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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2021)
LOCAL A2 — THE OBSERVER TODAY On Nov. 6, 1860, former Illi- nois congressman Abraham Lincoln of the Republican Party was elected President of the United States as he defeated John Breckinridge, John Bell and Stephen Douglas. In 1632, King Gustavus Adol- phus of Sweden was killed in battle. In 1893, composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky died in St. Petersburg, Russia, at age 53. In 1906, Republican Charles Evans Hughes was elected gov- ernor of New York, defeating newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. In 1928, in a first, the results of Republican Herbert Hoover’s presidential election victory over Democrat Alfred E. Smith were flashed onto an electric wraparound sign on the New York Times building. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower won reelection, defeating Democrat Adlai E. Stevenson. In 1977, 39 people were killed when the Kelly Barnes Dam in Georgia burst, sending a wall of water through Toccoa Falls College. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan won re-election by a landslide over former Vice Presi- dent Walter Mondale, the Dem- ocratic challenger. In 1990, about one-fifth of the Universal Studios backlot in southern California was destroyed in an arson fire. In 2012, President Barack Obama was elected to a second term of office, defeating Repub- lican challenger Mitt Romney. In 2014, the march toward same-sex marriage across the U.S. hit a roadblock when a fed- eral appeals court upheld laws against the practice in four states: Ohio, Michigan, Ken- tucky and Tennessee. (A divided U.S. Supreme Court overturned the laws in June 2015.) In 2015, President Barack Obama rejected the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, declaring it would undercut U.S. efforts to clinch a global climate change deal at the center of his envi- ronmental legacy. (President Donald Trump would reverse the Obama decision, but Pres- ident Joe Biden canceled the permit for the pipeline on the day he took office.) In 2017, former Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner reported to prison in Massa- chusetts to begin a 21-month sentence for sexting with a 15-year-old girl. One year ago: Democrat Joe Biden overtook President Donald Trump in Georgia as the counting of votes continued in the battleground state; Biden also expanded his lead over Trump in Pennsylvania and Nevada. The federal agency that oversees U.S. election secu- rity pushed back at unsubstan- tiated claims of voter fraud in a statement, saying that local election offices had detec- tion measures that “make it highly difficult to commit fraud through counterfeit ballots.” Today’s Birthdays: Actor June Squibb is 92. Country singer Stonewall Jackson is 89. Singer P.J. Proby is 83. Actor Sally Field is 75. Singer Rory Block is 72. Jazz musician Arturo Sandoval is 72. TV host Cath- erine Crier is 67. News corre- spondent and former California first lady Maria Shriver is 66. Actor Lori Singer is 64. Actor Lance Kerwin is 61. Former Edu- cation Secretary Arne Duncan is 57. Rock singer Corey Glover is 57. Actor Brad Grunberg is 57. Actor Peter DeLuise is 55. Actor Kelly Rutherford is 53. Actor Ethan Hawke is 51. Chef/ TV judge Marcus Samuelsson is 51. Actor Thandiwe Newton (formerly Thandie) is 49. Mod- el-actor Rebecca Romijn is 49. Actor Zoe McLellan is 47. Actor Nicole Dubuc is 43. Actor Taryn Manning is 43. Retired NBA star Lamar Odom is 42. Actor Patina Miller is 37. Actor Katie Leclerc is 35. Singer-songwriter Ben Rector is 35. Singer-songwriter Robert Ellis is 33. Actor Emma Stone is 33. Actor Mercedes Kastner is 32. LOTTERY Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021 Megabucks 10-19-21-24-25-28 Jackpot: $5.3 million Lucky Lines 4-7-9-15-18-24-26-29 Estimated jackpot: $30,000 Powerball 1-2-24-50-57 Powerball: 26 Power Play: 2 Jackpot: $146 million Win for Life 19-24-42-74 Pick 4 1 p.m.: 7-1-0-2 4 p.m.: 5-6-2-6 7 p.m.: 7-1-3-8 10 p.m.: 6-4-7-0 Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021 Lucky Lines 4-7-11-16-17-22-27-29 Jackpot: $31,000 Pick 4 1 p.m.: 1-7-2-7 4 p.m.: 6-4-0-2 7 p.m.: 0-2-8-0 10 p.m.: 8-2-6-2 SaTuRday, NOVEmBER 6, 2021 County club hopes to establish bicycle playground in Enterprise By BILL BRADSHAW Wallowa County Chieftain ENTERPRISE — Public parks to accommo- date fun on wheels seem to be a growing concern these days. First, the Enterprise Skate Park was refurbished. Then plans were announced for a bicycle playground in Wallowa. Now, a Wallowa County club is hoping to get approval — and funding — for an Enterprise Bike Park that would include a pump track and possibly more sometime next year. According to www.bicy- cling.com, a pump track is a looped sequence of rollers and berms (swoopy, banked turns) for bike riders. It’s designed to maximize momentum so the cyclist can ride with minimal pedaling. “It’s one of the fast- est-growing sports in America for cities to add to their park collection for things to do for all ages. It can be ridden by someone who’s old enough to stand on a Stryder bike to anyone,” said Zeb Burke, vice president of the Wal- lowa Mountains Bicycle Club. All kinds of bikes The track could be for “any kind of bicycle,” he said. “There are some that are better suited, such as BMX bikes, mountain bikes, kids’ bikes, things like that.” “You can use skate- boards, roller blades, scooters, even possibly wheelchairs,” club Pres- ident Angela Mart said. Facebook/Contributed Photo The Leavenworth Pump Track in Leavenworth, Washington, is similar to what the Wallowa Mountains Bicycle Club hopes to have in Enterprise. FOR MORE INFORMATION What: Wallowa Mountains Bicycle Club Where: P.O. Box 166, Joseph 97846 Email: wallowamountains bicycleclub@gmail.com Online: Facebook “These accommodate a wide variety of activities.” Burke said a road bike or 10-speed is not as condu- cive to such a track. “A downhill bike with a lot of travel would be a little harder because of all the suspension,” he said. “It’s a pumping action that actu- ally gets you around the track, not pedaling.” Possible sites Mart and Burke indi- cated one potential site would be next to the current skate park, but there also are couple of areas by the baseball fields on the north side of town. “Three, possibly four, if the place behind the city park works out,” Mart said. “But, like Zeb said, there are a lot of potential compli- cations with that location.” “(It’s a) riparian area,” Burke said. “That’s the big- gest one.” Mart said that if they’re able to locate the bike park next to the skate park, com- petition between the two shouldn’t be an issue. “If it ends up being there, it’d be great for the kids to have all of that in one location,” she said. “That’d be rad; if I was a kid, I’d like to be able to do tricks at the skate park and then work on my skills on the pump track. I think that’d be ideal.” They are considering a park of about 10,000 square feet. Burke called that the “smallest footprint” they’re planning. “The bigger it gets, the more money it takes,” he said. “In Enterprise, within the city limits, we’re sort of constrained in our allowed spacing.” Cost The Wallowa Mountains Bicycle Club has a bid from a builder in Bend called Black Sage Dirt Works for about $100,000, Mart said. She said so far, the club has raised about $2,000 from members. They also have been approached by local businesses who are on board to do fundraisers. The big money will likely come from grants and “other potential donors,” she said. They did a bit of shop- ping around before settling on Black Sage. “One builder was over $350,000,” Burke said. “We found another that was a lot lower.” But they need to get a site identified before any- thing else can be done. The grants they hope to see require that, and city council approval will have to come first. “We want to get the word out to the commu- nity and look for potential donors and make the public aware of it,” Mart said. Chief Joseph Days Board receives grant for improvements to Thunder Room By RONALD BOND Wallowa County Chieftain JOSEPH — The Thunder Room is set to receive another upgrade. The expansive facility that stands adjacent to Harley Tucker Memorial Arena in Joseph will have work done — hopefully before the end of the year — to fix roof leaks and add needed insulation. The Chief Joseph Days Rodeo board of directors recently received a grant for $20,000 from the Wild- horse Foundation in Pend- leton to complete the work, said Mike Warner, one of CJD’s board members. “We’re trying to make this building a year-round facility,” Warner said. Warner said new bath- rooms were put in the facility about five or six years ago, and a dona- Ronald Bond/Wallowa County Chieftain The Chief Joseph Days Board of Directors has received a $20,000 grant from the Wildhorse Foundation that will go toward upgrades for the Thunder Room, adjacent to Harley Tucker Memorial Arena. tion allowed CJD to last year put in a new heating system. “We got a good heating system in it now, but the roof leaks, and there is no insulation,” he said. “Right now, the heat just goes right through the ceiling, so we gotta get that fixed.” In addition to roof repair and insulation installation, the grant will allow work to be done on the lights in the Thunder Room, Warner said. The room is often rented or used for weddings, funerals and other events. “We’ve had other people wanting to rent the place, other organizations and stuff like that,” Warner said. “That would be a good deal for the whole county, not just Chief Joseph Days.” It’s not the only upgrade the board is looking to make to the Thunder Room, Warner said. The board member noted the board is applying for more grants with the hope of improving the facili- ty’s current kitchen and expanding the building to the west. The expansion, he said, would include the addition of a Hall of Fame room. He said the hope is to get the roof repaired and insu- lation in place “soon.” When done, Warner said, the year-round nature of the improved building will be “something that will benefit the whole commu- nity, not just us.” La Grande council clears way for downtown art piece By DAVIS CARBAUGH The Observer LA GRANDE — The La Grande City Council met virtually for its November meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 3, discussing a sizable section of new business items. One topic discussed will give the green light for a new public art piece to be built outside of Cook Memorial Library in downtown La Grande. After a discussion of the benefits and drawbacks, the council voted to approve a memorandum of under- standing between La Grande Parks and Recreation Director Stu Spence and artist Jason Hogge. The agree- ment will allow the La Grande Arts Commission to seek grant funding for the project and finalize design details with the artist. Hogge’s perspective artwork fea- tures four different images visible on acrylic paintings displayed on con- crete slabs. Depending on where the viewer stands, different images can be seen. The theme of the pieces are “honoring the past,” “celebrating the present” and “embracing the future.” The project will cost an estimated $50,000 and rely on grant funding budgeted to the parks department. General funds budgeted to the city will not be used for the artwork. The councilors voiced their opin- ions on the designs, with council member David Glabe raising several concerns. Glabe noted his opinion that the perspective piece will not be adequately visible from Max Square, where a majority of foot traffic in that area passes through. He also called for a broader public input process on the design itself. Council member Nicole Howard noted that the La Grande Arts Commission is in place to make these types of decisions, while Spence elaborated on different elements of the artwork. The motion was passed by each council member except Glabe, who cited the need for more public input. The council unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding between the city manager and Fire- fighters Local 924, which will incen- tivize employees to conduct out-of- county ambulance transfers. The hope of the memorandum is to cover staff shortages related to ambulance trans- portation out of La Grande. The raise in compensation will still cut costs in comparison to the price of air trans- portation for out-of-county transports. Spence presented another topic of new business, which was an amend- ment to park facility fees in the area. The amendment standardizes kitchen rate fees, which will make the new booking website more adaptable to the city and the site’s users. The council approved an agree- ment that will allow the La Grande Swim Club and the La Grande High School Swim Team to continue using Veterans’ Memorial Pool. And, a resolution to annex a prop- erty at 102 South Second Street was approved, which will enable the prop- erty to receive city water and sewage services. The council’s final item of new busi- ness was awarding a sewage project bid to Planned Engineered Construction, Inc., which will improve sewer main- lines across La Grande, some of which are heavily aged and need repair. The awarding bid was $192,000. The La Grande City Council will meet next for a regular session on Dec. 1. Council members dis- cussed the possibility of returning to in-person meetings and what precau- tions would need to be taken for that to happen. NEWS BRIEFS Union County tallies 14 new COVID-19 cases in latest OHA report SALEM — The Oregon Health Authority released its daily case report on Friday, Nov. 5, which showed 14 new COVID-19 cases in Union County and four in Wallowa County. Across the state, 1,141 new confirmed and pre- sumptive cases were reported. Oregon added 19 new deaths in the latest update. The report brings the state’s case total to 372,137 since the start of the pandemic, while the death toll stands at 4,562. The new cases bring Union County’s total to 3,294, while Wallowa County stands at 729 cases. Neither county reported any deaths in the latest report. There are currently 533 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 across Oregon. Out of 692 total adult ICU beds, there are 59 open in the state. For adult non-ICU beds, 224 are available out of 4,119. The OHA report showed that Oregon’s seven-day running average of vaccine doses per day is 17,009. EOU Board reviewing new degree programs LA GRANDE — Eastern Oregon Univer- sity’s Board of Trustees will meet on campus Wednesday, Nov. 10, for its first regular meeting of the academic year. New degree pro- grams in public relations and public administra- tion are up for approval, and Ben Cannon, exec- utive director of the Higher Education Coor- dinating Commission, will provide a report. HR Director Chris McLaughlin will lead a discussion regarding the university’s employee compensation strategy. After reviewing budgets proposed last spring, the board will vote on a final budget for the next fiscal year. Representatives from shared governance groups, elected for 2021- 22, will report to the board for the first time. Trustees will also hear presentations on enroll- ment strategy, ongoing pandemic response and an updated DEIA (diver- sity, equity, inclusion and access) Strategic Plan. Wallowa Memorial hospital adds security ENTERPRISE — Wallowa Memorial Hos- pital, making an effort to improve safety at the hospital, announced Thursday, Oct. 28, that it will be adding a security department, which is set to launch in the next sev- eral weeks. “The safety of our staff and patients is the most important thing to us. Having a security department will ensure that we are doing every- thing possible to provide that safety,” said Stacey Karvoski, who was named Security Depart- ment Director. The hospital cited heightened emotions and frustrations in the last 12 months, during the pan- demic, as the reason for the added security team. The hospital has seen an increase in patients with violent behavior, suicidal tendencies and “a gen- eral feeling of unrest.” An executive manager and two security offi- cers will provide daily coverage for the hospital and clinics. They will monitor security cam- eras, check security logs, patrol the campus and support staff as needs arise. — EO Media Group
