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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 2022)
FROM PAGE ONE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2022 THE OBSERVER — A7 RENEWAL Continued from Page A1 full $250,000 that we had budgeted for that fi scal year, which is pretty typical for us in the past,” Strope said. “We’ve generally had more requests for funding than we’ve had dollars available.” The Raul’s Taqueria funds — $21,000 out of a $46,000 project cost — involved an expansion into the adjacent space that pre- viously housed Looking Glass Books. The reno- vation increased Raul’s capacity from roughly 30-40 customers to upward of 90, according to co-owner Arturo Escamilla. “It’s defi nitely increased business and we’ve been happy,” Escamilla said. Funds from the grant helped pay for the expan- sion, as well as renovation in the original restaurant space. The Adams Avenue business has been in opera- tion since 2011, but can now cater to an expanded cus- tomer base with the addition of a functioning bar in the new space. “Everyone seems to like it,” Escamilla said. “We have had a lot of compli- ments from our regular cus- tomers, as well as getting new customers to come in.” The $64,220 in Urban Renewal grant funding at The Local were used in ren- ovating the former Texaco station on Adams Avenue into a coff ee and ice cream shop with indoor and out- door seating and a drive- thru window. In the 2020-21 fi scal year, $69,708 was used to assist Hines Meat Co. in adding coolers and equip- ment to meet USDA standards and increase off erings. Another URA project in the fi scal year was ren- ovating the Slate Building on Fir Street. The report indicated that $34,700 was spent on the building, which includes housing units and street-level busi- nesses. The renovations ABUSE Continued from Page A1 “That would be on the basis of the suffi ciency of the evidence,” Schaeff er said, though that would be for her appellate attorney to determine. According to court records, the specifi cs of the 20 counts include payment of Wayne Lathrop’s bar tab, the purchase and installa- tion of new fl ooring in Betsy Lathrop’s home in Lostine, the purchase of a Lexus, the purchase of a pickup for Betsy Lathrop’s daughter and cash withdrawn and/or checks to Betsy Lathrop. Lathrop also was accused of eight counts of iden- tity theft — also a Class C felony — on various dates between October and December 2016 when she allegedly wrote checks using her father’s identifi cation, according to court records. She was acquitted on the identity theft charges. Lathrop was convicted of the counts that accused her of purchasing and having installed new fl ooring and a washer and dryer at her Los- tine home. She also was con- victed of using her father’s money to pay for expenses at her home and of withdrawing cash or writing checks on the elder Lathrop’s bank account for her own use. Class C felonies can be punished with up to fi ve years in prison, Wallowa County District Attorney Rebecca Frolander said in September 2020. However, she said then, defendants rarely get the maximum sen- tence for a variety of rea- Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group Gust Tsiatsos, owner of The Local in downtown La Grande, works on improvements to the coff ee and ice cream cafe on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. “Everyone seems to like it. We have had a lot of compliments from our regular customers, as well as getting new customers to come in.” — Arturo Escamilla, co-owner of Raul’s Taqueria, about the renovation Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group Marisol Cisneros, an employee at The Local in downtown La Grande, prepares drinks for customers on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. involved improvements to HVAC systems, electrical systems and mechanical systems. The fi nal project of the sons. Christian Stringer, an elder abuse resource prose- cutor who assisted as pros- ecuting attorney, said Feb. 14 that sentences on felony convictions are subject to the Oregon Sentencing Guideline Grid, which can make them even more complicated. Kristina Edmunson, of the state Department of Justice, agreed on the use of the grid, saying it’s unlikely Lathrop will get the maximum. It “will likely be a proba- tionary sentence with some local jail time possible,” Edmunson said in a Feb. 14 email. She said the court also may order restitution. Schaeff er said Lathrop may appeal any court-ordered restitution, but that wouldn’t be decided until the sentence is handed down. “The issue of restitution will likely be a contested issue,” he said. The lead prosecutor was Colin Benson, a senior assis- tant state attorney general. Lathrop’s defense counsel was Jim Schaeff er, of La Grande. He was unavail- able for comment Feb. 14 or to ask if Lathrop planned an appeal. Frolander said Sept. 21, 2020, that her offi ce referred the case to Victoria Roe, a senior assistant attorney gen- eral and elder abuse resource prosecutor with the Oregon Department of Justice. Fro- lander said the referral was because that is often the case in complex legal matters that require extensive investiga- tions that local law enforce- ment has neither the time or expertise to handle. fi scal year improved the parking lot and landscaping at The Copy Club, a highly visible business at the busy intersection of Adams and is promising.” The COVID-19 pan- demic played a role in project costs and mate- rial availability, aff ecting how the agency went about its projects during the last fi scal year. The agency’s plan does not expire by a specifi c date, but rather has an allotted $9,407,121 remaining indebtedness. “It can change based on if we have major projects,” Strope said. “We still have several years remaining that we can continue operating and do projects at the level we currently are.” DEERVID Continued from Page A1 COVID-19 to the wildlife population in Oregon, and to hunters. The veterinarian also noted that in the case of a disease such as COVID- 19, that the virus would change due to absorbing DNA from the host. “When a virus goes into a new host or a new species, it takes on some of the genetic material of that species or host and it changes the virus a bit,” Gillin said. Gillin also said that there’s “not a lot of evi- dence at this point that it easily goes into other spe- cies of deer like blacktail deer, mule deer or elk.” “It may,” he said, “but so far there’s been no evi- dence that it causes dis- ease in the deer, and there’s no documented evidence that it comes back out of the deer, so it’s acting like a zoonotic disease.” Deer aren’t the only animals to have been known to suff er COVID-19 infections. Early in the pandemic, mink farms suff ered tre- mendous losses as farms across the world culled their minks due to the virus running rampant. Denmark culled nearly 17 million minks in November, 2020, after it was found the virus had been transmitted from minks, mutated and was transmitted back to the human handlers, according to reports from WE MAKE IT EASY with an online application It’s easy to apply for a home mortgage loan at Allied Mortgage Resource. Simply go to lagrandemannmortgage.com and complete an application form. After we process your request, we will contact you to meet with one of our financial officers. We make it easy for you to start the process of owning your own home. 1429 Adams Ave La Grande, OR 541-962-7557 Island avenues. According to Strope, the amount of requests for funding has trended down in recent years. The agency received more than 20 appli- cations several years ago, but is currently handling two total projects in the cur- rent fi scal year. Strope noted that having fewer project requests than dollars avail- able was a bit of an anomaly in comparison to typical fi scal years. “The budget proposal that I’m looking at submit- ting for the coming fi scal year is going to maintain the call for projects at that higher budget amount in hopes that we’ll have more projects,” Strope said. “We are seeing increased interest in calls for projects, which Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File A group of young deer make their way across a fi eld near Hunter Road in Summerville on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. NBC news. But whether or not the virus will be seen in Oregon’s deer popula- tion remains a mystery. Offi cials with the ODFW aren’t actively testing or researching the virus in Oregon herds. But it’s also unlikely infected deer from the Midwest would end up in Eastern Oregon, given that the longest recorded migra- tion path of a white-tailed deer is less than 400 miles. Still, Gillin said the state is keeping close watch on any new devel- opments regarding COVID-19 in the wildlife population. “There’s quite a few really good researchers out there working on this in the Midwest. They’re putting a lot of resources into it and we’re in con- tact with those individ- uals,” Gillin said. “We have our ear to ground on the topic, but we’re not engaged in active research in Oregon because of the low risk.” An Independent Insurance Agency Trusted Insurance Help Since 1994 Get Trusted, Friendly, Expert Medicare Insurance Help 10106 North C St. • Island City 541-975-1364 • Toll Free 1-866-282-1925 www.reed-insurance.net When Food Speaks the Language of Your Heart Give Her• Ask about Free Delivery! ELGIN ELECTRIC 43 N. 8th Elgin, OR 541-437-2054