NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Union County sheriff takes aim at Brown, mask mandates
lihoods of teachers. Bowen is
referring to the potential fines
and loss of teaching licenses
for teachers and staff who
do not enforce the mandate.
This has been a hot topic
of debate at recent school
board meetings in the area,
with concerned parents and
community members voicing
their opposition.
“They know what’s right,
but they’re scared that if they
stand up, then teachers might
lose their jobs,” Bowen said.
“They’re trying to do what’s
best and I don’t envy any of
the superintendents because
they’re in a terrible spot.”
At the Union and Imbler
board meetings, a majority
of members on the board
expressed their opposition to
the mandate. However, with
the risks facing the schools
and teachers, little ground
was made in negotiations
between parents and board
members.
The La Grande and Union
school boards both voted in
favor of wearing masks this
school year, amid pushback
from parents. Imbler makes
its decision on Tuesday, Aug.
17. Bowen supports parents’
choice to send their children
to school in masks, but he
opposes forced mask use.
In the letter, Bowen
implored Gov. Brown to
listen to her constituents
and stop ignoring the east-
Cody Bowen
publishes letter
encouraging citizens
to ‘stand up’ in this
‘free country’
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Frus-
tration.
That is the theme echoed
throughout Union County
Sheriff Cody Bowen’s
personal letter to Gov. Kate
Brown regarding the recent
statewide mask mandate for
public schools. Bowen listed
his reasons for concern and
called for local control on
decision making in a letter
to Brown on Friday, Aug. 13,
and posted on social media.
“I believe that as Amer-
icans, we have a right to
choose,” Bowen said. “This
isn’t a law and it hasn’t been
voted on by the people.”
Bowen, a parent himself,
advocated for parents making
their own decisions on
whether children in school
should wear masks. In the
letter, Bowen wrote he hopes
to open a dialogue and speak
on behalf of the people of
Union County.
The letter states he
believes the mandate is
unconstitutional and he is
against threatening the live-
ern side of the state. Bowen
also stated that as sheriff, the
mandate is not a law and not
something he can enforce.
That being said, Bowen has
a vested interest based on
his constituents and his own
personal opinion.
Bowen was elected to
the Union County sheriff’s
position in 2020. According
to Bowen, calls to his office
from the community were
a major reason in his deci-
sion to write the letter to the
governor. Bowen said he does
not expect other sheriff’s
offices in the region to make
similar statements, but would
appreciate the support.
“I don’t think it’s one indi-
vidual person’s job to put
their neck on the line, but if
I have to be the guy that does
that and stand up for what I
believe is right, then so be it,”
he said.
Brown announced in
late July that masks will be
required for anyone inside of
a school in Oregon this year.
“The science and data
are clear: the delta vari-
ant is in our communities,
and it is more contagious,”
Brown said in a statement
at the time. “My priority is
to ensure our kids are able
to safely return to full-time
in-person learning this fall,
five days per week and with
minimal disruptions. With
many children still ineligi-
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
| Go to AccuWeather.com
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Union County Sheriff Cody Bowen stands in the sheriff’s of-
fice in La Grande Feb. 19, 2021. Bowen on Friday, Aug. 13,
sent a letter to Gov. Kate Brown opposing her mandate for
students and staff in public schools to wear masks to help
curb the spike in the coronavirus.
ble to be vaccinated, masks
are an effective way to help
keep our kids safe in the
classroom, the learning envi-
ronment we know serves
them best.”
Wyden to host online town hall
East Oregonian
Mostly sunny and
pleasant
Partly sunny and
nice
74° 55°
73° 54°
Sunny, pleasant
and warmer
Nice with sun and
some clouds
Pleasant with
some sun
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
84° 59°
80° 56°
81° 56°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
78° 59°
79° 52°
88° 64°
84° 60°
84° 56°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
71/55
69/50
76/54
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
74/56
Lewiston
74/54
78/60
Astoria
68/54
Pullman
Yakima 77/59
74/49
77/59
Portland
Hermiston
76/57
The Dalles 78/59
Salem
Corvallis
70/50
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
69/52
Bend
75/52
67/44
74/51
Ontario
83/60
Caldwell
Burns
0.00"
0.00"
0.09"
1.93"
1.66"
5.23"
WINDS (in mph)
79/55
75/44
PORTLAND — Sen. Ron
Wyden, D-Oregon, will host
an online town hall to discuss
his River Democracy Act
with rural Oregonians.
The virtual meeting is
scheduled for 1 p.m. Tues-
day, Aug. 31.
The act was introduced
alongside Sen. Jeff Merkley,
D-Oregon, in February 2021
and is aimed at protecting
nearly 4,700 miles of rivers
and streams in Oregon. It also
focuses on expanding recre-
ation access to promote local
economies, protecting drink-
ing water, limiting wildfire
and sustaining endangered
fish and wildlife.
“I very much look forward
to throwing open the digi-
tal doors of democracy on
Aug. 31 to hear from rural
Oregon’s county commis-
sioners, river enthusiasts,
small business owners and
more so the River Democ-
racy Act continues on its
path to provide clean drink-
ing water for families, build
an even stronger outdoor
recreation economy in every
nook and cranny of our state,
and improve wildfire resil-
iency.”
Upon introducing the act
in February, only 2,173 out of
110,994 total miles of rivers
and streams in Oregon are
protected under the Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act.
Wyden initiated the public
process in October 2019 to
acquire recommendations
from Oregon residents on
rivers that deserve protec-
tion. Oregonians submit-
ted approximately 15,000
nominations by January
2020. During the past year,
Wyden has met with county
commissioners to discuss
the list of protections and
address any concerns.
Wyden has hosted over
900 in-person town halls
statewide, following his
pledge to hold at least one
town hall in each of the
state’s counties at least once
a year. Since the start of
the pandemic, Wyden has
continued hosting the town
halls virtually.
The virtual town hall
meeting will be hosted by
People’s Town Hall on Face-
book Live at https://bit.ly/3x-
T1Iam.
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
99°
61°
91°
57°
105° (2008) 40° (1935)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
71/49
0.00"
0.01"
0.16"
4.37"
8.68"
8.47"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 66/48
75/53
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
74/55
76/59
96°
64°
89°
58°
108° (1933) 39° (1909)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
73/51
Aberdeen
69/52
75/57
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
73/55
During the outbreak in
2020, the decision to require
masks was in the hands
of local school districts.
Most districts followed
the Oregon Department
of Education’s lead, by
“strongly advising” masks
and following the governor’s
recent decision, some school
leaders expressed surprise
at the governor’s announce-
ment and voiced their inter-
est in making school health
decisions at the district,
rather than the state, level.
In a statement from the
Oregon Depar tment of
Education, officials said they
are working to create a rule
requiring face coverings in
all indoor school settings
— both public and private
— for all individuals age
2 and older. This includes
students, staff, contractors,
volunteers and visitors.
Officials say the rule
will take effect upon adop-
tion, but the exact date is
unclear. Summer school
and students and staff in
other summer programs will
also be required to wear face
coverings when the rule is
instituted.
The rule will include
provisions for eati ng,
drinking, playing a musi-
cal instrument that requires
using the mouth and certain
sports — including swim-
ming, gymnastics and wres-
tling.
— Oregon Public
Broadcasting reporters
Jeff Thompson and Eliza-
beth Miller contributed to
this report.
Today
Medford
77/53
Wed.
W 7-14
W 8-16
Boardman
Pendleton
N 4-8
NNW 7-14
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
73/40
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:58 a.m.
8:00 p.m.
4:47 p.m.
12:26 a.m.
Full
Last
New
First
Aug 22
Aug 29
Sep 6
Sep 13
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 109° in China Lake, Calif. Low 34° in Afton, Wyo.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
IN BRIEF
La Nina likely to bring
relief to Northwest farmers
this winter
SALEM — Portions of the Pacific Ocean
cooled considerably in July, affirming a La
Nina weather system likely will form this
fall, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration said Thursday, Aug. 12.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center
pegged the odds of a La Nina prevailing in
November, December and January at 69%.
Most likely, the La Nina will be weak,
according to NOAA, though the agency esti-
mated the chances of a moderate La Nina at
1-in-3 and a strong La Nina at 1-in-10.
La Ninas occur when cooling sea-surface
temperatures trigger atmospheric changes
that shift incoming jet streams northward.
La Nina winters often are cooler and
wetter in Washington and much of Oregon
and Idaho, while California and other south-
ern-tier states are warmer and drier. La Nina
could mean a good snowpack for Northwest
irrigators, but worsen the drought in the
Southwest.
The U.S. Drought Monitor reported that
95% of Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and
Washington were in drought.
One-quarter of the West was in an “excep-
tional drought,” the worst classification. Cali-
NOAA/Contributed Photo
A La Nina weather pattern is likely to cause
a cold, wet winter, the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration reported
Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021.
fornia and Utah are the hardest hit states.
An El Nino shifts jet streams southward,
intensifying winter storms in the southern
tier of the U.S. and leaving the Northwest
warm and dry. NOAA sees almost no chance
that an El Nino will form this winter.
An La Nina prevailed last winter, as
Washington built up a good snowpack that’s
helping irrigators weather a dry spring and
hot summer.
The La Nina faded last spring and since
then ocean temperatures have been normal.
NOAA expects the neutral conditions to
prevail for the rest of the summer.
— EO Media Group
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
60s
cold front
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