LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
On Oct. 5, 1989, a jury in
Charlotte, North Carolina, con-
victed former P-T-L evangelist
Jim Bakker of using his televi-
sion show to defraud followers.
(Although initially sentenced to
45 years in prison, Bakker was
freed in December 1994 after
serving 4 1/2 years.)
In 1931, Clyde Pangborn and
Hugh Herndon completed the
first non-stop flight across the
Pacific Ocean, arriving in Wash-
ington state some 41 hours
after leaving Japan.
In 1947, President Harry S.
Truman delivered the first tele-
vised White House address as
he spoke on the world food
crisis.
In 1953, Earl Warren was
sworn in as the 14th chief jus-
tice of the United States, suc-
ceeding Fred M. Vinson.
In 1955, a stage adaptation
of “The Diary of Anne Frank” by
Frances Goodrich and Albert
Hackett opened at the Cort
Theatre in New York.
In 1958, racially-desegre-
gated Clinton High School in
Clinton, Tennessee, was mostly
leveled by an early morning
bombing.
In 1969, the British TV
comedy program “Monty
Python’s Flying Circus” made its
debut on BBC 1.
In 1983, Solidarity founder
Lech Walesa was named winner
of the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 2001, tabloid photo
editor Robert Stevens died
from inhaled anthrax, the first
of a series of anthrax cases in
Florida, New York, New Jersey
and Washington.
In 2005, defying the White
House, senators voted 90-9 to
approve an amendment spon-
sored by Sen. John McCain,
R-Ariz., that would prohibit
the use of “cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or pun-
ishment” against anyone in
U.S. government custody. (A
reluctant President George W.
Bush later signed off on the
amendment.)
In 2015, the United States,
Japan and 10 other nations in
Asia and the Americas reached
agreement on the landmark
Trans-Pacific Partnership trade
deal.
In 2017, California Gov.
Jerry Brown signed legisla-
tion extending protections for
immigrants living in the United
States illegally; police in Cali-
fornia would be barred from
asking people about their immi-
gration status or taking part in
federal immigration enforce-
ment activities.
In 2018, a jury in Chicago
convicted white police officer
Jason Van Dyke of second-de-
gree murder in the 2014
shooting of Black teenager
Laquan McDonald.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor
Glynis Johns is 98. College Foot-
ball Hall of Fame coach Barry
Switzer is 84. R&B singer Arlene
Smith (The Chantels) is 80.
Singer-musician Steve Miller
is 78. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin,
D-Md., is 78. Rock singer Brian
Johnson (AC/DC) is 74. Blues
musician Rick Estrin is 72. Actor
Karen Allen is 70. Writer-pro-
ducer-director Clive Barker is
69. Rock musician David Bryson
(Counting Crows) is 67. Astro-
physicist-author Neil deGrasse
Tyson is 63. Memorial designer
Maya Lin is 62. Actor Daniel
Baldwin is 61. Rock singer-musi-
cian Dave Dederer is 57. Hockey
Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux is
56. Actor Guy Pearce is 54. Actor
Josie Bissett is 51. Singer-actor
Heather Headley is 47. Pop-rock
singer Colin Meloy (The Decem-
berists) is 47. Actor Parminder
Nagra is 46. Actor Scott Weinger
is 46. Actor Kate Winslet is 46.
LOTTERY
Friday, Oct. 1, 2021
Megamillions
21-25-36-62-63
Megaball: 6
Megaplier: 2
Jackpot: $45 million
Lucky Lines
4-7-9-15-18-21-28-29
Jackpot: $15,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 3-4-9-7
4 p.m.: 5-2-3-5
7 p.m.: 9-1-7-9
10 p.m.: 5-1-0-2
Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021
Powerball
28-38-42-47-52
Powerball: 1
Power Play: 2
Jackpot: $670 million
Megabucks
1-7-10-12-16-34
Jackpot: $3.9 million
Lucky Lines
1-7-10-13-19-22-27-29
Jackpot: $16,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 5-9-5-4
p.m.: 6-9-5-1
7 p.m.: 7-9-3-3
10 p.m.: 6-6-3-9
Win for Life
5-38-61-75
Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021
Lucky Lines
3-7-11-15-20-22-28-29
Estimated jackpot: $17,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 7-6-4-3
4 p.m.: 5-7-2-8
7 p.m.: 3-6-6-3
10 p.m.: 8-8-9-4
TuESday, OcTOBER 5, 2021
North Powder begins work on new playground
Project spurred by
$10,000 grant from
Masonic Lodge
By ALEX WITTWER
September
temps
warmer
than usual
The Observer
The Observer
NORTH POWDER —
Mike Morse, the interim
mayor of North Powder,
looked out at the nearly
two dozen volunteers
from across the state con-
gregated just behind the
old firehouse in North
Powder. They were put-
ting in the final structures
of what would be the new
playground in the small
town on the edge of Union
County.
“It’s about damn time,”
he said.
The new playground
replaces older dilapidated
structures at the park,
which sits at Fourth and D
streets in North Powder.
Many of those struc-
tures — a roundabout,
swings, teeter totters and a
climbing structure for kids
— were worn down, with
with decaying wood and
deteriorating metal.
“It was falling apart,”
Morse said.
Funding for the project
came from a sizable dona-
tion — $10,000 — from
the Masonic Lodge. The
project broke ground on
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande area expe-
rienced warmer than
normal temperatures
during the month of Sep-
tember, according to pre-
liminary data received
by the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric
Administration’s National
Weather Service Office in
Pendleton.
The average temperature
during the month was 62
degrees, 2.1 degrees above
normal. High tempera-
tures averaged 80 degrees,
3.8 degrees above normal,
according to the monthly
climate summary.
The highest temperature
was 93 degrees recorded on
Sept. 6.
During the month, the
temperature exceeded 90
degrees on four days.
Low temperatures aver-
aged 44.1 degrees, 0.4
degrees above normal. The
lowest temperature for the
month was 35 degrees,
recorded on Sept. 17, the
report said.
Precipitation for the
month totaled 1.13 inches,
which was 0.46 inches
above normal, the report
said. Measurable precipi-
tation — at least 0.01 inch
— was received on five
days, with the heaviest,
0.40 inches, reported on
Sept. 29.
Precipitation for the year
is 8.18 inches, which is
3.36 inches below normal.
Since October 2020, the
water year precipitation in
La Grande has been 12.76
inches, 3.76 inches below
normal.
The outlook for October
from NOAA’s Climate Pre-
diction Center calls for
near normal temperatures
and above normal pre-
cipitation. Normal highs
for La Grande fall from
70 degrees at the start of
October to 54 degrees
by the end of the month.
Normal lows fall from 39
degrees to 33 degrees. The
30-year normal precipita-
tion for the month is 1.29
inches.
alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Volunteers with Elkhorn Valley Wind Farm, Oregon Recreation and Parks Association and La Grande
Parks and Recreation work on assembling structures for the North Powder playground on Thursday,
Sept. 30, 2021.
Aug. 25, and officials
expect it to be finished
before the end of October.
George Marston, the
de facto project manager
for the new playground,
said the donation helped
jumpstart the project but
it wasn’t nearly enough to
cover all of the replace-
ment structures. The rest
of the funds — totaling
nearly $57,000 — was
gathered through grants
and donations.
“The Masons had
donated $10,000 for a
piece of playground equip-
ment in the park,” Mar-
ston said. “The city really
hadn’t done much with the
$10,000 for a year, and a
decision was going to be
made to do something with
it or return it. I was asked
by one of the Mason mem-
bers here in town to help
the city come up with more
funds.”
The bulk of the cost
would come from labor —
from surveying to installa-
tion. Volunteers from Elk-
horn Valley Wind Farm, as
well as playground equip-
ment installation profes-
sionals from the Oregon
Recreation and Parks
Association and workers
with the La Grande Parks
& Recreation Department
helped alleviate that cost,
leaving the funds for pur-
chasing expensive play-
ground equipment.
“A lot of hands came
together to help us today,”
Marston said.
LG City Council to consider HVAC upgrade
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande City Council
will hold its monthly
meeting on Wednesday,
Oct. 6.
The session will be
streamed live on the EO
Alive TV website and
Facebook page, with
the meetings closed to
in-person attendance due
to COVID-19. The meeting
is set to begin at 6 p.m.
The meeting’s agenda is
slim, with the only item on
the consent agenda being
the approval of minutes
from the September ses-
sion. In the new business
section, the council will
consider awarding the bid
for the HVAC upgrade at
city hall.
Community Devel-
opment Director Mike
Boquist will present the
item of discussion, which
involves replacing the
previous system that is
roughly 20 years old.
Some of the parts that need
replacement are outdated,
which requires a replace-
ment instead of a repair.
The new system is
set to be more efficient
and replace the current
system that is expensive
to maintain and repair.
The replacement project
is included in the cur-
rent building maintenance
budget, with the awarding
big potentially going to
Valley Metal & Heating for
$141,872.
The La Grande Urban
Renewal Agency will
meet after the regular ses-
sion to discuss one new
business item. The sug-
gested motion directs
District Manager Robert
Strope to sign the docu-
ments needed to extend
the current loan agreement
with the Liberty Theatre
that was originally set to
end in June. The proposal
would move the deadline
to June 20, 2023, citing
the pandemic as a major
roadblock in the comple-
tion of the project.
Written comments
or questions for either
meeting can be submitted
to rstrope@cityoflagrande.
org by 5 p.m. on Oct. 5.
NEWS BRIEFS
OHA report shows 46 new
COVID-19 cases in Union
County over the weekend
SALEM — The Oregon Health
Authority reported 3,286 new con-
firmed and presumptive COVID-19
cases and eight new deaths across the
state in its report on Monday, Oct. 4.
The report accounts for the three-day
period from Oct. 1 through Oct. 3
Union County tallied 46 new
cases, while Wallowa totaled 20. The
OHA report brings Union Coun-
ty’s total since the start of the pan-
demic to 3,002 and Wallowa Coun-
ty’s total to 602. No COVID-19
deaths occurred in either county in
the report.
Across the state, the overall case
count since the start of the pandemic
stands at 334,971. There have been
3,823 COVID-19 deaths in Oregon
to date.
The OHA report showed that
there are currently 769 patients hos-
pitalized with COVID-19 in Oregon.
Out of 687 total adult ICU beds, 61
beds are available. Of the 4,216 adult
non-ICU beds, 351 remain open.
The seven-day running average
for vaccines is 10,322 doses per day.
Compensation available
for wolf depredation
techniques
LA GRANDE — Grant funding is
currently available to Union County
livestock producers for nonlethal
wolf depredation prevention tech-
niques designed to minimize con-
flicts between wolves and livestock.
The Union County Wolf Depreda-
tion Compensation Advisory Com-
mittee was formed in 2012 under the
direction of the Oregon Department
of Agriculture to establish and imple-
ment a county wolf depredation com-
pensation and financial assistance
grant program. Funding for the pro-
gram is provided through the Wolf
Management Compensation and Pro-
active Trust Fund.
Over the past several years, the
local committee has successfully
awarded over $48,000 in grant funds
to local livestock producers through
this program. Previous applicants
that were successful in receiving
grant funding included requests for
fencing, range riders, herders, live-
stock guard dogs, and air patrol.
To be considered for funding,
applications must be received by
5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 1. Additional
information and applications to apply
are available at www.union-county.
org or by calling 541-963-1001.
La Grande man arrested for
theft, false information
LA GRANDE — The La Grande
Police Department arrested Anthony
Roy Neil and Leah Marie Graham
after the couple stole a man’s credit
card and used it fraudulently at sev-
eral locations in the area.
Neil, a 32-year-old from Pasco,
Washington, was arrested for theft
in the second degree, fraudulent
use of a credit card and providing
false information to a police officer
on Thursday, Sept. 30. Graham, a
31-year-old from Kennewick, Wash-
ington, was arrested for unlawful
entry into a motor vehicle, con-
spiracy to commit a felony and con-
spiracy to commit a misdemeanor.
The victim, William Tanson,
reported that his wallet was stolen
at the Chevron at 2704 Island Ave.
Neil distracted Tanson while Graham
broke into his car and stole the wallet
off the dashboard. Tanson contacted
law enforcement and his credit card
company after seeing expenditures
on his banking report. The card
showed purchases at Big 5 Sporting
Goods, Big Smoke and Chevron.
Neil was arrested on pre-
vious warrants out of Washington,
including failure to appear for iden-
tity theft, failure to appear for
attempting to elude a police vehicle,
possession of a controlled substance,
driving while suspended and hit and
run.
Both Neil and Graham were
taken into custody without incident,
according to La Grande Police Chief
Gary Bell. The duo made fraudulent
credit card charges in Island City,
which prompted the Union County
Sheriff’s Office to assist.
The case is under investiga-
tion to possibly connect previous
crimes with Neil and Graham.
The La Grande Police Department
and Union County Sheriff’s Office
are working with neighboring law
enforcement on the case, Bell said.
Monthly county
commissioners meeting
on Oct. 6
LA GRANDE — The Union
County Board of Commissioners will
meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 6.
Security cameras at the La
Grande/Union County Airport will
be one of the subjects discussed
at the meeting. People will not be
able to attend the meeting in person
because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
To listen to the meeting, or partic-
ipate in the public comment oppor-
tunity, call 253-215-8782 or 301-715-
8592 and enter meeting ID number:
814 2000 6863. People who do not
get through the first time should try
again.
To join the meeting online
go to https://us02web.zoom.
us/j/81420006863. Comments to
be read at the meeting should be
emailed to amoore@union-county.
org. All written comments must be
submitted by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5.
Two taken to hospital
following rollover crash
HOT LAKE — Two people were
injured in an early morning one-ve-
hicle rollover accident involving a
flatbed pickup near Hot Lake on
Sunday, Oct. 3.
The two victims, a male passenger
and a female passenger, were trans-
ported by ambulance services oper-
ated by the Union and La Grande fire
departments to Grande Ronde Hos-
pital with non-life-threatening inju-
ries, according to Frank Maestas, the
Union Fire Department’s assistant
chief. Both victims were able to walk
on their own to the ambulances even
though one had been ejected from
the pickup. The two were among five
people who were in the pickup at the
time of the accident.
The accident occurred at about
1:47 a.m. on Curtis Road east of
Hot Lake about a quarter mile from
Highway 203.
The driver of the vehicle, Tate
Louis Lantis, 20, Union was arrested
by the Oregon State Police on
charges of driving under the influ-
ence of intoxicants, alcohol; reckless
driving and recklessly endangering
another person, four counts.
— The Observer
Temperatures down in
Wallowa County
Wallowa County expe-
rienced colder than normal
temperatures for the month
of September, the report
said.
The average tempera-
ture for Joseph during Sep-
tember was 53.9 degrees,
2.7 degrees below normal.
High temperatures aver-
aged 71.5 degrees, 0.7
degrees above normal. The
highest temperature was
87 degrees on Sept. 7.
Low temperatures aver-
aged 36.3 degrees, 6.1
degrees below normal. The
lowest temperature for the
month was 28 degrees,
recorded on Sept. 17.
There were seven days
in September where the low
temperatures plunged below
32 degrees in Joseph.
Precipitation for the
month in Wallowa County
totaled 0.64 inches, which
was 0.78 inches below
normal, the report said.
Measurable precipitation
— at least 0.01 inch —
was received on eight days
during the month, with
the heaviest, 0.23 inches,
reported on Sept. 28.
Precipitation for the
year is 5.22 inches, which
is 8.12 inches below
normal. Since October
2020, the water year pre-
cipitation in Joseph has
been 6.09 inches, 11.2
inches below normal.
The outlook for October
calls for near normal
temperatures and above
normal precipitation.
Normal highs for Joseph
fall from 67 degrees at
the start of October to
54 degrees at the end of
the month. Normal lows
fall from 39 degrees to
30 degrees. The 30-year
normal precipitation is 1.45
inches for the month.