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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 2021)
LOCAL A2 — THE OBSERVER TODAY On Oct. 19, 2001, U.S. special forces began operations on the ground in Afghanistan, opening a significant new phase of the assault against the Taliban and al-Qaida. In 1781, British troops under Gen. Lord Cornwallis surren- dered at Yorktown, Virginia, as the American Revolution neared its end. In 1789, John Jay was sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States. In 1944, the U.S. Navy began accepting Black women into WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). In 1950, during the Korean Conflict, United Nations forces entered the North Korean cap- ital of Pyongyang. In 1953, the Ray Bradbury novel “Fahrenheit 451,” set in a dystopian future where books are banned and burned by the government, was first pub- lished by Ballantine Books. In 1960, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested during a sit-down protest at a lunch counter in Atlanta. (Sent to prison for a parole violation over a traffic offense, King was released after three days fol- lowing an appeal by Robert F. Kennedy.) In 1977, the supersonic Con- corde made its first landing in New York City. In 1987, the stock market crashed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508 points, or 22.6 percent in value (its biggest daily percentage loss), to close at 1,738.74 in what came to be known as “Black Monday.” In 2002, in York, Pa., former mayor Charlie Robertson was acquitted and two other men were convicted in the shotgun slaying of Lillie Belle Allen, a young Black woman, during race riots that tore the city apart in 1969. In 2003, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa during a ceremony in St. Peter’s Square. In 2010, the Pentagon directed the military to accept openly gay recruits for the first time in the nation’s history. In 2015, Canadians voted for a change in their government as the Liberals led by Justin Trudeau won a landslide victory to end Conservative Stephen Harper’s near decade in office. Today’s Birthdays: Actor Tony Lo Bianco is 85. Artist Peter Max is 84. Author and critic Renata Adler is 84. Actor Michael Gambon is 81. Actor John Lithgow is 76. Feminist activist Patricia Ireland is 76. Singer Jeannie C. Riley is 76. Rock singer-musician Patrick Simmons (The Doobie Brothers) is 73. Actor Annie Golden is 70. Talk show host Charlie Chase is 69. Rock singer-musician Karl Wallinger (World Party) is 64. Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is 63. Singer Jennifer Holliday is 61. Retired boxer Evander Holyfield is 59. Host Ty Pennington (TV: “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”) is 57. Rock singer-musician Todd Park Mohr (Big Head Todd and the Monsters) is 56. Actor Jon Favreau is 55. Amy Carter is 54. “South Park” co-creator Trey Parker is 52. Comedian Chris Kattan is 51. Rock singer Pras Michel (The Fugees) is 49. Actor Omar Gooding is 45. Country singer Cyndi Thomson is 45. Writer-director Jason Reitman is 44. Actor Benjamin Salisbury is 41. Actor Gillian Jacobs is 39. Actor Rebecca Ferguson is 38. Rock singer Zac Barnett (Amer- ican Authors) is 35. Singer-actor Ciara Renee (TV: “Legends of Tomorrow”) is 31. Actor Hunter King is 28. LOTTERY Friday, Oct. 15, 2021 Megamillions 3-20-31-34-65 Megaball:18 Megaplier: 3x Jackpot: $94 million Lucky Lines 4-7-12-13-17-21-28-30 Jackpot: $11,000 Pick 4 1 p.m.: 4-1-6-1 4 p.m.: 7-0-2-0 7 p.m.: 7-6-3-6 10 p.m.: 9-7-7-5 Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 Powerball 30-31-41-42-48 Powerball: 3 Power Play: 3x Jackpot: $65 million Megabucks 2-8-12-18-20-26 Jackpot: $4.5 million Lucky Lines 4-8-12-16-18-22-25-30 Jackpot: $12,000 Pick 4 1 p.m.: 4-7-0-9 4 p.m.: 1-1-1-9 7 p.m.: 4-6-8-6 10 p.m.: 0-5-8-9 Win for Life 1-4-5-77 Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021 Lucky Lines 2-5-10-16-17-22-26-29 Estimated jackpot: $13,000 Pick 4 1 p.m.: 3-4-5-8 4 p.m.: 7-3-9-0 7 p.m.: 9-0-0-0 10 p.m.: 5-4-2-4 TuESday, OcTOBER 19, 2021 Veterinary student honored Alexandra Colton of North Powder is one of 18 students to win $5,000 scholarship By JAYSON JACOBY Baker City Herald NORTH POWDER — Even before she was tall enough to look a heifer in the eye, Alexandra Colton knew what she wanted to do when she grew up. A couple decades later, Colton is close to achieving her goal of becoming a vet- erinarian. More specifi- cally, a veterinarian who specializes in keeping beef cattle and dairy cows healthy. Colton, who grew up on her family’s FC Colton Ranch near Wolf Creek, northwest of North Powder, said she was just 5 when she decided on what would be her ideal career. “As long as I can remember I had a love for animals, from working with calves on our ranch during calving season,” said Colton, a 2014 grad- uate of Powder Valley High School. Colton, 25, earned a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences at Oregon State University. She’s in her fourth and final year at OSU’s veterinary school, on pace to graduate in June 2022. That pace is decidedly hectic. “I am typically at the hospital anywhere from 10 to 12 hours a day during the week,” she said. But Colton recently received a financial boost, and national recognition, when she was picked as one of 18 veterinary stu- dents to receive a $5,000 scholarship from Merck Animal Health. The company awards the scholarships to stu- dents who are interested in beef or dairy veterinary medicine. Recipients were honored during the Amer- ican Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) annual conference Oct. 7-9 in Salt Lake City. To qualify, students must be AABP members. “These 18 students exemplify what the future of veterinary medicine needs: leadership, ambi- tion and a devotion to con- tinuously elevating and improving animal health and well-being,” Justin Welsh, executive director of livestock technical ser- vices for Merck Animal Health, said in a press releasing announcing the scholarship recipients. Colton, who was not able to attend the confer- ence due to her rigorous schedule at OSU, said she was “just basically in shock” when she learned about the award. “I’m still in shock,” she said. “I was so pleasantly surprised.” Colton said she never diverted from the career By DAVIS CARBAUGH The Observer alexandra colton/Contributed Photo Alexandra Colton, who’s in her final year of veterinary school at Oregon State University, is one of 18 veterinary students in the U.S. and Canada to receive a $5,000 scholarship from Merck Animal Health. path she chose as a little girl. During the summer after she graduated from Powder Valley, she worked with Dr. Kim Mahaffey at the Baker Veterinary Hospital. She also did job shadows with two other Baker City veterinarians, Drs. Tom Hill and Brett Hamilton. Then, for four years starting in 2017, she worked during the summer at a small animal clinic in Washington. Colton said she intends after graduation to return to either Eastern Oregon or Eastern Washington. Her goal is to join a veter- inary practice where she can focus about 70% of her time treating large ani- mals, and in particular beef cattle and dairy cows, with the rest of her time devoted to dogs, cats and other smaller animals. “I really want to focus my career on supporting the ag industry,” she said. Her ultimate goal is to own her own clinic. Declining COVID rate helping La Grande schools By DICK MASON The Observer LA GRANDE — Classes in the La Grande School District are begin- ning to take field trips again for the first time since March 2020 because of its falling COVID-19 infection rate. The rate has fallen to the point that the school district can begin operating in a slightly less restric- tive environment under the rules of its 2021 Com- municable Disease plan, according to La Grande School District Superinten- dent George Mendoza. “We are moving slowly into the moderate risk cat- egory. We will be opening up a little more,” he said. This means some classes can take field trips if strict COVID-19 safety rules are followed. Pre- cautions that must be fol- lowed will include social distancing, the wearing of masks and staying within assigned cohorts. Mendoza said that none of the field trips being permitted will involve a one-way drive of more than 45 minutes. The move into the mod- erate risk category will also allow the school dis- trict to offer more after- school activities for stu- dents and to conduct intramural boys and girls basketball for fourth and fifth graders and to make child care services available. “This will help us be more interactive. We want to provide students with as normal of an experience as possible,” Mendoza said. He stressed though that unless everyone in the school district remains vigilant about following COVID-19 safety rules, the school district could again fall into a higher risk cat- egory. He said this would reduce opportunities for in-person instruction. “We do not want to shut down our schools,” Men- doza said. The superintendent also said that he is encouraging the state to take steps to make COVID-19 safety protocols less restric- tive. Mendoza said he is pushing the state to reduce the number of days stu- dents must be in quaran- tine after a close contact with someone believed to be COVID-19 positive from 14 to 10 days. Men- doza said he wants the required days of quarantine for students to be reduced because some students do not handle being in quar- antine well. When in quar- antine students are able to complete school work. “It is hard for some stu- dents to learn when they are isolated,” he said. NEWS BRIEFS OHA report shows one death, 31 new cases in Union County SALEM — The Oregon Health Authority released its latest COVID-19 update on Monday, Oct. 18, revealing one COVID-19 death in Union County. A 92-year-old woman from Union County tested positive on Oct. 13 and died on Oct. 15 at Grande Ronde Hospital. The woman had underlying conditions. The report showed 31 new cases in Union County and three in Wal- lowa County. The newest report brings Union County’s total to 3,193 cases and 48 deaths since the start of the pandemic. In Wallowa County, there have been 673 COVID-19 cases and 12 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. The update showed 3,276 new cases across Oregon, along with 24 new deaths. The report takes into account cases and deaths from over the weekend. The state’s death toll is up to 4,185, while the total case count since the start of the pandemic stands at 352,026. In Oregon there are currently 561 patients hospitalized with COVID- 19. Out of 698 adult ICU beds in the state, 59 are currently avail- able. There are 305 available adult non-ICU beds available out of 4,099. The state’s seven-day running average for vaccine doses per day is 9,677. Union County’s Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan can be reviewed online LA GRANDE — Union County is now updating its Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (NHMP) and a draft version of it is now available for Local arts groups land grants review at the county’s website. The plan gives the participating jurisdic- tions eligibility to apply for federal funding toward natural hazard miti- gation projects. The local planning process included a wide range of represen- tatives from city and county gov- ernment, emergency management personnel, school districts, utility companies, public health, hos- pital and special districts within the county. A natural hazard mitigation plan provides goals, action items and resources designed to reduce future natural disaster risk. Go to www.union-county.org/ county-updates-natural-hazard-miti- gation-plan to review the plan. Com- ments are due by Friday, Oct. 29. Beekeepers club potluck coming next month JOSEPH — The Wallowa County Beekeepers season-end potluck is on tap, and is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 3. The “Bee Social” potluck runs from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Hurricane Creek Grange Hall, 82930 Air- port Lane in Joseph. Admission is free, but the group will be accepting donations. The event is being hosted by Wal- lowa County Beekeepers. There will be door prizes and some surplus bee- keeping equipment available. For more information, contact Nelda Murri at 509-540-4733 or nmurri@gmail.com. Trunk-or-treat event scheduled in Wallowa WALLOWA — The inaugural Wa-HOWL-a Trunk-or-Treat is 3-5 p.m. on Halloween afternoon, Sunday, Oct. 31, on East First Street in Wallowa. Organizers say the event will be an opportunity for youths to have fun before they head out to go trick-or- treating. There will be a photo area, interactive trunks, a prize for the best decorated trunk and more. There will also be a food donation barrel, and organizers are encouraging attendees to bring canned goods to donate. Hot chocolate will be available for 50 cents. For more information, contact Candice Miles at wallowadande- lion@gmail.com. Women: Apply for Live Your Dream grant ENTERPRISE — Applications are now available for the Soropti- mist’s annual Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women program. This program is open to women who are their family’s primary wage earner and who are seeking financial assistance to continue their education or receive training. Applications are available online at soroprimist.org. A writable PDF is available, and the application must be submitted online by Nov. 15. Application questions can be sub- mitted to Gail Johnson at gjohnson@ eoni.com or 541-602-2051, or to Leigh Dawson at ldawson23@gmail. com or 541-398-1549. The award recipient will receive a $2,000 cash grant from the Wallowa County Soroptimist club. The recip- ient will then advance to the region level for an opportunity at $5,000. Three $10,000 awards will be given at the final stage. More than $1.6 mil- lion in cash grants is given out annu- ally through the Live Your Dream Award. — EO Media Group UNION COUNTY — Two local organizations are hoping grant money will help with crucial upcoming projects. The Oregon Cultural Trust rang in its 20th anni- versary by releasing a list of 140 cultural organizations across the state receiving a total of $3,709,852 in grants. On that list was the Eastern Oregon Regional Arts Council at Art Center East in La Grande and Friends of the Historic Union Commu- nity Hall at the Catherine Creek Community Center in Union. “We have a building that was built in 1905, so we have some electricity issues that we’re really excited about addressing,” said Cherie Kausler, a volun- teer at the Catherine Creek Community Center. Kausler said the com- munity center will use the $25,458 in grant funds to improve the electrical system so the center can host more events effi- ciently. The modernization of the electrical systems will allow for safe use for cultural programming, an area of the Oregon Cultural Trust. “One of the things we’d like to see happen is the ability to have some cul- tural activities occur on the stage, seeing as this is the Oregon Cultural Trust grant,” Kausler said. “That will require efficient elec- tricity, so that was how we justified the grant.” The Catherine Creek Community Center focuses on hosting community events, furthering the com- munity’s art and cultural development, maintaining historic buildings in Union and being a centerpiece for the town. The historic building at 667 N. Main St. in Union hosts a food pantry program, youth pro- grams and private events. With the improved elec- trical systems, Friends of the Historic Union Com- munity Hall group plans to open more doors for usage opportunities. “We’ve had a lot of sup- port and the community has been amazing,” Kau- sler said. “We’re going to have to go to the commu- nity with a lot of the other renovation projects, but between the roof and the electricity we should be stable.” The community center recently used grants from the WildHorse Foundation and Kinsman Foundation to fix the building’s roof. Looking forward, several lingering projects remain on the docket to have the building at its full poten- tial. The group hopes to upgrade and repair the building’s stained-glass windows, improve lighting for security purposes, replace several doors and make improvements to the foundation. “There are still a lot more renovations coming in the future, but having elec- tricity moves us from crisis to afloat,” Kausler said. At Art Center East, the grant will go toward installing a lift to improve ADA accessibility. The Carnegie Library building, which was built in 1913, serves as the home base of Art Center East in the heart of La Grande. The art center received $24,440 toward the comple- tion of the project, which will make the building accessible to all visitors. Both Art Center East and the Catherine Creek Community Center were on the upper end of the spec- trum in grant amounts, which range from $5,000 to $33,728. Of the 155 eligible applicants, 58 were funded throughout Oregon.
