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TUESDAY EDITION
December 28, 2021
Eastern
Oregon
reacts to
omicron
LA GRANDE SCHOOL DISTRICT
School officials
cautious about
potential booster
requirement
By ANDREW CUTLER
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Offi cials at
Eastern Oregon University are
keeping their options open about
instituting COVID-19 booster
shot requirements amid a sharp
national spike in coronavirus
cases driven by the highly trans-
missible omicron variant.
Tim Seydel, EOU’s vice presi-
dent for university advancement,
said the university
is not yet requiring
boosters but has been
having conversations
about a requirement,
especially in light
of the University
Seydel
of Oregon’s Twitter
announcement on Monday, Dec.
20, that it would require booster
shots as omicron reached Oregon,
saying students, faculty and staff
should get the extra dose “as soon
as they are eligible.”
“Our focus probably right now
is continuing to watch what’s
happening, monitoring the situa-
tion and recommendations from
health offi cials statewide and,
of course, locally,” Seydel said.
“There’s no requirement right
now for students or employees to
have a booster as we start with
our winter term. We’re going to
continue to monitor to see how
the situation evolves.”
Seydel said with so many
moving parts and diff ering pro-
jections, Eastern Oregon offi cials
continue to meet on a weekly
basis with the Center for Human
Development to stay abreast of
COVID-19’s impact locally.
The school instituted a vacci-
nation mandate in October that
requires all of EOU’s on-campus
staff and students to be fully vac-
cinated for COVID-19 or to have
an approved religious, philosoph-
ical or medical exemption. Seydel
said the on-campus vaccination
rate for employees and students
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
A bond measure is being considered to tear down and replace the old Annex building on the La Grande Middle School grounds, as well as the adjacent
maintenance structure, in order to make room for a new athletic and academic center.
A new center?
La Grande School District would receive a
$4 million matching grant from the state
if voters approve a proposed bond levy
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
By DICK MASON
The Observer
A GRANDE — A new academic and athletic center may
be in the La Grande School District’s future — one which
would be built without raising tax rates.
The La Grande School District is considering asking
voters to approve either a $6 million or a $7.1 million bond
levy for capital construction in May. The passage of one of these
bonds would not raise the total school taxes paid by property
owners in part because of the recent refi nancing of the 20-year
$31.5 million bond voters approved in 2014.
“We could improve our educational facilities without raising
taxes,” said La Grande School District Superintendent George
Mendoza.
Money from the bond would pay for the construction of a
L
The Annex building and adjacent maintenance shop on the La Grande Middle
School grounds show their age on Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. A potential bond
measure is being discussed to replace the structures with a preengineered
building to be used as an academic and athletic center.
multiuse academic and athletic center where the Annex building
is now. The building would include two gyms and two class-
rooms that would be used for a variety of classes, including
health, science and technology. The building would be a preengi-
neered metal building that would be available for public use and
would meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards, which
the current Annex building does not, according to Mendoza.
The school district’s aging Annex building, which has a gym
and is about 10 feet north of La Grande Middle School, is more
See, Center/Page A5
COVID-19 relief program boosts area hospitals
Northeastern Oregon
hospitals, providers
receive nearly $8
million in funding
See, EOU/Page A5
By ALEX WITTWER
EO Media Group
LA GRANDE — A bevy of
local hospitals and providers are
receiving more than $7.8 million
in funds through the American
Rescue Plan via a program spe-
cifi c to rural hospitals.
While the fund allocated $118
million to hospitals across the
state, nearly 25%, or more than
$29.4 million, was sent to hos-
pitals in Portland — mostly to
Providence, a hospital chain that
serves the Willamette Valley and
coastal regions of Oregon.
The largest single fund in
Northeastern Oregon went to
Good Shepherd Health Care
System, Hermiston, which col-
lected a little more than $2.6 mil-
lion, while Baker City’s Saint
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Motorcycles fi ll a portion of the parking lot at Good Shepherd Medical Center in
Hermiston on Dec. 5, 2020, following the Echo Toy Run. Good Shepherd Health
Care System, which operates the hospital, received $2.6 million in funds through
an American Rescue Plan program for rural hospitals.
Alphonsus Medical Center
received more than $1.1 million
through the program. The list
of providers and suppliers that
were awarded funds also includes
Interpath Laboratories, Pend-
leton; Center for Human Devel-
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opment, La Grande; Wallowa
County Health Care District;
Blue Mountain Hospital District,
John Day; and Morrow County
Health District.
“Good Shepherd Health Care
System did receive the $2.6 mil-
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Tonight
Wednesday
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NEW COVID TESTING RULES IN PLACE
lion, and we plan on using it
for either of two areas — to be
applied to additional COVID
expenses we have incurred or to
lost revenue due to the COVID
pandemic,” Caitlin Cozad, mar-
keting and communications
director for Good Shepherd
Health Care System, said in an
email.
An offi cial with Baker City’s
Saint Alphonsus Medical Center
said the funds will be crucial in
renewing depleted resources and
hiring temporary staff , such as
nurses.
The American Rescue Plan
Rural payment program pool
totals nearly $7.5 billion in federal
funds, and was targeted toward
suppliers and providers that serve
rural Medicaid, Children’s Health
Insurance Program and Medi-
care benefi ciaries, according to a
release from the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services.
“Health care providers in rural
communities have been hit hard
by the COVID-19 pandemic, and
See, Relief/Page A5
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 152
2 sections, 14 pages
La Grande, Oregon
Email story ideas
to news@lagrande
observer.com.
More contact info
on Page A4.
Online at lagrandeobserver.com