A2 — THE OBSERVER
THuRSday, FEBRuaRy 10, 2022
LOCAL
TODAY
In 1763, Britain, Spain and
France signed the Treaty of
Paris, ending the Seven Years’
War (also known as the French
and Indian War in North
America).
In 1840, Britain’s Queen Vic-
toria married Prince Albert of
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
In 1936, Nazi Germa-
ny’s Reichstag passed a law
investing the Gestapo secret
police with absolute authority,
exempt from any legal review.
In 1959, a major tornado
tore through the St. Louis area,
killing 21 people and causing
heavy damage.
In 1967, the 25th Amend-
ment to the U.S. Constitution,
dealing with presidential dis-
ability and succession, was rat-
ified as Minnesota and Nevada
adopted it.
In 1981, eight people were
killed when a fire set by a
busboy broke out at the Las
Vegas Hilton hotel-casino.
In 1989, Ron Brown was
elected the first Black chairman
of the Democratic National
Committee.
In 1992, boxer Mike Tyson
was convicted in Indianapolis
of raping Desiree Washington,
a Miss Black America contes-
tant. (Tyson served three years
in prison.) “Roots” author Alex
Haley died in Seattle at age 70.
In 1996, world chess cham-
pion Garry Kasparov lost the
first game of a match in Phil-
adelphia against an IBM com-
puter dubbed “Deep Blue.”
(Kasparov ended up winning
the match, 4 games to 2; he
was defeated by Deep Blue in a
rematch the following year.)
In 2005, North Korea boasted
publicly for the first time that it
possessed nuclear weapons.
In 2015, NBC announced it
was suspending Brian Williams
as “Nightly News” anchor and
managing editor for six months
without pay for misleading
the public about his experi-
ences covering the Iraq War. Jon
Stewart announced he would
step down as host of “The Daily
Show” on Comedy Central later
in the year.
In 2020, U.S. health officials
confirmed the first case of the
novel coronavirus among the
hundreds of people who’d been
evacuated from China to mili-
tary bases in the United States;
it was among the 13 confirmed
cases in the U.S. Britain declared
the new coronavirus a “serious
and imminent threat to public
health” and said people with
the virus could now be forcibly
quarantined.
Today’s Birthdays: Opera
singer Leontyne Price is 95.
Actor Robert Wagner is 92.
Singer Roberta Flack is 85.
Singer Jimmy Merchant (Frankie
Lymon and the Teenagers) is
82. Rock musician Bob Spalding
(The Ventures) is 75. Olympic
gold-medal swimmer Mark
Spitz is 72. Walt Disney Co.
executive Robert Iger is 71. Rock
musician and composer Cory
Lerios (Pablo Cruise) is 71. World
Golf Hall of Famer Greg Norman
is 67. Actor Kathleen Beller is
66. Country singer Lionel Cart-
wright is 62. Movie director
Alexander Payne is 61. ABC
News correspondent George
Stephanopoulos is 61. Political
commentator Glenn Beck is 58.
Actor Laura Dern is 55. Writ-
er-producer-director Vince Gil-
ligan (TV: “Breaking Bad”) is 55.
Country singer Dude Mowrey is
50. Actor Jason Olive is 50. Actor
Elizabeth Banks is 48. Actor Julia
Pace Mitchell is 44. Reggaeton
singer Don Omar is 44. Actor
Uzo Aduba is 41. Actor Steph-
anie Beatriz is 41. Actor Max
Brown is 41. Actor Barry Sloane
is 41. Rock singer Eric Dill is 40.
Actor Trevante Rhodes is 32.
Actor Emma Roberts is 31. Actor
Makenzie Vega is 28. Actor
Chloe Grace Moretz is 25. Actor
Yara Shahidi is 22.
LOTTERY
Monday, Feb. 7, 2022
Megabucks
16-21-23-27-44-46
Estimated jackpot: $1.4 million
Lucky Lines
1-8-10-16-18-23-25-32
Estimated jackpot: $19,000
Win for Life
15-22-29-62
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 6-8-1-9
4 p.m.: 7-5-3-1
7 p.m.: 2-1-4-3
10 p.m.: 1-7-2-1
Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022
Mega Millions
1-17-20-52-54
Mega Ball: 2
Megaplier: 3
Estimated jackpot: $42 million
Lucky Lines
2-6-12-13-20-21-27-31
Estimated jackpot: $20,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 1-1-2-5
4 p.m.: 9-2-7-1
7 p.m.: 0-1-4-4
10 p.m.: 0-3-1-1
alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
La Grande mayor Steve Clements poses for
a photo outside of City Hall on Wednesday,
Feb. 9, 2022. Clements announced that he
will not run for reelection, and his term will
expire in January 2023.
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
As the snow begins to melt off the roof of the Enterprise School, the replacement of that roof becomes more imperative.
Plans are in place to replace the roof this summer, along with other projects.
Enterprise schools get ready to build
Work on school
scheduled to begin
in May
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — Despite a
one-year delay because of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the Enter-
prise School District is gearing
up for construction projects to be
done this year — and next.
District voters in 2020
approved a $4 million bond mea-
sure that was matched with a
$4 million Oregon School Cap-
ital Improvement grant. The dis-
trict also received a $540,454 fed-
eral Elementary and Secondary
School Emergency Relief grant
and $111,682 in state energy
grants, for a total of more than
$8.85 million to complete urgent
construction needs, according to
a flyer circulated to district voters
last month.
Work is scheduled to begin in
May.
The highest-priority project is
a new roof for the primary school,
middle school and the secondary
school buildings, said interim
Superintendent Tom Crane.
“The roof is the No. 1 project,”
Crane said. “We’re going to get
the roof done and we’re going to
get the HVAC done this summer.”
The heating, ventilation and
air conditioning will be funded
largely by the bond funs, while
the ESSER grant covers ventila-
tion, the flyer stated.
But it’s the roof that’s the most
urgent priority, as it’s been expe-
riencing leaks.
“They did a temporary fix
on the roof and it’s pretty much
holding,” Crane said, adding —
in jest — that if new leaks occur,
“We’ll tell the kids to bring their
buckets, their rain coats, their rain
hats, whatever. … The point is
the roof has always been the No.
1 priority and we’re going to get it
done and done right.”
All the school’s buildings are
in need of work, Crane said. The
middle school was built in 1918,
the secondary school in 1960 and
the smaller primary building in
1950.
Cassie Hibbert, the project
manager with Wenaha Group,
which handles the construc-
tion projects for the school dis-
trict, said it’s time to replace
the roofs, as the last time they
were replaced was after the dis-
trict’s last bond project in 2004.
She also took part in Thursday’s
interview.
“The roofs have passed
their functional life,” Hib-
bert said. “The roofing product
has degraded and needs to be
replaced.”
The roofing job was originally
intended to be done last summer,
but the contractor who put in the
original bid was unable to obtain
the needed insulation because
of COVID-related supply chain
problems. As an emergency mea-
sure, the district contracted with
a La Grande firm to do a spray
coating in October to get the roofs
through this winter.
The other priorities scheduled
for this year include mitigating
stormwater runoff issues and
asbestos abatement. The latter
has to be accomplished with the
HVAC work.
The district had to rebid the
roof project in December, but
the district only received one bid
— which was accepted. Palmer
Roofing, of Pendleton, submitted
the approved bid. Palmer’s bid
was for about $2.3 million —
about $1 million higher than the
previous approved bid, cutting
into the available funds, Hibbert
said.
Limited funds
Increased costs of building
materials have limited what the
district can do with its $8.85
million, Crane and Hibbert
agreed.
“Our total project budget
hasn’t changed. It’s just how
much we can buy with that
money,” Hibbert said. “Our goal
is to buy as much for the dis-
trict as we possibly can. We’ve
just really been challenged with
supply-chain issues and price
increases that have been nation-
wide in the construction industry
since COVID started.”
Some of the projects now
scheduled for summer of 2023
that could be affected include
accessibility upgrades to comply
with Americans with Disability
Act standards and remodeling the
science room and the girls’ locker
room, Hibbert said. Those are the
highest-priority projects for next
year, although lesser projects also
are planned.
The accessibility upgrades
include the possibility of ele-
vators in the middle and high
school buildings, each of which
is two stories.
“Our original plan in the bond
scope had been to do two eleva-
tors. … Elevators give you a lot
of bang for your buck, but they’re
expensive,” Hibbert said. “So we
may need to revisit other ways
to improve that accessibility.
Maybe we’re not doing an ele-
vator, but we can improve acces-
sibility routing and things like
that.”
But Crane said they haven’t
given up on those later projects.
“Nothing has been taken off
of the list,” he said. “We have
a Bond Oversight Committee
that, when we get done with
this summer and we know the
amount of money we have (left
over), will recommend which
project or projects we can do the
following summer.”
Hibbert agreed.
“What’s great about that
Bond Oversight Committee is
that a lot of the folks on it were
in the long-range facility plan-
ning effort so they’ve had conti-
nuity through the whole project
and can really speak to original
priorities and present a well-
rounded recommendation to the
district’s board,” she said.
Imbler district holding meet and greet
Community has
opportunity to meet
with finalists for
superintendent position
By DICK MASON
The Observer
IMBLER — The public will
have an opportunity to meet
the two finalists for the Imbler
School District’s superintendent’s
position on Thursday, Feb. 10.
A community meet and
greet for the finalists, Louise
“Lou’’ Lyon, superintendent of
the Burnt River School District
in Baker County, and RanDell
Waite, an assistant principal in
the Phoenix-Talent School Dis-
trict in Jackson County, will
begin at 6 p.m. in Imbler Elemen-
tary School’s gym.
Participants will be provided
with comment cards where they
can share their impressions of
the candidates. The cards will
be given to the Imbler School
Board.
Lyon has served as super-
intendent of the Burnt River
School District since 2018. Prior
to that she was an online coordi-
nator for the La Grande Learning
Academy in the La Grande
School District for one year.
Lyon has a masters degree in
teacher education from Eastern
Oregon University and earned
her administrative credentials
from Portland State University.
Waite has been the assistant
principal of Phoenix High School
since 2020. Prior to that he was
the assistant high school prin-
cipal and head football coach
at Rigby High School in Rigby,
Idaho, for four years. Waite has
a master’s degree in teacher edu-
cation from EOU and earned
his administrative credentials
from Lewis and Clark College in
Portland.
The school board is seeking
a successor for interim school
district superintendent Doug
Hislop. Hislop has served as
interim superintendent since July
2021, after Superintendent Angie
Lakey-Campbell resigned to
take a position with the Hansen
School District in Idaho near
Twin Falls. Hislop earlier served
as the Imbler School District’s
superintendent for 10 years
through June of 2013.
NEWS BRIEF
Homeland to raffle
elk hunt tag
ENTERPRISE — A
three-day guided elk hunt on
the Zumwalt Prairie Preserve is
being offered in a raffle by the
Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland.
The hunt is for one hunter
and two guests with a landowner
preference bull elk tag donated
by the Nature Conservancy.
Raffle tickets for the right to
purchase the tag will be sold
through March 27 — or until
they sell out.
Tickets cost $50 each, with
only 200 tickets to be sold. In
order to ensure opportunity for
Nez Perce individuals to partic-
ipate in the raffle, 50 tickets will
be reserved for Nez Perce only
until March 1.
Tickets are available online
at wallowanezperce.org/elk-
tag-raffle. The winner of the
raffle will be announced live,
with the date and time still to be
determined.
Proceeds from the sale of
raffle tickets will support the
Homeland’s annual Snake River
School float trip, a multiday
outing for Nez Perce youths
to learn STEM and TEK from
tribal instructors while con-
necting with their ancestral
homeland by boat.
— EO Media Group
La Grande
mayor opts out
on reelection
Steve Clements reflects
on four terms as mayor
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — After four
terms as mayor, Steve Clements is
ready to move on.
The La Grande mayor announced
at the city council’s most recent
meeting that he will not be run-
ning for mayor in the election next
November. Clements has served four
terms as mayor, which includes func-
tioning also as a member of the city
council. Through the many respon-
sibilities of the position, serving
the community has remained at the
forefront of Clements’ priorities as
mayor.
“I thought it was a good time to
go on a high note,” he said. “I did
pretty well in the last election and
I hope that’s a good indication of
how people view my performance.
It’s time to move on to some other
things.”
Clements has served as mayor
since 2014, last winning reelection
in 2020. His term will officially end
at the first regular session of Jan-
uary 2023, when new councilors are
sworn in.
Clements moved to La Grande
in 1990, after graduating from Vir-
ginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University, and first ran for city
council in 1992. His initial running
platform, which he now says was a
naive assumption, was to ensure that
all roads were paved and that every
street would have sidewalks on each
side. After several attempts, Cle-
ments earned a spot on the council
in 1993 and later served from
1998-2010.
From the start, the mayor position
was never about political gain.
“For me, being part of a commu-
nity is about serving the community.
I don’t look at the mayor’s position
as a power trip or a stepping stone to
another elected office,” he said.
As a councilor and as mayor, Cle-
ments played a key role in several
local initiatives, several of which he
sees as helping the city for years to
come.
For instance, after more than 20
years of effort from the La Grande
community, Clements played a part
in creating the Quiet Zone that pro-
hibited train operators from blasting
horns at railroad crossings in town.
“It took us five years to get it,
but we dotted all the I’s and crossed
all the T’s,” Clements said. “That’s
one thing that, for me, is the big-
gest accomplishment of my time on
the council because it’s got a lasting
effect.”
Perhaps one of the largest, unex-
pected tasks that mayors across the
country faced in the last two years
is the COVID-19 pandemic. Clem-
ents looks back with confidence on
the city’s efforts to keep businesses
above water during a tumultuous
time.
As a councilor and mayor, Clem-
ents played a part in the city’s refur-
bishing of Veterans’ Memorial Pool,
in purchasing the land and con-
structing Cook Memorial Library
and in creating the Urban Renewal
District.
“I’m proud of all those things,” he
said. “I’m proud that I can say I was
a part of that.”
In terms of challenges facing La
Grande moving forward, Clements
cited the lack of affordable housing
for renters and buyers. The mayor
and council played a role in the cre-
ation of the Housing Production
Strategy, with its implementation a
priority going into 2022.
After Clements’ term ends at the
end of 2022, the mayor has his eyes
set on potential committee work
as well as current nonprofits he is
involved with. Clements noted that a
role on the city’s planning commis-
sion could be a position of interest
for him in the coming years.
“It has always been about serving
and giving back to the community,”
he said. “I really liked doing that as a
councilor, and I have really enjoyed
that last seven years as mayor.”