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August 12, 2021
ELGIN
Indian
Creek
project
starts
By ALEX WITTWER
The Observer
ELGIN — A project to
remove several dams along
Indian Creek near Elgin is
underway.
Trout Unlimited, in part-
nership with Hancock Nat-
ural Resource Group, is
planning to remove two
outdated diversion dams
on the creek, along with
removing an old roadbed
and its culvert in an eff ort
to restore spawning hab-
itat and rearing grounds
for juvenile fi sh, including
Lower Snake River steel-
head, chinook salmon and
bull trout.
Some of the fi sh species
this project will help are
endangered, including the
redband trout.
“It is really helpful to
have a return back to the
state it was supposed to
look like, and that allows
for more resilience in the
ecosystems,” said Emery
Hansell, river communica-
tions specialist with Trout
Unlimited.
The groups plan to break
ground on the project this
week. Offi cials expect the
project will run approxi-
mately three to four weeks
in total, and open up nearly
10 miles of connected hab-
itat in the area.
Removing the obstruc-
tions, according to offi cials,
will allow for the easier
passage and rearing of
juvenile fi sh as they travel
through the Grande Ronde
River. But that’s only one
benefi t that will come with
the removal of the dams.
“There is more than just
the passage going on,” said
Levi Old, Northeast Oregon
project manager for Trout
Unlimited. “You will, a
lot of times, have a con-
stricted fl oodplain so you’re
moving water more effi -
ciently through an area near
the dam, which aff ects the
local geomorphology. By
removing these two dams,
we’re going to open up
about 1.5 acres of historic
fl oodplain habitat that had
been cut off .”
See, Project/Page A5
SPORTS, A7
$1.50
THURSDAY EDITION
‘We would have had to close’
Local restaurants
embrace impacts of
nationwide pandemic
struggles
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — With
restaurants in need, grant
funding has helped keep the
doors open for some local
favorites.
The Small Business Admin-
istration awarded $28.6 bil-
lion worth of federal govern-
ment funds to aid restaurants
across the country impacted by
COVID-19 through the Restau-
rant Revitalization Fund. In
early May, more than 2,000
restaurants in Oregon received
funds from the grant, eight of
which are in Union County.
“We would have had to
close,” said Bruce
Rogers, owner of
Local Harvest in La
Grande. “We were
of course thankful
for it because we
Rogers
wouldn’t have
stayed open without the grants
we received.”
Local Harvest joined Mamac-
ita’s International Grill, Side A
Brewing, Merlyn’s Catering,
Moy’s Dynasty and Le Bebe
Cakes Bakery as restaurants in
La Grande to receive a portion of
the funding distributed through
the RRF. Gravy Dave’s in Union
and The Elgin Station Bar and
Grill also received grants.
Restaurants in need
Out of approximately 100,000
restaurants in the United States
to receive funds from this grant,
Oregon’s percentage of the funds
ranked in the top 20 states.
After distributing the grants
throughout May and June, the
funding closed in early July. The
New York Times reported that
approximately 300,000 appli-
cants from across the country
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Clarissa Nitz works the front register at Local Harvest in La Grande on Thursday, July 29, 2021. Local Harvest is one of six
restaurants in La Grande to receive funds from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
submitted applications, but only
about a third of the applicants
were awarded funding.
Adding up all the applica-
tions, a total need of $65 billion
was requested from restaurants
across the country. According to
the Small Business Association,
nearly 5,000 Oregon businesses
applied for the grant, requesting
$1.2 billion. This immense need
in the restaurant industry has
brought about lobbying eff orts
for Congress to revitalize the
program with more funds and
create a second wave of grants.
“We encouraged everyone
who needed it to apply,” said
Greg Astley, director of Gov-
ernment Aff airs for the Oregon
Restaurant and Lodging Associ-
ation. “The hole created from the
past 16 months to get where we
are isn’t going to be easy to get
back out of.”
Mamacita’s International
Grill received $178,527 from the
RRF, the most of any restaurant
in Union County, while Side A
Brewing ($109,128) and Moy’s
Dynasty ($100,523) also reached
six fi gures. Despite leading the
county, these numbers are well
below the national average of
about $270,000 per restaurant
and well below the largest recip-
ients in Oregon, with Capers
Cafe and Catering Co. in Port-
land receiving $6.9 million.
Keeping the doors open
For Rogers and Local Har-
vest, the $56,597 received from
the RFF was a means to con-
tinue employing the staff and
keeping doors open through
tough times.
“We were able to take care of
the people who bust their butts
for us. That’s how it helped us
the most,” Rogers said.
The rise in product prices
have been the most detrimental
to the Local Harvest, alongside
the obvious decrease in cus-
tomers during the pandemic.
Rogers said prices are up nearly
25% at his restaurant due to a
major increase in supply prices.
Rogers primarily used the
grant money for payroll, which
allowed the business to maintain
its indoor dining. Many restau-
rants in the area and across the
country were forced to close
indoor dining during the peak
of the pandemic. While a take-
out-only model decreases overall
sales, it allows businesses to
spend less on costs related to
keeping a building open such as
utilities and server wages.
“If we’re losing more money
staying open, we’ll just close
and lose less money,” Rogers
said. “Don’t get me wrong, we’re
grateful for every bit of help we
got. We’d rather close the inside
See, Restaurants/Page A5
Return of the mask mandate
Governor orders masks worn indoors as
COVID-19 hits record levels in Oregon
By GARY WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Gov. Kate
Brown on Wednesday,
Aug. 11, ordered face
masks worn indoors in
public places by everyone
age 5 and older beginning
Aug. 13.
During the press call,
Brown said the highly
contagious delta variant
was pushing the virus
spread to the point that
each infected person was
infecting eight others.
“Moving forward, for
the immediate future,
masks will be required for
all indoor public settings,”
she said.
The mandate applies to
adults and children older
than 5. On public transit,
it also includes children
older than 2.
Brown also urged, but
did not mandate, wearing
masks in crowded out-
door situations. She also
urged private companies
and other organizations
to enact their own indoor
mask policies.
Projected peak
Brown’s order came
the day after the Oregon
Health & Sciences Univer-
sity’s infectious disease
experts forecast the state
could see more than 1,000
COVID-19 patients per
day in hospitals by early
next month. Oregon would
be about 500 staff ed beds
short of what it needs for
all patients if the rate hit
its projected peak.
Dr. Dean Sidelinger,
the state epidemiologist,
said this “fi fth wave” of
COVID-19 to hit the state
in the past 18 months
INDEX
Business & Ag.......B1
Classified ...............B2
Comics ....................B5
Crossword .............B2
Dear Abby .............B6
children younger than 12
for whom there is no fed-
erally approved vaccine.
OHA has reported
patients arriving at hos-
pitals are younger, sicker,
require more care and stay
longer.
“The COVID-19 situ-
ation is dire,” Sidelinger
said, with the delta
variant “far outpacing
even the grim scenarios
in our latest reported
projections.”
Hospital capacity
Kristyna Wentz-Graff /Oregon Public Broadcasting, File
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown tours a drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination
clinic at Portland International Airport on April 9, 2021. Brown or-
dered face masks be worn indoors in public places beginning Fri-
day, Aug. 13, as state health offi cials worry the highly contagious
delta variant of COVID-19 is getting out of control.
is diff erent than earlier
spikes.
More than half the pop-
ulation is vaccinated,
but the “relentless” delta
WEATHER
Horoscope .............B2
Lottery ....................A2
Obituaries ..............A3
Opinion ..................A4
Records ..................A3
SATURDAY
Spiritual Life..........A6
Sports .....................A7
State ........................A8
Sudoku ...................B5
Weather .................B6
variant is spreading rap-
idly through the estimated
1.2 million Oregon resi-
dents who are not inocu-
lated. That group includes
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Friday
61 LOW
98/65
Clear and mild
Very hot
ABANDONED MINE PERFECT FOR HORROR MOVIE
The mask mandate is
a policy U-turn for the
Oregon Health Authority
and Brown, who had relin-
quished decisions on
COVID-19 restrictions to
county supervisors as of
June 30.
With the delta variant
rapidly fi lling hospitals to
capacity across the state,
Brown had urged counties
See, Masks/Page A5
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Issue 94
3 sections, 34 pages
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