FROM PAGE ONE
A6 — THE OBSERVER
SaTuRday, JunE 4, 2022
SOLAR
This field along U.S.
Highway 30 outside
La Grande will be
home to Oregon Trail
Electric Cooperative’s
500-panel community
solar project. The
project is slated to
be operational by fall
2022.
Continued from Page A1
that output is then applied to
their bill to subtract off, essen-
tially, their usage.”
Subscriptions, which are
on a first-come, first-served
basis, will cost $250 per share
and are available to anyone
living or doing business in the
OTEC service territory, which
includes Baker, Union, Grant
and Harney counties.
“We broke it up into what
we think are affordable, small
portions because that’s one of
the things we’ve heard from
members is roof-top solar has
an extremely high upfront
cost,” Tracy said. “What the
community solar project brings
to people is the ability to buy
into it at smaller increments —
$250 per portion.”
The 500 panels will gen-
erate approximately 200 kilo-
watts of electricity that will
be distributed along OTEC’s
system.
BOOST
Continued from Page A1
that they are hoping to add
Union as one of their stops
once the economy is back in
line,” Hefner said.
Rainier Amusements, of
Portland, which has oper-
ated at the livestock show
in recent years, is one of the
companies Hefner contacted.
“Rainier Amusements
is super to work with,” she
said. “It wants to be on the
regular schedule next year.”
Hefner understands how
much people will miss the
presence of a carnival.
“You always expect it to
be there. It will be quiet and
dark without the carnival,”
Hefner said, explaining that
many of the rides light up the
night.
Mike Colkittt, the owner
of the Union Market, said
the loss of the carnival
will also hurt his business
during EOLS week because
of the loss of carnival
worker traffic.
Still, the Union business
owner anticipates that he
Joseph Hathaway/
Oregon Trail Electric
Cooperative
“We’re hoping that if shares
sell quickly that we can expand
it,” Tracy said. “Ultimately,
we’d like to have one in each of
our service territories.”
The subscription will be
good for 20 years and can be
moved around within the coop-
erative’s service territory or
can be gifted to someone.
“Let’s say you move out
of territory, you can gift it to
your friend, neighbor or kids,”
Joseph Hathaway, the cooper-
ative’s communications man-
ager, said. “That share will still
continue up until 20 years.”
Tracy said members will see
no increase in their monthly
bill to pay for the cost of the
solar farm, the costs are cov-
ered by the members who pur-
chase subscriptions.
More than 94% of the power
Oregon Trail Electric Cooper-
ative receives from Bonneville
Power Administration is car-
bon-free, with about 85% of it
being from hydroelectric.
“We’ve got a phenomenal,
enviable power supply, as good
or better than anywhere in the
world in terms of its low envi-
ronmental impact and climate
change carbon impact,” Tracy
said. “So we feel really good
about that and really positive
about it. But beyond that, we’re
working on this project to
supply an even more local and
even more renewable power
supply that a lot of our mem-
bers have asked for.”
Hathaway said the solar
project came from some of the
surveying the cooperative has
done over the years.
“I think the last survey we
saw, it was around 20% said
that they would like to have
that solar option,” he said.
will see an uptick in sales.
One of the big reasons is that
many entrants in FFA and
4-H competitions at the live-
stock show come to Union
from outside Union County
and spend the week in town.
“They will bring their
whole families,” he said.
“A lot of families will be
coming in and will stay all
week.”
20% uptick
Randy Freeman, who
owns Rattle Tale Coffee &
Such with his wife, Tanya,
on Main Street in Union,
also said his business is
brisker during EOLS week.
“It is spotty but it is
always up,” said Freeman,
noting that his sales usually
jump at least 20%.
He is not sure how many
of his added customers
have been carnival workers.
Freeman said he will prob-
ably know after this year’s
livestock show if the lack
of a carnival impacts his
business.
“The test will be this
year,” he said.
Business at Hometown
The Observer, File
Carnival-goers reflect in the window of a concession stand as a
worker with Rainier Amusements dunks an apple in caramel during
the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show in Union on Saturday, June 12,
2021. High fuel prices are to blame for the 2022 event not having a
carnival. Event organizers say it’s the first time in decades a carnival
hasn’t been part of the livestock show.
Hardware on Main Street
also benefits from the EOLS,
according to Terri Stoltz,
who owns the store with
her husband, Lee. She said
Hometown Hardware sales
pick up in the month leading
up to the EOLS as people
come in to purchase supplies
for work at the stockshow’s
grounds. Hometown Hard-
ware also benefits during
EOLS week when more
people come in to buy the
espresso coffee Hometown
Hardware brews.
No vacancy
Charlie Morden, owner
of the Union Hotel, also said
his business improves due to
EOLS, especially during the
last three days when there
are rodeo competitions and
horse racing.
“We always have an
POLL
Continued from Page A1
Johnson has already raised $8.6 mil-
lion for her campaign and proven that she
can draw big checks from major Repub-
lican donors including Nike co-founder
Phil Knight. She didn’t wait until the pri-
mary was over to build name recognition,
spending $1.4 million on TV and radio
advertising and $76,000 on Facebook ads
to introduce herself to voters in the months
leading up to the primary.
Both Drazan and Kotek spent big during
their primary races, but haven’t yet had the
chance to spend significant money intro-
ducing themselves to general election
voters. Drazan spent $2.7 million during
the primary while Kotek spent $2.5 million.
The poll was conducted several days
before Johnson’s controversial appearance
at TedxPortland, where her pro-gun-rights
stance infuriated many ticketholders at the
event in Oregon’s left-leaning largest city.
Organizers of the lecture and music event
appear to have run afoul of IRS rules that
prohibit tax-exempt nonprofits from giving
any political candidate preferential treat-
ment by giving Johnson an unannounced
spot in the event lineup May 28.
uptick,” he said.
Morden said his hotel
is always filled to capacity
during those three days
and that he has capped the
waiting list at 15 potential
guests.
This year, the livestock
show, which dates back to
1908, is not exclusively the
reason the Union Hotel will
be filled to capacity again.
Morden noted that Eastern
Oregon University’s gradu-
ation this year is on June 11,
coinciding with EOLS week.
This means that all hotel and
motel rooms in the region
will be filled to capacity next
week, Morden said.
Bringing families
together
Leonard Flint, the mayor
of Union, said many families
get together during the week
of the livestock show. He
said people like coming at
a time when they can enjoy
the company of their loved
ones while also taking in the
EOLS events.
Flint also sees the Eastern
Oregon Livestock Show as
an event that gives people a
chance to discover the ame-
nities of Union, like Buffalo
Peak Golf Course and the
Union County Museum. The
mayor said people introduced
to the course and museum
are more likely to come back
after the livestock show.
Flint is impressed with
how closely his city is linked
to the event. He cites a city
ordinance banning pigs in
town as an example. He
noted that the ordinance pro-
vides exceptions though for
youths who are raising pigs
for 4-H or FFA competi-
tions at EOLS or the Union
County Fair.
Many of the 4-H and FFA
participants coming to the
livestock show bring animals
they have raised that are sold
at the annual EOLS auction.
Each year the event raises
many thousands of dollars
for the youths who raised the
livestock.
“It is a huge show of sup-
port for kids,” said Dave
Billings, Eastern Oregon
Livestock Show president, of
the auction. “It makes kids
realize that what they are
doing is worthwhile.”
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