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TUESDAY EDITION
August 23, 2022
Nobody hurt in armed robbery
Island City Market & Deli,
shown here on Monday,
Aug. 22, 2022, was
robbed at gunpoint on
Aug. 20 around 7:30 p.m.
The robber got away with
an undisclosed amount
of money.
Armed gunman robs Island
City convenience store
The Observer
Dick Mason/The Observer
ISLAND CITY — An Island
City convenience store, Island City
Market & Deli, 10101 W. First St.,
was robbed at gunpoint on Saturday,
Aug. 20.
Nobody was hurt in the robbery,
conducted by a man who threat-
ened people with a gun and ordered
a store employee to give him money.
The robber drove away from the
store with an undisclosed amount
of money, according to the Union
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce.
No shots were fi red in the inci-
dent, which took place at about
7:30 p.m.
Law enforcement offi cers from
the Union County Sheriff ’s Offi ce,
the Oregon State Police and the La
Grande Police Department responded
to the scene.
Additional information about the
What to
do with
$3 million?
Curtains go
up on new
funding
Elgin Opera House
receives grant
funding from Oregon
Cultural Trust
By SHANNON GOLDEN
The Observer
LA GRANDE — As the thespians
at the Elgin Opera House ramp up for
their September show — “School of
Rock” — they’ve got a host of experts
in their corner. With a new grant from
the Oregon Cultural Trust the Opera
House has big plans for its upcoming
performances and programs.
The Friends of the Opera House
organization received a $12,599 grant
from the Cultural Trust as part of its
Cultural Development Grant program.
And plans are to use the funding to
bring in more specialized training —
including acting coaches, vocal instruc-
tors, choreographers and visual artists.
“It really takes the show up a notch
when you can bring in these spe-
cialists,” Kathy Bonney, the Friends
of the Opera House treasurer and a
board member.
Friends of the Opera House is a
nonprofi t charity organization that
Aug. 20 robbery will be released
later by the Union County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce, according to Sheriff Cody
Bowen.
Island City Market & Deli is about
250 feet east of Bullseye Muzzle-
loader’s and More, where there was
an attempted robbery on Sunday,
July 17.
A woman from Walla Walla,
Washington, a man from Clarkston,
Washington, and a man from Herm-
iston were arrested in that case by
the Union County Sheriff ’s Offi ce.
City of La Grande receives
massive funding from the
American Rescue Plan Act
By ISABELLA CROWLEY
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The city of La Grande
received just over $3 million of funding from
the American Rescue Plan Act and is seeking
input from residents on where the money would
best be spent.
The city council will host a virtual town hall
meeting Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 6 p.m. in order
to share information on proposed projects,
answer questions and gather feedback on how
the money should be allocated.
“This is once-in-a-generation type of
funding,” said La Grande City Manager Robert
Strope. “We want to make sure it goes toward
what will give us the most bang for our buck
for the city.”
Passed in 2021, the American Rescue Plan
allocated $1.9 trillion for economic stimulus to
help speed with economic recovery from the
COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing reces-
sion. The money must be committed to proj-
ects by the end of 2024 and spent by the end
of 2026. When the funding was fi rst released,
there were a number of restrictions in place on
how the money could be spent, severely lim-
iting the types of work to sewer or water proj-
ects. Only a limited amount could be allocated
to revenue replacement projects — a broader
category of projects, where funding could be
spent on things like building renovations or
park improvements.
These restrictions were relaxed and the
maximum allocation toward revenues replace-
ment projects was increased, allowing the city
council to consider a wider range of plans for
La Grande.
Department heads put together project pro-
posals and these were submitted to the city
council for review during a work session in
June. The council cannot make decisions
during a work session, so they reviewed the
proposals, asked questions and created a pre-
liminary ranking.
funds and operates the opera house’s
local theater endeavors.
Terry Hale, the executive artistic
director at the Opera House, founded
the nonprofi t organization in 2007.
Bonney said that when she started
as Hale’s executive assistant over a
year ago, her goal was to fi nd funding
that off ered more security than simply
using the funds from one show to pay
for the next.
See, Grant/Page A6
Students follow instructions during an acting exercise at the annual summer theater
camp at the Elgin Opera House during the week of July 25, 2022.
Elgin Opera House/Contributed Photo
See, Funding/Page A6
On the green, in the green
Wildhorse CEO predicts
Epson Tour event will
have wide-ranging
positive impacts
By ISABELLA CROWLEY
The Observer
MISSION — Wildhorse Golf
Course expects to draw more than
2,000 people to the Pendleton area
at the end of August for a weeklong
golf tournament that culminates
with the fi rst Ladies Professional
Golf Association qualifying tour-
nament held in Oregon.
The Wildhorse Ladies Classic,
an Epson Tour event, will be Sept.
2-4 at Wildhorse Golf Course.
According to Gary George, CEO of
Wildhorse Resort & Casino, the golf
course will host a stop on the tour for
two years with the option for a third.
“This is the inaugural event, so we’re
pretty excited about it,” he said.
Following the attempted rob-
bery turned shootout on Aug. 17,
the Umatilla Tribal Police Depart-
ment informed Wildhorse there is no
on-going threat to the resort, casino
or community. “To our knowledge,
there are no specifi c threats directed
toward the Epson Tour or specifi c
players, but WRC Security will be
prepared to deal with any situation,”
See, Wildhorse/Page A6
WEATHER
INDEX
Classified ......B3
Comics ...........B7
Crossword ....B3
Dear Abby ....B8
Home .............B1
Horoscope ....B3
Local...............A2
Lottery ...........A2
Obituaries .....A5
Opinion .........A4
Sports ............A7
Sudoku ..........B7
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
Wildhorse Resort and Casino CEO Gary George stands outside the clubhouse at
Wildhorse Golf Course in Mission on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. George was instrumental
in helping Wildhorse land a spot on the Epson Tour, which starts Aug. 29.
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Wednesday
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90/56
Partly cloudy
Sunny and hot
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Issue 101
2 sections, 16 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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