SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2021
FROM PAGE ONE
THE OBSERVER — A5
CHEER
Continued from Page A1
Shopping for family
This year’s rendi-
tion of Shop with a Cop
began with Hays aboard
the Summerville Bap-
tist Church bus, picking
up 15 students in the
morning and bringing
them to Walmart, where
law enforcement volun-
teers waited to help them
pick out presents for their
families.
The program is aimed
to help students who might
not otherwise be able to
aff ord to buy presents, as
well as kids whose parents
or families may have had
run-ins with police in the
past. Each child is paired
up with an offi cer for hol-
iday shopping and a lunch
break afterward.
The children shopped
for toys, clothes and other
gifts for family members
on their list.
Karma Whitmore
Smith hand wrote her
Christmas list and picked
out a variety of toys for
family members alongside
Deputy Tad Butcher, who
has participated in the pro-
gram for numerous years.
For many law enforce-
ment members, Shop with
a Cop is a regular holiday
event that they look for-
ward to. La Grande Police
Chief Gary Bell partic-
ipated in the event and
picked out gifts with Ike
Amundson. Offi cers Ryan
Bernards and Dusty Perry
were both in their fourth
year of participating in the
holiday get-together. Ber-
nards shopped with Mason
Hale from Greenwood Ele-
mentary, and Perry was
joined by Jayden Eiff ort of
La Grande Middle School.
“It’s good for the kids
and nice to be a part of it,”
ODOT
Continued from Page A1
to a regional and nation-
wide labor shortage. With
everyone competing for
employees, many employers
are boosting their compen-
sation packages.
“It is hard to recruit when
everybody is paying more.
It is hard to compete,” Clark
said.
ODOT’s problem is com-
pounded by the fact that the
road maintenance employees
it needs must be skilled
drivers with commercial
driver’s licenses. ODOT will
provide the training needed
to earn a CDL, but Clark
said he would rather hire
drivers who have experience
operating heavy equipment
before they start working in
bad weather conditions.
Clark noted that all inex-
perienced drivers will be
paired with experienced
ones initially to help them
develop skills.
“We will be taking them
on training rides,” he said.
He noted it is possible
that ODOT road mainte-
nance employees from other
parts of the state could be
brought in this winter to
help with snow removal.
Another concern of
Clark’s is keeping a supply
of replacement parts avail-
able for snowplows. This is
important because replace-
ment parts may be diffi cult
to get quickly due to supply
chain issues.
“We have been trying to
stock up,” he said.
Clark said he has talented
workers who have multiple
skills and he is optimistic
things will go relatively
smoothly this winter.
“We are very fortunate
because we have very good
employees,” Clark said.
Safety fi rst
Sipp said that anyone
interested in working for
ODOT this winter should
contact the department.
“We want people to look
to us for employment,” he
said. “We want people who
will enjoy doing this every
day.”
Ken Patterson, area
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Karma Whitmore Smith and Union County Sheriff ’s Deputy Tad Butcher, a Shop with a Cop volunteer, search the toy aisles of Walmart for the
perfect gift on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021.
Bernards said.
This year’s Shop with a
Cop was a fi rst for sheriff ’s
deputy Talissa Baldovino,
who helped Dakota Sain
pick out a variety of gifts
for her family.
Hays noted that a big
part of the event is get-
ting local youth to feel
comfortable around law
enforcement. Shop with
a Cop participants ended
the shopping trip with a
surprise from their law
enforcement partner —
picking out a present for
themselves.
Community support
According to Hays, the
program has grown over
the years thanks largely
to buy-in from the com-
munity. When the event
was fi rst starting up, Hays
leaned on other police
departments from sur-
manager for ODOT’s Region 5,
said motorists should be
patient this winter since there
may be times when snow
will not be cleared as quickly
as expected. He encour-
ages people to avoid driving
when conditions are poor.
He said drivers should mon-
itor ODOT’s road cameras
on its Trip Check website to
make sure road conditions
are good before they start
a trip. Patterson noted that
many additional cameras on
I-84 between La Grande and
Pendleton have been installed
within the past two years.
Strandberg also pointed
out that about a dozen mes-
sage boards have been
added between La Grande
and Pendleton over the
past two years. The mes-
sage boards alert drivers
to upcoming conditions,
including the presence of
snow, ice, fog, slow traffi c
and accidents. Strandberg
also urges drivers to be
patient and noted that it is
never a good idea to pass
a snowplow, especially
because ODOT now has
winged plows with blades
on both sides. He said
drivers who fi nd themselves
behind plows are actually in
a good position.
“The best place you can
be in a storm is behind a
snowplow,” Strandberg said,
adding that drivers should
never get too close to snow-
plows because they do make
stops.
This winter ODOT crews
will again be following the
agency’s Winter Levels of
Service guidelines, which
prioritize the roads that
receive the most service.
The guidelines indicate that
Interstate 84 is to be given
the highest priority in Union
County, Strandberg said.
Regardless of where
one is driving in this
region, Patterson said it
is important to under-
stand that ODOT mainte-
nance employees “take per-
sonal pride in what they are
doing” and care enormously
about safety.
“We all have friends and
family who are also trav-
eling and we want them to
get to where they are going
safely,” he said.
VISIT US ON THE WEB AT:
www.LaGrandeObserver.com
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
La Grande Police Sergeant Jared Rogers deciphers a list with student shopper Donny Turnbull outside
Walmart in Island City on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, as the Shop with a Cop day gets underway.
rounding cities who con-
ducted similar programs to
establish Shop with a Cop.
In the time since, the event
has grown in popularity
and become a favorite in
La Grande for the many
individuals involved.
Walmart is a major
sponsor of the program,
granting $2,000 every year
to go toward the gifts. The
store opened its backroom,
formerly the Subway
restaurant, for gift wrap-
ping and lunch. The chil-
dren were given a Shop
with a Cop backpack to
take home, as well as a
gift bag and gingerbread
house kit.
About 15 volunteers
took part in the gift wrap-
ping, lining up stations
for the purchased pres-
ents to be wrapped and
then later delivered to the
kids’ homes. The wrap-
pers included diff erent
groups within La Grande
law enforcement as well as
families of the offi cers. As
a whole, roughly 35 vol-
unteers contributed to this
year’s Shop with a Cop.
Carla Greenough coor-
dinated the wrapping
center and organized the
donation eff orts.
“A lot of the volunteers
have taken part in years
past and enjoy coming
back every year,” she said.
In addition to Walmart
and donations from mem-
bers of the community,
sponsors of the event
included Loveland Funeral
Home, Domino’s Pizza
and Coca-Cola. Loveland
paid for the pizza lunch,
which participants and law
enforcement were able to
bond over after gathering
holiday gifts.
While the event takes
a lot of time and prepara-
tion, Hays noted that he
hopes Shop with a Cop
continues to grow and
serve as a favorite among
law enforcement and local
youth.
“The support we
receive from the com-
munity for this is what
keeps it going,” Hays said.
“We’ve had so much posi-
tive feedback.”
REVIEW
Continued from Page A1
the tail end of conducting
interviews and research.
“I spoke with the inves-
tigator and he is hoping to
wrap that up pretty soon
here,” he said.
Weber noted that the
Thanksgiving holiday
caused a slight delay, but
that the investigator has
been collecting informa-
tion for the past couple
weeks.
The allegations drew
concern from leading
Democrats in the Oregon
House of Representa-
tives, who emphasized
that House Bill 3409 was
passed in 2019 to advocate
for fair play and equality
in high school athletics.
According to The Orego-
nian, House Speaker Tina
Kotek, House Majority
Leader Barbara Smith
Warner and Rep. Janelle
Bynum were a part of the
statement. House Bill 3409
instructs OSAA to investi-
gate complaints regarding
racism and iron out the
issue within 30 days.
Andrew Cutler/The Observer, File
La Grande quarterback Logan Williams runs past defenders along the sideline during a fi rst-round
state playoff matchup against Gladstone on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021.
The La Grande and
Gladstone school dis-
tricts worked together with
OSAA to gather informa-
tion from players, chain
crews and offi cials. A
statement from the three
entities on Nov. 16 detailed
ways that the districts are
looking to mend the rela-
tionship between the two
schools. A big emphasis
from the school districts
has been promoting clarity
on both sides during the
investigation process.
“My understanding is
that people at both schools
have worked together with
the investigator to provide
as much information as
possible,” Weber said.
The La Grande and
Gladstone boys basket-
ball teams are scheduled
to compete against each
other at the Gladstone
Holiday Tournament at
Gladstone High School on
Dec. 20.