LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
In 1554, Lady Jane Grey,
who had claimed the throne
of England for nine days, and
her husband, Guildford Dudley,
were beheaded after being con-
demned for high treason.
In 1909, the National Associ-
ation for the Advancement of
Colored People was founded.
In 1912, Pu Yi, the last
emperor of China, abdicated,
marking the end of the Qing
Dynasty.
In 1914, groundbreaking
took place for the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington, D.C. (A
year later on this date, the cor-
nerstone was laid.)
In 1973, Operation Home-
coming began as the first
release of American prisoners of
war from the Vietnam conflict
took place.
In 1983, composer-pianist
Eubie Blake, who wrote such
songs as “I’m Just Wild About
Harry” and “Memories of You,”
died in Brooklyn, New York, five
days after turning 100.
In 1999, the Senate voted
to acquit President Bill Clinton
of perjury and obstruction of
justice.
In 2000, Charles M. Schulz,
creator of the “Peanuts” comic
strip, died in Santa Rosa, Cali-
fornia, at age 77.
In 2002, former Yugoslav
president Slobodan Milosevic
went on trial in The Hague,
accused of war crimes (he died
in 2006 before the trial could
conclude).
In 2006, figure skater
Michelle Kwan effectively
retired from competition as
she withdrew from the Turin
Olympics due to injury (she was
replaced on the U.S. team by
Emily Hughes). Snowboarder
Shaun White beat American
teammate Danny Kass to win
the Olympic gold medal.
In 2019, Mexico’s most noto-
rious drug lord, Joaquin “El
Chapo” Guzman, was con-
victed in New York of running
an industrial-scale smuggling
operation; a jury whose mem-
bers’ identities were kept secret
as a security measure had delib-
erated for six days. (Guzman is
serving a life sentence at the
federal supermax prison facility
in Florence, Colorado.)
In 2020, Holland America
Line said a cruise ship, the MS
Westerdam, which had been
barred from docking by four
governments because of fears
of the coronavirus, would arrive
the next day in Cambodia.
In Japan, officials confirmed
39 new cases on a cruise ship
that had been quarantined at
Yokohama, bringing the total
number of cases on the Dia-
mond Princess to 174.
Today’s Birthdays: Movie
director Costa-Gavras is 89.
Basketball Hall of Famer Bill
Russell is 88. Actor Joe Don
Baker is 86. Author Judy Blume
is 84. Former Israeli Prime Min-
ister Ehud Barak is 80. Country
singer Moe Bandy is 78. Actor
Maud Adams is 77. Actor Cliff
DeYoung is 76. Actor Michael
Ironside is 72. Rock musi-
cian Steve Hackett is 72. Rock
singer Michael McDonald
is 70. Actor Joanna Kerns is
69. Actor Zach Grenier is 68.
Actor-talk show host Arsenio
Hall is 66. Actor John Michael
Higgins is 59. Actor Raphael
Sbarge is 58. Supreme Court
Justice Brett Kavanaugh is
57. Actor Christine Elise is 57.
Actor Josh Brolin is 54. Singer
Chynna Phillips is 54. Rock
musician Jim Creeggan (Bare-
naked Ladies) is 52. Actor Jesse
Spencer is 43. Rapper Gucci
Mane is 42. Actor Sarah Lan-
caster is 42. Actor Christina
Ricci is 42. Actor Jennifer Stone
is 29. Actors Baylie and Rylie
Cregut (TV: “Raising Hope”)
are 12.
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SaTuRday, FEBRuaRy 12, 2022
IMBLER SCHOOL DISTRICT
LG CITY COUNCIL
Finalists meet community
Lillard,
Bozarth not
seeking
reelection
Louise ‘Lou’ Lyon,
RanDell Waite
top choices for
superintendent
IMBLER SCHOOL
BOARD TO MEET
FEB. 15
IMBLER — The Imbler School
Board will meet at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 15. The meeting
will be in room 1 of Imbler High
School. The board’s search for
a new superintendent will be
one of the subjects discussed
at the meeting.
By DICK MASON
The Observer
IMBLER — The future
of the Imbler School Dis-
trict is coming into sharper
focus for its patrons.
The two finalists for the
school district’s superin-
tendent position, Louise
“Lou’’ Lyon, superin-
tendent of the Burnt
River School District in
Baker County, and Ran-
Dell Waite, an assistant
principal in the Phoe-
nix-Talent School District
in Jackson County, met
with the Imbler commu-
nity at a meet and greet, on
Thursday, Feb. 10.
Lyon and Waite each
have a wealth of experi-
ence as educators and nei-
ther will ever need a GPS
unit when traveling to
schools throughout North-
eastern Oregon. Lyon is a
graduate of Eastern Oregon
University and worked as
an educator in the Cove,
Union and La Grande
school districts for almost
two decades before being
named superintendent of
the Burnt River School
District in Unity in 2018.
Waite, who grew up in
Pendleton, is also an EOU
graduate whose experi-
ence includes three years
as a teacher at La Grande
High School and four years
as a teacher at Weston-
McEwen High School in
dick Mason/The Observer
Louise “Lou’’ Lyon, left, a finalist for the Imbler School District’s
superintendent position, talks with school board member Ken
Patterson on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022.
Weston. His
other career
stops include
Ontario,
Roseburg,
Crater and
Phoenix high
Waite
schools.
Waite has worked as an
educator for 28 years, the
first 22 years as a teacher
and the past six as an
administrator. He took his
present position as assistant
principal of Phoenix High
School in July 2020. About
2-1/2 months later his per-
spective on life was trans-
formed when the Alameda
Fire destroyed much of
Phoenix and Talent.
“It was horrific,” he said.
Suddenly at least 20%
of the students in his dis-
trict were homeless. Much
of Waite’s time was spent
finding temporary housing
for students and their fam-
ilies, taking them to and
from hotel rooms and
making sure they had food
and water. The experience
has given Waite a deeper
awareness
of the role
schools play
in society.
“Schools
rally around
the com-
Lyon
munity,” he
said during the meet and
greet in Imbler Elemen-
tary School’s gym. “That is
important.”
Waite started working
as an educator at age 22
right after graduating from
EOU. Lyon by contrast
worked in businessbefore
pursuing a career as an
educator. She first operated
a bookstore in John Day for
three years and then ran a
business that made screen
print T-shirts.
Lyon became the
Burnt River School Dis-
trict’s superintendent after
serving as the online coor-
dinator for the La Grande
Learning Academy for one
year. She said one of the
most challenging moments
she experienced was when
the state issued its mask
mandate for schools prior
to the start of the 2021-22
school year. Lyon said she
made every effort to create
situations in which stu-
dents did not have to wear
masks while at school.
For example, some classes
were taught outdoors.
Lyon said that secu-
rity is a big concern in the
Burnt River School District
because the nearest law
enforcement office is 48
miles away in Baker City.
This has forced the school
district to strike a balance.
“We want to make our
schools welcoming but also
safe and secure,” she said.
Waite and Lyon are
among six people who sub-
mitted applications for
the Imbler superintendent
position.
The school board is
seeking a successor for
Doug Hislop, who has
served as interim super-
intendent since July 2021,
after Angie Lakey-Camp-
bell resigned to take a
position with the Hansen
School District near Twin
Falls, Idaho. Hislop previ-
ously served as the Imbler
School District’s super-
intendent for 10 years
through June 2013.
Students and parents rally against masks in school
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Dozens
of parents and La Grande
students of varying ages ral-
lied outside of La Grande
Middle School on the
morning of Friday, Feb. 11,
to voice their opposition to
mask requirements in school.
The demonstration is one
of many that have occurred
across the state in the wake
of Oregon health officials
announcing that indoor mask
mandates will continue until
the end of March.
“We don’t like wearing
the stupid masks!” one stu-
dent yelled during Friday’s
protest.
The outdoor rally along
Fourth Street in La Grande
comes just one day after
a number of students at
La Grande Middle School
refused to wear masks
indoors. The protest involved
students from Central Ele-
mentary and La Grande
Middle School, along with
many parents.
Lloyd Mills, a parent of two
students at Central Elemen-
tary, attended the protest in
favor of optional mask usage.
“They were forced out,”
Mills said of his children.
“They said I had to take
them home because I didn’t
want them wearing masks. I
alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Students and parents protest Oregon’s mask mandate outside La
Grande Middle School on Friday, Feb. 11, 2022.
couldn’t even take my kids to
school.”
Many parents stood
alongside their children at
the protest, holding signs and
chanting at oncoming cars.
Numerous motorists driving
by honked in support, while
one driver yelled out, “Wear
your mask!”
The rally started around
7:30 a.m. Friday and lasted
through the start of the
school day. Upon school
starting, many students
remained at the rally. Stu-
dents who attempted to enter
the building without masks
were turned away.
“They won’t let our kids
go to school,” one parent said.
The issue has been prev-
alent since before the start of
the school year, when many
parents refused to send their
children to school if they
were required to wear masks.
“If you look at the left,
when they make their argu-
ments for abortion they say,
‘My body, my choice.’ How
is this any different?” Mills
stated. “They can kill their
children, but we can’t keep
masks off of ours? That
doesn’t make any sense. This
is the result of that.”
La Grande Superinten-
dent George Mendoza noted
that the students at the rally
had the option to go into the
school with a mask on or go
home with their parents at
the conclusion of the protest.
“We support peaceful
protests,” Mendoza said.
Aware of protests planned
for Feb. 11, the superinten-
dent posted a letter to the
district’s website on Feb.
10, which read in part: “We
remind students and fami-
lies that La Grande School
District is obligated to follow
direction from the state. Stu-
dents who refuse to wear
masks per the rule will not
be allowed to remain on
campus and will receive an
unexcused absence for the
day. The Oregon Department
of Education guidance states,
‘Schools cannot serve a stu-
dent in-person if they or their
family choose not to wear a
face covering.’”
According to Mendoza,
the La Grande School Dis-
trict is working toward
making masks optional
prior to the March 31 date
set by the Oregon Health
Authority for lifting mask
requirements.
Across the La Grande
School District, 69 students
missed school last week
for either positive cases,
close contact or primary
COVID-19 symptoms.
In Union County, OHA
recorded 213 positive
COVID-19 cases in the first
nine days of February. The
county has totaled 4,860 cases
since the start of the pandemic.
NEWS BRIEF
La Grande company
recognized as top Zimmatic
dealership
LA GRANDE — Dunning Irri-
gation Supply, which has locations in
Union County, was recently recog-
nized by irrigations systems manufac-
turer Lindsay Corporation for its out-
standing achievement.
The local business was named one
of Lindsay Corporation’s top-20 Zim-
matic dealerships during the North
American Irrigation Dealer Convention
in Maui, Hawaii, on Monday, Feb. 2.
“We are proud to recognize the team
from Dunning Irrigation Supply for this
outstanding achievement,” said Gus-
tavo Oberto, president of Global Agri-
cultural Irrigation at Lindsay Corpora-
tion. “They are dedicated to providing
their customers with game-changing
innovations that improve grower opera-
tional efficiency, boost productivity and
reduce input costs. Their commitment
to customer service is first rate.”
Dunning Irrigation Supply, which
is based locally in Elgin, is one of over
400 Zimmatic dealerships associated
with Lindsay Corporation. The cor-
poration is based in Omaha, Nebraska
and stretches to dealerships across the
world — its irrigation systems are cur-
rently operating in over 90 countries.
Since opening in 1997, Dunning
Irrigation Supply has been distributing
a variety of irrigation products — the
local company sells and services Zim-
matic pivots, wheel-line, hand-line and
drip irrigation systems. Dunning Irri-
gation Supply also sells livestock feed,
sporting goods and fish and tackle.
Westbound lanes of
Interstate 84 reopen after
hazardous materials spill
LA GRANDE — The west-
bound lanes of Interstate 84 began
reopening in the early hours of
Friday, Feb. 11, between Pendleton
and Ontario, much of which had been
closed for about 20 hours following a
truck crash at 6 a.m. on Feb. 10. The
long closure involved a hazardous
materials spill at the site of the crash,
10 miles east of Pendleton.
The westbound lanes of I-84 were
reopened at 1:30 a.m. Feb. 11 in La
Grande, at 2 a.m. in Baker City and
at 2:30 a.m. in Ontario, according to
Oregon Department of Transportation
spokesperson Tom Strandberg. The
openings were made after the truck
involved in the crash was removed and
most of the hazardous materials were
cleared up.
The crash also forced the closure of
the Tollgate Highway between Elgin
and Weston, which was also reopened
early the morning of Feb. 11. The Toll-
gate Highway was available as a detour
from 2-3 p.m. on Feb. 10 but was then
closed again because “it was over-
whelmed with traffic,” Strandberg said.
Some cleanup of the hazardous
materials is continuing on I-84, which
may require some westbound lane
closures at the site of the cleanup and
cause minor traffic delays.
— The Observer
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande City Council is
set to say goodbye to some
familiar faces.
Two council members,
Gary Lillard and John
Bozarth, along with Mayor
Steve Clements, announced
earlier this month they
will not be running in the
upcoming elections in
November.
Lillard and Bozarth have
each served many years
within the city, taking part
in the council and other
committees. Both coun-
cilors will continue serving
on the council until their
terms expire at the begin-
ning of the
regular ses-
sion in Jan-
uary 2023.
“I’ve been
doing this
for a good
long while,”
Lillard
Lillard said
of the deci-
sion. “I just
decided that it
was time.”
Lillard, a
La Grande
native, has
Bozarth
served posi-
tions with the city for
nearly 30 years. Now
retired, the councilor previ-
ously worked as a manager
and interim superintendent
at Camp Riverbend Youth
Transitional Facility.
For Lillard, serving in
city government boiled
down to giving back to his
hometown and doing his
part.
“I was born and raised
here, and it was just some-
thing I really wanted to do
as someone loyal to their
hometown and wanting to
give back,” he said.
Lillard previously served
on the planning commis-
sion, during which time
La Grande constructed the
new fire station. The city
councilor also played a role
during the creation of Cook
Memorial Library and
the implementation of the
Quiet Zone in La Grande
— the ban on train whis-
tles in the city stands out
as one of Lillard’s fondest
accomplishments.
Bozarth, who declined
to comment, served mul-
tiple positions within
the city over the last few
decades. He won a seat on
the city council in 2010
after previously serving a
6-1/2 year stint as a council
member.
Bozarth previously
served on the La Grande
budget committee for three
years and four years on the
planning commission. He
was elected to the council
in the fall of 2020 to serve
another term, which filled
in the gap at Position 6. As
a whole, Bozarth served
more than 10 years on the
council and more than 20
years with the city.
Both councilors were
tasked with helping the
city stay afloat through the
COVID-19 pandemic. The
council was dedicated to
keeping local businesses
alive and doing what it
could to provide funding
and resources.
“It’s certainly been
among the most difficult
challenges I have faced as
a councilor in 20 years,”
Lillard said. “I think that
ultimately as a city govern-
ment, we were able to help
people in business particu-
larly who really needed the
help by being able to assign
funds to a system with a
variety of issues.”
MORE INFORMATION
Applications for the four posi-
tions up for election are avail-
able at city hall and are due
back by 1 p.m. on March 1.
The primary election is set
for May 17, with the intent of
nominating candidates for the
November election.