LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
On Oct. 16, 1859, radical
abolitionist John Brown led
a raid on the U.S. arsenal at
Harpers Ferry in what was then
a part of western Virginia. (Ten
of Brown’s men were killed and
five escaped. Brown and six fol-
lowers were captured; all were
executed.)
In 1793, during the French
Revolution, Marie Antoinette,
the queen of France, was
beheaded.
In 1934, Chinese Commu-
nists, under siege by the Nation-
alists, began their “long march”
lasting a year from southeastern
to northwestern China.
In 1962, the Cuban missile
crisis began as President John
F. Kennedy was informed that
reconnaissance photographs
had revealed the presence of
missile bases in Cuba.
In 1964, China set off its first
atomic bomb, codenamed
“596,” on the Lop Nur Test
Ground.
In 1968, American athletes
Tommie Smith and John Carlos
sparked controversy at the
Mexico City Olympics by giving
“Black power” salutes during a
victory ceremony after they’d
won gold and bronze medals in
the 200-meter race.
In 1978, the College of Car-
dinals of the Roman Catholic
Church chose Cardinal Karol
Wojtyla to be the new pope; he
took the name John Paul II.
In 1984, Anglican Bishop
Desmond Tutu was named
winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
for his decades of non-violent
struggle for racial equality in
South Africa.
In 1991, a deadly shooting
rampage took place in Killeen,
Texas, as a gunman opened
fire at a Luby’s Cafeteria, killing
23 people before taking his
own life.
In 1995, a vast throng of
Black men gathered in Wash-
ington, D.C. for the “Million Man
March” led by Nation of Islam
leader Louis Farrakhan.
In 2002, President George
W. Bush signed a congressional
resolution authorizing war
against Iraq. The White House
announced that North Korea
had disclosed it had a nuclear
weapons program.
In 2009, agricultural offi-
cials said pigs in Minnesota had
tested positive for the H1N1
virus, or swine flu, the first such
cases in the U.S.
In 2017, Army Sgt. Bowe
Bergdahl, who had been cap-
tured and held by the Taliban
for five years after walking away
from his post in Afghanistan,
pleaded guilty to desertion and
endangering his comrades. (A
military judge later decided not
to send him to prison.)
Today’s Birthdays: Actor
Angela Lansbury is 96. Actor
Peter Bowles is 85. Actor-pro-
ducer Tony Anthony is 84.
Actor Barry Corbin is 81. Sports-
caster Tim McCarver is 80. Rock
musician C.F. Turner (Bach-
man-Turner Overdrive) is 78.
Actor Suzanne Somers is 75.
Rock singer-musician Bob Weir
is 74. Producer-director David
Zucker is 74. Record company
executive Jim Ed Norman is 73.
Actor Daniel Gerroll is 70. Actor
Morgan Stevens is 70. Actor
Martha Smith is 69. Comedi-
an-actor Andy Kindler is 65.
Actor-director Tim Robbins is
63. Actor-musician Gary Kemp is
62. Singer-musician Bob Mould
is 61. Actor Randy Vasquez is
60. Rock musician Flea (Red
Hot Chili Peppers) is 59. Movie
director Kenneth Lonergan
is 59. Actor Christian Stolte is
59. Actor Todd Stashwick is
53. Actor Terri J. Vaughn is 52.
Singer Wendy Wilson (Wilson
Phillips) is 52. Rock singer Chad
Gray (Mudvayne) is 50. Actor
Paul Sparks is 50. Actor Kellie
Martin is 46. Singer John Mayer
is 44. Actor Jeremy Jackson is
41. Actor Caterina Scorsone is
41. Actor Brea Grant is 40. U.S.
Olympic and WNBA basketball
star Sue Bird is 40. Actor Kyler
Pettis is 29. Philadelphia Phillies
outfielder Bryce Harper is 29.
Tennis star Naomi Osaka is 24.
LOTTERY
Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021
Megabucks
3-20-27-31-33-47
Jackpot: $4.3 million
Lucky Lines
2-7-12-14-18-24-27-29
Estimated jackpot: $27,000
Powerball
23-29-47-59-16
Powerball: 15
Power Play: x2
Jackpot: $50 million
Win for Life
1-33-44-67
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 7-3-9-8
4 p.m.: 0-1-9-1
7 p.m.: 9-2-3-8
10 p.m.: 2-1-6-1
Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021
Lucky Lines
2-7-10-14-18-22-25-31
Jackpot: $10,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 8-4-7-3
4 p.m.: 5-2-8-8
7 p.m.: 6-6-8-8
10 p.m.: 2-2-7-2
SaTuRday, OcTOBER 16, 2021
A touch of the white stuff
NEWS BRIEFS
OHA reports 2 new
COVID-19 deaths
in Union County
alex Wittwer/The Observer
A dusting of snow sits atop Mount Emily on the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. A sudden but brief morning snowstorm came through
La Grande, marking the first time Mount Emily has seen snow accumulation since spring.
La Grande Landmarks Commission
will host a walking tour Oct. 19
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
The La Grande Land-
marks Commission will
be hosting a walking tour
through the city’s his-
toric district that is open
to public participation on
Tuesday, Oct. 19.
Community members
are invited to take part as
the commission reexam-
ines the district’s design
standards and moves for-
ward with its district stan-
dards amendments in the
near future.
The walking tour
begins at 5:15 p.m. at Max
Square on Adams Avenue
and will maneuver
through the downtown
district. Upon completion
of the walking tour, the
commission and its vis-
iting consultants will be
holding a meet and greet
to take input from those
in attendance and answer
any questions. The group
hopes to engage local cit-
izens in a personable
atmosphere, rather than
through online meetings
or phone calls.
The historic district
was created in 1999 and
its guidelines for appli-
cants have morphed into
a set of standards over
the years. Community
Development Director
Mike Boquist stated that
some of the details are
still subjective and create
inconsistencies from one
unique project to another.
The main purpose of
the walking tour is to
garner public input on the
Enterprise vacation
rentals dispute ends
alex Wittwer/The Observer
Sunny skies frame a view of downtown La Grande on Friday, Oct. 15, 2021. The La Grande Landmarks
Commission will be hosting a walking tour of La Grande’s historic buildings on Tuesday, Oct. 19.
upcoming updates to the
historic district’s design
standards, which the city
hopes will make the pro-
cess more cut and dry for
local businesses as well as
the commission.
“What we’ve found is
that it’s been frustrating
for not only our landmarks
commissioners to be con-
sistent in decision making,
but also for the applicants
who might have difficulty
putting an application
together and knowing how
that decision is going to
go,” Boquist said. “Ideally
you want it to be a predict-
able process.”
Peter Meijer Archi-
tect consultants, a firm
from Portland, will be
collecting feedback from
local businesses and those
in the community to draft
a set of design standards
for the historic district.
The walking tour is the
first step of that process.
“Our goal is to have a
robust public involvement
process,” Boquist said.
The La Grande Land-
marks Commission
requires that those who
participate in the walk
wear a face mask and rec-
ommends comfortable
walking shoes and weath-
er-proof attire.
Beyond the walking
tour, there will be other
ways for the public to
learn about and comment
on the city’s changes to
the district’s standards.
The landmarks commis-
sion’s page on the city
of La Grande’s website
— www.cityoflagrande.
org/landmarks-commis-
sion — will post updates
on the process. The web-
page also provides a link
to a survey — those who
participate in the survey
will be part of a drawing
for a $25 gift card from a
downtown merchant.
As the landmarks com-
mission begins working
with its consultants to
update the historic district
design standards, the city
hopes residents will take
advantage of the chance to
learn more about the his-
tory of buildings in down-
town La Grande.
“A great opportunity
that goes with the walking
tour is highlighting the
great architecture in our
community,” Boquist said.
Former Enterprise teacher and coach
returns to serve as interim superintendent
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE —
Enterprise schools have
a new interim superin-
tendent, as the school
board hired former Enter-
prise teacher and coach
Thomas Crane at its board
meeting Monday, Oct. 11,
and he started work the
next day.
Crane also will serve
as principal of the elemen-
tary school, the release
stated.
“The Enterprise School
Board is pleased to have
Mr. Crane as our new
interim superintendent in
this very important transi-
tional year,” board Chair-
person Mandy Decker said
in the release.
The release also stated
that from 2007-16, Crane
served as the secondary
school principal in the
Colton School District
south of Portland. Prior to
arriving in Colton, he was
the superintendent in the
Pine Eagle School Dis-
trict in Halfway for seven
years.
He is no stranger to the
Enterprise School District,
as he was a teacher and
coach here from 1982-95.
Decker said
Wednesday, Oct. 13, that
the once-retired educator
SALEM — The Oregon
Health Authority reported
two Union County
COVID-19 deaths in its
update on Friday, Oct. 15.
A 90-year-old man
from Union County who
tested positive on Sept.
17 died on Sept. 23 at his
home. OHA is confirming
the presence of underlying
conditions.
A 74-year old woman
from Union County who
tested positive on Aug. 24
died on Aug. 31 at Grande
Ronde Hospital. She
experienced underlying
conditions.
Across Oregon 24 new
deaths were reported, as
well as 1,237 new cases.
The report showed 11
new cases in Union County
and seven in Wallowa
County. Union County
has experienced 3,117
COVID-19 cases since the
start of the pandemic, while
Wallowa County has totaled
668.
Across the state, there
are 575 patients hospitalized
with COVID-19. There are
56 available adult ICU beds
out of 685, along with 289
open adult non-ICU beds
out of 4,094.
The state’s seven-day
running average on vacci-
nation doses per day stands
at 10,301.
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
In full COVID garb, a masked Tom Crane, the Enterprise School
District’s new interim superintendent, sits at his desk at the high
school Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021. He also is the interim principal for
the elementary school.
seems to be settling in.
“He is building a house
here, he has lived here
and knows a lot about the
community,” she said.
“His references said he
was the first one to work,
the last one to leave, he
was really fair and he
brings a lot of experience.”
Crane earned his bach-
elor’s and master’s degrees
from what is now Eastern
Oregon University in La
Grande. He received his
administrative certifi-
cate/license from Lewis &
Clark College in Portland.
In addition to his long
educational career, he
served his country in the
U.S. Army from 1973-76
and the Oregon Army
National Guard from 1981-
2002 earning the rank of
command sergeant major.
Decker said the board
still has to find a perma-
nent superintendent. She
said that during its search
for an interim superin-
tendent, the board didn’t
receive nearly as many
applications as it had
hoped for.
Only nine applications
were submitted, she said,
adding that most people
who are currently serving
as superintendents are
unlikely to leave their
posts in the middle of a
school year.
“It’s just too late in the
game to do a search for a
permanent (superinten-
dent), especially during a
pandemic,” she said. “It’s
too soon to even think
what next year looks like.”
Decker said the board
will likely begin its search
for a permanent superin-
tendent in January. Mean-
while, Crane’s contract
extends through June.
Crane was unavailable
for comment Wednesday,
being busy getting started
on his new job.
Crane replaces Erika
Pinkerton, who transi-
tioned to La Grande after
five years in Enterprise.
Since Pinkerton’s depar-
ture, Karen Patton has
served as acting super-
intendent and Landon
Braden has served
as acting elementary
principal.
ENTERPRISE — The
controversy over vaca-
tion rentals in Enterprise
was effectively put to rest
Monday, Oct. 11, as the
Enterprise City Council
made changes in the city
code governing them,
according to a press release.
The council held a work
session prior to the meeting
to discuss the proposed
changes.
Two ordinances were
passed to make the changes.
One defined a vacation
rental as “a furnished apart-
ment, house, condominium,
complex or recreational
vehicle rented out on a tem-
porary basis to tourists/trav-
elers as an alternative to a
hotel/motel.”
The other ordinance
added vacation rentals
to code sections gov-
erning them. Restrictions
include what zones they are
allowed in and under which
conditions.
The actions should put
to rest the controversy over
vacation rentals that began
this spring, as the actions
came with a final public
hearing on the issue.
Lane closures set
in Meacham area
MEACHAM — Motor-
ists driving on Interstate
84 between Spring Creek
and Meacham next week
should be ready for lane
closures because of con-
tinuing road restoration
work being conducted by
the Oregon Department of
Transportation.
The left lanes in the
westbound and east-
bound portions of I-84
will be closed, starting
Monday, Oct.18, from
mileposts 237.5 to 241.5.
This span starts at Mea-
cham and runs 4 miles east.
The lanes will be closed
to allow for the installa-
tion of a concrete barrier
in the center median, for
cable rail construction and
bridge work. Weather per-
mitting, striping is tenta-
tively planned for late in
the week, according to an
ODOT press release.
Work between milepost
241 and milepost 248 will
also be done next week. The
right lanes of this stretch of
I-84, both eastbound and
westbound, will be closed
intermittently from Oct. 19
through Oct. 21 between
6:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m.
to allow for the patching
of deteriorated asphalt.
Drivers are encouraged to
be extra cautious through
this stretch of freeway
during these times because
workers and equipment will
be very close to live traffic.
— The Observer