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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 2022)
LOCAL A2 — THE OBSERVER TODAY In 1649, the Maryland Toleration Act, providing for freedom of wor- ship for all Christians, was passed by the Maryland assembly. In 1836, an army of Texans led by Sam Houston defeated the Mexicans at San Jacinto, assuring Texas independence. In 1910, author Samuel Lang- horne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, died in Redding, Con- necticut, at age 74. In 1926, Britain’s Queen Eliz- abeth II was born in Mayfair, London; she was the fi rst child of The Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and the Queen Mother. In 1930, fi re broke out inside the overcrowded Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, killing 332 inmates. In 1975, with Communist forces closing in, South Vietnamese Pres- ident Nguyen Van Thieu resigned after nearly 10 years in offi ce and fl ed the country. In 1976, clinical trials of the swine fl u vaccine began in Wash- ington, D.C. In 1980, Rosie Ruiz was the fi rst woman to cross the fi nish line at the Boston Marathon; however, she was later exposed as a fraud. (Canadian Jacqueline Gareau was named the actual winner of the women’s race.) In 1998, astronomers announced in Washington that they had discovered possible signs of a new family of planets orbiting a star 220 light-years away, the clearest evidence to date of worlds forming beyond our solar system. In 2015, an Egyptian criminal court sentenced ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi to 20 years in prison over the killing of protesters in 2012. (Morsi collapsed and died during trial on espionage charges in June 2019.) In 2016, Prince, one of the most inventive and infl uential musicians of modern times, was found dead at his home in suburban Minneap- olis; he was 57. In 2018, Barbara Bush was remembered as the “fi rst lady of the Greatest Generation” during a funeral in Houston attended by four former U.S. presidents and hundreds of others. Actor Verne Troyer, best known for his role as “Mini-Me” in the “Austin Powers” movies, died in Los Angeles at the age of 49; a coroner later ruled that the death was suicide by alcohol intoxication. In 2020, researchers reported that a malaria drug that had been widely touted by President Donald Trump for treating the coronavirus showed no benefi t in large study of its use in U.S. veterans hospitals. Ten years ago: Charles W. “Chuck” Colson, 80, described as the “evil genius” of the Nixon administration who served seven months in prison for a Water- gate-related conviction, then spent the next 35 years ministering to prison inmates, died in northern Virginia. Five years ago: A San Francisco power outage blamed on the mas- sive failure of a circuit breaker that sparked a fi re at a power substa- tion stranded people in eleva- tors and left tens of thousands in the dark. One year ago: A Black man, Andrew Brown Jr., was shot and killed by sheriff ’s deputies in North Carolina while they were serving drug-related warrants at his home in Elizabeth City. (A prosecutor cleared the deputies, saying they were justifi ed because Brown had struck a deputy with his car while ignoring commands to show his hands and get out of the vehicle.) President Joe Biden announced new employer tax credits and other steps to encourage people who were reluctant to be inocu- lated to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Today’s Birthdays: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is 96. Actor-co- median-writer Elaine May is 90. Anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean is 83. Singer-mu- sician Iggy Pop is 75. Actor Patti LuPone is 73. Actor Tony Danza is 71. Actor James Morrison is 68. Actor Andie MacDowell is 64. Rock singer Robert Smith (The Cure) is 63. Rock musician Michael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) is 63. Actor-di- rector John Cameron Mitchell is 59. Actor Rob Riggle is 52. Come- dian Nicole Sullivan is 52. Football player-turned-actor Brian White is 49. Former NFL quarterback Tony Romo is 42. LOTTERY Monday, April 18, 2022 Megabucks 10-14-15-33-37-47 Estimated jackpot: $4.3 million Lucky Lines 3-7-11-15-19-24-28-30 Estimated jackpot: $29,000 Win for Life 5-28-40-76 Pick 4 1 p.m.: 4-2-4-4 4 p.m.: 4-0-8-0 7 p.m.: 7-9-6-5 10 p.m.: 5-9-6-5 Tuesday, April 19, 2022 Mega Millions 2-9-33-47-53 Mega Ball: 24 Megaplier: x3 Estimated jackpot: $20 million Lucky Lines 1-8-12-14-18-21-26-29 Estimated jackpot: $30,000 Pick 4 1 p.m.: 7-5-6-3 4 p.m.: 8-4-7-9 7 p.m.: 8-0-5-9 10 p.m.: 3-3-2-2 THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2022 IN BRIEF CHIEF JOSEPH DAYS Missing Enterprise man found dead in submerged vehicle Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain The queen and her court: The newly crowned 2022 Chief Joseph Days Rodeo Queen Maggie Zacharias, center, poses with her court, Princess Bailey Vernam, left, and Princess Mia Salerno. The three were honored Saturday, April 16, 2022, during a dinner and program at the Thunder Room of the Harley Tucker Arena in Joseph. Rodeo names 2022 queen Joseph’s Maggie Zacharias has previously served as queen of Elgin Stampede By BILL BRADSHAW Wallowa County Chieftain JOSEPH — Maggie Zacharias was crowned queen of the 2022 Chief Joseph Days Rodeo during the dinner and program held Saturday, April 16, at the Thunder Room of the Harley Tucker Arena in Joseph. Zacharias, the daughter of Luke and Merilee Zacharias, served previously as queen for the Elgin Stampede. She also has been active in FFA at Joseph Charter School. The decision for her over competitors Bailey Vernam and Mia Salerno was close, said CJD Offi ce Manager Miranda Tickner. “It was a diff erence of about two points,” Tickner said. Vernam is the daughter of Shannon Vernam, of Enterprise. She has previous rodeo royalty experience as a princess of the Elgin Stampede. Salerno, the daughter of Damian and Kristan Salerno, of Joseph, is in her fi rst experience as a member of a rodeo court. The three have been competing since they were announced as this year’s court last fall. Tickner said the girls compete in several cate- gories, including writing, public speaking and ticket sales. In fact, as CJD Board President Terry Jones noted when he announced the winner, the girls set a record in ticket sales. They sold $122,190 worth, he said. Tickner said the amount, while a record, was a bit skewed because the organization raised prices this year. “We raised ticket prices, but it’s tough to say,” she said. “We don’t believe we’ve broken over $100,000 before.” When Jones announced that she had won, Zacharias displayed a look of surprise or shock, accompanied by applause from Vernam, Salerno and the crowd. Zacharias and her court were escorted to the stage by men considered important in their lives. Zacharias was escorted by her dad, Vernam by her grandfather, Dave Vernam, and Salerno by her dad. The outgoing court of Casidee Harrod, Bri- anna Micka and Des- tiny Wecks was on hand to crown the new court. They served the unique function of two years on the court — all as queens — since the 2020 Chief Joseph Days was canceled because of the corona- virus pandemic. This year’s Chief Joseph Days will be July 26-31. The new court expects to serve just the usual one-year term. “We’re super pleased with the girls and we’re very excited for them,” Tickner said. Marshalls named CJD grand marshals Wallowa County Chieftain JOSEPH — Tim and Shelley Marshall were named grand marshals of the 2022 Chief Joseph Days Rodeo during a program and dinner Sat- urday, April 16, in the Thunder Room of the Harley Tucker Arena in Joseph. According to a press release issued about their selection as CJD grand marshals, the Mar- shalls have been Wal- lowa County residents for more than 40 years. They raised two daughters who both graduated from Joseph High School. Shelley started as a volunteer for the CJD Queen Coronation dinner in 1990, with Tim’s help. They spent many hours creating decorations, props and making the dinner a fun and festive event, the release stated. In 1998, Shelley turned Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain Shelley and Tim Marshall were named grand marshals of the 2022 Chief Joseph Days Rodeo during a program Saturday, April 16, 2022, at the Thunder Room of the Harley Tucker Arena in Joseph. over the reins of the dinner to help in the hospitality room, where the couple spent 23 years. During that time, the room grew from a simple tent that served cold cuts and soft drinks to a large building that is now known to cow- boys and cowgirls as one of the best of its kind in the Northwest. There, an average of 400 CJD contestants are served meals and the Marshalls are there from sunup to sundown. “Shelley kept everyone who volunteered on their toes,” the release said. “Her energy and dedi- cation were unmatched; keeping up with her was not for the faint of heart.” Tim was master of the grill and had his own dedicated bar- becue area behind the hospitality room. “Whether he liked it or not, he continually had a steady stream of visi- tors stopping in to com- pliment his cooking, have an ice-cold beer and steal a small bite of amazing food straight off the grill,” the release stated. The Marshalls were awarded the coveted Justin Boot Commit- teeman of the Year Award, which only goes to 125 people a year nationwide. Shelley was a CJD committee member for 19 years. The couple offi cially hung up their hats in 2020. Union County school principals to shift positions By DICK MASON The Observer LA GRANDE — Dawn Guentert’s education career is about to come full circle. Guentert, the principal of Greenwood Elementary School in La Grande, has been named the next prin- cipal of Elgin High School. The Elgin School Dis- trict is where Guentert started her career as an educator 24 years ago. She hopes to serve as EHS’s principal until she retires. “I’m going to end my career where I started it. I could not have passed this opportunity up,” said Guen- tert, who taught science in the Elgin School District’s junior high and senior high grades for six years altogether before taking a position in the Uma- tilla School District. She will be succeeded at Greenwood by Jennifer Melendez, currently Central Elementary School’s assis- tant principal. “I’m really excited about the opportu- nity,” Melendez said. The move Guentert will cessful. Grief agreed to stay be making is fi lled with on as superintendent in the irony on several fronts. Not 2022-2023 school year to only will she be returning give the board more time to to where she started fi nd her successor. her career, she will Guentert said she also be succeeding is looking forward to an educator she working under Greif. worked closely with “We have skill during her fi rst stint sets which comple- there, Dianne Greif, ment each other,” who is also superin- Guentert said. Melendez “Together we can tendent of the Elgin fi nd solutions to fi t School District. Greif taught math everybody.” at EHS when Guen- Greif credits Guentert with being tert was a science teacher there two a skilled educator. “She is a phenom- decades ago. enal teacher,” Greif “We were always Greif working on projects said. together,” Guentert Guentert began serving as Green- said. wood’s principal 10 Greif announced months ago, taking in December 2021 the position after that she would retire working as principal as principal of EHS of Clara Brownell and as superintendent Guentert Middle School in of the Elgin School Umatilla for three years. District. The Elgin School Guentert said she has Board later asked Greif to modify her retirement plans enjoyed her time at Green- wood immensely. when its search for a new superintendent was unsuc- “I have loved the experi- ence, especially all the hugs and love from the children,” she said. Melendez has been Cen- tral’s assistant principal for 10 months and previously worked for the Franklin Pierce School District in Tacoma, Washington, for three years where she was an instructional coach for two years and the dean of stu- dents at Elmhurst Elemen- tary School for one year. She said Central’s prin- cipal, Monica West, has helped prepare her for the position. “Monica has been an excellent mentor,” Melendez said. Teresa Dowdy, Central’s counselor, speaks highly of Melendez, noting that she genuinely loves children, is patient and is a good listener. “She defi nitely will be missed here. Greenwood will be lucky to have her,” Dowdy said. Melendez and Guentert will both begin their posi- tions at their new schools on Friday, July 1. WALLOWA LAKE — A 26-year-old Enterprise man was found dead in his vehicle — which had been recovered from Wal- lowa Lake — on Friday, April 15. The body of Devin Nelson Woempner- Velarde was found in the passenger area of a gold-colored 1999 Toyota Camry, according to a Wallowa County Sheriff ’s Offi ce press release. Woempner-Velarde — and his vehicle — had been reported missing since April 11. The Camry’s location was reported to Wallowa County dispatch shortly after noon on April 15. A caller reported the vehicle was in the lake at Wal- lowa Lake State Park off the boat ramp, the sher- iff ’s offi ce reported. The Wallowa County Sheriff ’s Offi ce and Oregon State Police responded, and, with the help of state park staff and an underwater camera, found the vehicle submerged roughly 40 feet from the boat ramp. Wallowa County Sheriff Joel Fish said it appears Woempner-Velarde drove off the ramp, and likely before April 15. The boat ramp was “covered with snow” that was reported as not having tracks in it when the vehicle was located. “The ignition was on and the car was in drive,” Fish said. “It looks like he drove off .” The sheriff added that the cause of death, “appears to be drowning, (but) the medical examiner hasn’t fi nished a death cer- tifi cate yet.” Fish said park rangers reported seeing a gold- colored car at the park April 11 or April 12, but were not certain if it was Woempner-Velarde’s vehicle. More members of WCSO, along with the Umatilla County Sheriff ’s Offi ce, responded to help remove the vehicle from the lake with the use of a tow truck. Joseph Fire and Wallowa Memorial Hos- pital EMS also responded. Jones to serve as interim superintendent WALLOWA — Tammy Jones will stay at the Wal- lowa School District fol- lowing her retirement as superinten- dent, though in a slightly diff erent Jones capacity. The Wal- lowa School Board voted Thursday, April 14, to approve of Jones holding the seat she is retiring from on an interim basis. Jones is slated to wrap up her second year as superinten- dent, though it is her 37th year in education, a press release from the school said. Keeping Jones on as the interim superintendent allows the school board “to start out the search strong in the fall for a per- manent superintendent to replace Superintendent Jones,” the statement from the school said. Additionally, the board approved the hiring of Sara Hayes as the junior high/high school prin- cipal. Hayes has 13 years of educational experience, including eight years in administrative roles. Her prior experience includes being a Head Start teacher in Wallowa, a range of positions in Early Childhood Educa- tion, practicum for sev- enth through 12th grades at Joseph and Wallowa and interim principal at Wallowa. “She’s been fi lling in on Mondays for the last six weeks,” Jones said of Hayes’ interim status. — EO Media Group
