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LA GRANDE’S LEGACY FORD MOTORS RENOVATES ITS ISLAND AVENUE DEALERSHIP | BUSINESS & AGLIFE, B1
August 4, 2022
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PA GE 13
Phase two of forest
management plan moving
ahead at the end of August
By ISABELLA CROWLEY
The Observer
Cassiopaia Smith/Contributed Photo
Cassiopaia Smith’s son, Raiden, posed with Star Wars cosplay characters during the fi rst Color the Blues Autism Walk on April 30, 2016. This year,
attendees can expect cosplay characters dressed as Ghostbusters.
Coloring the Blues for
AUTISM
AWARENESS
LA GRANDE — The second phase of the
Red Apple Forest Management Project for
the Mount Emily Recreation Area is set to
begin at the end of August.
Results from the fi rst phase were not
well received due to trail and forest damage,
which happened due to the inconsistent
ground freeze conditions during the winter.
Doug Wright, director of Union County
Public Works, and ReedCo Forestry, of
Union, the logging contractor, agreed to
move the second phase earlier in the year,
so that the logging could be done on harder
ground to mitigate damage.
“Will there be a little trail damage, yes
there will,” Wright said during an August
meeting of the Mount Emily Recreation Area
Advisory Committee.
Any damage to the trails will be repaired,
but Wright could not provide a timeline for
when work would be completed.
See, MERA/Page A9
Colorful August 13 event
will celebrate Union County
community members on
the autism spectrum
By SHANNON GOLDEN
The Observer
A GRANDE — On Aug. 13,
Union County residents will cel-
ebrate community members on
the autism spectrum with fl ying colors.
Color the Blues for Autism Walk is
an annual, family-friendly community
event hosted in collaboration with the
Autism Society of Oregon. Cassiopaia
Smith, Union County representative
for ASO, said the event is not just for
those directly impacted by autism, but
for allies, too.
“A lot of our families have someone
on the spectrum in their family or a
friend on the spectrum,” Smith said.
L
See, Autism/Page A9
The Observer, File
Cassiopaia Smith/Contributed Photo
Participants stand together for a photo during the fourth annual walk on June 22, 2019, that
was dedicated to Katie Helman. Helman was on the autism spectrum and lived with her dad,
Darin, before she passed.
Puddles of rainwater and mud on Friday, April 22,
2022, give evidence of the heavy equipment used in
forest management work completed this winter in
the Red Apple section of the Mount Emily Recreation
Area near La Grande. The highly debated forest
management project drew a mixed bag of concerns
from local residents.
Hamilton gives tearful testimony in Lee trial
Co-defendant and business client
takes stand in Ronald Lee trial
By ISABELLA CROWLEY
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Steve
Hamilton took the stand
Friday, July 29, in a tearful
testimony against Ron Lee
before facing cross exam-
ination from the defense
Aug. 1.
Lee is charged with
murdering his wife, Loretta
Williams, in November
2018 in Cove. They were
in the process of getting
divorced. Hamilton also
is charged with Williams’
murder and has pleaded
guilty on two charges of
hindering.
Hamilton said he and
Lee had a business rela-
tionship that started after
Hamilton and his wife
brought a generator from
their RV to Lee’s repair
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shop in 2018.
Hamilton told Union
County District Attorney
Kelsie McDaniel that Lee
would call him nearly
every day to speak and see
if he was coming out to
the shop. Hamilton — who
at the time was the busi-
ness administrator for Post
Acute Rehab — would
head out to Lee’s shop after
work a couple of times a
week.
McDaniel asked if he
had known Williams.
Hamilton started crying
before answering no.
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Hamilton testifi ed that
Lee often talked about
his problems, including
his pending divorce from
Williams.
Conley Road visits,
trips with Lee
Hamilton documented
for the jury the four times
he visited Williams and
Lee’s property at 61307
Conley Road, Cove.
Hamilton said he drove
to the property because
Lee was worried Wil-
liams had sold a pickup
and because Lee was con-
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Friday
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cerned about the condition
of his horse.
Before recounting the
fourth and fi nal time he
went to the property, Ham-
ilton told jurors about two
occasions he had driven
with Lee.
Hamilton invited Lee to
drive with him to Ontario
to pick up a medical device
for the rehabilitation center.
On the way back to La
Grande there was a crash
on Interstate 84, which
led Hamilton on a detour.
See, Trial/Page A9
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