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SERVING UNION AND WALLOWA COUNTIES SINCE 1891
ODOT outpost at Flora might close By Katy Nesbitt
Motocross trac proposed
• Course would be located on Mount Emily Recreation Area land off Fox Hill Road By Bill Rautenstrauch The Q:lserver
Union County's Mount Emily Recreation Area Motorized Use AdvisOiy Committee heard a proposal Tuesday for grant-funded construction of a
motocross track, but decided to feel out public opinion before going ahead with the project. Cody Vavra, a motocross enthusiast and formerly the manager of the county-owned recreation area north of La Grande, presented the committee with a proposal Tuesday for .6 mile track located across Fox Hill Road from MERA's main staging area. He proposed start of construction in the summer of2013, with site
preparation to start immediately. Vavra said he thinks the track, covering 7.5 acres, would see significant motorcycle and all-terrain vehicle use, and create economic activity in the county. "I would expect it to be the mostused site on the entire park. That's just the way motocross tracks are," he said. Union County bought the 3,700 acre MERA property from Forest Capital Partners in 2008 and made it
into a multi-use recreation area open to all. Now in its fourth year as a public facility, MERA offers a wide range of motorized and non-motorized, off-highway recreational opportunities. It's a popular destination for ATV and motorcycle riders, mountain bikers, hikers, horseback riders, berry pickers, and more. Vavra said the MERA master plan adopted in 2010 identifies a See Motocross I Page GA.
The Observer
Winter travel in Wallowa County will become more difficult if a remote Northeast Oregon highway maintenance station is shut down. The Oregon Department of Transportation outpost at Flora is being studied for closure as part of$132 million in budget cuts statewide. Region 5, which covers onethird of the state and hundreds of rural miles, needs to tlim about $1.76 million in the 2013-2015 biennium, said Wallowa County Commissioner Mike Hayward. Closing the Flora Station that services remote Highway 3 from Enterprise to the Washington state line would save $140,000 a year. The two highway workers who live and work out of Flora would be moved to Enterprise as would some of the equipment, said Hayward. The big cost ofrunning the Flora maintenance station is
Union
SEE STORY. PAGE 12A
1905 caboose arrives
Community patrol helps combat crime By Mike Shearer The Observer
They call tl1emselves tl1e "eyes and ears for the sheriff's department in Union." They aTe the Union Community Patrol. "We have been told we cut crime here about in half;" said Jeanne Johnson, one of those active in the patrol Several years ago, Union gave up its own police department - primarily because of the cost - and it has ever since contracted with the Union County sheriff for protection. But several citizens have for many years now patrolled the town in pairs, checking business doors to make sure they're locked, monitored activities in the park, and driving past homes of people who have notified the patrol that they will be out of town. "We work hard at what we do, and we don't get much thanks," Johnson said. "We do it for our little town." Although she patrols as a p1ivate citizen, Johnson happens to be a city councilor and president pro tempore of the council in the mayor's absence. She said she started with the patrol in 2006 or 2007 and said "four or five" people m·e now actively involved. She said the late Jack Zimmerman was very active in the community patrol. They always go out in pairs for safety, she said, and at random times. "It might be at 6 p.m. or midnight." They step up their patrols during the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show.
See Flora I Page 12A
LG School District
CIIIPBCI
achieve11em targets set By Dick Mason The Observer
Kindergarten attendance and assessment test scores for students are likely to continue climbing in the La Grande School District in 2012-13. Higher assessment test scores and improved attendance are elements of a proposed achievement compact between the school district and the Oregon Education Investment Board, which the La Grande School Board recently approved. La Grande and all school districts are required to annually enter into achievement compacts with the OEIB, which was created by state legislation in 2011. The compacts set targets for districts in the categOiies ofcollege and career readiness, student progression, equity and other areas. Targets which are part of the La Grande compact include having 75 percent of the school district's fifth graders, eighth graders and 11th graders meeting state
See Patrol I Page 12A
W eekend
HIGHLIGHTS SATURDAY
Brad Mos he r /The Obse rve r
Jayson Seifert of Wallowa helps guide a wood caboose to its new home on the rails of the Wallowa Union Scenic Railway in Elgin Thursday. The caboose made the trip from its former home in Yreka, Calif., by tru<k The caboose will be used with the railroad's existing rolling stock. First use ofthe caboose will be as part ofthe excursion for the Elgin Stampeders' train robbery Saturday.
Elgin Stampeders train robbery:A notorious gang of bandits associated with the Elgin Stampeders plans to robthe train near Elgin;ticket prices are youth, 3to 16, $35;adults, $65; seniors 60 and older, $60.; 10 a.m.; Elgin Depot, 300 N. Eighth St. Enterprise Fanners Market: Incl udes live music 5:30p.m. - 7 p.m; 4-7 p.m.;Wallowa County Courthouse, 101 S. River St. Music at the Market: Janis Carper & Carolyn Lochert: acoustic folk and originals; free; 9 a.m.-noon; Max Square, corner of Fourth Street and Adams Avenue, La Grande. Wallowa Mountain Horse Show: Participants can compete in showmanship,Western, and Eastern riding styles; free; 8:30a.m.; Fairgrounds, 668 NW First St., Enterprise.
See Compacts I Page 12A
INDEX Calendar ........ 6A Classifi ed ....... 48 Comics ........... 38 Co mmunity ... 6A Crossw ord ..... 4B
WEATHER Dear Abby ... 108 Health ............ 18 Ho roscope ..... 78 Lottery ............ 2A Record ........... 7A
Obituaries ...... 3A Opi nion .......... 4A Outdoors ....... 1C Sports ............9A Television ...... 7C
MONDAY IN SPORTS
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Issue 119 3 sectio ns, 32 pages La Grande, Orego n
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