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ready
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t
Oregon
offi cials
respond
to Bend
shooting
State lawmaker says he plans
to push for stronger gun
control regulations during
legislative session
By GARRETT ANDREWS AND ALEX BAUMHARDT
Oregon Capital Chronicle
SALEM — The mass shooting in Bend
on Sunday, Aug. 28, drew a mixed response
from Oregon’s U.S. congressional members,
governor, state lawmakers and gubernatorial
candidates, with calls for tighter gun controls
and wider access to mental health care.
A state lawmaker, state Rep. Jason Kropf,
D-Bend, told the Capital Chronicle he plans
to pursue legislative action, starting with a
review of Oregon’s gun control laws. Kropf
chairs the House Judi-
ciary Committee.
A 20-year-old
MORE
toting an AR-15 style
INFORMATION
weapon sprayed bul-
Ray Shields was
lets in a Safeway
walking through
parking lot then inside
the parking lot of
the Safeway on
the store, killing two
Bend’s east side to
people and wounding
buy a macaroni and
a third, police said.
cheese dinner when
They found him dead
the rattle of gunfi re
at the scene with a
fi lled his ears. The
self-infl icted gunshot
62-year-old Bend
resident, who walks
wound.
with crutches due
Gov. Kate Brown
to his osteoarthritis,
said the victims
spun around and fl ed
shouldn’t have died.
when a man nearby
“Every Orego-
screamed: “live
nian should be able to
shooter.” Page A8
go to a grocery store
without the fear of
gun violence,” Brown
said in a statement. “The families of these
victims will forever be impacted by these
senseless acts.”
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, a Republican who
represents Eastern Oregon and part of Cen-
tral Oregon in Congress, called the shooting
“heartbreaking and tragic” in a tweet.
“Please join Lindsay and I in praying for the
victims and their families,” Bentz wrote.
The killings coincide with a push in
Oregon for tighter gun regulations, with
lagrandeobserver.com | $1.50
THURSDAY EDITION
MUSICAL ROCKS ELGIN OPERA HOUSE
DEBT RELIEF
Area high ed officials
weigh in on student
debt forgiveness
By ISABELLA CROWLEY and
DAKOTA CASTETS-DIDIER
EO Media Group
L
A GRANDE —
President Joe
Biden’s student loan
forgiveness plan could make
a difference for some Eastern
Oregon residents.
According to Eastern Oregon Uni-
versity’s fi nancial aid offi ce, 93% of
students receive some form of fi nan-
cial aid. This includes federal student
loans, grants, work-study programs
and scholarships.
“We’re still waiting for offi cial
guidance, but the opportunity is very
exciting for our students and families
with loan debt,” EOU scholarship coor-
dinator Danny Bailey said.
According to Biden’s plan, bor-
rowers who earn less than $125,000
a year, or families earning less than
$250,000, will be eligible for $10,000
of federal student debt forgiveness.
Pell grants recipients — a federal grant
for undergraduate students in excep-
tional fi nancial need — are eligible
for $20,000 of debt forgiveness. Eligi-
bility will be based on adjusted gross
income. Loans obtained after June 30,
2022, will not be eligible for relief.
For Umatilla County, the yearly
per-person income is $25,452 and the
median household income is $57,973,
according to 2020 U.S. Census Bureau
data. In Union County, the yearly
per-person income is $27,748 and the
median household income is $53,940.
$
Dick Mason/The Observer, File
An April 2022 fi le photo shows the front entrance of Eastern Oregon University in La Grande.
Data indicates 93% of students who attend Eastern Oregon University receive some form of
fi nancial aid. Borrowers could receive up to $20,000 in debt cancellation under President Joe
Biden’s new student debt forgiveness plan.
WHO WILL BENEFIT?
Nearly 90% of debt cancellation benefi ts will go to borrowers earning less than $75,000 a
year. Many borrowers from Union and Umatilla counties could be eligible for student loan
forgiveness.
Data shows 65% of EOU
students graduate with debt
Of the public four-year institutions
in the state that shared data on stu-
dent debt, Eastern had the highest per-
centage of students graduating with
debt at 65% and the fourth highest
average amount of debt at $24,548
— behind Oregon State University,
Oregon Institute of Technology and
University of Oregon.
Only 4% of students graduated with
private debt, averaging at $10,505. This
is less than the state trend — 8% and
$37,150 respectively.
After the fi rst four weeks of
the year, EOU puts together a fact
U.S. Department of Education/Contributed Graphic
sheet, which breaks down the demo-
graphic of the total enrollment, the
incoming freshman and new trans-
fers. The 2022 report will not be avail-
able until November, but according to
the 2021 fact sheet 34% of total stu-
dents enrolled and 48% of incoming
freshmen were from Eastern Oregon.
Of the 2021 incoming freshman,
there were 34 students from La Grande
High School, eight from Baker High
School, six from Union High School,
six each from Umatilla, Ontario and
Imbler high schools, fi ve each from
Elgin and Hermiston high schools and
four from Pendleton High School.
$
See, Debt/Page A3
See, Shooting/Page A3
No human bones found at Finley Creek Jane Doe site
Investigation of
case is expected
to be ongoing
By DICK MASON
The Observer
Oregon State Police/Contributed Photo
Excavation work is done in August 2022 in the Finley Creek area by
state forensic personnel in response to interest shown by cadaver
dogs brought in by a task force involving the unidentifi ed remains
of a woman found in 1978.
INDEX
Business ........B1
Classified ......B2
Comics ...........B5
Crossword ....B2
ELGIN — The Finley
Creek Jane Doe case,
which has taken many
twists and turns over the
past four decades, has
taken a pivot in the wrong
direction, but investiga-
tors, including the Oregon
State Police, are refusing to
give up.
The Oregon State Police
WEATHER
Dear Abby ....B6
Horoscope ....B2
Lottery ...........A2
Obituaries .....A5
Opinion .........A4
Spiritual ........A6
Sports ............A7
Sudoku ..........B5
recently led an excavation
project at a site near Finley
Creek, 18 miles north of La
Grande, where the remains
of an unidentifi ed woman
were found in August 1978.
The work was con-
ducted Tuesday and
Wednesday, Aug. 16-17, by
the OSP Forensics Service
Division, the State Medical
Examiner’s Offi ce Forensic
Anthropologist, the OSP’s
major crimes detectives
and members of the Union
County Search and Rescue
team. The operation was in
response to recent interest
shown by cadaver dogs
brought in by the Finley
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Friday
49 LOW
101/54
Clear
Very hot
Creek Jane Doe Task Force
involving the unidenti-
fi ed remains of the woman
found in 1978.
Union County Search
and Rescue conducted a
grid search of approxi-
mately three acres around
the original burial site
and the recent locations
of interest by the cadaver
dogs. Over 50 bones were
located by the search and
rescue team. The State
Medical Examiner’s
Forensic Anthropologist
examined each of the bones
and none of them were
See, Investigate/Page A3
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 105
3 sections, 34 pages
La Grande, Oregon
Email story ideas
to news@lagrande
observer.com.
More contact info
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