LOCAL
TuESday, May 17, 2022
‘A really good experience’
NEWS BRIEFS
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
In 1536, Archbishop of Canter-
bury Thomas Cranmer declared
the marriage of England’s King
Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn invalid
after she failed to produce a male
heir; Boleyn, already condemned
for high treason, was executed two
days later.
In 1940, the Nazis occupied
Brussels, Belgium, during World
War II.
In 1946, President Harry S.
Truman seized control of the
nation’s railroads, delaying — but
not preventing — a threatened
strike by engineers and trainmen.
In 1954, a unanimous U.S.
Supreme Court handed down its
Brown v. Board of Education of
Topeka decision which held that
racially segregated public schools
were inherently unequal, and
therefore unconstitutional.
In 1973, a special committee
convened by the U.S. Senate
began its televised hearings into
the Watergate scandal.
In 1980, rioting that claimed
18 lives erupted in Miami’s Lib-
erty City after an all-white jury
in Tampa acquitted four former
Miami police officers of fatally
beating Black insurance executive
Arthur McDuffie.
In 1987, 37 American sailors
were killed when an Iraqi warplane
attacked the U.S. Navy frigate Stark
in the Persian Gulf. (Iraq apolo-
gized for the attack, calling it a
mistake, and paid more than $27
million in compensation.)
In 1996, President Bill Clinton
signed a measure requiring neigh-
borhood notification when sex
offenders move in. (“Megan’s
Law,” as it’s known, was named for
Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old New
Jersey girl who was raped and
murdered in 1994.)
In 2004, Massachusetts became
the first state to allow same-sex
marriages.
In 2010, the Supreme Court
ruled 5-4 that young people
serving life prison terms should
have “a meaningful opportunity
to obtain release” provided they
didn’t kill their victims.
In 2015, a shootout erupted
between bikers and police outside
a restaurant in Waco, Texas, leaving
nine of the bikers dead and 20
people injured.
In 2017, the Justice Department
appointed former FBI Director
Robert Mueller as a special counsel
to oversee a federal investiga-
tion into potential coordination
between Russia and the 2016
Donald Trump campaign.
In 2020, New York Gov. Andrew
Cuomo was tested for the corona-
virus on live TV as he announced
that all people in the state who
were experiencing flu-like symp-
toms were eligible for tests.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Peter
Gerety is 82. Singer Taj Mahal is 80.
Rock musician Bill Bruford is 73.
TV personality Kathleen Sullivan is
69. Boxing Hall of Famer Sugar Ray
Leonard is 66. Sports announcer
Jim Nantz is 63. Producer Simon
Fuller (TV: “American Idol”) is 62.
Singer Enya is 61. Actor-comedian
Craig Ferguson is 60. Singer-mu-
sician Trent Reznor (Nine Inch
Nails) is 57. TV personality/interior
designer Thom Filicia is 53. Singer
Jordan Knight is 52. R&B singer
Darnell Van Rensalier (Shai) is 52.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina
Raimondo is 51. Actor Sasha Alex-
ander is 49. Rock singer-musician
Josh Homme is 49. Rock singer
Andrea Corr (The Corrs) is 48.
Singer Kandi Burruss is 46. Actor
Kat Foster is 44. Actor Ayda Field
is 43. Actor Ginger Gonzaga is 39.
Folk-rock singer/songwriter Pas-
senger is 38. Actor Nikki Reed is 34.
Actor Justin Martin is 28.
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
Friday, May 13, 2022
Megamillions
11-41-43-44-65
Megaball: 13
Megaplier: 3
Jackpot: $112 million
Lucky Lines
3-8-9-14-20-24-25-32
Jackpot: $31,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 1-1-6-1
4 p.m.: 2-8-7-0
7 p.m.: 4-4-4-7
10 p.m.: 3-7-6-5
Saturday, May 14, 2022
Powerball
6-40-41-45-52
Powerball: 9
Power Play: 3
Jackpot: $90 million
Megabucks
6-28-33-36-37-47
Jackpot: $5.5 million
Lucky Lines
2-7-10-14-17-23-27-29
Jackpot: $32,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 9-7-7-8
4 p.m.: 0-8-9-6
7 p.m.: 0-3-6-3
10 p.m.: 9-1-2-5
Win for Life
18-28-37-52
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Lucky Lines
1-7-9-15-18-22-27-29
Estimated jackpot: $33,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 6-6-3-7
4 p.m.: 6-6-7-7
7 p.m.: 6-2-6-3
10 p.m.: 3-4-4-2
Elgin band misses
out on winning
trophy by one point
during first state
championship
By SHERAZ SADIQ
Oregon Public Broadcasting
CORVALLIS — The
Elgin High School band
competed for the first time
in the statewide Oregon
School Activities Associ-
ation band and orchestra
championships, finishing in
fifth place among the seven
other bands competing in
their school division.
The event started on
Wednesday, May 11, in
Corvallis and drew nearly
200 public and private high
schools from around the
state.
Elgin High School
band and choir director
Tucker Murphey said he
was “extremely proud”
of his team and their
accomplishment.
“They exceeded all my
expectations today. I thought
the students handled them-
selves with great poise and
professionalism,” he said.
“We are bummed that we
didn’t come home with a
trophy but we are hungry
to get back to it next year
and hopefully make it to the
podium.”
Erika Adams, a flute
player, is one of two seniors
in the band and is grad-
uating at the end of the
month.
“We are a young band
and I was trying not to get
my hopes up,” she said. “But
it was such a good experi-
ence to go through it and
learn from it, and I’m just
really looking forward to
hearing about how well they
do in the future.”
The team scored a
total of 278 points, just
one point shy of earning a
trophy, according to Mur-
phey. Their performance
was evaluated on several
measures, including into-
nation and accuracy of
Matt Polacek/Contributed Photo
The Elgin High School band prepares to perform at the May 2022 OSAA state band and orchestra
championships in Corvallis. The band finished fifth in its school division.
playing the notes in the three
musical compositions they
performed.
Still, Murphey is
thankful for the experience
of leading the band to its
first-ever appearance at the
state finals and is already
planning to make changes to
be better prepared for next
year, including folding in
early morning rehearsals.
“We were the very first
group to play, really early
at 8 a.m., and my class is in
the afternoon, so we are not
used to performing in the
morning,” he said.
Adams has two younger
sisters who also perform in
the 16-member band.
“It’s just a really good
experience, especially
because we’re able to cri-
tique each other in a way
that’s not hurtful, but they
tell me how I can improve
myself, and we go home and
we practice together,” she
said.
Adams has been a stu-
dent of Murphey’s since
the sixth grade when she
decided to pick up the flute
and join her friends in band
practice.
She was a freshman in
2019 when the band’s per-
formance at a district com-
petition clocked in at just
under 15 minutes, the min-
imum length required under
contest rules to advance to
the state finals.
“I remember Mr. Mur-
phey being really disap-
pointed and it hurt me more
that our teacher had seen
such hopes for us and that
we weren’t able to get there
because of what seemed to
be small reasoning,” Adams
said.
Murphey resolved to
avoid any missteps the
following year. But then
came the pandemic, which
brought the music to a halt
well beyond the halls of
Elgin High.
“When COVID hit and I
lost four seniors (to gradua-
tion), I thought the sky was
falling. Would the band ever
be able to play again at this
level?” Murphey said.
He also faced a more
pressing problem: How to
keep bandmates engaged
and developing musically
when they couldn’t meet in
person for rehearsals and
performances? So Mur-
phey posted assignments on
Google Classroom and had
the students record them-
selves completing them for
him to critique.
And he also found a
way to showcase the band’s
growth and instill a sense of
cohesion.
“For one of our winter
concerts, we were all
socially distanced. We
played in the gym and I
posted it to YouTube and
sent it out to parents,” Mur-
phey said.
Adams welcomed the
opportunity to perform
together in person after
months spent practicing the
flute without all her band-
mates nearby for encourage-
ment and motivation.
“We hadn’t been together
in forever and it was just
exciting to hear that nice
big, warm sound again,” she
added.
In August, she will
leave Elgin to start her first
semester at Brigham Young
University-Idaho. She plans
to bring her flute along and
the memories of her time
learning from her teacher,
mentor and friend.
“Mr. Murphey is so
inspirational,” Adams said.
“He pushes me to be a better
person inside class and out-
side of class.”
Mostly dry conditions expected this week
Rain in forecast for La Grande on May 19,
snow may hit Enterprise and Meacham
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — La
Grande, Enterprise and
Meacham are projected
to have dry weather this
week except on Thursday,
May 19, when they all have
a 40% chance of precip-
itation, according to the
National Weather Service
in Pendleton.
La Grande will have a
40% chance of rain, and
Enterprise and Meacham
will have a 40% chance
of snow. The precipitation
will be caused by a fleeting
low-pressure system.
“A fast-moving
low-pressure system will
be passing through,” said
Rob Brooks, a meteorol-
ogist with the National
Weather Service in
Pendleton.
The reason Enterprise
and Meacham will have
a 40% percent chance of
snow on May 19 and La
Grande will have a chance
of rain is the differences in
elevations, Brooks said. La
Grande has an elevation of
2,785 feet, Enterprise is at
3,757 feet and Meaham is
at 3,694 feet.
The highs forecast for
La Grande this week are
66 degrees on Tuesday,
May 17; 61 degrees on
Wednesday, May 18; 62
degrees on May 19; 58
degrees on Friday, May
20; and 63 degrees on Sat-
urday, May 21. The lows in
La Grande are projected by
the National Weather Ser-
vice to be 44 degrees on
May 17, 37 degrees on May
18, 35 degrees on May 19,
37 degrees on May 20 and
42 degrees on May 21.
La Grandes tempera-
tures will likely be close
to average for the month
of May, based upon tem-
perature data from 1991
to 2020, Brooks said. La
Grande’s average high in
May is 67.8 degrees and
its average low is 42.5
degrees.
The highs forecast for
Enterprise are 63 degrees
on May 17, 59 degrees on
May 18, 48 degrees on
May 19, 54 degrees on
May 20 and 59 degrees on
May 21. The low tempera-
tures expected in Enter-
prise are 39 degrees on
May 17, 30 degrees on
May 18 and May 19, 32
degrees on May 20 and 36
degrees on May 21.
Meacham is projected
to have high temperatures
of 60 degrees on May 17,
57 degrees on May 18,
48 degrees on May 19,
55 degrees on May 20
and 64 degrees on May
21. Forecasters are pre-
dicting Meacham will
have low temperatures
of 40 degrees on May 17,
33 degrees on May 18, 41
degrees on May 19, 34
degrees on May 20 and 39
degrees on May 21.
Man suffers serious injuries in fall from rock cropping
The victim was hurt
6.5 miles southeast
of Catherine Creek
State Park
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A
41-year-old La Grande man
suffered serious injuries in
a fall from a rock outcrop-
ping in southeast Union
County this weekend.
The victim slipped and
fell about 150 vertical feet
from the rock outcropping,
which was just off Merry-
Go-Round Road, 6.5 miles
southeast of Catherine Creek
State Park, on Saturday,
May 14, according to Union
County Emergency Man-
ager Nick Vora. The victim
was later flown by a Life
Flight Network helicopter
to St. Alphonsus Medical
Center, Boise. Vora said
union County/Contributed Photo
The victim of a fall in southeastern Union County on Saturday, May
14, 2022, was transported to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center,
Boise, via a Life Flight helicopter. The patient was driven from the
accident site to the helicopter by ambulance. The helicopter could
not land at the accident location because of the rough terrain.
the patient is expected to
recover from his injuries.
The man who fell was
with a group of all-terrain
vehicle riders who rode off
Merry-Go-Round Road
and then up to a view-
point. There he got off his
ATV and later fell off the
outcropping.
The accident was
called into Union Coun-
ty’s dispatch soon after-
ward at 4:41 p.m. Eight
Union County Search and
Rescue volunteers, Vora,
Union County Sheriff Cody
Bowen, three sheriff’s dep-
uties, ambulances with
the La Grande Fire and
Union fire departments, a
member of U.S. Forest Ser-
vice law enforcement, and
a Life Flight helicopter
soon arrived to conduct the
rescue.
First responders set up a
low angle rope system that
a Stokes litter basket was
tied to. The man was placed
in the basket and pulled up
a steep 500-foot incline.
“It was the equivalent of
pulling somebody up a ski
slope,” Vora said.
Once up the slope the
individual was transported
in an ambulance to a Life
Flight helicopter, a drive
that took about 10 minutes.
The helicopter pilot was not
able to land closer to the
accident scene because of
the rugged terrain.
Vora said the rescue was
successful due in large part
to the assistance of volun-
teer first responders.
“If it had not been for
their help we would not
have had the same outcome
in the same time period,”
Vora said.
Kokanee fishing
derby planned at
Wallowa Lake
WALLOWA LAKE —
The first of what promises
to be an annual fishing
derby to benefit veterans
will take place June 10-11
on Wallowa Lake with the
Cross the Divide Kokanee
Derby.
The prize for first place
is $1,000. The angler who
reels in the biggest fish
wins $500. Gear pack-
ages go to those judged
in second through fifth
place.
Entry fees include a
$60 boat fee, $40 each for
adults and $25 each for
those aged 12-17. Children
11 and younger compete
for free.
There is a maximum
of five people allowed per
boat.
Check-in begins at
6 a.m. June 10 and June
11 at the north and south
boat ramps at the lake.
The derby runs from
7 a.m. to 3 p.m. each
day. Winners will be
announced at 4 p.m.
June 11.
The entry fee includes
a fundraiser dinner on
June 10 at 5 p.m. at
Enterprise Christian
Church and five raffle
tickets.
More than 40 items
will be up for raffle and
auction, including a
guided salmon-fishing
trip for four at Buoy 10 in
Astoria.
Proceeds benefit Cross
the Divide’s outdoor pro-
gram to help pay for vet-
erans and their families
to travel and take part in
hunting and fishing activi-
ties throughout the Pacific
Northwest.
According to Cross the
Divide’s website, its mis-
sion is “equipping our vet-
erans and their families
through faith-building,
retreats, and the great
outdoors.”
To enter the derby or
purchase dinner tickets
visit www.crossthedivide.
us. For more information,
call Andy Marcum at
541-263-1053.
Airport lands grant
for infrastructure
improvements
LA GRANDE —
The La Grande/Union
County Airport has been
awarded a $980,000 grant
from Connect Oregon for
fuel storage and mainte-
nance facility improve-
ments, according to a
press release from the
Union County Board of
Commissioners.
Connect Oregon is an
initiative established by
the 2005 state Legislature
to invest in non-highway
modes of transportation.
The funding the La
Grande/Union County
Airport will receive will
allow the airport to add
a new 10,000-gallon jet
fuel tank, a 5,000-gallon
fuel truck, a maintenance
shop, an aircraft hangar
and electrical generators
to power its fuel farm and
fixed-based operations
during power outages.
In addition, the added
fuel capacity will support
emergency medical trans-
portation, wildland fire
suppression, cargo ship-
ment and general aviation.
Paul Anderes, a
member of the Union
County Board of Com-
missioners, said the added
fuel storage capacity
will help wildfire fire-
fighting efforts in a big
way because more jet air-
craft are now used to fight
wildfires and they use
more fuel.
Union County Public
Works Director Doug
Wright, who is also the
county’s airport director,
said the funding the
county has been awarded
is a credit to the hard
work and support pro-
vided by Anderes, State
Rep. Bobby Levy,
R-Echo, the Oregon
Department of Trans-
portation and the Oregon
Department of Aviation.
— EO Media Group