FROM PAGE ONE
Thursday, February 10, 2022
The ObserVer — A5
STORES
Continued from Page A1
“We try to stay overstocked,”
he said.
Once the Super Bowl starts,
activity slows down, but Willson
said that at halftime many people
will hurry in to buy items.
“We always make sure we are
ready for people rushing in at
halftime,” he said.
Mike Colkitt, owner of the
Union Market, also said Super
Bowl-related sales tradition-
ally peak the Saturday before the
game.
“It is our biggest snack day of
the year,” he said.
La Grande’s Safeway and those
throughout the United States also
experience a boost in sales during
Super Bowl weekend, according
to Jill McGinnis, director of com-
munications and public affairs for
Safeway.
“It is considered the second
MASKS
Continued from Page A1
before the omicron variant
began to spread, according
to the OHA. The news that
the mask mandate will soon
be lifted is being greeted
enthusiastically by many
people in Union County,
including Grande Ronde
Hospital officials.
“Grande Ronde Hospital
and Clinics is very pleased
to see these positive steps
forward for our commu-
nity and the state. It is good
news,” said Mardi Ford,
GRH’s director of commu-
nications and marketing.
Ford noted that OHA’s
announcement stated that
the masking mandate will
not be lifted for health care
workers on March 31. She
said the hospital’s staff is
now studying the infor-
DEATH
Continued from Page A1
(monoclonal antibody)
infusion therapy. She was
tired for a couple, three
days,” he said.
Unprompted, Barnett
also said Malec had not
been vaccinated.
“She didn’t want to
be vaccinated, but she
did fight it naturally. She
pulled through,” he said.
After overcoming
COVID, Barnett said
his mom had returned to
much of her normal activ-
ities, and had been driving
weekly to Walla Walla for
treatment of her breast
cancer before defeating it.
“They had given her
the all clear on the breast
cancer,” he said.
A new diagnosis
He said his mom
sounded “really tired,
winded,” in a phone con-
versation with her Nov. 29.
The next day, she was
in the emergency room
in Enterprise, originally
given a diagnosis of pan-
creatic cancer, Barnett
said. She was LifeFlighted
that night to Walla Walla,
where it was determined,
instead, the diagnosis was
liver cancer.
She also initially tested
positive for COVID while
at Walla Walla, Barnett
said, but that positive test
was followed by two neg-
ative tests for the corona-
virus — the second about
a week later — which
enabled Barnett to get into
the hospital to visit her.
Barnett eventually took
Malec to his Salem home
where she was put on
hospice and died about a
week later.
alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
A signed photo of former Raiders player Mike Davis hangs on the wall at
Benchwarmers Pub & Grill, La Grande, on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. The pub, with
its multiple TVs, anticipates a bump in sales as the Los Angeles Rams take on the
Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13.
biggest food holiday of the year
next to Thanksgiving,” said
McGinnis, who is based in
Clackamas.
mation from the OHA to
determine how the revised
COVID-19 safety guide-
lines, when they are put in
place, will apply to hospital
visitors. She said GRH will
announce its determination
later.
La Grande School Dis-
trict Superintendent George
Mendoza, in a letter sent to
parents on Feb. 8, said his
school district will move
toward pursuing an optional
masking policy for students
and staff, one that would
take effect after March
31. He said the school dis-
trict will work with Union
County Public Health,
Union County Emergency
Services, Grande Ronde
Hospital and school stake-
holders to make final
decisions.
Mendoza said he is
pleased with the direc-
tion the state is moving. He
said the school district has
advocated for this to take
place since December. He
said La Grande School Dis-
trict representatives have
met on numerous occasions
with state officials, state-
wide superintendent groups
and education advocates in
Oregon to explain the dis-
trict’s perspective.
“We know this change
will result in increased local
responsibility and we will
diligently plan for the con-
tinued safety of our staff,
students and families,”
Mendoza said.
North Powder School
District Superintendent
Lance Dixon said that his
school board will decide at
its Feb. 22 meeting whether
to continue to make mask
wearing mandatory after
March 31 or to make it
optional.
Union County Commis-
sioner Paul Anderes said he
believes the OHA’s decision
was made based on sound
science.
“It looks like the right
thing to do now,” he said,
adding he is very happy that
schools were included as
part of the OHA’s decision.
be classified as a COVID
death.
The certificate — Bar-
nett shared the document
with the Chieftain and
gave permission to publish
the information in it —
lists cardiac arrest, respi-
ratory arrest and liver cell
carcinoma as the causes of
death.
Below that, it lists anx-
iety and breast cancer as
significant conditions con-
tributing to death.
Next to those, it states
“history of covid 19 (2
negative tests).”
The funeral home that
worked with Barnett said
it had “never seen this
on a death certificate,
ever,” he said. “I had that
feeling.”
His feeling was con-
firmed on Jan. 27 when
OHA reported the
70-year-old Wallowa
County woman’s death,
which the Chieftain
reported later that day.
Barnett reached out the
following day seeking to
clarify the details.
the Chieftain that it does
use the phrase “COVID-
19-related deaths” and that
it could mean a person
who had COVID-19 died,
but that it wasn’t neces-
sarily the cause.
“The deaths we report
each day include people
who died with COVID-
like symptoms, which in
some cases means that
a person did not neces-
sarily die as a result of
COVID-19. Sometimes
public health cannot
determine (the) exact
cause of death, so our
data focuses on people
who most likely or defi-
nitely had COVID-19
and died, based on local
reports,” the email stated.
The OHA’s Investiga-
tive Guidelines state that
any of the following are
considered a COVID-19-
related death:
• “Death of a con-
firmed or probable
COVID-19 case within 60
days of the earliest avail-
able date among exposure
to a confirmed case, onset
of symptoms, or date of
specimen collection for
the first positive test;
• “Death from any
cause in a hospitalized
person during their hos-
pital stay or in the 60 days
following discharge and a
COVID-19-positive lab-
oratory diagnostic test at
any time since 14 days
prior to hospitalization; or
• “Death of someone
with a COVID-19-spe-
cific ICD-10 code listed as
a primary or contributing
to it.”
Josh Barnett believes
the numbers are inflated,
and points to the fact
that individuals who die
directly from COVID or
die of a different , MBA
cause
(but have COVID) are
counted together.
“They’ve already
admitted there is a dif-
ference (between) dying
from COVID and dying
with COVID,” he said. “I
think they’ve been con-
flating the two on purpose
Seeking answers
Barnett said OHA was
not forthcoming on details
in an email response to his
brother, Ty, who also had
been seeking answers.
The OHA told the
Chieftain it could not
comment specifically on
if Malec was listed as a
COVID-19-related death,
and that it “cannot pro-
vide any specific informa-
tion related to a person’s
death or death certificate,”
according to Tim Heider,
OHA public information
officer.
The OHA did confirm
to Ty Barnett in an email
Josh Barnett shared with
An Independent
Insurance Agency
The death certificate
The text on the death
certificate made Barnett
wonder if Malec would
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McGinnis said many of Safe-
way’s most popular items sold
on Super Bowl Sunday are from
its delicatessens and include
chicken wings.
Restaurants that will likely
be busy on Feb. 13 include
Benchwarmers Pub and Grill, La
Grande, where six large and three
flat-screen televisions are available
for diners to watch the game.
Justin Marler, the manager of
Benchwarmers, said normally
Super Bowl Sunday is not one
of the biggest days of the year at
the restaurant and bar. However,
he believes attendance might be
higher this year. One reason is
NFL playoffs leading to the Super
Bowl game were exceptional and
drew larger than normal crowds at
Benchwarmers.
Misty Cottingham, a bartender
at Benchwarmers, is looking for-
ward to working there during the
Super Bowl.
“Because it is a football game a
lot of people will be here to have a
good time,” she said.
Marieta Gallagher, a cashier
at One Stop Mart, La Grande,
said that business is exceptionally
No need to draw it out
Cove School Dis-
trict Superintendent Earl
Pettit said lifting the mask
requirement means the
state will no longer stand
out as one of the few that
has a mask mandate in its
schools.
“I’m happy that the man-
date will be lifted,” he
said. “We are in a minority
because many other states
do not have mandates. I’m
glad that we are finally
catching up to them.”
La Grande City Coun-
cilor Nicole Howard said
busy in the hours leading up to the
game. Hot pizza slices and jojos
are among the best-selling items at
the store on Super Bowl weekend.
Gallagher said the late-afternoon
start helps business on game day
because it gives people more time
to pick up items before kickoff.
Marco Rennie, co-owner of
Market Place Fresh Foods, La
Grande, said Super Bowl weekend
is a busy time at his store, so his
staff takes time to get prepared.
“We definitely gear up for it,”
he said.
Items that are big sellers
include salsa, guacamole and
jerky, all made in house.
“They are all made from
scratch,” Rennie said, adding
that Super Bowl Sunday impacts
more than just on the economy
— it also is important because it
bridges gulfs in society during a
time when political divisions are
widening.
“It brings family and friends
together to celebrate,” he said.
she has confidence the OHA
is making the right decision.
“If that is what the sci-
ence is telling us to do, I
will be happy to oblige,” she
said.
Union Mayor Leonard
Flint said the mask mandate
hurts students.
“It is making it harder for
them to interact,” he said.
Flint said this is particu-
larly true for students who
have hearing impairments,
since masks make it impos-
sible for them to read lips
and read nonverbal facial
cues. Flint is glad that no
time is being wasted in
lifting the mandate now
that the omicron variant is
declining.
“There is no reason to
draw it out,” he said.
La Grande City Man-
ager Robert Strope said he
is encouraged by what the
state mandate represents.
“All of us are ready to
put COVID-19 in the rear-
view mirror,” he said.
Strope said he appre-
ciates what OHA is doing
in terms of delaying the
lifting of the mandate
until as late as March 31.
“If keeping the man-
date through March 31
saves one life, all that we
are going through will be
worth it,” he said.
Strope noted that in the
past, mandates have been
lifted when COVID-19
infection rates fell but
then had to be rein-
stated when infection
rates surged again. Strope
hopes this will not happen
again and said he is
guardedly optimistic that
it will not.
“I hope that the worst is
behind us,” he said.
to make the numbers look
as bad as they can.
“I don’t believe the
state has been giving the
right answers for a long
time.”
As for his family, he
said he wants the truth —
whatever it ends up being.
“I just want the record
straight in terms of being
honest,” he said. “...I don’t
want my family or any-
body else’s to be used, not
as a pawn, but as ‘chalk
up another line to it.’ … I
know that OHA is saying
it’s a COVID death when I
was there the whole time.
I know that’s 100% false.”
In the rearview mirror
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