NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Saturday, April 30, 2022
Union County considers options for law enforcement building
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
drive for a new public safety
building in Union County is
shifting into neutral.
Union County Sheriff
Cody Bowen, the leader of
an eff ort to get a new public
safety building constructed
to reduce overcrowding and
address building mainte-
nance issues in the current
structure, said he wants to
reevaluate and see if other
options should be considered.
“I am pulling back,”
Bowen said.
T he sher if f ea rlier
proposed hiring a design
firm to develop a concep-
tual plan for a new public
safety building. The Union
County Board of Commis-
sioners gave Bowen the green
light last August for moving
forward with that plan.
Bowen’s proposal encom-
passed a public safety center
that would house the Union
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce, La
Grande Police Department,
Union County Jail, Union
County Parole and Probation
and a center where people
experiencing mental health
issues could be helped.
This plan now is at least
temporarily off the table.
Bowen said he believes it is
not a good time to pursue
constructing a new building
because of the fragile status
Davis Carbaugh/The Observer
Union County’s law enforcement building, La Grande, shown on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, houses the La Grande Police Depart-
ment, the Union County Sheriff ’s Offi ce and the Union County Jail.
or making additions to the
structure.
The sheriff wants to deter-
mine exactly what options
are available for the one-story
public safety building, which
was constructed in 1979. For
example, he wants to know
for certain whether the build-
ing could withstand the addi-
of the economy, which is
being rocked by infl ation.
Instead, Bowen, in his
second year as sheriff , wants
to take a closer look at the
public safety building and
see if steps could be taken
to address issues like over-
crowding and deteriorating
conditions by renovating
Forecast for Pendleton Area
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TODAY
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cloudy, cool
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tion of a second story. To fi nd
out, Bowen is proposing that
an architecture and design
fi rm, Mackenzie, which has
offi ces in Portland and Seat-
tle, be brought in to evaluate
the condition of the current
public safety building.
“We would be hoping to
get some concrete answers,”
Baker School District signs sister
school deal with the Isle of Jersey
Baker City Herald
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
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HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
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PENDLETON
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Olympia
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Kennewick Walla Walla
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Lewiston
56/43
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55/43
Pullman
Yakima 59/40
56/40
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Portland
Hermiston
57/47
The Dalles 64/47
Salem
Corvallis
56/39
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La Grande
53/41
PRECIPITATION
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Eugene
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Ontario
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Albany
56/40
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Enterprise
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PRECIPITATION
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Lake
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Aberdeen
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Wenatchee
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Medford
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BAKER CITY — The
Baker School District’s
Oregon International School
program has formalized its
sister-school relationship
with the Hautlieu School of
St. Savior on the Isle of Jersey
in the English Channel.
Offi cials from both schools
and the government of Jersey
signed a memorandum of
understanding on Tuesday,
April 26, in the Baker School
District offi ce.
Ten Baker High School
students are slated to travel
to Jersey in September, along
with a staff member, while 10
students from the Hautlieu
School are studying in Baker
City.
“This is an exciting oppor-
Wallowa County Chieftain
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
57/28
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
5:45 a.m.
8:01 p.m.
5:49 a.m.
8:11 p.m.
New
First
Full
Last
Apr 30
May 8
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May 22
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 100° in Vernon, Texas Low 16° in Bridgeport, Calif.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
tunity for our students to expe-
rience a diff erent culture and
educational setting,” Scott
Wickenden, deputy minister
for children and education for
the Government of Jersey, said
in a press release. “We look
forward to welcoming the
students from Oregon when
they arrive in September.”
Baker School District
Superintendent Mark Witty,
who is retiring June 30 but
will work one-third time as the
International School’s direc-
tor, said, “We look forward to
all the relationships (support-
ing) an education of excellence
for the future generation, with
wide-reaching benefi ts we are
excited to watch unfold.”
Thomas Joseph is the Inter-
national School’s principal and
only full-time employee.
The Baker School District
started the Oregon Interna-
tional School more than four
years ago, but the pandemic
depayed its progress.
Earlier this year the Baker
School Board agreed to spent
about $865,000 to buy and
refurbish two historic homes
in Baker City that will serve
as housing for international
students studying at Baker
High School.
The plan is to have about 22
to 25 foreign students at BHS
starting this fall.
The program, which
district offi cials project will
raise more revenue than it
spends, will also include
scholarships designed to
make it easier for Baker High
School students to study and
travel abroad.
Trail-with-rails project plans update
SSW 4-8
SW 4-8
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
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Bowen said.
Mackenzie’s staff would
also look at how space could
be used more effi ciently and
provide cost estimates after
doing a 10-week examination
of the building.
Mackenzie’s evaluation of
the building would cost just
under $40,000, according to a
proposal it has prepared.
“This would be a crucial
step to keep the ball rolling
in a way that would not be as
expensive,” Bowen said.
The sheriff may come
before the board of commis-
sioners later and request
funding for the study by
Mackenzie.
Paul Anderes, a member
of the Union County Board
of Commissioners, supports
Bowen’s plan.
“This will be a great way
to separate facts from opin-
ion,” he said.
Anderes said the poor
condition of Union County’s
law enforcement building
has been a concern of his for
some time.
“It has been a priority for
me since our last sheriff was
in. It is a signifi cant issue,”
he said.
Union County Commis-
sioner Matt Scarfo also likes
Bowen’s proposal, noting that
it would provide an informa-
tion base about the building
that would be welcome.
“The more information
we have the better,” Scarfo
said.
Bowen said that renovat-
ing and adding to the current
building based on recommen-
dations by Mackenzie would
be anything but a temporary
Band-Aid approach.
“We would want to see if
it could suffi ce for the next 50
years,” Bowen said.
WA LLOWA — T he
Joseph Branch Trail Consor-
tium, the nonprofi t group
that hopes to establish a
trail-with-rails alongside
the existing railroad tracks
that run between Elgin and
Joseph, will hold its annual
member gathering Saturday,
May 7, in Wallowa, accord-
ing to a press release.
The gathering will run
from 4-6 p.m. at the Nez
Perce Wallowa Homeland
Project and will include
project updates, a short
hike along the trail route
in Wallowa and compli-
mentary food and bever-
ages.
There also will be an
a n nou nce me nt of t he
winners in the group’s
spring drawing. Drawing
prizes include two seats on
a five-day rafting trip on
the Snake River, two nights
lodging at the Wallowa Lake
Lodge, dinner and drinks
for two at the Gold Room in
Joseph and an echo fl y fi sh-
ing rod.
A limited number of
drawing tickets are available
until May 7 via the website
JosephBranchTrail.org.
The consortium hopes
to establish a 63-mile route
along the tracks from Elgin
to Joseph, but objections
by landowners in Wallowa
County have led to the
Wallowa County Board of
Commissioners denying
conditional use permits for
the project where it runs
through the county.
Wa l l o w a
County
Commission Chairwoman
Susan Roberts, who is
co-chair woman of the
Wallowa Union Railroad
Authority, said Feb. 21
she believes the project is
unlikely to go through.
“It’s doubtful it’ll ever
go through because people
were vehemently opposed to
it,” Roberts said. “Wallowa
County Planning (Depart-
ment) at this time is not
involved because it’s not in
our county.”
But G regg K lei ner,
project coordinator for the
consortium, said in an email
April 26 that he believes
there is strong hope for the
success of the project.
“Momentum is building,
our membership is grow-
ing and we’re attracting
major funding and support,”
Kleiner said.
All are welcome to join
the gathering, but an RSVP
is requested by sending
an email to info@joseph-
branchtrail.org.
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