FROM PAGE ONE
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2022
B2H
STORM
Continued from Page A1
Continued from Page A1
in the fi ve recent court fi l-
ings include parcels owned
by Hans and Susan Finke,
of Wilsonville; Justin and
Savannah Gyllenberg, of
Baker City; Dean, Rex and
Susan Nelson, of Baker
City; the Harrell Land and
Cattle LLC, of Baker City;
and Mike Ragsdale, of
Baker City.
The Gyllenbergs’ 175-
acre property is along
Highway 30, just south of
Interstate 84 between Baker
City and Pleasant Valley.
The Finkes’ land, cov-
ering about 288 acres, is in
the northern part of Baker
Valley, near Highway 203
east of the freeway.
The Nelson property,
north of Interstate 84 near
the Pleasant Valley inter-
change, is about 941 acres.
The Harrell property,
which is about 2 miles east
of the freeway and just
south of Highway 86 near
the base of Flagstaff Hill,
covers about 120 acres.
Ragsdale’s property is
just north of the Harrell
parcel and covers about
50.5 acres, according to
records from the Baker
County Assessor’s Offi ce.
Savannah Gyllen-
berg said she and her hus-
band have lived on their
property for about seven
and a half years. She said
they received packages
from Idaho Power a few
months ago with forms to
sign granting the company
access, but the couple hav-
en’t had time to review the
documents.
Gyllenberg said an
existing Idaho Power trans-
mission line crosses their
property, and they have
never objected to company
workers entering the prop-
erty to maintain the line.
The fi ve petitions have
nearly identical wording,
diff ering mainly in the legal
descriptions of the specifi c
parcels involved.
In each petition, Idaho
Power states that either the
company or its contractor,
Cornerstone Energy Inc.
21, acting on the company’s
behalf, has “contacted the
Respondent several times
to request access to survey,
test, and sample the Prop-
erty. Respondent has not
granted Idaho Power access
to the Property.”
Berg said the company
needs access to the prop-
erties to do a variety of
surveys.
“Because construc-
tion on the B2H project is
scheduled to start as early
as 2023, Idaho Power must
begin surveying, testing,
and sampling the Property
in 2022,” each of the four
petitions states.
La Grande School
District Superintendent
George Mendoza said he
decided on the evening
of Jan. 2 to close school
because of reports he
was receiving from Mid
Columbia Bus Company,
which serves his district,
and from Union County
offi cials.
Their reports indicated
that driving school buses
would be unsafe, he said.
Mendoza also said the
forecast of winds of up
to 55 mph and another 4
inches of snow expected
on Jan. 3 factored into his
decision.
Extreme winter weather
also forced Eastern Oregon
University, La Grande, to
close on Jan. 3. Employees
and on-campus partners
were not required to report
for work. On-campus
classes were canceled
and offi ces were closed,
but online courses were
expected to continue,
according to an EOU press
release.
Crews clear snowdrifts
City of La Grande
Public Works Director
Kyle Carpenter said his
snow-removal crews
began work at 2 a.m. Jan.
3 in an eff ort to clear
snow. La Grande crews
focused on clearing
drifts that had shut down
a number city streets,
including the stretch of
Cove Avenue from 26th
Street to McAlister Road,
Gekeler Lane from 20th
Street to Highway 30, and
Mulholland Drive from
26th Street to Walton
Road.
“We hope to have all
those cleared by the end of
the day,” Carpenter said at
about 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 3.
Carpenter said that on
Jan. 2 crews did limited
snow removal because
more high winds were pro-
jected. He said that any
work done on Jan. 2 could
have been quickly erased
with new snowdrifts.
The vehicles the city
is using to clear snow
include three trucks and
three graders.
Carpenter said that
the latest information on
road closures and plans
for plowing is available on
the the city of La Grande’s
Facebook page.
The city of Island City
closed Buchanan Lane
west of McAlister Road
and Walton Road south
of Emily Drive on Jan. 2,
because of drifting snow.
The closures were still in
eff ect at 10:30 a.m Jan. 3.
“We are working on
getting them open but it
THE OBSERVER — A5
to snowdrifts, and at least
one employee was out
sick. As well, the agency
has faced its own short-
ages with a lack of snow-
plow drivers, unfi lled posi-
tions and understaffi ng.
“It’s going to take
some time, and people
need to understand and be
patient,” Strandberg said.
“This is a weather event
we have no control over.
We’ll continue to address
what we can, but there are
going to be some routes
we can’t even do mainte-
nance on because we can’t
see — and if we can’t see
we can’t drive.”
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
A truck driver makes his way past lines of trucks, toward the Flying J truck stop on Highway 30 on
Monday, Jan. 3, 2021. Severe weather and snowdrifts closed Interstate 84 as crews struggled to clear
the roadways.
feels like a losing battle,”
said Karen Howton, Island
City’s city recorder.
Union County Public
Works Director Doug
Wright said at 7:30 a.m.
Jan. 3 that many roads are
blocked by snow.
“There are localized
snowdrifts throughout the
county,” he said.
Union County Public
Works crews are tackling
these drifts with the help
of six graders, one snow-
blower and four trucks.
Wright speaks philosoph-
ically of the challenge of
keeping roads clear of
snow.
“It is what we do,” he
said. “We want to help
folks get to where they
need to be.”
The snowdrifts were
blown in after Union
County received signif-
icant snowfall on Dec.
30-31. No information on
how much snow Union
County received on those
two days was available
from the National Weather
Service at press time, but
Carpenter estimated that
on Dec. 31 alone portions
of La Grande may have
received a foot of snow.
It is very likely that
a record was set on the
last day of 2021, for the
highest recorded snow-
fall for La Grande on Dec.
31 is 1-1/2 inches in 1990,
according to the National
Weather Service. The
agency’s snowfall records
for La Grande date back
to 1966.
Chill sets records
La Grande started 2022
with record low tempera-
tures. The low on Jan. 1,
at 4:49 a.m. was minus 22
degrees, breaking the old
record for Jan. 1 of minus
12 set in 1979. A record
was also set on Dec. 31
when the temperature fell
to minus 11 degrees at
about 11:30 p.m., breaking
the old record of minus
3 degrees in 1969. The
National Weather Services
records for La Grande
temperatures date back to
1965.
Wallowa County also
had a frigid start to the
new year. Lostine had a
low of minus 13 degrees
on Jan. 1 and a low of
minus 8 degrees on Dec.
31. The National Weather
Service does not have tem-
perature records for Los-
tine but it does for Wal-
lowa, which is 8 miles to
the northeast. Wallowa’s
all-time low for Dec. 31 is
minus 22 degrees in 1927,
and its all-time low for
Jan. 1 is minus 14 degrees,
a mark set in 1979.
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation
reported it has been an all-
hands-on-deck situation as
crews worked to remove
snowdrifts and white-out
conditions along Inter-
state 84.
“We’re holding our
own, but it’s really busy,”
said Tom Strandberg, a
spokesperson for ODOT
Region 5, which encom-
passes most of North-
eastern Oregon. “Our
crews are out there, strug-
gling with the weather —
and some areas of Uma-
tilla County they’re not
even able to plow because
of the winds blowing so
hard. It’s creating drifts
and blizzard-like condi-
tions. It’s just a mess.”
Interstate 84 was closed
multiple times from Jan. 2
throughout Jan. 3, opening
later in the afternoon
on Jan. 3 as road crews
cleared a lane of traffi c
between Pendleton to La
Grande eastbound, while
all lanes of westbound
traffi c was cleared by
approximately 1:30 p.m.
Additionally, Oregon
Highways OR-11, OR-334
and OR-204 remained
closed due to snowdrifts
and inclement weather
as road crews worked to
clear the obstructions,
according to TripCheck.
ODOT also reported
that a number of motor-
ists had ignored the road-
blocks, traveled onto the
freeway and found them-
selves stuck in the snow-
drifts, or even blown over
by the high winds. At least
one truck and one ODOT
portable message board
was blown off the road
due to the winds. With
the inclement weather and
limited resources, those
stuck could be stranded for
hours — and possibly days
— before crews are able to
dig them out.
“They might be stuck
up there for hours and
hours with no chance of
rescue,” Standberg said.
“We just want to remind
people to stay home and
stay off the roads. If it’s
closed, don’t go on it.
Don’t try to drive through
drifts. If you get stuck,
you may not get rescued
anytime soon.”
Conditions aren’t likely
to improve either, Strand-
berg said, citing weather
reports calling for more
snow and high winds.
“We’re keeping an eye
on road and weather con-
ditions, and trying to get
our equipment out there as
soon as possible to open
things back up,” he said,
“but in some cases, it’s a
losing battle — they can’t
plow the snow because
they can’t drive fast
enough to move the snow
off the road.”
But severe weather and
high winds balding the
Blue Mountains’ snow-
pack and blanketing the
highway with snow isn’t
the only issue ODOT
is facing. A number of
employees themselves
were stuck at home due
The Wallowa County
resident grew more
impressed with Tutu fol-
lowing the conference
when he learned what he
had endured while fi ghting
apartheid in South Africa.
“I didn’t understand
how, after what he had
gone through, he could
have such great spirit,”
Hayes said.
The Rev. Churchill G.
Pinder, of the Episcopal
Church, who then lived in
Baker City, was impressed
with stories Tutu shared
of his life in a close-knit
setting.
“We all had the privi-
lege of sitting at the feet
of Desmond as he shared
his experiences with the
struggles in South Africa
as well as his journey of
faith,” he said. “I clearly
remember him describing
his experiences of being
very sick as a young
child in a hospital and
the impression he had
when an Anglican priest
came and visited him and
prayed with him. Des-
mond shouted with glee,
‘For me. What a wonder
God’s love is.’”
Pinder said the magni-
tude of the experience is
hard to put into words.
“How can I explain the
wonder of enjoying all the
activities of Family Camp
including playing softball,
singing around the camp-
fi re, and eating meals with
Desmond Tutu and his
family and many of the
members of the Diocese of
Eastern Oregon,” he said.
Pinder was ordained a
deacon in the Episcopal
Church at the Ascension
School Camp during a cer-
emony conducted by Tutu
and Rustin Kimsey.
Sarah Moore, a former
reporter for The Observer,
who attended the confer-
ence, said that Tutu was
always accessible.
“It was such an inti-
mate setting. Everyone
had access to a famous
ODOT stretched thin
In Wallowa County
Wallowa County also
has a large amount of
drifting snow. This has
forced the closure of Hur-
ricane Creek Road and
Highway 350, according
to Kari Carper, an admin-
istrative assistant for Wal-
lowa County’s public
works department. Hur-
ricane Creek Road is a
county road and Highway
350 is a state road. Both
roads have been closed
since at least early Jan. 3.
A number of roads in
Wallowa County, which
are not closed, also have a
lot of snowdrifts making
driving diffi cult, Carper
said, adding that county
public works crews are
working hard to clear
roads as fast they can.
“Our crews were up
early trying to get every-
thing open,” she said.
An increase in crashes
The Oregon State Police
reported 54 accidents over
the holiday weekend across
Eastern Oregon counties
from Morrow to Malheur,
a fi ve-fold increase since
2017 when they responded
to just 10 accidents.
That number has been
steadily climbing, with
31 accidents reported in
2020, and 23 reported in
2019 between Dec. 31 and
Jan. 2.
Statewide, OSP
responded to 259 acci-
dents during the same
time period this year, up
186% from its 2017 count,
and 25% from its 2020
numbers.
A number of OSP ser-
vice vehicles at the La
Grande headquarters were
also buried in a small
mountain of snow due to
the drifts.
In La Grande, local
law enforcement offi cers
responded to 17 reports
of accidents, disabled
vehicles or stuck drivers
on Jan. 1.
Police also responded
to a down power line, a
fallen tree and a stop sign
that had blown over in the
wind.
Denied access
Berg said Idaho Power
sends three letters to each
property owner before fi ling
petitions in court.
“We prefer to work
directly through land-
owners, and we encourage
people (who are respon-
dents in court fi lings) to
contact us as soon as they
can,” Berg said. “We much
prefer to handle it out of
court. We don’t want to
force the issue in court.”
Berg said the owners of
about 65% of the private
land in Baker County that
is along the line’s proposed
route have given Idaho
Power access for surveys
and inspections.
Of the remaining 35%,
most have not responded
to the company’s requests,
he said, and two property
owners have denied access
to their land.
He declined to say
whether either of those
property owners is among
the fi ve that are the subject
of the company’s current
court petitions.
TUTU
Continued from Page A1
conference Tutu spoke at.
Tutu, who died Dec. 26,
2021, at the age of 90, was
well known but not yet in
the international spotlight
in 1983.
He was a year away
from being awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize for
his nonviolent opposi-
tion to apartheid in South
Africa. Tutu, on the verge
of major celebrity status,
was able to move about
freely in Northeastern
Oregon.
“He was not well
known yet. I think it was
fun for him to be anony-
mous,” Gretchen Kimsey,
who lives in The Dalles,
said.
Kimsey marveled at
Tutu’s ability to connect
and communicate with
people using plainspoken
brilliance at the confer-
ence in Cove.
“He never spoke in
complex terms. He spoke
straight to the heart,” she
said.
Kimsey was also struck
by Tutu’s sense of humor,
which he displayed during
his visit to Northeastern
Oregon and throughout
his life.
“He brought laughter to
a lot of people’s lives, and
we all know how healing
laughter can be,” she said.
Kimsey said her hus-
band shared Tutu’s sense
of humor.
“That is what drew
them together,” she said.
A great spirit
Jim Hayes, of Joseph,
then an eighth grader, was
among the younger people
who attended the 1983
conference at the Ascen-
sion Camp in Cove. Hayes
said he was struck by the
sense of happiness Tutu
exuded.
“He was joyful, a great
person,” he said.
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person. He was always
willing to sit down and
talk at meals and outside,”
said Moore, who now lives
in Orcas Island, Wash-
ington, with her husband,
David, who was the rector
of St. Peter’s Episcopal
Church in La Grande 40
years ago.
Moore said Tutu
accepted the invitation to
come to Cove because he
knew Rustin Kimsey so
well.
“His friendship with
Rustin Kimsey is what
made it happen,” she
said.
Rustin Kimsey died in
2015, and Tutu was among
those who attended his
service in The Dalles.
Tutu came unannounced,
Gretchen Kimsey said,
because he did not want to
take away attention from
his friend.
“We were so happy
to see him,” Gretchen
Kimsey said. “It was such
a wonderful gesture.”
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