Weekender The
October 31, 2023
WEEKEND EDITION
INSIDE
$2.50
‘GATEWAY TO
UNION A7
La Grande/Union County Airport set to add backup power generator
ADVENTURE’ Tollgate Crossing Store and its brand are providing a must stop opportunity in the Blue Mountains
UMATILLA A6 Food sovereignty creates connections with land, people
Photos by Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Owner Trevor Abell serves a couple of cold ones on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, at the new Tollgate Crossing Store’s bar area.
By HANNAH MCINTYRE Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
BAKER A8
Literacy coalition provides books to schools, volunteers to read with students IN BRIEF
Volunteer sought for outdoor committee
SALEM — The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is seeking volunteers for three positions on the Oregon Outdoor Recreation Committee. The positions include a member to represent the interests of a historically underrepresented community or a representative from Tribal Government, one representative for counties west of the Cascades, and one representative for counties east of the Cascades. For informations, contact Nohemi Enciso, LWCF program coordinator, at nohemi. enciso@oprd.oregon.gov or 503-480-9092.
— The Observer
INDEX Calendar Comics Crossword County - Baker County - La Grande County - Pendleton County - Wallowa Dear Abby Eastern Oregon Lives Opinion Outdoors Puzzles Sudoku Weekend Read
A2 B5 B2 A6 A7 A8 A9 B6 A13 A4 B1 B4 B4 A14
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OLLGATE — Even though the cabins, homes and businesses on Tollgate have a Weston address, the collection of buildings up on the mountain is seemingly its own community. Trevor Abell, owner of the Tamarack Lodge and now Tollgate Crossing Store, is supplying food staples to about 700 cabins between the rural communities of Weston and Elgin. Abell moved from Prineville in Central Oregon to the Tollgate
area after his father died. Abell said his father’s side of the family grew up in La Grande and spent their days exploring the Blue Mountains. “I’ve always spent a lot of time over in Eastern Oregon,” Abell said. “My dad passed away in 2019 and was buried in Summerville.” Abell said one of the times he was driving over Tollgate with his family he realized that he wanted to have a place his father had frequently visited. Fast-forward to 2021, and Abell purchased the Tamarack
Oregon ranked in top four for rate of car theft Umatilla County had high number of reported car thefts in 2022
OREGON CAR THEFT DATA HIGHLIGHTS
See Store / A12
A firepit is set up and ready for chilling on a chilly evening at one of the outdoor seating areas.
ODFW event scores Audit showssteelhead, funds notadvises gettinganglers spent MEASURE 110
Treatment providers slow to spend Measure 110 dollars, some counties serving few people, new audit finds
By BILL BRADSHAW Wallowa County Chieftain
ers over the weekend was that, while skill and experience matter, so does luck. “I’ve tried the same things on the same day,” said Kyle Bratcher, the district fish biologist for ODFW who was in charge of the event, “and some things work and some things don’t on different days.”
ENTERPRISE — When going after steelhead, you have to know what you’re doing. By KRISTA KROISS That was one reason for the For EO Media Group broodstock angling event put on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 13-14, HERMISTON — Oreat the Wenaha Wildlife Area on gon had the fourth highthe Grande Ronde River by the Adding to the run By NOELLE CROMBIE Oregon Department of Fish and est rate of car theft among The Oregonian states and the District of Some 15 steelhead were Wildlife. Contributed Photo Columbia in 2022, accordcaught by the 120-150 anglers ODFW had instructors on SALEM — While Ore- theLaVonne Griffin-Valade signs an official document June 30, ing to a ranking by the who dropped in their lines afscene giving tips on equip2023, in the Oregon State Library, Salem, during her sweargon has handed out an National Insurance Crime Ian Crawford/Baker City Herald ter listening to experts during ment and methods to catch the to become Oregon secretary of state. Grifestimated $261 million Bureau, a nonprofi organi- left, and Oregon Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson, Idaho Rep. Barbarat Ehardt, R-Prineville, cenworkshops give tips on equipbiging-in fish onceremony their way upstream fin-Valade in December said an auditors’ findings are intended in grants for drug treatzation that works to prevent ter, pose with Citizens for a Greater Idaho spokesperson Matt McCaw at the Geiser Grand ment, the best bait, where to from the ocean to spawn. to help the Oregon Health Authority “put the right structures ment and recovery serand fight insuranceOct. crime. 100,000 Data Hotel on Thursday, 19, 2023, in Bakerresidents. City. look for the fish and how to reel But one of the lessons the in place to administer the treatment side of Measure 110.”/ A11 vices under Measure 110, experts According to the from the FBI show a similar See ODFW taught the newcommuch of the money has yet bureau’s October report, rate for Oregon, with 551 to reach the people who Oregon’s car theft rate in Service providers spent handed out in grants, the thefts per 100,000 people in need it, according to a new $95 million between July 2022 was 541 thefts per audit found. 2022. Oregon Secretary of State 100,000 residents — an 2022 and June of this year, Treatment networks set Colorado was ranked audit of the drug decrimiincrease from the previrepresenting about oneSee THEFT, Page A11 See AUDIT, Page A11 nalization law. ous year’s rate of 475 per third of what the state had • Car thefts per capita (2022): 551.5 | Ranked No. 3 • Number of car thefts (2022): 23,386 | Ranked No. 12 • Number of car thefts (2021): 20,112 | Ranked No. 13 • Change in car thefts from 2021: Increased by 16% | Ranked No. 14
Lawmakers discuss Greater Idaho movement By IAN CRAWFORD Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — Lawmakers from Oregon and Idaho met in Baker City on Thursday, Oct. 19, to have their initial discussion about the Greater Idaho movement and its goal of transferring much of Oregon east of the Cascades to become part of Idaho. Thus far the campaign has focused on convincing voters in Oregon counties to pass measures requiring their
county commissioners to discuss the proposal regularly. Voters in 12 counties, including Union and Wallowa, have done so. But actually moving state borders would require approval from both the Idaho and Oregon legislatures, as well as from Congress. “We had a lot of good conversation today about where the movement is at currently, where we need to go next and what needs to happen to keep this discussion moving for-
ward,” said Matt McCaw, a spokesperson for Citizens for Greater Idaho. McCaw spoke during a media-only press conference at the Geiser Grand Hotel. His comments followed a meeting of Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson, a Republican 5col x 2.5” from Prineville, and Idaho Reps. Judy Boyle, a Republican from Washington County, and Barbara Ehardt, a Republican from Twin Falls. That meeting, also at the
8.75” x 2.5” $196.88 / week See Movement / A11
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Mike Lance prepares to scan a large steelhead on Friday, Oct. 13. 2023, at the Wenaha Wildlife Area during an event that included teaching anglers and gathering and assessing broodstock.