LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
In 1616 (Old Style calendar),
English poet and dramatist William
Shakespeare died in Stratford-up-
on-Avon on what has traditionally
been regarded as the 52nd anni-
versary of his birth in 1564.
In 1898, Spain declared war
on the United States, which
responded in kind two days later.
In 1940, about 200 people died
in the Rhythm Night Club Fire in
Natchez, Mississippi.
In 1954, Hank Aaron of the Mil-
waukee Braves hit the first of his
755 major-league home runs in a
game against the St. Louis Cardi-
nals. (The Braves won, 7-5.)
In 1969, Sirhan Sirhan was sen-
tenced to death for assassinating
New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.
(The sentence was later reduced to
life imprisonment.)
In 1971, hundreds of Vietnam
War veterans opposed to the con-
flict protested by tossing their
medals and ribbons over a wire
fence in front of the U.S. Capitol.
In 1988, a federal ban on smoking
during domestic airline flights of
two hours or less went into effect.
In 1992, McDonald’s opened its
first fast-food restaurant in the Chi-
nese capital of Beijing.
In 1993, labor leader Cesar
Chavez died in San Luis, Arizona,
at age 66.
In 1998, James Earl Ray, who
confessed to assassinating the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr. and then
insisted he’d been framed, died
at a Nashville, Tennessee, hospital
at age 70.
In 2005, the recently created
video-sharing website YouTube
uploaded its first clip, “Me at the
Zoo,” which showed YouTube
co-founder Jawed Karim standing
in front of an elephant enclosure at
the San Diego Zoo.
In 2007, Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s
first freely elected president, died
in Moscow at age 76.
In 2020, at a White House
briefing, President Donald Trump
noted that researchers were
looking at the effects of disinfec-
tants on the coronavirus, and won-
dered aloud whether they could be
injected into people.
Ten years ago: Actor-singer
Jennifer Hudson broke down in
tears while testifying at the Chi-
cago trial of William Balfour, the
man accused of killing her mother,
brother and 7-year-old nephew in
a jealous rage in 2008. (Balfour was
convicted of first-degree murder
and sentenced to life in prison.)
Five years ago: Centrist
Emmanuel Macron and far-right
populist Marine Le Pen advanced
to a May runoff in France’s presi-
dential election (Macron ended up
defeating Le Pen).
One year ago: U.S. health offi-
cials lifted an 11-day pause on
COVID-19 vaccinations using
Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose
shot, after scientific advisers
decided its benefits outweighed a
rare risk of blood clot.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Alan
Oppenheimer is 92. Actor David
Birney is 83. Actor Lee Majors is 83.
Actor Blair Brown is 75. Actor Joyce
DeWitt is 73. Actor James Russo
is 69. Filmmaker-author Michael
Moore is 68. Actor Judy Davis is 67.
Actor Valerie Bertinelli is 62. Actor
Craig Sheffer is 62. Actor-comedi-
an-talk show host George Lopez is
61. U.S. Olympic gold medal skier
Donna Weinbrecht is 57. Rock musi-
cian Stan Frazier (Sugar Ray) is 54.
Actor Barry Watson is 48. Profes-
sional wrestler/actor John Cena is
45. Actor-writer-comedian John
Oliver is 45. Actor Kal Penn is 45.
Retired MLB All-Star Andruw Jones
is 45. Actor Jaime King is 43. Pop
singer Taio (TY’-oh) Cruz is 39. Rock
musician Anthony LaMarca (The
War on Drugs) is 35. Singer-song-
writer John Fullbright is 34. Actor
Dev Patel is 32. Actor Matthew
Underwood is 32. Model Gigi Hadid
is 27. Actor Charlie Rowe (TV: “Sal-
vation”) is 26. Retired tennis player
Ashleigh Barty is 26. U.S. Olympic
gold medal snowboarder Chloe
Kim is 22.
LOTTERY
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
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Lucky Lines
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Powerball
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powerball: 14
power play: x2
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Win for Life
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7 p.m.: 8-4-9-3
10 p.m.: 4-3-1-4
Thursday, April 21, 2022
Lucky Lines
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Jackpot: $32,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 5-1-7-7
4 p.m.: 4-2-7-8
7 p.m.: 1-2-2-2
10 p.m.: 9-8-6-8
SaTuRday, apRil 23, 2022
NAPA construction underway
New automotive
store on Island
Avenue to include
added space and
favorable location
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
By BILL BRADSHAW
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Con-
struction work on a new
local structure is underway,
which will move a long-ten-
ured auto shop from down-
town La Grande to Island
Avenue.
NAPA Auto Parts of La
Grande is set to move to
its new location, pending
the completion of the new
building at the corner of
Island Avenue and 26th
Street. The project is
expected to be completed
in the fall, with the new
structure providing added
space and a more accessible
location.
“We’re currently
working on an entirely new
building that will be about
11,500 square feet for a
NAPA Auto Parts store,”
HC Company Project Man-
ager Jesse Roberto said.
The former Eagle Truck
Company building used to
stand on the plot of land,
next to Banner Bank and
just past the Interstate 84
exit on Island Avenue,
where the new NAPA Auto
Parts building will be. The
Wallowa County Chieftain
davis Carbaugh/The Observer
Crew members for HC Company Inc. operate heavy machinery at the site of the new NAPA Auto Parts
store on Island Avenue on Thursday, April 21, 2022. The new location is set to include a second story for
added space and a more accessible location on Island Avenue.
HC Company crew is cur-
rently on site and working
on the new building’s
foundation.
According to Roberto,
the work will include
pre-engineered metal
building — the crews
will also be adding to the
foundation with concrete
masonry units.
The current NAPA
Auto Parts, at the corner
of Jefferson Avenue and
Chestnut Street, has resided
in downtown La Grande for
more than 10 years.
The new building will
provide added space, a fea-
ture that manager Jerry
Baker said will be a slight
difference from the current
location.
Roberto stated that
the plans include a sec-
ond-floor mezzanine, and
the new building will also
have restrooms and a utility
room.
Baker said location and
accessibility played a big
role in moving NAPA Auto
Parts onto Island Avenue.
He noted that some
customers had difficulty
finding the store on Jef-
ferson, a block off the
main Adams Avenue shop-
ping area in downtown
La Grande. Upon comple-
tion of the construction
work, the new store will
have increased visibility
for locals as well as pass-
ersby on the busy Island
City strip.
While the new building
is under construction, the
current NAPA Auto Parts
store will continue opera-
tions as usual.
Baker added that the
transition should be mostly
seamless, with the new
store being stocked before
its opening while the crew
moves the current merchan-
dise from the old location.
Roberto noted that HC
Company Inc. has a long
history with the auto part
company, estimating that
the general contractors
have constructed roughly
seven NAPA Auto Parts
buildings in the past.
Commissioners award COVID-relief grants
70 small Union
County businesses
to receive latest
round of funding
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Sev-
enty small businesses in
Union County hurt by the
COVID-19 pandemic are
set to receive a boost.
The Union County
Board of Commissioners
voted Wednesday, April
20, to approve a plan for
distributing $500,000 in
funds to 70 small busi-
nesses in the county
harmed by COVID-19.
The money to be paid to
the businesses will come
from the Coronavirus State
Fiscal Recovery Fund.
The businesses were
selected on the basis of cri-
teria and a scoring matrix
approved by the board of
commissioners during its
March meeting.
The county received a
total of 73 applications,
and only three did not meet
all of the requirements.
One business did not meet
the requirement of having
to have at least 51% of
its operations in Union
County, another applied
too late and a third was
ineligible because it was
behind in its tax payments,
according to Shelley Bur-
gess, Union County’s
administrative officer.
Of the 70 awarded
grants, 19 are in the food
and beverage industries;
12 are personal services
businesses; 10 are gyms
or health and fitness busi-
nesses; nine are building
and construction services;
five are lodging and venues
firms; and 15 are busi-
nesses that fall outside of
these categories.
Food and beverage
businesses will receive
$151,698.24; personal ser-
vices firms will receive
$80,169.87; gyms, health
and fitness firms will
be provided $74,683.48;
building and construc-
tion services will receive
$55,467.03; lodging
and venues will receive
$39,455.93; and the 15
businesses qualifying for
grants but falling outside
these categories will be
paid a total of $98,525.45.
Applicants who quali-
fied were eligible to receive
grants of up to $10,000.
Eligible businesses
included those that could
demonstrate a one-month
decline in sales of 25% or
more, incurred during the
pandemic between Dec. 1,
2020, and Dec. 31, 2021, as
compared to the same time
period in 2019.
Only businesses that
employ 30 or fewer
employees were eligible for
the grants.
Of the 70 eligible
businesses, 46 received
funding through a sim-
ilar 2020 COVID-19 relief
grant program, and 24 are
new recipients, according
to Union County records.
The Coronavirus State
Fiscal Recovery Funds pro-
gram, a part of the Amer-
ican Rescue Plan, is deliv-
ering $350 billion to state,
local and Tribal govern-
ments across the country
to boost recovery from
the COVID-19 pandemic,
according to the Depart-
ment of the U.S. Treasury
website.
Sewer rehabilitation project ongoing in La Grande
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — What
may appear to be large
smoke clouds in La Grande
are actually part of a routine
public works project.
The La Grande sewer
rehabilitation project is
currently underway in La
Grande, with crew members
from Planned and Engi-
neered Construction Inc., of
Helena, Montana, working
to replace dated sewer lines
across the city. The use of a
minimal-impact procedure
to add new sewer line pipes
across La Grande will limit
traffic blockage and avoid
digging out entire roadways.
“Most of the projects are
all on residential streets,
so they usually shut them
Wallowa
officials
discuss
fairgrounds,
moraine plan
down briefly and do about
three a day,” La Grande
Public Works Director Kyle
Carpenter said. “They won’t
be in one spot for more than
about four hours at the most
before moving on.”
The project is in its
opening stages and comes in
the wake of a video surveil-
lance analysis of the condi-
tions of the existing pipes.
Instead of a more costly
method of ripping out the
former pipes and causing
traffic backups, the crew at
PEC uses a minimal-im-
pact system to add new
sewer lines. A vinyl “sock”
is dropped into the lines
that is then infused with an
epoxy resin — steam is then
pumped into the pipes from
one manhole to the next to
secure the new pipe in place.
“That’s what cures
the epoxy up against the
existing pipe to create the
new hard-formed pipe on
the inside,” Carpenter said.
Ensuing clouds of steam
are a result of this pro-
cess, with the crew moving
around from different access
points across the town.
PEC has previously
worked with the city, con-
ducting sewer line projects
in about five recent con-
tracts. Carpenter noted that
the work will likely be com-
pleted in the coming weeks.
The project will have
a minimal to nonexistent
impact on most surrounding
buildings.
“It will have very little
impact,” Carpenter said.
Carpenter noted that
most residential buildings
will be mostly unaffected,
while some businesses
attached to the sewer lines
in play could cause a slight
schedule change for the PEC
crew — maintenance work
may exceed the end of the
work day, in order to not
interrupt a potential larger
flow of sewage from a com-
mercial building.
Crews from PEC have
attached flyers to certain
residences, encouraging res-
idents to avoid high usage
such as multiple cycles of
laundry or excessive use of
toilets and sinks.
In instances of higher
volume apartment build-
ings, PEC is requesting res-
idents avoid sewer usage
all together during allotted
periods of time while the
sewage work is ongoing.
NEWS BRIEFS
Wallowa-Whitman forest personal-use
firewood permits available May 1
LA GRANDE — Starting this May, the Wallowa-
Whitman National Forest will begin offering free
personal-use firewood permits.
The permits are limited to 10 cords per household, per
year. Interested individuals can acquire permits free of
charge at local Forest Service Offices and at local vendors.
When acquiring the permits from local businesses, a $2
processing fee per transaction may be charged.
Locally, firewood permits can be acquired at the district
offices in La Grande, Baker City and Joseph. The permits
are valid from Sunday, May 1, through Nov. 30. Early fall
snowpack and fire danger in the summer can impact the
accessibility of firewood permits and wood availability.
Commercial-use firewood permits are available at the
regular price of $10 per cord, with a minimum two-cord
permit.
The Forest Service recommends checking fire closure
areas before collecting firewood. Information on indus-
trial fire precaution levels and public use restrictions can be
found on the Wallowa-Whitman website, www.fs.usda.gov/
wallowa-whitman, or by calling 541-523-1234.
OTEC warns customers of scam calls
BAKER CITY — The Oregon Trail Electric Cooper-
ative is warning its member-owners about an increase in
scam calls.
The electric co-op says it has received numerous reports
from members in Grant County saying they have received
calls from a person claiming to be an OTEC representa-
tive and threatening to cut off electricity unless payment is
made immediately.
OTEC officials say this is a scam. They say the co-op
will never demand immediate payment over the phone.
Anyone who receives a call of this type is advised to
hang up immediately and call OTEC at 541-523-3616 to
report the incident.
— EO Media Group
ENTERPRISE — Sev-
eral updates and rou-
tine items were addressed
Wednesday, April 20, by the
Wallowa County Board of
Commissioners during its
regular meeting.
Commissioner Todd
Nash discussed a meeting
that had been held the pre-
vious evening to solicit
public input on how to
spend money available
to upgrade the Wallowa
County Fairgrounds.
He said the primary topic
of discussion was how best
to spend $1.27 million avail-
able for various projects
being considered.
The list of projects
includes the indoor arena/
show barn roof, the food
booth, replacing the venti-
lation system in the kitchen,
remodeling restrooms
for Americans with Dis-
abilities Act compliance,
grounds irrigation, the out-
door arena, new implements
for the tractor, a drainage
system for the swine barn,
support replacement in
the beef barn, enclose the
maintenance shop under
the grandstands, upgrade
the Quonset building and
its restrooms for ADA
compliance.
Also on the list are proj-
ects at the Cloverleaf Hall,
part of which will be paid
with a $200,000 grant
donated by Wallowa Memo-
rial Hospital. Those projects
include updating the heat
pump system, remodeling
restrooms for ADA com-
pliance, a generator to use
during power outages and
movable room dividers.
No decisions were made
on projects, either at the
public meeting or during
the April 20 meeting, but
the commissioners got some
valuable input so they can
“make better decisions,”
Nash said.
East Moraine
The commissioners
also briefly discussed the
ongoing development of a
management plan for the
East Moraine.
Commission Chair Susan
Roberts said a sticking point
has been the presence of
vehicles on the property.
“We’ve had quite a
struggle getting that done
for the East Moraine on
vehicular use,” she said.
The moraine, a parcel of
land of roughly 1,800 acres,
was purchased and moved
to county ownership in Jan-
uary 2020. A draft manage-
ment plan has since been
worked on by the Wallowa
Lake Moraines Partner-
ship — made up of Wallowa
County, the Wallowa Land
Trust, Wallowa Resources,
the Oregon Department of
Parks and Recreation, the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife, the Oregon
Department of Forestry
and the Nez Perce Tribe’s
cultural and forestry divi-
sions, as well as community
members.
A meeting was held
Tuesday, April 19, to take
public input, but the part-
nership still has work to do.
Roberts said a manager has
been hired for the moraine,
but the plan has yet to be
finalized. She said it must
be completed by the end
of June — “or sooner, if
possible.”
“We’ve had discussions
on what we want to allow
up there,” Roberts said. “It’s
gone everywhere from some
people don’t want dogs at
all and some people are OK
with dogs as long as they’re
on a leash and other people
have other issues. Some
people want to have an area
for mountain bikes and
others don’t want mountain
bikes at all. Some people
didn’t even want walkers
because it should be left
pristine for the wildlife.”