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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 2021)
INSIDE FARMERS GET LOW CROP YIELDS AFTER SUMMER DROUGHT | BUSINESS & AG LIFE, B1 U N io September 2, 2021 UNT Y & W A LL oWA coU NT Y $1.50 THURSDAY EDITION INSIDE PREP FOOTBALL KICKS OFF WITH KICKOFF 2021 KicK off ’2 1 PRES BACK TO SCHOOL Council dismisses recent B2H objections N co ENTE D BY EO ME DIA GR OU P By NICK ROSENBERGER East Oregonian SALEM — The latest objections to the Boardman to Hemingway Transmis- sion Line met their end last week. The Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council at its meeting Friday, Aug. 27, dismissed recent chal- lenges to the 500 kilovolt power line project — also called B2H — that stretches roughly 300 miles from the Hemingway Substa- tion southwest of Boise to Boardman. Idaho Power is the company behind the project and claims the line will help link the Pacifi c Northwest with the Moun- tain West regions and help share power. Oregon and Washington use the most electricity in the winter months while Idaho and Montana use the most in summer, according to Idaho Power, and B2H would allow the sharing of power during each respec- tive off -peak periods. The B2H project fi rst submitted its notice of intent in 2010 and fi led its complete application in 2018. But the project cuts through large swaths of public and private land and has hit snags with issues surrounding own- ership, accusations over environmental regulations and impacts on agricul- ture. Landowners and envi- ronmentalists alike have objected to the project, with the largest opposition coming from the Stop B2H Coalition, an organization of “860 individuals and a growing number of member organizations,” according to its website. The council at the meeting fi rst took on the accusation from La Grande’s Irene Gilbert, who claimed the case’s hearing offi cer, adminis- trative law Judge Alison Greene Webster, demon- strated incompetence and bias in her judgments. At the Aug. 27 meeting, the See, Council/Page A5 Quick START Alex Wittwer/The Observer Rylee Weimar, right, and Landon Perry lead a group of freshmen students through orientation Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, at La Grande High School. Tiger Ambassadors help incoming freshmen adapt to being a high school student By DICK MASON The Observer LA GRANDE — Soph- omore Norah Markham will never forget how she felt less than a year ago during her freshman orien- tation at La Grande High School. “Our fi rst day of school was pretty crazy. I was a little confused,” the LHS honor student said. The seeds were planted that day for Markham to become a Tiger Ambas- sador. The ambassadors are LHS sophomores, juniors and seniors who help intro- duce ninth graders to the world of being high school students during freshman orientation. Markham said she wanted to help freshmen have a smooth start at LHS. “I wanted to use my experience to help them,” the sophomore said. Markham was hard at it Monday, Aug. 30, when Tiger Ambassadors gave freshmen tours of the school, talked to them about scheduling at LHS, keys to succeeding and having fun in high school. Her fellow ambassa- dors included sophomore KaraAnn Akers, who had similar fi rst-day expe- riences when she was a freshman at LHS. “I remember I was super stressed. I wanted to help students feel less stressed than I did,” she said. Akers, Markham and other Tiger Ambassa- dors advised this year’s freshmen that getting involved in activities and programs would make the adjustment to high school smoother. “We encouraged them to do things like become a Tiger Ambassador,” Markham said. Tiger Ambassador Jesus Escamilla, also a sopho- more, said he welcomed the chance to help guide freshmen through their fi rst day. “I could relate with them,” he said. Escamilla looks upon the experience as an opportunity not only to assist others but to develop as a person. “I needed to take on more responsibility in my life and this was a good way to get started,” he said. “It was nice to get out of my comfort zone.” A number of Tiger Ambassadors, including junior Giselle Sanchez, talked to the incoming freshmen at the front of classrooms where teachers normally stand. Sanchez said this was a challenge at fi rst because her audi- ence of ninth graders was not talkative initially. She found the students became more comfortable as the session she led progressed. “Once they got comfort- able it was all smooth,” she said. The junior felt like she was in the shoes of a teacher during the session she led: “I told one of my teachers afterward, ‘Now I know how you feel,’” she said. Sanchez is one of 40 Tiger Ambassadors, 35 of whom helped conduct freshman orientation on Aug. 30. “I’m so proud of the job they did. We could Alex Wittwer/The Observer La Grande High School student ambassador Fabian Lealponce assists an incoming freshman during orientation at LHS on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. not run freshman ori- entation without them,” said Tiger Ambassador Director Stephanie Baxter, who teaches freshman and sophomore English at LHS. Members of the Tiger Ambassadors work throughout the school year. They help put on school events and welcome new students coming after the start of the school year. The ambassadors also keep tabs of the freshmen they helped in small groups on orientation day. “They check on them to see how they are doing,” Baxter said. Baxter said it is easy to see that Tiger Ambassa- dors like reaching out to others. “They are good people who want to help,” she said. “They enjoy it. They are not doing it just to put it on their resume.” See, School/Page A5 Bicycle club promotes biking, safety Wallowa Mountains Bicycle Club formed about a year ago By RONALD BOND Wallowa County Chieftain ENTERPRISE — The president of a Wallowa County bike club is getting the word out about the new nonprofi t, and also pro- moting safety for a sport increasing in popularity in the region. The Wallowa Moun- tains Bicycle Club, which was formed about a year ago, gained its nonprofi t status back in November 2020 and is awaiting its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, club President Angela Mart said. “We want to let people know that we are a legit- INDEX Business .................B1 Classified ...............B2 Comics ....................B5 Crossword .............B4 Dear Abby .............B6 imate bicycle club here in Wallowa County,” Mart said. “It’s an all-in- clusive bicycle club, so it doesn’t matter if you ride mountain bikes, road bikes, BMX bikes, what- ever type of bike. We include everybody.” The club was the brain- child of Mart and Zeb Burke, who started talking about forming the club two years ago. “I started seeing that WEATHER Horoscope .............B4 Local........................A2 Lottery ....................A2 Obituaries ..............A3 Opinion ..................A4 SATURDAY Records ..................A3 Spiritual Life..........A6 Sports .....................A7 State ........................A8 Sudoku ...................B5 people who move here ride bikes. We want to increase the cycling opportuni- ties in Wallowa County for individuals and fami- lies who live in Wallowa County,” Mart said. “We have goals, also, of doing bike safety. We want to do education for bike safety in the county. We want to get more kids riding bikes. We want to get everybody riding bikes. We want to work with the Forest Ser- Full forecast on the back of B section Tonight Friday 42 LOW 78/43 Clear Sunny; pleasant COVID SURGE TAKING TOLL ON REGIONAL EVENTS vice in improving the trails that we have now in the mountains … and pos- sibly building more moun- tain bike trails as well as putting in some gravel biking routes.” Mart said the board will be working with the U.S. Forest Service on plan- ning for putting in trails. Currently, the only place with trails, Mart said, is 18 See, Biking/Page A5 CONTACT US 541-963-3161 Issue 103 3 sections, 34 pages La Grande, Oregon Email story ideas to news@lagrande observer.com. More contact info on Page 4A. Online at lagrandeobserver.com
