INSIDE
FAMILIAR FACES SET TO TAKE OVER DOWNTOWN COFFEE SHOP | BUSINESS & AG LIFE, B1
Listen
lley
Side A-
ts
concer
te
Celebra
Join
oneer
for Pi
Days
Beats
Babies
PA GE 13
PA GE 14
PA GE 4
June 2, 2022
WW W.G
JUN E 1–8,
OEA STE
RNO REG
ON.C OM
2022
INSIDE
INSIDE
NGS
OFFERI
SUMMER ERN OREGON
AT EAST NTERS
ART CE
g
G o Ho in
Wild nd
Isla y
C i t
lagrandeobserver.com | $1.50
THURSDAY EDITION
GO! HOG WILD IN ISLAND CITY
PA GE 8
New exhibit
opens
at Baker
Heritage
Museum
PREPARING FOR A SCHOOL SHOOTING
Visitors get chance
to ‘pack the wagon’
By LISA BRITTON
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — Kim
Orr picks up the magnet
labeled “pickles,” hesi-
tates, then sets it back in the
basket.
Instead, she chooses the
one labeled “rice.”
“You don’t like rice, but
we need it,” she says to her
companion, securing it onto
the display board.
Then she chooses another
magnet.
“Piano! Yes!”
“You don’t even play
the piano,” says Randy
Yawn, sorting through the
remaining magnets.
These two, who live in the
Willamette Valley and spent
Memorial Day weekend in
Baker County, pretended
to “pack the wagon” while
exploring the new Oregon
Trail exhibit at the Baker
Heritage Museum, 2480
Grove St., Baker City, on
Sunday, May 29.
The display was created
by the Bureau of Land Man-
agement’s National His-
toric Oregon Trail Inter-
pretive Center, which is
leasing space inside the
museum while the center,
about 5 miles east of Baker
City, is closed for renova-
tions for the next two years
or so to improve its energy
effi ciency.
The Interpretive Center
exhibit is in the Heritage
Museum’s Leo Adler Room,
and a full-size wagon is in
the second-fl oor ballroom.
“The main priority is to
stay relevant in the commu-
nity while we’re closed,” said
Sarah Sherman, NHOTIC
project manager.
A grand opening of the
new exhibit is set for Friday,
June 3, from 4-6 p.m. as part
of Baker City’s First Friday
activities, with free admis-
sion, costumed interpreters
and light refreshments.
“We appreciate the coun-
ty’s willingness to provide a
venue for us to continue to tell
Above: Isabella Crowley/Right: Dick Mason/The Observer
The La Grande High School front security gate, above, provides a layer of protection on
Friday, May 27, 2022. Union superintendent Carter Wells, right, points out a new key card
lock at Union High School on Thursday, May 26, 2022. Local schools have been working to
increase security measures as school shootings increase across the nation.
‘IT CAN HAPPEN
’
ANYWHERE
Local school officials, law enforcement react to shooting in Uvalde, Texas
By ISABELLA CROWLEY
“We learn from
each of these on
how to harden
our schools so
people with criminal intent
can’t get to our kids.”
The Observer
L
A GRANDE — The recent
school shooting in Uvalde, Texas,
has local school administrators
focusing on proactive safety mea-
sures, building inclusive communities and
providing mental health resources.
Nineteen students were killed Tuesday,
May 24, when an 18-year-old gunman bar-
ricaded himself in a fourth grade class-
room at Robb Elementary School in the
southwestern Texas town of Uvalde. The
shooter, Salvador Ramos, ran into the
building with an AR-15-style semi-auto-
matic rifl e before charging into a class-
room and opening fi re.
According to Education Week, a non-
partisan education-focused news organi-
zation that has been tracking school shoot-
ings since 2018, the Uvalde incident brings
the U.S. total up to 27 school shootings
with injuries or deaths in 2022.
Wallowa School District Superintendent
Tamera Jones called the events in Texas
“tragic.” The shootings may have occurred
— Jason Hays,
La Grande Police Department Lt.
in a diff erent state, but the fear of copycat
shootings always is present, she said.
“Our job is to make these kids safe and
secure,” Imbler School District Superinten-
dent Doug Hislop said.
Proactive safety measures
There has been a push to increase secu-
rity measures at schools in Union and
Wallowa counties the past few years.
School districts, including La Grande,
Imbler and Union, have worked to retrofi t
buildings with cameras, key cards or spe-
cially locking doors.
“We have safety measures in place,”
said Carter Wells, superintendent of the
Union School District. “Through the bond
process we’ve added cameras, limited
access and card keys so we can prevent
and identify potential threats.”
According to superintendents from
Union and Wallowa counties, schools have
established response protocols for emer-
gency situations with annual training for
staff and drills for students.
Local law enforcement is heavily
involved with school safety.
In his 24 years on the force, La Grande
Police Department Lt. Jason Hays said
the safety of children always has been a
priority for the department. The police
work hand in hand with the Union County
Sheriff ’s Offi ce to provide security for
schools. The law enforcement agencies
run tabletop exercises for emergencies,
walking through what would happen in
See, Preparing/Page A3
See, Exhibit/Page A3
Community remembers a WWII war hero
Dean Wells, who served in the Marines with his twin brother, Gene, is saluted at a Memorial Day ceremony
By DICK MASON
The Observer
SUMMERVILLE — It
is sometimes said age is
just a number.
Eighty-nine years ago
twin brothers Dean and
Gene Wells, of Union,
were determined not to let
that number get in the way
of serving their country.
The Wells brothers,
who were saluted posthu-
mously at a Memorial Day
ceremony at Summerville
Cemetery on Monday,
May 30, were 17-year-old
juniors at UHS in Feb-
ruary of 1943. Fourteen
months earlier the Japa-
nese had attacked Pearl
Harbor, triggering the
Union States’ entry into
World War II.
“They were getting
anxious to get into the
war,” said John Martin
of Summerville, a retired
U.S. Marine who is a
nephew of Dean and Gene
Wells.
INDEX
Business ........B1
Classified ......B3
Comics ...........B7
Crossword ....B3
The frustrated twins
wanted to join the U.S.
Marines, so they took a
bus to Walla Walla, Wash-
ington, to get to the nearest
U.S. Marine recruiting
station.
“They had intended to
leave Walla Walla and go
straight to training without
telling their parents,”
Martin said.
The brothers’ plan hit a
speed bump though when
See, Wells/Page A3
WEATHER
Dear Abby ....B6
Horoscope ....B3
Lottery ...........A2
Obituaries .....A5
Opinion .........A4
Spiritual ........A6
Sports ............A7
Sudoku ..........B5
Dick Mason/The Observer
John Martin, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, speaks about a Union
County war hero at a Memorial Day ceremony at Summerville
Cemetery on Monday, May 30, 2022.
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Friday
53 LOW
70/49
A shower or two
Cloudy, showers
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 66
3 sections, 32 pages
La Grande, Oregon
Email story ideas
to news@lagrande
observer.com.
More contact info
on Page A4.