LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TuESday, July 5, 2022
TODAY
IN BRIEF
In 1687, Isaac Newton first pub-
lished his “Principia Mathematica,”
a three-volume work setting out
his mathematical principles of nat-
ural philosophy.
In 1811, Venezuela became the
first South American country to
declare independence from Spain.
In 1865, the Secret Service Divi-
sion of the U.S. Treasury Depart-
ment was founded in Washington,
D.C., with the mission of sup-
pressing counterfeit currency.
In 1935, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt signed the National
Labor Relations Act.
In 1940, during World War II,
Britain and the Vichy government
in France broke off diplomatic
relations.
In 1943, the Battle of Kursk
began during World War II; in the
weeks that followed, the Soviets
were able to repeatedly repel the
Germans, who eventually with-
drew in defeat.
In 1947, Larry Doby made his
debut with the Cleveland Indians,
becoming the first Black player
in the American League three
months after Jackie Robinson
broke the color barrier in the
National League. (In the game
against the Chicago White Sox at
Comiskey Park, Doby, pinch-hitting
for Bryan Stephens, struck out in
his first at-bat during the seventh
inning; Chicago won 6-5.)
In 1954, Elvis Presley’s first com-
mercial recording session took
place at Sun Records in Memphis,
Tennessee; the song he recorded
was “That’s All Right.”
In 1971, President Richard Nixon
certified the 26th Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution, which low-
ered the minimum voting age from
21 to 18.
In 1975, Arthur Ashe became
the first Black man to win a Wim-
bledon singles title as he defeated
Jimmy Connors, 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.
In 2008, Venus Williams won
her fifth Wimbledon singles title,
beating younger sister Serena 7-5,
6-4 in the final.
In 2011, a jury in Orlando,
Florida, found Casey Anthony, 25,
not guilty of murder, manslaughter
and child abuse in the 2008 dis-
appearance and death of her
2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
Ten years ago: Trucks carrying
NATO supplies rolled into Afghani-
stan for the first time in more than
seven months, ending a painful
chapter in U.S.-Pakistan relations
that saw the border closed until
Washington apologized for an
airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani
soldiers.
Five years ago: The 9th U.S. Cir-
cuit Court of Appeals ruled that
two laws passed by Congress
did not end the right to a bond
hearing for unaccompanied immi-
grant children who are detained by
federal authorities.
One year ago: Amazon founder
Jeff Bezos officially stepped down
as CEO; he was succeeded by
Andy Jassy, who ran Amazon’s
cloud-computing business.
Today’s birthdays: Singer-mu-
sician Robbie Robertson is 79. Julie
Nixon Eisenhower is 74. Rock star
Huey Lewis is 72. Baseball Hall of
Fame pitcher Rich “Goose” Gos-
sage is 71. Singer-songwriter Marc
Cohn is 63. Actor Edie Falco is 59.
R&B singer Joe is 49. Rock musician
Bengt Lagerberg (The Cardigans)
is 49. Actor Dale Godboldo is 47.
Rapper Bizarre is 46. Rapper Royce
da 5’9” is 45. Rock singer Jason
Wade (Lifehouse) is 42. Country
musician Dave Haywood (Lady A)
is 40. Soccer player Megan Rapinoe
is 37. California Angels pitcher and
designated hitter Shohei Ohtani
is 28.
Wallowa County sites
receive grants from
Oregon Heritage
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.
LOTTERY
Friday, July 1, 2022
Megamillions
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Megaball: 12
Megaplier: 3
Jackpot: $370 million
Lucky Lines
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Pick 4
1 p.m.: 4-2-9-2
4 p.m.: 3-6-8-9
7 p.m.: 8-8-9-0
10 p.m.: 8-8-8-9
Saturday, July 2, 2022
Powerball
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Powerball: 26
Power Play: 3
Jackpot: $26 million
Megabucks
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Jackpot: $2.9 million
Lucky Lines
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Pick 4
1 p.m.: 3-8-0-0
4 p.m.: 5-7-9-9
7 p.m.: 1-9-7-9
10 p.m.: 0-9-6-4
Win for Life
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Sunday, July 3, 2022
Lucky Lines
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Estimated jackpot: $28,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 9-5-0-9
4 p.m.: 4-8-2-4
7 p.m.: 3-8-4-3
10 p.m.: 2-8-5-1
The Observer, File
Rebel Woolworks owner Tara Sager poses for a picture behind the store’s counter on Tuesday, July 20, 2021. The speciality store, which
sold hand-dyed yarn and featured a mercantile for artisan products, closed in June 2022.
Downtown yarn business closes
Rebel Woolworks
owner leaving
La Grande to take
job in Alaska
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — La
Grande is losing a busi-
ness that appeared to have
a promising future.
Rebel Woolworks, a
dyed yarn shop at 113
Adams Ave., closed in June.
The store’s owner, Tara
Sager, wrote on her store’s
Facebook page that she will
be moving to Alaska where
she has accepted a construc-
tion project management
position.
Sager’s store celebrated
its one-year anniversary in
April and seemed then to
have a bright path ahead
of it.
“It’s been a whirlwind,
but I’m really looking
forward to next year,”
Sager said in an April
14 Observer article. “It’s
moved from what was a
hobby turning into a busi-
ness, into a business that
is continuing to grow and
expand.”
Sager declined to dis-
cuss why she closed her
dick Mason/The Observer
A message remains displayed on a window of Rebel Woolworks, a
store now closed, on Friday, July 1, 2022.
shop last month. However,
on her Facebook page she
wrote that her business was
impacted when her Insta-
gram account was hacked
in late May.
“As a dyer that depends
upon my platform to sup-
port my business, this has
been devastating,” the
Facebook post said. “There
were massive monetary
losses with this hack as
well.”
Sager said the money
lost and the hack forced her
to make her move.
“This loss has forced
us to look outside the box
at options to sustain our
family. The option we
decided on has been some-
thing on our back burner
for a couple years and is
going to take us away from
Eastern Oregon,” the Face-
book post said.
Sager started selling
dyed yarn online in 2010,
knitting hats and gloves
to help people stay warm
in Alaska, where she
then lived, during the
winter. She moved to La
Grande in May 2020 and
was intrigued with the
town’s downtown area,
according to the April 14
Observer article, which
reported that Sager’s busi-
ness had become a staple
of the business landscape
downtown.
The business included a
mercantile on the left side
of the space, offering teas,
coffees, gourmet desserts
and other goods from local
stores around the Pacific
Northwest. In April Sager
said the mercantile was
serving as a good resource
for customers on their
way to go camping or just
passing by on a day trip
through the area.
Rebel Woolworks ear-
lier won a La Grande Busi-
ness plan contest hosted by
Eastern Oregon Universi-
ty’s Small Business Devel-
opment Center, La Grande
Main Street, Ignite and the
Northeast Oregon Eco-
nomic Development Dis-
trict. Rebel Woolworks
received $3,000 from the
city of La Grande’s Urban
Renewal Agency for win-
ning the contest.
La Grande City Man-
ager Robert Strope said the
store will not be required
to pay back these funds.
Strope said the purpose of
the contest was to help a
new business get its start in
La Grande.
BottleDrop announces 2022 Hidden Bottle Hunt
Daily clues will lead treasure hunters
to six commemorative bottles hidden
throughout the state July 6-10
The Observer
SALEM — The Oregon
Beverage Recycling Coop-
erative is hosting the 2022
Hidden Bottle Hunt from
July 6-10 by hiding six
commemorative bottles in
parks and trails throughout
the state.
Clues for the statewide
hunt will be posted daily
on the Oregon BottleDrop
website leading treasure
hunters to the final hiding
places.
“Last year’s Hidden
Bottle Hunt was the first
of its kind, hosted to cel-
ebrate the 50th anniver-
sary of the Oregon Bottle
Bill,” said Eric Chambers,
external relations director
for OBRC, the not-for-profit
cooperative that serves as
the operational steward of
the Bottle Bill and operates
the BottleDrop network.“It
was so much fun and was
so successful at raising
awareness about the legacy
of Oregon’s Bottle Bill that
we decided to do it again.”
Like last year, the 2022
Hidden Bottle Hunt will
comprise six separate,
simultaneous hunts, geo-
graphically dispersed in
parks and trails across
Oregon. OBRC will release
one clue per bottle per day,
leading hunters to the final
hiding spots.
The winners will get
to keep the commemo-
rative bottle and select
a BottleDrop Give non-
profit partner to receive a
$1,000 donation through
BottleDrop’s Containers
Oregon Beverage Recycling
Cooperative/Contributed Photo
The Oregon Beverage Recycling
Cooperative is hosting the
2022 Hidden Bottle Hunt
from July 6-10 by hiding six
commemorative bottles in parks
and trails throughout the state.
for Change program. More
than 5,000 nonprofits
across Oregon raise funds
for their organizations
through BottleDrop’s Give
program.
July marks the 51st
anniversary of the Oregon
Bottle Bill, which Gov.
Tom McCall signed into
law on July 2, 1971. It
established the nation’s
first beverage container
redemption system, and it
has helped keep Oregon
clean and litter free for
over five decades. Ore-
gon’s Bottle Bill is also
among the most suc-
cessful in the nation. In
2021, OBRC’s redemption
rate was 83.9%, with Ore-
gonians returning nearly
two billion containers
for Grade-A domestic
recycling.
“Our Hidden Bottle
Hunt will be a fun oppor-
tunity for individuals
and families to get out-
side and connect closely
with the Bottle Bill’s mis-
sion of protecting public
spaces,” Chambers said.
“Best of all, the winners
get to ‘redeem’ their bottle
for a nice donation to one
of over 5,000 participating
nonprofits serving commu-
nities across Oregon.”
Jury selection to begin July 7 for murder trial
Ronald Lee facing charges of
second-degree murder, conspiracy to
commit murder in wife’s 2018 death
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A La
Grande man accused of
murder will soon face a
Union County jury.
Ronald Lee is accused
by the state of Oregon of
killing his wife, Loretta Wil-
liams, in November 2018
at her home in Cove. The
74-year-old is facing charges
of second-degree murder
and conspiracy to commit
murder, while being held
without bond in the Union
County Jail. Lee has pleaded
not guilty to the charges.
Jury selection for
Lee’s trial is set to begin
Thursday, July 7. The jury
will be selected from a
pool of about 100 prospec-
tive jurors, according to
the Union County Circuit
Court. A date for the trial
has not been set but it is
expected to be completed
by Aug. 5, said Union
County District Attorney
Kelsie McDaniel.
Lee is being repre-
sented by Dean Gushwa, a
Pendleton attorney. Union
County Circuit Court
Judge Thomas Powers
will preside over the trial,
which has previously been
delayed several times. It
was delayed once after Lee
suffered a stroke while in
custody in January 2020.
The co-defendant in
the case is Steve Ham-
ilton, 68, of La Grande,
who is being charged with
murder and conspiracy to
commit murder. Hamilton
is also being held at the
Union County Correctional
Facility.
SALEM — A pair of
Wallowa County proper-
ties received grants from
Oregon Heritage, a divi-
sion of Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department,
according to a Friday, July
1, press release.
The Maxville Heri-
tage Interpretive Center
received a grant of $10,000
for a National Register of
Historic Places nomination
for the former Maxville
site. The Wallowa History
Center received a $20,000
grant to repair the exte-
rior of the ranger’s office
at the historical Bear-Sleds
Ranger Station in Wallowa.
In all, Oregon Heritage
awarded 20 grants totaling
$293,900 for historic prop-
erties and archaeology
projects. Six of the grants
were awarded in the Dia-
monds in the Rough cat-
egory, which fund facade
enhancements that restore
the historic character of
a property. The other 14
grants — including the
two in Wallowa County
— were in the Preserving
Oregon category for prop-
erties listed on the National
Register of Historic Places
and for archaeology
projects.
The grants are
approved by the State
Advisory Committee on
Historic Preservation, a
nine-member group that
reviews nominations to
the National Register
of Historic Places.
The members are
professionally recognized
in the fields of history,
architecture, archaeology
and other related
disciplines.
Roads projects
scheduled for
national forest
BAKER CITY — A
series of road projects on
the Wallowa-Whitman
National Forest could mean
slow travel during the
month of July.
On the La Grande
Ranger District, Forest
Road 5125 at the Limber
Jim Creek crossing to the
junction with Forest Ser-
vice Road 5130 will be
closed from July 5 to July
31 to replace a culvert
and construct an aquatic
organism passage structure.
Forest Service Road 5130
will remain open during
construction.
Grant County Road 24
— the Granite Highway
— from Blue Springs
Summit to the 7370 Road,
or Mount Ireland Road,
approximately 5 miles
southeast of Granite, will
be closed to the public
from 9 a.m. July 18 to
5 p.m. July 22 and from
9 a.m. July 25 to 5 p.m.
July 29.
Fast-Track Grants
awarded to three
organizations
WALLOWA COUNTY
— The Lewis-Clark Valley
Healthcare Organization
announced on Thursday,
June 23 organizations in
its service area that have
received the third round of
Fast-Track Grants, three of
them are based in Wallowa
County.
These grants are
between $2,500 and
$10,000, and are meant to
provide a quick turnaround
for small nonprofits who
focus on health, wellness or
disease prevention. A total
of $165,050 was awarded to
23 nonprofits.
The Wallowa County
organizations that received
these grants include the
Rotary Foundation of Wal-
lowa County in Enter-
prise, which intends to use
the funds for the Imnaha
Founders Program and
the recruitment of new
responders. The Wallowa
Mountains Bicycle Club in
Joseph will use its grant on
a bikes for kids’ initiative,
and another grant will fund
the Wallowa County Air
Room Air Purifier Distribu-
tion Program.
— EO Media Group