LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
THuRSday, July 14, 2022
Work
group
mulling
drones
TODAY
In 1789, in an event symbolizing
the start of the French Revolution,
citizens of Paris stormed the Bas-
tille prison and released the seven
prisoners inside.
In 1798, Congress passed the
Sedition Act, making it a federal
crime to publish false, scandalous
or malicious writing about the
United States government.
In 1881, outlaw William H.
Bonney Jr., alias “Billy the Kid,” was
shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Gar-
rett in Fort Sumner in present-day
New Mexico.
In 1912, American folk sing-
er-songwriter Woody Guthrie
(“This Land Is Your Land”) was born
in Okemah, Oklahoma.
In 1933, all German political par-
ties, except the Nazi Party, were
outlawed.
In 1945, Italy formally declared
war on Japan, its former Axis
partner during World War II.
In 1976, Jimmy Carter won the
Democratic presidential nomina-
tion at the party’s convention in
New York.
In 1980, the Republican national
convention opened in Detroit,
where nominee-apparent Ronald
Reagan told a welcoming rally he
and his supporters were deter-
mined to “make America great
again.”
In 2004, the Senate scuttled a
constitutional amendment ban-
ning gay marriage. (Forty-eight
senators voted to advance the
measure — 12 short of the 60
needed — and 50 voted to block
it).
In 2009, disgraced financier Ber-
nard Madoff arrived at the Butner
Federal Correctional Complex in
North Carolina to begin serving
a 150-year sentence for his mas-
sive Ponzi scheme. (Madoff died in
prison in April 2021.)
In 2015, world powers and Iran
struck a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear
program in exchange for relief
from international sanctions.
In 2016, terror struck Bastille
Day celebrations in the French Riv-
iera city of Nice as a large truck
plowed into a festive crowd, killing
86 people in an attack claimed by
Islamic State extremists; the driver
was shot dead by police.
In 2020, researchers reported
that the first COVID-19 vaccine
tested in the U.S. revved up peo-
ple’s immune systems as scien-
tists had hoped; the vaccine was
developed by the National Insti-
tutes of Health and Moderna Inc.
The federal government carried
out its first execution in almost two
decades, killing by lethal injection
Daniel Lewis Lee, who’d been con-
victed of murdering an Arkansas
family in a 1990s plot to build a
whites-only nation in the Pacific
Northwest.
Ten years ago: A suicide
bomber blew himself up among
guests at a wedding hall in
northern Afghanistan, killing 23
people, including a prominent
ex-Uzbek warlord turned law-
maker who was the father of the
bride.
Five years ago: A Russian-Amer-
ican lobbyist said he attended
a June 2016 meeting with Presi-
dent Donald Trump’s son that was
billed as part of a Russian govern-
ment effort to help the Republican
campaign.
One year ago: The U.S. govern-
ment reported that deaths from
drug overdoses had soared to a
record 93,000 in 2021 in the midst
of the COVID-19 pandemic; experts
said lockdowns and other restric-
tions had isolated those with drug
addictions and made treatment
harder to get.
Today’s birthdays: Actor Nancy
Olson is 94. Former football player
and actor Rosey Grier is 90. Actor
Vincent Pastore is 76. Music com-
pany executive Tommy Mottola
is 74. Rock musician Chris Cross
(Ultravox) is 70. Actor Jerry Houser
is 70. Singer-guitarist Kyle Gass is
62. Actor Jane Lynch is 62. Actor
Jackie Earle Haley is 61. Actor
Matthew Fox is 56. Rock musi-
cian Ellen Reid (Crash Test Dum-
mies) is 56. Rock singer-musician
Tanya Donelly is 56. Former child
actor Missy Gold is 52. R&B singer
Tameka Cottle (Xscape) is 47.
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
Monday, July 11, 2022
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Tuesday, July 12, 2022
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Estimated jackpot: $480
million
Lucky Lines
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10 p.m.: 4-1-9-2
Drone regulation
proving to be time-
consuming process
By JACK PARRY
Wallowa County Chieftain
dick Mason/The Observer
Preliminary excavation work is underway at the site of the future Timber Ridge Apartments on Friday, July 8, 2022, in La Grande.
Apartment construction to begin soon
Timber Ridge Apartment
complex for low income
residents will have 82 units
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A La Grande
apartment complex that could
help put a dent in Union Coun-
ty’s shortage of affordable housing
may be 14 months from becoming a
reality.
Preliminary excavation work
is beginning for the $38.2 mil-
lion, 82-unit Timber Ridge Apart-
ments on a 4.79-acre lot on East
Q Avenue between 26th and 27th
streets. Work on installing the foun-
dation will begin about Monday,
July 25, according to Sarah Parker,
the executive director of Northeast
Oregon Housing Authority, which
will own and manage Timber Ridge
Apartments.
A groundbreaking ceremony for
the project is set for Tuesday, Aug.
23, at a time to be announced, Parker
said. The goal is to have the apart-
ment complex completed by Sep-
tember 2023. One factor that could
delay completion of the project would
be supply issues preventing materials
arriving in a timely manner, Parker
said.
Paul Anderes, a member of the
Union County Board of Commis-
sioners, is excited about the project.
“This will take some pressure off
the local housing market,” he said.
“This is a step in the right direction,
but there is clearly still a lot of work
to do.”
Anderes said Timber Ridge will
be in a good location.
“It will be near a lot of services,”
the commissioner said, noting that
health care and banking services are
among those nearby.
Timber Ridge Apartments will
be built by Hunt Capital Partners, of
Encino, California, in collaboration
with the Northeast Oregon Housing
Authority, and Community Devel-
opment Partners Oregon, LLC, of
Portland.
Hunt Capital Partners is the tax
credit syndication division of Hunt
Companies, Inc. Hunt Capital Part-
ners’ specialties include the sponsor-
ship of federal and state low-income
housing, according to a press release
from Maize Marketing in Woodland
Hill, California.
Northeast Oregon Housing
Authority will be the owner and
property manager of Timber Ridge
Apartments, and Community Devel-
opment Partners is serving as Timber
Ridge’s developer. Portland-based
Bremik Construction is the general
contractor and Ink Built Architec-
ture, also of Portland, is the project’s
architect.
The apartment units will be avail-
able to households earning at or
below 60% of the region’s median
income, according to the press
release.
Timber Ridge’s features will
include an 8,000-square-foot com-
munity building that will have a
large gathering space for community
meals and social events. The commu-
nity building will also offer residents
office and study spaces, a classroom
and an early childhood education
center, where the Eastern Oregon
University Head Start program will
provide preschool instruction.
Once completed, Timber Ridge
Apartments will provide 34 one-bed-
room units, 26 two-bedroom units,
20 three-bedroom units and two
four-bedroom units.
A total of $15.7 million of the
project will be funded by federal
tax credits provided to Community
Development Partners through the
federal government’s Low Income
Housing Tax Credit program.
The start of the construction of
Timber Ridge Apartments has been
delayed about a year by a number of
factors including the COVID-19 pan-
demic and the resulting supply chain
issues and inflation, Parker said. She
now feels good about the project’s
prospects.
“This is super exciting,” she said.
“It has been quite an adventure get-
ting here.”
Elgin city administrator position could change
Elgin City Council
authorized three
resolutions for the
November 2022 ballot
By ISABELLA CROWLEY
The Observer
ELGIN — The Elgin City Council
voted unanimously to authorize three
resolutions to be added to the ballot
for the upcoming election, which
means Elgin residents will have final
say over whether the resolutions pass
in November.
Two of the resolutions center
around the role of the city admin-
istrator. One resolution amends the
city charter to make the city admin-
istrator a hired position rather than
an elected official. If the resolution
passes, the administrator would be
appointed by the city council. The
second resolution seeks to amend the
charter to combine the city recorder
and city administrator into a single
role.
The city administrator position
will be up for election in November.
If a resident decides to run for city
administrator, both the resolution to
make the role a hired position and the
individual running for city adminis-
trator would be on the ballot.
All present members of the city
council voted unanimously to add
both resolutions to the ballot. Coun-
cilor Rocky Burgess was not in
attendance.
The city council also voted unan-
imously to authorize adding a reso-
lution to the ballot that would allow
electors to pay a $50 fee rather than
collecting 20 signatures to appear on
a ballot.
All three resolutions will be
decided by voters in the November
2022 election.
NEWS BRIEFS
Joseph City Council hires
new city administrator
JOSEPH — The city of Joseph has
a new administrator with the hiring
of Dan Larman during the Thursday,
July 7, city council meeting.
Larman’s hiring brings to a close
a situation ongoing since April 2021
when former Administrator Larry
Braden resigned citing claims of
harassment that prevented him from
doing his job.
Larman, who moved from Elgin
in March, has been working with
interim Administrator Brock Eck-
stein since then.
The hiring came after a recent
interview of four applicants for the
job. Eckstein said via Zoom that one
of those applicants decided to take a
job elsewhere and the council opted
for Larman. He was voted in on a
unanimous decision.
The council has yet to negotiate
a permanent contract with Larman.
In the meantime, Eckstein recom-
mended Larman be compensated
under the current provisions for a city
administrator.
“I appreciate the chance to throw
my hat in the ring and I’m looking
forward to working with every-
body and helping out where I can,”
Larman said to the council. “We’ve
got a lot of projects on board and I’m
ready to get going.”
In another position change, Public
Works Director Levi Tickner is step-
ping into a role primarily as operator
of the water and sewer plants while
Michael Harshfield takes on the other
duties Tickner has overseen.
Mayor Lisa Collier thanked
Tickner for continuing the tradition
of hanging posters of this year’s high
school graduates downtown.
“I think that’s so cool and despite
COVID, it’s something we need to
keep going,” she said.
Stabbing July 8 leaves
Hermiston man dead
HELLS CANYON OVERLOOK
— A 64-year-old Hermiston man was
stabbed to death at the Hells Canyon
Overlook in southeastern Wallowa
County on Friday, July 8, according
to a press release from the Wallowa
County Sheriff’s Office.
Dan Ridling got into an altercation
with an Albany man in the parking
lot and was stabbed in the torso,
Sheriff Joel Fish said July 11. He died
at the scene. Fish said the weapon
used was a fixed-blade sheathed
knife similar to a hunting knife.
The Oregon State Police Major
Crimes Unit was requested and
responded to assist with the inves-
tigation, the release stated. The 911
call requesting medical assistance
was made at 11:36 a.m.
The man who is believed to have
done the stabbing cooperated with
the investigation, Fish said. Ridling’s
wife also was interviewed.
Officials are awaiting the results
of an autopsy before making any
decision on charges. As a result, Fish
declined to identify the Albany man.
“Once we get it all done, it’ll go to
the grand jury,” Fish said. “He’s not
been charged with anything.”
Fish stated in the release that there
are no known threats to the public
following the incident.
Bear killed in collision with
car on Interstate 84
UNION COUNTY — A driver
and his passenger were not injured
when their vehicle hit and killed
a bear about 15 miles west of La
Grande on Interstate 84, according to
the Oregon State Police.
The incident occurred just before
midnight in an eastbound lane of
I-84 on Saturday, July 9, when a gray
Toyota Tacoma driven by Zach Lee
Deiter, 23, collided with a bear that
had run onto the roadway near mile-
post 246.
The crash caused extensive
damage to the front right side of the
vehicle, which was towed from the
scene.
—EO Media Group
ENTERPRISE — For
the last 100 years state
parks in Oregon have been
an attraction to view var-
ious plant life, bodies of
water and animal species.
However, a newer addi-
tion to state parks is some-
thing that Oregonians
couldn’t have foreseen even
a few decades ago, drones
piercing the skies.
There are no regulations
on drone flight, takeoff or
landing within state parks.
The parks can only make
airborne regulations during
certain mating seasons.
“When raptors are
nesting and doing their
breeding, they don’t allow
drones into the park what-
soever,” said Ashley
O’Toole, a drone flier and
the owner of Sky High
Imaging, LLC, a La Grande
company that provides
drone imaging services.
Just because people are
free to fly drones through
parks doesn’t mean they are
free from controversy.
So when a work group
convened by the Oregon
Parks and Recreation
Department put together a
proposal for drone regula-
tions in state parks at the
end of 2021 and asked for
public input, it didn’t take
long to receive backlash.
The proposal stated that
drones would be allowed
to take off anywhere unless
otherwise specified. The
vagueness of the law
prodded people to ask Chris
Havel, associate director at
the Oregon Parks and Rec-
reation Department, if their
worst fears were possible.
“Either we’re going to
have a cloud of drones over
every park, or a wildlife
desert in every park,” he
said.
While the backlash was
coming from drone sup-
porters and protestors,
Havel noted that most of the
worries came from natural
resource supporters, who
were underrepresented on
the work group.
“Eighty percent of the
concern was from people
who thought they were
going to hurt birds, hurt
other wildlife and chase off
deer,” Havel said.
While the associate
director sees drone usage
as a contentious topic for
the parks, O’Toole believes
the public has been easing
its concern recently. Even
though people were nervous
when drones were new, he
believes that technological
innovations like GPS, col-
lision warning systems and
the prevalence of drones
have taken the pressure off
the issue.
“I think the general
opinion of drones has gone
from not liking them to
maybe just apathetic, not
having an opinion at all
really,” he said.
After the criticism,
the Parks and Recreation
Department decided to
pause the rulemaking, look
to form a new work group
with more representation
from environmentalists, and
create a map and criteria
for places where drones can
take off and land in state
parks.
Havel says this
rulemaking process has
been difficult for a few main
reasons, one being the dif-
ference in the landscapes of
parks throughout the state
creating issues for statewide
regulations.
“The environment isn’t
the same across the state,
the way people use parks
is not the same across the
state, so why would the
rules be the same across the
state?” he said.