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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2021)
INSIDE DOVE DECOYS ENHANCE THE HUNT | OUTDOORS & REC, B1 WEEKEND EDITION August 21, 2021 COVID-19 BAKER COUNTY Carrying on the name Rural Baker County town is gone, but namesake store remains BY LISA BRITTON Baker City Herald PONDOSA — Bob Bennett is just three years older than the Pondosa Store, where he’s been selling cold drinks and ice cream since 1983. Bob, 98, was born in 1923. The store was built in 1926 to serve Pondosa, a mill town about 36 miles southeast of La Grande on state Highway 203, a couple miles from Medical Springs. Pondosa as a town no longer exists. But Bob is happy to share the story with anyone who happens by his remote store. Although Pondosa was home to 500 people at one time, it was wholly depen- dent on a lumber mill. The mill closed in 1959 — the same year the area was named the geographic center of the United States with the addition of Alaska and Hawaii. “They were going to name it Centerville, USA, but the town closed up,” said Lori Brock, Bob’s daughter who moved to Pondosa several years ago. Lester Gaddy, brother to Bob’s wife, Jean, saw an advertisement in the Eugene Register-Guard. “The whole town. For sale,” Lori said. Lester, she said, “traded three city blocks for the whole town.” Lester died in 1982, and left his property to Jean, his only sister. Jean and Bob Bennett faced a decision: sell the Pondosa property, or sell their Eugene home and move to Eastern Oregon. “I had a debate on it,” Bob remembers. He’d lived in Eugene all of his life, and had recently retired from Georgia-Pacifi c, a timber company. But he was tired of the rain west of the Cascades. $1.50 ‘We’re in this together’ Grande Ronde Hospital, local officials tackle capacity concerns during COVID-19 surge By DAVIS CARBAUGH The Observer LA GRANDE — Beds and staff . Those are the two things hospitals are short on during the pandemic. Grande Ronde Hospital is no diff erent. Hospital staff addressed those concerns during a virtual public forum on Wednesday, Aug. 18. Doctors, hospital staff and public offi cials outlined the current status of the hos- pital and how it plans to navi- gate through the recent rise in COVID-19 cases. “We must band together against this unrelenting pandemic and the variants we’re facing if we want to reclaim the Davis way of life that we enjoy in Eastern Oregon,” Grande Ronde Hospital Pres- ident and Chief Executive Offi cer Jeremy Davis said. Davis spoke at the virtual meeting alongside several doc- tors from the hospital as well as La Grande Mayor Steve Clements, Center for Human Development Public Health Administrator Carrie Brogoitti, La Grande School District Superintendent George Men- doza and Union County Com- missioner Matt Scarfo. Davis emphasized the increasing statewide COVID-19 numbers in August and noted staff fatigue and shortages are weighing heavily on the hospital. According to Davis, there were only two available ICU beds in Eastern Oregon at one point earlier this month. To his knowledge, there are currently none available in Eastern Oregon. As of Aug. 18, Union County had recorded 328 COVID-19 cases, setting a record high for monthly cases, and the county’s seven-day average for positive tests was Mardi Ford/Grande Ronde Hospital Only fi ve beds remained empty at Grande Ronde Hospital on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. Increased hospitalizations from COVID-19-positive patients from the virus’s recent surge in Oregon is aff ecting hospitals everywhere. just over 20 per day. Davis also stated approx- imately 10% of ICU beds in Oregon are currently avail- able for new patients. The ICU at Grande Ronde Hospital has six beds, operating with a maximum of three to four COVID-19 patients at once. Grande Ronde Hospital has 25 total beds, but that number can be increased in the case of a mass infl ux of patients. On Aug. 19, fi ve beds remained empty at the hospital, but that number fl uctuates daily. In the case of a large increase of patients, alternative care sites in the area can be utilized to create extra space. Grande Ronde Hospital is not currently utilizing the GRH Pavilion for additional space. Davis said staffi ng issues are more pertinent right now. From overall fatigue due to the pandemic to the large amount of labor and equipment required to work in the ICU, the staff has been pushed to new limits by COVID-19. “We’re struggling because of a staffi ng issue, but there are beds available,” he said. Nationwide issue The hospital capacity stretches across the region and the entire country. GRH would typically transfer patients to medical facilities in Boise, Walla Walla or the Tri-Cities, but many of the larger hospitals are cur- rently unable to take patients. Davis mentioned an instance of a patient being transferred to Montana and a patient who required more than 40 phone calls to fi nd a bed for. “It’s hard to transfer patients, and it’s hard to get them admitted to our hos- pital because we’re low on beds at times,” said Dr. Ste- phen McIlmoil, an emergency medicine doctor at Grande Ronde Hospital. McIlmoil noted that the emer- gency room at the McIlmoil hospital is packed with patients beyond just those dealing with COVID-19. The hospital staff reported there has been a 200% increase in emergency room visits in See, Surge/Page A5 Brown orders a double dose no current plans for earlier actions, such as restoring pandemic restrictions on businesses and gather- ings, or curbing big events upcoming events such as the Oregon State Fair, the Pendleton Round-Up or Oregon Ducks football games. “Everything is on the table,” Brown said, using a frequently invoked phrase to leave open options if the pandemic trends shift again. Teachers, health care workers must get COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 18 See, Pondosa/Page A5 By GARY WARNER Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Facing a sharp surge in COVID-19 infections that threatens to swamp Oregon hospitals, Gov. Kate Brown ordered a double dose Thursday, Aug. 19, of mandatory vaccination mandates. All K-12 educators, school staff and volun- teers must be vaccinated no later than Oct. 18, or six weeks after the Food and Drug Administration approves a vaccine. “COVID-19 poses a threat to our kids, and our kids need to be protected and they need to be in Problem will only get worse Alex Wittwer/The Observer La Grande High School teacher James Akers leads a class at Freshman Academy on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Thursday, Aug. 19, that all health care workers and teachers will be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 18, or six weeks after the Food and Drug Administra- tion gives fi nal approval to the vaccines. school,” Brown said. A second mandate with the same deadline would apply to doctors, nurses, INDEX Classified ...............B2 Comics ....................B5 Crossword .............B2 Dear Abby .............B6 emergency medical teams and other health care workers. The mandates have a WEATHER Horoscope .............B2 Lottery ....................A2 Obituaries ..............A3 Opinion ..................A4 TUESDAY Outdoors & Rec ...B1 Records ..................A3 Sports .....................A6 Sudoku ...................B5 deadline far beyond the projected Sept. 3 peak of the current spike in cases. Brown said there were Full forecast on the back of B section Tonight Friday 52 LOW 79/51 Mainly clear Partly sunny LOCAL REACTION TO VACCINE MANDATE State health offi cials know they have an explo- sion of COVID-19 cases with a likelihood that the problem will only grow over the next two weeks. Daily infections have exploded in the past six See, Vaccine/Page A5 CONTACT US 541-963-3161 Issue 98 2 sections, 12 pages La Grande, Oregon Email story ideas to news@lagrande observer.com. More contact info on Page 4A. Online at lagrandeobserver.com
