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SHADY HIKE FOLLOWS GRANDE RONDE RIVER’S EAST FORK |
July 31, 2021
OUTDOORS & REC, B1
WEEKEND EDITION
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COVID-19 RESURGENCE
MERA
partially
reopens
Recreation site
again open to
nonmotorized uses
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE—
Nearly 50 miles of trails
are again available to
hikers, mountain bikers
and horseback riders in
the western Grande Ronde
Valley.
The Mount Emily Rec-
reation Area reopened
for day use on Saturday,
July 31, for nonmo-
torized activities after
having being closed com-
pletely the previous 10
days because of high fi re
danger due to hot and dry
conditions.
The decision to par-
tially reopen MERA
was made by the Union
County Board of Com-
missioners on Wednesday,
July 28, via a 3-0 vote.
No motor vehicles of
any kind are now allowed
at MERA under the par-
tial reopening rules, and
smoking, campfi res and
overnight camping is still
prohibited. Smoking and
campfi res are banned
under Oregon Department
of Forestry regulations.
Mountain biking,
hiking and horseback
riding are among the
nonmotorized activi-
ties people can enjoy at
MERA.
The commissioners
voted to partially reopen
MERA after receiving
emails from hikers and
mountain bikers asking
for it to be reopened for
nonmotorized use. Com-
missioner Paul Anderes
said that mountain bikers
and hikers campaigned the
hardest.
Anderes, who proposed
the partial reopening, said
his decision was based on
information he received
from the Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry, the U.S.
Forest Service and county
offi cials. He said the guid-
ance provided from them
made proposing the par-
tial reopening of MERA
appear to be the right
move to make.
The decision the board
of commissioners made to
See, Open/Page A5
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
A mask hangs from the handlebars of a bicycle outside GC Asian Fusion Restaurant in La Grande on Thursday, July 29, 2021. Local offi cials have not imposed
restrictions following a surge of COVID-19 cases in the county and region. The Centers for Disease and Prevention and the Oregon Health Authority are advising
returning to mask wearing.
Masks left hanging
County officials to
meet Aug. 4 to discuss
reinstating restrictions
By CARLOS FUENTES
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Union
County is seeing a rise in
COVID-19 cases less than a
month after statewide restric-
tions were lifted.
In the last two weeks, Union
County’s COVID-19 cases
have exponentially increased.
In the past week, the county
reported an average of 13 cases
every day, more than four times
higher than the average case
rate in early July.
On July 26-27, 19 positive
tests were reported to the state
— tied for the highest one-day
county total since January. On
July 28, the new case count was
21.
According to Union County
Commissioner Matt Scarfo, a
group including members of
the Center for Human Devel-
opment, Grande Ronde Hos-
pital and county offi cials will
not meet until Wednesday,
Aug. 4, to discuss reinstating
restrictions.
“Because the state gov-
ernment gave us local con-
trol, we better have a plan in
case COVID cases continue to
rise,” he said. “So we’ve gone
through with opening the lines
of communication, in case of an
outbreak.”
Scarfo said the group has
not set any specifi c numbers
to defi ne an outbreak, despite
COVID-19 cases quickly rising
amid the county’s low vaccina-
tion rate of 37%.
A press release from the
Center for Human Development
stated the county’s test posi-
tivity rate also has increased,
indicating there likely are more
cases in the community that
have not yet been reported.
“We want to provide Union
County residents with this
information so that they can use
it to make informed choices for
themselves and their loved ones.
Particularly for people with
underlying conditions where the
virus could lead to serious out-
comes including death. And for
those unable to be vaccinated,”
Union County Public Health
Administrator Carrie Brogoitti
said.
Scarfo said county offi cials
have been monitoring the prog-
ress of COVID-19 spread by
looking at hospitalizations.
According to Mardi Ford,
communications director at
Grande Ronde Hospital, hospi-
talizations have been low and
consistently under the capacity
of the 25-bed hospital. There
were 11 bed occupants at the
hospital on July 29. Information
on the presence of COVID-19
was not available.
“We would like the com-
munity to be reminded that we
have had more babies in the
hospital during this pandemic
than we have had COVID
See, Spike/Page A5
Local educators not excited about mask mandate
Oregon to require
masks indoors for
K-12 schools
By DICK MASON
The Observer
UNION COUNTY —
Masks will be required
for anyone inside a school
in Oregon this year,
according to a direc-
tive Gov. Kate Brown
announced Thursday, July
29.
“The science and data
are clear: the delta variant
is in our communities,
and it is more contagious,”
Brown said in a state-
ment. “My priority is to
ensure our kids are able to
safely return to full-time
in-person learning this
fall, fi ve days per week and
with minimal disruptions.
With many children still
ineligible to be vaccinated,
masks are an eff ective
Alex Wittwer/The Observer, File
La Grande High School art teacher Rich McIlmoil assists a student with an art exercise during class
Thursday, May 27, 2021.
way to help keep our kids
safe in the classroom, the
learning environment we
know serves them best.”
INDEX
Classified ...............B2
Comics ....................B5
Crossword .............B2
Dear Abby .............B6
The news left some
local educators feeling
worried.
Mark Mulvihill, super-
WEATHER
Horoscope .............B3
Lottery ....................A2
Obituaries ..............A3
Opinion ..................A4
TUESDAY
Outdoors & Rec ...B1
Records ..................A3
Sports .....................A7
State ........................A6
intendent of the Inter-
Mountain Education Ser-
vice District, which serves
all of Union County’s
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Sunday
66 LOW
80/65
Showers around
A t-storm around
SUMMER’S HERE & TOMATOES ARE RIPE
school districts, fears the
mandate will raise the
temperature of debates in
communities over whether
masks and vaccinations
are needed to quell the
COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is pulling communi-
ties apart,” he said.
Mulvihill said he is
concerned about super-
intendents and other col-
leagues who will be in the
middle of confl icts in their
communities.
“They will be caught in
a situation they can’t win,”
he said.
Union School District
Superintendent Carter
Wells said his district was
planning on making the
wearing of masks optional
prior to the July 29
announcement. He said the
decision would have bene-
fi ted students by making it
easier for them to focus on
school work since masks
See, Masks/Page A5
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 89
2 sections, 14 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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