LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
In 1775, Ethan Allen and his
Green Mountain Boys, along with
Col. Benedict Arnold, captured
the British-held fortress at Ticond-
eroga, New York.
In 1818, American patriot Paul
Revere, 83, died in Boston.
In 1865, Confederate President
Jefferson Davis was captured by
Union forces in Irwinville, Georgia.
In 1869, a golden spike was
driven in Promontory, Utah,
marking the completion of the first
transcontinental railroad in the
United States.
In 1924, J. Edgar Hoover was
named acting director of the
Bureau of Investigation (later
known as the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, or FBI).
In 1933, the Nazis staged mas-
sive public book burnings in
Germany.
In 1940, during World War II,
German forces began invading
the Netherlands, Luxembourg,
Belgium and France. The same
day, British Prime Minister Nev-
ille Chamberlain resigned, and
Winston Churchill formed a new
government.
In 1941, Adolf Hitler’s deputy,
Rudolf Hess, parachuted into Scot-
land on what he claimed was a
peace mission. (Hess ended up
serving a life sentence at Spandau
Prison until 1987, when he appar-
ently committed suicide at age 93.)
In 1994, Nelson Mandela took
the oath of office in Pretoria to
become South Africa’s first Black
president. The state of Illinois exe-
cuted serial killer John Wayne
Gacy, 52, for the murders of 33
young men and boys.
In 1995, 104 miners were killed
in an elevator accident in Orkney,
South Africa.
In 2002, a tense 39-day-old
standoff between Israeli troops
and Palestinian gunmen at the
Church of the Nativity in Beth-
lehem ended with 13 suspected
militants flown into European exile
and 26 released into the Gaza Strip.
In 2013, the Internal Revenue
Service apologized for what it
acknowledged was “inappro-
priate” targeting of conservative
political groups during the 2012
election to see if they were vio-
lating their tax-exempt status.
In 2014, Michael Sam was
picked by the St. Louis Rams in the
seventh round of the NFL draft,
becoming the first openly gay
player drafted by a pro football
team. (Sam retired after an unsuc-
cessful stint with the Rams and the
Dallas Cowboys.)
Today’s birthdays: Author Bar-
bara Taylor Bradford is 89. R&B
singer Henry Fambrough (The
Spinners) is 84. Writer-produc-
er-director Jim Abrahams is 78.
Singer Donovan is 76. Singer-song-
writer Graham Gouldman (10cc)
is 76. Singer Dave Mason is 76.
Actor Mike Hagerty is 68. Sports
anchor Chris Berman is 67. Actor
Bruce Penhall is 65. Actor Victoria
Rowell is 63. Rock singer Bono (U2)
is 62. Rock musician Danny Carey
(Tool) is 61. Actor Darryl M. Bell is
59. Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks is
59. Model Linda Evangelista is 57.
Rapper Young MC is 55. Actor Erik
Palladino is 54. Rock singer Richard
Patrick (Filter) is 54. Actor Lenny
Venito is 53. Actor Dallas Rob-
erts is 52. Actor Leslie Stefanson is
51. Actor-singer Todd Lowe is 50.
Actor Andrea Anders is 47. Race car
driver Helio Castroneves is 47. Rock
musician Jesse Vest is 45. Actor
Kenan Thompson is 44. Rhythm-
and-blues singer Jason Dalyrimple
(Soul For Real) is 42. Actor Odette
Annable is 37. Actor Lindsey Shaw
is 33. Actor Lauren Potter is 32.
Olympic gold medal swimmer
Missy Franklin is 27.
CORRECTIONS
The Observer works hard to be
accurate and sincerely regrets
any errors. If you notice a
mistake in the paper, please call
541-963-3161.
LOTTERY
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TuESday, May 10, 2022
Celebrating Arbor Day with tree planting Bailing
twine poses
danger to
osprey
EOU student-
athletes plant
eight trees at ISB
Building on
Gekeler Lane
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Arbor
Day 2022 is in the books,
marking the continuation
of Eastern Oregon Uni-
versity as a Tree Campus
USA, along with the addi-
tion of some brand-new
healthy trees thanks to the
school’s football team.
More than a dozen EOU
student-athletes took part
in a tree planting event
Friday, April 29.
“It’s always the kids, it’s
always the students. And
of course, we’re achieving
something as well. We’re
getting trees in the ground
and getting them in prop-
erly. But they make it quite
fun,” David Yoder, campus
arborist, said.
The students planted
eight trees on the grounds
of the Integrated Service
Building (ISB) on Gekeler
Lane, near EOU, in La
Grande.
“We put in some Juni-
perus scopulorum, Rocky
Mountain Juniper sky-
rockets. Those will become
like soldiers around the
perimeter. They’ll get 25
feet tall and eight feet in
diameter,” Yoder said.
Eastern Oregon university/Contributed Photo
Members of the Eastern Oregon University football team pose for a photo on Friday, April 29, 2022,
after taking part in a tree planting event as part of maintaining EOU’s Tree Campus USA status.
EOU students have been
assisting in volunteer Arbor
Day activities since 2015,
with the football team taking
the lead in tree planting
events in recent years.
“Coach Tim Camp and
his leaders on the football
team have been a tremen-
dous help over the last sev-
eral years planting trees,”
Yoder said. “They’re great
— we kind of just oversee
and instruct. We’ll review
the work and make sure it
was done right, but Coach
Camp, he really enjoys it,
and it’s been a lot of fun.”
The tree planting is one
of multiple events done
as part of EOU’s status
as a Tree Campus USA/
Higher Ed. EOU first
started working toward
Tree Campus USA quali-
fication in 2014, was offi-
cially recognized in 2016
and has since maintained
that status.
Tree Campus USA is
a program of the Oregon
Department of Urban For-
estry and the Arbor Day
Foundation, Yoder said,
and its goal is “to bring
awareness of urban for-
estry and the value of trees
to a community.”
As part of its Tree
Campus USA status, EOU
maintains a tree advisory
committee made up of an
administrator from facili-
ties, the campus arborist, a
faculty member, a student
and another off-campus
arborist or community
member at large.
“We have several meet-
ings a year with the com-
mittee, and so now we’re
even planning for next
year,” Yoder said. “The
committee reviews the
campus arbor and talks
about planting and activ-
ities. It really is student
involved.”
The committee will
meet in October to discuss
future Tree Campus USA,
Arbor Day and other tree
planting events.
UC ballot return rate above state average
More than 9% of
ballots have been
returned
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Union
County’s ballot return rate
for the Tuesday, May 17,
mail election is above the
state average.
A total of 1,769 ballots
for the primary election have
been returned to the Union
County Clerk’s Office as of
1 p.m. Friday, May 6. This
is 9.23% of the 19,175 ballots
sent out by the clerk’s office.
Ballot return statis-
tics from the Secretary of
State’s website, current as of
8 a.m. Friday, May 6, indi-
cated that the state average
was 5.4%. Union County’s
return rate at that time was
8.1%.
Wheeler County topped
the state then with a return
percentage of 13.7%, and
Deschutes County had the
state’s low mark at 3%. Wal-
dick Mason/The Observer
A ballot drop box on Sunday, May 8, 2022, sits outside the Daniel Chaplin Building, 1001 Fourth St.
The building houses the Union County Clerk’s Office in La Grande. Ballots returned by hand must be
received by 8 p.m. May 17. Mailed ballots must be postmarked on or before May 17.
lowa County had a return
rate of 4.2%, Baker County’s
rate was 6.4% and Umatilla
County’s was 4.8%.
Four years ago a total
of 2,330 ballots had been
turned in at this time in
Union County for the May
15, 2018, primary election.
That year the total voter
turnout for the May elec-
tion was 47.01%, according
to Lisa Feik, chief deputy of
the Union County Clerk’s
Office.
All Union County bal-
lots must be returned to the
county clerk’s office or a
drop box by 8 p.m. Tuesday,
May 17. Ballots return by
mail must be postmarked
on or before May 17 to be
counted.
Outdoor ballot drop
boxes are available in Union
County in La Grande at
Cook Memorial Library,
2006 Fourth St., and the
Union County Clerk’s
Office, 1001 Fourth St.; at
Cove City Hall, 504 Alder
St.; at Elgin City Hall, 7908
Eighth St.; at Imbler City
Hall, 180 Ruckman Ave.; at
Island City’s city hall, 10605
Island Ave.; at North Powder
City Hall, 635 Third St.; and
at Union City Hall, 342 S.
Main St.
Weather to warm slightly late in the week
Temps will remain
below average
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
chilly temperatures the
Grande Ronde and Wallowa
valleys have been experi-
encing will warm slightly in
the second part of this week,
according to the National
Weather Service.
“We will have a gradual
warming trend in the
next half of the week,”
said Brandon Lawhorn,
a meteorologist with the
National Weather Service
in Pendleton.
Still the temperatures
will remain below average
for this time of the year.
“It has been unseason-
ably cold,” Lawhorn said.
Forecasters are pro-
jecting that La Grande will
have high temperatures
of 55 degrees on Tuesday,
May 10; 57 degrees on
Wednesday, May 11, and
Thursday, May 12; and 56
degrees on Friday, May
13. La Grande’s low tem-
peratures are expected to
be 32 degrees on May 10,
35 degrees on May 11, 37
degrees on May 12 and 39
degrees on May 13.
Enterprise is predicted
to have temperatures of
51 degrees on May 10,
53 degrees on May 11, 54
degrees on May 12 and
51 degrees on May 13.
Enterprise’s low tempera-
tures are projected to be
26 degrees on May 10,
29 degrees on May 11, 31
degrees on May 12 and 31
degrees on May 13.
Lawhorn said the cold
weather over the past
weekend and through
May 10 was caused by a
broad low-pressure system
that brought in cold air
from Canada. After May
11, another low-pressure
system will be moving into
the region, bringing in air
from British Columbia and
the Gulf of Alaska.
“It will be from a sim-
ilar track but it will not be
pulling in as much cold
air,” Lawhorn said.
The low-pressure
system is expected to
bring in some moisture,
according to the National
Weather Service, which is
projecting that La Grande
and Enterprise will have
a slight chance of rain on
May 13.
Conditions in Mea-
cham will be similar to
those in La Grande and
Enterprise over the next
four days, according to
the National Weather Ser-
vice. Meacham is projected
to have temperatures of
50 degrees on May 10, 53
degrees on May 11 and
May 12, and 52 degrees
on May 13. Meacham’s
lows are forecast to be 28
degrees on May 10 (with
a slight chance of snow),
31 degrees on May 11, 32
degrees on May 12 and 35
degrees on May 13.
NEWS BRIEF
Scholarships available for
heath care workers
ENTERPRISE — Three schol-
arships are available to health care
workers at Wallowa Memorial Hos-
pital or another local nonprofit health
care organization through the Wal-
lowa Valley Health Care Foundation.
The scholarships — two at $2,000
and a third at $1,000 — are avail-
able for workers “who wish to fur-
ther their professional develop-
ment through training, certification
or education,” a press release from
WVHCF states.
Scholarship requirements include
that recipients be committed to
staying in the county at the con-
clusion of their training, certifi-
cation or education, and that the
investment furthers their career and
improves or expands county health
care services, according to the
release.
The scholarships are the $2,000
Coffin Memorial Scholarship, the
$2,000 Edgar Burbridge and Frances
Boyd Burbridge Scholarship, and the
new Gail Swart Memorial Scholar-
ship in the amount of $1,000.
Applications are available online
and are due by June 2, 2022. Visit
www.wchcd.org/scholarship to apply
or for more information. To speak to
someone about the application pro-
cess, call 541-426-1913.
— EO Media Group
JOSEPH — Charla
Lower is warning residents
of Wallowa County of the
danger bailing twine can
have on osprey.
Lower, the associate
director for the Wal-
lowology Natural History
Center in Joseph, said few
people are unaware that
twine “laying all around the
county” is lethal to the bird.
“(There’s) so many sto-
ries of osprey hanging
themselves, and lots of pic-
tures,” she said.
Lower led a group April
23 — one day after Earth
Day — that went to various
locations, including farms,
around the county picking
up twine that had built up.
“I was finding so much I
made a day of it. A couple
other people continued, as
well,” she said. “A lot of that
twine came from one par-
ticular ranch. I still want to
go out and collect more. We
didn’t get to many of the
roads I wanted to get to.”
She said people aren’t
aware that twine easily
becomes accessible to the
osprey, and even fewer are
aware of the effects it has.
“It blows out of the back
of people’s pickups, and
they don’t even realize it,”
she said.
Osprey are drawn to
taking twine for building
nests, something Lower said
hawks and eagles don’t do.
“What I’m not sure
about is if they are
attracted to the bright
colors,” she said. “We’re
trying to think of solutions
to prevent this from hap-
pening. Things we’re going
to look into are if it was
natural colors instead of
bright colors, would they
not see it as easily. Right
now (twine is often) bright
blue and bright pink.”
She said the birds can get
a talon stuck in the twine at
the bottom of the nest and
end up unable to get loose
from it.
“We have a picture here
at Wallowology of one
hanging below its nest. The
twine is usually caught in
the talon, and they get hung
upside down and die,” she
said.
Lower said while out
picking up twine April 23,
she came across a woman
walking and told her about
the danger. The woman said
she hadn’t known that twine
was hazardous for osprey
and said she would start
picking it up while on her
walks and disposing of it.
“If they are aware of
that, they might be willing
to throw (it) away. It’s
another form of plastic,”
Lower said.
Lower knows many
farmers and ranchers col-
lect bailing twine and use it
on fences and gates because
of its durability. She said a
simple solution for farmers
and ranchers could be for
them to cover it up so the
osprey don’t see it and
endanger themselves.
“If they’re not going to
use it, just throw it away,”
she said.
Recycling the twine
is much more of a chal-
lenge, she said, because the
nearest place to recycle it
is in Portland. She advised
against other possible dis-
posal methods.
“It wouldn’t be good
to burn it. I know people
do burn their plastic here,
but it’s not the best thing
for the environment or
neighbors,” she said. “It
is better to throw it in the
dumpster.”
While only about one or
two osprey a year die in Wal-
lowa County because of get-
ting caught in twine, she said
that is a significant amount of
the roughly eight to 10 pairs
of the bird in the county.
“Maybe we can save the
lives of a couple osprey,”
Lower said. “It seems like
every year in the county we
have one or two die, and we
don’t have many.”