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EASTERN OREGON
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• Motorcycle crashes have claimed 32 lives through July 23, an 18.5 percent increase By Phil Wright
On the
East Oregonian
Tim Mustoe/TheObserver
A property near Sanderson Road north of Summerville stands before the afterglow of the Phillips Creek Fire only miles away. Residents were told to be ready and prepared to pack their belongings. Some families had family photos already boxed away and ready to be removed. By Dick Mason The Observer
Speakout
SUMMERVILE — Ray and Mary Brown will never forget the sightorthe senseofterror. At about 8:30 p.m. Sunday the Browns looked outside their home on Sanderson Road about four miles north of Summerville and saw flames from the 1,142acre Phillips Creek Fire. "It was kind of freaky. You wonder 'Is is coming up our road?"' Mary Brown said. The Browns and many other residents of Sanderson Road and Ruckle Road shared the same feeling. Their fears were Tim Mustoe/TheObserver elevated a short time later when The slopesof Mount Emily can barely be seen Monday Union County officials came to morning as smoke from the Phillips Creek Fire slowly stretchtheirdoors and issued a Level es across the valley from the Sanderson Road area north of 1 evacuation notice. Under a Summerville. Ash debris from the fire was sent into the air Level 1 evacuation notice, one and traveled for miles, landing in yards nearby. must be ready to leave his or her home on a moment's notice. receiving the evacuation notice, ily memorabilia and placed it The Browns, minutes before in a vehicle. They also got ready began packingalloftheirfam -
TODAY'S QUESTION Have you been affectedby the Phillips Creek Fire outside of Elgin? SOUND OFF www.lagrandeobserver. com
increase
PENDLETON — Motorcycle crashes since June have put one local man in a hospitaland leftthreemore dead.Oregon Department of Transportation data show deadly motorcycle crashes this year are up almost 20 percent. Motorcycle crashes in Oregon claimed 32 lives from Jan. 1 through July 23, the day before Anteau died, accordingto preliminary data from Oregon Department of Transportation. Tom Strandberg, ODOT spokesman in Eastern Oregon, said there were 27 fatalities through the same period in 2014, an increaseof18.5 percentin a year. And this year is already deadlier than all of 2013, which had 32 fatalities. SeeCrashes / Page 5A
Fatal crashes of all vehicle types are up through July 23. Tom Strandberg, ODOT spokesman in Eastern Oregon said 165 people died in 151 crashes in 2014 during the period; this year, 238 have died in 220 crashes.
LA GRANDE
Ci council to discuss pre-sale of pot
Online PHOTO GALLERIES To see more photos from the Philips Creek Fire, log on to www. lagrandeobserver.com
to move their animals, placing theirtwo catsin cages,their dog on a leash and putting halters on their two donkeys. The Browns did not relax SeeFire / Page 5A
If you go
• Public hearing will take public comment
What: La Grande City Council meeting When: 6 p.m., Wednesday Where: La Grande City Hall
By Cherise Kaechele The Observer
GRH acquires Elgin and Union health dinics • Grande Ronde Hospital to help with administration duties Observer staff
Grande Ronde Hospital added two new clinics over the weekend, though the clinics
HEALTH CARE have been established for quite some time. According to a press release from Grande Ronde Hospital, the health clinics — in Union and Elgin — will now be called the Grande Ronde Hospital
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Elgin Clinic and the Grande Ronde Hospital Union Clinic, respectively. The medical entities decided to combineforcesbecause ofthe large amount of administrative duties that were bogging down the South County Health District, which provided the stafFfor
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both health clinics. In addition, the need to recruitdoctorstothe rural clinics weighed heavily on thedistrict,said Jared Rogers, Elgin Health Clinic director, at a clinic meeting earlier this year. The Grande Ronde Hospital has the money and the stafF See Clinics / Page 5A
The first reading of an ordinance to prohibit the pre-saleofrecreational marijuana will be heard at Wednesday's La Grande City Council meeting. House Bill 3400 signed by Gov. Kate Brown at the beginning of July gives communities the power to decide whether the medical marijuana dispensaries SeeCouncil / Page 5A
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Issue 91 2 sections, 20 pages La Grande, Oregon
WEDNESDAY IN GO! BRQNZE, BLUES AND BREWS ON TAP IN JOSEPH
Meet Dr. Holly Clowe.
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An expert in pediatrics.
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