LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TODAY
In 1776, members of the Second
Continental Congress began
attaching their signatures to the
Declaration of Independence.
In 1873, inventor Andrew S. Hal-
lidie successfully tested a cable car
he had designed for the city of San
Francisco.
In 1876, frontiersman “Wild Bill”
Hickok was shot and killed while
playing poker at a saloon in Dead-
wood, Dakota Territory, by Jack
McCall, who was later hanged.
In 1921, a jury in Chicago
acquitted several former members
of the Chicago White Sox baseball
team and two others of conspiring
to defraud the public in the noto-
rious “Black Sox” scandal. Opera
singer Enrico Caruso, 48, died in
Naples, Italy.
In 1922, Alexander Graham Bell,
generally regarded as the inventor
of the telephone, died in Nova
Scotia, Canada, at age 75.
In 1923, the 29th president
of the United States, Warren G.
Harding, died in San Francisco; Vice
President Calvin Coolidge became
president.
In 1934, German President Paul
von Hindenburg died, paving the
way for Adolf Hitler’s complete
takeover.
In 1939, Albert Einstein signed a
letter to President Franklin D. Roo-
sevelt urging creation of an atomic
weapons research program.
In 1945, President Harry S.
Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin
and Britain’s new prime minister,
Clement Attlee, concluded the
Potsdam conference.
In 1974, former White House
counsel John W. Dean III was sen-
tenced to one to four years in
prison for obstruction of justice
in the Watergate cover-up. (Dean
ended up serving four months.)
In 1980, 85 people were killed
when a bomb exploded at the
train station in Bologna, Italy.
In 1985, 137 people were killed
when Delta Air Lines Flight 191, a
Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, crashed
while attempting to land at Dal-
las-Fort Worth International
Airport.
In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait,
seizing control of the oil-rich
emirate. (The Iraqis were later
driven out in Operation Desert
Storm.)
Ten years ago: Gabby Douglas
became the third American in a
row to win gymnastics’ biggest
prize when she claimed the all-
around Olympic title; Michael
Phelps added to his medal collec-
tion with his first individual gold
medal of the London Games in the
200-meter individual medley.
Five years ago: Former
Notre Dame football coach Ara
Parseghian died at his home in
Granger, Indiana, at the age of 94.
One year ago: The U.S. finally
reached President Joe Biden’s goal
of getting at least one COVID-19
shot into 70% of American adults
— a month late and amid a fierce
surge by the delta variant.
Today’s Birthdays: Rock musi-
cian Garth Hudson (The Band)
is 85. Singer Kathy Lennon (The
Lennon Sisters) is 79. Actor Joanna
Cassidy is 77. Actor Kathryn Har-
rold is 72. Actor Butch Patrick (TV:
“The Munsters”) is 69. Rock music
producer/drummer Butch Vig (Gar-
bage) is 67. Actor Victoria Jackson
is 63. Actor Apollonia is 63. Actor
Cynthia Stevenson is 60. Actor
Mary-Louise Parker is 58. Rock
musician John Stanier is 54. Writ-
er-actor-director Kevin Smith is 52.
Actor Jacinda Barrett is 50. Actor
Sam Worthington is 46. Actor
Edward Furlong is 45. TV meteorol-
ogist Dylan Dreyer (TV: “Today”) is
41. Actor Marci Miller is 37. Singer
Charli XCX is 30.
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.
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TuESday, auguST 2, 2022
Tireless community service
Linda and Floyd
Dixon serve as
grand marshals of
Huckleberry
Festival
By DICK MASON
The Observer
NORTH POWDER —
Linda and Floyd Dixon
received the ride of a life-
time at the North Powder
Huckleberry Festival this
past weekend.
The North Powder
couple, the festival’s grand
marshals, helped lead its
parade on Saturday, July
30, while riding in a 1926
REO Roadster, a vehicle
that had to be started by a
hand crank.
“It was a great experi-
ence,” said Linda Dixon,
who said she appreciated
being in a vehicle with a
roof because it protected
her from the harsh sun.
The Dixons, who
moved to North Powder
seven years ago from Hun-
tington, were selected as
grand marshals because of
their commitment to com-
munity service.
“They are just the people
you want to go to if you
want anything done,” said
Dotty Miles, who served as
grand marshal of the 2021
Huckleberry Festival with
her husband, Myron.
Miles credits the Dixons
with keeping North Pow-
der’s food bank and fresh
food Alliance programs
al Cook/Contributed Photo
Linda and Floyd Dixon, shown here on Saturday July 30, 2022,
served as grand marshals of this year’s Huckleberry Festival.
afloat. Miles noted that
Linda and Floyd Dixon
travel to La Grande each
week to the Northeast
Oregon Regional Food
Bank to get items for
stocking pantries in North
Powder and Haines.
“Sometimes they make
two trips to La Grande,”
Miles said.
The food bank the
Dixons stock in North
Powder is located at the
United Methodist Church.
Miles credits the Dixons
with making the church an
easy place for people to get
what they need.
The Dixons are mem-
bers of North Powder’s
United Methodist Church,
which Miles said is one the
oldest operating Methodist
churches in Oregon. Miles
said that the support the
Dixons provide the church
is instrumental in keeping
the church operating.
Linda and Floyd Dixon
are also members of North
Powder’s Wolf Creek
Grange, which is involved
in many community ser-
vice projects, including
a Christmas program
through which children
from low-income fami-
lies receive coupons they
can use to obtain gifts for
their families. The gifts are
available at the grange hall
each December.
Linda Dixon is also
closely involved in a pil-
lowcase project involving
a sewing group she
belongs to. The group
takes donated pillowcases
sent to it and sews them
into dresses for girls in
need in Africa. The group
has made more than 200
dresses from at least 600
donated pillow cases since
September of 2021. Linda
Dixon said her husband
shuns the spotlight but
plays a key role in the com-
munity service projects
they are involved in.
“He works behind
the scenes and keeps the
wheels rolling,” she said.
Prior to coming to
North Powder, the Dixons
lived in Huntington where
Linda Dixon worked for
the Oregon Department
of Transportation through
2015. The Dixons, who
have been married 53
years, moved to North
Powder in 2015 to be closer
to family, which includes
their three sons who live
there, Lance, Eric and
Kyle.
Linda said she has
found that the people of
North Powder are excep-
tionally responsive to those
who need assistance.
“If you tell someone you
need help, suddenly you
have all the help you need,”
she said.
The Observer earns 12 awards from ONPA
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
Observer was recog-
nized with 12 awards in
the Oregon Newspaper
Publishers Association’s
annual Better Newspapers
Contest.
The Observer received
four first-place awards,
three second-place awards
and five third-place
awards. The winners were
announced Thursday, July
28, and Friday, July 29,
at Mount Hood Resort in
Welches.
Karrine Brogoitti, the
publisher of The Observer,
said she was proud of
the work done by the
newsroom.
“I am just so proud of
our staff for the hard work
they do every day,” she
said.
The awards were for the
2021 calendar year, and the
The Observer, File
Bullfighting brothers Ryan Manning and Miles Barry, with Sean
Peterson, taunt the angry bull White Noise away from downed
cowboy Levi Quillan on Thursday, June 10, 2021, at the Eastern
Oregon Livestock Show in Union. The photo, taken by former
photographer Alex Wittwer, took first place in the Oregon
Newspaper Publishers Association’s annual Better Newspapers
Contest.
contest was judged by the
Maine Press Association.
Reporter Dick Mason
and former reporter Davis
Carbaugh took first place
in the best educational cov-
erage for the Aug. 24 story
“Local educators weigh
in on vaccine mandate.”
Mason also earned third
place in the same category.
Mason and former pho-
tographer Alex Wittwer
took first place for the best
photo essay June 29 photo
package “Fun at Mount
Emily.”
Wittwer also took first
place for best sports photo
and best feature photo.
Wittwer took second place
for best news photo.
The Observer took two
of the three top spots in
the best general feature
story, with Wittwer taking
second and Mason taking
third.
Page designer Andy
Nicolais took second for
best page one design.
The Observer took
second place for best spe-
cial section or issue, and
Carbaugh took third place
for best sports story. Editor
Andrew Cutler took third
place for best editorial
page.
County may ask voters to approve opt out ordinance
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
Union County voters in
November may be given
the chance to virtually
ban psilocybin products in
much of the county.
The Union County
Board of Commissioners
is set to vote on an ordi-
nance that would prohibit
the sale and manufac-
turing of psilocybin prod-
ucts in unincorporated
portions of the county
when it meets at 9 a.m.
on Wednesday, Aug. 3,
in the Joseph Building’s
east meeting room. The
proposed psilocybin ordi-
nance, if passed by the
board, would be referred
to voters in the Tuesday,
Nov. 8, election.
The sale and manu-
facturing of psilocybin in
Oregon is now legal after
voters approved Measure
109 in 2020. If the board
of commissioners does not
refer the proposed ordi-
nance to voters, Measure
109 will go into effect in
unincorporated portions
of Union County. It would
also go into effect if the
proposed ordinance were
rejected by voters.
Measure 109 passed
with a 56% majority in
Oregon in 2020 but voters
in Union County rejected
it.
“This would give
voters a chance to reject
the measure a second time
and opt out,” said Union
County Commissioner
Donna Beverage.
The commissioner
views Measure 109, also
known as the Oregon Psi-
locybin Services Act, as
flawed.
“It is very vague —
there are no guidelines or
details,” she said.
Measure 109 directs
the Oregon Health
Authority to license
and regulate the man-
ufacturing, transporta-
tion, delivery, sale and
purchase of psilocybin
products.
Psilocybin is the active
ingredient in hallucino-
genic mushrooms, and
research has indicated it
may be a useful drug in
treating a variety of condi-
tions, including post-trau-
matic stress disorder.
Beverage noted that even
though psilocybin may be
used for medical purposes,
it can be distributed under
Measure 109 by people
who are not health pro-
fessionals, something that
concerns her.
Beverage is also wor-
ried about what could
happen if the proposed opt
out ordinance is rejected
by voters.
“If voters chose not to
opt out it could change the
culture of our county,” she
said.
NEWS BRIEFS
La Grande woman dies in
5 miles east of Pendleton, according
crash with wrong-way driver to preliminary data from Oregon
Joseph City Council meeting
moved to Aug. 11
PENDLETON — A La Grande
woman died Friday, July 29, in Uma-
tilla County in a head-on crash on
Interstate 84 with a wrong-way
driver.
Kari Lindeman, 49, was killed
when the Ford Fiesta she was driving
collided with a Dodge 3500 pickup
driven by Gabriel Velasquez, 55, of
Kennewick, Washington, who was
traveling in the wrong direction in
the eastbound lane near milepost 216,
JOSEPH — The regular Joseph
City Council meeting for August
has been moved to Aug. 11, at 7 p.m.
at the Joseph Events Community
Center, according to a press release.
Agendas will be posted at the
city’s website by noon Aug. 9 or
sooner, the release stated.
The council regularly meets on
the first Thursday of each month.
State Police.
Lindeman died at the scene, OSP
reported. Velasquez suffered serious
injuries. An emergency helicopter
flew him to Providence St. Mary
Medical Center in Walla Walla,
Washington.
The westbound lanes were closed
for six hours during the investigation.
OSP was assisted by the Umatilla
Tribal Fire Department, Umatilla
Tribal Police Department and Oregon
Department of Transportation.
— EO Media Group
One of
La Grande’s
finest is
remembered
Friends, family of Doug
Trice salute him at a
celebration of life service
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
legacy of Doug Trice, a man
who tirelessly lifted Special
Olympians to new heights,
was solidified over the
weekend.
A ribbon cutting cere-
mony for a field named in
Trice’s honor was conducted
Saturday, July 30, at Pioneer
Park as part of a celebration
of life ceremony saluting the
revered community volun-
teer who died May 6, 2020 at
age 68.
The field was renamed
in Trice’s honor by the La
Grande City Council on
Sept. 7, 2020, but a ribbon
cutting ceremony and the
celebration of life ser-
vice were delayed until last
weekend because of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Trice’s sister, Gwen, said
the service helped her bring
a sense of closure she had
not experienced until now.
“It was hard to put a lid
on the grief, spirit and emo-
tions,” she said.
Gwen Trice said her
brother was a man of
remarkable humility.
“He never sought the
spotlight. He always focused
the shine of the spotlight on
others,” she said.
Frank Thomas, of Cove,
who grew up with Trice,
described him as his best
friend, a man who had
remarkable concern for
everyone and an uncommon
temperament.
“In 68 years, I never saw
him get mad, even once,” he
said.
Gwen Trice credited
her brother with treating
everyone like a family
member.
“Doug belonged to all of
us,” she said.
Trice was a star running
back at La Grande High
School in the late 1960s
before leaving for Mon-
mouth where he attended
Western Oregon Univer-
sity, then named Oregon
College of Education. Trice
enjoyed a sterling football
career at Western and was
later named to its athletic
hall of fame. His teammates
at Western included Kurt
Davis, who now lives in
Central Oregon.
“Doug was an amazing
football player and an even
better person,” Davis said
at the celebration of life
service.
Trice was hard to tackle
because he was quick and
elusive and strong.
“He was tough as nails.
He could take a hit like
nobody else,” Davis said.
Going overseas
After graduating from
Western, Trice returned to
La Grande where he took a
job with Union Pacific Rail-
road where he worked before
retiring. Trice, who studied
education at Western, put his
college education to work
while serving as a Special
Olympics coach in Union
County. He was so successful
that he was named assistant
coach for Team USA at the
World Games in Shanghai,
China, in 2007. That same
year, he received a Gover-
nor’s Gold Award from then
Gov. Ted Kulongoski for his
work in Special Olympics.
Four years later, Trice was
selected as a Special Olym-
pics coach for Team USA in
Athens, Greece.
Davis said to watch Trice
work with athletes was to see
a master at work.
“It was just a gift,” he said.
Davis said Trice was able
to connect with people of all
types.
“He made people feel spe-
cial,” he said.
Scott Hansell, a classmate
of Trice’s at LHS, said he had
a good naturedness about him
that few others share.
“He deserved an angel and
now is an angel,” he said.