FROM PAGE ONE
SATURDAY, JULY 31, 2021
MASKS
He noted that of the lim-
ited number of North
Continued from Page A1
Powder students who con-
tracted COVID-19 in the
would not be a distraction
past school year, none
for those who chose not to
contracted the virus on
wear them.
campus.
The Oregon Depart-
“There was not a case
ment of Education will
spread in school,” he said.
announce next week
Imbler School District’s
details about the mandate
interim superintendent,
and its rules.
Doug Hislop, feels
“Hopefully, this
for the students who
will bring more
were homeschooled
clarity,” Wells said.
or took classes online
Wells and other
last year because they
educators want to
didn’t want to wear
know if the man-
masks on campus.
Mulvihill
date will require
He believes many of
students who have
these same students
already been vacci-
who were planning
nated for COVID-19
to return to school
to wear masks
for on-site learning at
at school. North
Imbler will not come
Powder School Dis-
back in the fall.
Hislop
trict Superinten-
“It will mean
dent Lance Dixon
another year of not
believes the impact
seeing their class-
of such a rule within
mates at school,” he
the mandate would
said.
be both good and
Wells said he
bad.
hopes the man-
“It would
Wells
date does not mean
encourage students
the upcoming school
to get vaccinated,” he said. year will be comparable
On the other hand, stu-
to 2020-21 when tight
dents who have not been
COVID-19 rules were in
vaccinated might see many place through much of the
classmates not wearing
year.
masks and copy them, cre-
“We survived last year,
ating a situation that would but no one wants to go
be diffi cult to address.
through that again,” he
“We would be fi ghting
said.
a battle we would not
Dixon believes that
win,” Dixon said. “It could ultimately schools will
create a lot of chaos.”
fi nd positive solutions to
The possible vacci-
the challenges posed by
nation issue would not
COVID-19.
impact students ages
“I’m sure that at the end
12 and younger since
of the day we will do what
COVID-19 vaccinations
is best for students,” he
are not yet available to
said.
them.
Mulvihill said he under-
Dixon said he would
stands how frustrated edu-
like the state to give school cators are becoming when
districts more local con-
dealing with COVID-19
trol in terms of how they
and the never-ending chal-
handle the pandemic. He
lenges it poses, many of
said that when school dis-
which they thought were in
tricts were provided that
the rearview mirror.
opportunity in 2020-21,
“The virus plays by its
things worked out well.
own rules,” he said.
THE OBSERVER — A5
SPIKE
Continued from Page A1
patients,” Ford said. “How-
ever, we would also like
our community to take
COVID-19 seriously and
follow the CDC/OHA
guidelines in order to pre-
vent overwhelming hos-
pital capacity.”
In Umatilla County,
the county’s public health
department has aligned
with recent recommenda-
tions from the state and
federal government that
everybody, including fully
vaccinated people, should
wear masks indoors “due
to a substantial increase
in Umatilla County’s
COVID-19 case rate.”
The Oregon Health
Authority does not pub-
lish case rates over seven
days in its weekly met-
rics, but a report on July
26 shows that, from July
11-22, Umatilla County
saw a case rate of 504
new cases per 100,000
people — by far the
highest in the state.
During that same
period, 17.6% of all tests in
the county came back pos-
itive, the second highest
in Oregon, just behind
Morrow County’s 17.9%.
Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group, File
A spokesperson for Grande Ronde Hospital, La Grande, said on July 29, 2021, there are 11 bed occu-
pants at the hospital. Information on the COVID-19 status was not available.
“At this point, you’re
either going to get the
virus or you’re going to
get vaccinated,” Uma-
tilla County Public Health
Director Joe Fiumara said.
He added that masks are
a “tool that we can use to
try to not overload the hos-
pitals and — not to be too
blunt — not end up with
a whole bunch of dead
people.”
Around the country,
COVID-19 cases are rising
and communities are rein-
stating restrictions to limit
the spread of the virus. Los
Angeles County, Wash-
ington, D.C., and St. Louis,
Missouri, have all brought
back mask mandates for
all residents, vaccinated
or not.
On July 27, the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention recommended
that all residents in high-
risk areas — regardless
of vaccination status —
should wear masks.
On the same day, the
Oregon Health Authority
recommended people wear
masks in indoor public
spaces, but did not mention
a possibility of a statewide
mask mandate.
On Friday, July 30,
Gov. Kate Brown released
an order for state workers
and public visitors to wear
masks inside state facili-
ties but did not update the
current policy of leaving
public health mandate
decisions to individual
counties.
“We also must protect
everyone — both agency
employees and community
members who visit state
agencies for information,
services, and resources.
This new guidance accom-
plishes both,” Brown said
in a statement.
SPORTS
PHYSICALS
FREE Sports Physicals are available to any student in grades 4-12 at the selected
locations below. Visit grh.org/sportsphysicals for a list of available dates by location.
Women’s & Children’s Clinic
Regional Medical Clinic
Union Clinic
Elgin Clinic
College students: Get your sports physical for a discounted fee of $50
at one of the above clinics on any FREE Sports Physical Day.
GRANDE RONDE HOSPITAL AND CLINICS
Grande Ronde Hospital, Inc. is a private, 501(c)3 not-for-profit health system, established 1907.
Alex Wittwer/The Observer, File
ROGERS ASPHALT
Nicholas Fairbanks takes off down a wooden ramp on Mount Emily
Recreation Area’s Dirt Circus mountain bike trail during the annual
Blue Mountain Singletrack Trails Club Shuttle Day on Saturday, June
26, 2021. MERA has reopened access to nonmotorized vehicles fol-
lowing a temporary ban on their usage due to the increased fi re risk.
OPEN
Continued from Page A1
close MERA completely
on July 21 also was pro-
posed by Anderes, who
helps oversee MERA in his
position on the board.
He said his decisions to
recommend the complete
closure of MERA and
then its partial reopening
were very diffi cult.
“They have been the
hardest I’ve made since
becoming a commis-
sioner,” said Anderes, who
joined the Union County
Board of Commissioners
in 2019.
Emails read at the
July 28 meeting said that
the MERA closure was
hurting tourism in La
Grande because travelers
who would normally visit
MERA were traveling
through the area and not
stopping.
Other emails supported
reopening the recreational
area to motor vehicles.
One stated that most wild-
fi res are started by light-
ning and only a small per-
centage are ignited by
motor vehicles.
Sean Chambers, Union
County parks coordinator,
said that since MERA was
closed July 21, “people
have been very respectful”
of the temporary rules.
MERA is a few miles
north of downtown La
Grande and has a total
of 3,700 acres, all forest
land.
The recreation area
has 45 miles of trails for
nonmotorized activities
such as mountain biking,
hiking and horseback
riding, and 45 miles of
trails for motorized vehi-
cles including all-terrain
vehicles and motorcycles.
The partial reopening
of the Mount Emily Rec-
reation Area will be
reviewed by the Union
County Board of Com-
missioners when it meets
Wednesday, Aug. 4.
The meeting will start
at 9 a.m. in the Joseph
Building.
Sunday, August 1st
4:00 pm to 6:00 pm-
Open Class Entries Due
Monday, August 2nd
10:00 am to 7:00 pm-
Open Class Entries Due
3:00 pm-
Open Class Small Animal Show
Tuesday, August 3rd
8:00 am to 10:00 am-
Horticulture Entries Only
8:00 am-
Open Class Judging Begins
Wednesday, August 4th
8:00 am-
10:00 am-
1:00 pm-
5:00 pm-
4:00 pm-
8:00 pm-
10:00 pm-
Fair Opens
Exhibit Booths Open
Open Class Sheep & Meat Goat Show
Open Class Beef & Dairy Cattle Show
Brady Goss Large Stage
Brady Goss Large Stage
Fair Closes
6:00 pm-
6:30 pm-
8:00 pm-
10:00 pm-
Thursday, August 5th, cont.
Becki’s Studio of Dance
Mutton Busting & Stick Horse Race at
Mavericks Arena
Tammy the Hypnotist Large Stage
Fair Closes
Friday, August 6th
8:00 am-
9:00 am-
10:00 am-
2:00 pm-
3:00 pm-
4:00 pm-
6:00 pm-
8:00 pm-
10:00 pm-
Fair Opens
Open Class Dairy Goats
Exhibit Booths Open
Glitter Funk Large Stage
Pee Wee Show
Fair Parade Line Up
Fair Parade Downtown
Too Slim & The Taildraggers Large Stage
Fair Closes
Saturday, August 7th
Thursday, August 5th
8:00 am-
10:00 am-
2:00 pm-
5:00 pm-
Fair Opens
Exhibit Booths Open
Denny Lankford Small Stage
Tammy the Hypnotist Large Stage
8:00 am-
10:00 am-
4:00 pm-
8:00 pm-
10:00 pm-
Fair Opens
Exhibit Booths Open
Wasteland Kings Large Stage
Wasteland Kings Large Stage
Fair Closes