LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
In 1802, Washington, D.C., was
incorporated as a city.
In 1937, Margaret Mitchell won
the Pulitzer Prize for her novel,
“Gone with the Wind.”
In 1947, Japan’s postwar consti-
tution took effect.
In 1948, the Supreme Court, in
Shelley v. Kraemer, ruled that cov-
enants prohibiting the sale of real
estate to Blacks or members of
other racial groups were legally
unenforceable.
In 1960, the Harvey
Schmidt-Tom Jones musical “The
Fantasticks” began a nearly 42-year
run at New York’s Sullivan Street
Playhouse.
In 1979, Conservative Party
leader Margaret Thatcher was
chosen to become Britain’s first
female prime minister as the Tories
ousted the incumbent Labour
government in parliamentary
elections.
In 1987, The Miami Herald said
its reporters had observed a young
woman spending “Friday night and
most of Saturday” at a Washington
townhouse belonging to Demo-
cratic presidential candidate Gary
Hart. (The woman was later iden-
tified as Donna Rice; the resulting
controversy torpedoed Hart’s pres-
idential bid.)
In 2006, a federal jury in Alex-
andria, Virginia, rejected the death
penalty for al-Qaida conspirator
Zacarias Moussaoui, deciding he
should spend life in prison for his
role in 9/11; as he was led from the
courtroom, Moussaoui taunted,
“America, you lost.”
In 2009, Mexican President
Felipe Calderon told state tele-
vision that a nationwide shut-
down and an aggressive infor-
mational campaign appeared to
have helped curtail an outbreak of
swine flu in Mexico.
In 2011, Chicago’s Derrick
Rose became at age 22 the NBA’s
youngest MVP.
In 2015, two gunmen were shot
and killed by a police officer in Gar-
land, Texas, after they opened fire
outside a purposely provocative
contest for cartoon depictions of
the Prophet Muhammad.
In 2016, in a stunning triumph
for a political outsider, Donald
Trump all but clinched the Repub-
lican presidential nomination with
a resounding victory in Indiana
that knocked rival Ted Cruz out of
the race.
In 2018, a federal grand jury
in Detroit indicted former Volk-
swagen CEO Martin Winterkorn on
charges stemming from the com-
pany’s diesel emissions cheating
scandal. (Under Germany’s consti-
tution, he could not be extradited
to the U.S. to face charges.)
Today’s Birthdays: Singer
Frankie Valli is 88. Sen. Jim Risch,
R-Idaho, is 79. Sports announcer
Greg Gumbel is 76. Sen. Ron
Wyden, D-Ore., is 73. Pop singer
Mary Hopkin is 72. Singer Chris-
topher Cross is 71. Rock musician
David Ball (Soft Cell) is 63. Country
singer Shane Minor is 54. Actor
Amy Ryan is 54. Actor Bobby Can-
navale is 52. Music and film pro-
ducer-actor Damon Dash is 51.
Country musician John Driskell
Hopkins (Zac Brown Band) is 51.
Country-rock musician John Neff is
51. Actor Marsha Stephanie-Blake
is 47. TV personality Willie Geist
(TV: “Today”) is 47. Actor Christina
Hendricks is 47. Actor Dule Hill is
47. Country singer Eric Church is 45.
Actor Tanya Wright is 44. Dancer
Cheryl Burke is 38. Soul singer
Michael Kiwanuka is 35. Actor Zoe
De Grand Maison is 27. Rapper
Desiigner is 25.
LOTTERY
Friday, April 29, 2022
Megamillions
9-11-34-49-66
Megaball: 15
Megaplier: 2
Jackpot: $57 million
Lucky Lines
1-6-9-16-20-22-27-29
Jackpot: $17,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 1-6-0-5
4 p.m.: 8-6-6-2
7 p.m.: 7-8-1-4
10 p.m.: 9-0-8-9
Saturday, April 30, 2022
Powerball
14-21-37-44-63
Powerball: 1
Power Play: 3
Jackpot: $27 million
Megabucks
1-24-26-31-32-35
Jackpot: $4.9 million
Lucky Lines
4-7-9-14-17-24-25-31
Jackpot: $18,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 1-8-0-4
4 p.m.: 8-5-2-1
7 p.m.: 1-6-2-4
10 p.m.: 3-3-4-0
Win for Life
31-52-60-76
Sunday, May 1, 2022
Lucky Lines
1-7-11-15-20-22-27-30
Estimated jackpot: $19,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 0-6-0-6
4 p.m.: 0-6-9-8
7 p.m.: 8-3-9-2
10 p.m.: 7-7-0-9
TuESday, May 3, 2022
Hoping to tell students’ stories
Sara Hayes selected
as principal by
Wallowa School
Board; starts July 1
La Grande mayor
presented with
Oregon Urban and
Community
Forestry Award
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA — Sara
Hayes was interviewed by
Wallowa students during
the process of being ulti-
mately named Wallowa
junior’s high and high school
principal.
That experience, she said,
helped shape her view of
the role she will be officially
stepping into July 1.
“In that, I really took
away or walked away feeling
like we need to tell their sto-
ries, to show their great-
ness,” Hayes said. “I think
Wallowa doesn’t get as much
limelight or attention as
the other two (county high
schools, Joseph and Enter-
prise). What I walked away
with is how great these kids
are, but (they need) help
(and) support to show their
greatness.”
The Wallowa School
Board named Hayes as its
selection as the next prin-
cipal April 14. She has
been operating in tandem
with Rollie Marshall as the
interim principal, spending a
day a week in the role.
It’s a homecoming of
sorts for Hayes, who began
working in education with
Wallowa Head Start. She
said she was “in the early
childhood field I think eight
(to) 10 years.” She said in
that time she saw impor-
tance in the intersection
of family, community and
education.
Hayes went on to earn her
master’s degree in elemen-
tary education, according
to a press release from the
school, and “soon after
enrolled in the Educational
Leadership Principal Licen-
sure program through Lewis
and Clark College where
she expanded her experi-
ence into 7-12th grade at
both Joseph Charter School”
and into her role in recent
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa Junior/Senior High School’s new principal, Sara Hayes, left, talks with school secretary Jessica
Nye on Monday, April 25, 2022.
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Sara Hayes, the new principal of Wallowa Junior/Senior High School, sits in her office Monday, April 25,
2022. She has been operating in tandem with Rollie Marshall as the interim principal, spending a day a
week in the role, and will officially step into the position July 1.
weeks as Wallowa interim
principal.
She joins Wallowa at a
time when the school has
momentum, she said, not
only as a level of normalcy
returns with the ebb of the
two-year COVID-19 pan-
demic, but also with Wal-
lowa’s recent reaccreditation
scores. The school was rated
by Cognia with a score of
362 on a scale of 100-400,
and had the highest possible
ranking on 25 of 30 rated
categories.
“We’re the only school
out of the county that is
accredited,” she said. “I
think the whole process (is)
really insightful to see what
are our strengths. We have
a lot. That for sure is part of
the momentum.”
She added as the school
comes out of the pandemic
that it’s important to look at
the lessons from those two
years.
“I feel like we’re rebound-
ing into a positive space,”
she said.
She described a “feeling”
in the atmosphere of the
school — including during a
recent field trip — as playing
a key role in her decision
to apply for the position: “I
think that the kids and the
staff, the feel that is Wallowa
and how unified the staff
are in supporting our kids.
I think for me, just being
in there and feeling it. It’s
one thing to hear it, but to
feel that energy, is definitely
what did it for me.”
Hayes said she’s carrying
a high level of excitement for
her new role and hopes not
only to tell students’ stories,
but put students in a posi-
tion where the story is one of
success.
“What’s really resonated
with me is we want to build
those experiences so they
can better know when they
head out of high school what
they want to do,” she said.
City council to discuss establishment
of sidewalk improvement district
District would create process for
financing sidewalk improvement projects
for La Grande property owners
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande City Council
is scheduled to discuss the
establishment of the City
Wide Voluntary Sidewalk
Local Improvement District
for 2022 at its Wednesday,
May 4, session, at La
Grande City Hall, begin-
ning at 6 p.m.
Councilors are set to
vote on the City Wide Vol-
untary Sidewalk Local
Improvement District for
2022, which creates a pro-
Clements
earns
statewide
award
cess for financing side-
walk improvement projects
for property owners. The
annual request supports
public improvements in the
right-of-way throughout La
Grande.
In 2021, the City Wide
Voluntary Sidewalk
Local Improvement Dis-
trict repaired roughly 750
square feet of sidewalk
and driveways, 40 feet of
curbs and two ADA acces-
sibility ramps. The project
costs were estimated at
$16,258. This year’s pro-
posed improvement dis-
trict would involve the
city’s engineering division
making sidewalk improve-
ment based on requests, as
opposed to designating a
specific sidewalk zone as in
past years.
The second item of new
business to be considered
is the transfer of appro-
priations within the city’s
street maintenance budget
for repair work on Second
Street. The funds, which
will be included in the
2021-22 fiscal year budget,
will total $15,000 to cover
paving costs. The project
requires a total funding cost
of $164,874, but $150,000
was originally budgeted for
the project. The funds will
be transferred from contin-
gency from the maintenance
budget, which contains
$100,000.
The May meeting will
include in-person congre-
gation and attendance, the
second of which has been
held in 2022. Those inter-
ested in public comment
can sign in at the meeting
or sign up to make vir-
tual comments through
rstrope@cityoflagrande.
org or by calling the city
recorder at 541-962-1309.
The meeting will be
available for viewing via
the city’s scheduled Charter
Communications channel
180, on the La Grande Alive
website (https://eoalive.
tv/city-events) or on the
Eastern Oregon Alive.TV
Facebook page (www.face-
book.com/EOAliveTV).
NEWS BRIEFS
Nearly $10K raised for local
health care by Men’s Guild
LOSTINE — Nearly $10,000 was
raised by the Men’s Guild during
a fundraiser for local health care
Tuesday, April 26, in Lostine.
More than 50 men turned out
for the event, which was the first
in-person meeting for the Men’s
Guild since 2019. The group, which
is sponsored by the Wallowa Valley
Health Care Foundation, raised
$9,800, coming close to the stated
goal of $12,000.
“It’s because of such strong com-
munity support that we are able to be
so well-positioned with modern med-
ical equipment for excellent patient
care,” Wallowa Memorial Hospital
CEO Larry Davy said during the
event. “This is critical, as we face
mounting inflation, supply chain
shortages and other challenges.”
The project presented to the
guild on April 26 was to provide
for ultrasounds to be performed in
the field “so that life-saving infor-
mation can be learned right away,
so earlier intervention is possible,”
a press release from the founda-
tion stated. “That includes accessing
Life Flight helicopter services if
needed, and alerting hospital medical
staff in advance so they can begin
preparations.”
Wallowa Lake firewise
committee to host wildfire
awareness public event
JOSEPH — The South Wallowa
Lake Community Firewise Com-
mittee is set to host a wildfire com-
munity awareness event at Wallowa
Lake on Saturday, May 7.
The event is a part of Wildfire
Community Preparedness Day, a
national campaign to raise aware-
ness of wildfire risks.
The public is invited to attend
Saturday’s event from 1-2 p.m. at
84747 Talemena Dr. at Wallowa
Lake, where techniques and tips
will be demonstrated by SWLC
Firewise Committee volunteers.
Participants can view the tech-
niques behind a mesh screen at the
home — the SWLC Firewise Com-
mittee received a $500 national
grant from State Farm Insurance in
coordination with the National Fire
Protection Association to safeguard
several homes in the area with the
protective mesh in case of flying
embers during a wildfire.
“We hope to protect several
homes with the material pur-
chased by the grant funds,” SWLC
Firewise Committee member
Janet Groat said in a press release.
“Homeowners will help hang the
material on their own deck and
then, hopefully, turn around and
share their new expertise with their
neighbors.”
South Wallowa Lake Commu-
nity Firewise Committee is the most
recently accredited firewise com-
munity in Wallowa County. Wal-
lowa Resources provides support to
the firewise community.
— EO Media Group
LA GRANDE — La
Grande Mayor Steve Clem-
ents recently earned a state-
wide award for the city’s
efforts toward urban forestry.
At the La Grande
City Council meeting on
Wednesday, April 6, Tree
City USA presented Clem-
ents with the 2022 Oregon
Urban and
Commu-
nity Forestry
Award. The
award came
during Arbor
Month and rec-
ognizes Cle-
Clements
ments and the
city of La Grande for com-
mitment to urban forestry
through the promotion of
proper tree planting and care,
engaging citizens and raising
awareness of urban trees and
forests.
“I’m immensely appre-
ciative and grateful to the
Department of Forestry for the
recognition,” Clements said.
Urban forestry has been
a priority for Clements since
first joining the city council
in the early 1990s. At the
time, the city had a part-time
urban forester — the ensuing
30 years have seen a con-
tinued effort and sense of
pride toward the urban for-
estry program in La Grande
among city residents and
councilors alike.
“The first 10 years we had
to fight for it every year, but
we started consistently get-
ting this award,” the mayor
said. “There was always a
steady progress. I think it’s
made a huge difference in
how our urban forestry is
managed.”
The award requires a min-
imum $2 per capita invest-
ment into urban forestry,
a mark that La Grande is
well above. La Grande now
employs a full-time urban
forester, Teresa Gustafson.
Brian Kelly, a board
member of Oregon Commu-
nity Trees, presented Clem-
ents with the award and
spoke on behalf of Tree City
USA and the Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry. La Grande
was recognized with its 30th
growth award for increased
programs and resources,
which ranks the town first
in Oregon and second in the
United States in number of
times receiving the award.
The primary focus of
Tree City USA is promoting
healthy tree growth in urban
settings, planting the right
tree at the right place. Clem-
ents noted that over time, La
Grande residents have bought
into this idea more and more
through working with the
city to create a healthy urban
landscape.
“I have to chalk it up to
our urban foresters and the
way they approached the
public in selling the program
and educating about the ben-
efits of healthy trees, working
with commercial arborists
and working with OTEC,”
Clements said.
“I just like to see when
people take their own initia-
tive to ask for trees,” he said.
“I think that’s fabulous.”
Clements stated that La
Grande’s reputation as a
thriving urban forestry city
sheds a positive light on the
town as a whole, particularly
when passersby come in and
out of town.
With Clements set to serve
out the remainder of his final
term as mayor, the long-ten-
ured La Grande councilor
said he hopes the city’s
thriving urban forestry pro-
gram will continue.
“We do an amazing thing
in this little town,” Clements
said. “I think that kind of rec-
ognition is nice. We can toot
our horn about that.”