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TUESDAY EDITION
August 9, 2022
HOME & LIVING, B1
Offi cials
support
map
reversal
Map was part of $220 million
bill to prepare Oregon for
worsening, climate
change-fueled wildfires
By DICK MASON
The Observer
Photos by Dick Mason/The Observer
Retired Maj. Gen. Dennis Klein, left, prepares to present the Seven Seals Award to representatives of La Grande’s Nation Guard unit, commander
Lt. Col. Seth Musgrove, center, and Command Sgt. Maj. Mike Walker, on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, at the Blue Mountain Conference Center.
‘
Tremendous
’
honor
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — An
awards ceremony with a
noteworthy twist was con-
ducted at the Blue Mountain
Conference Center over the
weekend.
La Grande’s National
Guard unit, the 3rd Bat-
talion, 116th Cavalry, was
presented with the presti-
gious Seven Seals Award on
Saturday, Aug. 6. The award
recognizes the 3-116th for
the support it gives to the
employers its soldiers work
for, plus the assistance the
unit gives to its citizen
soldiers.
“This is such a tremen-
dous honor,” said Lt. Col.
Seth Musgrove, commander
of the 3-116th.
The award was pre-
sented by retired Maj. Gen.
Dennis Klein, the chair of
the Oregon Committee of
the Employer Support of the
Guard and Reserve program.
The Seven Seals Award
traditionally recognizes
employers and their man-
agers whose help make it
possible for people to be
employed and serve in the
Seven Seals Award
presented to 3rd Battalion,
116th Cavalry for support
provided to employers of
citizen soldiers
LA GRANDE — The Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry’s decision to pull back and
revise its wildfi re risk map was a wise move,
according to a number of Union County
offi cials.
“It was a step which had to be taken.
They needed to start over again,” said Donna
Beverage, a member of the Union County
Board of Commissioners, of the decision
announced on Thursday, Aug. 4.
Created with help from Oregon State Uni-
versity, the Oregon Wildfi re Risk Explorer
map was part of a state push to protect Ore-
gonians against wildfi res. The map showed
the wildfi re risk of 2 million tax lots across
the state, categorizing them in fi ve catego-
ries: no, low, moderate, high or extreme risk.
About 80,000 property owners were found
to be in high or extreme risk areas, and
received letters from the Forestry Depart-
ment telling them that they could be subject
to fi re-resistant building codes that are being
developed.
The map created backlash during its brief
existence. Many people argued that it incor-
rectly listed homeowners in high risk areas
when they may not have been in part because
they were not given credit for taking steps to
make their homes fi re resistant. Others com-
plained that the map resulted in insurance
companies raising premiums signifi cantly
and lowering property value.
Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, said the
rollout of the map and ensuing letters to
property owners about fi re risk was not han-
See, Map/Page A3
Members of La Grande’s 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry stand at attention during a ceremony on Saturday,
Aug. 6, 2022, where the unit received the Seven Seals Award at the Blue Mountain Conference Center.
National Guard or another
reserve branch of the Armed
Forces.
The tables were turned
with La Grande’s National
Guard unit being the award
recipient.
“This is unusual,” said
Klein, who selected the
3-116th for the Seven Seals
Award.
The Seven Seals award
salutes La Grande’s National
Guard unit for steps it takes
to reach out to employers,
including providing
employers with opportuni-
ties to attend training ses-
sions at the Orchard Combat
Training Center near Boise,
Idaho, Klein said. Mem-
bers of the 3-116th go sev-
eral times a year, including
weekends.
Employers are provided
with transportation to the
training center.
“We want to help provide
context to our employers
who provide such wonderful
support,” Musgrove said.
See, Honor/Page A3
Andrew Cutler/The Observer
The state of Oregon has withdrawn a map showing
the fi re risk of individual land parcels, drawing the
praise of Union County offi cials who said it was a
step that had to be taken.
Oregon spending more on its college students
Report shows 2021 per-student spending highest
since 2001, but still lags behind the national average
By SAMI EDGE
The Oregonian
SALEM — Oregon has clawed
its way out of the bottom of state
rankings for higher education
spending, but is still far from
reaching national averages for
per-student funding, according to a
national report.
The latest State Higher Edu-
cation Finance report, released in
June, shows that Oregon’s state
and local governments appropri-
ated $7,395 higher education dol-
lars per student in fi scal year 2021,
the state’s highest per-student
spending since 2001. That marks
a 10% increase in per-student
spending from 2020. Oregon is
among a minority of states where
spending has rebounded to pre-
Great Recession levels.
But those numbers come with
a big caveat, said Ben Cannon,
director of the Oregon Higher Edu-
cation Coordinating Commission,
during a Hunt Institute panel on
July 26. Student enrollment is way
down, Cannon said, which skews
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per-student funding and is under-
mining school budgets.
Oregon also still lags far behind
the national average of $9,327 in
per-student spending, spends less
on fi nancial aid per student than
the national average and relies on
students to shoulder an above-av-
erage share of higher education
revenue.
“This is the story of mild gain,
but a long way to go,” Cannon told
The Oregonian. “When we look at
those increasing investments, we
see enormous remaining need.”
The COVID-19 pandemic
upended typical higher educa-
tion budget predictions, the State
Higher Education Finance report
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Wednesday
68 LOW
92/57
A stray t-shower
A stray t-storm
confi rmed. Typically, more stu-
dents go to college during reces-
sions and states tighten bud-
gets and slash higher education
funding. However, a diff erent trend
played out during the brief pan-
demic recession. Full-time enroll-
ment plummeted a record 3%
nationwide, wounding community
colleges most. State lawmakers,
expected to cut higher education
funding, instead increased funding
in college systems using federal
stimulus dollars.
“Many states were committed
to higher education by choosing to
put stimulus funds, or their own
See, Spending/Page A3
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Issue 95
2 sections, 14 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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