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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 2021)
LOCAL A2 — THE OBSERVER TODAY TuESday, auguST 17, 2021 Staying cool at the Grassroots Festival Wallowa Lake Dam funding goes through Today is Tuesday, Aug. 17, the 229th day of 2021. There are 136 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY On August 17, 1915, a mob in Cobb County, Georgia, lynched Jewish businessman Leo Frank, 31, whose death sentence for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan had been commuted to life imprisonment. (Frank, who’d maintained his inno- cence, was pardoned by the state of Georgia in 1986.) $14 million in state lottery funds approved by Legislature ON THIS DATE In 1807, Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat began heading up the Hudson River on its successful round trip between New York and Albany. In 1863, federal batteries and ships began bombarding Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor during the Civil War, but the Confederates managed to hold on despite several days of pounding. In 1942, during World War II, U.S. 8th Air Force bombers attacked German forces in Rouen, France. U.S. Marines raided a Japanese seaplane base on Makin Island. In 1964, Teamsters union president Jimmy Hoffa was sen- tenced in Chicago to five years in federal prison for defrauding his union’s pension fund. (Hoffa was released in 1971 after Pres- ident Richard Nixon commuted his sentence for this conviction and jury tampering.) In 1978, the first successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight ended as Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman landed their Double Eagle II outside Paris. In 1982, the first commer- cially produced compact discs, a recording of ABBA’s “The Vis- itors,” were pressed at a Philips factory in West Germany. In 1983, lyricist Ira Gershwin died in Beverly Hills, Calif., at age 86. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave grand jury testimony via closed-circuit television from the White House concerning his relationship with Monica Lew- insky; he then delivered a TV address in which he denied pre- viously committing perjury. In 1999, more than 17,000 people were killed when a mag- nitude 7.4 earthquake struck Turkey. In 2017, a van plowed through pedestrians along a packed promenade in the Spanish city of Barcelona, killing 13 people and injuring 120. Ten years ago: Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Beijing to meet with his Chinese counter- part, Xi Jinping. Five years ago: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump announced a shake-up of his campaign leadership, naming Steve Bannon as chief executive officer and Kellyanne Conway as campaign manager. One year ago: As Democrats opened their virtual national convention, Michelle Obama delivered a passionate con- demnation of President Donald Trump, saying he was “clearly in over his head.” CLARIFICATION In the Page A2 story “Imbler board approves guidelines for 2021-22,” published Saturday, Aug. 12, the story misstated that the Imbler board voted on the Ready Schools, Safe Learners Plan. The board discussed the plan with the audience, but the official vote will occur at the regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 17. LOTTERY Friday, Aug. 13, 2021 Megamillions 17-21-35-40-53 Megaball: 11 Megaplier: 2 Jackpot: $242 million Lucky Lines 1-7-9-16-18-23-26-31 Jackpot: $57,000 Pick 4 1 p.m.: 9-9-4-5 4 p.m.: 5-4-2-9 7 p.m.: 3-1-9-0 10 p.m.: 3-0-6-6 Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021 Powerball 6-21-49-65-67 Powerball: 18 Power Play: 2 Jackpot: $274 million Megabucks 7-9-15-24-28-32 Jackpot: $1.8 million Lucky Lines 1-8-12-14-18-22-26-29 Jackpot: $58,000 Pick 4 1 p.m.: 0-6-9-2 4 p.m.: 4-9-9-2 7 p.m.: 5-0-2-3 10 p.m.: 6-8-2-7 Win for Life 3-4-54-57 Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021 Lucky Lines 4-8-12-16-18-23-28-32 Estimated jackpot: $59,000 Pick 4 1 p.m.: 2-7-6-2 4 p.m.: 3-2-4-6 7 p.m.: 5-1-6-3 10 p.m.: 8-0-6-6 By BILL BRADSHAW Wallowa County Chieftain alex Wittwer/The Observer Young and old took advantage of the cooling water sprayed from a fire truck at the Grassroots Festival in Union on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. The festival drew hundreds of residents and visitors to enjoy the vendors, car show, live music and dozens of activities for children. Breweries put best foot forward Eastern Oregon Beer Festival returns with 10 breweries on tap By DAVIS CARBAUGH The Observer LA GRANDE — With hazy skies and hazy IPAs, the Eastern Oregon Beer Festival brought back the fun in 2021. Beer lovers could try a little bit of everything at this year’s festival, held at the Union County Fair- grounds in La Grande. Several local breweries marked their territory at the festival, and a number of breweries traveled from across Oregon and across state lines to participate in the Eastern Oregon Beer Festival on Saturday, Aug. 14. Representatives from 10 breweries attended the event, and beer and cider from more than 30 brew- eries was served. “This is a part of the state that we don’t typ- ically get out to, so it’s great to be a part of this festival,” said Rex Gamaney, Southern Oregon market manager at Rogue Ales. The Newport-based brewery traveled to the Eastern Oregon Beer Fes- tival for the first time, looking to extend its fan alex Wittwer/The Observer alex Wittwer/The Observer Cathy and Jeff Ostman drink beer and listen as the Wasteland Kings perform at the Eastern Oregon Beer Festival on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, at the Union County Fairgrounds in La Grande. base. Rogue Ales has three separate pubs in Newport, in addition to locations in Portland, Astoria and Independence. According to Gamaney, the pandemic has pre- sented challenges for Rogue Ales, but a strong following has helped the brewery make it through. Rogue is known for its Dead Guy Ale, Newport Daze and Colossal Claude, Gamaney said. In his first visit to La Grande, he said he hoped to spread the company’s name, and to experience what Eastern Oregon has to offer. Coming in from across the Idaho border, Sockeye Brewing in Boise joined the fun. Founded in 1996, Sockeye Brewing claims to be Idaho’s biggest brewery as well as the home of the state’s most- awarded craft beer. “We thought it would be a great chance to reach out a little more and increase our sales by put- ting a face to the name,” said Tyler Zimmerman, sales manager at Sockeye Brewing. According to Zim- merman, Sockeye is known for its Dagger Falls IPA. The brewery served its Horsethief Hazy IPA and Angel’s Perch Amber at the festival. Sockeye joined Rogue Ales and other Ore- gon-based brewery rep- resentatives in the mul- tipurpose room at the fairgrounds as beers and ciders were sampled. Gamaney, Zimmerman and other representatives attended a VIP event on the rooftop of Market Place Fresh Foods on Aug. 13, joining beer lovers from around the area. Kenneth Watson holds up a sample in his commemorative glass at the Eastern Oregon Beer Festival on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, at the Union County Fairgrounds, La Grande. In addition to the out- of-area offerings, local favorites, including La Grande’s Side A Brewing and Enterprise’s Terminal Gravity, also served their well-received brews to those in attendance. The Eastern Oregon Beer Festival returned this year with brews, food, vendors and live music after being canceled by the pandemic in 2020. In between sips of beverages, attendees were required to wear masks while indoors due to the recent spike in COVID-19. The late-summer heat, hazy skies and mask- wearing didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of those sampling and those serving the beverages, and live music by the Waste- land Kings and Coyote Kings added to the festive atmosphere. Wyden to host online town hall Aug. 31 The Observer PORTLAND — Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, will host an online town hall to discuss his River Democracy Act with rural Oregonians. The virtual meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31. The act was intro- duced alongside Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, in February 2021 and is aimed at protecting nearly 4,700 miles of rivers and streams in Oregon. It also focuses on expanding rec- reation access to promote local economies, pro- tecting drinking water, limiting wildfire and sus- taining endangered fish and wildlife. “I very much look forward to throwing open the digital doors of democracy on Aug. 31 to hear from rural Ore- gon’s county commis- sioners, river enthusiasts, small business owners and more so the River Democracy Act continues on its path to provide clean drinking water for families, build an even stronger outdoor recre- ation economy in every nook and cranny of our state, and improve wild- fire resiliency.” When the act was introduced in February, only 2,173 out of 110,994 total miles of rivers and streams in Oregon were protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Wyden initiated the public process in October 2019 to acquire recommendations from Oregon residents on rivers that deserve pro- tection. Oregonians sub- mitted approximately 15,000 nominations by January 2020. During the past year, Wyden has met with county commis- sioners to discuss the list of protections and address any concerns. Wyden has hosted more than 900 in-person town halls statewide, fol- lowing his pledge to hold at least one town hall in each of the state’s coun- ties at least once a year. Since the start of the pan- demic, Wyden has con- tinued hosting the town halls virtually. The virtual town hall meeting will be hosted by People’s Town Hall on Facebook Live at https:// bit.ly/3xT1Iam. NEWS BRIEFS Union County Commissioners to hear MERA update LA GRANDE — The Union County Board of Commissioners will hear an update on the partial closure of the Mount Emily Rec- reation Area during its regularly scheduling meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 18. The meeting will start at 9 a.m. in the meeting room on the east end of the Joseph Building. The meeting can be attended in person or by Zoom teleconference. To listen to the meeting or partici- pate in the public comment oppor- tunity call: 253-215-8782 or 301- 715- 8592 and enter meeting ID number 814 20006 863. For information on attending the meeting via Zoom teleconference call 541-963-1001. Hermiston man dies in ATV crash MEACHAM — The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office reported an all-terrain vehicle crash Friday, Aug. 13, took the life of a Herm- iston man. The crash also injured a 13-year-old passenger. The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Dispatch Center at about 2:40 p.m. received a 911 call reporting two people were injured in an ATV acci- dent. Sheriff’s deputies and Oregon State Police responded to the area of Jordan Circle Lane and Meacham Lake near Meacham. Ambulances from the Pendleton Fire Department and Umatilla Tribal Fire Depart- ment also responded. According to the sheriff’s office, Cesar Ambriz, 20, of Hermiston, was the operator of the vehicle, and medics on scene confirmed he died. An ambulance took the 13-year-old passenger to St. Anthony Hospital, Pendleton. The ATV was traveling on gravel when it went off the road and rolled during a turn. Umatilla County Search and Rescue also responded and assisted with recovery. — The Observer ENTERPRISE — Now that the $14 million in state lottery funds has been approved by the Oregon Legislature for the refur- bishment of the century-old Wallowa Lake Dam, the big question that remains is what kind of fish passage the dam will include. State Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, confirmed last month that the lottery funds were approved by the Leg- islature and Gov. Kate Brown was expected to sign the budget. “We’ve got the funding across the goal line, and now it’s implementing the application of it,” Hansell said. “Now the baton will be handed off to where they sell the bonds.” He said the bonds are expected to be sold in the spring 2022 and the actual funds will come through later. He said he is unsure of the exact timeline. “As far as I know we’re back to what we’ve always done,” he said. He added that the stake- holders in the dam project can begin spending on it before getting the proceeds from the bonds, but they do so at their own risk. The four major stake- holders include the Wallowa Lake Irrigation District — the owner of the dam — the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Nez Perce Tribe’s Department of Fisheries Resources Man- agement and the Confed- erated Tribes of the Uma- tilla Indian Reservation. Minor stakeholders also are involved, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- vice, which has jurisdiction over bull trout; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. A year ago, lottery sales were far too low to fund the bonds. “We didn’t collect enough to spend what we’d authorized,” Hansell said. The project originally called for a $16 million refurbishment of the dam that would improve the spillways, include a fish passage, add more concrete for weight, replace the five conduit gates with new ones and to upgrade the elec- trical and instrumentation, according to the June 23, 2020, Chieftain. Dan Butterfield, presi- dent of the irrigation dis- trict, was encouraged by the news from the Legislature. “We keep gaining,” he said. “Everything’s looking good.” The $2 million differ- ence between the lottery funds and the overall cost is supposed to be made up by “other sources,” Butterfield said, adding that the stake- holders may need to reas- sess the final cost given the increasing cost of building materials. Jim Harbeck, the field office supervisor for Nez Perce Fisheries, said the latest cost estimates were from 2017. “I imagine those costs are higher now,” he said. Butterfield said the stakeholders have applied for a grant through the American Rescue Plan Act that could help with the extra funding. He said the project has been in the works for about 20 years. Now, he said they are planning to begin con- struction in fall 2022 and have it ready by spring 2023.
