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WEEKEND EDITION
Statewide
approach to
substance
abuse has
local eff ects
Law enforcement adjusts approach
to substance abuse following the
passing of Ballot Measure 110
Editor’s Note: This is the second part of
a multi-story series addressing the trends
related to opioid overdoses in Union County
and across the nation. The series will include
perspectives from law enforcement, the court
system, medical professionals and more.
Dick Mason/The Observer
Elgin School District students Anna Buckley, left, and Dakota Anderson work on loom projects at Elgin High School on Monday, May 16, 2022.
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — As opioid overdose num-
bers continue to increase nationwide, local law
enforcement is adjusting to a new statewide
approach to substance abuse.
The Union County law enforcement center
is on pace for over 100 drug-related overdose
calls this year, a record-setting trend that the
U.S. Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention is reporting
across the nation. While opin-
ions remained mixed on the
eff ectiveness and execution of
Ballot Measure 110’s decrim-
inalization of personal pos-
session of drugs, local law
Bell
enforcement are left looking for
answers as to how to address the
trend.
“The state of Oregon with
Ballot Measure 110 made a
clear decision to take a diff erent
approach to substance abuse and
Hays
addiction,” La Grande Police
Chief Gary Bell said.
Ballot Measure 110 was voted upon in
November of 2020, passing by a statewide
approval rate of 58.5%. In Union County,
5,708 voters favored the measure and 8,650
voted against it. The measure reduced the
penalty for possession of controlled sub-
stances and reduced penalties for possession of
larger amounts. Ballot Measure 110 places an
emphasis on approaching substance abuse as a
public health issue — the idea is to encourage
addiction services instead of placing sub-
stance addicts behind bars for court-ordered
treatment.
On the fl ip side, law enforcement locally
has noted even the slightest amount of drug
use can result in life-ending consequences.
“With the decriminalization that came from
Ballot Measure 110, you can have less than 40
counterfeit opioid pills in your possession,”
Bell said. “My agency within the last year saw
an instance where one half of one of those pills
killed someone. You can have 39 of those in
your possession and it could result in a citation
for $100.”
Art returns to the classroom in Elgin School District
By DICK MASON • The Observer
E
LGIN — A dream is becoming a
reality for Elgin School District
Superintendent Dianne Greif.
The superintendent has long wanted
to revive art in the Elgin School Dis-
trict, and today the pulse of art educa-
tion in the school district is stronger
than it has been in years. The school
district, which has not had any art
teachers for years, now has two —
Amanda Welch, a full-time art teacher
at Stella Mayfi eld Elementary School,
and Beth Wasley, a half-time art
teacher at Elgin High School. They
were added with money from the dis-
trict’s general fund.
“This is a dream come true for me
in that we have been able to add some-
thing kids need and kids want,” Greif
said.
The educators are helping lead an
art renaissance in the school district,
where all elementary school students
receive art instruction at least once a
week and art classes are taught daily at
the high school.
At Stella Mayfi eld, Welch strives to
tie in her lessons with what students
are being taught at the moment. For
example, if students are studying the
life cycle of frogs, Welch would teach
students about drawing animals, Greif
said.
A similar thing is occuring at the
high school where students are some-
times doing art projects that tie in with
what they are studying in other classes.
For example, earlier this school year
a student whose literature class was
See, Art/Page A6
Dick Mason/The Observer
Elgin School District students,
from left, Dania Sather, Abigail
Saff ell and Amber George work on
art projects at Elgin High School
on Monday, May 16, 2022.
See, Opioids/Page A6
Eastern, other state universities approve tuition hike
4.9% undergrad increase
is just below what would
require state approval
By MEERAH POWELL
Oregon Public Broadcasting
LA GRANDE — Eastern
Oregon University’s Board of
Trustees Thursday, May 19,
approved a 4.9% tuition increase
for undergraduate students for the
upcoming academic year.
EOU is the last public univer-
sity in Oregon to decide on tui-
tion this year. It follows in the
footsteps of the six other univer-
sities that have all recommended
increases.
However, even with the tuition
increase, and an estimated boost
in enrollment, Eastern offi cials
are still anticipating a budget
defi cit of at least $2 million.
EOU Vice President of Finance
Lara Moore said the university
made certain decisions it knew
would contribute to that operating
defi cit — including freezing its
tuition rates for most undergrad-
uate students last year.
“Our tuition proposal recog-
nizes that,” Moore said. “It rec-
ognizes that we are in an oper-
ating defi cit. It recognizes the
infl ationary pressures that we are
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under as an institution, because
we do want to maintain our fi nan-
cial stability.”
Moore stressed that even with
the tuition increase, aff ordability
is an important principle to the
university.
According to EOU board doc-
uments, Eastern is still Oregon’s
cheapest public university by
credit hour for in-state students
even with this increase.
Undergraduate in-state stu-
dents are paying a little over
$7,800 in tuition this school year
if they’re taking 15 credits per
term in a regular three-term year.
They’ll pay roughly $380 more
starting next school year — or
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about $8,200 in annual tuition.
Students from Washington and
Idaho can also get in-state tuition
at Eastern.
Undergraduate out-of-state
students are currently paying
about $20,500 annually, based on
that same 15-credit load. They
will see an annual increase of
about $1,000 — up to $21,500 in
annual tuition.
Tuition prices also vary for stu-
dents in the Western Undergrad-
uate Exchange Program, or WUE
— students who come from a
number of states near Oregon, like
California and Nevada. Rates also
See, Tuition/Page A6
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Issue 61
2 sections, 14 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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