Bulldog wrestlers earn conference honors | SPORTS, A10
TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2022
146th Year, No. 55
$1.50
WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021
LA GRANDE
Funds
raised for
Ukraine
have wide
impact
LEFT: Volunteer April Navratil reaches for
some trash as Trinidad Jones helps steady
her on Saturday, April 23, 2022, during the
Spring 2022 River Cleanup on the Pendleton
River Parkway. ABOVE: A girl holds a tree
she received Saturday, April 23, 2022, at the
Spring 2022 River Cleanup in Pendleton. The
Pendleton Tree Commission, Pendleton Parks
& Recreation, the Umatilla National Forest and
Oregon Community Trees teamed up to off er
northern red oak, western larch, aspen and
other tress and shrubs.
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Good samari-
tans are showing that every donation,
even from the other side of the world,
makes a diff erence.
La Grande resident Anne Morri-
son was one of the organizers of
a recent demonstration at Max
Square in downtown La Grande
to raise funds for
those in need in
Ukraine. Her local
family connection
to the frontlines in
Ukraine is ensuring
that donations in
rural Oregon have a
Morrison
far-reaching eff ect.
Morrison orga-
nized a demonstration on March 12,
alongside Kate Gekeler and Cheryl
Simpson, with live music from Al
MacLeod. The event raised $21,000
for Ukrainian citizens in need in
war-torn cities, as well as Ukrainian
refugees fl eeing the country.
Through a unique connection
to Ukraine, Morrison is continu-
ing local fundraising eff orts to put
supplies and aid directly into the
hands of those in need.
Morrison’s cousin, Ian Dempsey,
of Colorado, met his wife, Sofi a,
while on a mission trip in Ukraine
nearly a decade ago. The couple
have numerous existing connec-
tions in war-torn areas of Ukraine,
one of which involved assisting Sofi a
Dempsey’s sister and two children in
fl eeing to the United States.
Inna Stasiuk and her daughters,
Valariia and Alina, fl ed Kyiv in late
February, relying on help from Ian
and Sofi a Dempsey in their travels
through Poland, Italy, Spain and
eventually Tijuana. From Mexico,
the family was able to link up with
Ian Dempsey at the California border
after staying at refugee centers in
Tijuana. Stasiuk and her daughters,
ages 10 and two, found safe passage
to the United States in early April
and have since taken shelter with the
Dempseys in Colorado.
“A big thing was not knowing
what the process would be once
they got to Tijuana,” Ian Dempsey
said. “That was a bit of a challenge,
because I did not want to scare them
from not making the trip. I really
thought it was the best thing to do.”
“It gives me such a feeling of
joy and gratitude to see this photo,
particularly when I think that my
initial hope was to perhaps save even
just one person,” Morrison said in an
updated newsletter.
See Ukraine, Page A9
Photos By Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
SPRING 2022 RIVER CLEANUP
Volunteers remove debris
from the bank of the
Umatilla River in Pendleton
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
P
ENDLETON — The banks of the
Umatilla River in Pendleton became a
lot cleaner Saturday, April 23.
At least 60 people scoured the Pend-
leton River Parkway for trash during the
morning, participating in the annual Spring
2022 River Cleanup, sponsored by Stewards
of the Umatilla River Environment, or SURE.
Participants gathered at 9:30 a.m. at Roy Raley
Park, gloved up and spread out up and down
the river.
The group found an eclectic mix of trash,
including tires, a Christmas tree covered with
tinsel, a length of fi re hose and scores of bottles,
cans, paper and cigarette butts. As they worked,
they were treated to sightings of pelicans,
herons, squirrels, snakes and other wildlife.
The event featured a tree and shrub give-
away in recognition of Arbor Day that off ered
northern red oak, western larch, aspen, golden
currant, mock orange and others. The Pend-
leton Tree Commission, Pendleton Parks &
Recreation, the Umatilla National Forest and
Oregon Community Trees teamed up to off er
the free fl ora. Arbor Day is April 29.
A squirrel eats a scrap of bread Saturday, April 23, 2022, as volunteers work below along the
Pendleton River Parkway.
An old tire sits where a volunteer placed it for pickup Saturday, April
23, 2022, during the cleanup along the Pendleton River Parkway.
A volunteer hunts for trash Saturday, April 23, 2022, along the banks of
the Umatilla River during the Spring 2022 River Cleanup in Pendleton.
Preserving World War II guardhouses still up in the air
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The World War
II-era guardhouses at the Eastern
Oregon Regional Airport in Pend-
leton are not going anywhere any
time soon, Airport Manager John
Honemann said. But how to preserve
the shacks remain open ended.
The 11-member airport commis-
sion discussed the preservation of the
guardhouses at its meeting Wednes-
day night, April 20. Honemann said
it’s been some time since the commis-
sion discussed the structures.
“I’ve been the airport manager for
nine-and-half months and the preser-
vation of the shacks is a new topic of
public interest,” he said.
The agenda item was there to
facilitate discussion about the histor-
ical 1941 Pendleton Army air base
guardhouses that are rapidly dete-
riorating due to decades of neglect
and possibly under threat from the
construction of the adjacent Radis-
son Hotel and increased traffi c at the
airport. Honemann said the board
overwhelmingly supports preserving
the shacks to showcase the historic
signifi cance of the airport and Pend-
leton in the country’s eff orts in World
War II.
“At this point, I don’t know exactly
what that will look like,” he sad, “but
rest assured, the airport is not demol-
ishing or getting rid of the guard
shacks.”
Preservation options
The Pendleton Air Museum has
promoted preserving the build-
ings. PAM board member Col. Tim
See WWII, Page A9
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
A World War II-vintage guardhouse, one of two at the entrance to Airport
Road south of the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport, Pendleton, sits near con-
struction of a Radisson Hotel on Thursday, April 21, 2022. The airport com-
mission is keen to preserve the shacks, but there is no plan on how to do that.