INSIDE
LA GRANDE FOOTBALL TEAM SEEKS FOURTH WIN OF SEASON IN MATCHUP AT NYSSA |
October 7, 2021
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TURF UPGRADE
One shot reportedly
fired during Oct. 4
confrontation
The Observer
LA GRANDE — La Grande
police reported arresting two
people Monday, Oct. 4, after
reports of a gun being fi red.
Police arrested Jessey
O’Quinn, a 25-year-old man,
for attempted murder, men-
acing, reckless endangering, dis-
orderly conduct, unlawful use
of a weapon and two counts of
felon in possession of a weapon,
according to a press release from
the La Grande Police Depart-
ment. And offi cers arrested
Parker Burns, a 19-year-old
woman, for tampering with evi-
dence, resisting arrest, assault of
a public safety offi cer, unlawful
possession of alcohol, unlawful
possession of methamphetamine
and minor in possession of
marijuana.
Law enforcement responded
to a report of gunshots at
10:16 p.m. Oct. 4 on the 2200
block of Cove Avenue. A witness
informed the offi cers on scene
that a male and female were
snooping around vehicles in a
nearby parking lot.
When confronted by the
witness, Burns and O’Quinn
became confrontational.
O’Quinn pulled a handgun and
fi red one shot at the witness that
missed. According to the dec-
laration of the event from La
Grande Police Offi cer Scott
Norton, the witness recalled
O’Quinn pointing a red laser
connected to the fi rearm at his
face during the confrontation.
Burns also claimed the witness
was confrontational toward her,
pushing her shoulder to get her
to leave during the dispute.
O’Quinn and Burns fl ed
the scene, but the witness was
able to give law enforcement
an accurate description of their
appearance.
A team of six La Grande
police offi cers, one deputy
from the Union County Sher-
iff ’s Offi ce and one state trooper
located O’Quinn and Burns one
block away from where the gun
was fi red and made the arrests.
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Tucker Weaver, an employee with Northwest Sports Turf Solutions, measures and cuts out seaming tape that will be used to join turf sections for the
new fi eld at Optimist Field in La Grande on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021.
New baseball
diamonds ready
in La Grande
for the baseball and softball
seasons this spring.
New fi elds take shape
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — It’s a
new day for local baseball and
softball teams in La Grande.
The fi eld renovations and
turf installation at Optimist
Field and Trice Community
Field at Pioneer Park are just
about complete, bringing
state-of-the-art fi elds to La
Grande. The renovations will
allow for improved playing
conditions and extended
availability during inclement
weather conditions.
“The kids and par-
ents are really excited,” La
Grande Parks and Recreation
Director Stu Spence said.
“I’m excited to see their reac-
tions when they get to play on
it next year. It’s going to be
phenomenal.”
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Douglas Trice Field awaits teams to try out its new turf on Wednesday,
Sept. 29, 2021, in La Grande’s Pioneer Park.
Northwest Sports Turf
Solutions, a company based
in Philomath, completed the
turf installation on both fi elds
after a handful of commu-
nity members donated their
equipment and eff orts to pre-
pare the fi elds for the project.
The La Grande School Dis-
trict contributed $150,000
to the renovations, while
Eastern Oregon University
added $75,000 and the city of
La Grande spent $25,000 and
supplied construction equip-
ment. Additionally, the city
will be handling future main-
tenance costs.
The project offi cially broke
ground at the beginning of
August, and the fi elds are set
to be fully operational in time
The crew of about
fi ve workers from North-
west Sports Turf Solu-
tions made steady work
on the fi elds, staying in
town for a little longer
than a week. According to
Keaton Weaver, one of the
employees, the company
does anywhere from fi ve
to 10 turf installations on
sports fi elds in the course of
a year.
The company started
when its owner, Ryan Star-
walt, felt the need to upgrade
the playing conditions of the
baseball team he coached.
Weather cancellations and
unplayable practice condi-
tions inspired him to take
matters into his own hands
for his team and create a
company that could do the
same for teams in the region.
See, Turf/Page A5
See, Charges/Page A5
School district sees rise in COVID totals
79 La Grande
School District
students missed
class in latest report
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande School District’s
latest COVID-19 numbers
are up moderately from the
week of prior.
The statistics, which
refl ect reports made to
school district nurses, indi-
cate a total of 79 students
missed class during the
week of Sept. 27 to to Oct.
1 due to positive tests for
COVID-19 or because they
were in quarantine because
of close contact with indi-
viduals believed to be
COVID-19 positive. This
INDEX
Business & Ag.......B1
Classified ...............B2
Comics ....................B5
Crossword .............B2
Dear Abby .............B6
student total is up 11 from
the week of Sept. 20-24.
The number of La
Grande School District stu-
dents out due to COVID-19
may be up moderately but
the current total is still
a big improvement from
mid-September. The school
district then had 123 stu-
dents out because of pos-
itive COVID-19 tests and
close contacts. La Grande
School District Super-
WEATHER
Horoscope .............B2
Local........................A2
Lottery ....................A2
Obituaries ..............A3
Opinion ..................A4
SATURDAY
Oregon ................ A10
Records ..................A3
Spiritual Life..........A6
Sports .....................A7
Sudoku ...................B5
intendent George Men-
doza is heartened that
the school district is still
signifi cantly below the
mid-September level.
“I am very encouraged
by the overall reduction
in the number of cases,”
he said.
Another positive sign is
that the majority of students
out are close contacts, not
positive cases. Last week 21
students in the district were
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Friday
29 LOW
63/29
Cold
Partly sunny
A SCOTS TRADITION, ACTED OUT IN THE IMNAHA UNIT
not on campus because they
tested positive for COVID-
19, the same number as the
week before, meaning that
the increase in students out
because of COVID-19 was
mostly due to being a close
contact.
The number of staff out
because of COVID-19 was
nine, up from six the week
before. Five of the staff out
See, Cases/Page A5
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 118
3 sections, 36 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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