FROM PAGE ONE
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2022
Truck overturns on Interstate 84
THE OBSERVER — A5
SCHOOLS
Continued from Page A1
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Tow truck workers collaborate to remove an overturned semi along the median of Interstate 84 near milepost 269 and Ladd Canyon in Union
County on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. High winds and icy roads likely contributed to the accident, according to La Grande Fire Department Capt.
Merle Laci. The driver was uninjured in the crash.
HALLGARTH
Continued from Page A1
Stampeders, said Hallgarth
gave his heart and soul to
the Stampede because he
knew how much it meant to
the community.
“He saw how really great
it was for the community,
how many visitors it drew
in and the economic stim-
ulus it provided,” Moore
said. “He was very, very
proud of it.”
Moore credits Hallgarth
with having an incompa-
rable work ethic, one always
on display in the weeks
before the rodeo, held
annually in July.
“He worked harder than
anyone. He would be there
from fi ve in the morning
and he would still be there
at midnight,” she said.
Hallgarth’s work ethic
coupled with his mechan-
ical skills helped make
him indispensable to the
rodeo.
“He was extremely tal-
ented,” Moore said. “He
could weld things together,
build things and operate
equipment. He could kind
of do it all.”
Wayne Herron, also a
member of the Elgin Stam-
peders, said Hallgarth was
the go-to person when
advice on repair work was
needed.
“Whenever anything
needed to be fi xed we all
looked to him for his ideas,”
Herron said.
Moore said Hallgarth
always approached things,
regardless of the diffi culty
level, with a “we can do this
attitude.”
Hallgarth, who was
employed by Union Coun-
ty’s public works depart-
ment, was frequently busy
but he was always willing to
talk with anyone who had a
question or concern.
“No matter what he had
going, he was sincerely
there for people,” Moore
said. “He would stop and
listen even if he had 100
things going on.”
Hallgarth was someone
who was always easy to
converse with, according
to fellow Stampeder Kyle
Evans.
“He had a real per-
sonable way of talking to
Jada Follett/Contributed Photo
Elgin Stampede president Ty Hallgarth, 53, rides his horse through
Elgin during the Elgin Stampede Grand Parade on Saturday, July
10, 2021.
making home repairs and
he was always generous
with his time when pro-
viding assistance.
“He was always willing
to do whatever it took to
help people,” Evans said.
Herron said it was
unusual for someone to
serve as long as Hall-
garth did as president of
the Elgin Stampede. He
said this is a credit to the
excellent work he did
and refl ects how people
encouraged him to stay on
so the rodeo could keep
moving forward.
“He was a fi ne person
who will be greatly missed
for sure,” Herron said.
A statement on the Elgin
Stampeders website paints
a picture of the void Hall-
garth, who grew up in
“He saw how really
great it was for the
community, how
many visitors it drew
in and the economic
stimulus it provided.
He was very, very
proud of it.”
— Lara Moore, the secretary
for the Elgin Stampeders
people,” Evans said. “He
was a real joy to be around.
He was upbeat.”
Evans said Hallgarth
was known by many for his
ability to fi x things. He said
people were often phoning
Hallgarth for advice on
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Elgin, leaves.
“We lost our organiza-
tion’s president, but more
importantly, we lost a Stam-
pede family member and
an incredible friend. A big
smile. A contagious laugh.
A work ethic and talent that
put all of us to shame. A
love for rodeo and for our
community. Our world is
diff erent without him, and
his absence will be felt for
years to come,” the state-
ment read.
Funeral service informa-
tion will be announced later.
Loveland Funeral Chapel of
La Grande is in charge of
the arrangements.
masks in school set-
tings, replacing a tem-
porary rule that was set
to expire. Oregon health
and education offi cials
have required masks all
school year as one mit-
igation strategy aimed
at limiting the spread of
COVID-19, so that stu-
dents can stay in school
full time.
And while recent pol-
icies around contact
tracing and COVID-19
exposures have changed,
masks will remain
required in school set-
tings until
the rules are
repealed.
As for
when that
might be,
Oregon
Mendoza
education
offi cials say it depends on
the course of COVID-19.
“The virus sets the
timeline,” wrote the
Oregon Department
of Education’s Ready
Schools, Safe Learners
resilience manager Kati
Moseley in a message
to superintendents and
school leaders on Jan. 28.
“OHA can rescind
the masking require-
ments if it believes the
rule or parts of the rule
are no longer neces-
sary to control COVID-
19,” wrote OHA offi cials
in response to concerns
about what might trigger
the repeal of the rules.
Meanwhile, Mulvihill
is encouraging people to
remain calm.
“Do not overreact,”
he said. “By no means
will students still be
wearing masks when the
pandemic is over. Chil-
dren will not be wearing
masks during cold season
three years from now.”
Mulvihill said Gov.
Kate Brown’s execu-
tive order calling for the
masking mandate, which
went into eff ect before
the school year started,
has a sunset date and
cannot be renewed. He
said the OHA had only
two options, to let the
executive order expire or
to give its rule permanent
status. The mask man-
date was set to expire
Feb. 8.
La Grande School
District Superintendent
George Mendoza said
factors that could lead to
the mask mandate being
rescinded will involve
not only falling infection
rates but also stronger
systems of support for
COVID-19 issues and
improving health care
systems for the virus.
OHA offi cials have
said COVID-19 hospi-
talizations and deaths,
transmission data, vac-
cination rates and guid-
ance from the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention will all play a
role in decision-making
when it comes to mask
requirements.
Dixon believes that
as the COVID-19 front
improves, the pressure to
let school districts decide
on mask mandates will
increase.
“At some point they
are going to be getting a
lot of pressure to return
to local control,” he said.
—
Oregon Public
Broadcasting reporter
Elizabeth Miller
contributed to this
report.
William Boyd Harmon
July 21 1936 - January 27, 2022
William Boyd Harmon, 85, of La
Grande, passed away on Thursday, Janu-
ary 27, 2022, at a local care facility. At his
request, there will be no service.
William was born in Salt
Lake City, Utah on July 21,
1936, to Theo “Ted” Vivian
and Alice Riley Harmon.
Alice, convinced her new
baby would be a girl, didn’t
pick out any boy names. Her
favorite actor played Hop-
Along Cassidy, she dubbed
her son, William Boyd.
Boyd’s family left Utah
when he was 9 months old.
They made Boise, Idaho
their new home.
Boyd skipped school be-
cause kids teased him for stuttering. He
came and went with the other children but
would hide in a culvert and eat his lunch.
Alice and Ted made sacrifices so Boyd
could go to St Joseph’s, Catholic boys’
school. Boyd excelled under the watchful
eye of the nuns, became an alter boy, and
member of the choir.
During World War II, Ted was a plane
mechanic, this brought Boyd opportunities
for new experiences. Boyd got to visit the
base on weekends, guards teased him about
being a little saboteur since he went inside
planes and did bombing runs. He saw the
unveiling of the B-29 Superfortress and
was an American Crusader, sitting atop of
a ladder, he logged the call signs of planes.
On VJ-Day, Boyd and Alice walked down-
town where they collected a cigar box full
of military insignias and medals.
Boyd was introduced to Harley-Da-
vidson motorcycles when his brother Ray
came home from the Navy. Boyd’s first
was a 1949 ‘125’, he would own a total of
28. Boyd was a member of and started var-
ious motorcycle groups. He was involved
in everything from trick riding and racing
to showing.
Boyd didn’t just play hard, he worked
hard too. He did deliveries on his motorcy-
cle year round while still in school. Soon
he worked at Ramble with Gamble Harley
and was offered purchase of the dealership.
He worked at Boise-Payette Lumber Com-
pany, Stinker Stations, Camfield Tires,
Boise Cascade Tire Division and Trucking
Division.
Boyd broke his right forearm when he
was struck by a car. He took his bike out,
despite the cast. Wanting to impress some
girls, he grabbed a handful of throttle and
dropped the clutch but instead of roaring
off impressively it bucked and skid into a
tree, rebreaking his arm.
Boyd learned to drive when he was 19,
his biggest problem was he tried to lean to
turn the pickup. Later that year Boyd mar-
ried Denise Busch in Boise, Idaho and they
moved to Emmett, Idaho. Boyd and Denise
had a daughter, Christie, and shortly after
divorced.
Boyd married Mary Kirk in Elko, Ne-
vada. They had two daughters, Vallarie and
Jade before they divorced.
Boyd married Grace Sheffield in
Winnemucca, Nevada. They had a daugh-
ter Annie and two sons Bill and Wes. They
moved to La Grande, Oregon in 1974 and
divorced a few years later.
Boyd married Lyle Kem
at Dave and Judy Shepard’s
house in Elgin, Oregon. To-
gether they raised Bill, Wes
and Teri, Lyle’s daughter,
from a previous marriage.
Boyd and Lyle traveled
the Northwest doing gun
shows for years. They put
together bigger and bigger
set-ups. At their pinnacle,
they outfitted six tables at
once and attended 48 shows
in a year. Boyd became a re-
gional representative for Ru-
ger Collectors Association and he and Lyle
were known as “the Ruger people”. They
met some of the top people in the industry.
Boyd missed having Harleys since the
sale of his in the late 1970’s. With Lyle’s
encouragement, he purchased a new mo-
torcycle. Again, Boyd and Lyle traveled,
this time on motorcycles, from Milwaukee,
Wisconsin for Harley-Davidson’s 90th,
95th and 100th anniversaries, to Texas and
the Four Corners region for state rallies
and joy.
During one of these many trips, when
following a canyon road in a desolate part
of Nevada, Lyle was riding behind Boyd.
They were struck by an out of control car.
Boyd had a broken collarbone and broken
ribs on one side, which left him in the hos-
pital for a week. Lyle lost her left leg and
was hospitalized for 41 days.
Boyd and Lyle started driving for the
Ford and Dodge dealerships in La Grande,
Oregon in 1997 until 2016. Boyd became
lead driver and they drove new and used
vehicles all over the western United States.
Whatever Boyd did and wherever he
went, he made an impression. He was
known as the Pope of the church of Har-
ley-Davidson, the General, the Grand
Puba, and the Potentate. He was metic-
ulous, and opinionated, sometimes to a
fault. He put on a gruff exterior, but was
soft on the inside.
Boyd is survived by his seven children;
daughters, Christie Lynn Irving of St.
George, Utah, Vallarie Jo Harmon of Mc-
Call, Idaho, Jade Alice Harmon of Weiser,
Idaho, Gladys Ann Harmon of Donnelly,
Idaho, and Teri Ann Stearns and husband
Pete of Elgin, Oregon; sons, William Brad
Harmon and wife Denise of Baker City,
Oregon and Westly Teo Harmon and wife
Claudine of Elgin, Oregon. Along with 17
grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his mother,
father, brother, Raymond Harmon and wife
Lyle Harmon.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contri-
butions can be made to the Union Coun-
ty Sheriff’s Department for Gun Safety
Training, 1109 K Avenue, La Grande, OR
97850.
Online condolences may be made to
the family at www.lovelandfuneralchapel.
com.