Newsish Roundup August 25, 2016 with Will Bowman
Newsish Roundup August 25, 2016
– 5 News Stories in 5 Minutes 19 Seconds!
Check out this week’s Newsish Roundup Topics for August 25 – September 5, 2016!
In the news today:
- Parents Fight to Compete
- West Nile in the Grande Ronde
- Upcoming Events
- Local Sports
Hey LaGrandeAlive! This is your weekly Newsish Roundup brought to you by Grande Ronde Hospital and Direct Music Source!
Some ticked off parents are taking the high school to the field over sports. Several families are openly speaking out against a decision made by La Grande High School administrators to not let their kids play sports for the high school teams. So here’s the scoop: these kids are attending what’s called the “Baker Web Academy”, a private online school over in Baker, and because of this La Grande High is not letting the kids play on the Tigers teams. But this isn’t how it’s always been. In the past, the school has allowed the kids to play. But not any more. So why, exactly, was the change made? Is it legitimate? These are some of the questions that the parents have been asking. Well, LaGrandeAlive got the scoop with Don McLean, one of the agitated parents, plus Brett Baxter the LHS principal.
Related News and Links:
- La Grande High School
- Drug Free Run – The MT Emily recreation area (MERA) version
- No. 8 EOU Volleyball Overwhelms No. 15 Rocky Mountain, 3-0
So what do you think La Grande? If a student attends another private school not the public school of their town, should they be allowed to compete? Should the school allow the students to play despite not receiving government subsidies for their attendance? Should the school make an exception for these particular students? Your thoughts and comments below.
Have you been feeling a little sick recently?
Have you been feeling a little sick recently?Have a fever? A bad headache? Stiff neck? A little confused and weak? Paralyzed? Well, if so, you should go to the doctor. Or get someone to drive you there if you’re paralyzed. Recently mosquitos have been tested positive in the Grande ROnde valley with the West Nile Virus. If you’re over 50, have diabetes or high blood pressure, or are overall just a person that gets sick a lot, you are at risk. Now, hold on. Don’t panic. Leave your pitchforks inside and I promise you Jesus isn’t on the horizon. I had a chat with Chris Law at the Union County Vector Control and he said currently it’s not a big concern. West Nile is transmitted primarily through birds: robins, magpies, jays, crows, ravens, the works. Wherever the birds go, the West Nile Virus goes, he said. And he hasn’t seen the west nile in any animals yet around here, including the birds. When he starts seeing it in animals, then we have a bigger problem. So what’s the moral of the story? If you feel sick, go to the doctor. If you know you’re going to be hiking by a stagnant pond, put on long-sleeve shirts and pants. Minimize standing water near your house. And just don’t lick dead birds. They may look appetizing, but they’re full of bacteria and disease and it’s just a place your tongue shouldn’t go.
So what’s going on this next week? Well, a whole heck of a lot of live music. Tonight at 5 there’s music at Max Square and at 8 at Ten Depot street in La Grande. Tomorrow, Friday, Barley Brown’s in Baker is having Jeremiah craig at 8. And this weekend as part of the Wallowa County Thunder Run Ashes 2 Ashes and Blue Tattoo will play Friday night in Enterprise at the fairgrounds. And speaking of the Thunder Run, what happens when a bunch of bikers get together and coordinate an event? Well, lots of exhaust and noise, first of all. But also food, games, and, as I mentioned, live music, apparnetly. That’s going on in Enterprise both Thursday and Friday. But the car-junkies aren’t letting the bikers one-up them. Saturday they’re getting out their chrome polish and starting up the classic cars for the Baker City Memory Cruise. Also this weekend in La Grande, there’s a drug-free run going on up at Mount Emily Recreation Area. There will be no drugs at this run, I promise, and the run is put on so that there won’t be any drugs anywhere else as well. And after you’re done getting all sweaty raising awareness for drugs, you can head down to the Memorial Pool and swim around in the outdoor tub with your dogs. That starts at 11:00 am. Overall a fun-packed weekend with a ton of crap to do which means none of you should be inside at all this weekend. Unless you’re reading a classic or watching an Ingmar Bergman film. Then I forgive you.
In sports, speaking of the LHS Tigers, the football team is kicking off this weekend with a jamboree. As part of this jamboree, they’re going to play Enterprise and Imbler for about a quarter’s length. It starts at 6 pm at Eastern Oregon university.
Also, if you can’t make the jamboree (and I mean really can’t not just I’m too lazy to get off my sofa and leave my big-jug pepsi drink) we’re going to be live-streaming the jamboree plus all the rest of the football games this whole season on LaGrandeAlive. It’s a pretty cool service. We have instant replays, a caller, and a bunch of fancy-smanchy stuff to make the games really cool and accessible. You can even bring it up at the real game to watch the replays if you’re at the stadium. So bottom line: go to the game, tune in to LaGrandeAlive, support your Tigers, and don’t lick dead birds.
Up at EOU, the Mountie volleyball girls trashed Rocky Mountain this last weekend for not one, not two, but three games in a row. The scores were 13-25, 11-25, and 15-25, pretty big margins if you ask me. But then again I know about as much about volleyball as I know about dead birds. Okay, I’ll stop beating that dead bird. Anyways, the next EOU game will be at the Big Sky Invitational on August 26. They’re playing Carrol at 12 pm.
And that’s it! This Newsish Roundup is brought to you by Grande Ronde Hospital and Direct Music Source. Tune in next week for more local content. I’m Will Bowman
For more local content, visit our website at http://lagrandealive.tv!
Pot is hot in the valley, these days, and everybody’s talking about it except the hillbillies, and that’s honestly because they’re probably the ones growing it. The question of how exactly to handle the new federal deregulation of the drug is popping up all over the valley. Several weeks ago, Union residents proposed a ban on the growth and sale of non-medical weed in their city. It will probably be on the voting ballot here coming soon. This weekend, the DEA in Salem refused to take the drug off the “dangerous drug” list and reinforced their resolution that all hemp (another cannabinoid) products are still illegal despite pretty much every state and it’s brother saying they’re not. And now North Powder is trying to get it figured out too. They will also be voting on it here soon, two ballots on the November 8th election that, if passed, would legalize the sale of recreational and medical pot. So here’s ultimate the question for you, La Grande Alive. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a lollipop? Just kidding. What should we do about the pot? How should small towns deal with this? They have legitimate concerns for the health and well-being of their towns. But at the same time, the pot train is rolling, and how long can they really hold out before the growers and smokers get it legalized. So how should they deal with the quickly rising rate of legalization? What kind of taxes should be imposed? Answer with your thoughts in the box below.
Alright, here’s the moral of this next story: kids, don’t get drunk, wander off into the woods, break somebody else’s stuff, then get lost and have to have search and rescue come and find you. Four youths age 20 and younger were found this weekend by search and rescue about 20 miles out of la grande, a little Northeast of Interstate 84. They were dehydrated and tired, the rescuers said. And now three of them are being charged with criminal mischief, the crime involving the damage of another person’s property. Now, as of now none of these youths have been indicted or found guilty, so don’t go around telling people that they’re just a bunch of bad kids with worse directional skills. But the moral still stands: kids, don’t drink and hike. And if you do, make sure you bring a park ranger or, I don’t know, a compass with you so that you don’t have to call search and rescue come rescue your thirsty ass with your tail between your legs and some famer on your butt for drunkenly crashing his tractor into a cliff. Disclaimer: creative license was taken with this story for emotional effect.
And speaking of criminal activities, here’s another moral: if someone calls you and wants to pave your driveway here sometime soon, don’t believe them! Well, believe them but don’t do it! It’s a trap! Apparently there’s a new scam going around Union County: a group of pavers will call at random a household and offer to repave their driveway at a reduced rate with leftover materials. The deal is so good to be true the residents agree and, several weeks and a crappily-done driveway later, they’re slammed with an inflated bill that’s much higher than the original quote and a heavy obligation to pay-up on the job they wouldn’t otherwise have needed. And the worst part of it: the scammers aren’t really doing anything illegal. Apparently everything they’re doing falls within the letter of the law, and though the residents aren’t required to pay them, most feel guilted or intimidated into actually paying the bill. Fortunately awareness is growing about the issue and these people are backing off. But it never hurts to share this video along and warn a few other poor souls about the infamous asphalt bandits! Not that we’re shamelessly plugging ourselves or anything.
What should we do with the wolves? That’s a question that’s up for debate–again. And you’re the people, LaGrandeAlive, that the state wants to give input on this question. And on October 7th, you’re going to get to. The Department Fish and wildlife is holding a meeting for public input on this question At the Blue Mountain Conference Center in La Grande, Oregon. The wolf management plan is up for its second review since 2005. And the ultimate question is this: what is the state’s place in managing wolves that threaten livestock? Is it their responsibility? Is it the rancher’s responsibility? Should lethal force be invoked? Who gets to pull the trigger, ultimately? Currently, there’s different phases in the wolf-management system: phase 1 means that no wolves can be killed except with a permit. Population needs to be boosted and so lethal means are off-limits Phase 2 is less restrictive, and phase 3 is even less restrictive than phase 2. It’s the least restrictive phase and allows for lethal methods to be used by multiple parties. Now, I have my own opinions, but those aren’t really important. The people’s opinions I really want, like the Department of Fish and Wildlife, are yours LaGrandeAlive. What should be done about this wolves? What authority should the state have in managing them? Should they be allowed to kill them or relocate them to a safer, less rancher-heavy locale? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
But let’s talk about furries of the less-dangerous sort,; namely, goats, cows, and horses, piggies covered in little fur snorting on the ground, bunnies that bite your fingers, chickens clucking and cock a doodle dooing at the most random of times all right there for you to pet. If you don’t mind the smell, that is. All these were at the Union County Fair last weekend. Here’s some pictures of the event. It was a blast. Lydia and I went and pet the animals, got a free pancake and sausages at the breakfast on Thursday, perused the booths and watched some tunes Thursday night. We didn’t ride any rides, though. Seriously, 3.75 for a single ticket? I love paying almost five bucks to feel nauseous and pick gum off my shoes after the ride. Apparently this year’s turnout was bigger than recent years, largely as a result of the evening entertainment. So now that we’re done with our pictures, how about yours? Post your favorite fair picture in the comments section below.
And what else is going on this week? Well, If you head the other direction from Wallowa county, there’s also a fair going on in Baker City until Saturday night. Also this weekend, the Shakespeare troupe is back again, this time on a lonely island with Prospero as their muse. The Tempest is showing two times for free this weekend at Riverside Park, Friday and Saturday at 7:00 pm. Also on Friday, the swim club will meet up at Pioneer Park for their annual meeting. And two more things for Saturday, first a Craft Supply Swap at the Cook Memorial library. If you have craft supplies in “good condition” they can be bought and traded for other supplies, bring them in. I just I wonder what constitutes “good condition” for craft supplies: at least half the glue hasn’t been eaten by a child? Also, Union is hosting their Grassroots Festival this weekend which will include over 20 yard sales, a car show, live music, a children’s fair, duck and lawnmower races, dancing, and Pioneer Days in the museum. The festival will go all day long Saturday and is generally free for the public. Bottom line, there’s a lot going on this weekend. None of you have any excuse to be anywhere but out and about.
I met Fred Hill in 2011. I was contacted by Eric Valentine about doing a video about Fred, or I guess, rather, about a pre-death memorial that he and George Venn were holding for Fred. I agreed. I went. I met Fred, and, in perfect Fred style, the first thing he did was tell me a joke. I can’t really remember what the joke was, probably something about my camera equipment or me being a tall drink of water. But what I do remember is chuckling a little bit, not quite knowing what to do with this small, smiling old man who everybody thought was so darn cool and apparently was a really great photographer. Fred died this weekend. I’ve heard about it from multiple places from multiple people: from Stacey at US Bank where Frank where Fred would help get out cookies every Friday. From Brent Clapp who had conversations with him about photography and video and wanted desperately to do an interview with him, but now will never get a chance From Margaret down at direct music who went to church with him, who smiled when she talked about him. From the feature in the Observer. Fred was well loved in this community. So we here at LaGrandeAlive thought it might be nice to do a little memorial interview Eric Valentine, one of his closest friends and a fellow photographer, to mourn the loss and celebrate his life. 
They found a pipe bomb in Wallawa lake! Apparently, last Friday morning some divers were swimming around in the lake and found what looked like a pipe bomb. And, in fact it was! A real life pipe bomb! The bomb was taken off site and detonated. But the most interesting thing about this whole situation for me is that this isn’t really abnormal. Apparently, people find these kinds of explosives in random locations all the time! Generally, they come from past mining operations. Go figure. So, if you’re randomly walking around your property one day, looking at the flowers, smelling the fresh-cut grass, and you casually step on anything that’s looks like a pipe bomb, it very well might be. So, don’t pick it up and shake it or give it to your dog as a chew toy. And certainly don’t throw it in a public lake.
And speaking of pipes, Union is trying to get rid of all its pot. (dear lord, first the deer, now the pot) Over 200 members of the community have signed a petition (Union certainly likes their petitions) and apparently there were actually almost 40 more signatures than were necessary to actually make it a ballot. They just went door-to-door and got people to sign the petition. If passed, the petition would ban the sale production and processing of all marijuana in union for rec relational purposes. The next step for the petition is to be processed by City of Union then to be sent to the county clerk’s office where it will become a ballot measure. Now I’m not a pothead myself, but I do feel bad for the people growing it. On one hand they have the deer eating all their crops. Then the city comes after them and tries to take their pot gardens away! It’s a hard life as a recreational grower. I wonder what a stoned deer acts like? Anyways, what do you think you think LaGrandeAlive? Do you think the pot should be banned in Union or elsewhere? What level should individual cities and towns have to be able to deny a larger ordinance? Is it really solving the problem if there’s still medical growers in the city-limits? Is there a better way of dealing with pot then banning it outright? Or is this the right way to go?
But Union County isn’t the only one that are worried about people blazin’. As of tomorrow, Friday, August 28, at 12:01 AM, new fire restrictions will be in effect. As everyone knows, it’s getting hot outside. And with the comes more fires not of cannabinoid origins. Think thousand-acre fires that burn down houses and forests. And the Oregon Department of Forestry is instituting tight strictures, including prohibitions on campfires, circle fires, cooking fires, warming fires, debris burning, smoking while traveling (except in vehicles on paved roads) nonindustrial chainsaw use during certain times of the day, cutting, grinding, and welding metal outside during those same times a day, fireworks, exploding targets, tracer ammunition, and anything else that could cause a big, big burn. If it can start a fire, don’t use it, or at least make sure that when you use it you’re falling under the new ODF guidelines. As the Union potheads always say, don’t toke unless you’re on a concrete road. If the Union pitchforks don’t getcha, the Oregon Department of Forestry certainly will.
There were not one, not two, but three fires this 4th of July weekend, and none of them were caused by Hillbillies with fireworks. The first house, located out by Hot Lakes, was huge, what firefighters call a “third alarm” fire. It included a house, a trailer, and three shops, and all of them burned down completely. It’s amazing what a little electrical problem can do to your home. The fire started at 7:15 pm and, according to Larry Wooldridge, the fire chief for La Grande Rural, they didn’t get done until 4 am the next morning fighting it. But they weren’t done.
The La Grande High school is renovating everything. And I mean everything. When they’re done they’ll have a new gymnasium, a new auditorium, a new industrial arts building. Currently the gymnasium is in-progress. The floor is ripped up, the place needs painted, but it is progressing. The theater is also going right along–when it’s done, they’ll have a new thrust stage, new lights and rafters, and even new seats. And they’re gonna rip the industrial arts building down completely. And build another one. That too. The gym is probably going to be done August 1st. Keep an eye out for it and the rest of the LGHS building. And all you kids–enjoy your new multi-million dollar facilities.
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