LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
PENDLETON —
Oregon State Sens. Ron
Wyden and Jeff Merkley
announced nearly $22 mil-
lion in grant money would
be dispersed to North-
eastern Oregon.
The funds will be
used to help reimburse
the costs associated with
the historic flooding that
occurred in February
2020, when nearly 400
homes were destroyed or
damaged by the torrential
rain, mostly in Umatilla
County.
The total cost of the
damage was estimated
to be more than $48 mil-
lion, with well more than
$26 million in removing
debris removal, emergency
protective measures and
repairing roads, bridges
and public buildings,
according to the Oregon
Office of Emergency
Management.
“We’re prepared to
take full advantage of the
funding, and we’ve got
projects in the works for
development,” said Tom
Strandberg, public infor-
mation officer with the
Oregon Department of
Transportation for Eastern
Oregon.
Exactly $11 million
was earmarked for North-
County could be a
beneficiary of funds
the state receives
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — The
Wallowa County Board of
Commissioners took steps
Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021,
that will possibly result in
getting a portion of Ore-
gon’s $329 million share of
the National Opioid Settle-
ment Agreement.
During an emergency
meeting to address the
matter before the year
ended, county counsel
Paige Sully said the reason
for the emergency was to
not hinder going forward
with the statewide and fed-
eral settlement.
“The reason that we
needed to do this on less
than standard notice is
because all of the entities
that are going to sign this
agreement have to have it
signed by the second (of
January),” Sully told the
commissioners.
The national settlement
is to resolve all opioids
litigation brought by states
and local political subdi-
visions against the three
largest pharmaceutical
distributors: McKesson,
Cardinal Health and Amer-
isourceBergen, and man-
ufacturer Janssen Phar-
maceuticals Inc. and its
parent company Johnson &
Johnson. The settlements
will provide substantial
funds to states and their
subdivisions for abatement
of the opioids epidemic
across the country and
will impose transformative
changes in the way the set-
tling defendants conduct
their business.
Sully emphasized that
although Wallowa County
is not a litigant in the set-
tlement, the county could
be a beneficiary of funds
the state receives. Liti-
gating entities — be they
cities or counties — must
have populations of at least
10,000. Wallowa County’s
population is a bit more
than 7,300.
“The agreement is such
that 45% of the settle-
ment funds shall be allo-
cated to the state of Oregon
and 55% of the settle-
ment funds shall be allo-
cated to the Oregon partic-
ipating subdivisions. The
state will deposit its funds
in a prevention, treatment
and recovery fund that
will be used for abatement
uses,” Sully told the com-
missioners. “We will not
take a direct distribution.
We will, however, have
the opportunity to benefit
from funds from the state.
There’s also a provision
that subdivisions can act in
concert.”
For example, she said,
the neighboring counties
that will be direct recipi-
ents could band together
with Wallowa County
to set up some type of
regional program.
Photos by Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Above, Oregon Department of Transportation work crews remove debris that washed against the I-84
bridge over the Umatilla River in Pendleton on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. Below, Chantel Fuller watches as
water floods her home in Thorn Hollow outside of Adams on Feb. 6, 2020.
eastern Oregon specif-
ically, citing the severe
storms and increased
snowmelt that caused
flooding, landslides, sinks,
downed trees and ero-
sion that had resulted in
damage to critical trans-
portation infrastructure,
according to the grants the
Federal Highway Admin-
istration approved.
As well, $9 million
was approved for projects
repairing damage to major
highways across Oregon
that experienced similar
damages in January 2021.
A final $1.7 million was
appropriated for the Uma-
tilla National Forest to
repair roads and trails that
were damaged by floods in
the winter 2020.
December warmer than normal in La Grande
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Tem-
peratures in December
2021 were slightly higher
than normal in the La
Grande area, according to
preliminary data received
by the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric
Administration’s National
Weather Service Office in
Pendleton.
The average tempera-
ture during the month was
32.5 degrees, 1.8 degrees
above normal. High tem-
peratures averaged 39.8
degrees, 2.2 degrees above
normal, according to the
monthly climate summary.
The highest temperature
was 62 degrees, recorded
on Dec. 2.
Low temperatures aver-
aged 25.1 degrees, 1.4
degrees above normal. The
lowest temperature for the
month was minus 1 on Dec.
31, the report said.
There were 24 days in
December when the low
temperature dipped below
32 degrees in La Grande.
There were six days when
the high temperature stayed
below 32 degrees.
Precipitation for the
month totaled 2.74 inches,
1.08 inches above normal.
Measurable precipitation
— at least 0.01 inch — was
received on 13 days, with
alex Wittwer/The Observer, File
Snow rings the Grande Ronde Valley as seen from Highway 30 near Gangloff Park in La Grande on
Monday, Dec. 20, 2021.
the heaviest, 0.53 inches,
reported on Dec. 31.
Precipitation in 2021
finished at 14.48 inches,
which is 2.04 inches below
normal, according to the
weather service report.
Since October, the water
year precipitation at La
Grande has been 6.30
inches, 1.32 inches above
normal.
The outlook for Jan-
uary from NOAA’s Climate
Prediction Center calls for
below normal tempera-
tures and above normal
precipitation. Normal highs
for La Grande during the
month are 38.4 degrees
and normal lows are 24.5
degrees. The 30-year
normal precipitation for the
month is 1.63 inches.
Wallowa County
Wallowa County expe-
rienced slightly lower than
normal temperatures for
the month of December,
the report said. The average
temperature for Joseph
during the month was 24.2
degrees, 1.2 degrees below
normal. High temperatures
averaged 33.9 degrees, 0.4
degrees above normal. The
highest temperature was 57
degrees on Dec. 1.
Low temperatures aver-
aged 14.4 degrees, 2.9
degrees below normal.
The lowest temperature for
the month was minus 18
degrees, recorded Dec. 31.
There were 31 days with
the low temperature below
32 degrees and 14 days
when the high temperature
stayed below 32 degrees.
Precipitation for the
month in Wallowa County
totaled 0.63 inches, which
was 0.69 inches below
normal, according to the
report. Measurable precip-
itation — at least 0.01 inch
— was received on 10 days
during the month, with
the heaviest, 0.22 inches,
reported on Dec. 14. Since
October, the water year
precipitation at Joseph has
been 2.18 inches, which is
1.77 inches below normal.
Wallowa County’s out-
look for January predicts
below normal temperatures
and above normal precip-
itation. Normal highs for
Joseph in January are 35.3
degrees and normal lows
are 18.7 degrees.
NEWS BRIEFS
Joseph City Council
meeting postponed
JOSEPH — The
monthly Joseph City
Council meeting scheduled
for Thursday, Jan. 6, has
been postponed until Jan.
20, according to a press
release.
The release stated the
postponement was “due
to several unforeseen
circumstances.”
OTEC seeks
candidates for board
of directors
before Jan. 31.
Nominations by petition
are due by March 22.
Meet Rep. Bentz on
Jan. 6 in La Grande
LA GRANDE — U.S.
Rep. Cliff Bentz will be in
La Grande on Thursday,
Jan. 6, for a meet and greet
at Brother Bear Cafe, 1009
Adams Ave., the Union
County Chamber of Com-
merce announced.
Local business owners
and members of the com-
munity are invited to visit
with Congressman Bentz
(R-Ontario) from 5-7 p.m.
Coffee, tea, soft drinks
and light snacks will be
provided.
— The Observer
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BAKER CITY—
Oregon Trail Electric
Cooperative is seeking
candidates for three board
of director seats for 2022.
The board positions up
for election, which is in
May, are:
Position 7 – Union
County, held by incumbent
Greg Howard.
Position 8 – Union
County, held by incumbent
David Baum.
Position 9 – Baker
County, held by incumbent
Charlene Chase.
Members of the coop-
erative interested in run-
ning for the OTEC Board
of Directors can contact
the administration at 541-
524-2831 or visit otec.coop/
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tions for nominating com-
mittee information, qualifi-
cations and applications.
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2
LOTTERY
By ALEX WITTWER
RD
On Jan. 6, 2021, supporters
of President Donald Trump,
fueled by his false claims of a
stolen election, assaulted police
and smashed their way into the
Capitol to interrupt the certifi-
cation of Democrat Joe Biden’s
victory, forcing lawmakers into
hiding; most of the rioters had
come from a nearby rally where
Trump urged them to “fight like
hell.” A Trump supporter, Ashli
Babbitt, was shot and killed by
a police officer as she tried to
breach a barricaded doorway
inside the Capitol. Capitol Police
Officer Brian Sicknick, injured
while confronting the rioters,
suffered a stroke the next day
and died from natural causes,
the Washington, D.C., medical
examiner’s office said. (In the
weeks that followed, four of the
officers who responded to the
riot took their own lives.) Con-
gress reconvened hours later
to finish certifying the election
result.
In 1412, tradition holds that
Joan of Arc was born this day in
Domremy.
In 1838, Samuel Morse and
Alfred Vail gave the first suc-
cessful public demonstration of
their telegraph in Morristown,
New Jersey.
In 1912, New Mexico became
the 47th state.
In 1919, the 26th president
of the United States, Theodore
Roosevelt, died in Oyster Bay,
New York, at age 60.
In 1941, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt, in his State of the
Union address, outlined a goal
of “Four Freedoms”: Freedom
of speech and expression; the
freedom of people to worship
God in their own way; freedom
from want; freedom from fear.
In 1974, year-round daylight
saving time began in the United
States on a trial basis as a fuel-
saving measure in response to
the OPEC oil embargo.
In 1982, truck driver William
G. Bonin was convicted in Los
Angeles of 10 of the “Freeway
Killer” slayings of young men
and boys. (Bonin was later con-
victed of four other killings; he
was executed in 1996.)
In 1994, figure skater Nancy
Kerrigan was clubbed on the leg
by an assailant at Detroit’s Cobo
Arena; four men, including the
ex-husband of Kerrigan’s rival,
Tonya Harding, went to prison
for their roles in the attack.
(Harding pleaded guilty to con-
spiracy to hinder prosecution,
but denied any advance knowl-
edge about the assault.)
In 2001, with Vice President
Al Gore presiding in his capacity
as president of the Senate, Con-
gress formally certified George
W. Bush the winner of the bit-
terly contested 2000 presiden-
tial election.
In 2005, former Ku Klux Klan
leader Edgar Ray Killen was
arrested on murder charges
41 years after three civil rights
workers were slain in Missis-
sippi. (Killen was later convicted
of manslaughter and sentenced
to 60 years in prison; he died in
prison in 2018.)
In 2006, velvet-voiced singer
Lou Rawls died in Los Angeles
at age 72.
Ten years ago: The Obama
administration expanded
the FBI’s more than eight-de-
cades-old definition of rape
to count men as victims for
the first time and to drop the
requirement that victims physi-
cally resisted their attackers.
Five years ago: Congress cer-
tified Donald Trump’s presiden-
tial victory over the objections
of a handful of House Demo-
crats, with Vice President Joe
Biden pronouncing, “It is over.”
An arriving airline passenger
pulled a gun from his luggage
and opened fire in the baggage
claim area at the Fort Lauder-
dale-Hollywood International
Airport in Florida, killing five
people and wounding eight.
(An Alaska man, Esteban San-
tiago, admitted to the shooting
and was sentenced to life in
prison.) Mother-and-daughter
actors Debbie Reynolds and
Carrie Fisher were laid to rest
together at Forest Lawn Memo-
rial Park in Hollywood.
Wallowa
County
signs on
to opioid
settlement
Northeastern Oregon sees $22 million
in reimbursements for 2020 floods
TH
TODAY
THuRSday, JanuaRy 6, 2022
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