NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
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Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Title III grant brings $2.5M for EOU student services
The Observer
LA GRANDE — As
classes began last fall, East-
ern Oregon University had
something extra to celebrate.
The university in La
Grande was notified in
late September it had been
awarded a $2.5 million grant
from the U.S. Department of
Education.
The Title III funding is a
Strengthening Institutions
Grant, paid out at $450,000
each year for five years,
with the initial distribution
received in fall 2021.
“This is a significant,
substantial grant for a univer-
sity like EOU because it’s five
years long and the amount of
money that comes to EOU
allows us to follow through
with the things we know
we need to do,” said Nate
Lowe, dean of the College of
Arts, Humanities and Social
Sciences who is also acting as
interim grant director.
Funds are to be used for
academic quality, insti-
tutional management and
fiscal stability. He said the
broad support of this partic-
ular grant removes some of
the constraints that small,
regional universities like
EOU tend to face.
“A Title III grant like this
can be transformational for a
campus like ours because it’s
integrational across campus,”
Eastern Oregon University/Contributed Photo
Students walk to class at Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, in this undated photo. The university was notified in late
September that it had been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Lowe said. “It’s not only a
financial boost, but it creates
an opportunity for the institu-
tion to work together.”
A new, comprehensive
student success program,
called BRIDGES, will
take shape thanks to grant
funds. Leaders from across
the university collaborated
to apply for the grant, and
will continue their inter-
disciplinary work to imple-
ment a range of resources,
from faculty-led math tutor-
ing, to expanded diversity
and equity efforts, to new
staff positions. This inte-
grated approach is united
in its aim to increase reten-
tion and graduation, thereby
improving student success
and ensuring the university’s
fiscal stability when the grant
funding ends.
“There are dozens and
dozens of faculty and staff on
this campus who are directly
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connected to this grant and its
activities, out to every corner
of campus,” Lowe said. “It’s
meant to create collabora-
tion and interconnection of
the work that we do in order
to support students.”
Initiatives driven by
this grant seek intention-
ally to break down barriers
and increase collaboration
for the benefit of students.
BRIDGES contains six
distinct areas of focus —
Idaho Power heads to court to
seek private property access
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Mostly cloudy, a
shower; mild
Cloudy and cooler
Cloudy with a
couple of showers
A shower in the
p.m.; breezy
A quick afternoon
shower
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
65° 45°
53° 42°
48° 29°
LA GR ANDE — A
highly debated transmission
line proposal has reached the
local courtrooms in Union
County.
A number of Union
County residents faced
legal action this past week
as Boise-based Idaho Power
seeks out access to private
property to conduct surveys
and testing. The utility is
looking to conduct the land
testing ahead of a proposed
500-kilovolt line across
Eastern Oregon that would
traverse roughly 300 miles
between Boardman and
Hemingway, Idaho.
More than 10 Union
County residents received
petitions from Idaho Power,
requesting access to their
private land so the company
could conduct testing to
prepare for the construc-
tion of the project. The plots
of land include areas the
proposed power line would
travel through or be in close
proximity to.
The surveys that Idaho
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
47° 36°
47° 33°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
68° 48°
60° 46°
56° 38°
55° 38°
OREGON FORECAST
53° 30°
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
54/48
52/42
62/41
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
62/47
Lewiston
56/50
69/48
Astoria
54/46
Pullman
Yakima 63/43
55/44
58/45
Portland
Hermiston
57/49
The Dalles 68/48
Salem
Corvallis
55/46
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
52/40
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
57/49
62/40
59/43
Ontario
53/38
Caldwell
Burns
68°
39°
54°
30°
74° (1972) 4° (2019)
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
56/49
0.05"
0.13"
0.86"
1.06"
1.08"
2.00"
WINDS (in mph)
63/37
59/37
0.03"
0.85"
1.15"
2.38"
3.02"
2.69"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 52/36
57/50
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
65/45
61/47
63°
53°
52°
32°
74° (1902) 3° (1911)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
55/44
Aberdeen
54/42
53/38
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
55/47
Today
Medford
64/45
Wed.
SW 4-8
SSE 6-12
Boardman
Pendleton
SW 4-8
SE 6-12
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
62/34
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
6:34 a.m.
5:42 p.m.
6:35 a.m.
4:35 p.m.
New
First
Full
Last
Mar 2
Mar 10
Mar 17
Mar 24
enhanced academic advising,
math and English courses
designed to bring students up
to college level, experiential
learning curriculum for every
degree program, comprehen-
sive First Year Experience for
incoming students, improved
degree planning systems
and cultivated a sense of
belonging backed by a new
associate vice president for
diversity, inclusion, equity
and belonging.
The university is in the
process of hiring the asso-
ciate vice president, who
will serve as grant director
for the Title III funds and
oversee the creation of a
Center for Diversity, Inclu-
sion, Equity and Belonging
at Eastern.
“This is the anchor of
the entire grant,” Lowe
said. “The funds allow us to
invest in additional person-
nel to enhance student
support, especially for those
who are underrepresented
or underprepared and those
who have bigger roadblocks
to success.”
Some of the work has
already begun, while other
aspects are still taking shape.
Lowe anticipates a growing
number of opportunities
for university departments,
employees and stakeholders
to get involved.
It’s been eight months
si nce EOU’s P rovost
convened a cross-campus
team to spend several weeks
working with consultants to
apply for a highly competi-
tive Title III grant. Already,
it’s abundantly clear that
these funds have potential to
transform the student expe-
rience at EOU.
“It’s really a gift to students
today and in the future,” Lowe
said. “We will be a better
institution because of this and
on the other side of it.”
Power plans to conduct vary
by location, but include the
following:
• Three-toed woodpecker
and northern goshawk.
• Rare plant inspection.
• Wetlands inspection.
• Terrestrial visual encoun-
ter survey.
• Raptor survey.
• Noxious weed survey.
• Cultural, archeological
and historic properties
management plan inspec-
tion.
• Land survey.
• Appraisal field visit.
Out of 12 cases that went
through the Union County
Courthouse on Feb. 11 and
14, four were dismissed and
one case resulted in a default
judgment since the land-
owner in question failed to
appear.
In the case of Idaho
Power Company vs. John
and Connie Williams, the
court ruled that Idaho Power
and its agents, employees
and contractors may enter
the property to conduct the
surveys.
Two cases were granted
a continuance, while four
of the cases were set over
to retain counsel. The land-
owners are set to participate
in hearings scheduled around
the end of March.
According to Jim Kreider,
one of the founders of the
Stop B2H Coalition, those
opposed requested the
extensions in order to seek
out legal assistance in their
respective cases.
“Our general advice to
everybody is to ask for an
extension and then consult
with an attorney and consider
your options,” he said.
Kreider noted that with
the nearly identical petitions
filed by Idaho Power to resi-
dents across Eastern Oregon,
the coalition is seeking to find
legal representation that can
cover the bulk of the cases.
While several landown-
ers chose to have the peti-
tions dismissed and allow
access onto their property,
about half in Union County
are continuing to push on.
According to Kreider, the
court costs associated with
the contested power line
proposal is causing a hurdle
for some.
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 88° in El Monte, Calif. Low -23° in Yellowstone N.P., Wyo.
IN BRIEF
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Baker City resident finds
skinned coyote beside street
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
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0s
showers t-storms
10s
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20s
flurries
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ice
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BAKER CITY — Brian Blomster
wondered what caused the neighbor’s dog to
jump into the bushes beside the street and later
attracted his cat’s attention.
Then he saw what it was.
And wished he hadn’t.
The carcass of a skinned coyote was
discarded atop some shrubs beside Hillcrest
Drive, Baker City, just across the street from
the home, at 305 Hillcrest Drive, where Blom-
ster has lived for four years.
He found the carcass the morning of Feb. 21.
“I was freaked out because it looked like a
dog,” Blomster said.
He called the Baker County Dispatch
Center.
Officer Rand Weaver of the Baker City
Police Department arrived around 9:30 a.m.
He said he took the carcass to the Animal
Clinic of Baker, where a veterinarian identi-
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fied it as a coyote, not a domestic dog.
Blomster said he’s convinced that whoever
dumped the carcass did so the previous night.
If it had been there Feb. 20, he’s certain he or
someone else would have seen it.
Blomster said although he’s glad the carcass
wasn’t a domestic dog, he still is bothered
someone would toss a dead animal beside a
residential street rather than outside town.
“It just feels offensive,” he said in a phone
interview on Friday, Feb. 25. “Why would you
do that?”
Blomster and Weaver both said inside the
carcass was a surgical rubber glove and a
length of red cord.
Weaver figured the person who skinned the
coyote wore gloves while doing so, and used
the cord to suspend the carcass while skin-
ning it.
Weaver said if police could identify the
person who discarded the carcass, the person
could be cited for offensive littering.
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