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TUESDAY EDITION
April 26, 2022
SPORTS, B1
Parents,
recovery
advocates
call for
action
Availability of residential
treatment has dropped but
deaths have risen since the start
of the pandemic in 2020
By LYNNE TERRY
Oregon Capital Chronicle
Davis Carbaugh/The Observer
Members of the Elgin High School band practice at Elgin High School on Thursday, April 21, 2022. The band will be performing at the state competition
in May, a fi rst for the school.
ON TO STATE
Elgin High band readies for fi rst-ever trip to state competition
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
E
LGIN — Hard
work is paying off
for the Elgin High
School band.
After practicing their routine since
early in the winter, members of the
Elgin High School band are seeing the
rewards of their dedication on the big
stage. The Huskies took fi rst place at
the 1A Special District 4 competition to
earn an automatic qualifi er to the OSAA
state band competition in Corvallis —
the trip to state marks the fi rst time an
Elgin band has competed in the state-
wide event.
“It feels amazing,” senior saxophone
player Paige Giff ord said. “I’m so happy
we were able to pull together, get the
music done and go to state. We missed
out on it so many years before, so it’s
awesome to fi nally be able to do it.”
The Elgin High School band consists
of 15 members, ranging from grades
seven through 12. The Huskies placed
fi rst overall against Grant Union and
Wallowa at the Special District 4 com-
petition on Friday, March 18, scoring 84,
84 and 88 and automatically qualifi ed.
The Elgin band performed the songs
Davis Carbaugh/The Observer
Madelyn Adams plays the drums during band practice at Elgin High School on Thursday, April 21,
2022. The band qualifi ed to go to the state competition in Corvallis in May.
“Highland Legend,” “Ballade” and
“Legacy” at the district competition and
will play the same routine at state.
Tucker Murphey is in his eighth year
as the band’s director. Prior to his tenure
at Elgin, the school had not had a band
program for fi ve years.
After two years of COVID-19 can-
cellations and a near miss at going to
state in 2019, the Elgin band is poised to
make its fi rst-ever run at the OSAA state
competition in Corvallis on May 13.
For Giff ord, the collective hard work
and dedication of the band stands out
as a diff erence maker in the Huskies’
success.
“It’s a lot of work and a lot of Mr.
Murphy going through drills with us to
get down the rhythms,” Giff ord said. “A
lot of us take home our instruments to
PORTLAND — Moms and others con-
cerned about addiction rallied in Portland on
Saturday, April 23, calling for the Oregon
Health Authority to take eff ective and imme-
diate action against substance use.
They included a father who lost his son
two years ago after he consumed a coun-
terfeit opioid pill he bought online that was
laced with fentanyl.
They included a mom with a 35-year-old
son who recently relapsed with a drug
addiction.
And they included at least three moms
whose children are struggling with addiction
on the streets of Portland.
They gathered outside the northeast Port-
land offi ce of the Oregon Health Authority.
The rally was organized by Mike Mar-
shall, executive director of Oregon Recovers,
an advocacy group. He has frequently criti-
cized the state agency’s handling of Measure
110. The ballot measure, passed in November
2020, decriminalized the possession of per-
sonal amounts of drugs and was supposed to
build recovery facilities throughout the state,
pay for harm reduction and point addicts
toward treatment. But two years later little
of the nearly $300 million allocated has
been spent while Oregon’s addiction crisis
continues.
Since the start of the pandemic in March
2020, alcohol-related deaths have jumped
more than 70% and drug overdose fatal-
ities have risen nearly 40%, according to
state data. Residential treatment capacity for
adults and adolescents has also fallen, and
the state has shelved a public education cam-
paign on drinking, Marshall said.
He said the Oregon Health Authority has
failed to help an advisory group that is over-
seeing the distribution of Measure 110 funds.
They have a lot of experience with addic-
tion but little experience allocating taxpayer
dollars.
“Take action — or resign,” those
attending the rally repeatedly chanted, while
speakers addressed the need for addiction
and recovery services in Oregon.
In recent years, the state consistently
has ranked near the top in the prevalence of
See, Band/Page A6
See, Treatment/Page A6
‘He gave his heart and soul to the Elgin Stampede’
New Elgin Stampede
event to be named after
Ty Hallgarth
By DICK MASON
The Observer
ELGIN — A new event is being
added to the Elgin Stampede, a move
meant to keep the event’s rodeo
vibrant and the name of one of its
beloved leaders on the forefront of
the public’s mind for many years.
The Stampeders’ board of direc-
tors has announced that Xtreme
Bronc Riding is being added to the
lineup, an event that will be named
in honor of longtime volunteer and
leader Ty Hallgarth, who died in
January.
“He gave his
heart and soul to
the Elgin Stampede.
We want to keep his
memory alive,” said
Lara Moore, the sec-
retary of the Elgin
Hallgarth
Stampeders.
Hallgarth, 53, had been president
of the Elgin Stampeders since 2017
and a member of the Stampeders
board since 2013. He was president
of the Stampeders when the Elgin
rodeo was named the best small
rodeo on the Columbia River Cir-
cuit in 2017.
Randy Burgess, president of the
Elgin Stampeders, credits Hallgarth
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with working harder than anyone at
the Elgin Stampede grounds when
the rodeo or other events there were
coming up.
“He was always the fi rst one
there and the last one to leave,” he
said.
Burgess said Hallgarth was not
the type of leader attracted to the
spotlight.
“He was a behind-the-scenes
guy,” he said. “He pointed you
in the right direction, and if you
needed something he made sure
that you had it.”
Rob Moore, vice president of
the Elgin Stampeders, said Hall-
garth had a remarkable ability to
repair things, noting that he could
fi x everything from water lines to
Full forecast on the back of B section
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Wednesday
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bucking chutes.
“He was a handy person to have
at the arena,” he said.
People who needed tips on fi xing
items at their homes also often
sought out Hallgarth.
“He was always lending a
helping hand,” Moore said.
Hallgarth was adept at more
than fi xing things, Moore said,
adding Hallgarth spent a lot time
working to keep the Stampede
grounds looking sharp.
Hallgarth always had a good dis-
position regardless of what he was
doing.
“He had the greatest smile and
laugh,” Moore said. “You could
See, Stampede/Page A6
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Issue 50
2 sections, 16 pages
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