LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TuESday, dEcEmBER 14, 2021
Housing
complex
marks
grand
opening
TODAY
On Dec. 14, 2020, the Elec-
toral College decisively con-
firmed Joe Biden as the nation’s
next president, ratifying his
November victory in a state-by-
state repudiation of President
Donald Trump’s refusal to con-
cede he had lost; electors gave
Biden 306 votes to Trump’s 232.
Speaking from Delaware, Biden
accused Trump of threatening
core principles of democracy,
but told Americans that their
form of self-government had
“prevailed.” A divided Wisconsin
Supreme Court rejected Trump’s
lawsuit seeking to overturn his
loss in the battleground state
about an hour before the Elec-
toral College cast Wisconsin’s 10
votes for Biden.
In 1799, the first president
of the United States, George
Washington, died at his Mount
Vernon, Virginia, home at age 67.
In 1819, Alabama joined the
Union as the 22nd state.
In 1861, Prince Albert, hus-
band of Queen Victoria, died at
Windsor Castle at age 42.
In 1911, Norwegian explorer
Roald Amundsen and his team
became the first men to reach
the South Pole, beating out a
British expedition led by Robert
F. Scott.
In 1916, President Woodrow
Wilson vetoed an immigration
measure aimed at preventing
“undesirables” and anyone born
in the “Asiatic Barred Zone”
from entering the U.S. (Congress
overrode Wilson’s veto in Feb-
ruary 1917.)
In 1939, the Soviet Union was
expelled from the League of
Nations for invading Finland.
In 1961, a school bus was
hit by a passenger train at a
crossing near Greeley, Colorado,
killing 20 students.
In 1964, the U.S. Supreme
Court, in Heart of Atlanta Motel
v. United States, ruled that Con-
gress was within its authority
to enforce the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 against racial discrimi-
nation by private businesses (in
this case, a motel that refused to
cater to Blacks).
In 1981, Israel annexed the
Golan Heights, which it had
seized from Syria in 1967.
In 1985, former New York
Yankees outfielder Roger
Maris, who’d hit 61 home runs
during the 1961 season, died in
Houston at age 51.
In 2005, President George W.
Bush defended his decision to
wage the Iraq war, even as he
acknowledged that “much of
the intelligence turned out to
be wrong.”
In 2012, a gunman with a
semi-automatic rifle killed 20
first-graders and six educa-
tors at Sandy Hook Elemen-
tary School in Newtown, Con-
necticut, then took his own life
as police arrived; the 20-year-old
had also fatally shot his mother
at their home before carrying
out the attack on the school.
Ten years ago: Presi-
dent Barack Obama, visiting
Fort Bragg in North Carolina,
saluted troops returning from
Iraq, asserting that the nearly
nine-year conflict was ending
honorably.
Five years ago: Presi-
dent-elect Donald Trump con-
vened a summit at Trump Tower
for nearly a dozen tech leaders
whose industry had largely sup-
ported Democrat Hillary Clinton;
the CEOs included Apple’s Tim
Cook, Google’s Eric Schmidt,
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Tesla’s
Elon Musk. Trump announced
his selection of former cam-
paign rival Rick Perry to be sec-
retary of energy. Yahoo said it
believed hackers had stolen
data from more than one bil-
lion user accounts in Aug. 2013
(in Oct. 2017, Yahoo raised that
figure to 3 billion).
Veterans Village sets
standard for potential
cottage-style homes
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
alex Wittwer/The Observer, File
Snow accumulates at La Grande City Hall on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. The National Weather Service is forecasting a 20% chance of
snow in La Grande the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 14, a 20% chance on Dec. 15 and a 40% chance on Dec. 16.
Snow in forecast this week
Accumulations will not be be significant except in mountains
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — More snow
is on the horizon for the Grande
Ronde Valley.
The National Weather Service
is forecasting a 20% chance of
snow in La Grande the morning
of Tuesday, Dec. 14, a 20% chance
on Dec. 15 and a 40% chance on
Dec. 16.
Most of the snow in the next
three days will fall Dec. 15-16,
according to Camden Plunkett, a
meteorologist with the National
Weather Service, Pendleton. Plun-
the same period, Plunkett said.
The National Weather Ser-
vice’s precipitation records indi-
cate that from Dec. 5-9 La Grande
received three-tenths of an inch of
precipitation.
Plunkett said that, overall, it
appears Northeastern Oregon’s
winter season has been a little drier
than normal compared to the same
late-fall period in previous years.
La Grande and Enterprise will
generally see temperatures in the
high 20s and the low 30s through
Dec. 17. The low temperatures will
generally be in the high teens and
low 20s.
COVID-19 vaccination rates for those from
Marshall Islands are rising in La Grande
in La Grande but it was canceled
due to poor driving conditions
that prevented Alik and others
LA GRANDE — The
from the Marshall American Net-
work for Interacting Together
COVID-19 vaccination rate
in the Willamette Valley from
among Union County resi-
dents who are from the Marshall
making the trip to La Grande.
Islands in the South Pacific is
Alik said a make-up clinic will
experiencing an uptick.
be conducted in January
More than 40 people
or February in La Grande
from the Marshall Islands
if weather conditions for
in Union County have
driving allow. At that clinic
received COVID-19 vac-
first, second and third
cination shots since
doses of the COVID-19
November, according to
vaccine will be given, plus
Alik
Lowell Alik of Salem,
booster shots, just as they
chair of the board of Marshallese were at the November clinic.
American Network for Inter-
La Grande is one of about six
acting Together, an Oregon
cities in Oregon where MANIT
organization.
is conducting COVID-19 clinics
Alik credits the rising rate to a targeting the Marshallese. The
vaccination drive targeting Mar-
others are in Salem, Tigard, Cor-
shall Islanders in Union County.
vallis, Eugene and Southern
It started on Saturday, Nov. 13,
Oregon, all locations that have
with a clinic in La Grande and
concentrations of people from the
will continue with additional
Marshall Islands.
clinics, including one being
Alik said it is not known how
planned for this winter. A clinic
many many people from the Mar-
shall Islands are in La Grande but
had been scheduled for Dec. 11
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LOTTERY
Friday, Dec. 10, 2021
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4 p.m.: 4-5-5-2
7 p.m.: 5-0-1-3
10 p.m.: 8-2-8-6
Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021
Powerball
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Powerball: 10
Power Play: 2
Jackpot: $320 million
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Lucky Lines
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7 p.m.: 2-8-3-3
10 p.m.: 2-0-1-2
Win for Life
8-11-35-55
Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021
Lucky Lines
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Estimated jackpot: $44,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 8-1-6-5
4 p.m.: 7-0-7-2
7 p.m.: 7-4-9-3
10 p.m.: 5-5-0-6
kett said La Grande is expected
to receive just under half an inch
in snow accumulation during this
period, and Elgin will receive about
half an inch.
Enterprise will have a 40%
chance of receiving snow on Dec.
14, a 10% chance on Dec. 15 and a
20% chance on Dec. 16.
The local mountains, unlike the
Grande Ronde and Wallowa val-
leys, will receive significant snow
accumulations. The Wallowas is
expected to get 6 inches in total
snowfall from Dec. 15 through early
Dec. 16, and Anthony Lakes will
likely receive about 2 inches during
the number is significant.
“La Grande is an important
place to us,” he said.
Alik said he hopes to later to
conduct a Marshallese population
survey in the La Grande area.
Population data from Portland
State University’s census center
indicates that as of 2018 2.5% of
La Grande’s population of about
13,000 was composed of Pacific
Islanders. Most of this group of
350 are believed to be from the
Federated States of Micronesia
and the Marshall Islands.
Alik said providing vaccina-
tion clinics for the Marshallese
is critical because of a language
barrier. The native language of
those from the Marshall Islands
is Marshallese, which is spoken
by few in the United States.
“They have hesitancy to come
to clinics,” he said. “They do
not understand what people are
saying. They feel more com-
fortable coming to clinics where
their language and culture is
understood.”
NEWS BRIEFS
Union School Board to
meet Dec. 14
UNION — The Union School
Board will meet Tuesday, Dec. 14.
The in-person meeting will
start at 6 p.m. at the Union High
School athletic complex.
A vacancy of the school board
will be one of the subjects dis-
cussed at the meeting.
Union County Board of
Commissioners to meet
Dec. 15
LA GRANDE — The Union
County Board of Commissioners
will meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesday,
Dec. 15.
The meeting is open to the
public but people cannot attend
it in person because of the
COVID-19 pandemic. The public
can participate in the meeting
though via Zoom or by phone.
To listen to the meeting or par-
ticipate in the public comment
opportunity, call 253-215-8782 or
301-715-8592 and enter meeting ID
number: 814 2000 6863. If you do
not get through the first time, try
again.
To join the meeting
online, go to us02web.zoom.
us/j/81420006863.
Comments, which will be read
at the meeting, can be submitted by
email to amoore@union-county.
org. All comments must be received
by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14.
Nobody injured in late-
night Dec. 11 crash in
Ladd Canyon
LA GRANDE — Nobody was
injured in a one-vehicle night-
time crash on Saturday, Dec. 11,
in Ladd Canyon on Interstate 84
about 3 miles east of the Reynolds
Rest Area.
The crash involved a white
Volvo truck pulling a white and
blue semi trailer. The driver, Kul-
winder Singh Rangdhu, 46, of
Abbotsford, British Columbia,
was westbound and attempting to
change lanes on a wet road when
his truck and trailer lost trac-
tion and hit a guardrail on the
south side of I-84. The truck and
trailer continued traveling while
in touch with the guardrail before
they crossed both lanes of traffic,
struck a center concrete divider
and came to an uncontrolled stop.
The truck was badly damaged in
the crash and the trailer sustained
minor damage. Both were towed
from the scene, according to the
Oregon State Police.
Rangdhu did not have passen-
gers in his truck and no citations
were issued by police.
The crash forced the west-
bound lanes of I-84 to be closed at
Baker City for regular cars and at
Ontario for trucks from 9:30 p.m.
Saturday until 3:49 a.m. Sunday,
Dec. 12.
Single vehicle crash
in Baker County leaves
one dead
BAKER CITY — One person
was killed Saturday, Dec. 11, in a
single vehicle crash on Highway
26 in Baker County, according to
the Oregon State Police.
Maureen Welsh, 69, of Harper,
was eastbound on Highway 26
when she failed to negotiate a
corner and her Ford Excursion left
the roadway and crashed into a
tree. Welsh sustained fatal injuries
and was pronounced dead, police
said.
The crash occurred around
11:30 a.m. and closed Highway 26
for approximately seven hours.
Deputies from the Grant
County Sheriff’s Office, John Day
Ambulance and Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation assisted
state police at the scene.
— The Observer
LA GRANDE — A one-of-a-kind
neighborhood is officially up and run-
ning in La Grande.
Veterans Village Union County
hosted a virtual ribbon-cutting event
on Thursday, Dec. 9, which acknowl-
edged the many entities that con-
tributed to the village. The 10-house
neighborhood is designed specifically
for veterans who otherwise might not
have a home.
“Through this amazing collabora-
tion of efforts, we created something
wonderful — permanent, well-built
and energy-efficient homes for many
veterans who would not likely get this
opportunity without help,” said Gust
Tsiatsos, owner of GCT Land Man-
agement, who coordinated the project.
Tsiatsos and Veterans Village
Advisory Council Committee Chair
Lindsey Freeland hosted the event,
which was attended via Zoom by
about 40 people. Attendees included
La Grande Planning Commission
members and county commissioners
from Union County as well as other
surrounding counties.
The Veterans Village, 0.83 acres
at the corner of Russell Avenue and
N. Pine Street, features fully fur-
nished homes for veterans. Each unit
is a cottage-style small home that
includes a bedroom, living room, fire-
place, fenced-in backyard and ameni-
ties. The 10-house village also has a
community center that can serve as a
gathering space for fellow veterans to
interact.
Tsiatsos recognized many individ-
uals and organizations that assisted
along the way in developing the vil-
lage, among them Kevin Reed; Ace
Hardware; Bob Haley, job site super-
intendent; Terri Bradley, marketing
consultant; Seder Architecture; and
Angel Smith, social worker.
“Through all the local group
and individual support, the State of
Oregon also recognized the project
as a frontrunner at the state level and
a worthy partner through the Oregon
Housing and Community Services
program,” Tsiatsos said.
The HUD-Veterans Affairs Sup-
portive Housing program through
Veterans Affairs finds individuals
who meet the guidelines to live in the
village, while the Northeast Oregon
Housing Authority manages the prop-
erty. After the La Grande Planning
Commission amended its codes to
allow for tiny homes and cottage-style
houses, the Veterans Village serves as
the first example of what can be done
to ease the city’s tight housing market.
“I think the concept works well
in many applications, not just vet-
erans housing,” Tsiatsos said. “I hope
to see other smaller units popping up
here and there where we can get some
more housing here.”
Veterans Village Baker County
is currently under development, a
neighborhood with nine one-bed-
room units and three two-bedroom
homes. According to Tsiatsos, there
is room for another eight units that
could be for sale in Baker City. Sev-
eral visiting county commissioners
such as Court Boice of Curry County
attended the meeting and asked ques-
tions to gauge the possibility of a sim-
ilar development.
Gus Bedwell, a veteran’s ser-
vice officer with the State of Oregon,
worked with Veterans Village Union
County during its development. He
noted that the neighborhood can be a
blueprint for other communities.
“What Gust and his team has done
in La Grande could be done in every
single county in the state of Oregon,”
Bedwell said.
He said having just 10 to 15 similar
units in each county in Oregon could
go a long way in addressing home-
lessness among veterans. It is esti-
mated that there are more than 1,300
veterans in Oregon who lack housing.
The virtual gathering concluded
with the raising of the United States
flag by the veteran residents of the La
Grande neighborhood.
“It’s for a very small amount of
money too, so we could make a huge
impact,” Bedwell said. “I can’t speak
highly enough of it.”