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WALLOWA AVALANCHE CENTER DOUBLES NUMBER OF WEEKLY FORECASTS |
February 5, 2022
OUTDOORS & REC, B1
WEEKEND EDITION
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Permanent is far from permanent
Mark Mulvihill,
superintendent of the
InterMountain Educa-
tion Service District,
whose service area
includes Union County,
Mulvihill
said some people mis-
takenly assume that the adoption
of the permanent rules means stu-
dents will be required to continue
wearing masks after the pandemic
is over. Mulvihill said this will be
far from the case. OHA intends to
rescind the mandate, he said, once
the pandemic is over. Mulvihill said
New status of OHA
school mask rule is not
what it may seem to be
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The Oregon
Health Authority’s adoption of per-
manent rules last month requiring
masks to be worn in schools is cre-
ating confusion and causing some
people to be unduly worried.
Elgin
mourns
loss of
leader
Ty Hallgarth helped
the Elgin Stampede
reach new heights
the word “permanent” in this case is
misleading.
“It is a question of semantics,” he
said.
North Powder School Dis-
trict Superintendent Lance Dixon
agrees the word adds an element of
confusion.
“It is not really permanent. It is
only permanent until they repeal it,”
he said.
The state adopted permanent
rules on Friday, Jan. 28, requiring
See, Schools/Page A5
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File
A sign reminds students to wear a mask in class at La Grande High
School on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. The Oregon Health Authority ad-
opted permanent rules on Jan. 28, 2022, requiring masks in school
settings, replacing the previous temporary ruling.
Up and running
Thinning and logging
underway on
controversial Red
Apple Forest
Management project
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
By DICK MASON
The Observer
ELGIN — Elgin has lost
a popular and successful
community leader.
Ty Hallgarth, a man
whose steady and tireless
leadership helped spur the
Elgin Stampede to new
heights, died unexpect-
edly of nat-
ural causes
on Monday,
Jan. 31, at St.
Alphonsus
Regional Med-
ical Center,
Hallgarth
Boise.
“He was a wonderful
person. He enjoyed fi nding
ways to help people,” said
Bud Scoubes who, like
Hallgarth, is a member of
the Elgin Stampeders, the
volunteer organization that
puts on Elgin’s rodeo each
year.
Hallgarth, 53, had been
president of the Elgin Stam-
peders since 2017 and a
member of the Stampeders
board since 2013. He was
president of the Stampeders
when the Elgin rodeo was
named the best small rodeo
on the Columbia River Cir-
cuit in 2017.
Lara Moore, the
secretary for the Elgin
See, Hallgarth/Page A5
LA GRANDE — A dis-
puted forest management
project is underway at Mount
Emily Recreation Area.
After months of back-and-
forth between Union County
and those opposed to the plan,
boots are on the ground with
the Red Apple Forest Man-
agement Project. The project
is aimed at improving forest
health and preventing future
fi res, with logging to also take
place across the 300-acre Red
Apple segment of MERA.
The recreational area,
which was purchased by
Union County in 2008,
encompasses more than 3,500
acres of land outside La
Grande. Union County Parks
Coordinator Sean Chambers
and forester Chuck Sarrett are
heading the Red Apple Forest
Management Project, which
the county put in their hands.
The time frame of the
project relies heavily on the
weather, as frozen ground
creates better working condi-
tions for the heavy machinery
involved. After awarding the
bid to ReedCo Forestry on
Jan. 5, the county announced
that the company will be
doing its thinning work in the
winter of 2022 and addition-
ally in 2023.
Chambers emphasized that
the project is very weather
dependent, with four more
weeks as a likely maximum
amount of time the work
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Wyatt Kandle, an employee with ReedCo Forestry, inspects a timber harvester as forest improvement operations com-
mence along upper Igo Lane on the Mount Emily Recreation Area on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022.
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
A ReedCo Forestry timber harvester clears branches from a small harvested
tree on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, as logging operations begin along Igo Lane in
the Mount Emily Recreation Area.
could continue this winter.
“I think, looking at the
forecast, there’s a good
two more weeks of weather
coming up,” Chambers said.
“Hopefully the work will
be done in a week, maybe
two beyond that. It’s very
variable.”
ReedCo offi cially started
on Wednesday, Jan. 26,
when a small crew of about
fi ve workers began hauling
logs, with typically two or
three trucks transporting the
trees every day. The work is
expected to take place mainly
from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. every
day, but due to the log truck
operators’ schedules, there
could be occasional loads
picked up during the night.
ReedCo is currently
working on the northern part
of the project area, with mas-
tication set to begin soon.
The project originally called
for work to be done via the
Owsley Canyon Trailhead,
but a slight increase in tem-
peratures affected working
conditions and led to the
See, Forest/Page A6
STATE OF THE STATE
Gov. Brown sees positives amid turmoil
Governor delivers final
state of the state address
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown
called on lawmakers to approve
more money for job training, low-
er-cost housing and child
the state’s economy into a
care in her fi nal state of the
tailspin — but now is at near
state address Thursday, Feb.
record-low unemployment.
3.
“Too many Oregonians
In her seven years as chief
have struggled to fi nd good-
executive, Brown has gov-
paying careers,” she said,
Brown
erned during the 2020 Labor
particularly the poor, people of
Day wildfi res that devastated
color and rural residents who
Oregon, racial justice protests and
have not shared in the recovery.
a coronavirus pandemic that sent
“Our economy is strong, and
INDEX
Classified ..............B2
Comics ...................B5
Crossword ............B2
Dear Abby ............B6
TUESDAY
WEATHER
Horoscope ............B2
Lottery .................. A2
Obituaries ............ A3
Opinion ................ A4
Outdoors & Rec ..B1
Sports ................... A7
State ...................... A8
Sudoku ..................B5
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Sunday
21 LOW
41/27
Cold
Mostly sunny
TOMATO SOUP: COLD-WEATHER CURE
we must keep it humming. Most
importantly, we have to make sure
that every Oregonian feels it.”
Brown renewed her call for
$200 million for Future Ready
Oregon — a plan to target job
training in health care, construc-
tion and manufacturing — plus
See, Brown/Page A6
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 16
2 sections, 14 pages
La Grande, Oregon
Email story ideas
to news@lagrande
observer.com.
More contact info
on Page A4.
Online at lagrandeobserver.com