultant of
iTheatrics, said in a press
release. “Bravo to this
group’s immaculate atten-
tion to every tool in the
craft of theatre.”
Moss Morris, of La
Grande, and Adams were
distinguished as Junior
Theater Festival All-Stars
for their individual per-
formances. According to
Adams, a 2021 Elgin High
School graduate, earning
this award at the end of his
junior theater career meant
a lot.
“It just felt really good
to be validated by judges
who are professionals,”
Adams said. “It was an
amazing experience to
win, and I’m really proud
of everyone who was
there.”
Along with performing
and attending other shows,
students participated in
workshops to develop
their performance skills.
According to Adams,
these classes were great
opportunities to improve
his own practices.
“We got to do a
dance workshop with a
dancer for ‘Hamilton’
on Broadway, and it was
so interesting and we all
learned a lot,” Adams said.
According to cho-
reographer and OHYA
alumna Abigail Hale, the
group’s determination was
inspiring.
“I felt really proud of
them while I was watching
them perform,” she said.
“They worked so hard for
such a long time, and they
truly deserved it.”
Although Adams is
saying goodbye to the
Elgin Opera House as a
performer, he will co-di-
rect OHYA’s performance
of “James and the Giant
Peach” with Abigail Hale.
He has hopes of per-
forming on Broadway and
is confident that the Opera
House group will continue
to succeed.
“I have no doubt that
the group is going to do
amazing things,” Adams
said. “I’m so proud of
everyone, and we’ve really
shown what a group from a
small town can do.”
La Grande area sees much warmer
temperatures than normal in June
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande area expe-
rienced much warmer
than normal tempera-
tures during the month
of June, according to pre-
liminary data received
by the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric
Administration’s National
Weather Service Office in
Pendleton.
The average tempera-
ture during the month
was 70.2 degrees, 8.5
degrees above normal.
High temperatures aver-
aged 87.4 degrees, 12.7
degrees above normal,
according to the monthly
climate summary.
The highest tempera-
ture was 110 degrees
recorded on June 30.
This was the warmest
June on record, the
report said. The previous
warmest was in 2015 with
an average of 69.3 degrees
recorded.
Low temperatures
averaged 53 degrees, 4.3
degrees above normal. The
lowest temperature for the
month was 36 degrees,
recorded on June 7.
Precipitation for the
month totaled 0.33 inches,
which was 1.21 inches
below normal, the report
said. Measurable precipi-
tation — at least 0.01 inch
— was received on four
days, with the heaviest,
0.20 inches, reported on
June 15.
Precipitation for the
year is 6.26 inches, which
is 3.08 inches below
normal. Since October
2020, the water year pre-
cipitation in La Grande
has been 10.84 inches, 3.48
inches below normal.
The outlook for July
from NOAA’s Climate
Prediction Center calls for
above normal tempera-
tures and below normal
precipitation. Normal
highs for La Grande are
85.4 degrees and normal
lows are 53.9 degrees. The
30-year normal precipi-
tation is just under 0.68
inches.
Wallowa County also
experienced much warmer
temperatures for the
month.
The average tempera-
ture for Joseph during
the month of June was
62.2 degrees, 5.8 degrees
above normal. High tem-
peratures averaged 79.6
degrees, 9.5 degrees above
normal. The highest tem-
perature was 102 degrees
on June 30.
Low temperatures
averaged 44.7 degrees, 2
degrees above normal. The
lowest temperature for the
month was 29 degrees,
recorded on June 7.
NEWS BRIEFS
LOTTERY
Friday, July 2, 2021
Megamillions
08-31-32-34-45
Megaball: 19
Megaplier: 2
Jackpot: $82 million
Lucky Lines
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Jackpot: $15,000
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1 p.m.: 3-2-5-2
4 p.m.: 6-1-9-8
7 p.m.: 1-8-0-2
10 p.m.: 2-5-2-5
Saturday, July 3, 2021
Powerball
26-40-41-55-65
Powerball: 24
Power Play: 2
Jackpot: $113 million
Megabucks
0-14-17-21-28-41
Jackpot: $4.9 million
Lucky Lines
03-05-11-15-19-22-25-29
Jackpot: $16,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 8-1-6-5
4 p.m.: 6-1-3-2
7 p.m.: 1-3-9-9
10 p.m.: 7-5-9-9
Win for Life
06-10-34-53
Sunday, July 4, 2021
Lucky Lines
04-06-11-14-18-24-26-29
Estimated jackpot: $17,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 7-5-9-2
4 p.m.: 4-0-3-4
7 p.m.: 2-7-8-3
10 p.m.: 7-1-2-0
Deputy
honored
by county
leaders
Police respond to
a number of fireworks calls
LA GRANDE — A ban on fire-
works in La Grande did not stop a
large number of people from cele-
brating the Fourth of July in tradi-
tional fashion.
The Union County Dispatch
Center received at least 40 calls
of people using fireworks in La
Grande on Sunday, July 4. The
first call came in at 5:32 p.m. and
the rest were received between
8:52 p.m. and 11:41 p.m.
Union County Sheriff Cody
Bowen said that he and his depu-
ties counseled many people using
fireworks but said no citations were
issued.
Bowen said he didn’t want his
deputies issuing citations because
the ban on fireworks, which took
effect Tuesday, June 29, is a city of
La Grande ordinance and he did not
feel it was the sheriff office’s place
to enforce a city ordinance.
Bowen said that when people
were caught using fireworks they
were reminded that use is illegal
in La Grande and that if they were
caught again using them they could
be cited.
The ban on fireworks was put in
place because of the elevated fire
risk due to dry conditions.
Bowen said some of the calls
about illegal fireworks came from
the north end of the La Grande
area where people could use them
legally because they were outside
city limits.
Fortunately, none of the fire-
works ignited any fires. The La
Grande Fire Department reported
at 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, June 5, that
there were no fires overnight.
Break-in at Hobby Habit
in La Grande
LA GRANDE — The Hobby
Habit, 411 Fir St., La Grande, was
hit by criminal mischief and theft
late last week.
The Hobby Habit’s display
window was broken late in the eve-
ning of Wednesday, June 30, or
early in the morning of Thursday,
July 1. Thieves made off with mer-
chandise in the display window
worth $435. The thieves who broke
the window never entered the store,
according to the La Grande Police
Department.
Josiah Brown, owner of the
Hobby Habit, said he received a text
from somebody he knew telling him
of the broken window at 4:30 a.m.
July 1. Brown soon had the window
replaced. The cost of repairing the
damage was about $500.
Entries taken for
Festival of the Arts
JOSEPH — Submissions are now
being accepted for the 39th annual
Wallowa Valley Festival of the Arts
that will be Sept. 11-19 at the Josephy
Center for Arts and Culture in
Joseph.
Deadline for submissions is Aug.
1. Acceptance emails will be sent
Aug. 9-13. A maximum of three
pieces will be accepted. There is a
$30 entry fee.
The fine-art show opens what
some call a “season of art” in Wal-
lowa County. There will be an
extended En Plein Air Competition
Sept. 11–17, a Fine Art Show and
silent auction Sept. 17-19 and the
Summer Arts Classic Concert set for
Sept. 19.
Categories for this year’s festival
include:
• Sculpture: Any three-dimen-
sional work in wood, clay, stone,
bronze or other metal.
• Painting: Oil, acrylic or
watercolor.
• Drawing: Pastel, pencil,
graphite, charcoal, ink or any combi-
nation thereof.
• Printmaking: Woodblock,
engraving, etching, monoprint, aqua-
tint, linotype, lithography, silkscreen
or digital art prints.
• Photography: Any photograph
that begins with the capture of the
image through a lens, including digi-
tally altered photography.
• Other: Glass, jewelry, fiber arts,
ceramics or mixed media.
For more information, call
the Josephy Center at 541-432-
0505 or visit www./josephy.org/
festival-of-the-arts.
— The Observer
ENTERPRISE — A
Wallowa County sher-
iff’s deputy was honored
last month with an award
for outstanding achieve-
ment, when Deputy Jen-
nifer Harmon received
the “Golden
Feather of
Achieve-
ment Award”
from the Wal-
lowa County
Harmon
commissioners.
“We’ve got
kind of a special thing here
and this is the first time that
I’ve ever been involved in
an outstanding employee
recognition award,” Com-
missioner Todd Nash
said. “It’s certainly well
deserved.”
After listing the deputy’s
achievements, Nash turned
it over to Commissioner
Susan Roberts.
“This is the first-ever
Golden Feather of Achieve-
ment Award,” she said as
she handed it to Harmon,
accompanied by a room
full of applause. “We had
our local glassblower make
this and they will be rarely
handed out.”
Reading from a list he’d
been given, Nash said, “Jen-
nifer Harmon is a single
mother of two. She takes
care of one household, 20
chickens, three ducks, one
dog and two cats, from what
I understand. Besides her
daily work routine, she has
completed Oregon State
Search and Rescue Training,
Oregon Child Forensic
Investigation Training,
Oregon Crisis Intervention
Training, Oregon Police
Officer Reserve Training —
she’s currently working on
the Field Training Officer
manual — Interstate Com-
pact Rules and Regulations
Training, Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency
100/200/700 and 800 train-
ings and Wilderness First
Aid.”
Harmon said later those
achievements were accom-
plished just this year.
“I’ve been pretty busy
this year,” she said.
Personal recollections
reflect achievements
Nash had his own
recollections.
“Jennifer, we really
appreciate all your work and
I will add one little story
about Jennifer,” the commis-
sioner said. “We got some
material added to the fair-
grounds down here in the
arena, and there was a lot of
rocks and debris and stuff
in there. Jennifer brought a
convict crew (the Wallowa
County Work Crew of those
on probation or sentenced
to community service) to
help get some of the foreign
material out of there, and the
guys worked pretty hard. I
helped for just a little bit and
it was a hot, hot, hot day —
in the 90s, maybe pushing
100 degrees. We were kind
of getting toward the end
and I asked, ‘How long are
these guys supposed to work
out here?’ and she said, ‘As
long as I tell them to.’ She
commands a lot of respect.
There wasn’t any flak. We
really appreciate all your
diligent work.”
Prior to working for the
sheriff’s office, Harmon
worked for the District
Attorney’s Office as an
office receptionist, file clerk
and assistant, she said.
Then, the sheriff’s office
drew her attention and she’s
been there six years.
“As I learned more about
it, I became more inter-
ested and started shad-
owing people at the sheriff’s
office until I decided what I
wanted to do,” she said.