LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
In 1815, Napoleon, having
escaped exile in Elba, arrived
in Cannes, France, and headed
for Paris to begin his “Hundred
Days” rule.
In 1867, Nebraska became
the 37th state as President
Andrew Johnson signed a
proclamation.
In 1893, inventor Nikola Tesla
first publicly demonstrated
radio during a meeting of the
National Electric Light Associ-
ation in St. Louis by transmit-
ting electromagnetic energy
without wires.
In 1932, Charles A. Lindbergh
Jr., the 20-month-old son of
Charles and Anne Lindbergh,
was kidnapped from the family
home near Hopewell, New
Jersey. (Remains identified as
those of the child were found
the following May.)
In 1945, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt, back from the
Yalta Conference, proclaimed
the meeting a success as he
addressed a joint session of
Congress.
In 1954, four Puerto Rican
nationalists opened fire from
the spectators’ gallery of the
U.S. House of Representatives,
wounding five members of
Congress.
In 1966, the Soviet space
probe Venera 3 impacted the
surface of Venus, becoming the
first spacecraft to reach another
planet; however, Venera was
unable to transmit any data, its
communications system having
failed.
In 1971, a bomb went off
inside a men’s room at the
U.S. Capitol; the radical group
Weather Underground claimed
responsibility for the pre-dawn
blast.
In 2005, Dennis Rader,
the churchgoing family man
accused of leading a double
life as the BTK serial killer, was
charged in Wichita, Kansas,
with 10 counts of first-degree
murder. (Rader later pleaded
guilty and received multiple life
sentences.) A closely divided
Supreme Court outlawed the
death penalty for juvenile
criminals.
In 2010, Jay Leno returned
as host of NBC’s “The Tonight
Show.”
In 2015, tens of thousands
marched through Moscow in
honor of slain Russian oppo-
sition leader Boris Nemtsov,
who had been shot to death on
Feb. 27.
In 2020, state officials said
New York City had its first con-
firmed case of the corona-
virus, a woman in her late 30s
who had contracted the virus
while traveling in Iran. Health
officials in Washington state,
announcing what was believed
at the time to be the second
U.S. death from the coronavirus,
said the virus may have been
circulating for weeks unde-
tected in the Seattle area.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor
Robert Clary is 96. Singer/
actor Harry Belafonte is 95.
Rock singer Roger Daltrey is
78. Actor Dirk Benedict is 77.
Actor-director Ron Howard is
68. Country singer Janis Oliver
(Sweethearts of the Rodeo) is
68. Actor Catherine Bach is 67.
Actor Tim Daly is 66. Singer-mu-
sician Jon Carroll is 65. Actor
Maurice Benard is 59. Actor Rus-
sell Wong is 59. Actor George
Eads is 55. Actor Javier Bardem
is 53. Actor Jack Davenport is
49. Rock musician Ryan Peake
(Nickelback) is 49. Actor Mark-
Paul Gosselaar is 48. TV host
Donovan Patton is 44. Actor
Joe Tippett is 40. Actor Lupita
Nyong’o is 39. Pop singer Kesha
(formerly Ke$ha) is 35. R&B
singer Sammie is 35. Pop singer
Justin Bieber is 28.
LOTTERY
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Lucky Lines
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4 p.m.: 0-2-6-5
7 p.m.: 4-7-6-2
10 p.m.: 9-0-1-6
TuESday, MaRcH 1, 2022
EOU lands Title III grant
University awarded
$2.5 million for
student services
Union County
Commissioners to
decide on wolf
depredation funds
The Observer
LA GRANDE — As
classes began last fall,
Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity had something extra to
celebrate.
The university was noti-
fied in late September that
it had been awarded a $2.5
million grant from the U.S.
Department of Education.
The Title III funding is a
Strengthening Institutions
Grant, paid out at $450,000
each year for five years,
with the initial distribution
received in fall 2021.
“This is a significant,
substantial grant for a uni-
versity like EOU because
it’s five years long and
the amount of money that
comes to EOU allows us
to follow through with the
things we know we need
to do,” said Nate Lowe,
dean of the College of Arts,
Humanities and Social Sci-
ences who is also acting as
interim grant director.
Funds are to be used
for academic quality, insti-
tutional management and
fiscal stability. He said the
broad support of this par-
ticular grant removes some
of the constraints that
small, regional universities
like EOU tend to face.
“A Title III grant like
this can be transforma-
tional for a campus like
ours,” Lowe said. “It’s not
only a financial boost, but
it creates an opportunity
for the institution to work
together.”
A new, comprehensive
By DICK MASON
The Observer
Eastern Oregon university/Contributed Photo, File
Students walk to class at Eastern Oregon University in this undated photo. The university was notified
in late September that it had been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
student success program,
called BRIDGES, will
take shape thanks to grant
funds. Leaders from across
the university collaborated
to apply for the grant, and
will continue their inter-
disciplinary work to imple-
ment a range of resources,
from faculty-led math
tutoring and expanded
diversity and equity efforts
to new staff positions. This
integrated approach is
united in its aim to increase
retention and graduation,
thereby improving student
success and ensuring the
university’s fiscal stability
when the grant funding
ends.
“There are dozens and
dozens of faculty and staff
on this campus who are
directly connected to this
grant and its activities, out
to every corner of campus,”
Lowe said. “It’s meant to
create collaboration and
interconnection of the work
that we do in order to sup-
port students.”
Initiatives driven by
this grant seek intention-
ally to break down bar-
riers and increase collab-
oration for the benefit of
students. BRIDGES con-
tains six distinct areas of
focus — enhanced aca-
demic advising; math and
English courses designed to
bring students up to college
level; experiential learning
curriculum for every
degree program; compre-
hensive First Year Experi-
ence for incoming students;
improved degree plan-
ning systems; and culti-
vating a sense of belonging
backed by a new associate
vice president for diver-
sity, inclusion, equity and
belonging.
The university is in the
process of hiring the asso-
ciate vice president, who
will serve as grant director
for the Title III funds and
oversee the creation of a
Center for Diversity, Inclu-
sion, Equity and Belonging
at Eastern.
“This is the anchor of
the entire grant,” Lowe
said. “The funds allow us
to invest in additional per-
sonnel to enhance stu-
dent support, especially for
those who are underrepre-
sented or underprepared
and those who have bigger
roadblocks to success.”
Some of the work has
already begun, while other
aspects are still taking
shape. Lowe anticipates a
growing number of oppor-
tunities for university
departments, employees and
stakeholders to get involved.
It’s been eight months
since EOU’s Provost con-
vened a cross-campus team
to spend several weeks
working with consultants
to apply for the highly
competitive Title III grant.
Already, it’s abundantly
clear these funds have
potential to transform the
student experience at EOU.
“It’s really a gift to stu-
dents today and in the
future,” Lowe said. “We
will be a better institution
because of this and on the
other side of it.”
Rain in forecast for this week
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A wet
week may be ahead for the
Grande Ronde and Wal-
lowa valleys.
The National Weather
Service is forecasting
rain and light snow in La
Grande and Enterprise this
week.
La Grande will have
a 50% chance of rain on
Tuesday, March 1, a 60%
chance of rain on March
2, a 60% chance of rain
on March 3 in the daytime
and a slight chance of snow
that evening, and a slight
chance of snow on March
4, according to National
Weather Service forecasts.
Enterprise will have
a 40% chance of rain on
March 1, a 30% chance of
precipitation on March 2,
a 40% chance of rain on
March 3 and a chance of
snow on March 4.
The forecast high tem-
peratures for La Grande
are 48 degrees on March
1, 47 degrees on March 2,
42 degrees on March 3 and
38 degrees on March 4.
Enterprise’s high tempera-
tures are expected to be 43
degrees on March 1-2, 38
degrees on March 3 and 33
degrees on March 4.
The National Weather
Service is projecting that
La Grande’s low tempera-
tures will be 39 degrees
on March 1, 37 degrees on
March 2, 31 degrees on
March 3 and 28 degrees
on March 4. Enterprise’s
lows are expected to be
30 degrees on March 1, 28
degrees on March 2, 21
degrees on March 3 and 18
degrees on March 4.
The warmer tempera-
tures and rain should cause
rivers and creeks to rise,
but flooding is not consid-
ered likely, according to
Rob Brooks, a meteorologist
with the National Weather
Service in Pendleton.
Brooks said, however, the
National Weather Service
will be watching closely for
potential flooding.
“We will want to get
the word out as fast as we
can if there is a chance of
flooding,” he said.
Brooks said that
because of the rain and
rising temperatures people
will need to be careful
when walking on snow
along the banks of creeks
and rivers. He said rising
water levels will wash
away the base under the
snow, meaning people
stepping on snow on
streambanks run the risk
of falling through and into
frigid water.
Dating violence theme of teen’s presentation
Joseph eighth
grader Harley
Wanner’s project
part of school’s
FCCLA chapter
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
JOSEPH — A Joseph
Charter School eighth-
grader recently headed up
an assembly to share with
her fellow students con-
cerns about dating violence
among teens.
“I’m spreading aware-
ness about teen dating vio-
lence,” said Harley Wanner
before the assembly
Tuesday, Feb. 22. “I’m doing
this assembly; I’m doing an
FCCLA meeting.”
It’s part of her project as
a member of the school’s
Family, Career and Com-
munity Leaders of America
chapter.
FCCLA is a nonprofit
national career and technical
student organization for
youths in family and con-
sumer sciences education in
public and private schools in
grades six through 12. There
are about 30 students in
JCS’s chapter, Wanner said.
A dozen of them joined her
in putting on the assembly.
“I’ll go to present this
project at state and hopefully
at nationals if I make it,”
Wanner said. “I can present
County
to tackle
wolf issue
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Harley Wanner, right, an eighth grader at Joseph Charter School, gives a presentation on teen dating
violence and healthy relationships during an assembly Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. The presentation was
Wanner’s project as a member of the school’s Family, Career and Community Leaders of America chapter.
my project at state and help
people in the community in
any way I can.”
She said her fellow
FCCLA members do a
variety of projects with the
same goal as hers — of
advancing in the competi-
tion to state and nationals.
She said they work on proj-
ects such as teacher appre-
ciation, raise money for
cancer victims and their
families, and one girl is
making a dress of recycled
materials.
Lisa Collier, the JCS
adviser for the FCCLA
chapter, said Wanner also
brought in representatives
from Safe Harbors, a non-
profit group that provides
crisis intervention and advo-
cacy services to survivors
of domestic violence, sexual
violence, dating violence
and stalking, as well as
community education and
outreach, according to the
group’s website. Katherine
Marrone and Marika Straw
from Safe Harbors put on a
slideshow and talked to the
youths who attended.
“She wanted to work
with Safe Harbors,” Collier
said of Wanner. “February
is dating violence awareness
month.”
Wanner, who is just 13,
said that kids today are
dating younger than in even
recent generations.
“Nowadays, kids as
young as 12 will date,” she
said. “But any relationship
can be toxic.”
She also said that the age
gap between dating part-
ners doesn’t make much of a
difference.
“It’s all the same,” she
said. “The age gap doesn’t
matter.”
But it comes down to
being aware, she said.
“You watch for signs
of abuse and toxic rela-
tionships,” Harley said. “If
they’re mentally manipu-
lating you, that’s a sign of a
toxic relationship. An abu-
sive relationship is when
you’re physically harming
your partner. There are so
many other things.”
LA GRANDE — Wolves
took a toll on Union County
livestock in 2021.
The Union County Board
of Commissioners will
address the topic when it
meets at 9 a.m. Wednesday,
March 2. The board will vote
on how to distribute nearly
$53,000 in wolf depreda-
tion funds from the Oregon
Department of Agriculture
under a program established
by the Oregon Legislature in
2011.
The board will consider
recommendations from the
Union County
Wolf Depre-
dation Com-
pensation
Advisory Com-
mittee. It rec-
ommended on
Nov. 10, 2021,
Anderes
that Union
County apply
for $52,921 to
compensate
ranchers who
owned ani-
mals that are
now missing
Beverage
because of
wolves or
were killed
or injured by
them, and to
provide live-
stock owners
more resources
Scarfo
to protect their
animals from wolves.
The committee recom-
mended that $31,921 of the
$52,921 be applied to com-
pensate ranchers for killed,
lost or injured animals.
This would be given to the
ranchers who had 12 sheep
and nine goats killed by
wolves; 36 sheep, six steers,
seven heifers and one cow
that disappeared apparently
because of wolf attacks; and
two Kangal dogs injured by
wolves.
The Union County Wolf
Depredation Compensation
Advisory Committee made
its $31,921 recommendation
based on applications from
producers who were hurt
by wolf activity. The com-
mittee also recommended
that $21,000 be provided to
ranchers to help them protect
their livestock from wolves.
Another subject on the
meeting’s agenda is the 2022
Union County Business
Assistance Grant Program,
which will provide $500,000
in federal funding from the
Coronavirus State Fiscal
Recovery Fund. The money
is available to help small busi-
nesses adversely affected by
the COVID-19 pandemic and
by state-mandated efforts to
prevent its spread.
The board of commis-
sioners will vote on whether
to approve guidelines busi-
nesses must meet before
they can apply. Under pro-
posed eligibility require-
ments, businesses must
have 30 or fewer employees,
been adversely affected by
COVID-19 between Dec. 1,
2020, and Dec. 31, 2021, as
compared to the same time
period in 2019, and meet
other requirements.
Grants of up to $10,000
would be available per busi-
ness under the county’s pro-
posed distribution plan.
The proposed application
window would be March 2
to April 1.
The March 1 meeting
will be conducted via Zoom
videoconference and phone
because of the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic.
To attend the meeting via
phone, dial 669-900-6833 or
253-215-8782. The meeting
ID number is 814 2000 6863.
To access the Zoom link, go to
www.union-county.org/com-
missioners/agendaminutes and
click on the meeting’s agenda.
Public comments for the
meeting can be provided by
email to amoore@union-
county.org before 5 p.m.
March 1.