FROM PAGE ONE
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022
THE OBSERVER — A3
SAFETY
Continued from Page A1
Dick Mason/The Observer
Susanne Watson, left, checks an earring worn by Linda Dixon on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, in the sanctuary of the North Powder Community United Methodist
Church. Watson and Dixon both give Bible-centered talks at the church.
MILESTONE
Continued from Page A1
much like it did 139 years
ago, according to Jeff Nielsen,
a member of the church’s
congregation.
“It is pretty unique. Most
churches this old have been
remodeled at least fi ve times,”
he said. “It is an original
pioneer church. It is pretty
phenomenal.”
The church also has ledgers
fi lled with the names of almost
all the members of the con-
gregations dating back to the
1800s.
“If these walls could talk,
they could tell so much about
the generations of people who
grew up here,” Nielsen said.
The North Powder Commu-
nity United Methodist Church
has about twice the square
footage it had when it opened
in 1883, according to Linda
Dixon, a member of the con-
gregation. In the 1940s an east-
side addition was built on.
Today, this addition houses the
church’s Sunday school pro-
gram, one temporarily shut
down after the COVID-19 pan-
demic, and the community’s
food bank.
The food bank, an outreach
of the church, is run with major
help from Dixon and her hus-
band, Floyd, who travel to
Island City each month to pick
up supplies from the Northeast
Oregon Regional Food Bank.
ARREST
Continued from Page A1
Police spoke with
Ward at his home, where
he told Sgt. Jared Rogers
that he damaged his car
the night of Aug. 12 after
driving into a ditch to
avoid a tree on Fox Hill
Road. After speaking with
Ward, Rogers requested
he come to the police sta-
tion to talk with Detective
Scott Norton. Ward’s car
was impounded and plastic
pieces that had fallen off
EOU
Continued from Page A1
options of appointing
co-presidents, naming an
external interim presi-
dent who has experience
working with the univer-
sity, elevating an internal
individual, or conducting
a search for an interim
appointment.
Over the
past two
weeks, the
board engaged
with EOU’s
shared gover-
nance bodies
Insko
to gain feed-
back from faculty, students
and staff to inform its deci-
sion. They also reached out
to employee labor groups
and connected with the uni-
versity’s alumni board and
foundation board to under-
stand the impact the deci-
sion may have on each
organization.
“After having listened
to the discussion and
reading public comments,
Dick Mason/The Observer
This is a portion of the sanctuary of the North Powder Community United
Methodist Church as it appeared on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022.
Older is sometimes better
In an ironic twist, operating
the older half of the building is
today less expensive than run-
ning its newer half, since the
older section has no plumbing.
This means it does not need
heat to keep water pipes from
freezing, said Joyce Lawyer, a
member of the church’s congre-
gation for more than 60 years.
The church’s sanctuary is
instead reliant on a woodstove
in the winter.
“It can get so hot that it
almost drives people out of
here,” Linda Dixon said with a
smile.
Messages to remember
A focal point of services in
the sanctuary are Bible-cen-
the car were collected as
evidence.
During his interview
with police, Ward told
Norton a diff erent series
of events. He said he went
to Bud Jackson’s Eatery
& Taps and Tap That on
Adams Avenue, and on
his way home he decided
to continue onto Fox Hill
Road and drove up to the
radio towers on top of
Mount Emily. Ward said
shortly after leaving from
the towers he struck a small
tree on the side of the road,
which caused the damage
we (decided we) need to
take the time to fi nd the
next great leader of EOU,”
trustee Cedric Riel said.
“For the interim, I think we
should go with people who
are passionate about and
committed to the university.
I believe Lara and Richard
are those people.”
Martin also stressed the
importance of new leader-
ship working with the aca-
demic side of the university
and engaging with deans
and Seimears. Trustee and
professor Anna Cavinato
strongly encouraged open
communication to seek
feedback from the faculty.
“I believe in EOU’s
community,” Moore said.
“We have gone through a
number of leadership transi-
tions in the past, and I have
confi dence that we will
come out of this transition
with a great leader for EOU.
In the meantime, I’m ready
for a fantastic year.”
The board will meet in
the next few weeks to deter-
mine how to proceed with
the search process.
tered talks given on alter-
nating weeks by Dixon and
Susanne Watson, also a con-
gregation member.
Watson said she feels
blessed to be able to help
give the talks because pre-
paring for them has been so
enriching.
“I have learned so much
more about the Lord and the
Bible,” she said.
The North Powder Com-
munity United Methodist
Church today has a congrega-
tion of fewer than 20 people
— much smaller than what it
once had. Nevertheless, the
church’s future appears solid
because it has a long-run-
ning tradition as a focal point
for community events. This
to the front of his car and
a tree branch struck his
windshield.
Norton confi rmed with
Ward that he was the only
one driving his car Aug. 13
and the only one who had
access to the car.
While the interview was
happening, Police Chief
Gary Bell and Miller com-
pared a piece of evidence
collected at the scene with
a piece of plastic trim that
was collected at Ward’s
house.
“It was clear the two
pieces of plastic had been
means that whenever help is
needed to keep the building
operating, people step for-
ward instantly, many of
whom are not members of the
congregation.
“Whenever we need help,
all we have to do is ask,”
Dixon said.
Volunteers who help the
church, but are not mem-
bers, include Ted Golden, who
assists in delivering food from
Island City to North Powder
for the food bank.
The church also hosts com-
munity events, such as the
annual silver tea that has hap-
pened for 102 years, Lawyer
said. Pews are temporarily
removed from the sanctuary
to make room for the tea,
which draws at least 50 people
each year.
Another popular event at
the church is its annual Easter
egg hunt, typically attracting
about 100 children. This
year’s Easter egg hunt, Dixon
said, was run with several
inches of snow on the ground.
Such events are under
the direction of a congrega-
tion that is remarkably close,
Watson said.
“The people who attend
are not just friends and neigh-
bors,” she said. “We are more
like a family.”
And this family has no
shortage of generosity.
“We want to help as many
people as we can,” Watson
said.
broken off of each other,”
wrote Miller in police
documentation.
Miller and Rogers con-
fronted Ward with the evi-
dence that proved his car
was at the crash scene.
Ward continued to tell law
enforcement he did not
remember what happened
that night. He eventually
revealed to police that he
remembered seeing a dark
shadow and heard a thump
on his car, but he continued
driving. In statements
during his interview, Ward
said he thought it could
“We just want to really honor the indi-
vidual and their choice as we welcome all
kids back to school this year,” Carpenter
said.
In his comments Aug. 17, Gill empha-
sized the importance of those locally con-
trolled, layered mitigation strategies, but
said statewide intervention may be pos-
sible in the future.
“If there is a variant that comes for-
ward with severity, in terms of the illness
that it brings, and it becomes highly con-
tagious, like omicron, then we will coor-
dinate and work with all of our partners
to determine if any statewide action is
needed,” Gill said.
Gill also stated there will be a con-
tinued focus this year on student mental
health, including a new online tool that
provides resources to students.
Offi cials from ODE and the Oregon
Health Authority continue to encourage
families to get their children vaccinated
against COVID-19. There are no plans to
require the COVID-19 vaccine for Oregon
students this year, OHA offi cials said.
Last week, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention updated its guid-
ance for schools, removing recommen-
dations to organize students into stable
cohorts and to require students to quar-
antine out of school in the event of expo-
sure. The CDC also removed recommen-
dations for test-to-stay programs, which
allow students who’ve been exposed to
COVID-19 to stay in school if they test
negative.
Gill said those changes already
refl ected the reality in Oregon.
“We are in alignment with the new
CDC changes in relation to changes we
made last spring for our school districts,”
he said.
OHA suspended its test-to-stay pro-
gram and removed its quarantine rec-
ommendations, though it’s still recom-
mending that individuals who test positive
for COVID-19 isolate and stay home for at
least fi ve days.
OHA will continue to off er diagnostic
testing for schools, as well as “voluntary
screening testing” this year.
Similar to last year, schools are
required to submit COVID management
plans to ODE by Aug. 26 and share them
publicly with their communities.
School districts are also required to
have plans to handle other communicable
diseases, including monkeypox. OHA
offi cials say the risk of spread in children
is “low,” though the state on Aug. 17 con-
fi rmed the fi rst pediatric case of the virus.
Schools are not taking any extra mea-
sures against monkeypox.
“This disease does not spread like
COVID-19 or other diseases we worry
about spreading in schools, like chicken
pox, that can spread easily through the air
and infect multiple people in a classroom
or in a specifi c setting,” said OHA epide-
miologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger.
Sidelinger added that the primary
method of monkeypox transmission is
through contact with skin lesions for a
prolonged period of time.
Sidelinger warned that parents should
keep kids home when they’re sick.
have been a garbage can,
tree branch or something
thrown at his car.
Ward went on to tell
police he had been drinking
that night, saying he had a
total of six beers and three
Fireball “shooters.”
“Ward told us if the
evidence showed his car
was at the scene, then
it was him who struck
Andrew. He told me he
did not hit Andrew on
purpose and he would
never hit someone on pur-
pose. He said if it was his
car that hit Andrew it was
an accident,” wrote Miller.
Ward was taken into
custody without incident
and booked in the Union
County Jail, according to
Bell. He has been charged
with second-degree man-
slaughter and failure to per-
form the duties of a driver
to an injured person. So far,
Ward has cooperated with
the investigation, Bell said.
La Grande attorney
Rick Dall was appointed
as Ward’s counsel by the
court. Bail is set at $50,000
and a status check is sched-
uled for Sept. 7.
Grande Ronde Hospital & Clinics proudly welcomes
Tracy Epperson, MD—Psychiatrist
Before earning her medical degree, Dr. Epperson devoted
more than 20 years to working as a sign language interpreter.
Working with the deaf community to help address their unique
mental health needs is a professional passion of hers.
Another professional focus is nutritional psychiatry,
and teaching people how strongly diet and lifestyle
influence mental health.
Dr. Epperson’s broad list of personal interests include hiking,
kayaking, reading, photography, crocheting, and gardening.
Please help us welcome Dr. Epperson
and her family to our Community!!
GRH Behavioral Clinic
GRH.org — 506 4th Street — 541.962.1101