A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
In 1630, English colonists in
the Massachusetts Bay Colony
fi rst sampled popcorn brought
to them by a Native American
named Quadequina for their
Thanksgiving celebration.
In 1732 (New Style date), the
fi rst president of the United
States, George Washington, was
born in Westmoreland County
in the Virginia Colony.
In 1784, a U.S. merchant ship,
the Empress of China, left New
York for the Far East to trade
goods with China.
In 1935, it became illegal for
airplanes to fl y over the White
House.
In 1959, the inaugural
Daytona 500 race was held;
although Johnny Beauchamp
was initially declared the
winner, the victory was later
awarded to Lee Petty.
In 1967, more than 25,000
U.S. and South Vietnamese
troops launched Opera-
tion Junction City, aimed at
smashing a Vietcong strong-
hold near the Cambodian
border. (Although the commu-
nists were driven out, they later
returned.)
In 1980, the “Miracle on
Ice” took place in Lake Placid,
New York, as the United States
Olympic hockey team upset
the Soviets, 4-3. (The U.S. team
went on to win the gold medal.)
In 1987, pop artist Andy
Warhol died at a New York City
hospital at age 58.
In 1997, scientists in Scot-
land announced they had suc-
ceeded in cloning an adult
mammal, producing a lamb
named “Dolly.” (Dolly, however,
was later put down after a short
life marred by premature aging
and disease.)
In 2010, Najibullah Zazi,
accused of buying beauty sup-
plies to make bombs for an
attack on New York City sub-
ways, pleaded guilty to charges
including conspiring to use
weapons of mass destruction.
(Zazi faced up to life in prison
but spent nearly a decade after
his arrest helping the U.S. iden-
tify and prosecute terrorists; he
was given a 10-year sentence
followed by supervised release.)
In 2016, the City Council
of Charlotte, North Carolina,
voted 7-4 to pass a new law
allowing transgender people to
choose public bathrooms that
corresponded to their gender
identity.
In 2020, Bernie Sanders
scored a resounding win in
Nevada’s presidential caucuses,
cementing his status as the
Democrats’ front-runner.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor
Paul Dooley is 94. Actor James
Hong is 93. Actor John Ashton
is 74. Actor Miou-Miou is 72.
Actor Julie Walters is 72. Basket-
ball Hall of Famer Julius Erving
is 72. Actor Ellen Greene is 71.
Former Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., is
70. Former White House adviser
David Axelrod is 67. Actor Kyle
MacLachlan is 63. World Golf
Hall of Famer Vijay Singh is 59.
Actor-comedian Rachel Dratch
is 56. Actor Paul Lieberstein is
55. Actor Jeri Ryan is 54. Actor
Thomas Jane is 53. TV host
Clinton Kelly is 53. Actor Tamara
Mello is 52. Actor-singer Lea
Salonga is 51. Actor Jose Solano
is 51. International Tennis Hall
of Famer Michael Chang is
50. Rock musician Scott Phil-
lips is 49. Singer James Blunt
is 48. Actor Drew Barrymore is
47. Actor Liza Huber is 47. Rock
singer Tom Higgenson (Plain
White T’s) is 43. Rock musician
Joe Hottinger (Halestorm) is 40.
Actor Zach Roerig is 37.
LOTTERY
Friday, Feb. 18, 2022
Megamillions
6-11-50-63-68
Megaball: 17
Megaplier: 4
Jackpot: $75 million
Lucky Lines
4-7-10-16-19-21-25-29
Jackpot: $30,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 6-5-2-8
4 p.m.: 1-3-4-7
7 p.m.: 2-5-5-5
10 p.m.: 6-2-8-0
Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022
Powerball
3-10-15-33-42
Powerball: 11
Power Play: 2
Jackpot: $37 million
Megabucks
7-21-30-45-46-47
Jackpot: $1.9 million
Lucky Lines
2-8-10-14-19-21-25-31
Jackpot: $31,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 6-0-5-4
4 p.m.: 4-0-1-5
7 p.m.: 2-3-8-8
10 p.m.: 5-8-9-3
Win for Life
5-52-62-72
Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022
Lucky Lines
3-7-11-13-17-24-27-31
Estimated jackpot: $32,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 6-9-8-9
4 p.m.: 2-9-9-1
7 p.m.: 4-3-9-0
10 p.m.: 4-1-0-5
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022
LOCAL
PRODUCTION ISSUES
Due to production issues, the Saturday, Feb. 19, Observer was printed missing two pages. The
story below did not run in its entirety and is being reprinted here. More stories are on Page A3.
2022 STARTED WET, BUT
DROUGHT
WORRIES LINGER
Dry January aggravates dry conditions across Northeastern Oregon
By KATY NESBITT
For EO Media Group
P
ENDLETON — December
and January storms set up
the winter of 2022 to be
cold and wet, but several weeks
without signifi cant snow or rain
are creating concerns of another
drought year.
Northeastern Oregon is faring
better than Central and Southern
Oregon, with cold temperatures
preventing the early January
snowfall from melting. Snow in
the last few days has helped inch
up snowpack and snow water
equivalent levels for the Blue and
Wallowa mountains.
According to the USDA Nat-
ural Resources Conservation Ser-
vice website, monthly stream-
fl ow and reservoir conditions for
January in the Umatilla-Walla
Walla-Willow Basin were above
average. Two bodies of water In
the southern region of the basin
near Heppner are considerably
higher than the rest of the basin:
Willow Creek is at 187% and
Rhea Creek is at 142% of the
30-year median.
Farther south, the North
Fork John Day River at Mon-
ument is recording 83% of its
30-year median. The basin has
one stronghold for water: Camas
Creek near Ukiah at 346% of the
median.
The Grande Ronde-Burnt-
Powder-Imnaha Basin is aver-
aging between 83% and 95%
of the 30-year median with one
anomaly: Bear Creek, outside of
Wallowa, is at 216%.
Snowpack has been holding
up, despite the lack of precipita-
tion in the last fi ve weeks.
In the Blue Mountains
between La Grande and Pend-
leton, Emigrant Springs has 45
inches of snowpack and is 148%
above average with 10% snow
water equivalent.
High Ridge Snotel east of
Pendleton has 52 inches of snow-
pack, 5% below its average, but
with 33% snow water equivalent.
Milkshakes Snotel on the Wash-
ington state line has 71 inches
of snowpack, which is 87% of
normal with 35% snow water
equivalent.
In the Wallowas, Mount
Howard has 27 inches of snow-
pack, 25% below average with
32% snow water equivalent. On
the south side of the range, Moss
Springs Snotel is recording 49
inches of snowpack, which is
15% below average with a snow
water equivalent of 32%.
In Baker County, Schneider
Meadows Snotel is recording
22% below normal precipita-
tion and has 55 inches of snow-
pack with a 33% snow water
equivalent.
While the snowpack and
water levels look pretty good
right now, Northeastern Oregon
is facing down the barrel of
another drought year, according
to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.
According to www.drought.gov,
Wallowa County was down 0.69
inches of precipitation in Jan-
uary. The entire county is con-
sidered to be in severe drought
status, and 44.36% of the county
is experiencing extreme drought
conditions.
Union County is down 0.27
inches of its average precipitation.
The entire county is considered
to be under severe drought condi-
tions while 4.3% is experiencing
extreme drought. And Umatilla
County is down 0.2 inches of pre-
cipitation from a normal January.
This puts all of the county under
severe drought conditions, with
33.77% considered to be under
extreme drought conditions.
The extended forecast for
Northeastern Oregon calls for
33% to 40% below normal
precipitation with a 40% to
50% chance of above normal
temperatures.
Weeks of subfreezing temperatures
have held snow in the higher elevations
of Northeastern Oregon, as is evident in
this February 2022 photo of the Wallowa
Mountains. Despite reasonable snow-
pack levels in the high country, however,
most of the region is still facing severe
drought conditions.
Katy Nesbitt/For EO Media Group
Police arrest pair suspected of mail theft
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Police
said offi cers have located
a pair of suspects believed
to be connected to a string
of mail thefts in the La
Grande area.
George Kelly, 26, and
Gracee Shelley, 22, were
both arrested Sunday, Feb.
20, and charged with 61
counts of mail theft and
61 counts of conspiracy to
commit mail theft, according
to a La Grande Police
Department press release.
The arrests were made
after La Grande police con-
ducted an investigation with
the assistance of the Union
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce and
the Oregon State Police fol-
lowing reports that Shelley
and Kelly were allegedly on
a crime spree and had stolen
mail and packages from
many diff erent addresses in
La Grande and other por-
tions of Union County.
During the arrest, La
Grande law enforcement
offi cers collected enough
stolen mail to fi ll two copy
paper boxes, according to
the press release, and are
working diligently to return
all stolen mail and packages
to their owners.
“I am proud of the cit-
izens who were able to
report this incident and give
us a good suspect vehicle
description,” said the lead
investigator in the case,
acting La Grande Police
Department Sgt. Brandon
Boucher.
Shelley and Kelly were
traveling in a blue Chevy
Impala.
Boucher added that he
was impressed with the hard
work investigating offi cers
are putting into the case and
that “we were able to stop
any more mail thefts from
occurring.”
The arrests of Kelly and
Shelley were made at about
8 p.m. after La Grande
police offi cers responded
at 7:25 a.m. in the area
of South 20th Street for a
report of mail theft.
An investigation of the
case is ongoing and there
may be more charges.
Anyone with information
that could assist the inves-
tigation should contact
Boucher at 541-963-1017.
EOU COVID-19 numbers continue to plateau
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — As
the academic calendar pro-
gresses toward the end of
February, COVID-19 case
numbers at Eastern Oregon
University have come to a
stall.
The university, which
experienced 182 cases
throughout January, totaled
just four cases during the
period from Sunday, Feb.
13, through Feb. 20.
“Our employee num-
bers, as well as our stu-
dent numbers, are going
down,” said Vice President
of Student Aff airs Lacy
Karpilo. “We’re still having
cases, but it has dropped
signifi cantly.”
Cases among off -campus
students remained at zero
through the week-long
period. The category saw
the sharpest rise during the
omicron spike and currently
stands at 158 cases.
Cases among university
employees rose from 52 to
55, while the total number of
on-campus cases remained
at 42 throughout the week.
“We’re still asking
people to be mindful
because it’s still out there
and spreading, but we’re
very excited to see it go
down,” Karpilo said.
Karpilo noted that out of
the limited cases in the last
two weeks, no faculty of
staff experienced hospital-
izations or severe illness.
The university has made
a big push to up testing
eff orts during the omicron
spike, which Karpilo said
will likely continue until
numbers remain steady.
EOU has distributed 2,778
COVID-19 tests for a 10.5%
positivity rate.
During the last week, the
university recorded one off -
campus isolation/quarantine.
In lieu of the state
announcing it will lift the
mask mandate at the end of
March, Eastern will make
that decision from within
campus leadership.
“Our decision will be
made just as every other
decision has been made,
partnering with our local
health authority, seeing our
numbers and the county
numbers,” Karpilo said.
“We’re going to use the
same evidence-based pro-
cess and then we’ll make
our decision.”
Local Lion
receives
top honor
Kathy Oliver given
prestigious Helen
Keller award from
Elgin Lions Club
By DICK MASON
The Observer
ELGIN — Kathy Oliver
has a limited amount of free
time, which is understand-
able because she has a lot
on her plate — including
virtually all of Eastern
Oregon.
Oliver, a member of the
Elgin Lions Club, is serving
as governor for Lions Clubs
International’s District 36-G
in Oregon. The district,
which has 30 clubs, encom-
passes most of Eastern
Oregon.
The Sum-
merville res-
ident, who is
about three
months from
completing
her one-year
Oliver
term as gov-
ernor, has handled her
responsibilities as District
36-G governor masterfully,
according to Gerald Hop-
kins, a member of the Elgin
Lions Club.
“She is doing a won-
derful job,” he said.
Hopkins credits Oliver
with making many con-
nections and helping Lions
clubs in the district work
together amid the chal-
lenges of the COVID-19
pandemic.
On Monday, Feb. 14,
Oliver was presented with
the Helen Keller award,
one of the most prestigious
a Lions Club can present
to anyone, Hopkins said.
Clubs are able to present the
Helen Keller award only if
they make a $1,000 dona-
tion to the Lions Sight and
Hearing Foundation.
Elgin Lions Club mem-
bers voted to give Oliver the
award in an election where
ballots were cast secretly.
Oliver was caught off guard
when told she had won the
award.
“It had not entered my
mind. It was a total sur-
prise,” said Oliver, whose
husband, Steve, is also a
member of the Elgin Lions
Club and a past District
36-G governor.
Hopkins said the award
is one Kathy Oliver richly
deserves.
“She is a great person.
Everyone in the club really
loves her,” said Hopkins,
also a former district
governor.
Oliver has been a
member of the Elgin Lions
Club for 15 years, including
serving several years as its
president. She has helped
lead a number of club
events, many of which raise
money for the Lions Sight
and Hearing Foundation.
“She is working on proj-
ects all the time. When-
ever we have an event she is
always there,” Hopkins said.
Lions Clubs Interna-
tional has a 97-year connec-
tion to Keller, who although
blind and deaf was a tire-
less advocate for those with
disabilities. Keller spoke at
the the International Lions
Clubs Convention in Ohio
on June 30, 1925. She chal-
lenged the Lions to become
“Knights of the blind in the
crusade against darkness.”
The organization accepted
the challenge and today has
many internationally rec-
ognized programs aimed at
preventing blindness.
Oliver said the award is
especially meaningful to
her because it is named in
honor of the woman who
inspired the Lions Clubs
International to become
what it is today.
“It means a lot to me,”
she said. “I feel very
honored.”
Oliver hopes to help her
club continue reaching out
to people in need around
Northeastern Oregon after
she steps down as governor.
“There are so many
people here who need help,”
she said.