A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
In 1496, Christopher Columbus
concluded his second visit to the
Western Hemisphere as he left His-
paniola for Spain.
In 1785, Thomas Jefferson was
appointed America’s minister
to France, succeeding Benjamin
Franklin.
In 1864, President Abraham
Lincoln assigned Ulysses S. Grant,
who had just received his com-
mission as lieutenant-general, to
the command of the Armies of the
United States.
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell’s
assistant, Thomas Watson, heard
Bell say over his experimental tele-
phone: “Mr. Watson — come here
— I want to see you” from the next
room of Bell’s Boston laboratory.
In 1906, about 1,100 miners in
northern France were killed by a
coal-dust explosion.
In 1913, former slave, aboli-
tionist and Underground Railroad
“conductor” Harriet Tubman died
in Auburn, New York; she was in
her 90s.
In 1965, Neil Simon’s play “The
Odd Couple,” starring Walter Mat-
thau and Art Carney, opened on
Broadway.
In 1985, Konstantin U.
Chernenko, who was the Soviet
Union’s leader for 13 months, died
at age 73; he was succeeded by
Mikhail Gorbachev.
In 1988, pop singer Andy Gibb
died in Oxford, England, at age 30
of heart inflammation.
In 2015, breaking her silence in
the face of a growing controversy
over her use of a private email
address and server, Hillary Rodham
Clinton conceded that she should
have used government email as
secretary of state but insisted she
had not violated any federal laws
or Obama administration rules.
In 2019, a Boeing 737 Max 8 oper-
ated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed
shortly after taking off from the
capital, Addis Ababa, killing all 157
people on board; the crash was sim-
ilar to one in October 2018 in which
a 737 Max 8 flown by Indonesia’s
Lion Air plunged into the Java Sea
minutes after takeoff, killing all 189
people on the plane. (The aircraft
would be grounded worldwide
after the two disasters, bringing
fierce criticism to Boeing over the
design and rollout of the jetliner.)
In 2020, clusters of the corona-
virus swelled on both U.S. coasts,
with more than 70 cases linked to a
biotech conference in Boston and
infections turning up at 10 nursing
homes in the Seattle area. Mem-
bers of a choir in Washington state
gathered for a rehearsal that was
later found to have been a super-
spreader event. (Experts said the
public health investigation that fol-
lowed was key in concluding that
the virus was spreading through
the air.)
Today’s Birthdays: Bluegrass/
country singer-musician Norman
Blake is 84. Actor Chuck Norris
is 82. Playwright David Rabe is
82. Singer Dean Torrence (Jan
and Dean) is 82. Actor Katharine
Houghton (Film: “Guess Who’s
Coming to Dinner?”) is 80. Rock
musician Tom Scholz (Boston) is
75. TV personality/businesswoman
Barbara Corcoran (TV: “Shark
Tank”) is 73. Actor Shannon Tweed
is 65. Actor Sharon Stone is 64.
Magician Lance Burton is 62. Actor
Jasmine Guy is 60. Rock musician
Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam) is 59. Music
producer Rick Rubin is 59. Britain’s
Prince Edward is 58. Rock singer
Edie Brickell is 56. Actor Stephen
Mailer is 56. Actor Paget Brewster
is 53. Actor Jon Hamm is 51. Rap-
per-producer Timbaland is 50.
Rock musician Jerry Horton (Papa
Roach) is 47. Singer Robin Thicke
is 45. Olympic gold medal gym-
nast Shannon Miller is 45. Country
singer Carrie Underwood is 39.
Actor Olivia Wilde is 38.
CORRECTION
The Page A2 story
“Measure to discuss
Oregon’s border back
on May ballot,” pub-
lished Tuesday, March
8, misstated when Mea-
sure 32-007 would be
on the ballot in Wallowa
County. Provided sup-
porters gather enough
signatures, it will be on
the ballot in November.
LOTTERY
Monday, March 7, 2022
Megabucks
13-17-31-35-39-47
Estimated jackpot: $2.6 million
Lucky Lines
1-7-11-16-19-23-27-29
Estimated jackpot: $24,000
Win for Life
3-21-49-68
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 6-2-7-7
4 p.m.: 4-0-8-5
7 p.m.: 2-2-7-7
10 p.m.: 1-3-2-6
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Mega Millions
7-18-38-58-64
Mega Ball: 24
Megaplier: 3
Estimated jackpot: $20 million
Lucky Lines
2-7-9-14-20-23-26-31
Estimated jackpot: $25,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 7-7-0-6
4 p.m.: 7-8-7-0
7 p.m.: 6-2-8-3
10 p.m.: 2-2-9-2
LOCAL
Sidewalk project under fire
Joseph Chamber of
Commerce resists
timing of
downtown
sidewalk plans
THuRSday, MaRcH 10, 2022
County
flustered
with state
Wallowa County
commissioners
voice frustration
with legislation
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
By BILL BRADSHAW
JOSEPH — A planned
project on Joseph’s Main
Street drew objections
from the Joseph Chamber
of Commerce in a letter
submitted to the Joseph
City Council.
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation is
planning to install ramps
to upgrade sidewalks
in compliance with the
Americans with Disabil-
ities Act beginning this
summer. The issue has
been discussed at council
meetings for months.
In the letter submitted
by Jude Graham of the
chamber, it was stated
that the chamber is con-
cerned that ODOT is not
giving due consideration
to Joseph’s downtown that
will be adversely impacted
by construction scheduled
to take place during the
peak tourist season.
“At present, your con-
stituents, due to the lack
of open meetings, have
not had adequate time to
thoroughly review pro-
posed site plans and
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa county chieftain, File
The Oregon Department of Transportation is planning to install ramps in downtown Joseph to up-
grade sidewalks in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act beginning in the summer of
2022. The city’s chamber of commerce is concerned about the impact of the construction on tourism.
understand the ODOT
proposal,” the letter
stated. “Nor has there
been sufficient oppor-
tunity to communicate
directly with ODOT to
completely develop an
understanding of all the
aspects and segments of
the ODOT project.”
The chamber also
fears ODOT is not taking
into consideration the
time frame necessary to
accomplish the project
without hindering tourism
events downtown.
“They do not offer any
concessions to mediate the
impacts which may well be
more than what we had bar-
gained for,” the letter stated,
adding that the ODOT
schedule is at the peak time
for tourism events.
The letter said the
chamber does not want
to eliminate the sidewalk
project, but wants to work
with the city council to
postpone it to present con-
cerns and liability issues
before ODOT breaks
ground. Launching a social
media and newspaper cam-
paign is proposed to solicit
public support of the city
council to act on behalf of
the citizenry and business
community.
Pro-Tem Administrator
Brock Eckstein said after
the meeting that there
have been three public
hearings on the ODOT
project in the past six
months.
“The only solution
brought to the hearings is
to either cancel it, which
absolutely can’t happen
unless the city wants to
accept all liability for
ADA discrepancies, or
to kick the can down the
road more years, which
we then run the risk of
ODOT either pulling out
altogether or just doing it
their way,” he said.
La Grande Gun Show returns
2022 event
dedicated to
memory of Shelia
Evans
By ALEX WITTWER
ENTERPRISE — Dis-
appointment over Oregon’s
rural-urban divide was the
order of the day Wednesday,
March 2, as the Wallowa
County Board of Commis-
sioners reviewed the recent
legislative session.
“Well, the (legislative)
session’s winding down
and, as usual, we lost just
about everything we were
going for strongly,” Com-
missioner Todd Nash said.
Ag overtime
In noting the impending
passage of the ag overtime
bill, Nash commended state
Rep. Bobby Levy for her
efforts to see it stopped.
“Rep. Levy gave one of
the top three impassioned
efforts to sway the over-
time (bill), but failed in that,”
Nash said. “We have pushed
really hard to get an exemp-
tion for livestock. Livestock
don’t know the constraints of
time and the industry, in gen-
eral, has some extremely long
hours, but in a lot of cases it’s
a lifestyle rather than a job.”
Commission Chairwoman
Susan Roberts agreed.
“The sad thing is in lis-
tening to the testimony, you
have lots of producers who
hire these folks that will,
those folks depend on that
overtime to make up that
income,” she said. “They’re
OK with six days a week
or so. Now we’re going to
limit them to 40 hours and
that’s all you get. It’s going to
harden their lives.”
EO Media Group
Wolf compensation
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande Gun Show,
hosted by the Island City
Lions Club, is returning
for the first time since the
pandemic.
“We’re excited to have a
gun show. We haven’t had
one since 2019,” said Kayla
Hansen, the director for the
event.
The two-day gun show
will run from Saturday,
March 12, to Sunday,
March 13, and will be open
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat-
urday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Sunday at the Blue Moun-
tain Conference Center,
404 12th St., La Grande.
Lunch and breakfast will
be served, as well as bever-
ages provided by PepsiCo.
Hansen is taking over
for her mom, Shelia Evans,
who passed away last year.
Evans was the president of
the Island City Lions Club
and had organized the gun
show after the death of the
event’s founder, Mike Voss.
“She didn’t have a
chance to do it again,”
Hansen said. “She loved
helping anything in the
The Observer, File
The Blue Mountain Conference Center, La Grande, will host the 2022 La Grande Gun Show Saturday,
March 12, and Sunday, March 13, 2022.
community and bringing
the community mem-
bers together, and she was
super outgoing and she was
always so busy. This and
Hog Wild Days were her
biggest events.”
The gun show will be
dedicated to Evans. Hansen
said that a slideshow fea-
turing Evans will be shown
at the Lions table, along
with pictures and posters
on display.
For Hansen, orga-
nizing the event gives her
a chance to follow in her
mother’s footsteps, though
she said it has been hard.
“It’s been extremely dif-
ficult. I only helped her a
little bit with it,” she said.
“And so, not only trying
to figure out how to run a
gun show — and there’s so
many rules — she had such
a reach with the commu-
nity and was so invested in
it, that it was easy for her
to find the sponsors and the
vendors and volunteers.”
Community support
has been strong, though,
according to Hansen. Sim
Shot, the simulated gun
range on Island Avenue,
donated a $300 gift card
for the raffle. Caddie Ink, a
tattoo parlor in Island City,
donated a $300 gift card as
well for the raffle.
Money raised from
the event goes back to the
community through the
Island City Lions Club,
Hansen said, with ser-
vices such as eye exams
and hearing aids, as well
as Thanksgiving and
Christmas food boxes and
gifts for local families.
Attendance to the gun
show has been strong in
previous years, with as
many as 1,500 attendees
perusing the firearm selec-
tions. Hansen said that she
expects a smaller turnout
this year due to the pan-
demic. She said the ven-
dors and sponsors have
been very supportive
during the difficulties in
organizing the gun show.
“It’s been a challenge
for sure,” Hansen said,
“and then there’s the mem-
ories that come along with
doing the things she did.”
NEWS BRIEFS
Hill to challenge Anderes
for Union County Board of
Commissioners position
LA GRANDE — The Union
County political front was relatively
quiet as the 5 p.m. Tuesday, March
8, filing deadline approached for this
spring’s local elections.
Just one candidate filed for one of
the three positions up for election on
the May 17 ballot.
Lisa Hill, of La Grande, filed on
March 8 to run for Position 1 on
the Union County Board of Com-
missioners. Hill, a retired Oregon
Department of Transportation
employee, will challenge incum-
bent Paul Anderes. A retired edu-
cator, Anderes was elected in 2018
and is completing his first term
on the Union County Board of
Commissioners.
Position 3 on the Union County
Board of Commissioners is also up
for election. Incumbent Matt Scarfo,
a La Grande business owner, is the
lone person to file for the position.
Scarfo, elected in 2018, is also com-
pleting his first term on the board of
commissioners.
The position of Union County
District Attorney is also up for elec-
tion. Incumbent Kelsie McDaniel is
the only candidate who filed by the
deadline for the position, according
to the Oregon Secretary of State’s
website.
New president named for
Saint Alphonsus-Baker City
BAKER CITY
— Dina Ellwanger,
president of Saint
Alphonsus Medical
Center-Ontario, will
add the Baker City
hospital to her list of
Ellwanger
responsibilities.
Ellwanger will
replace Priscilla Lynn,
president and chief
nursing officer at Saint
Alphonsus in Baker
City, who is ending
her four-year tenure on
Lynn
May 6.
“Priscilla has spent
many years of dedicated service to
Saint Alphonsus Health System, and
it is with mixed emotions that we
bid her farewell and wish Priscilla
well in her new endeavors,” Odette
Bolano, president and CEO of Saint
Alphonsus Health System, said in
a press release. “Dina knows Baker
City well and will be a valuable
leader as we continue meeting the
health care needs for the community.”
Ellwanger has been president
and chief nursing supervisor at the
Ontario hospital since August 2020.
She served as chief nursing officer
at the Baker City hospital from
2010-14.
During Lynn’s tenure, Saint
Alphonsus-Baker City was named
one of the top 100 critical access
hospitals for five straight years,
2017-2021.
She oversaw a major remodeling
of the emergency department, outpa-
tient rehabilitation services and The
Cafe.
Saint Alphonsus Medical Cen-
ter-Baker City is a 25-bed, critical
access, acute care hospital.
The hospital was founded by the
Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia
in 1897 and became part of the Saint
Alphonsus Health System in 2010.
— EO Media Group
Nash noted another loss
for rural communities — a
bill aimed at compensating
livestock producers for wolf
predation.
“The wolf compensation
we lost on as well,” he said.
“Millions of dollars were dis-
tributed throughout the state.
We had substantial losses this
year, more than ever across
the state, and Wallowa County
was no exception. The really
illegitimate environmental
community that has no impact
whatsoever stood up once
again and opposed this and
our liberal, downtown Port-
land legislators bought into
it and opposed it and at the
end of the day we didn’t get
funded on that.”
Nash saw that as a prime
example of the rural-urban
divide.
“Wolf compensation was
one of those that a Demo-
crat from Portland said, ‘No,
I don’t want that.’ And it got
taken off,” he said.
Roberts said those kinds
of things happen because
the Democrats — the largely
urban party — dominate the
Legislature and thus hold
the chairmanships on most
committees.
“If they don’t want to
hear it, they don’t,” she said.
“It’s statewide and it’s very
frustrating. They live on the
other side of the state and
they think that we’re stupid
because we choose to live
out here in the sticks, even
though we try and impress
upon them we’re not as stupid
as they might think. We like
it out here in the sticks. We
could go on forever.”
Commissioner John
Hillock agreed.
“Even though in Portland
they talk about the urban-
rural divide, it’s a bigger
deal than what you might
think,” he said. “We were
at one meeting when I was
going to commissioners’
college and one lady asked
if we had libraries out
here. I had to go cool off
a commissioner from one
county because he was
about to blow a cork. That’s
the mentality you get. …
My response to her was,
‘And guess what, we have
internet, too.’ She didn’t
think we had internet.”