LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
In 1812, the U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives approved, 79-49, a dec-
laration of war against Britain.
In 1919, Congress approved
the 19th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, which said that the
right to vote could not be denied
or abridged based on gender. The
amendment was sent to the states
for ratification.
In 1939, the German ocean liner
MS St. Louis, carrying more than
900 Jewish refugees from Ger-
many, was turned away from the
Florida coast by U.S. officials.
In 1940, during World War II, the
Allied military evacuation of some
338,000 troops from Dunkirk,
France, ended. British Prime Min-
ister Winston Churchill declared:
“We shall fight on the beaches, we
shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in
the streets, we shall fight in the
hills; we shall never surrender.”
In 1942, the World War II Battle
of Midway began, resulting in a
decisive American victory against
Japan and marking the turning
point of the war in the Pacific.
In 1944, U-505, a German sub-
marine, was captured by a U.S.
Navy task group in the south
Atlantic; it was the first such cap-
ture of an enemy vessel at sea by
the U.S. Navy since the War of 1812.
The U.S. Fifth Army began liber-
ating Rome.
In 1967, “Mission: Impossible”
won outstanding dramatic series,
“The Monkees” outstanding
comedy series at the 19th Prime-
time Emmy Awards.
In 1985, the Supreme Court
upheld a lower court ruling
striking down an Alabama law pro-
viding for a daily minute of silence
in public schools.
In 1986, Jonathan Jay Pollard, a
former U.S. Navy intelligence ana-
lyst, pleaded guilty in Washington
to conspiring to deliver informa-
tion related to the national defense
to Israel. (Pollard, sentenced to life
in prison, was released on parole
on Nov. 20, 2015; he moved to
Israel after completing parole in
December 2020.)
In 1989, a gas explosion in the
Soviet Union engulfed two passing
trains, killing 575.
In 1990, Dr. Jack Kevorkian car-
ried out his first publicly assisted
suicide, helping Janet Adkins, a
54-year-old Alzheimer’s patient
from Portland, Oregon, end her life
in Oakland County, Michigan.
In 1998, a federal judge sen-
tenced Terry Nichols to life in
prison for his role in the 1995
bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah
Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
In 2020, in the first of a series of
memorials set for three cities over
six days, celebrities, musicians and
political leaders gathered in front
of George Floyd’s golden casket in
Minneapolis.
Today’s Birthdays: Sex ther-
apist and media personality Dr.
Ruth Westheimer is 94. Actor Bruce
Dern is 86. Musician Roger Ball is
78. Actor-singer Michelle Phillips is
78. Jazz musician Anthony Braxton
is 77. Rock musician Danny Brown
(The Fixx) is 71. Actor Parker Ste-
venson is 70. Actor Keith David is
66. Blues singer-musician Tinsley
Ellis is 65. Actor Eddie Velez is 64.
Singer-musician El DeBarge is
61. Actor Julie White is 61. Actor
Lindsay Frost is 60. Actor Sean Per-
twee is 58. Former tennis player
Andrea Jaeger is 57. Opera singer
Cecilia Bartoli is 56. R&B singer Al
B. Sure! is 54. Actor Scott Wolf is 54.
Actor-comedian Rob Huebel is 53.
Comedian Horatio Sanz is 53. Actor
James Callis is 51. Actor Noah Wyle
is 51. Rock musician Stefan Lessard
(The Dave Matthews Band) is 48.
Actor-comedian Russell Brand is
47. Actor Angelina Jolie is 47. Actor
Theo Rossi is 47. Alt-country singer
Kasey Chambers is 46. Actor Robin
Lord Taylor is 44. Rock musician
JoJo Garza (Los Lonely Boys) is 42.
Model Bar Refaeli is 37. Olympic
gold medal figure skater Evan
Lysacek is 37. Americana singer
Shakey Graves is 35. Rock musician
Zac Farro is 32.
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.
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SaTuRday, JunE 4, 2022
Wallowa
City council passes budget for 2022-23 County
Budget includes
funding for
invests
assistant fire chief
in digital
position
security
LA GRANDE
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
city of La Grande will be
adding at least one position
to its fire department in
2022-23.
The La Grande City
Council voted Wednesday,
June 1, to adopt a total
budget of $61 million
for 2022-23. The budget
includes funding for
the creation of a sec-
ond-in-command position
within the La Grande Fire
Department.
La Grande City Man-
ager Robert Strope said
the position is needed to
help the fire department
deal with the increasing
number of calls it receives.
Presently, the fire depart-
ment’s leadership hierarchy
includes a fire chief and
three captains.
The budget also con-
tains funding for the addi-
tion of three firefighters.
Strope said he is not certain
the fire department will be
able to add these positions
because funding from a
Federal Emergency Man-
agement Administration
grant the city has applied
for will be needed to make
the hires. Strope said it is
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Observer, File
The La Grande City Council voted Wednesday, June 1, 2022, to adopt a total budget of $61 million for
2022-23. The budget includes funding for the creation of a second-in-command position within the
La Grande Fire Department.
not known if
the city will
receive the
FEMA grant.
La Grande
Fire Chief
Emmitt
Cornford
Cornford
said he is excited about the
prospect of adding a new
position.
“It will help us accom-
plish things we have not
been able to do,” he said.
Cornford said the job
description for the sec-
ond-in-command position
is now being created. One
of the individual’s respon-
sibilities will be to serve
as a business fire safety
inspector, Cornford said.
The fire chief also
said the new hire may be
responsible for managing
department
training the
staff receives
for emer-
gency med-
ical ser-
vices and
Strope
firefighting.
Cornford said the indi-
vidual’s title may be that
of assistant fire chief or
deputy fire chief.
The city’s budget is also
up because it contains $3.2
million in federal funding
from the American Rescue
Plan Act for COVID-19
relief and $195,000 for
the purchase of a new
ambulance.
The American Rescue
Plan Act funding may
be used, Strope said, for
things like street repair
funding, water and sewer
project work and the pur-
chase of wildland fire-
fighter equipment.
Strope said the city can
use its ARPA funding for
anything connected to gov-
ernment services up to the
amount of revenue it lost
due to COVID-19.
The city manager
said the city’s 2022-23
budget will allow it to
retain all of its employees
and programs. The city’s
staff includes 113 full-
time employees. Strope,
according to his budget
message, said that the city
continues to have more
capital and maintenance
needs than it can meet with
existing resources. He said
the city is continuing to use
cash on hand so that it can
meet these needs.
Stout receives ‘well-deserved’ honor
EOU faculty
member honored
as the IMA
Accounting
Faculty of the Year
The Observer
LA GRANDE — An
Eastern Oregon Uni-
versity assistant pro-
fessor has received
some well-deserved
recognition.
EOU Assistant Pro-
fessor Brooke Stout
was awarded the IMA
Accounting Faculty of
the Year award by the
Association of Accoun-
tants and Financial Pro-
fessionals in Business,
EOU’s business pro-
gram’s accreditor.
The award is for can-
didates who meet a series
of 10 criteria and can
fully demonstrate their
excellence in teaching
accounting and commit-
ment to the International
Accreditation Council for
Business Education.
Stout was notified of
the honor
in April,
during the
monthly
College of
Business
meeting,
Stout
by Dr. Pat
Hafford,
IACBE president, and Dr.
Phyllis Okrepkie, IACBE
vice president of oper-
ations. Stout is the first
EOU accounting faculty
member to receive the
award.
“Even before accepting
the position with us,
Brooke had already
had strong established
ties and a high-quality
reputation within the
accounting community.
This immediately gave
her credibility with her
students and her col-
leagues,” Dean of the
College of Business
Edward Henninger said
in a press release.
Her relationships with
the accounting commu-
nity and her faculty col-
leagues have led to the
development of an advi-
sory committee, a Vol-
unteer Income Tax
Assistance program, an
honor society and intern-
ship and post-graduate
employment opportuni-
ties for her students.
She also remains very
active in the accounting
profession through part-
time tax and audit season
accounting practice and
her involvement in pro-
fessional accounting
organizations.
Stout is also pursuing a
doctorate degree with an
emphasis on public and
nonprofit accounting, her
specialty area of practice.
“I’ve been helping stu-
dents find internships and
reaching out to employers
that aren’t even neces-
sarily in our area. We
have some placements
in Boise, we have some
placements in the Tri-
Cities area, we’ve had
placements in the Port of
Morrow, so getting stu-
dents outside of Union
County and reaching out
to those resources,” Stout
said.
According to the
release, Stout’s enthu-
siasm for the profession
and teaching is evident
in her continual efforts
to adapt and improve
her in-person and online
instructional approaches
to better engage her stu-
dents and help them
learn.
“Brooke is always
open to discussing peda-
gogy with her colleagues
and myself, and is fre-
quently looking for cre-
ative ways for her stu-
dents to grow in their
accounting knowl-
edge and in their crit-
ical thinking and com-
munication skills while
focusing on the applica-
tion of those principles
to real world clients and
issues. This Accounting
Faculty of the Year honor
is well deserved,” Hen-
ninger said.
NEWS BRIEFS
Lane closures on Bear
Creek Bridge begin June 6
ENTERPRISE — Motorists in
Wallowa County will see single lane
access controlled by an automated
traffic signal on Oregon Highway 82
at the Bear Creek Bridge.
The lane closures begin Monday,
June 6.
The contractor, HP Civil, Inc.,
will begin work on foundations for
the new bridge. The lane reduc-
tion will last through summer and
is needed to accommodate excava-
tion along the riverbank for the new
bridge foundation and abutments.
As part of this work, the con-
tractor will be drilling vertical
shafts into the bedrock then filling
them with rebar and concrete. In
August, the contractor will begin
work on the new bridge abutments
and river embankment retaining
wall.
At the end of summer, the con-
tractor will reconstruct the existing
roadway. Both lanes will then be
open until work resumes in 2023.
Abutment construction will be
complete and girders will be set in
spring 2023. The remainder of the
new structure will be completed in
fall 2023.
Cove mayor, council seats
up for grabs in November
COVE — Cove voters will
decide on three council seats, as
well as mayor, during the November
general election.
The city announced in a press
release Wednesday, June 1, that can-
didate packets are now available for
those wishing to run for city council
or the office of mayor.
Packets can be picked up at Cove
City Hall, 504 Alder St., Monday
through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m.
City councilors are elected to
four-year terms, and three sitting
council members’ terms — Shawn
Parker, Lana Michel Shira and
Council President Matt McCowan
— are up at the end of 2022.
Mayor Sherry Haeger was elected
to her first term as mayor in 2020,
defeating Nathiel Conrad. The posi-
tion of mayor is a two-year term.
To qualify as a candidate for
mayor or city councilor, individuals
must be a qualified elector and have
resided in the city of Cove during
the 12 months immediately pre-
ceding the election being filed for.
All petitions need to be returned
to the city of Cove office at City Hall
by noon on Aug. 8.
Parks commission to meet
in Enterprise June 14-15
ENTERPRISE — The Oregon
State Parks and Recreation Com-
mission announced Wednesday,
June 1, it will tour local sites and
convene June 14-15 in Enterprise.
On June 14, commissioners will
tour Wallowa Lake State Park and
Iwetemlaykin State Heritage Site
starting at 8 a.m., followed by a
work session and training at Clover-
leaf Hall at the Wallowa County
Fairgrounds.
On June 15, commissioners will
convene an executive session at
8:30 a.m. at the same location to
discuss real estate and legal issues.
Executive sessions are closed to the
public.
A business meeting will begin
at 9:30 a.m. and will be open to the
public.
Anyone may attend or listen to
the business meeting; instructions
on how to listen will be posted on
the commission web page prior to
the meeting.
The business meeting includes
time for informal public com-
ment related to any items not on the
agenda.
Registration is required
to speak at the meeting, and
is available online at bit.ly/
registerjunecommission.
Time per speaker is limited to
three minutes.
Written public comments must
be submitted by 5 p.m. June 13 to
chris.havel@oprd.oregon.gov.
The full agenda and supporting
documents are posted on the com-
mission web page at www.oregon.
gov/oprd/CAC/Pages/CAC-oprc.
aspx.
— EO Media Group
ENTERPRISE — Two
major technology purchases
were approved Wednesday,
June 1, by the Wallowa County
Board of Commissioners —
a cybersecurity system and a
new telephone system.
The purchases were
approved because the tech-
nology currently being used in
both systems is becoming out-
dated, said Stacey Fregulia,
information technology
director for the county.
Cybersecurity
Fregulia told the commis-
sioners she recently went to an
Oregon Government Informa-
tion Technology conference,
where representatives of coun-
ties and cities in the state go
to learn more about vendors,
security issues “and things
that are happening in society
today.”
She became familiar with
a system called Darktrace.
Drew Staudacher of Dark-
trace attended the commission
meeting via Zoom, but deferred
to Fregulia on her presentation.
Fregulia said that for more
than a month, there has been a
Darktrace device on the county
network in a trial run testing
everything. She said Darktrace
has an artificial intelligence ele-
ment built into it to monitor the
traffic on every computer work-
station, switches and all ele-
ments of the network to deter-
mine what is normal activity
and what is not.
“When it goes outside its
normal path, say, someone put
a virus on your computer, if
that all of a sudden spikes and
is out of the normal processes
of where it would normally
send emails or have normal
traffic to some other person’s IP
(internet protocol) address in
another country or another city
or somewhere that’s outside of
the normal scope of where it
normally works in, it’ll shut it
down,” she said.
Once Darktrace’s Antigena
element shuts the system down,
it flags whatever anomaly
caused the shutdown and issues
an alert so the system admin-
istrator can see what is hap-
pening and determine if the
activity is acceptable or not.
During the trial run, Dark-
trace has detected a few
anomalies.
“During that time, there has
been a few things it has picked
up that are out of normal, one
being Dropbox because of the
file sizing,” she said.
Dropbox has been flagged,
though it didn’t shut the system
down, she said.
“This only happens once or
twice a month and I was able to
say, ‘This is OK.’ But what if
it was our finance department
or IT department, it would say,
‘No, wait a minute. You guys
don’t do this,’ and it would shut
that down. It would flag it and
you’d come back and look at
the logs and see who did it,”
Fregulia said.
She emphasized the impor-
tance of improving the cyberse-
curity of the county systems.
“This is another step into
the cybersecurity infrastruc-
ture that will help the county,
in a sense, because we can’t
hire someone to come in and
go through those logs and
monitor them 24/7,” she said.
“We just can’t afford it. This,
however, cuts down the cost of
bringing those cybersecurity/
IT-type issues in and lets you
see it.”
Fregulia said it would cost at
least $80,000-$100,000 a year
for an IT expert to monitor and
protect the county’s computer
systems.
“With that being said, Dark-
trace, where it’s just monitoring
for a shutdown, is just $12,000
a year,” she said.
Adding the Antigena auton-
omous response element brings
the total to $20,071 a year.
That’s a 40% discount from the
regular price the county can
get if it approves Darktrace by
June 15.