LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
In 1533, England’s King
Henry VIII secretly mar-
ried his second wife, Anne
Boleyn, who later gave birth
to Elizabeth I.
In 1863, during the Civil
War, President Abraham
Lincoln accepted Maj. Gen.
Ambrose E. Burnside’s resig-
nation as commander of the
Army of the Potomac and
replaced him with Maj. Gen.
Joseph Hooker.
In 1915, America’s first offi-
cial transcontinental tele-
phone call took place as
Alexander Graham Bell, who
was in New York, spoke to
his former assistant, Thomas
Watson, who was in San
Francisco, over a line set up
by American Telephone &
Telegraph.
In 1924, the first Winter
Olympic Games opened in
Chamonix, France.
In 1945, Grand Rapids,
Michigan, became the first
community to add fluoride
to its public water supply.
In 1959, American Airlines
began Boeing 707 jet flights
between New York and Los
Angeles.
In 1971, Charles Manson
and three women fol-
lowers were convicted in Los
Angeles of murder and con-
spiracy in the 1969 slayings
of seven people, including
actor Sharon Tate.
In 1981, the 52 Americans
held hostage by Iran for 444
days arrived in the United
States.
In 1993, Sears announced
that it would no longer pub-
lish its famous century-old
catalog.
In 1994, maintaining his
innocence, singer Michael
Jackson settled a child
molestation lawsuit against
him; terms were confiden-
tial, although the monetary
figure was reportedly $22
million.
In 2004, NASA’s Oppor-
tunity rover zipped its first
pictures of Mars to Earth,
showing a surface smooth
and dark red in some places,
and strewn with fragmented
slabs of light bedrock in
others.
In 2020, President Donald
Trump’s defense team
opened its arguments at his
first Senate impeachment
trial, casting the effort to
remove him from office as a
politically motivated attempt
to subvert the 2016 elec-
tion and the upcoming 2020
contest. Canada, Australia
and Malaysia each reported
their first cases of the new
coronavirus.
Today’s Birthdays:
Country singer Claude Gray is
90. Actor Leigh Taylor-Young
is 78. Actor Jenifer Lewis is
65. Country musician Mike
Burch (River Road) is 56. R&B
singer Kina is 53. Actor China
Kantner is 51. Actor Ana Ortiz
is 51. Drummer Joe Sirois
(Mighty Mighty Bosstones)
is 50. Musician Matt Odmark
(Jars of Clay) is 48. Actor Mia
Kirshner is 47. Actor Christine
Lakin is 43. R&B singer Alicia
Keys is 42. Actor Michael
Trevino is 37. Pop musician
Calum Hood (5 Seconds to
Summer) is 26. Actor Olivia
Edward is 15.
LOTTERY
Friday, Jan. 21, 2022
Megamillions
38-45-46-55-67
Megaball: 18
Megaplier: 2
Jackpot: $376 million
Lucky Lines
1-5-12-13-17-21-28-31
Jackpot: $15,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 9-4-3-0
4 p.m.: 2-1-7-7
7 p.m.: 6-3-4-7
10 p.m.: 1-1-1-5
Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022
Powerball
8-14-33-36-67
Powerball: 17
Power Play: 2
Jackpot: $76 million
Megabucks
4-14-21-38-44-46
Jackpot: $8.6 million
Lucky Lines
3-8-9-14-19-23-26-31
Jackpot: $16,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 0-8-2-3
4 p.m.: 9-5-5-1
7 p.m.: 3-0-5-1
10 p.m.: 1-2-6-0
Win for Life
13-30-50-63
Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022
Lucky Lines
2-8-10-13-17-23-25-32
Estimated jackpot: $10,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 1-7-7-9
4 p.m.: 6-7-6-5
7 p.m.: 9-3-6-0
10 p.m.: 3-5-3-0
TuESday, JanuaRy 25, 2022
Senior project targets people in need
Imbler senior
raising steer, will
donate meat to
local food bank
Starnes focuses his
run for governor
on campaign
finance reform
By DICK MASON
The Observer
SUMMERVILLE —
The Northeast Oregon
Regional Food Bank is set
to receive a one-of-a-kind
1,200-pound bonus thanks
to the generosity of an
Imbler High School senior.
Tel McBride is raising
a steer for his senior
project and plans to
donate all of the meat
from it to the Northeast
Oregon Regional Food
Bank, which is operated
by Community Connec-
tion of Northeast Oregon.
McBride said he wants
to make beef available to
those in need because the
price of meat has gotten
so high during the past
year.
Audrey Smith, manager
of the Northeast Oregon
Regional Food Bank, is
delighted about the pros-
pect of receiving meat
from the steer.
“Beef is our No. 1
requested item,” she said.
Unfortunately, the
Northeast Oregon
Regional Food Bank rarely
can provide beef because
the cost makes it prohib-
itive. Smith said in the
five years she has been
manager of the Northeast
Oregon Regional Food
Bank, it has been able to
offer beef only a couple of
times.
Smith is McBride’s
By DICK MASON
The Observer
alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Tel McBride, a senior at Imbler High School, on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, enters the field with the half
dozen cattle he is raising at a Summerville ranch.
mentor for his senior
project and said she is
impressed by the steps he
has taken to make sure the
meat from the steer will be
able to be distributed by
the food bank. The Imbler
senior is ensuring the meat
processing company is
properly certified so the
meat meets government
health standards for public
distribution.
The steer is one of five
McBride is now raising
and among about 30 he has
raised altogether.
McBride started raising
cattle at his family’s home
more than a decade ago.
He stopped for a few
years and then started
raising cattle again in
2017. He said raising cattle
is a process of perpetual
discovery.
“It is fun. Everyday I
learn something new about
them,” he said.
McBride, whose
mother, Susy, works for
Community Connec-
tion of Northeast Oregon,
added cattle can be
unpredictable.
“They keep you
guessing,” he said.
McBride said when
cattle make up their mind
to do something they are
hard to stop.
“If they want to go
somewhere they will go
there,” he said.
McBride’s interest in
cattle dates back 15 years
when he was visiting a
ranch in North Powder run
by Butch Mascall, who
offered a free calf to him if
he could lasso the animal
with a rope.
“I lassoed it on my first
try,” he said.
McBride’s family took
the calf home and pro-
ceeded to help raise it.
McBride went on to
raise more cattle, while
receiving guidance from
Mascall and former La
Grande Police Chief John
Courtney.
McBride plans to sell
off his cattle after gradu-
ating from high school so
he can have a chance to
attend a school in Herm-
iston for railroad con-
ducting. After graduating
from there he plans to
pursue a career in the rail-
road field.
He will be following the
lead of his father, Kevin,
who works for Union
Pacific Railroad.
McBride said that he
will likely return someday
after high school to again
raising cattle at some level
because it is in his blood.
“It is something I really
enjoy,” he said.
Area workers tend to head out on the highway
Cross-county
commuters make
up more than a
third of Eastern
Oregon workforce
By ALEX WITTWER
EO Media Group
EASTERN OREGON
— More than a third of
Eastern Oregon’s work-
force commuted across
county lines for their jobs
in 2019, according to fed-
eral census data.
In some areas, that
percentage is even
higher.
“It’s a product of the
economy,”
said Chris-
topher Rich,
regional
econo-
mist with
Rich
the Oregon
Employ-
ment Department, “and
places people are and the
jobs that are available,
and (where housing is)
available.”
Roughly 38.5% of
Union County residents
commute for work in a dif-
ferent county, while 41%
of Grant County residents
commute for work. In
Umatilla County, 35.8% of
residents commute across
county lines for work,
while 24.4% of Wallowa
residents commuted to
other counties for work.
A staggering 58.7% of
Morrow County residents
worked in other counties,
according to the data.
Rich said the data does
not distinguish between
commuters who travel
between counties on a
daily basis and those who
might travel for seasonal
work, such as nurses or
wildland firefighters.
“There’s likely to be
some more long-term
commuters that come
in for maybe a season,”
Rich said. “The data
doesn’t specifically say
that.”
Most of the workers
who cross county lines
do so to neighboring
counties, though a fair
few will skip more
than one county, such
as living in Baker and
working in Pendleton,
but that could be due to
imperfect data, according
to Rich, who has been
updating articles on Ore-
gon’s economic data web-
site, qualityinfo.org, with
data from 2019.
“I think in general,
people are looking for
jobs that fit with the skill
sets and their lifestyle,”
Rich said. “They’re also
looking for homes that
fit the same thing, so in
some cases, you end up
having to commute a
little longer.”
Wallowa County population continues slow increase
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — Wal-
lowa County’s population
had a growth rate during
the last year that put it in
the middle third of the
state’s counties, according
to a Portland State Uni-
versity report.
The state’s popula-
tion increased by 0.54%
to 4,266,560, PSU’s Pop-
ulation Research Center
showed. Eastern Oregon
counties, including Wal-
Candidate
makes
stop in
La Grande
lowa, had a combined
increase of 0.45%.
The eight counties —
Baker, Grant, Harney,
Malheur, Morrow, Uma-
tilla, Union and Wallowa
— had a combined popu-
lation as of July 1, 2021,
of 190,444.
In Wallowa County, the
increase was 0.43%, or 32
people, to a total of 7,433.
Its growth rate was fifth
among the eight counties,
and overall was 22nd in
the state.
Neighboring Union
County had the lowest
growth rate in the state, as
it actually saw a popula-
tion drop of 1.62%, or 434
people.
Broken down by city,
Enterprise has a popu-
lation of 2,080. Joseph’s
population has moved
to 1,158, and Wallowa is
at 799. Lostine, the only
other city named in the
study, has a population of
242.
The breakdown by age
shows Wallowa County
with 1,406 youths under
the age of 18, which makes
up 18.9% of the popula-
tion. Adults 18-64 account
for just more than half
(50.2%) of the popula-
tion, or 3,730 people. And
adults 65 and older make
up 30.9% of the popula-
tion, or 2,297 people.
The county has the
fourth highest rate of indi-
viduals 65 and older, and
is tied for 25th in terms of
its youth population.
NEWS BRIEFS
ODFW announces 2023
annual wildlife art contest
SALEM — Artists are invited
to compete in one or all three of
the Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife’s 2023 stamp art
competitions.
The winning artist in each con-
test receives a $2,000 award, and
the winning artwork is used to pro-
duce collector’s stamps and other
promotional items with sale pro-
ceeds benefiting Oregon’s fish and
wildlife and their habitats.
• Habitat Conservation Stamp:
Art entries must feature an eligible
species from the Oregon Conserva-
tion Strategy in its natural habitat.
• Waterfowl Stamp Contest: Art
entries must feature the greater
scaup in its natural habitat setting.
• Upland Game Bird Stamp Con-
test: All entries must feature the
mountain quail in its natural habitat
setting.
A panel will judge artwork based
on artistic composition, anatomical
accuracy of the species and gen-
eral appeal. Contest rules and full
details on requirements are avail-
able at www.dfw.state.or.us/stamp_
contest/index.asp.
Entries will be accepted until
Sept. 30 at the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife headquarters,
4034 Fairview Industrial Dr, SE,
Salem 97302.
Interested artists are encouraged
to visit ODFW’s stamp art compe-
tition webpage to view entries from
previous years.
Trice to give virtual
Maxville presentation
JOSEPH — Gwendoline Trice,
founder and executive director of
the Maxville Heritage
Interpretive Center
in Joseph, will give
a virtual presenta-
tion on Maxville from
6-7:30 p.m. Thursday,
Trice
Feb. 3.
According to a press
release, Trice will discuss the his-
tory of Maxville — a former log-
ging town north of Wallowa — the
current work of the interpretive
center in Joseph and the future
expansion and planned purchase of
the 240 acres that includes the orig-
inal Maxville city township.
Register for the free event at
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/
register/.
The event will be hosted by the
Josephy Center for Arts and Culture
and Beyond Toxics.
— EO Media Group
LA GRANDE — Pat-
rick Starnes said campaign
finance reform is the first
step that needs to be taken
before Oregon can success-
fully address some of its
most pressing issues.
The Democratic candi-
date for governor is running
as if the finance reform he
is pushing for
were already in
place. Starnes
is accepting
donations of
no more than
$1,000 and
Starnes
is not taking
contributions from corpo-
rations or political action
committees.
“We need to get big
money out of Oregon pol-
itics,” Starnes said during
a Friday, Jan. 21, meeting
with members of the Union
County Progressives. “I am
modeling my campaign on
what I am proposing.”
Starnes is one of 17 can-
didates seeking to succeed
Gov. Kate Brown as gov-
ernor, according to ballot-
pedia.org. Brown, Oregon’s
governor since 2015, cannot
run for reelection because
of term limits. Starnes, a
professional cabinet maker
from Brownsville, ran for
governor as an Independent
candidate in 2018 when
he also made campaign
finance reform his center-
piece issue. He said Oregon
is one of five states that
have no limits on campaign
donations. Of the 45 states
with limits, Starnes said
10 have a $1,000 donation
restriction and 20 do not
allow corporate or political
action committee donations
to campaigns.
“The person with the
most small donations does
well,” he said. “In my
opinion that is the way it
should be.”
Starnes said once cam-
paign finance reform is
in place Oregon will have
a much better chance of
addressing issues, including
homelessness, health care
and wildfires. He explained
that individuals and corpo-
rations with deep pockets
could no longer persuade
politicians to stop efforts
to make improvements
by giving large campaign
donations.
He believes campaign
finance can be achieved
because polls indicate that
Oregonians overwhelm-
ingly support it. To make
his point he noted that the
foundation for campaign
finance reform was laid in
2020 when voters passed
Measure 10. The measure,
which amended the Oregon
Constitution to allow for
campaign financing reform,
passed with 78% of the
vote, Starnes said.
Homelessness is another
issue that is a big part of
his campaign platform.
Starnes is proposing that
funding for addressing
homelessness could be
raised by instituting a
vacancy fee that would
apply to Oregon struc-
tures, including abandoned
homes and stores. Money
from the fee would then
go to the Oregon Shelter
Fund that pays for home-
less services.
Wildfires are another
issue Starnes is focusing
on during his campaign.
Starnes said he would
push for full funding for
the Oregon Conservation
Corps, an Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry program
that was created by Senate
Bill 762.
The work of Oregon
Conservation Corps crews
includes making sure trees
and vegetation around
homes is removed to protect
them from wildfires.