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THURSDAY EDITION
INSIDE THE EASTER EGG HUNT BEGINS IN
T h e h u
nt
Former
EOU
student
runs for
governor
PA GE 3
PA GE 4
PA GE 12
Tim McCloud, who
has experienced
homelessness, throws
his hat in the ring
By ALEX WITTWER
EO Media Group
LA GRANDE — One of the
last Oregon Republican guber-
natorial candidates has fi led his
paperwork for the soon-to-be
open seat, and in doing so became
the fi rst Black GOP candidate
in the state’s history to run for
governor.
Tim McCloud, who grew up
in Tucson, Arizona, and now
lives in Linn County, is a former
Eastern Oregon University stu-
dent who works
for an aerospace
and defense manu-
facturer as a busi-
ness analyst. While
he was studying at
EOU, he was home-
McCloud
less and supporting
his family, which
includes his wife and three daugh-
ters — an experience he said gave
him a unique perspective into
Oregon’s approach to addressing
homelessness.
“I’ve listened to people off er
solutions to homelessness that
wouldn’t have worked for my sit-
uation during a time when I was
running a small business, going to
school online at Eastern Oregon
University for public administra-
tion, and raising three children
from a campground in Sunriver,”
he said. “Those solutions wouldn’t
have worked for me.”
While challenging, McCloud
said his experience supporting
his family while homeless made
him stronger and cemented the
his relationship with his wife. He
said one of the factors that led him
to homelessness was the lack of
aff ordable housing in Oregon.
Sunriver, in Deschutes County,
has experienced an unprecedented
increase in housing demand,
which has sent prices skyrock-
eting. The median home value
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Pete Candlish, a hobby miner from La Grande, and his service dog, Woodrow, appear in an episode of “Gold Rush: Freddy Dodge’s Mine Rescue” airing on the
Discovery Channel and subscription streaming services.
‘Dial F for Freddy’
La Grande man, Baker County mine featured on Discovery reality show
By DICK MASON • The Observer
L
A GRANDE — A popular Discovery
reality show is bringing a La Grande
man to the small screen.
Pete Candlish appears in
an episode of “Gold Rush:
Freddy Dodge’s Mine Rescue”
now airing on the Discovery
Channel.
The reality program, which
according to Dodge’s Facebook
page has an audience of at least
1 million viewers a week, fea-
tures mining experts Dodge
and Juan Ibarra who visit
mines throughout the United
States to show those oper-
ating them how to do so more
eff ectively.
Dodge and Ibarra will be
shown at the Sanger Mine in
Baker County working with
miners including Pete Can-
dlish, who is helping operate
the mine for its owners who
live in Western Oregon, during
the one-hour episode.
Candlish is a hobby miner
who owns stakes near the
Sanger Mine and has been a
fan of “Gold Rush: Freddy
Dodge’s Mine Rescue” since
the series began. He said
he “was shocked” when the
owners of Sanger Mine called
him up and off ered him a
chance to appear on the TV
program.
“I couldn’t believe it. I was
totally surprised,” said Can-
dlish, who quickly took the
owners up on their off er.
His wife, Stacey, and
daughter, Adalynn, 7, were
not at the mine when the pro-
gram was fi lmed, but a photo
of them is shown during the
episode, titled “Dial F for
Freddy.”
The show was recorded
See, Mine/Page A7
Pete Candlish/Contributed Photo
Pete Candlish, left, of La Grande, poses with his wife, Stacey, and daughter,
Adalynn, 7. He is part of a Discovery Channel program fi lmed at Sanger Mine
in Baker County.
See, McCloud/Page A7
Poll: Oregon school boards have low public support
By COURTNEY VAUGHN
Oregon Capital Bureau
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File
La Grande School District Superintendent George Mendoza
delivers opening remarks at a school board meeting held on
Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021.
INDEX
Business ........B1
Classified ......B2
Comics ...........B5
Crossword ....B2
SALEM — Oregonians
broadly support funding
educational programs, yet
recent statewide survey
respondents generally lacked
support for their local school
boards.
Only 36% of those polled
said they feel their school
board represents their values
and beliefs. Another 38%
said they don’t feel repre-
sented by their local school
board and 26% said they
WEATHER
Dear Abby ....B6
Horoscope ....B2
Lottery ...........A2
Obituaries .....A5
SATURDAY
Opinion .........A4
Spiritual ........A6
Sports ............A9
Sudoku ..........B5
were unsure.
Oregon Values & Beliefs
Center’s latest survey, which
polled 1,563 Oregon res-
idents ages 18 and older,
found that Democrats are
more likely than Republi-
cans to voice support for the
school board in their area.
Respondents who are higher
income — earning $100,000
or more annually — and
those who are higher edu-
cated are more likely to feel
represented by their school
boards than those with less
income and education.
Full forecast on the back of B section
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Friday
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44/30
Very cold
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A FLY ROD FOR EVERY OCCASION
The 26% of respon-
dents who said they were
“unsure” about their local
school board indicated a lack
of familiarity with the work
and decisions of elected edu-
cation offi cials, but that isn’t
the case everywhere.
Last year saw a public rift
between school leadership
and residents in Newberg,
where a school board voted
to ban staff from displaying
political or controversial
fl ags, apparel and images,
See, Schools/Page A7
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 45
3 sections, 32 pages
La Grande, Oregon
Email story ideas
to news@lagrande
observer.com.
More contact info
on Page A4.
Online at lagrandeobserver.com