LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
In 1862, Union forces led by
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen.
Don Carlos Buell defeated the Con-
federates at the Battle of Shiloh in
Tennessee.
In 1915, jazz singer-songwriter
Billie Holiday, also known as “Lady
Day,” was born in Philadelphia.
In 1922, the Teapot Dome
scandal had its beginnings as
Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall
signed a secret deal to lease U.S.
Navy petroleum reserves in Wyo-
ming and California to his friends,
oilmen Harry F. Sinclair and Edward
L. Doheny, in exchange for cash
gifts.
In 1945, during World War II,
American planes intercepted and
effectively destroyed a Japanese
fleet, which included the battle-
ship Yamato, that was headed to
Okinawa on a suicide mission.
In 1949, the Rodgers and Ham-
merstein musical “South Pacific”
opened on Broadway.
In 1954, President Dwight D.
Eisenhower held a news confer-
ence in which he spoke of the
importance of containing the
spread of communism in Indo-
china, saying, “You have a row of
dominoes set up, you knock over
the first one, and what will happen
to the last one is the certainty that
it will go over very quickly.” (This
became known as the “domino
theory,” although Eisenhower did
not use that term.)
In 1957, shortly after midnight,
the last of New York’s electric trol-
leys completed its final run from
Queens to Manhattan.
In 1959, a referendum in Okla-
homa repealed the state’s ban on
alcoholic beverages.
In 1962, nearly 1,200 Cuban
exiles tried by Cuba for their roles
in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion
were convicted of treason.
In 1966, the U.S. Navy recovered
a hydrogen bomb that the U.S.
Air Force had lost in the Mediter-
ranean Sea off Spain following a
B-52 crash.
In 1994, civil war erupted in
Rwanda, a day after a mysterious
plane crash claimed the lives of the
presidents of Rwanda and Burundi;
in the months that followed, hun-
dreds of thousands of minority
Tutsi and Hutu moderates were
slaughtered by Hutu extremists.
In 2020, acting Navy Secretary
Thomas Modly resigned after lam-
basting the officer he’d fired as the
captain of the USS Theodore Roo-
sevelt, which had been stricken
by a coronavirus outbreak; James
McPherson was appointed as
acting Navy secretary.
Ten years ago: A massive ava-
lanche engulfed a Pakistani mili-
tary complex in a mountain battle-
ground close to the Indian border;
all 140 people on the base died.
CBS newsman Mike Wallace, 93,
died in New Canaan, Connecticut.
Five years ago: President
Donald Trump concluded his
two-day summit with Chinese
President Xi Jinping (shee jihn-
peeng) at Mar-a-Lago in Florida,
saying he had developed an “out-
standing” relationship with the
Chinese leader. Gov. Jerry Brown
declared an end to California’s his-
toric drought emergency imposed
in 2014.
One year ago: Former NFL
player Phillip Adams fatally shot six
people in Rock Hill, South Carolina,
including a prominent doctor, his
wife and their two grandchildren,
before killing himself. The Los
Angeles County Sheriff’s Depart-
ment said investigators found
that golfer Tiger Woods had been
driving at more than 80 miles an
hour — nearly twice the posted
speed limit — when he lost control
of an SUV in February; the wreck
left Woods seriously injured.
Today’s birthdays: Country
singer Bobby Bare is 87. R&B singer
Charlie Thomas (The Drifters) is 85.
Former California Gov. Jerry Brown
is 84. Movie director Francis Ford
Coppola is 83. Actor Roberta Shore
is 79. Singer Patricia Bennett (The
Chiffons) is 75. Singer John Oates
is 74. Actor Jackie Chan is 68. Col-
lege and Pro Football Hall of Famer
Tony Dorsett is 68. Actor Russell
Crowe is 58. Former football play-
er-turned-analyst Tiki Barber is 47.
Actor Heather Burns is 47. Chris-
tian rock singer-musician John
Cooper (Skillet) is 47. Actor Kevin
Alejandro is 46. Retired baseball
infielder Adrian Beltre is 43. Actor
Sian Clifford is 40. Rock musician
Ben McKee (Imagine Dragons) is 37.
Actor Ed Speleers is 34.
LOTTERY
Monday, April 4, 2022
Megabucks
5-7-11-28-41-48
Estimated jackpot: $3.8 million
Lucky Lines
4-7-12-16-19-22-25-29
Estimated jackpot: $15,000
Win for Life
12-38-66-71
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 1-1-6-8
4 p.m.: 1-2-7-3
7 p.m.: 6-2-0-2
10 p.m.: 1-7-9-5
Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Mega Millions
22-43-60-63-64
Mega Ball: 18
Megaplier: 2
Estimated jackpot: $94 million
Lucky Lines
1-5-10-16-20-21-26-29
Estimated jackpot: $16,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 2-6-4-6
4 p.m.: 2-1-5-1
7 p.m.: 1-2-3-8
10 p.m.: 7-5-8-8
THuRSday, apRil 7, 2022
An ‘upstanding individual’
OSP Sgt. Marcus
McDowell spent
majority of his
career in Union,
Wallowa counties
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
LA GRANDE — Mem-
bers of the Oregon State
Police are reeling after the
sudden loss of one of their
own last week.
Sgt. Marcus McDowell,
48, was found dead in his
patrol vehicle in front of
his Joseph home Tuesday,
March 29, of a single gun-
shot wound to the head.
“It’s devastated our
region,” retired OSP patrol
Sgt. Kyle Hove said. “He
has friends all over, not
just Union County (and)
Wallowa County. He has
friends in Baker, Umatilla
(counties) — he has worked
the whole state.”
An investigation deter-
mined the gunshot wound
to be self-inflicted. OSP
stated McDowell was on
duty at the time of his
death.
“Our hearts go out to
his family, friends, and
co-workers as they cope
with this tragic incident,”
OSP said in a statement
March 31.
Those who worked with
McDowell remembered
him for his strong work
ethic, for his smiling per-
sonality, for being a friend,
and for caring for those
around him during an OSP
career that spanned 17-1/2
years.
“He was a wonderful
human being,” said La
Grande-based East Region
Capt. Daniel Conner. “He
is going to be sorely missed
by everybody for a long
time.”
McDowell spent the
majority of his career in
Union and Wallowa coun-
ties, but got his start with
OSP Sept. 1, 2004, being
initially assigned to the John
alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Oregon State Police officers load the casket of Sgt. Marcus McDowell into a hearse outside Loveland
Funeral Chapel, La Grande, on Monday, April 4, 2022.
Day outpost, Conner said.
He was later transferred to
La Grande and worked out
of Northeastern Oregon for
the rest of his career.
“Marcus has always
been a very motivated
and driven state trooper,”
Conner, who has been with
OSP since 2005 and said
he knew McDowell most of
his career, said. “He’s got
a very good work ethic. He
comes to work ready to go,
always gives 110%.”
McDowell spent five
years as a K-9 handler
based in La Grande, and
followed that with five
years in the Fish and Wild-
life division. He also spent
time in drug interdiction,
where on patrol he would
search for vehicles sus-
pected of transporting
illegal substances, seeking
to disrupt drug trafficking.
“Marcus, he loved
his job,” said Hove, who
McDowell replaced as
patrol sergeant for the La
Grande-area in March
2020. “He was a hard
worker. He was very pro-
ductive. He was active in
the community. Back when
we were doing interdiction
and stuff on the freeway,
he was so good at his job.
He had some incredible sei-
zures of all kinds of dif-
ferent things.”
Patrol Trooper Kainoa
Delatori, who worked with
McDowell the entirety of
his six-year OSP career,
and even prior during
a stint with La Grande
Police, said McDowell was
the “resident expert” when
it came to drug interdic-
tion work, and someone he
would consult often.
“We talked on a daily
basis,” Delatori said. “I
would pick his brain when
it came to work on (inter-
diction) stuff. We got pretty
close the last couple years.”
Delatori also com-
mented on McDowell’s
impeccable work ethic,
and called him a man with
whom you knew where you
stood.
“That’s one of the
things I respect most out of
Marcus,” Delatori said of
McDowell’s work. “After
that long, a lot of people
get burned out or they fade
off. (But) he had the most
stops in the office month in
and month out. One thing I
really looked up to him (for)
is his work ethic. He would
actually put in the work.”
Hove described
McDowell as the person
called on when an extra
hand was needed on a
scene. He said he was
always available, whether
early in the morning or late
in the evening.
“He’s the guy who
would always be at work,
always be there. He was the
guy you called,” Hove said.
“Say you’re working a case,
whatever the case may be,
Marcus would always stop
by and see if you needed
any help.”
Delatori, who was one
of the OSP troopers to
respond to the scene in
Joseph, called the loss of
his friend a shock.
“It’s something that I
pray in the next 20 years of
my career I never have to
deal with again,” he said.
Conner said in losing
McDowell, the OSP is
losing an “upstanding
individual.”
“We’re losing a great
friend, employee, a super-
visor, just a mentor in gen-
eral to others, a leader
— Marcus is all of those
things,” he said. “More
importantly, he’s just a
friend. It’s taking a devas-
tating toll on all of us that
have worked with him over
the years. It’s hard to deal
with. It’s very difficult to
deal with a loss.”
Riverside Park Easter egg hunt canceled
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande Sunrise Rotary
Club has announced that
its annual Easter egg hunt
at Riverside Park will not
be conducted this year.
The Easter egg hunt has
been canceled, even though
COVID-19 rates are now
very low and safety pro-
tocol restrictions for it
have been greatly reduced.
The reason for the cancel-
lation is that the Sunrise
Rotary Club had to decide
by late January whether it
Price tag on
Wallowa
Lake Dam
soars
would conduct the event
and it was unclear earlier
this year what COVID-19
safety rules would still be
in place in April.
“We did not know if
we would be able to con-
duct an Easter egg hunt,”
said Bill Rosholt, president
of the La Grande Sunrise
Rotary Club.
Strict state and
county rules were still in
place in late January as
COVID-19 infection rates
were spiking in Union
County and throughout
the state. Today almost
all restrictions have been
lifted in Oregon because
COVID-19 infection rates
have fallen so much.
The Sunrise Rotary
Club had to make the
decision in late January
because that was its dead-
line for ordering plastic
egg shells in order to get
them in time to prepare
them for Easter. The eggs
would have been filled
with candy by members of
La Grande High School’s
National Honor Society
chapter.
The rotary club, which
started putting on the
Easter egg hunt 27 years
ago, normally purchases
between 5,000 and 6,000
plastic egg shells each year
for the event, Rosholt said.
The Sunrise Rotary
Club’s Easter egg hunt at
Riverside Park was also
canceled in 2020 and 2021
because of the COVID-19
pandemic.
Rosholt believes there
is a good chance the La
Grande Sunrise Rotary
Club will be able to
restart its Easter tradition
in 2023.
“We hope to have the
Easter egg hunt next year,”
he said.
NEWS BRIEFS
Vendors gather ahead of
farmers market season
NORTHEASTERN OREGON —
Northeastern Oregon farmers mar-
kets are building momentum as the
market season looms.
Market supporters and returning
and prospective vendors are invited
to planning meetings for the Enter-
prise’s Wallowa County Farmers
Market and for the La Grande
Farmers Market. Vendors include but
are not limited to farmers, gardeners,
crafters and artists.
A symposium for Wallowa
County Farmers Market vendors
begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April
16, at Cloverleaf Hall in Enter-
prise. The event, which was can-
celed the past two years, will feature
vendors discussing topics such as
appealing booth displays, customer
relations, marketing, advertising and
networking.
It will also be an opportunity for
attendees to met Jessica Bogard, the
new market manager. She will go
over new information, policies, pro-
cedures and more. Members of the
board of directors will also be on
hand to answer questions.
A potluck brunch is part of the
event, and participants are asked to
bring a bunch item. Coffee and tea
will be available. The symposium is
free and open to the public.
The 2022 Wallowa County
Farmers Market opens Saturday, May
28, and runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on
Saturdays. Learn more on the mar-
ket’s Facebook page and at www.wal-
lowacountyfarmersmarket.com.
La Grande Farmers Market
La Grande Farmers Market’s
annual meeting is planned for Sat-
urday, April 9, from 10:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m. in the Community Room
at Cook Memorial Library.
The free gathering is open to all
and will include a potluck. Bringing
a dish to share is encouraged but not
required.
The annual meeting is a time to
learn more about the market, its staff
and its board members, to ask ques-
tions and get support in navigating
what it means to be a vendor at
LGFM. Discussions will cover topics
such as COVID-19 updates, pricing,
guidelines and spot reservations.
Saturday, May 21, is the first day
of the 2022 season. The La Grande
Farmers Market is held on Saturdays
from 9 a.m. to noon and Tuesdays
from 3-6 p.m. Visit www.lagrande-
farmersmarket.org or the market’s
Facebook page for more details.
ODFW to host listening
sessions ahead of 2023-25
budget
SALEM — The Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife is looking
for feedback ahead of drafting its
2023-25 budget.
The agency is set to host a lis-
tening session for each region of the
state. The Northeast Region virtual
session is scheduled for Thursday,
April 14, at 5 p.m.
The public session will include a
timeline for public feedback, over-
view of the budget, recommended
new services and future project
plans.
The public feedback during the
sessions will impact the latest draft
of the agency’s future budget plan
— the draft will be presented for
approval to the Fish and Wildlife
Commission in a meeting on June 17.
The agency is looking for input on
how to better promote the participa-
tion of underserved populations —
such as Black, Indigenous and people
of color — in outdoor recreation and
conservation.
In a press release, ODFW noted
the planned budget does not include a
proposed fee increase for recreational
hunting or fishing licenses, meaning
the agency will have gone almost
a full decade without asking for an
additional fee increase.
Following approval of the
2023-25 budget, the plans head to the
2023 Oregon State Legislature for
adoption.
Access to the proposed budget
and the link to the April 14 session
is available at www.dfw.state.or.us/
news/2022/04_Apr/040122.asp.
—The Observer
ENTERPRISE — The
price tag on the proposed
refurbishing of the Wallowa
Lake Dam has jumped to
about $21 million, said Dan
Butterfield, president of the
Wallowa Lake Irrigation
District, leaving the stake-
holders wondering where the
extra money will come from.
The district, which owns
the dam, hopes to break
ground on the project in the
fall of 2023, after the irriga-
tion season ends that Sep-
tember. The Legislature
added $14 million in state
lottery funds to its budget
last year for the project that
was originally estimated to
cost about $16 million.
Now the district and the
other stakeholders have
to figure where to find the
additional money.
“We’re going to want
to make sure we have the
funding lined up before we
start. We’re not spending
any money until we get the
$14 (million),” Butterfield
said. “We’re going to wait
and make sure we have our
money before we get started.”
He said the district
board has agreed to hold off
spending until it actually
receives the lottery money
and determines how to
make up the difference.
Seeking extra funding
The major stakeholders
of the dam include the irri-
gation district, the Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife, the Nez Perce
Tribe’s Department of
Fisheries Resources Man-
agement and the Confed-
erated Tribes of the Uma-
tilla Indian Reservation.
Minor stakeholders also
are involved, including the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-
vice, which has jurisdiction
over bull trout, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and the
Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality.
A spokesperson for Sen.
Bill Hansell, R-Athena,
shed a little light on the
funding issue.
“First, we brought the
larger stakeholder group
together to talk about prog-
ress on all projects within
the Wallowa Basin that relate
to fish passage or irrigation
efficiency,” said Ann Rava,
Hansell’s legislative assis-
tant. “The Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife
announced that they will
be able to contribute $1.25
million toward design and
engineering work for both
the Wallowa Lake Dam fish
passage and the fish pas-
sage for the Consolidated
Ditch. The Wallowa County
Soil and Water Conserva-
tion District shared that they
will be going after some fed-
eral funds related to a down-
stream project.”
Fish passage
One of the major issues
in designing the dam is what
kind of fish passage there will
be. Butterfield said no agree-
ment on that issue has been
arrived at by the stakeholders
yet.
Wallowa County native
Mort McMillen, the engineer
on the project, said a fish pas-
sage to allow both upstream
and downstream migration of
fish is being worked into the
project.
It will be determined by
the stakeholders based on the
plans his firm comes up with.
The fish passage is a cru-
cial element of the dam’s
new design. In fact, state law
requires the inclusion of a
satisfactory fish passage in
the dam, according to Jim
Harbeck, field office super-
visor of the Nez Perce Tribes
Department of Fisheries
Resources Management.
Jeff Yanke, a watershed
manager with the ODFW,
said in August it’s up to the
engineer to select a type of
passage.
“We’ve been talking con-
cepts and it’s up to them to
pick one,” he said.