LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
In 1919, the ratification of the
18th Amendment to the Con-
stitution, which launched Pro-
hibition, was certified by Acting
Secretary of State Frank L. Polk.
In 1929, The Seeing Eye, a
New Jersey-based school which
trains guide dogs to assist the
blind, was incorporated by Dor-
othy Harrison Eustis and Morris
Frank.
In 1936, the first inductees
of baseball’s Hall of Fame,
including Ty Cobb and Babe
Ruth, were named in Cooper-
stown, New York.
In 1963, the first charter
members of the Pro Foot-
ball Hall of Fame were named
in Canton, Ohio (they were
enshrined when the Hall
opened in September 1963).
Poet Robert Frost died in
Boston at age 88.
In 1964, Stanley Kubrick’s
nuclear war satire “Dr. Strange-
love Or: How I Learned to Stop
Worrying and Love the Bomb”
premiered in New York, Toronto
and London.
In 1979, President Jimmy
Carter formally welcomed Chi-
nese Vice Premier Deng Xia-
oping to the White House, fol-
lowing the establishment of
diplomatic relations.
In 1984, President Ronald
Reagan announced in a nation-
ally broadcast message that he
and Vice President George H.W.
Bush would seek reelection in
the fall.
In 1995, the San Francisco
49ers became the first team in
NFL history to win five Super
Bowl titles, beating the San
Diego Chargers, 49-26, in Super
Bowl XXIX.
In 1998, a bomb rocked an
abortion clinic in Birmingham,
Alabama, killing security guard
Robert Sanderson and criti-
cally injuring nurse Emily Lyons.
(The bomber, Eric Rudolph, was
captured in May 2003 and is
serving a life sentence.)
In 2002, in his first State of
the Union address, President
George W. Bush said terrorists
were still threatening America
— and he warned of “an axis of
evil” consisting of North Korea,
Iran and Iraq.
In 2007, Kentucky Derby
winner Barbaro was euthanized
because of medical compli-
cations eight months after his
gruesome breakdown at the
Preakness.
In 2020, a charter flight evac-
uating 195 Americans, including
diplomats and their families,
left the Chinese city of Wuhan,
the epicenter of the new viral
outbreak; they would undergo
three days of testing and mon-
itoring at a California military
base. World health officials
expressed concern that the
virus was starting to spread
between people outside China.
Today’s Birthdays: Femi-
nist author Germaine Greer is
83. Actor Katharine Ross is 82.
Feminist author Robin Morgan
is 81. Actor Tom Selleck is 77.
R&B singer Bettye LaVette is 76.
Actor Marc Singer is 74. Actor
Ann Jillian is 72. Rock musi-
cian Louie Perez (Los Lobos) is
69. R&B singer Charlie Wilson is
69. Talk show host Oprah Win-
frey is 68. Actor Terry Kinney is
68. Country singer Irlene Man-
drell is 66. Actor Diane Delano
is 65. Actor Judy Norton (TV:
“The Waltons”) is 64. Rock musi-
cian Johnny Spampinato is 63.
Olympic gold-medal diver Greg
Louganis is 62.
CORRECTION
The Page A2 story
“New law will automat-
ically expunge juvenile
arrest records,” pub-
lished Thursday, Jan. 27,
incorrectly stated both
the Senate’s vote count
and the date SB 575 was
passed. The Senate’s
vote count was 26-3, the
House’s vote count was
54-1, and the date the law
was passed was June 25,
2021. Its effective date
was Sept. 25, 2021.
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Lucky Lines
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Powerball
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Powerball: 16
Power Play: 3
Jackpot: $91 million
Win for Life
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Pick 4
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7 p.m.: 9-0-8-0
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Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022
Lucky Lines
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Pick 4
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4 p.m.: 2-3-6-7
7 p.m.: 3-2-2-2
10 p.m.: 8-6-7-6
SaTuRday, JanuaRy 29, 2022
Commons a hit at Union High School
Site provides
students a place to
eat lunch and meet
By DICK MASON
The Observer
UNION — The aroma
of espresso is missing,
but a portion of Union
High School’s main floor
hallway now sports a
coffee shop atmosphere.
A new student com-
mons area is creating this
tenor, one which features
tables that are about 4
feet high and have built-in
stools.
“They are cafeteria
tables with a bistro style,”
said Mendy Clark, the
Union School District’s
deputy clerk.
Complementing the
tables is an expansive
Union High School sign
on the wall — the 20-foot
sign was installed about a
month ago — and a stylish
new wooden floor that
extends throughout the
hallway. All of this was
built with a portion of a
$8 million bond package
voters approved in 2019 for
capital construction and
upgrades.
Clark said the com-
mons area has the feel of
a coffee shop, even though
no coffee is brewed or
served there. She noted
that this ambience is evi-
dent when students are
seen there working on proj-
ects together.
“They are collabo-
rating,” Clark said.
Union High School
alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Students at Union High School study in the new commons area in the renovated main hall on Thursday,
Jan. 27, 2022.
senior Callie Glenn said
the commons area provides
a needed place to socialize.
“We didn’t have a site
where we could hang
out before. It is easier to
interact here,” Glenn said.
UHS senior Emma
Ricker agreed.
“I get to see friends
here,” she said.
Union School District
Superintendent Carter
Wells believes the com-
mons area is adding an
important dimension to
the high school’s main
floor.
“It is important because
it creates a welcoming
environment for the stu-
dent body,” Wells said.
The gathering place is
particularly busy at midday
when students are eating
lunch there. UHS language
arts teacher Sara Dyche
said it is a good place for
students to go if they don’t
want to eat in the S.E.
Miller gym, which serves
as a the school district’s
cafeteria, or go outside.
“It is a nice lunch
option,” Dyche said.
Dyche also said the
commons area is a place
she likes to have her stu-
dents use during class ses-
sions to do projects.
“I love all the open
space. There is room to
spread out,” the language
arts teacher said.
UHS senior Audrey
Wells said the commons
area has a unifying effect
because students enjoy
meeting there.
“It allows us to come
together,” Wells said.
One of the secrets to the
success of the commons is
the choice of tables, which
are 42 inches high. Clark
said this was important
because if they were too
low students would sit on
them. Another plus is their
stools, which are attached
to the tables to prevent stu-
dents from taking them for
use in other portions of the
high school.
The commons area is
in front of a new row of
lockers for juniors and
seniors. The old lockers
were behind a wall, and
students had to walk
through a small hallway to
get to them.
Removal of the wall
means the locker bay flows
seamlessly into the com-
mons, adding to the energy
the area exudes.
“I really love having
this here,” Dyche said. “It
makes everything so much
brighter.”
Race Central brings course home to public
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — The
centuries-old practice of
using dog sleds for trans-
port in snow-covered ter-
rain met the 21st century
at Race Central for the
Eagle Cap Extreme Sled
Dog Race at Cloverleaf
Hall in Enterprise.
Starting Thursday,
Jan. 20, as the race
kicked off at Ferguson
Ridge Ski Area east of
Joseph, racers equipped
with Global Positioning
System trackers relayed
their progress back to
Race Central and from
there to the race website
at www.eaglecapextreme.
com.
“We’ll be able to watch
them — it’s updated
every 10 minutes — and
we’ll be able to see where
the mushers (are) on the
course,” said volunteer
Sherry Murphy prior to
the race, pointing out the
computer screens set up at
Cloverleaf Hall.
She was one of six who
were there to greet anyone
interested.
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Dave Sanford, left, and Michael Abernathy keep track of the
mushers’ progress at Race Central at Cloverleaf Hall in Enterprise
on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, just after the start of the Eagle Cap
Extreme Sled Dog Race.
“We’re here to provide
information for mushers’
families, the public, our
volunteers and for any-
body who’s interested in
getting some information
on the race,” she said.
In the back room —
the communications
room — was a more tech-
nical setup where volun-
teers kept in radio contact
with other volunteers and
tracked the mushers’ GPS
signals. Communications
volunteers Dave Sanford
and Michael Abernathy
were so busy with their
jobs they didn’t have time
to answer questions.
Murphy said some of
the information the public
could see at Race Cen-
tral included live videos
of the Ollokot Campsite,
including a rest tent.
“The 100s and 200s are
required to spend a six-
hour time resting them-
selves and their dogs
before they continue on
their journey or start
back,” she said. “People
can get an idea of what
it actually looks like up
there. We have a crew
who stays up there to pro-
vide meals and checks on
the dogs to make sure that
everything is going per-
fectly OK and check their
feet and their breathing
and all of that kind of
stuff.”
The progress that the
communications crew
tracked was displayed on
the race website, volun-
teer Paige Sully said.
Murphy said this
year’s race — after
having to cancel last year
because of the COVID-19
pandemic — was short on
volunteers. In addition to
the six in the front room
selling souvenirs and
showing the view screens
of live action on the
course, four were at work
in the communications
room. They rotated with
volunteers during the
course of the race, which
ended Saturday, Jan. 22.
ODFW reports calf killed by wolves near Keating
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
BAKER COUNTY
— Wolves killed a 500-
pound, year-old calf near
Keating late Monday, Jan.
24, the Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife
(ODFW) confirmed after
an investigation the fol-
lowing day.
A rancher found the
dead calf on the morning
of Tuesday, Jan. 25, on
a 25-acre private pas-
ture near Tucker Creek,
according to ODFW.
Tucker Creek flows
into the Powder River
near Keating School, at
the intersection of Keating
Cutoff Road, Keating
Grange Road and Miles
Bridge Road.
Brian Ratliff, dis-
trict wildlife biologist at
ODFW’s Baker City office,
said on Friday morning,
Jan. 28, that the rancher
who owns the calf has
done “everything right” to
avoid attracting wolves to
the property, and has also
been instrumental in the
past in encouraging other
ranchers to bury carcasses
and take other steps to
thwart wolves.
Ratliff said that in the
most recent confirmed
wolf attack in the Keating
Valley — a herding dog
killed on a ranch on Friday,
Jan. 14 — six unburied cow
carcasses attracted wolves.
Although the area
where the calf was killed
is within the known range
of the Keating Pack, none
of the four wolves from the
pack fitted with tracking
collars had been in the
area the night the calf was
killed.
Ratliff said he has flown
over the area in a heli-
copter three times this
week, most recently on
Thursday, Jan. 27, but
didn’t see any wolves on
those flights.
He said it’s possible that
uncollared wolves from
the Keating pack killed the
calf.It’s also possible that
wolves that aren’t part of
any pack have moved into
the area and have not been
identified.
“We don’t know at this
point,” Ratliff said.
He said late January
and early February is a
common time for young
adult wolves to disperse
from packs.
The Keating pack con-
sists of at least 10 wolves.
With calving season
underway on some
ranches and starting soon
on others, Ratliff said
he understands the anx-
iety resulting from the
two recent wolf attacks in
Keating Valley.
“Everybody’s really on
high alert because calving
season is just starting,” he
said.
Ratliff said ranchers in
the Keating area have set
up a text message group
that allows them to spread
information — such as
the attack on the calf this
week — rapidly.
“It’s a good way to
quckly tell a bunch of
people, your neighbors,”
Ratliff said.
Depredation report
The carcass of the calf
found Tuesday, Jan. 25,
was mostly intact but the
organs and most of the
hide and muscle tissue
from the calf’s hind-
quarters had been eaten,
according to the ODFW
report.
ODFW biologists who
examined the carcass
said the calf had died the
preceding night.
They found a struggle
scene in the snow about
20 yards in diameter,
with fresh calf and wolf
tracks, and blood.
Biologists shaved and
skinned the carcass.
They found multiple
premortem tooth scrapes
on the remaining hide
on the left rear leg above
the hock, as well as pre-
mortem tooth scrapes
on the calf’s throat and
back.
The size and loca-
tion of the tooth scrapes
are consistent with wolf
attacks on calves, the
biologists concluded.
NEWS BRIEFS
State reports 140
COVID cases in Union
County in two days
SALEM — Over
a two-day stretch, the
Oregon Health Authority
reported 140 new cases
of COVID-19 in Union
County, as well as the 66th
death associated with the
disease. In the same time
span, Wallowa County had
51 new cases and reported
its 14th death.
The OHA reported 55
new cases of COVID-19
in Union County on
Wednesday, Jan. 26, and
85 cases Jan. 27. The
Jan. 26 report showed an
84-year-old woman from
Union County who tested
positive Jan. 14 died at
Grande Ronde Hospital on
Jan. 25. OHA reported that
the woman had underlying
conditions.
The next day, in Wal-
lowa County, it was
reported a 70-year-old
woman died at home Dec.
15, 2021. The woman had
tested positive Aug. 4 and
was reported to have had
underlying conditions.
Wallowa County had 26
reported cases Jan. 26, and
25 cases on Jan. 27.
The new update
increased Union County’s
total case count to 4,453
since the start of the pan-
demic. Wallowa County’s
total increased to 1,089.
Combined, the two
reports showed 16,078 new
cases and 73 deaths in the
state. Over the course of the
pandemic, there have been
613,221 cases and 6,067
deaths in Oregon.
The state also released
its breakthrough report
Jan. 27, which showed
that 16,417 (28.8%) out of
the 57,011 cases between
Jan. 16 and Jan. 22 were
breakout cases among vac-
cinated individuals. There
were 40,594 (71.1%) pos-
itive cases among unvac-
cinated individuals. In
that time range, in Union
County there 95 break-
through cases, and in Wal-
lowa County there were 28.
Cove City Council set
to meet for February
regular session
COVE — The Cove City
Council is scheduled to
meet for its February reg-
ular session, which includes
two items on the consent
agenda and one item of
unfinished business.
The meeting, which is
set to take place at 7 p.m.
on Tuesday, Feb. 1, at Cove
City Hall, will begin with
a public comment section
regarding agenda items
before moving onto the con-
sent agenda.
Counselors will con-
sider the approval of prior
council minutes, as well
as the approval of bills to
be paid by the city. The
council will then address
the appointment of a new
budget officer.
In the unfinished busi-
ness section, the Cove City
Council will make a final
vote on the council’s rules
of procedure for meetings
during 2022. The item was
previously discussed during
the January regular session.
In other related agenda
items, the council will con-
sider a letter from the Blue
Mountain Humane Associa-
tion, in addition to a council
vote resolution regarding
WastePro rate increases.
The council will also dis-
cuss the city’s transporta-
tion system plan, which will
be presented in a committee
report. In this session,
the council will discuss a
potential new road.
The meeting will con-
clude with another public
comment section, this time
for any non-agenda items,
before the council goes
over suggestions for future
workshops and meeting
agendas. Public comments
can also be submitted
ahead of time by emailing
cityadmin@cityofcove.org
prior to 6:45 p.m. on Feb. 1.
The meeting can be
viewed online at www.
gotomeet.me/CityofCove.
To listen in on the phone,
dial 1-877-309-2073. The
access code is 566-891-733.
— The Observer