INSIDE
LA GRANDE BOYS WRESTLING TEAM HITTING STRIDE HEADING INTO POSTSEASON | SPORTS, A7
Indoor
mandate
to end
in March
State officials say
Oregon is ‘past its
peak’ for COVID-19
cases due to the
omicron variant
By ELIZABETH MILLER
Oregon Public Broadcasting
SALEM — Citing a pro-
jected drop in hospitalizations
next month, Oregon health
offi cials have announced an
end to indoor mask require-
ments in public places “no
later than March 31.”
That end of March timeline
also includes mask require-
ments inside schools, Oregon
Health Authority offi cials said
on Monday, Feb. 7.
With the state’s tempo-
rary indoor mask mandate
rule set to expire on Feb. 8,
OHA offi cials needed to fi le a
new permanent rule with the
Oregon Secretary of State, if
they wanted to maintain the
requirement. But, in response
to vocal criticism of “perma-
nent rules” at hearings last
month, state health offi cials
said the mandates wouldn’t
last forever.
Now, citing health scien-
tists’ projections that “400 or
fewer Oregonians would be
hospitalized with COVID-19″
by late March, offi cials have
given a sunset for the rule
extension.
“The evidence from Oregon
and around the country is
clear: masks save lives by
slowing the spread of COVID-
19,” said state health offi cer Dr.
Dean Sidelinger in a release on
Feb. 7 announcing the news.
Mounting evidence that
omicron cases are declining
has led Oregon to join a
growing number of states that
are relaxing indoor mask rules.
“We should see COVID-19
hospitalizations drop by the
end of March because so many
Oregonians are wearing masks
and taking other steps to pro-
tect themselves and each other,
such as getting a booster shot
or vaccinating their children,”
Sidelinger said. “At that point,
it will be safer to lift mask
rules.”
Currently, hospitaliza-
tions remain above 1,000
$1.50
TUESDAY EDITION
February 8, 2022
Weathering the virus
Eastern Oregon
University relies on
campus-wide effort to
endure COVID-19
pandemic
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Eastern
Oregon University’s all-hands-
on-deck approach is getting the
school through the COVID-19
pandemic.
The La Grande university
has upped its testing and vac-
cine availability in the midst
of another COVID-19 spike
early in 2022. While cases at
the school have seen an uptick,
mirroring the eff ects of the
omicron variant across the
state, university offi cials have
been prudent in sustaining an
in-person learning experience
for students.
“We feel like through all of
the methods we’re using, we’ve
been able to keep ourselves
open,” said Lacy Karpilo, vice
president for student aff airs. “I
think we’ve demonstrated that
we can create an environment
where we’re limiting the spread,
but still able to engage with
each other.”
Karpilo noted that the uni-
versity has been working
closely with the Center for
Human Development and col-
laborating and sharing results
with the Oregon Health
Authority throughout the pan-
demic. The two health organi-
zations have played a signifi cant
role in the university’s deci-
sion-making as it has sought to
create the safest learning envi-
ronment. The goal since the
start of the pandemic has been
to sustain in-person learning at
the university — eff orts among
students and staff have been
made across campus to achieve
this goal and limit the spread.
“They recommended that
we not go remote. They recom-
mended us to continue doing
what we’re doing, as well as up
our masks,” Karpilo said. “They
really felt that the safest place
for people to be is a classroom
with masks and distancing, as
well as what we’re doing on our
campus to stay safe.”
A nationwide trend among
university students was an
uptick in COVID-19 following
winter break — students and
staff typically travel to visit
family and friends for the hol-
idays. Eastern saw a signif-
icant increase in cases after
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File
Eastern Oregon University, pictured here in the fall of 2021, has one the highest rate of COVID-19 vaccine
exemption statuses among its students and faculty, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. Approximately
24% of students and 18% of employees have vaccination exemptions, as compared to the average of 10% at
other public universities in Oregon.
Emphasizing vaccinations
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File
Hanna Saunders, a freshman accounting student at Eastern Oregon University,
studies in EOU’s library on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. The university upped its
testing and vaccine availability in response to another COVID-19 spike early
in 2022.
the break, reporting 110 cases
from off -campus students and
25 among on-campus students
during January. Throughout the
same time frame, 19 employees
recorded positive test results.
The uptick refl ected county
and state numbers in early Jan-
uary, when Union County
recorded just under 37 cases
per day. In the two-week period
from Jan. 17 through Jan. 30,
the county averaged roughly 52
cases per day.
Tim Seydel, EOU’s vice
president for university
advancement, and Karpilo
stated the university upped
testing following winter break,
to be extra cautious in identi-
fying any cases and ensuring
the campus was still a safe
place. While numerous schools
nationwide transitioned into
post-holiday classes with sev-
eral weeks of online learning,
Seydel noted that Eastern con-
tinued its focus on providing
safe in-person education.
“Statewide, schools saw a
signifi cant uptick in numbers
when they started testing at
the beginning of term. There
was this immediate statewide
trend,” he said. “That is why we
want to test these students so
that we can get them the help
they need or get them into iso-
lation and quarantine so we can
help reduce it.”
The university staff is
noticing that the omicron
variant is having a much dif-
ferent eff ect on COVID-19
trends on campus compared
to previous strands. In the fall,
many students who got tested
when they were sick ended up
not having COVID-19, whereas
now most students reporting
common symptoms to the uni-
versity’s student health center
are testing positive.
Karpilo noted that while
omicron symptoms may be
more mild, cutting the spread is
still of the utmost importance
in avoiding hospital overload.
Due to this trend in hospitals
nationwide, Eastern continues
to emphasize the vaccine and
booster shots to faculty and
students.
“That’s the way for us to
really get to the other side of
this pandemic, having as many
people as possible vaccinated
and boostered,” Karpilo said.
“But we are also taking it from
a perspective of education and
care. We are treating all of our
students respectfully regardless
of vaccination status.”
Prior to the vaccines, all
students and staff were tested
upon returning to campus, and
the university continues to test
unvaccinated individuals at the
beginning of each term.
The university also hosted
See, Campus/Page A5
See, Masks/Page A5
Nobody hurt in Elgin house fi re Friday
The home’s four
residents all
escaped unharmed
after blaze started
By DICK MASON
The Observer
ELGIN — Nobody was
injured in a house fi re in
Elgin late in the morning
of Friday, Feb. 4.
The home’s four res-
idents, two adults and
two children, were in the
house when the fi re started
and all quickly escaped.
“We are very fortu-
nate that our family got
out,” said Melody Payne,
whose son and his family
were the residents of the
one-story home at 25 N.
Fifth St.
One of the initial fi rst
See, Fire/Page A5
WEATHER
INDEX
Classified B2-B4
Comics ...........B5
Crossword ....B4
Dear Abby ....B6
responders at the scene
was Union County Sher-
iff ’s Offi ce Deputy Brad
Bell, who arrived at an
unnerving situation.
“Flames were coming
from the garage that were
20- to 25-feet high,” he
said.
Bell said he was con-
cerned to see that some
of the occupants who had
Home .............B1
Horoscope ....B4
Lottery ...........A2
Obituaries .....A3
THURSDAY
Opinion .........A4
Oregon ..........A6
Sports ............A7
Sudoku ..........B5
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Firefi ghters respond to a house fi re at 25 N. Fifth St., Elgin, on
Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. Only a handful of personal belongings were
recovered, but nobody was injured in the blaze.
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Wednesday
31 LOW
48/28
Mostly cloudy
Partial sunshine
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Issue 17
2 sections, 14 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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