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.