INSIDE
DOLLAR GENERAL OPENS TO POSITIVE REVIEWS IN ELGIN |
September 30, 2021
BUSINESS & AG LIFE, B1
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A voice for vaccine
Forest management
company still
processing feedback
on fee campsites
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA — A pilot pro-
gram by Hancock Forest Man-
agement on some of its North-
eastern Oregon campsites is
receiving an overall positive
response.
The natural resource group
started researching fee camping
in 2019, and in that summer
and the spring of 2020 began
charging rental fees on a handful
of its sites for overnight use,
according to region manager Joe
Justice.
Currently, there are 22 sites
enrolled through the camping
reservation company Hip Camp.
Justice said in an email that
since 2017, “Hancock Natural
Resource Group’s NE Oregon
forests have been a part of the
Access and Habitat Program
through Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). This
has allowed Hancock to main-
tain open recreational access to
the public while still maintaining
safety protocols on our prop-
erty and meeting our fi duciary
responsibility to our clients.”
Justice said that in 2019,
Hancock began researching
fee-use camping “with the idea
that they would be primarily
used by hunters during archery
season starting in September
through rifl e season ending in
November.”
“The original pilot program’s
goal was to gain a better under-
standing of what hunters desired
in a campsite, what the price
point should be, and the ameni-
ties we would want to provide,”
Justice said. “The intent of this
program is to enhance a hunt-
er’s experience by providing the
opportunity to drive into and
park their vehicle in an area that
has no drive-in access for day
use, and allow hunters to take
better advantage of early hours
See, Hancock/Page A5
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Sharon Porter, a retired educator and cancer survivor, wears a mask outside her La Grande home on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. As someone with a compro-
mised immune system, Porter shared her story in “Vaccine Voices,” an Oregon Health Authority series, in hopes that it would encourage more people to get
vaccinated.
Retired educator is encouraging others to get vaccinated for COVID-19
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Sharon Porter has a
story to share.
The inspiring tale touches upon her
successful battle against cancer. It is also
a story of lost freedom and vulnerability
during the COVD-19 pandemic and how
this is driving her to speak out on behalf
of others like herself.
A retired La Grande educator, Porter
shared her story in a “Vaccine Voices”
series the Oregon Health Authority is car-
rying on its COVID-19 blog. The article
was written based on answers to a ques-
tionnaire Porter completed for the series,
which is meant to encourage more people
to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
She said she did not hesitate at all to
get the COVID-19 vaccine, comparing
the process to the steps taken early in her
life to get vaccinated for smallpox, polio,
shingles, measles and many diseases chil-
dren are vulnerable to. She said she expe-
rienced a sense of relief after receiving
shots of the COVID-19 vaccine last
winter.
“I felt a load off my shoulders,” she
said.
Porter later received a third dose in
August, which people with weakened
immune systems can now receive.
“I got it the fi rst day it was allowed,”
she said.
Porter said her immune system is com-
promised because of her cancer treatments
and thus “that extra measure of protec-
tion” from the booster shot is welcome.
Despite the booster shot, Porter is not
letting her guard down.
“When I am in close proximity to an
unmasked person, I get a bit panicked. I
will not enter a store where masks are not
worn. I feel sad about that because I want
to support local business,” Porter wrote in
her “Vaccine Voices” story.
To further protect herself, she buys her
groceries only from local supermarkets
that provide curbside pickup options.
Regardless of where she is, Porter said
she is grateful when people “care enough
for people like me to mask up.”
She wishes, however, that more people
followed her lead.
“I care about others and want to get
past all this. We will not get to freedom
until we all cooperate and get vaccinated,
if medically able,” she wrote.
Porter said until that point is reached,
people who are not vaccinated are rob-
bing those like herself with compromised
immune systems.
“Your freedom should not to take away
my freedom to walk around the commu-
nity,” she said.
The freedom Porter said she has lost
See, Porter/Page A5
Cases tied to Round-Up continue to climb
COVID-19 spike from
event has governor
‘gravely concerned’
By BRYCE DOLE
and GARY A. WARNER
EO Media Group
SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown
said Tuesday, Sept. 28, she was
“gravely concerned” about an
alarming spike in COVID-19
cases across Eastern Oregon with
a common factor — the Pend-
leton Round-Up.
During a morning press call,
Brown and state health offi -
INDEX
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cials gave an upbeat update on
the state’s eff orts against the
highly contagious delta variant
of COVID-19. Statewide, the
COVID-19 surge of late summer
and early fall “appears to have
reached its peak,” said deputy
state epidemiologist Dr. Tom
Jeanne.
Brown hailed the state’s
eff orts in curbing new infections
and hospitalizations as the state
appeared to descend from a two-
month spike in cases that set new
pandemic records in Oregon.
It was only during a ques-
tion and answer period at the
end of the presentation that the
Pendleton Round-Up spike was
WEATHER
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addressed as a sour point in the
state’s progress.
County and tribal health offi -
cials reported Sept. 27 the spike
in COVID-19 cases in Uma-
tilla County had been tied to the
annual rodeo event held Sept.
15-18.
At least 95 COVID-19 cases
have been traced back to the
event and all its venues, up from
49 Sept. 27 and 68 Sept. 28,
according to Umatilla County
Public Health Director Joe Fiu-
mara. And health offi cials across
Eastern Oregon are reporting a
surge in cases.
“That was a very large out-
door event,” Jeanne said of the
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WELCOMING AUTUMN AT ELEPHANT ROCKK
Round-Up. “And there may not
have been great compliance with
masking there. We do expect to
see some impact on cases from
that, but it’s still too early to
know the full extent of that.”
Umatilla County reported
167 COVID-19 cases on Sept.
28, more than any other county
in Oregon. The county’s total
set a new pandemic record for
cases reported in a single day and
brought average daily cases to the
highest levels since the pandemic
started.
When pressed for her level of
alarm amid the outbreak, Brown
See, Round-Up/Page A5
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Issue 115
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