FROM PAGE ONE
Saturday, February 26, 2022
MERA
Continued from Page A1
to allow for public feedback, the
county and ReedCo decided to
break the time line up into mul-
tiple sections — this will allow for
full usage of the recreation area in
the spring and summer months.
Chambers noted that after this
past month’s work, the Red Apple
project is approximately one third
of the way through to completion.
The project, which started in
the northern segment of the Red
Apple area, involved a moderate
amount of mastication in the first
phase. Both Chambers and Chuck
Sarrett, a forester contracted by
Union County, emphasized in a
January advisory board meeting
that the project is not a “corner-to-
corner” mastication plan.
“The winter conditions were
such that there was not deep snow
and the ground was frozen, so
they had good visibility and were
able to do mastication of the area
they treated,” Chambers said.
MASKS
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tioned Thursday that her decision
to lift it now was not a sign Oregon
is in the clear.
“Lifting Oregon’s COVID-19
emergency declaration today does
not mean that the pandemic is over,
or that COVID-19 is no longer a
significant concern,” Brown said
in a written statement. “But, as we
have shown through the delta and
omicron surges, as we learn to live
with this virus, and with so many
Oregonians protected by safe and
effective vaccines, we can now
protect ourselves, our friends, and
our families without invoking the
extraordinary emergency author-
ities that were necessary at the
beginning of the pandemic.”
Oregon’s current masking
requirements are not authorized
under Brown’s emergency order.
They are public health rules put
into place by the OHA. The agency
said in a statement of its own Feb.
24 that modeling suggests Oregon
will see pre-omicron levels of the
virus by March 20. The OHA is
still recommending that people
at high-risk from the coronavirus
continue to wear masks in public
settings.
“We are able to take this
important step, earlier than antic-
ipated, because of the collective
VERDICTS
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at the time of those previous
convictions, and it’s hard
to say whether those juries
would have pushed for a
unanimous verdict if the
laws had been different.
“No one
can say what
the juries
would have
done if they
had been
required to be
unanimous,”
Baxter
Baxter stated
in an email. “No one knows
if the jury would have
worked just a little harder
and longer to obtain a unan-
imous verdict. It is likely
that once the required una-
nimity was obtained, they
stopped.”
The broadness of the bill
is beset by its relative suc-
cinctness — only about
a single page of amend-
ments to existing law would
take the bill far beyond the
Supreme Court’s ruling.
SCHOOLS
Continued from Page A1
The money would also
fund the demolition of the
Annex and the school dis-
trict’s shop building, which
is just north of the Annex.
The school district’s shop
facilities would then be
moved to the Adams Pro-
fessional Plaza.
The La Grande School
District is now renting the
space at Adams Professional
Plaza and may later pur-
chase it if the bond request
is approved by voters,
according to Joseph Waite,
the La Grande School Dis-
trict’s facilities director.
One of the pluses of
moving the shop facilities
off campus is that it would
reduce vehicle traffic in
alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File
Sean Chambers, the Union County parks director, listens as residents express their
concerns about a proposed logging project at the Owsley Canyon Trailhead at the
Mount Emily Recreation Area on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021.
“There shouldn’t be any need to
re-enter the area they treated this
winter.”
Upon the completion of the
first section of the project, further
mastication is set to take place in
other areas of MERA.
ReedCo contractors origi-
nally intended to use the Owsley
Canyon Trailhead as an entrance
for the project, but winter condi-
tions in January were not favor-
able. Instead, much of the work
was conducted via rock roads on
Igo Lane and Archer Lane. Sev-
eral in the community opposed to
diligence and the shared sacri-
fice that people in Oregon have
demonstrated in getting vacci-
nated, wearing masks and limiting
their gatherings,” state epidemiol-
ogist Dr. Dean Sidelinger said in a
statement.
In the last month, new reported
COVID infections have dropped
by more than 80%, according
to the state health agency. More
important for Oregon’s overtaxed
health care system, hospitaliza-
tions are down nearly 50% since
peaking last month, the agency
said.
In Union County, the average
rate of COVID-19 cases per day
stood at just under 15 through from
the start of the month to Feb. 23.
Case numbers in January reached
upwards of 85 in one single day.
“Nobody knows what tomorrow
brings, but watching the numbers
go down is really good,” Beverage
said. “We’re excited and hopeful.”
Beverage noted that the recent
COVID-19 trends and lifted mask
restrictions will help struggling
local businesses get back on their
feet.
“March 19 is better than March
31, better sooner than later,” he
said.
Mark Mulvihill, superinten-
dent of the InterMountain Educa-
tion Service District, whose ser-
vice area includes Union County,
also expressed pleasure at the ear-
lier date.
“I am very excited. It has been
a very, very difficult period. Many
are exhausted from the pandemic.
Now we can return to a sense of
optimism,” he said.
Mulvihill said it is fitting that
the mandate will be lifted when
many students are beginning
their spring break, one they will
be able to enter with a sense of
renewal because of the Feb. 24
announcement.
“Rebirth is what spring is all
about,” he said.
Imbler School District Interim
Superintendent Doug Hislop said
many people in his school district
will be very happy when the man-
date is lifted.
“There will be a huge sigh of
relief,” he said.
Hislop said that students will
still be able to still wear masks
if they want to once the mandate
expires. He said the school district
will no longer be buying masks for
students to use, but students who
want to wear masks will not be out
of luck if they don’t have one.
“If there are any students who
Local educators buoyed
by the news
Earl Pettit, superintendent of
the Cove School District, is more
than happy that the mandate will
be lifted earlier than initially
announced.
tHe ObSerVer — A7
the project voiced concerns about
the possible traffic and danger
caused by large logging trucks
using the slick roadways. Cham-
bers noted before the project that
the Union County Public Works
department was able to expand
the lanes, put up proper signage
and alert truck drivers of precau-
tions well in advance.
“No issues that I’m aware of,”
Chambers said. “They signed it
well and the road was well main-
tained by public works. I think
being up front and getting the
word out was good. I thought it
went smoothly.”
Chambers did not yet have
an estimate on how many trees
were logged or how much profit
the county will acquire, but he
noted that those numbers will be
available from ReedCo after the
project. Logging trucks hauled the
timber to La Grande, Elgin, Pilot
Rock and Lewiston, Idaho.
Chambers noted that the
county will work with ReedCo
in handling the aftercare of the
project.
“Trail wise, if there’s damage
we’ll identify that. ReedCo will
get out there and clear trails,” he
said. “What needs done should
be very minimal. They were very
aware of the trail locations and
tried to give them a wide berth
and stay back. They’re very aware
of that.”
Chambers noted that the
county will handle any additional
trail cleanup, but that he does not
anticipate any major work being
required.
If all goes to plan, the
closed-off sections of MERA will
reopen by this weekend. Cham-
bers also noted that follow-up
projects may include vegetation
management and weed manage-
ment — the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife is donating
grass seeding for the vegetation
management.
“If there’s any major impacts,
we’ll look at getting those taken
care of,” Chambers said. “I don’t
anticipate a lot of work that way
other than throwing some sticks
off the trail, hopefully.”
want to wear a mask and don’t
have one I will find one for them,”
Hislop said.
At Eastern Oregon University,
it is unknown when the mask man-
date will be lifted.
EOU Vice President of Student
Affairs Lacy Karpilo said last week
that the university will make its
decision on mask mandates from
within campus leadership.
The university has con-
tinued to consult with the Oregon
Health Authority and the Center
for Human Development when
making decisions related to
COVID-19. Karpilo noted that the
university relies on evidence-based
processing to keep the campus as
safe and productive of an in-person
experience as possible during the
pandemic.
ertheless, the restrictions have been
deeply controversial in many more
rural parts of the state.
Union County Sheriff Cody
Bowen previously wrote a letter
addressed to Oregon governor Kate
Brown on Aug. 13, opposing mask
mandates in schools statewide.
“I’m glad common sense has
prevailed,” he said. “I’m excited to
see it, especially for our kids.”
In a videotaped message
released Feb. 24, Colt Gill, director
of the Oregon Department of Edu-
cation and deputy superintendent
of public instruction, said schools
would be included in the move
based on feedback from school
districts.
“Based on the feedback from
local leaders and communities,
OHA and ODE are partnering to
develop practical updates to safety
protocols for quarantine, con-
tact tracing, and testing that meet
the current conditions of the pan-
demic,” he said. “These guidelines
will continue to support our North
Star goal of providing in-person
learning for every student, all day,
every school day and will focus on
specific supports for students, staff,
and families that may be at more
risk from COVID-19 than others in
the school population.”
Oregon in step with what
is happening nationally
Many of the same trends are
playing out nationwide, and a
growing list of state and local gov-
ernments have announced an end
to masking rules in recent days.
A mask requirement in Wash-
ington state is scheduled to lapse
on March 21.
In Oregon, restrictions put in
place by Brown and health offi-
cials have been among the strictest
in the nation, but have also helped
Oregon record fewer deaths per
capita than many other states. Nev-
— The Observer reporters
Davis Carbaugh and Dick Mason
contributed to this report.
And it’s happening during
Oregon’s legislative ses-
sion that will last for only
35 days.
“I feel it’s been rushed.
We’re in the short ses-
sion. This is supposed to be
for certain matters, fiscal
aspects, things like that,”
said Justin Nelson, dis-
trict attorney for Morrow
County, “and this is a very
complicated and, possibly,
very costly bill that goes far
beyond what the Supreme
Court said needed to be
done. Is that something we
need to be doing for the
short session? Is this some-
thing we push through in 35
days?”
The Oregon District
Attorney Association raised
numerous issues with the
bill, including what would
happen for verdicts that
included multiple charges.
“Let’s say you have a
10-count case,” Nelson said.
“And the persons found
guilty of all counts. Maybe
count one is rape in the first
degree, and then count 10 is
false information to a police
officer — a misdemeanor
of some sort and ends up
being a non-unanimous ver-
dict. The concern I have is
that it actually overturns
the entire judgment, not just
that count.”
Other issues the ODAA
raised include how the court
would determine whether
a jury was
unanimous or
not, given that
records of jury
polls were
not always
well kept,
according to
Nelson
the ODAA’s
testimony.
The testimony also con-
siders the possibility that
the new law could be used
in conjunction with the
Sixth Amendment to dis-
miss a conviction due to an
untimely trial.
Foremost, the ODAA
raised an issue with the cost
of the legislation, which
provides no resources for
victim assistance pro-
grams for resulting trauma
from having a decided case
returned to trial.
“Oregon’s victims of
some of the most serious
crimes we see are going
to be facing new trauma
as thousands of cases are
returned and potentially
re-litigated,” testified Rose-
mary W. Brewer, executive
director of Oregon Crime
Victims Law Center. “Yet as
drafted, SB 1511 has no pro-
visions for increased victim
services. There is going to
be an enormous need for
trauma-informed services,
and we must ensure that
victims have easy access to
these services as they learn
that a part of their lives they
considered to be closed is
reopened.”
The OCVLC testimony
also noted the bill does not
provide any notification for
victims of crimes, or allow
for their participation in the
justice system.
“It is unfortunately all
too common that victims’
voices are left out of the
criminal justice process.
Without specific provisions
for victim notification and
participation,” the testi-
mony continued, “SB 1511
unwinds the progress that
has been made in acknowl-
edging the critical role vic-
tims play and in Oregon’s
commitment to ensuring
victims are treated with the
dignity and respect that the
Constitution demands.”
Aliza Kaplan, professor
and director of the Crim-
inal Justice Reform Clinic
at Portland’s Lewis and
Clark Law School, testi-
fied in support of SB 1511
and cited statistics that show
that the non-unanimous jury
law had a disproportionate
impact on communities of
color.
The Lewis & Clark
Law School testimony also
showed that of the 244 cases
that raised concerns in
Ramos vs. Louisiana, only
six originate from Eastern
Oregon — all of which are
in Umatilla County. How-
ever, these are simply the
number of cases with issues
raised about the constitu-
tionality of a non-unani-
mous jury — cases in which
the issue of non-unanimous
juries wasn’t raised at court
likely exist, and there is no
way of knowing how many
such cases would be brought
to court once again.
“Due to the spread of
underlying convictions
across Oregon counties,
mostly clustered in Oregon’s
most populous counties with
the largest district attorney
offices, we do not believe
district attorneys would
be severely overwhelmed
by the proposed remands,”
Kaplan testified.
The Oregon 2022 short
legislative session runs from
Feb. 1 to March 8.
“The new parts are
one page on this bill. The
amount of change that
it will do to our judicial
system is staggering. The
cost that it could incur is
staggering,” Nelson said.
“Rushing this through a
special session — some-
thing like this that is one
page — could have a dire
effect on victims and I’m
not sure that’s what we want
to go forward with.”
the vicinity of the middle
school. Presently, middle
school staff and the shop for
maintenance and ground
work share the parking lot.
“The move would pre-
vent us from interfering
with school traffic and keep
them from interfering with
our traffic,” Waite said.
He does not know of any
accidents ever occurring in
the parking lot, but said the
potential is there for one.
The shop building is in
poor condition because of
its age and a lack of main-
tenance work done on it.
Waite said for many decades
the school district has
focused on spending money
maintaining buildings stu-
dents use and the shop
building has been a low pri-
ority in terms of upkeep.
“There has been a lot of
deferred maintenance,” he
said.
Much of the shop depart-
ment’s supplies and equip-
ment are stored in rooms
in the Annex building.
The proposed building that
would replace the Annex
would have two full-sized
gyms, locker rooms and
two classrooms, but no
storage space. That means
supplies and equipment
would be kept at the Adams
Professional Plaza building.
The structure the school
district would rent has thou-
sands of square feet of floor
space but less than what the
shop department has access
to now for storage. The dif-
ference would be made up
by making good use of the
large amount of ceiling
space the building has,
Waite said.
Waite said moving sup-
plies and equipment to the
Adams Avenue site would
be easier because it will be
spacious enough to operate
forklifts on its concrete
floor. The present shop
and Annex building site
do not have enough room
for the operation of fork-
lifts indoors, which means
employees have to carry
items in and out.
Joe Justice, a member of
the bond’s political action
committee, Citizens for
School Renovation, said
the La Grande School Dis-
trict is fortunate to have
a building like the one at
Adams Professional Plaza
available.
“Spaces of this nature
rarely come on the market,”
he said.
Justice said the school
district had more options
with regard to where it
could move the shop facility
because it does not have
to be on school district
property.
“We had more flexi-
bility,” he said. “We were
trying to be creative.”
Justice said that if the
bond passes it would be the
hope of the school district
that it would later be able to
purchase the building at the
Adams Professional Plaza.
Renting or purchasing an
existing building would cost
the school district much less
than if it built a new shop
structure.
Passage of the $4.485
million bond that would
trigger the shop depart-
ment’s move would not
raise the total school taxes
paid by property owners
because of the recent refi-
nancing of the 20-year
$31.5 million bond voters
approved in 2014 for cap-
ital construction and
maintenance.
The school district is
facing a deadline because
in December 2021 it
was awarded a $4 mil-
lion Oregon School Cap-
ital Improvement Matching
grant from the state for the
building of the academic
and athletic center.
The school district
will receive the $4 mil-
lion matching grant only
if voters approve the new
$4.845 million bond.
Voters would have to
approve the bond in May
because this was the elec-
tion date specified by the
school district in its appli-
cation for the grant.