HELICOPTER SAFETY INSTATE,7A
EW' GULATIONS MEANS HELICOPTER EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICECARE VARIES GREATLYACROSS NATION IN COMMUNITY LIFE, 6A
INSPORTS,8A
BASKE TBALLTEAMSGEARUP FORHOUDAYTOURNAMENTS
GROUPSRAISEMONEYBY — J RECYCUNGCHRISTMASTREES
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SERVING UNION AND WALLOWA COUNTIES SINCE 1896 Follow us on the web
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OREGON NORTHEAST OREGON
CONSERVATIO
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• Sawmill, community rescued through collaboration by groups with diA'erent interests By Jeff Bamard The Associated Press
JOHN DAY — Logs are piled high in the yard of the Malheur Lumber Co. mill in this small town in Northeastern Oregon, ready to be sawed into lumber. Steam pours out ofthe stacks.Trucksloaded with logs rollin. John Day, a town of1,700, nearlydied two years ago.Its lifeblood, the sawmill, was abouttoclose.Sofew logs were coming off the nearby Malheur National Forest, the mill's owners decided it was time to shut down. But the mill and the town's economy were rescued by a detente between the timber industry and environmentalists — foes since the battles overlogging that erupted in the Pacific Northwest three decades ago. The sides uncovered a shared goal: thinning overgrownforeststo prevent catastrophic wildfires.
Jeff Barnard/APfile photo
In this photo taken last month, processor operator Colton Clark works his way through a stand of timber on the Malheur National Forest outside John Day. Talk to people in town and you'll still hear grumbling from those who don't trust environmentalists. But not from Art Andrews, manager of Malheur Lumber. ''When I tell people that it's
the environmental community that saved this community, they say, 'Oh, baloney!"' Andrews said."But I lived it. I know it's true." Mills in timber country have beensteadil y closing as
fighting continues over how to log national forests without killing protected species such as spotted owls and salmon. Across the West, there are efforts tobuild trustamong timber interests, environmentalists and local residents, and the U.S. Forest Service hopes the success of John Day serves as a model. There is little private timber to draw on in such towns, east of the Cascades. One logging project after another in the Malheur National Forest was shot down by lawsuits from environmentalists. Meanwhile, the community was demanding logs. cWe wereat a stalemate," recalled Steve Beverlin, supervisor of the Malheur National Forest. Then, Blue Mountains ForestPartners formed in 2006,a collaborative group designed to bring together all sides of SeeForest / Page 5A
• Bill would allow cameras, citizens recording police InSid8
By Taylor W. Anderson
vvesCom News Servlce
Many Oregon S ALEM — Recent highsch o ol profile police killings and dist r icts are the double murder of two serving an New York City policemen incr easing have made body cameras perc entage for offi cersa popularidea of children that Oregon legislators are liv i ng in already moving on. poveity, In order to implement acco r ding to thecameras widespread in new Census O regon and minimize any Bur e au hiccups, state law needs to fig u res. change first, and groups Page 2A say the state needs to enact strict policy standards to guide how police capture and storethe videobeforethe programsspread out ofpilot phases seen in Bend and Portland. Rep. Jennifer Williamson, D-Portland, this month filed a bill that would allow officersto record citizens — and SeeCameras / Page 5A
WEATHER
Tim Mustoe/The Observer
Jennifer Smith and her son, Shane, enjoy sledding down Eighth Street near the campus of Eastern Oregon University.
Snow makes for
Downtown La Grande ready to drop ball • La Grande hosts own ball drop, block party to usher in 2015 By Kelly Ducote The Observer
The La Grande Fire Department took a weekly training exercise downtown over the weekend. Firefighters utilized the department's aerial fire truck Saturday morning to help organizers of the
EDNESDAY
New Year's Eve Block Party put the New Year's Eve ball on top of the Phoenix Building. La Grande Fire Chief Bruce Weimer said the crews exercise the truck weekly but rarely get an opportunity like the one presented this weekend. "Putting the ball up was a pretty SeeBall / Page 5A
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Cherise Kaechele/TheObserver
New Year's Eve Block Party organizer Ashley O'Toole, right, throws a rope to La Grande firefighters, who put the 4-foot 8-inch light-up ball on the flagpole of the Phoenix Building.
Fu l l forecast on the back of B section
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Union County became a winter wonderland and Interstate 84 became as slippery as a skating rink this weekend after a series of snowstorms hit the region. One storms dumped 5 to 6 inches of snow in La Grande from Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning and another dropped a limited amount of snow Sunday and early Monday. SeeWeather / Page 5A
The snow deposited on the region will remain for much of the week. The National Weather Service is forecasting frigid temperatures through Thursday.
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Issue 156 2 sections, 18 pages La Grande, Oregon
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