LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
Today is Tuesday, July 27, the
208th day of 2021. There are 157
days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
IN HISTORY
On July 27, 1996, terror
struck the Atlanta Olympics
as a pipe bomb exploded
at Centennial Olympic Park,
directly killing one person and
injuring 111. (Anti-government
extremist Eric Rudolph later
pleaded guilty to the bombing,
exonerating security guard
Richard Jewell, who had been
wrongly suspected.)
ON THIS DATE
In 1866, Cyrus W. Field fin-
ished laying out the first suc-
cessful underwater telegraph
cable between North America
and Europe (a previous cable
in 1858 burned out after only a
few weeks’ use).
In 1909, during the first offi-
cial test of the U.S. Army’s first
airplane, Orville Wright flew
himself and a passenger above
Fort Myer, Virginia, for one hour
and 12 minutes.
In 1919, race-related rioting
erupted in Chicago; the vio-
lence, which claimed the lives of
23 Blacks and 15 whites, lasted
until Aug. 3.
In 1921, Canadian researcher
Frederick Banting and his assis-
tant, Charles Best, succeeded in
isolating the hormone insulin at
the University of Toronto.
In 1953, the Korean War armi-
stice was signed at Panmunjom,
ending three years of fighting.
In 1967, President Lyndon
B. Johnson appointed the
Kerner Commission to assess
the causes of urban rioting, the
same day Black militant H. Rap
Brown told a press conference
in Washington that violence
was “as American as cherry pie.”
In 1974, the House Judi-
ciary Committee voted 27-11 to
adopt the first of three articles
of impeachment against Pres-
ident Richard Nixon, charging
he had personally engaged in
a course of conduct designed
to obstruct justice in the Water-
gate case.
In 1980, on day 267 of the Ira-
nian hostage crisis, the deposed
Shah of Iran died at a military
hospital in Egypt at age 60.
In 1981, 6-year-old Adam
Walsh was abducted from a
department store in Hollywood,
Fla., and was later murdered.
In 1995, the Korean War Vet-
erans Memorial was dedicated
in Washington by President Bill
Clinton and South Korean Presi-
dent Kim Young-sam.
In 2015, the Boy Scouts of
America ended its blanket ban
on gay adult leaders while
allowing church-sponsored
Scout units to maintain the
exclusion for religious reasons.
Ten years ago: Ervin Santana
pitched the first solo no-hitter
for the Angels in nearly 27 years,
striking out 10 and leading Los
Angeles over Cleveland 3-1.
Five years ago: More than
a year after Freddie Gray, a
Black man, suffered a broken
neck in a Baltimore police van,
the effort to hold six officers
criminally responsible for his
death collapsed when the city
abruptly dropped all charges in
the case.
One year ago: Congres-
sional leaders from both par-
ties praised the late civil rights
icon and Democratic Rep. John
Lewis as a moral force for the
nation in a memorial service
in the Capitol Rotunda. The
world’s biggest COVID-19 vac-
cine study began with the first
of 30,000 planned volunteers
helping to test shots created
by the National Institutes of
Health and Moderna Inc.
LOTTERY
Friday, July 23, 2021
Megamillions
13-17-19-40-69
Megaball: 17
Megaplier: 3
Jackpot: $153 million
Lucky Lines
3-8-9-16-18-23-28-31
Jackpot: $36,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 0-0-0-8
4 p.m.: 3-2-2-7
7 p.m.: 0-9-4-0
10 p.m.: 2-0-2-8
Saturday, July 24, 2021
Powerball
1-4-11-59-67
Powerball: 10
Power Play: 2
Jackpot: $186 million
Megabucks
5-22-30-32-37-41
Jackpot: $5.8 million
Lucky Lines
3-8-9-16-18-24-27-30
Jackpot: $37,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 2-2-6-9
4 p.m.: 0-3-5-2
7 p.m.: 6-9-8-0
10 p.m.: 8-9-0-3
Win for Life
6-17-47-68
Sunday, July 25, 2021
Lucky Lines
1-6-9-14-18-24-27-32
Estimated jackpot: $39,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 0-4-4-2
4 p.m.: 1-7-7-5
7 p.m.: 8-5-0-6
10 p.m.: 9-9-1-1
TuESday, July 27, 2021
Library names interim director
Carrie Bushman
takes over at Cook
Memorial Library
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Cook
Memorial Library has a
new director at its helm.
The city of La Grande
appointed Carrie Bushman
as interim director of
Cook Memorial Library
in downtown La Grande
when former director Kip
Roberson departed ear-
lier this month. Bushman
takes the one-year interim
role following 20 years of
working at the library and
will likely take over as per-
manent director at the end
of her term.
“I’ve just found my
niche in life and getting
to work with kids has just
made it the perfect job,”
she said.
Making some new
beginnings
Bushman came to the
library as a temporary
employee in 2001 when it
was housed in the Carnegie
building and most recently
served as the children’s
services librarian. Over the
years, Bushman was ele-
vated to higher part-time
positions until becoming a
full-time employee.
In her time with the
library, Bushman has
worked under three dif-
ferent library directors,
which she said has given
her more perspective
heading into this interim
position.
alex Wittwer/The Observer
Carrie Bushman, shown here at Cook Memorial Library, La Grande,
in July 2021, has been named the library’s interim director.
“I’ve seen all different
styles,” she said. “There
were some things that
worked and some things
that didn’t, some things
I agreed with and didn’t
agree with. In the end
they all did great, so I’ve
learned something from all
of them.”
Roberson, who took
over as Cook Memo-
rial Library’s director
in October 2019, and La
Grande City Manager
Robert Strope both saw
Bushman as the best fit for
the job. At the La Grande
City Council meeting on
Wednesday, July 7, coun-
cilors voted on a memo-
randum of understanding
with the La Grande
Employees Association
Union, allowing Bushman
to officially switch from
employee to director and
opening the door for her
previous position to be
backfilled by Mackenzie
Isaak.
“It is my hope that at the
end of the one-year interim
position that Carrie has
done an outstanding job
and is interested in con-
tinuing,” Strope said at the
meeting.
Prior to Roberson
departing — to be the
director of library services
at the Teton County Library
in Jackson, Wyoming — he
was able to secure two new
part-time positions at the
library, which will likely
allow it to be open on Sat-
urdays and was regarded
by Roberson as one of his
fondest personal achieve-
ments. For Bushman, the
task of filling those posi-
tions coincided with back-
filling her own spot as well
as learning the ropes of the
director job.
This summer, Cook
Memorial Library is
holding children’s summer
reading programs as well
as programs and events
for teens and adults.
Long-term programs that
Bushman aims to con-
duct at the library are the
“Books for Babies” ini-
tiative and improvement
of the adult learning pro-
grams focused on helping
adults acquire their GED.
Under Roberson,
Cook Memorial Library
landed a WorkSource
grant that will allow for
more spending on adult
learning. According to
Bushman, the library plans
on installing a public-use
laptop that will be spe-
cifically geared toward
resume building, job inter-
views, learning resources
and other tools for adult
education.
The library is also part-
nering with Grande Ronde
Hospital in coordinating
the “Books for Babies”
program, which gives
newborns their first book
and provides a library
card, a parent guide, book-
marks and more reading
resources.
Opening doors
to the public
Cook Memorial Library
joined many other busi-
nesses and city build-
ings in reopening as the
COVID-19 infection num-
bers have decreased. With
the library back open as a
public resource, Bushman
says the rush of visitors
has been challenging but
welcomed.
“It’s been overwhelming
how busy we’ve been.
It feels a bit like normal
again,” Bushman said.
“It’s great to start having
everyone back in.”
The library is starting
to put out the remainder of
public-use computers and
other resources as infection
numbers remain low.
“We’re still being
careful,” she said. “We do
have all of the entrances
open now, but we’ll always
still provide masks and
sanitizer as needed.”
Cook Memorial Library hosts new exhibit
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A
new traveling exhibit is
on display throughout the
library in La Grande.
Cook Memo-
rial Library revealed
the “Black in Oregon:
1840-1870” exhibit on
Thursday, July 22, in
its main reception area.
The series of visual dis-
plays includes informa-
tion about Black individ-
uals who came to Oregon
during overland migra-
tions in the 19th century.
“It’s a wonderful
opportunity for the com-
munity to learn about
a part of Oregon his-
tory that might not be
as well known,” said
Cook Memorial Library’s
interim director, Carrie
Bushman.
Oregon Black Pio-
neers, an educational
nonprofit based in Salem,
owns the exhibit and dis-
plays it in libraries across
Oregon. The panels on
the walls of Cook Memo-
rial Library contain infor-
mation graphics, photo-
graphs and stories about
Black pioneers. Oregon
State Archives originally
developed the exhibit in
partnership with Oregon
Black Pioneers and others
to compile the stories and
information.
The exhibit describes
various excursions
taken by Black pioneers
looking to avoid slavery
in the southern states of
America. At the time,
provisional and territorial
governments in Oregon
barred Blacks from res-
idency in the state. The
pioneers described in
the exhibit subsequently
became the foundation
for many Black commu-
nities in the region. In
pursuit of a better life,
these pioneers risked
their lives in a time when
their legal status was
in turmoil. The exhibit
not only tells the story
of various pioneers, but
also illustrates the his-
tory of racial conditions
in Oregon and the United
States.
“It’s a great opportu-
nity for a high-quality
traveling exhibit,” said
Celine Vandervlugt,
Cook Memorial Library
teen services director.
“Oregon history exhibits
are always welcome to
have.”
Thirteen panels will
remain on the walls at
La Grande’s library from
Thursday, July 22, to
Wednesday, Aug. 25.
Twelve new panels will
be placed in the library
from Thursday, Aug. 26,
until the exhibit’s conclu-
sion on Saturday, Sept.
25.
The exhibit is aimed at
creating an enlightening
learning experience about
a lesser-known subject
matter for library patrons
and other visitors. The
exhibit was originally
compiled in 2018 and has
since been digitally pro-
duced for online viewing.
The “Black in Oregon
1840-1870” exhibit makes
its first appearance of the
summer in La Grande,
before being moved to the
Harney County Library
in Burns and then the
Lake County Library in
Lakeview.
The front desk
employees at Cook
Memorial Library have
additional informa-
tion resources available
regarding the exhibit.
NEWS BRIEFS
Four people injured
in Interstate 84 crash
LA GRANDE — Four people
were injured Sunday, July 25, in a
single-vehicle accident on Interstate
84 about 5 miles west of La Grande.
The crash occurred at 7:38 a.m.
when a Mazda CX-9 driven by
Mark Duffin, 62, of Boise, Idaho,
went around a guardrail and off the
freeway just before an overpass,
according to the Oregon State Police.
The vehicle, whose driver had fallen
asleep, then rolled down an embank-
ment for about 200 feet before
coming to rest on the driver’s side
on the bank of the Grande Ronde
River. A witness told an OSP trooper
that the car was on fire when he
arrived but that he was able to put the
blaze out with water from the river,
according to the OSP press release.
The vehicle’s three passengers
were the driver’s wife, Karen Duffin,
62, of Boise, and two of the couple’s
grandchildren, both juveniles, who
were in the backseat.
Extrication equipment had to be
used to get the driver and the front
passenger out of the vehicle. The two
juveniles in the back were removed
by the witness, the individual told an
OSP trooper.
Mark and Karen Duffin were both
transported by Life Flight Network
helicopters to medical centers out-
side the area. The two juveniles were
driven to Grande Ronde Hospital by
ambulance.
None of the crash victims suffered
la Grande Rural Fire Protection district/Contributed Photo
Rescue personnel respond to the scene of a single-vehicle crash on Sunday, July 25, 2021.
Four people were injured in the accident on Interstate 84 about 5 miles west of La Grande.
life-threatening injuries, according
to Oregon State Police Sgt. Grant
Jackson.
Everyone in the Mazda CX-9 was
wearing seat belts and the vehicle’s
airbags deployed during the crash.
Jackson said no citations will be
issued.
Starkey forest and range
closed to overnight use
LA GRANDE — The Starkey
Experimental Forest and Range
is closed to overnight camping or
other overnight uses in response to
extreme fire danger, according to a
press release from the U.S. Forest
Service.
Starkey remains open to public
entry, but visitors must adhere to cur-
rent fire-prevention measures estab-
lished for the Wallowa-Whitman
National Forest under Phase C Public
Use Restrictions.
“The extreme fire danger this
early in the fire season necessitated
our decision to close Starkey to over-
night camping,” said Mike Wisdom,
a research wildlife biologist with the
Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest
Research Station. “We will be moni-
toring fire risk and how best to adapt
to the situation going forward.”
The 25,000-acre experimental
forest and range is 28 miles south-
west of La Grande on the Wal-
lowa-Whitman National Forest. The
area is jointly managed by the Pacific
Northwest Research Station and the
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.
— The Observer
WALLOWA COUNTY
County
takes
aim at
river bill
Wallowa County
commissioners
oppose ‘Rivers
Democracy Act’
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — A res-
olution opposing a bill in
the U.S. Senate that would
expand the National Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act to
include waterways in Wal-
lowa County was passed
recently by the Wal-
lowa County Board of
Commissioners.
The “Rivers Democracy
Act,” a.k.a. S.192 intro-
duced to the Senate by Ore-
gon’s Democrat Sens. Ron
Wyden and
Jeff Merkley,
would add
404 additional
miles of Wal-
lowa County
rivers, streams,
Roberts
gulches, draws
and unnamed
tributaries, most of which
are not classified as rivers
and are not free-flowing
or do not carry water year
around, according to the
resolution read by Com-
missioner Susan Rob-
erts during the commis-
sioners’ Wednesday, July
21, meeting.
As she read, the Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act
of 1968 was to preserve
certain rivers with “out-
standing natural, cultural
and recreation values in
a free-flowing condition”
and it already includes 300
miles of Wallowa County
rivers.
In addition, Roberts
said, S.192 expands buffer
zones along such waterways
from a quarter-mile to a
half-mile.
This would affect “eco-
nomic development, public
access, water resource man-
agement, forest and vegeta-
tion management, ranching
and grazing and other
responsible multiple-use
activities on an estimated
240,000 acres of public
lands and an additional
16,000 acres of private land
in Wallowa County,” Rob-
erts read.
The resolution says such
“arbitrary land designations
… impose restrictions and
additional federal bureau-
cracy on multiple-use land
management activities and
federal courts have upheld
legal challenges to those
activities…”
The resolution also notes
that the county “has experi-
enced severe wildfires that
have threatened and dis-
placed our citizens, dam-
aged private properties,
affected water resources,
impacted recreational
opportunities, wildlife
habitat and other natural
resource values and affected
the county’s economy.”
Such wildfires have
burned “unnaturally over-
grown and fire-prone lands
administered by federal
land management agencies
and those agencies have
failed to adequately miti-
gate the risks to Wallowa
County communities and
natural resources.”
S. 192 doesn’t direct fed-
eral agencies to use tools at
their disposal to reduce fire
risk or restore lands after
fires.
The resolution also noted
that rural counties, their
businesses and landowners
were not consulted in the
designation of waterways
to include in the act. Only a
“few select individuals and
organizations” were con-
sulted, the resolution reads.
Wallowa County’s com-
missioners are not the first
in Oregon to oppose the act.
Earlier this month, Union
County’s commissioners
voted to oppose it and in
February, Grant County did
likewise.