INSIDE
A PLEASANT MOSQUITO-FREE VISIT TO VAN PATTEN LAKE IN ELKHORN MOUNTAINS | OUTDOORS & REC, B1
July 2, 2022
lagrandeobserver.com | $1.50
WEEKEND EDITION
County OKs deal with Elgin for patrols
Elgin contract for law enforcement services ratified
by Union County Board of Commissioners
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — It’s offi -
cial, a new six-year law enforce-
ment contract between the Union
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce and the
city of Elgin is in place.
The Union County Board of
Commissioners voted to ratify
the contract at its meeting on
Wednesday, June 29, eight days
after the Elgin City Council
approved the contract on June
21. The city council did so after
voting in May against a proposed
Survey:
Wildfi re fears
calm after
spring rains
Poll gauges concerns of
Oregon residents heading
into wildfire season
By MICHAEL KOHN
contract to retain the ser-
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce
vices of the Union County
would have had to lay off
Sheriff ’s Offi ce.
two of the three deputies
The council intended to
who currently serve Elgin.
reestablish Elgin’s police
The deputy who would not
department to replace the
have been laid off would
enhanced law enforcement
have been transferred to an
Bowen
services Elgin has been
open position in the Union
receiving from the Union County
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce.
Sheriff ’s Offi ce for about 10
Union County Sheriff Cody
years. Had the Elgin City Council Bowen said after the vote he
not changed course, the Union
would be writing letters to offi -
cially tell the two deputies that
their positions are secure.
“I will tell them that their jobs
are no longer in jeopardy,” Bowen
said after the meeting.
Under the terms of the new
contract, which takes eff ect July
1, Elgin will continue to receive
a minimum of 420 hours of law
enforcement services a month.
See, Contract/Page A7
A CRITICAL LINK
Grande Ronde Radio Amateur Association members set to help in an emergency
By DICK MASON
The Observer
A GRANDE
L
— A group
of Grande
Ronde Valley ham
radio operators are
helping keep an iconic
The Bulletin
SALEM — Signifi cant rainfall this spring
noticeably greened up the Oregon coun-
tryside and appears to have calmed nerves
across the state, according to a survey about
wildfi re danger conducted in June by the
Oregon Values and Beliefs Center.
The survey, conducted from June 2-11,
found that 60% of respondents felt wild-
fi re was a threat to their local community. In
May 2021, that number was 68%.
The wildfi re perception survey inter-
viewed 1,446 Oregon residents 18 years or
older. The survey sought to gauge how con-
cerned Oregon residents are heading into
what offi cials have warned could be a dan-
gerous wildfi re season.
In mid-May Gov. Kate Brown warned
that this year’s fi re season could be extreme
due to drought and climate change. But May
and June were relatively cool and wet in the
Pacifi c Northwest, lowering drought levels
across the region.
Oregon’s only remaining swath of excep-
tional drought — the highest level of drought
according to the U.S. drought monitor — is
located in an area straddling Crook and Jef-
ferson counties.
“Considering the extremely wet spring, it
is not a major surprise that when asked about
their area of Oregon, Oregonians’ concern
for wildfi re has decreased a bit since May of
last year,” according to a statement from the
polling group.
While the fear of fi re danger in the short
term has been slightly lowered, 88% of
respondents expect wildfi res to increase over
the next 10 years. Nine out of 10 Oregonians
(92%) see wildfi res as a serious threat to
“people living in Oregon.”
However, not as many people believe
they are in harm’s way. Just six out of 10
part of the past alive
while securing Union
County’s future.
The individuals are the
members of the Grande
Ronde Radio Amateur
Association, many of who
use Morse code, a com-
munication tool that was
all the rage for much of the
1800s when the telegraph
was the king of long range
communication.
Morse code is used
far less frequently today
but many members of the
Grande Ronde Radio Asso-
ciation are keeping their
Morse code skills sharp
because in an emergency
sending radio messages via
Morse code can be far faster
and more eff ective than
sending them via voice.
One reason is that less
radio bandwidth is needed
to send messages via Morse
code and another is that
it can be easier to under-
stand them because they are
simpler.
“With Morse code you
don’t have to deal with the
complexity and nuance of
voice,” said Ted Ivester, of
the GRRAA.
Ivester and other mem-
bers of the club were hard
Dick Mason/The Observer
Joel Hinshaw of the Grande Radio Amateur Association listens for radio signals at Bird Track Springs
Campground on Saturday, June 25, 2022.
at work keeping their Morse
code skills sharp last month
while participating in Amer-
ican Radio Relay League
Field Day, an annual inter-
national event, at Bird Track
Springs about 5 miles south-
west of Hilgard State Park.
The amateur radio enthu-
siasts had a single primary
objective — to prepare
Union County to have a link
to the outside world in the
event of a disaster like an
earthquake, fl ood or wind-
storm which could knock
out all Internet, cellphone or
landline communication in
the Grande Ronde Valley.
Such a disaster could
leave ham radios as the val-
ley’s only connection to the
outside world.
“We would be the last
line of communication,’’
said GRRAA member Joel
Hinshaw.
See, Radio/Page A7
Dick Mason/The Observer
Joel Hinshaw of the Grande Ronde Radio Amateur Association
prepares to set up an antenna at Bird Track Springs Campground on
Saturday, June 25, 2022, with the help of fi shing line he cast.
See, Survey/Page A7
MERA forest management project timeline currently unknown
Phase two of Red
Apple Forest
Management might
happen earlier than
originally planned
By ISABELLA CROWLEY
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
second phase of the Red
Apple Forest Management
project at Mount Emily
Recreation Area could
happen earlier than antic-
ipated, but the timeline is
still undecided, according
to Doug Wright, director
of Union County Public
Works.
In June, the MERA
Advisory Committee held
a special session to discuss
how the forest manage-
ment plan would continue
without Sean Chambers
and to allow people time to
air opinions. Chambers left
his position as the Union
County Parks coordinator
in early June. Prior to his
departure, he was the main
point person from the
county on the Red Apple
project. In Chambers’
See, MERA/Page A7
WEATHER
INDEX
Classified ......B2
Comics ...........B5
Crossword ....B2
Dear Abby ....B6
absence, Wright is acting
as the project head until a
new parks coordinator is
hired.
“We’re still working out
details for the project and
won’t know more until the
next MERA meeting in
August,” said Wright.
This uncertainty about
the timeline is diff erent
from the message Wright
shared at the special ses-
sion. During the meeting,
Wright announced the
second phase of the forest
management plan might
Horoscope ....B3
Local...............A2
Lottery ...........A2
Obituaries .....A5
Opinion .........A4
Outdoors ......B1
Sports ............A8
Sudoku ..........B5
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald, File
The lush green foliage along a trail at the Mount Emily Recreation
Area near La Grande on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, is evidence of
a wet spring.
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Sunday
57 LOW
76/54
Mostly cloudy
A t-storm around
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 79
2 sections, 14 pages
La Grande, Oregon
Email story ideas
to news@lagrande
observer.com.
More contact info
on Page A4.