NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Union County community for veterans now open
Neighborhood of
10 cottage-style
homes aims to
address veteran
homelessness
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A
one-of-a-kind neighborhood
is officially up and running in
La Grande.
Veterans Village Union
County hosted a virtual
ribbon-cutting event Thurs-
day, Dec. 9, which acknowl-
edged the many entities that
contributed to the village. The
10-house neighborhood is
specifically for veterans who
otherwise might not have a
home.
“Through this amazing
collaboration of efforts, we
created something wonder-
ful — permanent, well-built
and energy-efficient homes
for many veterans who would
not likely get this opportu-
nity without help,” said Gust
Tsiatsos, owner of GCT Land
Management, who coordi-
nated the project.
Tsiatsos and Veterans
Village Advisory Council
Committee Chair Lindsey
Freeland hosted the event,
which was attended via Zoom
by about 40 people. Attendees
included La Grande Planning
Commission members and
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File
Cottage-style homes at the Veterans Village Union County on Russell Avenue in La Grande
await residents on Nov. 8, 2021. The community for veterans opened Thursday, Dec. 9.
Dennis Scudder, an Army veteran, looks over his new neigh-
borhood in La Grande on Nov. 4, 2021. Scudder bounced
between temporary housing solutions before moving into
Veteran Village Union County, a new community of cot-
tage-style homes.
county commissioners from
Union County as well as other
surrounding counties.
The Veterans Village, a
little more than 80% of an
acre at the corner of Russell
Avenue and North Pine Street,
features fully furnished homes
for veterans. Each unit is a
cottage-style small home that
includes a bedroom, living
room, fireplace, fenced-in
backyard and amenities. The
10-house village also has a
community center that can
serve as a gathering space for
fellow veterans to interact.
Tsiatsos recognized many
individuals and organiza-
tions that assisted along the
way in developing the village,
three two-bedroom homes.
According to Tsiatsos, there
is room for another eight
units that could be for sale in
Baker City. Several visiting
county commissioners such as
Court Boice of Curry County
attended the meeting and
asked questions to gauge the
possibility of a similar devel-
opment.
Gus Bedwell, a veteran’s
service officer with the state of
Oregon, worked with Veterans
Village Union County during
its development. He noted
that the neighborhood can be
a blueprint for other commu-
nities.
“What Gust and his team
has done in La Grande could
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File
among them Kevin Reed; Ace
Hardware; Bob Haley, job site
superintendent; Terri Brad-
ley, marketing consultant;
Seder Architecture; and Angel
Smith, social worker.
“Through all the local
group and individual support,
the state of Oregon also recog-
nized the project as a front-
runner at the state level and
a worthy partner through the
Oregon Housing and Commu-
nity Services program,” Tsiat-
sos said.
The HUD-Veterans Affairs
Supportive Housing program
through Veterans Affairs
finds individuals who meet
the guidelines to live in the
village, while the Northeast
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
| Go to AccuWeather.com
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Oregon Housing Authority
manages the property. After
the La Grande Planning
Commission amended its
codes to allow for tiny homes
and cottage-style houses, the
Veterans Village serves as the
first example of what can be
done to ease the city’s tight
housing market.
“I think the concept works
well in many applications, not
just veterans housing,” Tsiat-
sos said. “I hope to see other
smaller units popping up here
and there where we can get
some more housing here.”
Veterans Village Baker
County is under develop-
ment, a neighborhood with
nine one-bedroom units and
be done in every single county
in the state of Oregon,”
Bedwell said.
He said having just 10 to 15
similar units in each county in
Oregon could go a long way
in addressing homelessness
among veterans. It is esti-
mated there are more than
1,300 veterans in Oregon who
lack housing.
The virtual gathering
concluded with the raising of
the United States flag by the
veteran residents of the La
Grande neighborhood.
“It’s for a very small
amount of money too, so we
could make a huge impact,”
Bedwell said. “I can’t speak
highly enough of it.”
Storm raises hopes for ski season start
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
Mostly cloudy and
cooler
Cloudy, afternoon
fl urries
40° 23°
40° 32°
A bit of snow in
the morning
Cloudy
Cloudy; afternoon
rain, colder
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
41° 32°
49° 31°
41° 29°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
45° 26°
43° 32°
44° 30°
49° 33°
37° 28°
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
45/36
33/21
39/21
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
42/26
Lewiston
42/36
46/30
Astoria
44/37
Pullman
Yakima 42/26
42/32
40/23
Portland
Hermiston
42/37
The Dalles 45/26
Salem
Corvallis
42/34
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
35/14
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
43/35
39/23
33/17
Ontario
44/22
Caldwell
Burns
45°
34°
42°
28°
62° (1995) -10° (1972)
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
44/36
0.00"
0.16"
0.42"
5.23"
3.95"
7.94"
WINDS (in mph)
42/22
31/9
0.00"
0.24"
0.59"
7.62"
12.30"
12.32"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 32/8
43/37
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
40/23
41/29
55°
38°
41°
28°
63° (1924) -28° (1919)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
42/32
Olympia
35/23
34/22
Tacoma
Aberdeen
Spokane
Wenatchee
41/35
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
34/29
Wed.
SW 6-12
WSW 6-12
W 4-8
SSE 7-14
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
30/13
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
7:28 a.m.
4:11 p.m.
1:52 p.m.
3:01 a.m.
Full
Last
New
First
Dec 18
Dec 26
Jan 2
Jan 9
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 87° in Key West, Fla. Low -13° in Crested Butte, Colo.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
NORTH POWDER —
Winter remains more of a
rumor than reality in Baker
City, but a weekend storm
fulfilled its forecast in the
mountains.
And although city dwell-
ers will have to wait to
construct the season’s first
snowman, skiers and snow-
boarders are getting close
to making their first runs at
Anthony Lakes Mountain
Resort.
The potent storm was a
perfect illustration of the
rain shadow phenomenon,
although in this case the
precipitation was generally
frozen rather than liquid.
With winds in the upper
atmosphere coming from the
southwest, the mountains,
notably the Elkhorns, inter-
cepted most of the moisture,
according to the National
Weather Service.
Snow showers fell period-
ically in Baker City on Satur-
day, Dec. 11, but almost none
accumulated.
Yet just 10 miles or so to
the southwest, on the other,
windward side of a shoulder
of the Elkhorns, the storm
dropped a few inches of
snow.
And higher in the moun-
tains, much more snow
piled up.
Ian Warner/Contributed Photo
A Nordic groomer works on a trail beside Anthony Lake on
Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021. The ski area could open for the season
Dec. 18.
Anthony Lakes Mountain
Resort reported 13 inches of
new snow during the week-
end, with a snow base of 18
inches on Dec. 13.
If the weather forecast for
the rest of this week proves
close to accurate, with snow
likely most days, there’s a
“very, very good chance” that
the ski area will open for the
season Dec. 18, said Chelsea
Judy, Anthony Lakes market-
ing director.
“We’re very optimistic,”
Judy said.
An automated snow-mea-
suring station near Bourne,
about six miles north of
Sumpter, reported 15 inches
of new snow, with 16 inches
on the ground the morning of
Dec. 13.
Another station, at Eilert-
son Meadow along Rock
Creek on the east side of the
Elkhorns, about 14 inches of
snow fell during the week-
end. There was only 1 inch of
snow there before the storm.
At Schneider Meadows, in
the southern Wallowas north
of Halfway, about 22 inches
of snow fell during the week-
end, bringing the total to 31
inches.
The chance for sticking
snow in Baker City and other
valleys of Baker County will
increase this week after a
cold front sweeps through
the night of Dec. 13, usher-
ing in colder air and changing
the upper air pattern to north-
west, which reduces the rain
shadow effect.
The National Weather
Service predicts snow to
continue in the mountains,
with a foot or more during
the week in the Anthony
Lakes area.
IN BRIEF
Two die in separate crashes
BAKER COUNTY — Two people died
in separate single-vehicle crashes on snowy
highways in Baker County during the week-
end, Oregon State Police reported.
The first fatal crash happened Friday
morning, Dec. 10, on Highway 203, the
Medical Springs Highway, northeast of
Baker City.
A passing driver saw an overturned 1991
Dodge Neon near milepost 31, about 8 miles
east of Interstate 84 near Salt Creek.
The driver and lone occupant, Gwyn
Monroe Adams, died in the crash, according
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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