LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
In 1811, George, the Prince
of Wales, was named Prince
Regent due to the mental ill-
ness of his father, Britain’s
King George III.
In 1917, the U.S. Con-
gress passed, over President
Woodrow Wilson’s veto, an
act severely curtailing Asian
immigration.
In 1918, during World
War I, the Cunard liner SS
Tuscania, which was trans-
porting about 2,000 Amer-
ican troops to Europe, was
torpedoed by a German
U-boat in the Irish Sea with
the loss of more than 200
people.
In 1922, the first edi-
tion of Reader’s Digest was
published.
In 1937, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt proposed
increasing the number of
U.S. Supreme Court justices;
the proposal, which failed
in Congress, drew accusa-
tions that Roosevelt was
attempting to “pack” the
nation’s highest court.
In 1971, Apollo 14 astro-
nauts Alan Shepard and
Edgar Mitchell stepped onto
the surface of the moon
in the first of two lunar
excursions.
In 1973, services were held
at Arlington National Cem-
etery for U.S. Army Col. Wil-
liam B. Nolde, the last official
American combat casualty
before the Vietnam cease-
fire took effect.
In 1983, former Nazi
Gestapo official Klaus Barbie,
expelled from Bolivia, was
brought to Lyon, France,
to stand trial. (He was con-
victed and sentenced to life
in prison — he died in 1991.)
In 1993, President Bill
Clinton signed the Family
and Medical Leave Act,
granting workers up to 12
weeks unpaid leave for
family emergencies.
In 1994, white separatist
Byron De La Beckwith was
convicted in Jackson, Mis-
sissippi, of murdering civil
rights leader Medgar Evers in
1963, and was immediately
sentenced to life in prison.
(Beckwith died Jan. 21, 2001,
at age 80.)
In 2008, Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi, a guru to the Beatles
who introduced the West
to transcendental medita-
tion, died at his home in the
Dutch town of Vlodrop; he
was believed to be about 90.
In 2014, CVS Caremark
announced it would pull cig-
arettes and other tobacco
products from its stores.
Today’s Birthdays:
Tony-winning playwright
John Guare (gwayr) is 84.
Financial writer Jane Bryant
Quinn is 83. Actor David
Selby is 81. Singer-song-
writer Barrett Strong is
81. Football Hall of Famer
Roger Staubach is 80. Movie
director Michael Mann is
79. Rock singer Al Kooper
is 78. Actor Charlotte Ram-
pling is 76. Racing Hall of
Famer Darrell Waltrip is 75.
Actor Barbara Hershey is
74. Actor Christopher Guest
is 74. Actor Tom Wilkinson
is 74. U.S. Energy Secre-
tary Jennifer Granholm is
63. Actor-comedian Tim
Meadows is 61. Actor Jen-
nifer Jason Leigh is 60. Actor
Laura Linney is 58. Rock
musician Duff McKagan
(Velvet Revolver) is 58. World
Golf Hall of Famer Jose Maria
Olazabal is 56. Actor-come-
dian Chris Parnell is 55. Rock
singer Chris Barron (Spin
Doctors) is 54. Singer Bobby
Brown is 53. Actor Michael
Sheen is 53. Actor David
Chisum is 52. Country singer
Sara Evans is 51. Country
singer Tyler Farr is 38. Actor-
singer Darren Criss is 35.
Actor Alex Brightman is 35.
Actor Henry Golding is 35.
Rock musician Kyle Simmons
(Bastille) is 34. Actor Jeremy
Sumpter is 33. Drummer
Graham Sierota (Echosmith)
is 23.
EOU food drive reaches out to community Garbage
rates to
rise in
La Grande
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Stu-
dents at Eastern Oregon
University are doing
their part to help hungry
Oregonians.
The 2022 EOU Food
Drive is underway, part of
a larger statewide effort
organized in collaboration
with Community Connec-
tion of Northeast Oregon
with the goal of raising
1,000 pounds of nonper-
ishables for the Union
County food bank.
“The goal of the food
drive is to raise money
for the food bank and to
increase awareness about
food insecurity experi-
enced in Union County,”
Kate Gekeler, director of
the food drive, said. “EOU
and CCNO have seen that
when the university and
food bank team up, the
people who benefit range
from students to fami-
lies in our community,
and even employees who
are going through a rough
patch. Food insecurity is
much more common than
we think, and working
together to prevent people
from going hungry is our
goal.”
From 2009 to 2020, the
Food Drive collected more
than 160,000 pounds of
City council OKs
increase in waste
fees, grants social
gaming permit
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
Eastern Oregon university/Contributed Photo
Students walk to class at Eastern Oregon University in this undated photo. The 2022 EOU Food Drive is
underway in collaboration with Community Connection of Northeast Oregon, with the goal of raising
1,000 pounds of nonperishable food for the Union County food bank.
food. Currently, the drive
has eight primary staff
members and five student
volunteers, with more part-
ners and volunteers being
brought in as the project
progresses.
Recently, the drive has
shifted toward preference
for direct cash donations
over food and perishables,
though all types of dona-
tions are still accepted.
The 2022 drive also marks
the first year students
have been asked to vol-
unteer in donation collec-
tion, according to Alexa
Jamison, president of the
Associated Students of
Eastern Oregon University.
The drive has several
donation methods. Firstly,
EOU staff can have a por-
tion of their paychecks
automatically deducted by
submitting a form.
Student volunteers will
collect both cash and food
donations during the men’s
and women’s basketball
games on Saturday, Feb.
12. All donations can be
exchanged for raffle tickets
at $1 per ticket. Students
looking to volunteer are
encouraged to donate at the
games, volunteer to help
collect raffle tickets and
food, or encourage friends
and family members to
donate.
Remote donation
pickup can be arranged
by contacting Gekeler at
kegekeler@eou.edu or
Haven from Hunger. Dona-
tion bins will be available
for food and cash drop-off
around campus. Volunteers
will collect donations out-
side of local grocery stores
including Grocery Outlet
and Safeway.
The food drive runs
until March 2. Students
or community members
wanting to volunteer can
contact the ASEOU presi-
dent at aspres@eou.edu.
County will assist with planning for trail project
Trail would run
from Elgin to
Lookingglass
Creek area
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
planning process for a pro-
posed trail for hiking, bicy-
cling and horseback riding
that would follow rail-
road tracks for up to 15
miles from Elgin to the
Lookingglass Creek area
received a boost from the
Union County Board of
Commissioners.
The board of commis-
sioners voted unanimously
on Wednesday, Feb. 2, to
have members of Union
County’s staff assist with
the planning process. The
planning work will be
funded by a state Transpor-
tation Management Grant
of about $130,000 the city
of Elgin has been awarded.
Elgin and the Joseph
Branch Trail Consortium,
which will be managing
the planning work the grant
will fund, sought the coun-
ty’s help with at least a
small portion of the project.
Gregg Kleiner, project
coordinator for the Joseph
Branch Trail Consortium,
said Elgin and the Joseph
Branch Trail Consortium
will hire an engineering
firm to do much of the
planning work for the trail,
so “it will not be a heavy
lift for the county.”
Kleiner said that a con-
cept plan for the trail
project has been in place
for years. The plan-
ning work the grant will
fund will identify any
issues involving the trail,
including any environ-
mental impacts that might
have to be addressed if a
trail is built. For example,
if it is found the trail would
pass through wetlands,
steps would have to be
taken to avoid damaging
them.
He emphasized that
money from the Transpor-
tation Management Grant
will be spent exclusively on
planning.
“Absolutely none of the
grant money will be spent
on construction,” Kleiner
said.
The board of commis-
sioners also agreed to doc-
ument the hours of ser-
vice provided, because the
hours of service can be
counted as part of a 12%
match Elgin must provide
for the grant.
“We are really excited to
have the county support the
planning project,” Kleiner
said.
The planning grant
is funded by the Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion and the state’s Depart-
ment of Land Conserva-
tion and Development. It is
one of two the city of Elgin
has received for the trail
project. The other grant,
$142,000 from the Oregon
State Parks’ Recreational
Trails Program, will fund
construction of the trail-
head, which also will serve
as a pocket park for the
city. The trailhead-pocket
park will be on a parcel of
city-owned land directly
across from the train
depot in downtown Elgin,
Kleiner said.
In addition to trail
information, the trail-
head-pocket park would
include an electric vehicle
charging station, an Amer-
icans with Disabilities
Act-compliant parking
place and interpretive sig-
nage about the area’s ear-
liest inhabitants and more
recent history.
The grant also will fund
construction of the inau-
gural 0.6 mile of the trail
that will be an ADA-com-
pliant path running out of
town along the railroad
tracks. This first portion
would be part of a proposed
63-mile trail between Elgin
and Joseph that would
follow tracks owned by the
Wallowa Union Railroad
Authority.
“It will provide a won-
derful way to access the
natural world and enjoy
nature,” Kleiner said.
LG school district’s COVID-19 numbers decrease
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande School Dis-
trict’s COVID-19 picture is
brightening.
The school district’s
latest weekly statistics
show that 130 students and
26 staff members missed
school during the week
of Jan. 26-28 because of
positive COVID-19 tests,
COVID-19 symptoms or
close contact with those
who have COVID-19.
The new student figures
are down from the week
of Jan. 18-21 (a four-day
week due to Martin Luther
King Day) when 153 stu-
dents were absent from
school due to COVID-19,
the highest since the start
of the school year. The
staff total was up by one.
The week of Jan. 26-28
was a three-day school
week, with conferences
Jan. 24-25.
“We are coming down
from our surge,” said La
Grande School District
Superintendent George
Mendoza, adding that the
La Grande School Dis-
trict’s dropping COVID-19
LOTTERY
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Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022
Lucky Lines
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Jackpot: $15,000
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4 p.m.: 9-3-7-1
7 p.m.: 1-9-0-3
10 p.m.: 0-0-8-3
SaTuRday, FEBRuaRy 5, 2022
rate coincides with falling
rates across the state.
The school district’s
Jan. 26-28 statistics indi-
cate that 16 staff members
— seven from Island City
Elementary School, three
from La Grande Middle
School, two each from
Central and Greenwood
elementary schools and
one each from La Grande
High School and the school
district — were absent
during the week due to
positive COVID-19 tests.
The same set of statistics
indicate that 47 students
missed school because of
positive COVID-19 tests, a
decline of 11 from the pre-
vious week, with 15 from
La Grande High School,
nine each from Central and
Island City, and seven each
from Greenwood and LMS.
A total of 57 students
missed school Jan. 26-28
because of close contact
with someone who was
COVID-19 positive, with
16 from Central, 13 from
LMS, 14 from Green-
wood, eight from LHS and
six from Island City. Two
staff members from LMS
missed school due to close
contact.
NEWS BRIEFS
Imbler School Board
names finalists for district’s
superintendent position
IMBLER — The Imbler School
Board has released the names of the
two finalists for its superintendent
position.
The finalists are Louise “Lou’’
Lyon, the superintendent of the Burnt
River School District since 2018, and
RanDel Waite, who has been assis-
tant principal with the Phoenix-Talent
School District since 2020.
The school board will conduct
background and reference checks for
the finalists over the next week. Each
finalist will be invited for a “day in
the district” on Thursday, Feb. 10. At
that time, staff and members of the
community will have an opportu-
nity to meet the candidates. Staff and
community meet and greet events
will be held in the afternoon and eve-
ning of Feb. 10, the time and loca-
tion to be announced soon. Comment
cards will be provided for partic-
ipants to share thoughts with the
school board after the event.
The school board is seeking a
successor for interim school district
superintendent Doug Hislop, who
has served as interim superintendent
since July after Superintendent Angie
Lakey-Campbell resigned.
Union County tallies one
death, 36 cases in latest
OHA COVID-19 report
SALEM — The Oregon Health
Authority’s daily COVID-19 report
on Thursday, Feb. 3, revealed one
new death and 36 cases in Union
County. Wallowa County totaled 14
cases in the report.
An 85-year-old man from Union
County tested positive Jan. 17 and
died Jan. 28 at his residence. OHA
reported that the presence of under-
lying conditions is still being
confirmed.
The new cases increased Union
County’s case count to 4,726 since
the start of the pandemic, while Wal-
lowa County’s total increased to
1,159. There have been 67 COVID-19
deaths reported in Union County.
Across the state, 5,417 new
COVID-19 cases were reported by
OHA — Oregon’s total case count
since the start of the pandemic stands
at 649,389. OHA reported 18 new
deaths, increasing the state’s death
toll to 6,181.
The report showed that there
are 1,087 patients hospitalized with
COVID-19 in Oregon, which is a
decrease of 17 patients from yester-
day’s report.
Out of 632 adult ICU beds in
Oregon, 57 are open. There are 250
available adult non-ICU beds out of
4,141 in the state.
Oregon’s seven-day running
average of vaccine doses per day is
9,396.
— EO Media Group
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande City Council
approved a rate increase
for residential garbage col-
lection and collection of
recyclable materials at its
meeting on Wednesday,
Feb. 2.
Waste-Pro, the city’s pro-
vider, said it will implement
the 12% increase to reflect
a new landfill rate that went
into effect on Jan. 1 and to
meet rising costs associated
with the company’s recy-
cling program. The increase
in rates went into effect
for La Grande customers
starting at the beginning
of February, according to
Waste-Pro.
Waste-Pro last requested
a rate increase in 2018 and
previously asked for a fuel
cost escalator in 2008,
which remains in the com-
pany’s current resolution.
Darin Larvik, operator of
Waste-Pro, spoke at the
meeting and explained chal-
lenges associated with col-
lecting glass separately
from other recyclable items.
Larvik and several
councilors discussed the
idea of adjusting rates and
fees more gradually over
a yearly basis rather than
every few years moving
forward. The Waste-Pro
operator said that potential
state funding could be on its
way for recycling programs
in rural communities.
The new business item
was approved unanimously
by the council.
Another item of new
businesses was the con-
sideration of approval for
a social gaming permit in
La Grande. Jacob Brown,
owner of La Grande Poker
Room at 211 Fir St., sought
approval of the social
gaming permit ahead of the
business’ opening on Feb. 4.
La Grande Police Chief
Gary Bell presented the
item of new businesses,
with Brown in attendance
at the virtual meeting. Bell
stated that he conducted
a background check on
Brown and that the business
owner paid a nonrefundable
fee for three poker tables.
The city has the authority
to approve the permit in the
first year of the business’
operation, while the city’s
police chief will approve or
deny the permit in the fol-
lowing years.
The space can host up
to 27 total players at once,
with nine playing per table.
The council previously
voted to change the city’s
resolution and approve a
new social games bet limit
last September.
Councilors Gary Lil-
lard and David Glabe each
voiced concern over the
implementation of a social
gaming space in La Grande.
“Having been a drug and
alcohol counselor among
other things in my past, I
have concerns about gam-
bling and the addiction
problems that come with it,”
Lillard said.
“I’m not fond of pro-
moting that industry here in
town,” Glabe said.
Brown conversed with
the council, stating that the
La Grande Poker Room
will focus more on a social
entertainment aspect
opposed to strictly gam-
bling. He noted that some
of the business’ dealers are
addiction recovery special-
ists who know what to look
for to avoid gambling addic-
tion among customers.
“I’ve done everything
that I can above board and
by the books so that we can
open a place that’s repu-
table and I think would be a
huge benefit to La Grande,”
Brown said at the meeting.