FROM PAGE ONE
SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2022
CONTRACT
Continued from Page A1
The city will pay Union
County $315,400 in 2022-23
for law enforcement ser-
vices, $337,603 in 2023-24
and $350,771 in 2024-25
during the fi rst three years
of the pact.
The payments the city of
Elgin will make during the
fi nal three years of the con-
tract will be dependent on
the cost of living increases
granted to Union Coun-
ty’s sheriff ’s deputies. The
increases will be negotiated
by the Union County Sher-
iff ’s Offi ce with the Union
County Law Enforcement
Association. Increases
greater than 4% for mate-
rials and services would be
negotiated between the city
and county.
In another action item
the Union County Board
of Commissioners voted
to adopt a total budget
of $58.447 million for
2022-23, up 14% from
the 2021-22 budget. The
spending plan calls for
Union County to keep all of
its positions and programs
except for two corrections
positions. The corrections
offi cer positions are being
cut due to rising personnel
costs and because some
revenue the county antici-
pated receiving for the posi-
tions did not materialize,
according to Shelley Bur-
gess, the administrative and
budget offi cer for Union
County.
Burgess said four correc-
tions positions were added
a year ago with approval
of the budget committee
and that two of these posi-
tions are now being cut. She
said at the time the budget
committee believed the
county would receive grants
and other funding that
would help pay for the four
positions.
“The grants and funding
we were hoping for did not
come in fully,” Burgess
said.
Of the two positions
to be cut, one is unfi lled,
which means the reductions
will result in one layoff .
THE OBSERVER — A7
Dick Mason/The Observer, File
Deputy Morris Capers, with the Union County Sheriff ’s Offi ce, on
Friday, May 20, 2022, returns to his vehicle after checking out the
Elgin Stampede Grounds during his patrol.
Also at the June 29
meeting, the board of com-
missioners voted to approve
the distribution funding
from the Union County’s
Transient Room Tax, also
known as its motel tax.
The board voted to pro-
vide the Union County Fair
Association with a grant
of just more than $26,000
for a bleacher replacement
project, a total of $30,000
to the Eastern Oregon Live-
stock Show for the fi rst
two phases of its exterior
lighting project, $6,500 for
the 2022 Eastern Oregon
Film Festival, $3,000 for the
city of Union’s Fireworks
Committee for this year’s
Fourth of July celebration
and just more than $2,200
for the Union County
Chamber of Commerce for
its crop tour video project.
The distributions
approved by the board had
all been recommended by
Union County’s Transient
Room Tax Committee.
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald, File
The view from a vantage point on the Mount Emily Recreation Area
on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, extends east across the Grande Ronde
Valley to Mount Fanny.
MERA
Continued from Page A1
commence as early as
August.
“People had a lot of reac-
tions and none of it was good,
a lot of surprise, a lot of
worry,” said Forrest Warren,
MERA Advisory Committee
chair.
The August timeline has
since been put on pause,
according to Wright.
The forest management
project at MERA was intro-
duced by Union County for
improving forest health and
reducing wildfi re risk, as
well as conducting logging
for profi t, with the proceeds
going back into the recre-
ation area. The plan was the
subject of a back-and-forth
debate months prior to the
project starting and tension
only grew after the fi rst phase
was completed last winter.
Many citizens expressed con-
cerns over how the logging
was handled and the resulting
damage to the area.
Wright acknowledged
nobody in the county is happy
with how the fi rst 50 acres of
logging went last winter. He
explained the winter proved
to be too unpredictable for
the project, as the ground did
not freeze enough to provide
proper conditions.
“It’s good that we got a
50-acre snapshot rather than
a 300-acre one. That way the
company can rectify those
mistakes moving forward,”
Warren said.
Summertime concerns
If the second phase of the
Red Apple Forest Manage-
ment project were to take
place to August, concerns
have been raised about the
impact on locals who reg-
ularly use the trails and on
SURVEY
Continued from Page A1
respondents (60%) see wild-
fi re as a very or somewhat
serious threat in their local
community. Five out of 10
people (53%) see wildfi res
as a direct threat to them-
selves and their families.
When asked about their
greatest concerns over the
impacts of fi re, most Ore-
gonians (83%) said they
were worried about the
health impacts of smoke.
Loss of wildlife and fi sh
habitat registered as the
second-highest level of
concern among Orego-
nians, with 82% saying
they had great or moderate
concern.
Eight out of 10 (79%) of
respondents had moderate
or great concern about the
loss of public forestland.
“We already lost so
many trees to logging, we
should try to save as many
as we can,” said Mandee
Seeley, a Deschutes County
resident.
the tourism draw MERA
provides to La Grande.
A lot of locals use the
trails and throughout the
summer there are youth pro-
grams at MERA, according
to Tyler Brooks — a MERA
Advisory Committee
member and board member
of the Blue Mountain
Single Track Club. During
the summer, the tracks
club holds youth mountain
biking events at the recre-
ation area every Monday
night and other people from
the community put together
events for youths at MERA,
Brooks said. The club also
puts on two races for adults,
in August and October.
Similar sentiments were
expressed by Warren and
others.
“I hope that the county
commissioners will work
with the MERA Advi-
sory Committee on a plan
to manage this popular
area in a way that works
for everyone,” said Nicole
Howard, La Grande city
councilor.
An additional concern is
logging during fi re season.
Despite the large amount
of rain that fell during the
spring, vegetation has started
to dry out and fuel conditions
are rapidly changing with
the recent summer weather,
according to the Oregon
Department of Forestry.
ODF announced on
Tuesday, June 28, that fi re
season in the Northeast
Oregon District began July
1. This means fi re preven-
tion regulations on indus-
trial logging and forest man-
agement activities on state
lands are now in place.
Warren explained that fi re
restrictions also would be fol-
lowed of the MERA project
if logging were to take place
during fi re season.
Survey results show
that 75% of Oregonians
agree with Johnson. The
remaining respondents lean
toward or agree with, the
idea of allowing a wildfi re
to burn out naturally.
A respondent from Polk
County, who declined to
be named, was blunter
when it comes to managing
wildfi re.
“We just can’t let our
state burn to the ground,”
she said.
Just how many Orego-
nians have had to evacuate
due to wildfi re? According
to the survey, 19% of
respondents said they have
evacuated their homes due
to wildfi re. Some 43% of
respondents said they have
an evacuation plan in place.
The Oregon Values and
Beliefs Center is an inde-
pendent, nonpartisan orga-
nization. The center part-
nered with Pamplin Media
Group and the EO Media
Group, which owns The
Observer.
The survey has a margin
of error of about 2.5%.
Dick Mason/The Observer
Ted Ivester of the Grande Ronde Radio Amateur Association listens for Morse code radio signals at Bird Track Springs Campground on
Saturday, June 25, 2022.
RADIO
Waiting in line
Continued from Page A1
Off the grid
Bird Track Springs
Campground was an ideal
site for the event because
it forces radio operators
to function in an environ-
ment in which they have
no access to operational
electrical outlets, just as
they might during a natural
disaster.
“It is off the grid,” said
GRAA member Tyson
Brooks.
Brooks said Field Days
provide excellent learning
opportunity when they can
be conducted in places like
Bird Track Springs.
“It is a simulation of
what we need to do to run
radios away from civiliza-
tion,” Brooks said.
Radio operators thus
had to rely on batteries
and electricity from solar
panels and gas fueled gen-
erators to power their
equipment.
Many of the opera-
tors set up their antennas
with the help of fi shing
reels and poles. Operators
loaded reels with fi shing
line and then cast it high
into trees to help set up
antenna wire.The attenna
wire made it easier to reel
in signals from throughout
the United States and dis-
Dick Mason/The Observer
Jason Fouts, a member of the Grande Ronde Radio Amateur
Association, prepares to cast fi shing line into trees at Bird Track
Springs Campground on Saturday, June 25, 2022. Fouts used the
fi shing line to help him set up antenna wire.
tant countries during the
contest period that ran
from 11 a.m. June 25 to
11 a.m. June 26.
GRRAA members
made 790 contacts during
Field Day. A total of 168
of the contacts were via
Morse code, 451 were via
voice and 171 digital con-
nections, also described as
computer-assisted radio.
A total of 446 contacts
were from the 48 contig-
uous states, fi ve were from
Alaska and fi ve were from
radio operators in Hawaii.
Contacts were made with
radio operators in Canada
and other foreign coun-
tries, including Japan,
Indonesia, Mexico, Qatar
and Uruguay.
No contacts were
made with radio opera-
tors in Ukraine. GRRAA
member Mike Orcutt said
many ham operators may
be reluctant now to oper-
ator their radios because it
would give away their loca-
tion to Russia’s military,
which invaded Ukraine in
February.
“They could triangu-
late their position, which
could make them a target,”
he said.
Orcutt, who used a dig-
ital system to make con-
tacts, said there were times
when it seemed like every-
thing was happening at
once.
“Sometimes I would
be making a contact and I
would have three or four
others waiting,” Orcutt
said, explaining that he
could see that radio oper-
ators were in line via his
computer screen.
Contacts between oper-
ators were just long enough
to exchange bare bones
information including the
call signs of their club and
their location. After an
exchange was completed,
operators would record the
strength of the signal they
received.
Brooks said people
communicating via ham
radio on Field Days do
not tend to get to know
each other well because
exchanges are short. He
said though that he has
made many friends he
fi rst met over the air and
knows of many others
who have become radio
buddies.
“Some people will
meet over the radio and
be friends for their rest
of their lives even though
they may never meet each
other in real life,” Brooks
said.
Grande Ronde Hospital & Clinics proudly welcomes
Emma Peiris, MD
Dr. Emma Peiris is a Primary Care Internist joining us at the GRH Regional Medical Clinic. She is
board certified in Internal Medicine. Emma’s practice focuses on general internal medicine
with emphasis on older adults. She believes that building
relationships with her patients and their families allows her to
provide outstanding medical care. She enjoys guiding patients
through the medical system and making sure they understand her
recommendations and the recommendations made by their other
doctors. A passion for rural healthcare and love for the outdoors
brought Dr. Peiris to GRH. During her free time, she enjoys spend-
ing time with her family doing outdoor activities and playing
complicated board games.
Emma Peiris, MD
Please help us welcome
Dr. Peiris and her family to our community!!
GRH Regional Medical Clinic
GRH.org — 506 4th Street — 541.663.3138