LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
On Jan. 22, 1973, the U.S.
Supreme Court, in its Roe v.
Wade decision, declared a
nationwide constitutional right
to abortion.
In 1901, Britain’s Queen Vic-
toria died at age 81 after a reign
of 63 years; she was succeeded
by her eldest son, Edward VII.
In 1938, Thornton Wilder’s
play “Our Town” was performed
publicly for the first time in
Princeton, New Jersey.
In 1944, during World War II,
Allied forces began landing at
Anzio, Italy.
In 1947, America’s first com-
mercially licensed television
station west of the Mississippi,
KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, made
its official debut.
In 1995, Rose Fitzgerald Ken-
nedy died at the Kennedy com-
pound at Hyannis Port, Massa-
chusetts, at age 104.
In 1997, the Senate con-
firmed Madeleine Albright as
the nation’s first female secre-
tary of state.
In 1998, Theodore Kaczynski
pleaded guilty in Sacra-
mento, California, to being the
Unabomber responsible for
three deaths and 29 injuries in
return for a sentence of life in
prison without parole.
In 2006, Kobe Bryant scored
81 points, the second-highest in
NBA history, in the Los Angeles
Lakers’ 122-104 victory over the
Toronto Raptors.
In 2007, a double car
bombing of a predominantly
Shiite commercial area in
Baghdad killed 88 people. Iran
announced it had barred 38
nuclear inspectors on a United
Nations list from entering the
country in apparent retaliation
for U.N. sanctions imposed the
previous month.
In 2008, actor Heath Ledger,
28, was found dead of an acci-
dental prescription overdose in
a New York City apartment.
In 2009, President Barack
Obama signed an executive
order to close the Guantanamo
Bay prison camp within a year.
(The facility remained in oper-
ation as lawmakers blocked
efforts to transfer terror sus-
pects to the United States;
President Donald Trump later
issued an order to keep the jail
open and allow the Pentagon to
bring new prisoners there.)
In 2020, Chinese health
authorities urged people in the
city of Wuhan to avoid crowds
and public gatherings after
warning that a new viral illness
that had infected hundreds of
people and caused at least nine
deaths could spread further.
Health officials in Washington
state said they were actively
monitoring 16 people who’d
come in close contact with a
traveler to China, the first U.S.
resident known to be infected
with the virus.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor
Piper Laurie is 90. Celebrity
chef Graham Kerr (TV: “The
Galloping Gourmet”) is 88.
Author Joseph Wambaugh
is 85. Singer Steve Perry is
73. Country singer-musician
Teddy Gentry (Alabama) is 70.
Movie director Jim Jarmusch
is 69. Actor John Wesley Shipp
is 67. Hockey Hall of Famer
Mike Bossy is 65. Actor Linda
Blair is 63. Actor Diane Lane
is 57. Actor and rap DJ Jazzy
Jeff is 57. Celebrity chef Guy
Fieri is 54. Actor Olivia d’Abo
is 53. Actor Katie Finneran is
51. Actor Gabriel Macht is 50.
Actor Balthazar Getty is 47.
Actor Christopher Kennedy
Masterson is 42. Jazz singer
Lizz Wright is 42. Pop singer
Willa Ford is 41. Actor Bev-
erley Mitchell is 41. Rock sing-
er-musician Ben Moody is 41.
Actor Kevin Sheridan is 40.
Actor-singer Phoebe Strole is
39. Rapper Logic is 32. Tennis
player Alizé Cornet is 32. Actor
Sami Gayle is 26.
LOTTERY
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Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022
Lucky Lines
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Pick 4
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10 p.m.: 0-6-2-4
SaTuRday, JanuaRy 22, 2022
Power companies announce deal on B2H City set to
map out
strategy,
goals
The Observer
PORTLAND — Idaho
Power, PacifiCorp and the
Bonneville Power Admin-
istration have reached a
nonbinding agreement on
the massive Boardman to
Hemingway transmission
line.
The BPA in a press
release Wednesday, Jan. 19,
announced the agreement
clarifies and updates roles
and responsibilities for the
B2H project.
“The proposed agree-
ment is an important step
for this 500-kilovolt,
290-mile transmission
line, which would deliver
1,000 megawatts of reli-
able, affordable power in
each direction between
the Pacific Northwest
and Mountain west,”
according to the press
release.
Under the new deal,
Idaho Power and Pacifi-
Corp will jointly own the
B2H transmission line,
with PacifiCorp owning
55% and Idaho Power
owning 45%.
Idaho Power will
acquire an ownership
interest in PacifiCorp
transmission lines and
other equipment between
eastern Idaho and the
Four Corners Substation
in northwest New Mexico.
B2H and those acquisi-
tions amplify Idaho Pow-
er’s connections to key
energy markets that will
help the company meet
La Grande council,
URA to discuss
2022 priorities
during city retreats
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
East Oregonian, File
A crew works on a transmission line tower outside of Boardman in November 2017. The Bonneville
Power Administration on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, announced it, Idaho Power and PacifiCorp have a
new deal on the Boardman to Hemingway transmission line that would run through Eastern Oregon.
customer demand.
The Bonneville Power
Administration will
transfer its ownership
interest in B2H to Idaho
Power and will not par-
ticipate in construction
or have any ownership
interest in the transmis-
sion line project.
Facilities PacifiCorp
uses to serve BPA’s cus-
tomers in and around
southeast Idaho will
be transferred to Idaho
Power. BPA will acquire
transmission service over
Idaho Power’s transmis-
sion system, including the
newly constructed B2H,
to serve public utility cus-
tomers in Idaho, Wyo-
ming and Montana.
PacifiCorp will acquire
Idaho Power transmission
assets across southern
Idaho that, combined
with its majority stake in
Boardman-Hemingway,
will increase its contig-
uous power transfer capa-
bility between its western
and eastern systems, and
will acquire additional
transmission service from
BPA to enable it to serve
its growing customer base
in central Oregon.
With the non-binding
term sheet developed, the
three organizations move
into a negotiation phase
to finalize the agree-
ments and seek regulatory
approval. Concurrent with
this press release, BPA
is issuing a letter to its
regional stakeholders and
customers that outlines
the proposal, describes the
background and explains
the process for engaging
with BPA on this topic.
Construction of the
line is slated to begin in
2023, and B2H is antic-
ipated to come online in
2026.
The term sheet and
background information
about B2H are available
at www.boardmantohem-
ingway.com.
Grant agreement approved for water storage study
Two studies on
Upper Grande
Ronde River
Watershed will
begin this year
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE —The
Union County Board of
Commissioners approved
a grant agreement on
Wednesday, Jan. 19, that
will likely help an effort to
ultimately improve the flow
of rivers and steams in the
Upper Grande Ronde River
Watershed, which includes
Catherine Creek.
The commissioners
approved a grant agreement
between Union County
and the Oregon Water-
shed Enhancement Board.
The agreement involves a
$75,000 technical services
grant for an Upper Grande
Ronde River Watershed
Feasibility and Stream
Flow study for water
storage.
The grant, which came
from the state’s Oregon
Watershed Enhance-
ment Board, will pay for
a study of the results. The
Oregon department of Transportation/Contributed Photo, File
Ice jams like this one in 2014 on Catherine Creek east of Union
put the city at risk of flooding. The Union County Board of
Commissioners approved a grant agreement on Wednesday, Jan.
19, 2022, that may improve the flow of rivers and steams in the
Upper Grande Ronde River Watershed, including Catherine Creek.
Upper Grande Ronde River
Watershed Partnership will
use the study in its efforts
to determine what steps
can be taken to improve
water storage in the Upper
Grande Ronde River Basin.
The Upper Grande
Ronde River Watershed
Partnership — an organi-
zation with a wide range of
members, including natural
resources professionals,
those in the agricultural
industry and city represen-
tatives — has been meeting
since 2016.
“Improved water
storage is needed to reduce
flooding in the winter and
spring and to prevent the
river flows from becoming
very low in the summer in
the Upper Grande Ronde
River Watershed,” said
Union County Commis-
sioner Donna Beverage, a
member of the partnership
and its chair.
Water storage options
the partnership may con-
sider include expanding
portions of rivers and
streams to prevent the cre-
ation of ice jams in narrow
stretches that can lead to
flooding.
Another option could
be pumping water in Cath-
erine Creek into under-
ground caverns in the
spring when flows are high
and then pumping it out in
the summer when flows are
lower.
“We will explore all
options. We want to help all
water users without doing
harm to any,” Beverage
said.
The Oregon Water-
shed Enhancement Board
funding is one of two
grants Union County has
received for feasibility
and stream flow studies in
the Upper Grande Ronde
River Basin. The county
previously received a grant
of more than $75,000
from the Oregon Water
Resources Department to
conduct a water storage
study.
The water storage study
conducted with the grant
from the Oregon Water-
shed Enhancement Board
will complement the one
funded by the Oregon
Water Resources Depart-
ment, Beverage said.
Both studies will be
conducted by Anderson
Perry & Associates, a La
Grande-based engineering
firm, and will begin later
this year.
Cove, Imbler, Union schools coping with COVID-19
Some rural districts
see fewer absences
related to virus
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande and North
Powder school districts
are being hit hard by
COVID-19 but three other
Union County school dis-
tricts are faring much
better.
The La Grande School
District’s latest COVID-19
statistics, covering the
week of Jan. 10-14, indi-
cate that 98 students and
17 staff members missed
school because of posi-
tive COVID-19 tests, close
contact with people who
are COVID-19 positive
or because of symptoms
of the virus. The North
Powder School District had
11 positive cases among
students over a one-week
period, which prompted
the school district to offer
only online Comprehensive
Distance Learning starting
Wednesday, Jan. 19,
although in-person instruc-
tion is expected to begin
again on Jan. 24.
The COVID-19 situa-
tion is significantly better
in the Cove, Imbler and
Union school districts.
The Union School Dis-
trict on Jan. 17 had one
staff member out due to
either a positive COVID-19
test or a close contact, and
two students were absent
because of close contacts
with family members
who were believed to be
COVID-19 positive.
Union School District
Superintendent Carter
Wells feels good about his
district’s COVID-19 sit-
uation but added that he
knows it could change
quickly.
“We have been very for-
tunate,” Wells said.
The Imbler School Dis-
trict on Jan. 18 had one
staff member out due to
COVID-19 and four or
five students absent due
to close contacts. The stu-
dents’ close contacts had
been with family members,
according to Imbler School
District Superintendent
Doug Hislop.
The Cove School Dis-
trict had one staff member
out due to COVID-19 on
Jan. 19 and less than 10
students out due to close
contacts. All of the stu-
dents’ close contacts were
family members, said Earl
Pettit, superintendent of
the school district. Pettit
feels hopeful about his
school district’s COVID-19
status and does not foresee
having to go to Compre-
hensive Distance Learning
anytime soon.
“We are a long way
from CDL,” Pettit said.
NEWS BRIEF
La Grande sets forum
on parks master plan
LA GRANDE — The city of La
Grande Parks and Recreation Advi-
sory Commission is set to host a
public forum to discuss the 2022-
2027 parks master plan. The meeting
will be held via Zoom beginning at
5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 3.
The meeting will gather public
input on the final draft of the plan,
which will serve as the department’s
guidelines for the next five years.
The plan was drafted by city
staff and parks and recreation advi-
sory commission members, as well
as through community feedback. It
includes suggested improvements to
current parks as well as initiatives for
the next five years, such as increasing
indoor recreation space, restrooms,
trails and covered picnic areas.
The final draft of the master plan,
as well as the meeting’s Zoom link,
can be found at www.cityoflagrande.
org/parks-recreation. Parks and Rec-
reation Director Stu Spence can also
be reached at 541-962-1348.
— The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande City Council
and Urban Renewal Agency
are set to meet for the
annual city retreats, which
will focus on exchanging
strategies and goals for the
upcoming year.
The Urban Renewal
Agency will meet at 6 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 24, and the
city council’s retreat will
begin at 6 p.m. Jan. 25.
The retreats serve as
an opportunity for mem-
bers of each group to col-
laborate on ideas for 2022,
which will then become a
point of emphasis during
budget development for the
2022-2023 fiscal year. The
retreats, to be held virtu-
ally, are open for viewing
on the city’s Facebook
page, but public comment
is not allowed during the
meetings.
No official decisions or
votes are conducted during
the La Grande City Council
retreat, but ideas can be
scheduled for upcoming
regular sessions.
Topics that will be dis-
cussed in the city council
retreat are infrastructure-
related needs and priorities,
staffing needs among the
city’s police and fire depart-
ments, housing production
strategy and commercial
land needs analysis, recent
concerns over homelessness
at Max Square, increasing
diversity and participation
in commissions and com-
mittees, improvements to
the city’s parks, partner-
ships with the chamber of
commerce and La Grande
Main Street Downtown,
wildland urban interface
and budget priorities for the
upcoming fiscal year.
City Manager Robert
Strope at the council retreat
will also relay his top pri-
orities: fiscal manage-
ment, COVID-19 recovery,
economic development,
wildland urban inter-
face, general fund capital
improvements, housing pro-
duction strategy, staffing,
Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency maps and
code amendments.
The URA will meet with
a similar goal in mind, col-
laborating on ideas and
creating priorities for the
upcoming year.
One topic to be dis-
cussed is economic devel-
opment strategy, which
involves the city’s priority
industry sectors — recre-
ational, manufacturing and
retail, timber industry and
e-commerce.
The agency will also
discuss the potential for
small-scale manufacturing
and micro production in La
Grande. The idea involves
attracting small manufac-
turers that can utilize space
in the city and assist in La
Grande’s local supply chain.
The URA will discuss
the potential of a commer-
cial land needs analysis
and comprehensive plan
goal, in order to address the
shortage of available lands
for large-scale commercial
and retail development.
Agency members at
the retreat will discuss the
budget for urban renewal
programs, which includes
$350,000 toward the
non-business park Call for
Projects, $200,000 for busi-
ness park Call for Proj-
ects, $200,000 for the city’s
traded sector program and
$300,000 for agency-initi-
ated programs. The retreat
will conclude with a discus-
sion of fiscal management
related to the city’s urban
renewal plan.
Both meetings will be
hosted on Facebook live
at www.facebook.com/
CityofLaGrande.