LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
THuRSday, FEBRuaRy 3, 2022
TODAY
In 1865, President Abraham
Lincoln and Confederate Vice
President Alexander H. Ste-
phens held a shipboard peace
conference off the Virginia
coast; the talks deadlocked
over the issue of Southern
autonomy.
In 1913, the 16th Amend-
ment to the U.S. Constitution,
providing for a federal income
tax, was ratified.
In 1917, the United States
broke off diplomatic relations
with Germany, the same day
an American cargo ship, the
SS Housatonic, was sunk by a
U-boat off Britain after the crew
was allowed to board lifeboats.
In 1959, rock-and-roll stars
Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens
and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Rich-
ardson died in a small plane
crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.
In 1966, the Soviet probe
Luna 9 became the first man-
made object to make a soft
landing on the moon.
In 1988, the U.S. House of
Representatives handed Pres-
ident Ronald Reagan a major
defeat, rejecting his request for
$36.2 million in new aid to the
Nicaraguan Contras by a vote
of 219-211.
In 1994, the space shuttle
Discovery lifted off, carrying
Sergei Krikalev, the first Russian
cosmonaut to fly aboard a U.S.
spacecraft.
In 1995, the space shuttle
Discovery blasted off with a
woman, Air Force Lieutenant
Colonel Eileen Collins, in the
pilot’s seat for the first time in
NASA history.
In 1998, a U.S. Marine plane
sliced through the cable of a
ski gondola in Italy, causing the
car to plunge hundreds of feet,
killing all 20 people inside.
In 2006, an Egyptian pas-
senger ferry sank in the Red
Sea during bad weather, killing
more than 1,000 passengers.
In 2009, Eric Holder became
the first black U.S. attorney gen-
eral as he was sworn in by Vice
President Joe Biden.
In 2020, in closing arguments
at President Donald Trump’s
first impeachment trial, Dem-
ocratic prosecutors urged sen-
ators to stop a “runaway presi-
dency” and recognize Trump’s
actions in Ukraine as part of a
pattern of behavior that would
allow him to “cheat” in the 2020
election; Trump’s defenders
accused Democrats of trying to
undo the 2016 election and said
voters should decide Trump’s
fate.
Today’s Birthdays: Football
Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is
82. Actor Bridget Hanley is 81.
Actor Blythe Danner is 79. Foot-
ball Hall of Famer Bob Griese is
77. Singer-guitarist Dave Davies
(The Kinks) is 75. Singer Melanie
is 75. Actor Morgan Fairchild
is 72. Actor Pamela Franklin is
72. Actor Nathan Lane is 66.
Rock musician Lee Ranaldo is
66. Actor Thomas Calabro is 63.
Rock musician/author Lol Tol-
hurst (The Cure) is 63. Actor-di-
rector Keith Gordon is 61. Actor
Michele Greene is 60. Country
singer Matraca Berg is 58. Actor
Maura Tierney is 57. Actor War-
wick Davis is 52. Actor Elisa Don-
ovan is 51. Actor Isla Fisher is
46. Human rights activist Amal
Clooney is 44.
CORRECTION
In the Page A1 story
“Cultivating Commu-
nity Confidence,” pub-
lished Saturday, Jan.
29, the story misstated
that the Blue Mountain
Humane Association
used to be a kill shelter,
euthanizing dozens of
animals per day. The
shelter was euthanizing
dozens of animals per
week, not per day. The
story also misstated that
the former president was
living in the shelter. The
former director lived in
the shelter.
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Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022
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10 p.m.: 5-0-6-9
HEALTH
EOU
COVID-19
case count
a mixed bag
School’s on-campus
infection count
stays steady;
off-campus cases
rise in January
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
adam Stein/Contributed Photo
Cattle owned by Bob Dean Oregon Ranches feed on hay brought to them after they were stranded in deep snow on the Upper Imnaha.
Dean attorney disputes resignation
La Grande-based
attorney says former
ranch manager
was dismissed
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — An
attorney for the Bob Dean
Oregon Ranches is dis-
puting the circumstances
by which former ranch
manager B.J. Warnock
left his job there, saying
Warnock’s departure was
a “dismissal.”
Attorney J. Logan
Joseph, of the Joseph
Law Firm, La Grande,
confirmed in an email
that Katie Romero, who
comes from New Mexico,
according to her website,
is the new manager “of all
Dean family cattle opera-
tions in Wallowa County,”
and said that Warnock’s
“dismissal” was “on or
about Jan. 17 of this year.”
Warnock has not
returned a request for
clarification on the matter.
Romero has stated
that her boss, Bob Dean’s
wife, Karen Dean, has
forbidden her from
speaking to the press.
Bob Dean is suffering
mental trauma following
a surgery in June, Karen
Dean said in early Jan-
uary, so she is speaking
for him.
Joseph said he knows
nothing of Wallowa
County Sheriff Joel Fish’s
investigation for pos-
sible animal neglect other
than the investigation is
ongoing.
Fish confirmed on
Monday, Jan. 31, that he is
still investigating.
The case involves hun-
dreds of cattle that were
trapped in heavy snows
in the Upper Imnaha
area and the cows were
unable to get themselves
or their calves to safety.
It is believed at least two
dozen mother cows died,
some of which “literally
‘milked themselves to
death,’ in an attempt to
provide for their calves,”
Wallowa County Stock-
growers President Tom
Birkmaier said Jan. 19.
Numerous rescued
calves were taken in by
area ranchers and cared
for. It is still uncer-
tain how many cattle
were involved, but War-
nock originally said there
were more than 1,500 on
summer pasture that they
were trying to bring out
last fall.
Birkmaier and others
rallied fellow ranchers
to try to rescue the cows
and calves beginning in
late December. The effort
included taking hay to
the animals by snowmo-
bile or dropping it by heli-
copter. It also included
bringing cattle out on a
trailer pulled by a tracked
vehicle that was able to
get to the animals after
private and public efforts
to open backcountry
roads.
Joseph added in his
email the Dean family’s
appreciation for the help
of locals in rescuing the
cattle and calves.
“The Dean family
would like to thank all of
the local ranchers and any
other persons that assisted
in the location and
retrieval of these cattle,”
the attorney wrote. “It is
truly encouraging to see a
community come together
in such a fashion under
such circumstances.”
Elgin superintendent to remain
the high school.
“I want to stay until the
projects we have started
are finished,” she said.
The superintendent
added that she also wants
part-time basis after June
to help the Elgin School
30, when she will resign
District use COVID-19
her position as Elgin High
relief funding to upgrade
School principal, a
the heating systems
position she’s held
of both Stella May-
field Elementary
since July 2019.
School and Elgin
The Elgin School
High School.
Board will hire
Greif initially
someone later to
intended to retire
fill the principal
Greif
in July 2020 but
position.
moved her retirement
Greif believes
plans back because of the
she will likely continue
COVID-19 pandemic. The
on as superintendent at
superintendent said that she
least through June 30,
wanted to use her experience
2023, adding she wants
to help the school district
to work the extra time
overcome the uncommon
because it will give her a
challenges posed by the pan-
chance to finish projects
demic, which hit Oregon in
she has helped start. One
March 2020.
such project is the renova-
tion of the school’s football
Greif has been Elgin’s
field, which still needs to
superintendent the past
have lights added, and the
6-1/2 years and has worked
installation of a new and
29 years in total for the
improved weight room at
Elgin School District.
Dianne Greif, who intended to retire July
1, will remain after that date while a
search for successor continues
By DICK MASON
The Observer
ELGIN — Elgin School
District Superintendent
Dianne Greif is delaying
her retirement — for the
second time in two years.
Greif, who announced
in December that she
would step down as super-
intendent on June 30, has
agreed to stay on at the
request of the Elgin School
Board. The school board
made its request after just
two candidates applied for
the position by the submis-
sion deadline in January.
Greif then agreed at the
Elgin School Board’s Jan-
uary meeting to continue
serving as superintendent
after June 30 until someone
is found to succeed her.
Greif will be working on a
She has done double duty
throughout her stint as
superintendent, serving as
principal of Stella Mayfield
School her first four years
as superintendent and prin-
cipal of Elgin High School
the past 2-1/2 years.
Greif began her career
with the school district
as a substitute kitchen
staff worker and a sub-
stitute playground super-
visor. She later taught
third grade and middle
school math at Stella May-
field School for 17 years.
She was named principal
of Stella Mayfield School
nine years ago.
She said she is looking
forward to continuing to
work with the Elgin School
Board.
“We have a good
working relationship. It is a
good board to work with,”
Greif said.
The superintendent is
a 1979 Elgin High School
graduate and a graduate of
Eastern Oregon University.
Grande Ronde Hospital announces expansion plans
Expansion project
set to improve
facilities, address
space constraints
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
Grande Ronde Hospital is
putting in place a major
expansion project of its
facility.
The hospital released a
statement on Wednesday,
Feb. 2, stating that a “sig-
nificant expansion” is on
the way. According to the
press release, the expan-
sion will address spacing
constraints in the hospi-
tal’s operating and proce-
dure rooms as well as other
areas of improvement.
“With more than a cen-
tury of caring for the citi-
zens of Union County and
beyond, this investment
will strengthen our ability
to continue that legacy
for future generations,”
Grande Ronde Hospital
President and CEO Jeremy
Davis said in the statement.
“It is also a testament to
our wonderful providers
and staff, as well as the
strong community support
we have received.”
According to the press
release, construction is
estimated to begin as early
as the summer of 2022. A
completion date is believed
to be in 2024.
The statement noted
that the volume of sur-
gical services has risen at
Grande Ronde Hospital
over the past few years,
as the recruitment of pri-
mary care providers and
physicians increased. The
expansion will address a
need for more space in the
operating and procedure
rooms, as well as the need
to comply with state code
requirements in the future.
The additional space will
also improve the patient
and process flow at Grande
Ronde Hospital.
The expansion has been
in the works among the
Grande Ronde Hospital and
Clinics Board of Trustees,
consulting with health care
architects during the plan-
ning process. In addition,
the hospital gathered feed-
back from the surgical ser-
vices staff to address needs
and wants in a potential
expansion.
Additional details will
be provided as the hospital
finalizes specific plans
regarding the expansion
of its main campus in La
Grande.
“This new expansion
will empower GRH to
continue recruiting and
retaining providers, which
supports our efforts in
providing expanded ser-
vices to our community,”
Board of Trustees Chair
Teri Champlin said in the
statement.
LA GRANDE — Like
any other entity in Oregon,
Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity has not been immune
to the sharp increase in
COVID-19 cases in the
midst of the spike caused by
the omicron variant.
The university saw a sig-
nificant rise in off-campus
cases in January, while its
numbers among on-campus
individuals stayed rather
steady.
Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity has totaled 259 total
positive COVID-19 cases
this academic year, since
the school began tracking
data at the start of July. Of
that total, just under 60%
of the positive tests came
from off-campus students,
roughly 18 % of the pos-
itive tests accounted for
employees and just under
16% of the positive tests
were from on-campus
students.
Throughout the 2020-21
academic year, Eastern
totaled 157 cases — 93
were among off-campus
students.
From Dec. 6, 2021, to
Jan. 1, there were 16 total
cases among on-campus
students. By the end of Jan-
uary, that total rose to 40.
The rate among employees
at Eastern Oregon Uni-
versity saw a similar mild
increase, rising from 22 to
45.
Cases among off-campus
students saw a significant
rise in the same time frame,
jumping from 44 cases to
152.
The university had sev-
eral high points in Jan-
uary, mirroring national
and statewide trends as the
emergence of the omicron
variant led to an increase in
cases. Eastern recorded a
record-high case count for
a single day on Jan. 4, tal-
lying 23 positive cases. The
school recorded 21 cases on
Jan. 10 and 14 on Jan. 25,
all three of which are the
highest single days since
Eastern started tracking its
COVID-19 data this school
year.
The previous single-day
high was seven cases on
Sept. 13.
The numbers echo Union
County’s COVID-19 case
counts, which have aver-
aged just under 37 cases per
day in January. The coun-
ty’s high point was reached
on Jan. 26, when the
Oregon Health Authority
reported 85 cases. During
the period from Jan. 17-30,
Union County averaged just
over 52 cases per day.
Eastern’s testing has
continually increased
throughout the 2021-22
school year, reaching
2,458 total tests through
Feb. 2. The 259 total posi-
tive tests result in a 10.5%
positivity rate. The mea-
surement had stayed
steady around 5% through
most of the fall, peaking
toward the end of January
and into February.
Eastern has 50 isolation
rooms available on campus
in case of infection, but the
university has never come
close to running out of
space in that regard. From
Jan. 5-10, 45 out of the 50
spaces were available, the
lowest mark that Eastern
has reached since the dash-
board started tracking data
at the start of July.
The vaccination rate
among on-campus stu-
dents stands at 75.7%, with
a 24.2% exemption rate.
For on-campus employees,
80.1% are vaccinated
and 17.7% received an
exemption.