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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 9, 2021)
INSIDE UNION/COVE BOYS TEAM EARNS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP; LA GRANDE’S TUBBS WINS INDIVIDUAL TITLE | SPORTS, A7 $1.50 TUESDAY EDITION November 9, 2021 Helping the war eff ort VETERANS DAY Due to the postal holiday, we will not publish a paper on Thursday, Nov. 11, but have included comics for Nov. 11 in today’s paper. We will publish our next edition on Saturday, Nov. 13. Pilots for US Army were trained at Eastern Oregon in 1943 and 1944 DICK MASON Public invited to MERA meeting ANSWER MAN L Union County hosting forest management field review Nov. 10 DICK MASON and DAVIS CARBAUGH The Observer LA GRANDE — The Union County Board of Commissioners will take public input on what could be a major forest manage- ment project at the Mount Emily Recreation Area. The meeting will serve as a fi eld review for a potential commercial timber harvest plan that would take place in the winter and spring of 2022. The plan would involve closing portions of MERA for timber harvest in the Red Apple area for the primary purpose of reducing fi re risk and improving forest health. Local residents can par- ticipate and ask questions at the Owsley Canyon Trail- head at noon Wednesday, Nov. 10. “We want input,” Com- missioner Paul Anderes said. ‘It needs to be managed’ It has been about 15 years since the Red Apple area was logged. “It needs to be man- aged,” said Forrest Warren, a member of the MERA advi- sory committee. Forest management eff orts are needed to reduce tree density and the build up of fuels to cut the risk of high-intensity fi res. Work will involve the removal of dead and diseased trees. Warren said he believes some healthy trees also might have to be logged to allow for the project to be See, MERA/Page A5 EOU Library digital archives Members of the Army Air Corps 354th Cadet Training Detachment take part in a physical exercise ses- sion at Eastern Oregon University in 1943 or 1944. Eastern was then named Eastern Oregon College of Education. A GRANDE — Seven- ty-eight years ago, Eastern Oregon University was in danger of becoming a World War II casualty. Then the U.S. Army Air Corps fl ew to its rescue. Eastern’s enrollment had plummeted after nearly all of its male students left school to join the military. Then known as Eastern Oregon College of Education, the university had 348 students when the war started and fewer than 250 a year later. The late Jack Evans, a La Grande historian, told The Observer in a story published May 27, 2003, that state leaders began talking about closing the campus. That was when the recruiting prowess of Eastern President Roben Maaske paid dividends. Maaske was able to get the U.S. Army Air Corps to open a training sta- tion for future airmen at the university in April 1943, according to Helen Moore, an EOU student who wrote about the Army Air Corps program at Eastern as part of her senior thesis in 2003. The addition of the program gave the school a big boost fi nancially, bringing in $250,000 during the 12 months it was at Eastern. It also quieted talk of the state closing the school. “They couldn’t shut it down because it was part of the war eff ort,” Evans said. “They couldn’t in good conscience close it.” The future pilots who received training in La Grande were members of the Army Air Corps 354th Cadet Training Detachment. It was based in the old Sacajawea Hotel, which was leased by the U.S. Army, and in a resi- dence hall on campus, according to an Oct. 1, 1943, story in The Observer. The cadets based at the Sacajawea Hotel would march to campus each weekday in formation, arriving and later leaving via Eighth Street. “They would sing songs that helped them stay in marching time,” said Dory Fleshman, of La Grande. Fleshman, 95, grew up in La Grande and met several of the young men because her family had two or three cadets over to their house for dinner each Sunday. Fleshman said all families in La Grande were encour- aged to do this to make the cadets, who were See, War/Page A5 State to test for toxic ‘forever chemicals’ OHA, DEQ set to monitor 150 public drinking water systems for PFAS By ALEX WITTWER EO Media Group LA GRANDE — The state of Oregon plans to test 150 drinking water systems across the state for the presence of PFAS, or per- and poly-fl uori- nated substances. PFAS are a family of chemicals that do not break down in the envi- ronment or in human bodies. These “forever chemicals” are linked to cancer, reduced fertility in women and delayed development in infants and children, among other adverse health eff ects. The chemicals have been used since the 1940s and are found in thousands of household and commercial items, such as nonstick pots and pans, waterproof clothing and fi refi ghting foam agents. Of those 150 sites to be tested, 17 are in North- eastern Oregon, including 11 in Umatilla County and two in Union County. Baker, Grant, Morrow and Wallowa counties each have one testing site. “We took a look at all the small public water systems, those that serve fewer than 10,00 because the big ones have already Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group been sampled, and we Sacajawea Mobile Home Park, La Grande, seen here on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, is one of 17 sites to looked at places where be sampled for potential PFAS contamination in Northeastern Oregon. The Oregon Department of there might have been Environmental Quality, in conjunction with Oregon Health Authority, is conducting a survey of 150 See, PFAS/Page A5 sites across the state for PFAS contamination in water supplies. INDEX WEATHER Home & Living .....B1 Dear Abby ...........B10 Opinion ..................A4 Classifieds ..............B4 Horoscope .............B4 Sports .....................A7 Comics ....................B8 Lottery ....................A2 Sudoku ...................B8 Crossword .............B4 Obituaries ..............A3 Weather ...............B10 IN Full forecast on the back of B section Tonight Wednesday 32 LOW 44/40 A shower early Mostly cloudy THE EVOLUTION OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS CONTACT US 541-963-3161 Issue132 2 sections, 20 pages La Grande, Oregon Email story ideas to news@lagrande observer.com. More contact info on Page 4A. Online at lagrandeobserver.com
