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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2021)
INSIDE LA GRANDE FOOTBALL PLAYER OVERCOMES MAJOR INJURY TO RETURN TO PLAY | SPORTS, A7 $1.50 TUESDAY EDITION October 5, 2021 Local group speaks out Pro-vaccine group tallies 200 signatures in letter opposing Union County resolution By DAVIS CARBAUGH The Observer UNION COUNTY — A local group is pushing to have its voice heard in the wake of recent actions taken by the Union County Board of Commissioners. Citizens of Union County for Health and Safety, an impromptu group of local residents, orga- nized a letter with 198 signa- tures in opposition to the county’s recent resolution against vac- cination mandates. The resolu- tion protested statewide vaccine mandates in fear of losing health care workers and fi rst responders, declaring a state of emergency. “We hope it motivates the county commissioners to rethink their plans,” said Pat Kennedy, one of the organizers of the group. “We wanted to show that we’re not a county of people totally opposed to vaccines and masks.” Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain Lexi Rindfl eisch, the new aviation instructor at Joseph Charter School, discusses a Subaru engine in an experimental aircraft with aviation student Jett Peterson on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. Ready to soar Joseph Charter School aviation program has new instructor Speaking out Kennedy, along with several other organizers, put together Cit- izens of Union County for Health and Safety upon reading the com- missioners’ resolution. The letter was sent to Gov. Kate Brown, advocating that she continue requiring vaccinations in Union County. The group sent out emails and received just under 200 signatures in roughly three days. “I just thought, I’ve got to do something about this,” Ken- nedy said. “I received some very moving emails from people that were giving up or feeling depressed about this. I think this was very motivating to them.” Kennedy noted that the group disagrees with what they see as a lack of enforcement of vaccines and masks from the county, in addition to objecting to Sheriff Cody Bowen’s letter to Brown on Aug. 13. His letter condemned the vaccine mandates and advocated for freedom of choice in getting vaccinated. “Each one of us was quite upset about the actions of the county,” said Margaret Mead, one of the group’s organizers. “We thought that our opinions should be heard. If we don’t speak up, we’re not helping the situation.” A major point in the letter is By BILL BRADSHAW Wallowa County Chieftain JOSEPH — Joseph Charter School’s aviation program is about to take off again, after nearly being grounded. The school has hired Alexis “Lexi” Rindfl eisch as the new instructor. “They can call me Mrs. R.,” she said. “It’s easier.” The young woman from Riggins, Idaho, recently took over the 5-year-old aviation program, one of few such high school programs in the country. “That’s one of the things I found so exciting is that I get to teach kids and be involved in aviation,” she said. “I didn’t even know programs like this existed.” Neither she nor district Superintendent Lance Homan know the number of high school aviation programs in the country, but they’re cer- tain there aren’t many. “It’s growing in popu- larity,” Homan said. “I’ve gotten emails from super- Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain Joseph Charter School aviation student Jett Peterson, left, discusses the fl ight simulator with Savanah Seeley on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. The FAA-approved simulator has yet to be calibrated, aviation instructor Lexi Rindfl eisch said. intendents wanting to know about it.” Since 2016, JCS has been preparing students interested in aerospace to take fl ight in its New Heights Aviation Program. Students develop skills for aeronautics both in the classroom and through hands-on experiments and construction of aircraft. They also are encouraged to develop skills that are neces- sary to be successful in the fi eld such as communications, logistics and thinking outside of the box. Construction of the Career and Technical Education Building at the school began in early April 2019. A Federal Aviation Administration-ap- proved simulator was added. Wallowa and Enterprise high school students and com- munity members were to be able to use the facilities by appointment. Toby Koehn, a former instructor at JCS, got the program off to its start in 2016. Primarily a vocational agricultural instructor, he extended the program into aviation and manufacturing/ engineering technology. Koehn, who retired midway through last year, was followed by J.D. Clay, who kept the program going last year, Homan said. The program was cut back to just one class because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. Rindfl eisch said she has only 15 students in the two aviation classes — Aviation 1 and Aviation 2 — as the pro- gram was on hold until she was hired. “They didn’t know if they were going to have an avia- tion teacher, so they weren’t sure how many classes they would be able to off er,” she said. “Hopefully, next year the schedule will be designed so that the classes will be available to more.” The fi rst-year class caters primarily to freshmen and sophomores, while the second year is for juniors and seniors. Aviation background Rindfl eisch always wanted to be a pilot, but she wanted more than that. “My dad’s a pilot and he did a lot of backcountry fl ying when I was a kid in Idaho, mostly in the Frank Church/ River of No Return Wilder- ness,” she said. “We lived about 15 miles upriver from Riggins. … I wanted to fl y. See, Flight/Page A5 See, Letter/Page A5 Woodgrain to expand local workforce By DICK MASON The Observer ISLAND CITY — A major Union County employer is set to expand its local workforce substantially. Woodgrain Lumber & Compos- ites has announced it will be adding 35 positions at its particleboard plant in Island City over the next six months. This will boost the number of employees Woodgrain has at the plant to about 153, an increase of almost 30%. “We are excited to continue to invest in our particleboard facility, as well as our local community. This is also an opportunity to expand in the markets we serve,” said Tracy Hayes, the human resources manager for Woodgrain’s Lumber and Composites Division. Woodgrain also employs 90 people at its lumber mill in La Grande, bringing the total number of people on its Union County pay- roll, counting administrative staff , Alex Wittwer/The Observer See, Woodgrain/Page A5 Scrap wood and recycling products sit outside shipping at Woodgrain in Union County on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. INDEX Classified ...............B4 Comics ....................B7 Crossword .............B5 Dear Abby .............B8 Home ......................B1 WEATHER Horoscope .............B6 Letters ....................A4 Local........................A2 Lottery ....................A2 Obituaries ..............A3 THURSDAY Opinion ..................A4 Records ..................A3 Sports .....................A7 State ........................A6 Sudoku ...................B7 Full forecast on the back of B section Tonight Wednesday 39 LOW 51/26 Overcast Partly sunny DIAL UP FOR BABY DELIVERY AT OLD PHONE COMPANY CONTACT US 541-963-3161 Issue 117 2 sections, 16 pages La Grande, Oregon Email story ideas to news@lagrande observer.com. More contact info on Page 4A. Online at lagrandeobserver.com
