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TUESDAY EDITION
June 28, 2022
Bentz says
he didn’t
ask for a
pardon
GOP congressman says he
was unaware another sought
pardons from Trump for those
objecting to 2020 election
By LES ZAITZ
Oregon Capital Chronicle
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Cliff
Bentz said Friday, June 24, that he was
unaware that a colleague had recom-
mended a presidential pardon for his
Jan. 6, 2021, vote to chal-
lenge the 2020 election
results in Pennsylvania.
Bentz, Oregon’s lone
Republican in Congress,
was one of 138 repre-
sentatives who objected
Bentz
to counting the Penn-
sylvania election results
in the 2020 presidential
race.
Witnesses told a con-
gressional investigating
committee on Thursday,
June 23, that a handful
Brooks
of U.S. representatives
sought pardons from
then-President Donald Trump.
U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Alabama,
fi ve days after the Jan. 6 attack on the
U.S. Capitol wrote to the White House
because “President Trump asked me to.”
Brooks recommended Trump
grant general pardons to “every
congressman and senator who
voted to reject the electoral college
vote submissions of Arizona and
Pennsylvania.”
Brooks said he expected Dem-
ocrats “with perhaps some liberal
Republican help” are “going to abuse
America’s judicial system by tar-
geting numerous Republicans with
sham charges.”
In response to written questions,
Bentz said through a spokesperson that
he had never considered requesting
a pardon and hadn’t researched the
matter. He said he didn’t authorize
Brooks to represent him in a pardon
request.
“I have never even spoken to Rep.
Brooks,” Bentz said.
They both participate in the Sports-
men’s Caucus in the House, their offi -
cial websites show.
Bentz said he knew nothing of the
letter until it became public.
“I was made aware of it in the same
manner as everyone else — when the
media began talking about it,” he said.
Bentz, a former state legislator and
HONORING L
By ISABELLA CROWLEY
The Observer
A GRANDE —
VETERANS
Legionnaires,
family and friends
filled the American
Legion annex building
La Grande Post 43 honors World War II and Korean War veterans
Saturday, June 25, for
a ceremony honoring
the World War II and
Korean War veterans
of La Grande Post 43.
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
ABOVE: Beverly Moody receives her certifi cate from Dave Matott — commander of La Grande Post 43 — at a
ceremony held to honor World War II and Korean War veterans at the La Grande American Legion annex building
on Saturday, June 25, 2022. Moody served during the Korean War. AT TOP: From left, John Turner, Alden Thornton,
Wayne Jones, Robert “Bob” Goss, Beverly Moody and James Leitch display their certifi cates of honor during the
June 25 ceremony at La Grande American Legion Post 43.
All members of Amer-
ican Legion Post 43 who
served in the two wars were
invited — eight World War
II veterans and 25 Korean
War veterans.
“At Memorial Day, I
was thinking about how
our WWII vets are passing
away and our Korean War
vets are getting older, so
we need to make sure the
ones who are remaining are
honored,” said Bobbie Dal-
gliesh, adjutant of Amer-
ican Legion Post 43.
Dave Matott — com-
mander of La Grande Post
43 — opened the com-
memoration and introduced
the master of ceremonies,
See, Veterans/Page A6
See, Bentz/Page A6
Eastern receives grant to help prepare rural students
School receives $1.2M for recruiting, retaining rural students
By ANDREW CUTLER
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A program
designed to help recruit and retain
rural students at Eastern Oregon
University is getting a boost.
Oregon U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden
and Jeff Merkley announced
last week that roughly $1.2 mil-
lion in grant money will go to
Eastern to power a new program
called Achieving Careers for
Rural Oregon Student Success, or
ACROSS. The program’s goal is
to increase outreach to schools in
the region and provide courses that
allow students to earn credits for
high school and college at the same
time.
“Part of our case is, we’re ‘Ore-
gon’s Rural University,’ this is what
we do,” Tim Seydel, Eastern’s vice
president for university advance-
ment, said. “We’re primed to do
this.”
Seydel said the ACROSS pro-
gram ideally could save students up
to a full year of tuition and get stu-
dents into the workforce sooner.
Eastern Oregon University/Contributed Photo, File
See, Eastern/Page A6
Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, hopes to better support rural student success
with its new ACROSS program.
WEATHER
INDEX
Classified ......B3
Comics ...........B7
Crossword ....B3
Dear Abby ....B8
Home .............B1
Horoscope ....B4
Local...............A2
Lottery ...........A2
Obituaries .....A5
Opinion .........A4
Sudoku ..........B7
Weather ........B8
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Wednesday
51 LOW
79/50
Mainly clear
Mostly sunny
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Issue 77
2 sections, 14 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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