NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Compliance is strong for COVD-19 rule at EOU
tion or exemption on file, or
are in process.”
He said Eastern officials
are happy with the staff’s buy
in.
“We are very pleased
with the responsiveness to
ensure we maintain a safe
and healthy campus,” Seydel
said.
The compliance rate for
on-campus students is now
about 88% in terms of how
many have submitted vacci-
nation or exemption forms as
of Oct. 23. A total of 76.7% of
these have been vaccinated
and 23.3% have submitted
exemption forms according
to EOU’s website. Eastern
data indicates 131 on-cam-
pus students have not submit-
ted COVID-19 forms. The
131 represent about 12% of
EOU’s on-campus students.
Seydel said any of the 131
who do not comply with the
new rule will not be allowed
to register for winter term
classes.
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — East-
ern Oregon University’s
new COVID-19 vaccination
rule is not having an impact
on the employment status
of its on-campus staff and
is unlikely to in the future,
according to statistics from
the school.
The rule took effect Oct.
23, and all of Eastern’s
on-campus staff is comply-
ing with it, according to Tim
Seydel, EOU’s vice presi-
dent for university advance-
ment. The new rule requires
all of EOU’s on-campus
staff to be fully vaccinated
for COVID-19 or to have an
approved religious, philo-
sophical or medical exemp-
tion.
Eastern’s website indi-
cates that, as of Oct. 14, 80.1%
of its on-campus employees
are vaccinated and 17.7% of
the others have received reli-
gious or medical exemptions.
Seydel said that of Eastern’s
450 on-campus employees
only three have not met the
requirements of the new rule,
including one who is a new
employee. Each of the three
are now in the process of
coming into compliance with
the mandate.
“Among employees, we
have had a 100% response
rate,” Seydel said. “All
employees have a vaccina-
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
An Eastern Oregon University student walks across the campus Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. The
vaccine exemption rate for students and faculty at Eastern is roughly double that of Oregon’s
other public universities. Approximately 24% of students and 18% of employees at EOU have
vaccination exemptions, as compared to the average of 10% at other public universities in
Oregon, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
ington and Western Idaho
and these areas have a higher
number of people who do not
want to be vaccinated.
“Our recruits reflect this,”
Seydel said.
The vice president for
university advancement
noted Eastern and all public
universities in Oregon have
high on-campus vaccina-
tion rates compared to their
surrounding communities.
“Pubic universities are a
safe place to be,” he said.
Exemption rates
A report by Oregon Public
Broadcasting indicates the
student exemption rates at
EOU and Oregon Institute of
Technology, where the rate
is about 22%, are roughly
double what’s found at the
state’s other public univer-
sities. Seydel said the reason
is many of the students EOU
recruits are from Eastern
Oregon, Southeastern Wash-
Forecast for Pendleton Area
| Go to AccuWeather.com
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Clouds giving way
to some sun
Cloudy
Cloudy with a
couple of showers
Windy; a shower in
the afternoon
Chance for a
couple of showers
49° 41°
55° 47°
50° 41°
56° 44°
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
62° 40°
53° 43°
58° 40°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
61° 41°
57° 40°
61° 42°
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
55/51
53/43
50/39
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
50/42
Lewiston
55/47
51/41
Astoria
57/50
Pullman
Yakima 53/41
53/44
57/46
Portland
Hermiston
58/50
The Dalles 50/41
Salem
Corvallis
56/46
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
56/45
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
59/48
58/43
58/44
Ontario
62/43
Caldwell
Burns
48°
30°
58°
35°
72° (1988) 8° (2003)
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
57/46
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
62/46
Trace
0.00"
0.03"
3.92"
2.29"
6.50"
WINDS (in mph)
59/43
58/34
Trace
0.00"
0.04"
6.03"
9.83"
10.36"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 55/40
57/47
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
49/41
54/45
44°
29°
57°
36°
76° (1901) 12° (1935)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
55/45
Aberdeen
49/41
48/40
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
55/49
Today
Wed.
NNE 3-6
N 4-8
NE 3-6
NNE 4-8
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
57/34
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
7:36 a.m.
5:40 p.m.
4:36 a.m.
4:55 p.m.
New
First
Full
Last
Nov 4
Nov 11
Nov 19
Nov 27
NATIONAL EXTREMES
All of Oregon’s public
universities are testing
students and employees
weekly, except EOU, Port-
land State University and
Western Oregon University,
according to OPB.
Seydel said it would not
be feasible to test students
and staff every week. He
noted all students who
suspect they have COVID-
19 can get tested at EOU’s
student health center. He also
pointed out that free testing is
provided in the community.
Many st udents now
coming in to get tested at the
student health center do not
test positive for COVID-19.
“A lot of students have
colds,” said Seydel, who said
that this is not unusual for
this time of year.
Spreading the word
EOU has more expe-
rience, Seydel said, than
any other public university
in the state with provid-
ing on-campus instruction
during the pandemic. He
noted that in the fall of 2020,
Eastern was Oregon’s first
public university to offer
on-campus classes since the
pandemic started. The oper-
ations plan EOU used then,
before a vaccine was avail-
able, is similar to the one now
in place.
“We have had the same
protocol for more than a year
and it has been successful,”
he said, adding all students
were tested for COVID-19
at the start of the 2021-22
academic year.
Dixie Lund, a member of
EOU’s board of trustees, is
impressed with how EOU got
the word out about its forth-
coming vaccination rule well
in advance of Oct. 23.
“A lot of preliminary work
was done. Nobody could say,
‘I didn’t know,’” she said.
Lund, who served two
stints as interim president of
Eastern, said any potential
objection to the vaccination
rule dropped off after people
learned exemptions were
available.
Eastern is continuing to
require all students and staff
to wear masks. Lund realizes
this rule is hard on students
and staff.
“I sy mpathize with
students. Masks make it hard
to stay focused on a lecture
because communication is
not as clear,” she said.
Dayville Mercantile owner
fighting to avoid foreclosure
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
DAYVILLE — The owner
of the Dayville Mercantile
would like to be celebrating
the historic store’s 125th anni-
versary, but instead he finds
himself fighting to stave off
foreclosure.
Founded in 1896, the Old
West-style emporium is one of
the oldest continuously oper-
ating stores in the state, but it
might not hold that title much
longer: Scott Knapp, who
took over ownership of the
Dayville Merc at the start of
2020, could be forced to close
up shop after representatives
of the Graves Family Trust,
the store’s previous owners,
implemented foreclosure
proceedings in July.
Up until then, according to
Knapp, he had been making
interest-only payments to the
Graves family, an arrange-
ment he worked out after his
restaurant hood-cleaning busi-
ness — which he was using to
subsidize the Merc — was
forced to shut down for a time
because of COVID-19.
Knapp said the Graves
family chose not to renew the
interest-only payment plan
after June. Instead, he said
they offered him $50,000 to
take the Merc back. Knapp
called the offer an insult,
considering he has spent
$200,000 of his own money
to keep the historic general
store open.
Graves Family Trust
attorney Douglas J. Raab did
not immediately respond to
the Blue Mountain Eagle’s
request for comment for this
story.
However, the trust has
been publishing a paid adver-
tisement in the newspaper
as part of the foreclosure
process. The ad states Knapp
owes $489,258.58 on the prop-
erty plus interest and past-
due payments dating back to
February.
If the balance due is not
paid in full, along with fore-
closure costs and attorneys’
fees, the ad states the Merc
will be sold at auction on the
steps of the Grant County
Courthouse on Dec. 3.
Knapp told the Eagle that
seeing the Merc put up for
sale has tested him personally
because he and his father both
live on the property.
Knapp said his family lost
their home east of Eugene
during the 2020 Holiday Farm
Fire, which ranked among the
largest wildfires in Oregon’s
history.
“That was the point (after
the Holiday fire) that I decided
that we were going to fight for
what was ours,” Knapp said.
“The Merc is our home.”
Knapp said it is import-
ant to note the Graves family
— specifically Jay Graves,
who Knapp referred to as the
family patriarch — worked
with him in the beginning.
But when they decided not
to renew the interest-only
payment plan, Knapp said,
they left him with no other
choice but to file for Chapter
13 bankruptcy.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy,
which is referred to as a
“wage earner’s plan,” allows
people with regular income
to develop a plan to repay all
or part of their debts. Under
this chapter of the U.S. Bank-
ruptcy Code, debtors propose
a payment plan to make
installments to creditors over
three to five years.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 93° in Zapata, Texas Low 0° in Cut Bank, Mont.
IN BRIEF
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Walla Walla man dies in
crash near Wallula Junction
WALLULA — A 19-year-old Walla Walla
man died Saturday, Oct. 30, in an early morn-
ing crash involving a semitrailer that closed
U.S. Highway 730 about 5 miles south of
Wallula Junction for several hours.
Desmond G. Swenson-Leaks was killed
at about 3:40 a.m. when his westbound 2015
Ford Focus reportedly crossed the center line,
hitting an eastbound semi with double trailers
driven by Scott Syverson, 44, of Post Falls,
Idaho, according to Washington State Patrol.
Syverson was not injured, and there were
no passengers or other vehicles involved in
the crash.
The Washington State Department of
Transportation reported both lanes of the
highway from the Oregon state line to Wallula
Junction closed at about 5 a.m. Oct. 30. The
road was reopened at around 9:30 a.m.
The cause of the collision that totaled both
vehicles is under investigation. The drivers
were wearing seat belts, and it is unknown
whether drugs or alcohol were involved,
according to the WSP report.
— Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
CORRECTION
The A3 story “Graffiti vandals deface mural and fence along Pendleton River Parkway,”
published Tuesday, Oct. 5, misspelled the name of a source. His name is Mark Vichas.
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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