FROM PAGE ONE
THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2022
OMSI
Continued from Page A1
“Even when I have stu-
dents who are diffi cult, I
still feel so lucky,” said
Kirby, who rates the La
Grande School District’s
students among the best he
has worked with.
Kirby has put on demon-
strations this week in the
gyms of Island City, Cen-
tral and Greenwood ele-
mentary schools and then
given presentations in
classrooms. At each, he
has done much more than
operate a Van de Graaff
generator. Other demon-
strations include showing
students how to create their
own circuit by touching
each other’s fi ngers while
standing in a circle. It
includes two students
holding a tube-like device
with LED lights that lights
up when a current from
the human circuit passes
through.
Kirby said this happens
because people generate
their own electrical current
that passes through others
they are touching.
“We all have electricity
within us,” he said. “It is
a source of energy being
generated within us all the
time.”
The OMSI educator is
striving to help children
discover that learning about
science is fun and that they
PRIMARY
Continued from Page A1
That’s been the story in
recent days in political
action around the state.
Baker City mayor
speaks at a right-wing
rally in Salem
Baker City Mayor Kerry
McQuisten, a Republican
candidate for governor,
appeared at the Reawaken
America rally of radical
conservatives on Friday,
April 1, near the Capitol in
the Salem suburb of Keizer.
The event was sponsored
by The River Church in
Salem, a church active in
conservative politics, and
held at Volcano Stadium, a
former minor league base-
ball park near Interstate 5.
Originally scheduled to
be held in Bend, the event
was canceled due to ques-
tions involving the enforce-
ment of coronavirus restric-
tions at the Deschutes
County Fairgrounds.
The Salem States-
man-Journal reported
that stores at Keizer Sta-
tion mall next to the ball-
park decided to close
April 1 and 2 because of
the rally and expected
counterprotests.
Keizer is the latest stop
on a national tour focusing
on debunked claims that
the 2020 election was
“stolen” from former Pres-
ident Donald Trump, and
COVID-19 conspiracy
theories.
Photos on Twitter
showed McQuisten with
Morrow County Sheriff
Ken Matlack and former
Gen. Michael Flynn, who
President Donald Trump
pardoned of charges he lied
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Michael Kirby, outreach instructor for Oregon Museum of Science
and Industry, demonstrates how current fl ows using ping-pong balls
with the help of Ava Weatherspoon, 9, at Island City Elementary
School on Monday, April 4, 2022.
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Cahnis Kazzee, 9, reacts to seeing her refl ection while using a Van de
Graaff generator at Island City Elementary School on Monday, April
4, 2022, during an OMSI electricity presentation in the gym.
should not be intimidated
by it.
“Everybody has the
ability to become a scien-
tist,” he said.
A return of assembly
gatherings
At Island City, Central
and Greenwood, Kirby
has served as one of the
fi rst outside presenters
in the schools since the
about contacts with Rus-
sian agents while working
at the White House. Flynn
also has appeared in a
video taking “the QAnon
Oath” of the far-right polit-
ical conspiracy group,
which ends with “Where
we go one, we go all.”
McQuisten has made
an energetic bid to break
through the crowded
Republican fi eld for gov-
ernor, which includes
former House Minority
Leader Christine Drazan,
Sandy Mayor Bill Pulliam
and 2016 GOP nominee
for governor Bud Pierce
of Salem.
McQuisten was recently
endorsed by The North-
west Observer, a popular
conservative political blog
in Oregon.
Other GOP candidates
taking a hard right on
campaign trail
Marc Thielman, a
Republican candidate for
governor who appeared
with Senate candi-
date Darin Harbick and
Deschutes County Com-
missioner Patti Adair with
COVID-19 pandemic hit
Northeastern Oregon in
March 2020. The pan-
demic forced all in-person
instruction in Oregon
schools to be canceled in
the spring of 2020. When
in-person instruction
resumed, state safety rules
still prevented guests from
coming into schools or
large assembly gatherings.
Kirby has been able
a QAnon-supporting pastor
at a Bend church last week,
gained notice while he
was superintendent of the
Alsea School District near
Corvallis for refusing to
enforce state coronavirus
mandates. He resigned in
February. He’s the subject
of a $3.7 million lawsuit
against the district by the
principal of Alsea Elemen-
tary School, who alleges a
hostile work environment,
sexual harassment, gender
discrimination and whis-
tleblower retaliation.
Willamette Week
reports Thielman is sched-
uled to speak April 15 at a
fundraiser for Dan Tooze,
a Republican candidate for
House District 40 in the
Oregon City area. Tooze is
a self-described member
of the Proud Boys, a group
involved in riots in down-
town Portland, the Oregon
Capitol and the Jan. 6
attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Tooze has not said he was
at any of those incidents.
Reed Christensen, an
electrical engineer from
Hillsboro, faces fed-
eral charges for allegedly
An Independent
Insurance Agency
THE OBSERVER — A7
to give demonstrations in
gyms with minimal restric-
tions only since February
after COVID-19 infec-
tion rates began dropping.
He said he is booked solid
throughout the state for the
rest of the school year. He
credits the busy schedule
to the pent-up demand in
schools for outside pre-
senters created by the
COVID-19 restrictions.
Island City Elemen-
tary School Principal Brett
Smith said Kirby’s presen-
tation was the fi rst assembly
Island City third and fourth
graders had attended since
the COVID-19 pandemic
hit.
“They were super
excited. There was a lot of
anticipation,” said Smith,
who added he is always
impressed with the OMSI
programs.
Central Elementary Prin-
cipal Monica West echoed
the sentiment.
“It was great to have
an assembly like this,” she
said. “It was something dif-
ferent, something we had
not had in two years.”
Kirby will give this
week’s fi nal presentation on
electricity in the La Grande
School District on Friday,
April 8, at the Willow
School gym. His free pre-
sentation will run from
10-11 a.m. and will be for
homeschool and La Grande
Virtual Learning Academy
students and their parents.
assaulting law enforcement
offi cers while attempting
to enter the U.S. Capitol
on Jan. 6. Christensen has
made his arrest the center-
piece of his campaign for
governor, saying he was
trying to oppose “tyranny”
by taking part in the riot’s
attempt to stop the count
of electoral votes that Joe
Biden won in the presiden-
tial election.
Jo Rae Perkins, a can-
didate for the U.S.
Senate
, MBA
seat held by U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden, D-Oregon, also has
taken the QAnon pledge.
She was the GOP nom-
inee for the U.S. Senate
in 2020, losing to incum-
bent U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley,
D-Oregon.
VANDALS
Continued from Page A1
La Grande, reached out
to the students whose
cars were vandalized and
off ered free services to
help repair the vehicles —
one of the students was
a family member of the
owners. The shop owners
noted that one of the
cars had been in for ser-
vice just before the prom
event. Moving forward,
the group is looking at
possibly listing a reward
for information provided
regarding the vandalism.
“We wanted to show
that we have their backs,”
said Sammie Watson, one
of the family members
that owns and operates
the auto shop.
The White Barn has
hosted Imbler’s prom for
the past several years, at
no charge to the school.
The estate serves as a
scenic venue with views
Sammie Watson/Contributed
Photo
Strawberry syrup covers the
exterior of a vintage Plymouth
Duster that was vandalized
during the Imbler prom on
Saturday, April 2, 2022.
of the Grande Ronde
Valley that hosts wed-
dings and other events.
“It’s really unfortunate
because these kids took a
lot of pride in their cars,”
White Barn owner Jeana
Bingaman said.
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Sammie Watson/Contributed Photo
Strawberry syrup stains the exterior of a vintage Chevrolet Blazer
that was vandalized during the Imbler prom on Saturday, April 2,
2022. Three classic vehicles were vandalized at the event, leaving
the car owners shocked and looking for answers.
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