LOCAL
A6 — THE OBSERVER
TUESDAY, JULY 6, 2021
Elgin Stampede returns after 2020 hiatus
VOICES
ANYONE CAN WRITE
Nearly 40 years in the business have taught me that readers are bom-
barded and overwhelmed with facts. What we long for, though, is
meaning and a connection at a deeper and more universal level.
And that’s why the East Oregonian will be running, from time to time, sto-
ries from students who are in my writing class, which I’ve been teaching
for the past 10 years in Portland.
I take great satisfaction in helping so-called nonwriters fi nd and write sto-
ries from their lives and experiences. They walk into my room believing
they don’t have what it takes to be a writer. I remind them if they follow
their hearts, they will discover they are storytellers.
As we all are at our core.
Some of these stories have nothing to do with La Grande or Union County.
They do, however, have everything to do with life.
If you are interested in contacting me to tell me your story, I’d like to hear
from you.
Tom Hallman Jr., tbhbook@aol.com
Tom Hallman Jr. is a Pulitzer Prize-winning feature writer for the Oregonian
newspaper. He’s also a writing coach and has an affi nity for Union County.
A short stint as
mayor of Pendleton
By ROLAND HAERTL
Special to the East Oregonian
I have held a variety of
positions, most of them
interesting, but none as
brief as the “mayor of
Pendleton.”
In 1976, my company
was awarded the contract
to build McDonald’s fi rst
French fry plant in Herm-
iston. In the spring of 1977,
I was driving west to visit
our project offi ce.
As I passed the Pend-
leton airport, the right lane
from the airport on-ramp to
Interstate 84 was blocked
by a state police car,
fl ashing its lights. I won-
dered, then remembered: It
was dedication day of the
Union Pacifi c Railroad’s
new switchyard at Hinkle,
just south of Hermiston.
The government and corpo-
rate offi cials were arriving.
I had time. I decided
to attend the dedication. I
fell in line behind the lim-
ousines just ahead of the
tailing police cars.
After a short drive the
convoy swung into the
parking lot at the new
switchyard. I followed the
last limousine into the lot..
I got out of my car and
followed the hand motions
of the parking lot atten-
dants directing me to follow
the limousine passengers.
Everybody headed to the
elevated seating platform
reserved for the invited dig-
nitaries. The platform was
built straddling three of the
switchyard tracks. At inter-
vals an engine would come
through.
I waved to a few
acquaintances. Some waved
in return. Some did not
recognize me, and still
waved in return. Familiar
faces in unfamiliar settings
present mental connection
problems.
One person who did
not recognize me was the
senior vice president of
the Union Pacifi c. He was
offi ciating the dedication
function.
About 120 people were
attending, seated on the ele-
vated platform arranged in
about 10 rows. I opted to sit,
less conspicuously, in the
second row, off -center.
Since I had not received
an invitation, I did not
know what to expect.
The Union Pacifi c VP
started with the usual wel-
coming speech, presenting
corporate data, project data,
outlining the importance of
this facility. To his credit,
he was quick and compact.
Then he switched to the
introduction of the digni-
taries and expressed grat-
itude for their attendance.
From the top, the governor,
Bob Straub; congressman
from Burns, Bob Smith;
Umatilla County commis-
sioners, etc. He always
called out the name, fol-
lowed by the title and then
pointed with an open hand
toward the dignitary intro-
duced, who would get up,
turn to the crowd, smiling,
or just wave.
He said: “I want to
thank the mayor of Pend-
leton for attending this
function and thank him for
the hospitality arranged for
our employees and project
staff in the county and the
towns around us. Mayor
Joe McLaughlin.” With an
outstretched arm and open
hand, he pointed at me.
I got up, bowed to the
speaker, turned approxi-
mately 90 degrees toward
the seated invitees, waved
and sat down.
Mayor McLaughlin
never was introduced. I
wondered how the Union
Pacifi c VP would resolve
this.
Or if he needed to.
This story is longer than
my position as mayor of
Pendleton was.
By CARLOS FUENTES
The Observer
ELGIN — After a year-
long hiatus due to COVID-
19, the Elgin Stampede is
set to run from Wednesday,
July 7, to Sunday, July 11.
This will be the 74th
Elgin Stampede, the
second oldest rodeo in
Union County, after the
Eastern Oregon Livestock
Show.
“We are so excited to
have the stampede back
this year. It was hard to
go a year without it,” Lara
Moore, secretary of the
Elgin Stampede, said.
“Before last year, we had
gone 73 years straight, so
we’re really excited to go
back to normal.”
Festivities at the Elgin
Stampede Grounds will
begin Wednesday, July 7,
with a family night show.
An all-kids rodeo, with
contestants between 4 and
18 years old, will com-
pete in events such as stick
horse racing and steer
riding. Community Bank
is sponsoring the event,
which is free to the public.
On Thursday, the PRCA
Xtreme Bulls and Barrel
Race will begin at 7 p.m.,
with bull riders from all
over the country coming
to compete. There will be
40 bull riders and 30 barrel
racers, according to Moore.
On Friday, the action
will continue with the
PRCA Rodeo at 7 p.m. The
Friday and Saturday rodeos
will include steer roping,
barrel racing, bareback
riding and calf roping.
Saturday, July 10, will
be the last day of festivi-
ties. At 10 a.m., the kids’
parade will make its way
through downtown Elgin,
followed by the Grand
Parade at 4 p.m.
The rodeo weekend will
wrap up on Saturday with
the second and fi nal night
of the rodeo beginning at
7 p.m. A total of 363 indi-
viduals will compete in
the PRCA events over the
weekend, according to
Moore.
On Thursday night prior
to the bull riding event,
The Observer, File
Jory Markiss rides July 6, 2017, during the Elgin Stampede. The coronavirus pandemic led to the cancel-
lation of the annual rodeo in 2020, but the 74th Stampede returns July 7-11, 2021, in Elgin.
the 2021 Elgin Stampede
Queen will be announced.
The two princesses com-
peting are Sarah Baker, a
recent Elgin High School
graduate, and Bailey
Vernam, a rising senior at
Enterprise High School.
Admission for each of
the PRCA events will be
$11 for children and $16
for adults if bought online
Plenty to
do at
GRANDE
Ronde
Retirement & Assisted Living
— $2 cheaper than the
in-person prices. Tickets
can be bought at elginstam-
pede.com or at the Elgin
Stampede Grounds main
gate during the rodeo.
PROTECTING our
Residents during this
Pandemic
1809 Gekeler Ln.
La Grande
541-963-4700
QUITTING VAPING
FOR REAL ISN’T EASY.
BUT IT’S WORTH IT.
Two hurt, one dead in fall
East Oregonian
PILOT ROCK — A
fall from a ledge in Uma-
tilla County south of Pilot
Rock left two men seriously
injured and one dead.
The Umatilla County
Sheriff Offi ce reported
the rescue and recovery
eff ort required the help of
numerous agencies and
emergency responders,
including an Oregon Army
National Guard Black
Hawk helicopter.
Kyler Carter, 23, called
911 on Friday, July 2, at
9 a.m. and reported he and
two friends, Cody Watson,
21, and Braydon Postma,
23, all of Pilot Rock, were
injured in a fall.
The trio had been at the
Big Falls on West Birch
Creek — a steep, rocky
falls — south of Pilot Rock
and had fallen approxi-
mately 50 feet off a ledge.
Carter said the fall occurred
around 9 p.m. the night
before. He was unable to
get cellphone service at the
location of the fall and had
to climb out and hike to a
place so he could call 911.
Watson and Postma
remained where they had
fallen, according to the
sheriff ’s offi ce, and Carter
reported his friends had
critical injuries.
The sheriff ’s offi ce acti-
Free help: 1-800-QUIT-NOW
or QUITNOW.NET/OREGON
We’re here for you when you need us.
Union County Search and Rescue/
Contributed Photo
An Oregon Army National Guard
Black Hawk helicopter crew as-
sists with a rescue Friday, July 2,
2021, south of Pilot Rock where
three men fell 50 feet from a
ledge. Two suff ered serious in-
juries. The third man died at the
scene. All three are from Pilot
Rock.
vated its search and rescue
unit, and the Pendleton
Fire Department responded
along with LifeFlight.
Upon arrival, according
to the sheriff ’s offi ce, Watson
was dead, and Carter and
Postma had signifi cant inju-
ries. Multiple agencies coor-
dinated a plan for the careful
extraction of the survi-
vors. Both needed imme-
diate medical assistance. The
sheriff ’s offi ce said further
information on the condi-
tion of Carter and Postma is
unknown at this time.
If you’re still deciding whether or not
to get vaccinated for COVID-19,
we encourage you to talk it over
with your trusted health care provider.
It’s your choice to make.
You and your provider know your health
and your body best. Trust your provider
to understand, listen to and respect your
questions and concerns. Talk about it.
Then, make up your mind.
There is a lot of information, and
misinformation, surrounding the
COVID vaccines.
BEFORE YOU SAY NO,
TALK TO YOUR PROVIDER.