LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
In 1791, Congress passed a
measure taxing distilled spirits;
it was the first internal revenue
act in U.S. history.
In 1845, Florida became the
27th state.
In 1849, the U.S. Department
of the Interior was established.
In 1863, President Abraham
Lincoln signed a measure cre-
ating the National Academy of
Sciences.
In 1931, “The Star-Span-
gled Banner” became the
national anthem of the United
States as President Herbert
Hoover signed a congressional
resolution.
In 1943, in London’s East
End, 173 people died in a crush
of bodies at the Bethnal Green
tube station, which was being
used as a wartime air raid
shelter.
In 1945, the Allies fully
secured the Philippine capital
of Manila from Japanese forces
during World War II.
In 1960, Lucille Ball filed for
divorce from her husband, Desi
Arnaz, a day after they had fin-
ished filming the last episode
of “The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz
Show.”
In 1966, death claimed
actors William Frawley at age
79 and Alice Pearce at age 48 in
Hollywood.
In 1969, Apollo 9 blasted off
from Cape Kennedy on a mis-
sion to test the lunar module.
In 1991, motorist Rodney
King was severely beaten by
Los Angeles police officers in
a scene captured on amateur
video. Twenty-five people were
killed when a United Airlines
Boeing 737-200 crashed while
approaching the Colorado
Springs airport.
In 2020, in a surprise move,
the Federal Reserve cut its
benchmark interest rate by
a half-point, its largest cut in
more than a decade, to support
the economy in the face of the
spreading coronavirus.
Ten years ago: Mitt Romney
rolled to a double-digit victory
in Washington state’s Repub-
lican presidential caucuses, his
fourth campaign triumph in
a row.
Five years ago: President
Donald Trump toured St.
Andrew Catholic School, a pri-
vate religious facility in Orlando,
Florida, praising it as an ideal
institution for “disadvantaged
children” while re-emphasizing
that his education agenda
would focus on school choice.
The Nintendo Switch, a hybrid
game machine that works as
both a console at home and a
portable tablet on the go, made
its debut.
One year ago: Officials tes-
tifying at a Senate hearing said
Defense Department leaders
had delayed sending help for
hours on Jan. 6, despite an
urgent plea for reinforcement
from police protecting the U.S.
Capitol building.
Today’s Birthdays: Sing-
er-musician Mike Pender (The
Searchers) is 81. Movie pro-
ducer-director George Miller is
77. Actor Hattie Winston is 77.
Singer Jennifer Warnes is 75.
Actor-director Tim Kazurinsky
is 72. Singer-musician Robyn
Hitchcock is 69. Actor Robert
Gossett is 68. Rock musician
John Lilley is 68. Actor Miranda
Richardson is 64. Radio person-
ality Ira Glass is 63. Actor Mary
Page Keller is 61. Olympic track
and field gold medalist Jackie
Joyner-Kersee is 60. Former NFL
player and College Football Hall
of Famer Herschel Walker is 60.
Actor Laura Harring is 58. Con-
temporary Christian musician
Duncan Phillips (Newsboys) is
58. Rapper-actor Tone Loc is 56.
Actor Julie Bowen is 52. Country
singer Brett Warren (The Warren
Brothers) is 51. Actor David
Faustino is 48. Gospel singer
Jason Crabb is 45. Singer Ronan
Keating (Boyzone) is 45. Rapper
Lil’ Flip is 41. Actor Jessica Biel is
40. Rock musician Blower (AKA
Joe Garvey) (Hinder) is 38. Musi-
cian Brett Hite (Frenship) is 36.
Pop singer Camila Cabello is
25. Actor Thomas Barbusca (TV:
“The Mick”) is 19. Actor Reylynn
Caster is 19.
LOTTERY
Monday, Feb. 28, 2022
Megabucks
7-8-11-13-37-42
Estimated jackpot: $2.2 million
Lucky Lines
3-8-10-16-18-23-28-30
Estimated jackpot: $17,000
Win for Life
31-42-47-55
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 0-5-3-2
4 p.m.: 3-4-6-7
7 p.m.: 5-1-0-5
10 p.m.: 2-8-9-3
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Mega Millions
18-22-38-39-50
Mega Ball: 18
Megaplier: x2
Estimated jackpot: $102
million
Lucky Lines
1-5-12-14-20-22-26-31
Estimated jackpot: $18,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 5-4-4-4
4 p.m.: 2-6-3-8
7 p.m.: 7-6-4-6
10 p.m.: 6-2-8-8
THuRSday, MaRcH 3, 2022
Writing
workshops
planned
for spring
Let freedom roll
Wallowa County Chieftain
Rosalee McGinness
(right), 3, waves a flag
from the Foothill Road
overpass south of La
Grande on Wednesday
morning, March 2, 2022.
She joined approximately
70 supporters of the
American Freedom
Convoy and local
residents to cheer as the
convoy passed through
Northeastern Oregon
on Interstate 84. The
procession is on its way to
Washington, D.C., as part
of a nationwide protest
against COVID-19 related
mandates.
Photos by alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
LG School District COVID-19 numbers fall
District reports just
12 students with
COVID Feb. 21-25
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande School District
may be on track to soon be
COVID-19 free.
The school district’s
most recent statistics indi-
cate that 12 students and
no staff members missed
school during the week
of Feb. 21-25 because of
positive COVID-19 tests,
COVID-19 symptoms or
close contact with those
who have COVID-19.
The new figures are
down from the week of Feb.
14-18 when 17 students and
two staff missed school
because of COVID-19.
The latest student sta-
tistics are down dramati-
cally from the week of Feb.
7-11 when 60 students and
two staff were absent from
school due to COVID-19.
They are down even more
significantly from the week
of Jan. 18-21 when 153 stu-
dents missed school due to
COVID-19.
The La Grande School
District’s latest figures indi-
cate that three students
missed school the week of
Feb. 21-25 because of posi-
tive COVID-19 tests. Two of
the students were from Cen-
tral Elementary School and
one was from La Grande
High School.
The statistics also indi-
cate that nine students
missed school because of
close contact with someone
who has COVID-19. Four of
these students were from La
Grande High School, three
were from Central Elemen-
tary School and two were
from La Grande Middle
School.
Plea hearing dates set in mail theft cases
George Kelly, Gracee
Shelley charged with 79
counts after Feb. 20 arrests
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Plea hearing
dates for two La Grande residents
who were arrested on charges of
mail theft in late February, were set
in Union County Circuit Court on
Monday, Feb. 28.
The plea hearing dates were set at
an arraignment hearing for an indict-
ment issued by a grand jury.
George Kelly, 26, and Gracee
Shelley, 22, have been charged with
79 counts of mail theft and two counts
of identity theft after being arrested
on Feb. 20. Kelly’s plea hearing date
is set for 1:15 p.m. March 15 and Shel-
ley’s plea hearing date is scheduled for
11 a.m. April 26. Both plea hearings
will be conducted at Union County
Circuit Court.
Shelley and Kelly were both lodged
in the Union County Jail after being
arrested. Bail was set at $73,000 for
Kelly and $50,000 for Shelley.
Shelley is now out on bail, but Kelly
is still lodged in the Union County Jail.
Union County Deputy District
Attorney Ryan Rodighiero said Kelly
received an earlier plea hearing date
because he is still in jail.
La Grande police said that all of
the stolen mail — taken from 54 dif-
ferent addresses — has been located
and returned. One count of mail theft
was charged for each victim who had
at least one piece of mail stolen.
La Grande attorneys Jim Schaeffer
is representing Shelley and Jared Boyd
is representing Kelly. Neither were
available for comment on March 1.
Mail theft is a federal crime, and
the federal government could choose
to prosecute.
Apply for Soroptimist Large Grant Community Project Award
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE —
Applications for Sorop-
timist International of
Wallowa County’s Large
Grant Community Project
Award are now being
accepted.
The project, according
to Soroptimist, should
support the group’s mis-
sion of “improving the
lives of women and girls
through programs leading
to social and economic
empowerment.”
The Large Grant for
Community Projects,
which is $5,000, will be
awarded to one or more
Wallowa County organi-
zations “primarily to fund
cultural, educational, civic
activities or charitable
causes. Programs sup-
porting the enhancement
of community health, edu-
cation, the environment,
or the advancement of
the status of women and
children will be consid-
ered,” a press release from
Soroptimist states.
Requests between
$1,000 and $5,000 will
be considered, and more
than one project may be
awarded grant money.
Individuals are not
eligible.
The application dead-
line is April 15. Appli-
cations can be picked up
at the Soroptimist Thrift
Shop on Fridays or Sat-
urdays, by contacting
Ann Browder at 541-398-
0449, or by visiting wal-
lowacountysoroptimist.
org.
Completed applica-
tions can be turned back
into the Thrift Shop, or
returned to: Soroptimist,
P.O. Box 127, Enterprise,
Oregon 97828.
For more information,
call Browder or email
aebrowder@gmail.com.
NEWS BRIEFS
Merkley plans annual town
hall March 8 via Zoom
WALLOWA COUNTY —
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley will
hold a virtual town meeting
for Wallowa County residents
Tuesday, March 8, according
to a press release.
The Oregon Democrat
invites residents to join the
town hall meeting on mobile
devices or on the telephone to
discuss ways to strengthen the state
and the nation.
The town hall will begin at
4:30 p.m.
To participate via Zoom,
visit https://senate.zoomgov.
com/j/1616095257?pwd=SjMxb-
3V5Ti9BeGZWcUhvTVVtcktsQT09.
The meeting ID is 161 609 5257
and the passcode is WBx=N0g5.
To participate by phone, call
1-669-254-5252. The meeting
ID is 161 609 5257 and the
passcode is 83732352.
For more information, con-
tact Merkley’s representative
Jessica Keys by calling 541-
278-1129 or sending email to
Merkley
jessica_keys@merkley.senate.
gov.
Reward offered in
wolf poaching case
COVE — A reward of up to
$22,500 is being offered by non-
profit groups which leads to an arrest
or citation regarding a wolf poached
Tuesday, Feb. 15, near Cove.
The radio-collared wolf was found
Feb. 15 at the end of Haggerty Lane
off High Valley Road approximately
3-1/2 miles south of Cove by Oregon
State Police Fish and Wildlife troopers
after they had been notified of a mor-
tality signal by the Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife. There were
no obvious signs of injury but wildlife
veterinarians discovered a bullet while
examining the wolf, which they said
was the cause of death, according to an
ODFW press release.
Anyone with information regarding
this case should contact the the Oregon
State Police through the Turn in
Poachers line at 1-800-452-7888.
— EO Media Group
ENTERPRISE — Three
online writing workshops
are planned this spring
by Fishtrap, to be taught
by E.M. “Lizzie’ Sloan,
Nellie Bridge and Catherine
Johnson.
“Ephemeral Moments
That Endure” is a four-ses-
sion online micro essay
workshop taught by
Sloan from
6-7:30 p.m.
March 9, 16,
23 and 30.
Registra-
tion is $180,
or $160 for
Fishtrappers.
Bridge
The work-
shop will
play with iso-
lated scenes
that are found
buried deep in
the recesses
of one’s
Johnson
mind, heart
and soul,
according to
promotional
materials. The
sessions will
focus on the
popular topic
Sloan
of nostalgia
and keep the ideas flowing
and ink dripping.
Sloan is the author of a
historical nonfiction book,
“When Songbirds Returned
to Paris,” has taught “The
Creative Mind” at the Uni-
versity of Idaho and con-
tinues to research, write
and make art in her studio
in Moscow, Idaho. The
working title for her col-
lection of essays in prog-
ress is “Heading Toward
Home: Four O’clock in
the Morning Vignettes
and Stories That Might be
True.” She also is associate
director with Blue Sage
Writing based in Long-
mont, Colorado.
The next workshop,
scheduled for 11 a.m. to
1 p.m. April 2, 9, 16 and
23, is “Recipes from Poems
We Love,” an online poetry
workshop taught by Bridge.
Registration is $240, or
$215 for Fishtrappers.
The workshop starts
with poems participants
already have a fondness for.
Participants are to bring an
inspiring poem to share and
use some part of it to craft a
new poem. In the four-
session workshop they will
create recipes for poems,
discuss a poem’s parts and
write freely with a goal to
create five or more new
poems.
Bridge is a poet and high
school teacher living in
Sofia, Bulgaria. Her poems
have appeared in numerous
print and online publica-
tions. Her manuscripts have
been finalists for numerous
book prizes. She holds a
master of fine arts degree at
New York University.
The final spring work-
shop offered by Fishtrap
will be “Two Ideas: Grap-
pling with Paradox and
Tension in Personal Essay
and Memoir,” taught by
Johnson. It will take place
from 6-8 p.m. May 4, 11,
18 and 25 and costs $240 or
$215 for Fishtrappers.
The workshop will
examine “Notes of a Native
Son” by James Baldwin,
considered one of the
greatest essayists of the
20th century. Participants
can share their writing
at any stage during the
four-session class as they
explore how leaning into
Baldwin’s kind of tension
can reveal the emotional
core of their work.
Johnson’s work has been
published in various pub-
lications in the Northwest.
She has a masters of fine
arts in creative nonfiction
from Portland State Uni-
versity and was a 2021
Fishtrap Fellow. She is an
assistant lecturer at the
University of Wyoming in
Laramie.
For full details and to
sign up, go to fishtrap.org/
writing-workshops.