SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2021
FROM PAGE ONE
THE OBSERVER — A5
TURKEY
Continued from Page A1
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
An impromptu conference room is set up in North Powder’s former fi re station on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021.
The city’s offi ces and library are to be relocated to the building.
MAYOR
Continued from Page A1
He said the former fi re sta-
tion is in an excellent loca-
tion for city hall and the
library.
“It is solid and centrally
located,” Frieboes said.
The building is available
because the city recently
built a larger new fi re sta-
tion, one which opened ear-
lier this year.
Frieboes, as mayor, also
said he wants to help North
Powder move forward in its
eff ort to upgrade its waste-
water system. He said the
city is in the process of
obtaining grants to fund the
upgrade, which would help
it better meet Department
of Environmental Quality
standards.
The North Powder City
Council elected Frieboes as
mayor after he applied for
the position. He did so after
Mike Wisdom, who had
served as mayor for two
years and eight months,
stepped down.
Wisdom said he resigned
because he and the council
did not see eye to eye on
some issues.
Frieboes, who will serve
the fi nal 14 months of Wis-
dom’s unexpired term,
was the only person who
applied for the mayoral
opening and was hired after
being interviewed by the
city council.
Mike Morse, president
of the North Powder City
Council, believes Frieboes
will do well as mayor.
“I feel good. He is well
qualifi ed and familiar with
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
The building currently housing North Powder’s city offi ces and
public library, seen here on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, is decades old.
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Decaying panels and siding at North Powder’s current city hall and
public library building on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, are evidence of the
decades-old building’s deterioration.
North Powder,” Morse said.
During the approxi-
mately six-week period
between the time Wisdom
resigned on Sept. 13 and
Frieboes was named mayor,
Morse handled North Pow-
der’s mayoral responsibil-
ities. As council president,
he was required by the
city’s charter to take on the
role of interim mayor.
Frieboes served as main-
tenance director for the
North Powder School Dis-
trict for 43 years before
retiring in July. Lance
Dixon, superintendent of
the North Powder School
District, said Frieboes has
the potential to shine as
mayor because of his hon-
esty, integrity, work ethic
and concern for North
Powder.
“John has the best
interest of the city at heart,”
Dixon said.
blessed that way,” he said.
“I’ve been getting notices
from our wholesaler telling
us that turkeys are in short
supply, but we pre-booked
ours far enough in advance
that we’ll be OK.”
The Bellamy Family
Farm turkeys will be on
sale by order, while Rennie
predicts that roughly two-
thirds of the store’s turkeys
sold will be the tradition-
ally ordered birds.
Rennie noted that the
store’s wholesaler made
him aware that canned
cranberries may be more
scarce than in previous
years, but the store is
not having any problems
bringing in fresh goods.
“There are certain items
that historically do well that
we’re struggling with a bit,”
he said. “From our whole-
saler we see anywhere from
30-40% out of stock from
the products as a whole.”
Heading into the
Thanksgiving holiday with
an increased element of
uncertainty in receiving
full shipments from whole-
salers, stores like Market
Place Fresh Foods are
facing unprecedented chal-
lenges, so planning ahead
has been a major point of
emphasis.
“We’re looking forward
to a great Thanksgiving
and just counting our bless-
ings,” Rennie said.
At Grocery Outlet in
Island City, owners Randy
and Michelle Willson have
not come up against any
major issues stocking up on
Thanksgiving items.
“We’ve actually been
able to fi ll our shelves
all the way up,” Randy
Willson said. “All my ven-
dors have really stepped up
to the plate.”
He noted that the store
is an opportunistic buyer,
so they have been able to
continue stocking Grocery
Outlet with bargain items.
Ahead of the holiday, the
store is fully stocked on the
typical Thanksgiving food
EXPECT TO PAY MORE FOR THANKSGIVING FEAST
WASHINGTON — Enjoying Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends
is a priority for many Americans, but paying attention to how the meal
will impact the budget is also important. Farm Bureau’s 36th annual
survey indicates the average cost of this year’s classic Thanksgiving feast
for 10 is $53.31. This is a 14% increase from last year’s average of $46.90.
The centerpiece on most Thanksgiving tables — the turkey — costs
more than last year, at $23.99 for a 16-pound bird. At the time of the
survey, that came to roughly $1.50 per pound, up 24% from last year,
but there are several mitigating factors.
In order to fi nd the average costs, the Farm Bureau used volunteer
shoppers between Oct. 28 and Nov. 8. — but the group, which lobbies
on behalf of the agricultural industry, acknowledged that prices have
fallen since the survey was conducted. This year, many grocery stores
lowered prices later in the year, so a frozen turkey, for example, is actu-
ally a lot more aff ordable right now. Over the last week, the cost for a
frozen turkey has fallen from $1.50 per pound to 88 cents per pound.
Veronica Nigh, a senior economist at the Farm Bureau, said several fac-
tors help explain the increased costs this year, including disruptions to
the supply chain, infl ation and high demand for food, especially meat.
— The Observer
items. In addition to tur-
keys, the store is off ering
bundle deals that include
ingredients used for tradi-
tional Thanksgiving dishes.
“We’ve got plenty of
birds on hand,” Randy
Willson said. “We’ve been
very fortunate.”
‘It changes every time’
Other grocers in Eastern
Oregon expressed similar
takes.
“Turkey’s on the table.
We’ve got turkey already
in our freezer,” said Blaine
Huff man, owner of Huff -
man’s Select Market in
Prairie City. “I’m sure
there’s going to be items
we’re going to be short
on, but on the whole we’re
fi ne.”
Grocery stores have
had to adapt to a changing
supply landscape that has
seen shortages crop up in
unexpected places.
“We don’t know one
load from the next what
we’re going to get — it
changes every time,”
Huff man said. “The food
supply chain is vulnerable.
A lot of stuff is still sitting
(on transport ships) out in
the ocean.”
Huff man said he had
some issues ordering pre-
made pies for Thanks-
giving, and the store is
already out of stock of
those items. Supplies for
homemade pies, however,
are available.
Considering that smaller
markets lack the same
buying power as larger
chains such as Safeway or
Walmart, there was a cause
for concern that residents
in frontier towns, including
John Day or Prairie City,
might have to travel farther
to fi ll their shopping carts
for the upcoming holiday.
“Before, I was able
to buy pallets of certain
things like condensed
milk,” said Mike Shaff er,
operations manager for
Chester’s Market, in John
Day, about supplies that are
in greater demand during
the holiday, but during
what he termed the cur-
rent “logistical nightmare
... if you have to reorder
it, that’s where you may
run into an issue because
everybody else is reor-
dering, especially for the
season.”
Shaff er said he ordered
key holiday items months
in advance, preparing for
increased business as the
deadline for putting the
turkey in the oven looms.
“As far as staples go,
we’re sitting pretty good,”
he said.
Supply chain issues
have cropped up from a
myriad of pandemic-re-
lated minutiae, such as
labor and raw material
shortages, low production
yields and increased costs
of goods as shipping costs
skyrocket due to increases
in fuel and container
prices.
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
OHSU nursing student Kristen Hunter helps prepare the Union County Warming Station in La Grande for
guests on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021.
WARMING
National Rural Health Day 11-18-21
Continued from Page A1
features such as sepa-
rate rooms for families.
The shelter is available for
anyone in need of a warm
place to sleep.
The shelter has a max-
imum capacity of 20 guests
per night. Ladendorff said
that nobody was turned
away due to the warming
station being full in 2020-
21. The warming station
had 74 separate individuals
who were overnight guests
and 40 separate individuals
who came only for dinner
in the 2020-21 winter
season.
All guests and staff will
again have to follow strict
COVID-19 safety protocol
rules this season. However,
COVID-19 vaccinations are
not required for guests or
volunteers.
“We do not want vac-
cinations to be a barrier,”
Ladendorff said. “We
will all act like we are not
vaccinated in terms of
precautions.”
National Rural Health Day is an opportunity to
“Celebrate the Power of Rural”
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
OHSU nursing students Kristen Hunter, center, along with Tanner
VanLeuven, right, and David Larman volunteer at the warming
station in La Grande on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021.
Ladendorff has observed
that many of those who
come to the Union County
Warming Station are in
search of human interaction
as well as a hot meal or a
place to spend the night.
“They are people who
want to meet others, people
who want to engage,” she
said. “They want a human
connection.”
She said that this seems
to particularly true for
many of the individuals
who come for dinner but do
not stay the night.
Ladendorff said the
warming station staff
strives to welcome all
guests, whether they are
looking for a warm meal,
bed or smile — or all three.
“All of our volunteers
have a passion for this,” she
said.
by honoring the selfless, community-minded
spirit that prevails in rural America. Rural
medicine has been called the purest form of
health care. Our technology may be state of the
art, but our people are as timeless as
the landscape that surrounds us.
Keep it real – keep it close to home – keep it
rural. That’s how we do health care.