LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
THuRSday, apRil 14, 2022
TODAY
In 1828, the first edition of Noah
Webster’s “American Dictionary
of the English Language” was
published.
In 1865, President Abraham
Lincoln was shot and mortally
wounded by John Wilkes Booth
during a performance of “Our
American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre
in Washington.
In 1902, James Cash Penney
opened his first store, The Golden
Rule, in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
In 1912, the British liner RMS
Titanic collided with an iceberg
in the North Atlantic at 11:40 p.m.
ship’s time and began sinking. (The
ship went under two hours and
40 minutes later with the loss of
1,514 lives.)
In 1910, President William
Howard Taft became the first U.S.
chief executive to throw the cer-
emonial first pitch at a baseball
game as the Washington Senators
beat the Philadelphia Athletics 3-0.
In 1935, the “Black Sunday” dust
storm descended upon the central
Plains, turning a sunny afternoon
into total darkness.
In 1949, the “Wilhelmstrasse
Trial” in Nuremberg ended with 19
former Nazi Foreign Office officials
sentenced by an American tribunal
to prison terms ranging from four
to 25 years.
In 1960, Tamla Records and
Motown Records, founded by
Berry Gordy Jr., were incorporated
as Motown Record Corp.
In 1981, the first test flight of
America’s first operational space
shuttle, the Columbia, ended suc-
cessfully with a landing at Edwards
Air Force Base in California.
In 1994, two U.S. Air Force F-15
warplanes mistakenly shot down
two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicop-
ters over northern Iraq, killing 26
people, including 15 Americans.
In 1999, NATO mistakenly
bombed a convoy of ethnic Alba-
nian refugees; Yugoslav officials
said 75 people were killed.
In 2007, riot police beat and
detained protesters as thou-
sands defied an official ban and
attempted to stage a rally in
Moscow against Russian President
Vladimir Putin’s government.
In 2020, President Donald
Trump announced that he was cut-
ting off U.S. payments to the U.N.
health agency, the World Health
Organization; Trump said it had
not done enough to stop the coro-
navirus from spreading.
Ten years ago: In Belfast,
Northern Ireland, where the
RMS Titanic was built, thousands
attended a choral requiem at the
Anglican St. Anne’s Cathedral or
a nationally televised concert at
the city’s Waterfront Hall to mark
the 100th anniversary of the ship’s
sinking.
Five years ago: Former NFL star
Aaron Hernandez, already serving
a life sentence for a 2013 murder,
was acquitted in Boston in a 2012
double slaying prosecutors said
was fueled by his anger over a
drink spilled at a nightclub. (Five
days later, Hernandez hanged him-
self in his prison cell.)
One year ago: President Joe
Biden said he would withdraw
the 2,500 remaining U.S. troops
from Afghanistan, with the draw-
down to begin by May 1; that date
had been the deadline for full
withdrawal under a peace agree-
ment that the Trump administra-
tion reached with the Taliban in
2020. Bernard Madoff, the infa-
mous architect of an epic securities
swindle, died at a federal prison in
North Carolina; he was 82.
Today’s birthdays: Country
singer Loretta Lynn is 90. Actor
Julie Christie is 82. Retired MLB All-
Star Pete Rose is 81. Rock musician
Ritchie Blackmore is 77. Actor Peter
Capaldi is 64. Actor Brad Garrett
is 62. Rock singer-musician John
Bell (Widespread Panic) is 60. Actor
Robert Clendenin is 58. Actor Cath-
erine Dent is 57. Actor Lloyd Owen
is 56. Baseball Hall of Famer Greg
Maddux is 56. Rock musician Bar-
rett Martin is 55. Actor Anthony
Michael Hall is 54. Actor Adrien
Brody is 49. Classical singer David
Miller (Il Divo) is 49. Rapper Da Brat
is 48. Actor Antwon Tanner is 47.
Actor Sarah Michelle Gellar is 45.
Actor-producer Rob McElhenney
is 45. Roots singer JD McPherson is
45. Actor Claire Coffee is 42. Actor
Christian Alexander is 32. Actor
Nick Krause is 30. Actor Vivien Car-
done is 29. Actor Graham Phillips
is 29. Actor Skyler Samuels is 28.
Actor Abigail Breslin is 26.
LOTTERY
Monday, April 11, 2022
Megabucks
2-7-8-31-37-48
Estimated jackpot: $4.1 million
Lucky Lines
1-5-11-15-18-24-25-29
Estimated jackpot: $22,000
Win for Life
1-22-59-71
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 1-5-7-9
4 p.m.: 7-2-5-9
7 p.m.: 4-6-9-6
10 p.m.: 5-4-2-9
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Mega Millions
2-8-14-20-31
Mega Ball: 17
Megaplier: 2
Estimated jackpot: $20 million
Lucky Lines
3-7-11-16-17-24-26-29
Estimated jackpot: $23,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 1-8-8-7
4 p.m.: 2-9-2-8
7 p.m.: 6-4-1-0
10 p.m.: 1-9-6-2
IN BRIEF
Blood drive planned
in Enterprise
dick Mason/The Observer, File
Members of the La Grande Public Works Department do prep work on Tuesday, April 6, 2021, on Second Street for a project to replace a
water main and upgrade the road.
City: Street and road improvements a top priority
Budget adjustments
would allow for
more spending
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
city of La Grande is eyeing
a key area of concern
ahead of its budget adop-
tion for the 2022-23 fiscal
year.
The city is looking
to address road mainte-
nance and infrastructure,
a project that has often
faced funding challenges
in the past. During the
La Grande City Council’s
annual retreat on Jan. 25,
the council emphasized
increased funding for street
and road infrastructure as a
top priority.
At the
city council
meeting on
April 6, La
Grande City
Manager
Robert Strope
presented
Strope
a memo-
randum stating the city’s
intent to assign approxi-
mately $473,818 in one-
time funding for streets
and roads in the upcoming
2022-23 fiscal year budget.
The additional funding in
the proposed budget comes
from two allocations
geared toward funding
maintenance of city streets.
The first proposal from
the city manager involves
shifting 25% of unallo-
cated funds in the city’s
general fund into unre-
stricted dollars for road
infrastructure — this
adjustment would bring in
$116,064 to the street and
road budget.
The remaining $357,754
would come from the esti-
mated amount in the city’s
general fund from an Urban
Renewal Agency levy that
would be transferred to
the street and road budget.
The under levy would not
impact the Urban Renewal
Agency’s economic devel-
opment programs or capital
project funding.
The Parking, Traffic
Safety and Street Main-
tenance Advisory Com-
mittee has been working
to target long-term goals
for improving La Grande’s
streets.
The two changes to the
budget will be decided as
part of the city’s fiscal year
budget approval and adop-
tion process and will go
in front of the city council
on April 18 in a joint work
session.
Umatilla National Forest to begin spring burning
By SHEILA HAGAR
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
PENDLETON — Fire
management officials on
the Malheur, Umatilla
and Wallowa-Whitman
national forests are starting
spring prescribed burning
to reduce the risk of severe
wildfire.
A news release from
the Umatilla National
Forest said frequent
and low-intensity fire
is essential for healthy
forests, and prescribed
burning reduces the risk
of intense wildfire caused
by excessive fuel buildup.
Prescribed burning is
effective for removing
excessive brush, shrubs,
and trees, while also
encouraging growth of
native vegetation.
As well, the spring
burning improves
overall forest health and
enhances habitat for elk,
deer and other wildlife,
officials said.
This is done only
under controlled condi-
tions. Wind speed and
direction, temperatures,
humidity and fuel mois-
Contributed photo
Spring prescribed burning will soon begin in the Blue Mountains, according to a Friday, April 8, 2022,
announcement from the U.S. Forest service.
ture are taken into con-
sideration before Forest
Service staff begin a pre-
scribed burn operation.
Each one represents
years of planning and
preparation to ensure
burn operations meet
conditions for success.
Potential smoke impact
is determined prior to
each burn, officials said.
All burns will be moni-
tored until a season-ending
rain or snow occurs.
For more information,
visit the Blue Mountain
Prescribed Fire Council
blog at www.bluemtn-
prescribedfire.blogspot.
com.
More April snow is in the forecast
Dry weather is
projected for
Easter Sunday
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
Grande Ronde and Wal-
lowa valleys and the
Meacham area will con-
tinue receiving early
spring snow through Sat-
urday, April 16, but Easter
Sunday, April 17, will be
clear of any precipitation,
according to the National
Weather Service.
According to forecasters,
La Grande will have a 50%
chance of receiving snow
during the morning and
afternoon of Thursday,
April 14, a chance of
receiving snow the evening
of Friday, April 15, and a
chance of receiving snow
the morning of Saturday,
April 16.
Enterprise also is pro-
jected to have a 50%
chance of receiving snow
throughout the day on
April 14 and a 20% chance
early in the evening. On
April 15, forecasters are
giving Enterprise a 30%
chance of snow in the eve-
ning, and on April 16
Enterprise will have a
70% chance of snow in the
morning and afternoon
and a 30% chance in the
evening.
Projections call for
Meacham to have a 60%
chance of snow throughout
the day on April 14, a
chance of snow in the day-
time of April 15 and a 50%
chance of snow that eve-
ning. On April 16, Mea-
cham is expected to have
an 80% chance of snow
in the afternoon and a
20-30% chance in the
evening.
The projected regional
snowfall will come on
the heels of at least three
straight days of snow in
the beginning of the week,
which forced the closure of
Interstate 84 for more than
12 hours.
Rob Brooks, a meteo-
rologist for the National
Weather Service in Pend-
leton, said it is a little
unusual for Northeastern
Oregon to be receiving
as much April snow as it
has. He attributes this to a
series of low-pressure sys-
tems, which cause weather
disturbances, coming
through.
“A series of low-pres-
sure systems are moving
through with cold air
behind them,” Brooks
said.
Cold temperatures
will prevail in the Grande
Ronde and Wallowa val-
leys and Meacham through
Sunday, according to the
National Weather Service.
April 14-16, La Grande is
expected to have highs of
38-44 degrees and lows of
20-31 degrees; Enterprise’s
highs are projected to be
34-40 degrees and lows
to be 14-25 degrees; and
Meacham will likely have
highs of 34-40 degrees and
lows of 16-27 degrees.
Weather will be clear
and a bit warmer on Easter
Sunday. On April 17, the
high in La Grande is fore-
cast to be 47 degrees with
a low of 31 degrees; Enter-
prise is expected to have
a high of 43 degrees and a
low of 25 degrees; and the
high in Meacham should
be 43 degrees and the low
28 degrees.
Brooks said drier and
warmer Easter Sunday
weather is projected
because of a ridge of
high-pressure that will
start building in the region
late on April 16. The
high-pressure will keep
out storms on Sunday, a
day too late for Saturday’s
chilly community Easter
egg hunts.
ENTERPRISE — Every
2 seconds, someone in the
U.S. needs blood.
That’s according to
the American Red Cross,
which will put on a blood
drive in Enterprise on
Tuesday, April 19, at the
Cloverleaf Hall.
Alicia Hayes, Wallowa
County Red Cross coordi-
nator for the blood drive,
said all blood types and Rh
factors are needed.
Type O is the universal
donor, meaning people with
all blood types can receive
Type O. Type AB is the uni-
versal recipient. Types A and
B also are needed, as are all
types with positive and nega-
tive Rh factors.
Hayes said some people
who have had health issues
or are taking certain medica-
tions are not able to donate.
“There’s a pretty good
screening process,” she said.
Tattoos, piercings and
recent surgeries also can be
limiting.
The blood drive is all-vol-
unteer, Hayes said, meaning
no payments are offered for
blood. She said there is a
“hospitality center” at the
Cloverleaf offering cookies
and other “goodies.”
But she urged people to
come for the approximately
15-minute process.
“Even if you’re unsure
about the process, people
can come down and find out
about it,” she said.
Hayes said those who
wish to schedule a donation
appointment can call her at
541-663-6096 or go online to
www.redcrossblood.org.
La Grande Main
Street group to host
connection series
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande Main Street
Downtown organization is
establishing a new resource
connection series for local
businesses to network
and learn about available
resources in the region.
The Business-
Resource Connec-
tion series, a brown-bag
style learning event, will
take place on the third
Wednesday of every month
at the Ignite Center, 104
Depot St. The first meeting
is scheduled for noon on
Wednesday, April 20.
According to a press
release from La Grande
Main Street Downtown, the
series is aiming to point out
a wide variety of resources
available for local busi-
nesses. The La Grande Eco-
nomic Vitality Committee
is hosting the events, with
the hopes of highlighting
these resources for busi-
nesses that may not be
aware that business aid is
available locally.
The series resembles
the Hot Topics hosted by
La Grande Main Street
Downtown in past years,
revamping the format. The
monthly meetings will
include a different orga-
nization presenting busi-
ness development topics
and connections to wealth
resources. The Eastern
Oregon Visitors Associ-
ation, WorkSource, La
Grande Economic Develop-
ment Department and more
are scheduled to present at
upcoming events.
Wyden hosts
virtual town hall for
Wallowa County
ENTERPRISE — U.S.
Sen. Ron Wyden is hosting
a series of virtual town
halls next week, including
one for Wallowa County
residents.
The Wallowa County
town hall is set for 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 20.
A recent press release
stated the senator has
hosted more than 1,000
town halls during his time
in office, and has hosted at
least one in each county in
Oregon each year.
A Facebook link to
the town hall is avail-
able at https://tinyurl.com/
m4jfa4ac. To submit ques-
tions, visit https://tinyurl.
com/3vebjnnj.
— EO Media Group