THE BULLETIN • TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 2021 A3
TODAY
Today is Tuesday, June 15, the
166th day of 2021. There are 199
days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On June 15, 1215, England’s
King John put his seal to Magna
Carta (“the Great Charter”) .
In 1775, the Second Continental
Congress voted unanimously
to appoint George Washington
head of the Continental Army.
In 1864, Secretary of War Edwin
M. Stanton signed an order
establishing a military burial
ground which became Arlington
National Cemetery in Virginia.
In 1934, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt signed an act making
the National Guard part of the
U.S. Army in the event of war or
national emergency.
In 1955, the United States and
Britain signed a cooperation
agreement concerning atomic
information for “mutual defence .”
In 1991, Mount Pinatubo in the
northern Philippines exploded
in one of the biggest volcanic
eruptions of the 20th century,
killing about 800 people.
In 1996, Ella Fitzgerald, the “first
lady of song,” died in Beverly
Hills, California, at age 79.
In 2003, with a deadline passed
for Iraqis to hand in heavy
weapons, U.S. forces fanned out
across Iraq to seize arms and put
down potential foes.
Ten years ago: Pushing back
against congressional criticism,
the White House said that Pres-
ident Barack Obama had the
authority to continue U.S. mili-
tary action in Libya even without
authorization from lawmakers
on Capitol Hill. Arizona Rep.
Gabrielle Giffords was released
from a Houston hospital, five
months after being shot in the
head . The Boston Bruins won
the Stanley Cup for the first time
since 1972, beating the Vancou-
ver Canucks 4-0 in Game 7 of the
finals; angry, drunken Vancouver
fans ran wild, setting cars on fire
and looting stores.
Five years ago: A public funeral
was held in Detroit for hockey
legend Gordie Howe, who had
died five days earlier at age 88.
One year ago: The Supreme
Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled
that a landmark civil rights law
protects gay, lesbian and trans-
gender people from discrimina-
tion in employment. The Seattle
City Council voted unanimously
to bar police from using tear gas,
pepper spray and several other
crowd-control devices .
Today’s Birthdays: Singer
Russell Hitchcock (Air Supply) is
72. Rock singer Steve Walsh is 70.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is
68. Actor-comedian Jim Belushi
is 67. Country singer Terri Gibbs is
67. Actor Julie Hagerty is 66. Ac-
tor Polly Draper is 66. Rock musi-
cian Brad Gillis (Night Ranger) is
64. Baseball Hall of Famer Wade
Boggs is 63. Actor Helen Hunt is
58. Rock musician Scott Rocken-
field (Queensryche) is 58. Actor
Courteney Cox is 57. Actor-rap-
per Ice Cube is 52. Actor Leah
Remini is 51. Actor Jake Busey is
50. Actor Neil Patrick Harris is 48.
Actor Elizabeth Reaser is 46. Rock
singer Dryden Mitchell (Alien
Ant Farm) is 45. Former child
actor Christopher Castile is 41.
Rock musician Billy Martin (Good
Charlotte) is 40. Rock musician
Wayne Sermon (Imagine Drag-
ons) is 37. Actor Denzel Whitaker
is 31. Olympic gold medal gym-
nast Madison Kocian is 24. Actor
Sterling Jerins is 17.
— Associated Press
LOCAL, STATE & REGION
Work on
roads at
Phil’s keeps
some trails
closed
LA GRANDE
‘I WANTED
TO HONOR
MY MOM’
Bulletin staff report
Daughter speeds through
high school so she can
graduate with mom
Katelyn and Elysa Nason pose
for a photo at Eastern Oregon
University on June 3.
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
BY DICK MASON
The Observer
A GRANDE — Katelyn Nason
was ending eighth grade in the La
Grande School District in April
2018 when her mother, Elysa, re-
ceived a message that changed the trajec-
tory of her life.
Elysa Nason learned she had been ad-
mitted into the Oregon Health & Science
University School of Nursing, La Grande
Campus. The mother of five told her fam-
ily she planned to graduate with a degree
in nursing in three years.
Two weeks later, Katelyn made a de-
cision that will forever touch her mom.
The teenager decided to hit the academic
fast track and graduate from La Grande
High School in three years so she could
receive her diploma about the same time
as her mother.
“She said ‘Mom, I’m graduating with
you,’” Elysa Nason said.
Katelyn made her decision as a gesture
of gratitude.
“I wanted to honor my mom,’’ Katelyn
Nason said.
Katelyn, burning midnight oil by the
gallon, began traveling in the fast lane of
La Grande’s commencement highway. The
L
student, after having her plan approved by
school officials, began taking class loads
which would cause some lesser students
to buckle.
“There were a lot of long days and
nights,’’ said Katelyn, who took classes
online via the La Grande School Dis-
trict’s Learning Academy and on her high
school’s campus.
Some encouraged her to ease up on her
throttle on her way to the commencement
stage. “I said, ‘I don’t care, I’m going to do
it,’’’ Katelyn said.
Buoyed by determination and family
support she completed four years of class
work in three and received her diploma at
her high school commencement June 5.
The OHSU La Grande graduation, con-
ducted in conjunction with Eastern Or-
egon University’s ceremony, was held a
week later.
“I am so proud of her,’’ Elysa said.
Elysa said that being a full-time mom
with a family of five children and a full-
time nursing student has been an uncom-
mon challenge the past three years.
“I honestly don’t know how I did it,’’
said Elysa, who graduated from EOU in
2018 with a bachelor of science degree in
psychology. OHSU and EOU are closely
linked since the nursing program has been
based on Eastern’s campus since it was
founded more than three decades ago.
She credits support and help from her
husband, Joseph, with making a big dif-
ference.
“He has been our biggest fan,’’ Elysa
said.
Elysa, in the course of her studies, has
inspired Katelyn to also pursue a career
in nursing. Katelyn became interested in
the field after reading one of her nursing
textbooks.
“She has found her passion,’’ Elysa said.
Elysa said her daughter’s early gradua-
tion gesture is especially meaningful be-
cause she had her at a young age when she
believes she was not ready to be the best
mother she could be.
“I was a teenage mom. I felt like I was a
failure. This makes me feel like I’ve done
something right,’’ Elysa Nason said.
She has already received three job offers
in the nursing field and plans to work in
Northeast Oregon. Elysa is excited about
starting her career and also about the
chance to spend more time with her sons
and daughters after three years of intense
study in nursing school.
“I will get to be a mom again,’’ Elysa said.
Central Oregon’s source for
events, arts & entertainment
LOCAL BRIEFING
Grant to fund summer program
for minority students at COCC
Central Oregon Community College received
a nearly $90,000 grant to fund a new summer
program for minority students.
The grant, awarded by the Central Oregon
Health Council, will also help pay for an existing
Native American college prep coordinator.
The new Afrocentric symposium will be
modeled on an existing COCC weeklong sum-
mer programs for Latino and Native Ameri-
can high school students. It will be designed to
offer an inside look at the college experience,
to include financial aid sessions. Students will
live on campus for four days and learn about
career options while engaging in cultural ex-
ploration, a COCC spokesperson said in a
statement.
COCC’s Native American college prep pro-
gram currently serves approximately 40 to 60
students annually in five Central Oregon high
schools. The program has led to a 98% high
school graduation rate for participating students,
a rate that surpasses the state’s graduation rate
Pick up Thursday’s Bulletin for weekly
event coverage and calendars
for Native American students. Additionally, ap-
proximately 76% of the students in the program
go on to college.
Hope Starts
Here
No leads in food cart robbery manhunt
Police still have not made an arrest in a rob-
bery case that resulted in a manhunt in north-
east Bend on June 4, and officials are keeping
mum about their progress.
Around 11:45 a.m., a man was pursued by
police in the area of NE Second Street and NE
Greenwood Avenue following a “strongarm
robbery” of El Taquero food cart outside Colima
Market. The owner of the business had found
the man stealing bills from the cash register and
called 911.
The man ran away as numerous officers re-
sponded to the scene. Two nearby schools were
closed to visitors as a precaution: Juniper Ele-
mentary School and Pilot Butte Middle School.
Reached Monday, Bend Police spokeswoman
Lt. Juli McConkey said the investigation remains
open, and no new information will be released.
Awbrey Dental Group is giving away Free Teeth Whitening
The Deschutes National
Forest has posted updated
information on trail open-
ings and closures in the
Phil’s Trail area west of
Bend.
Road work in the area is
complete on Forest Roads
4610 and 4601-300, allow-
ing the Forest Service to re-
open those roads for public
use.
Forest Roads 4601-310,
320 and 322 are still under-
going improvements and
remain closed to all motor-
ized use seven days a week.
Road improvements in
the area include drainage,
road shaping, and the ad-
dition of cinder to the road
surface.
A handful of trails re-
main closed on weekdays
but open up to the public
on weekends, from 3 p.m.
Friday until Sunday night.
These trails include:
• Lower Whoops Trail
• Pine Drops Trail
• EXT Trail
• Storm King Trail —
The northwest portion of
the trail where it junctions
with Forest Road 4615 and
the junction with Phil’s Trail
• Phil’s Trail — The
westernmost portion be-
tween the junction with
EXT trail, near Forest Road
300, and its western ter-
minus at the junction with
Pine Drops, Upper and
Lower Whoops, and Skylin-
ers trails.
Donate Today
Child Abuse Prevention
mtstar.org | 541-322-6828
— Bulletin staff reports
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