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Classic cars
vandalized at
Imbler prom
Local car shop offers
services after vintage
cars are damaged at high
school event
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
IMBLER — On what is meant
to be a highlight of the school
year, several Imbler students
saw their prom night end in
disappointment.
Three vintage vehicles
belonging to families of Imbler
students were vandalized during
the event, held at White Barn
Estate outside of La Grande on
the evening of Saturday, April 2.
Those involved are still looking
for answers, while a local auto
detailing shop provides its ser-
vices to those impacted.
“The biggest thing to me was
that these rigs only come out on
very special occasions like this,”
said Krager Muilenburg, one of
the students whose vehicle was
vandalized. “The three of us
did our best to make them look
the best that they could, so the
fact that they got messed with
for no apparent reason was very
frustrating.”
Three vehicles were found
covered in strawberry syrup
after the event — a 1997 Ford
pickup truck, 1960s Plym-
outh Duster and a 1970s Chev-
rolet Blazer. The syrup report-
edly damaged the paint on the
vehicles, particularly one with a
white paint job.
According to several
involved, the cars belong to the
students’ parents and grandpar-
ents, and the prom served as a
special occasion in which the
students were allowed to drive
the vehicles.
“Those cars have been very
precious to us,” Muilenburg
said of driving his grandfather’s
pickup by himself for the fi rst
time. “Ever since we were little,
they were something we’ve taken
care of and taken an interest in.”
The Union County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce was made aware of the
vandalism, and the car owners
were encouraged to fi le a report.
Sheriff Cody Bowen stated that
each will need to fi le a separate
victim report. The vandalism has
potential to be fi led as criminal
mischief, with the culprit being
held accountable if identifi ed.
Dirty Girls Detailing, a car
detailing service operating in
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Abri Meeks, 10, demonstrates a hair-raising experiment using a Van de Graaff generator at an OMSI presentation in the Island City Elementary School gym
on Monday, April 4, 2022.
Hair-raising lessons
OMSI program teaching La Grande students about the wonders of electricity
By DICK MASON • The Observer
L
A GRANDE — A
number of La Grande
School District grades
schoolers are having electrifying
experiences this week to the
delight of their classmates.
The manes and curls of students in
third, fourth and fi fth grades are standing
up, sometimes as much as 6 inches as they
learn about the fundamentals of electricity
during a program titled “Jolts, Volts and
Wires” being presented by Michael Kirby,
of the Oregon Museum of Science and
Industry’s Outreach Team.
Students are getting excited about elec-
tricity, while participating in demonstra-
tions Kirby is conducting with the aid of
devices such as a Van de Graaff generator,
which generates static electricity by using
friction. The generator uses a moving
belt to accumulate an electric charge on a
hollow metal globe on the top of an insu-
lated column.
If a person holds the dome, they too
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Calvin Samuel, 9, uses static electricity from a balloon to attract pieces of confetti at an OMSI
presentation in Island City Elementary School’s gym on Monday, April 4, 2022.
will become charged and the individual
hairs on their head will stand out and
spread away from each other, as class-
mates cheer.
Kirby enjoys the demonstrations as
much as the children.
“This is like a dream job,” he said. “I
don’t feel like I am working.”
He said that even on days when
he encounters groups of students
who are hard to instruct, he counts
himself fortunate.
See, OMSI/Page A7
See, Vandals/Page A7
Political candidates vie for voters’ att ention as primary looms
Baker City mayor
appears at weekend
Reawaken America
rally in Salem
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — As Oregon’s
political campaigns head into
the fi nal stretch before the May
17 primary, candidates on the
left and right are working for
votes among their ideological
base to win the closed prima-
ries. With only party members
able to vote in partisan pri-
mary races, the turnout is usu-
ally about half of the general
election.
Republicans are seeking
votes of Republican activists
who won’t skip the primary,
while Democrats go after the
progressive wing of their party
who turn out in large numbers
for primaries. It’s also a time
when lesser-known candidates
can make a splash and draw the
attention of the party faithful.
See, Primary/Page A7
WEATHER
INDEX
Business ........B1
Classified ......B2
Comics ...........B5
Crossword ....B2
Kerry McQuisten for Oregon/Contributed Photo
Dear Abby ....B6
Horoscope ....B4
Lottery ...........A2
Obituaries .....A5
SATURDAY
Opinion .........A4
Spiritual ........A6
Sports ............A9
Sudoku ..........B5
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Friday
48 LOW
60/35
Partly cloudy
Rain and drizzle
STATE TROOPER RISES TO CHALLENGE
Oregon Republican
gubernatorial
candidate and
Baker City Mayor
Kerry McQuisten,
right, stands Friday,
April 1, 2022, at the
Reawaken America
rally in Keizer
with former Gen.
Michael Flynn, who
President Donald
Trump pardoned of
charges he lied about
contacts with Russian
agents while working
at the White House.
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 42
3 sections, 32 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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