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THE SERVING UNION AND WALLOWA COUNTIES SINCE 1888
Cache Creek Fire expands to 26,000 acres By Katy Nesbitt The Observer
The Cache Creek Fire grew to 26,000 acres over night and burned Coon Hol low cabin, the only structure to havesuffered damage so far. Deputy Wallowa-Whitman Forest Supervisor Tom Montoya said "the cabin had an intrinsic value, and it is unfortunate that it was lost." Today's objectives are to construct fire line and Kirk Metzger /InaWeb incident Information System providestructure protecti on A drop from a retardant plane leaves an orange swath especially in Rogersburg, of fire suppressant chemical atop a ridge at the Cache Cottonwood Creek and Creek Fire. The blaze is burning near the Snake River in Josephine communities, the the northeast corner of Wallowa County. Jim CreekRanch,Jim Creek
repeater site, and the Chief Joseph State Wildlife Area in Washington. Protecting anadromous fish habitat and range lands are also top priorities. Thursday, protection of the structures by ground resourc es and with aerial support from both airplanes with retardant and water drops from helicopters successfully held the containment line. On the west flank, the fire burned down to a previously constructed bull dozer line that extended from the Frog Pond up and across Mt. Wil son. Crews patrolled the SeeFire / Page 2A
• Interim Wallowashowed up, some speaking in angry tones about the forest's Whitman N.F. yet-to-be-finalized travel managementplan. supervisor Most outspoken of all listens to citizen was Chris Haefer, a lifetime Union County resident who concerns at'meet gave the opinion the For and greet' event est Service has not been
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Bill Rautenstrauch/The Observer
Acting Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Supervisor Kevin Martin talks with Cove City Councilor Darlene Rochna during a meet and greet session at La Grande Ranger District headquarters Wednesday.
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By Bill Rautenstrauch The Observer
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Dick Mason /The Observer
A crew from Hampton Paving of La Grande lays asphalt for additional blacktop that was added to La Grande Middle School's playground this week. The crew members are, from left, Corey Gomes, Mike Hampton and Mark Mata.
Project more than doubles playground space at La Grande Middle School By Dick Mason
sales by members and students, the sale of spirit wear items with LMS The La Grande Middle School play logos and more. The money was raised under the ground, like the steam that has been coming off its paved surface for much direction of Tiffany Vaughn and Heidi of this week, is on the rise. Halsey, co-presidents of the LMS A majorpaving and repaving proj PTO. McKinney said that without the PTO this project would not have been ect was completed at the playground this week, one which will dramati completed. cally improve the site. Vaughn said expanding the paved 'This is going to make a huge area of the playground was impor difference," said LMS Principal Kyle tant because it will let students play McKinney. games outside even when the school's A totalof3,600 squarefeetofplay north field is wet and muddy, which is ground was added as hot asphalt was often the case in the fall and spring. McKinney agrees, noting there are deposited via dump truck and then many days when students are pro steamrolled. The project will more than double hibited from stepping off the blacktop the playground's paved space. This during recess because the field area is portion of the work is being paid so muddy. In the past, students have for with $12,000 raised by the LMS tracked enormous amounts of mud Parent Teacher organization. The into LMS, increasing wear and tear PTO raised the money with the help on the school and adding to the work of donations, magazine subscription load of the maintenance star. The Observer
INDEX Calendar........7A Classified....... 4B Comics........... 5B Crossword..... BB Dear Abby ... 10B
WE A T H E R Health ............1B Opinion..........4A Horoscope.....BB Outdoors .......1C Lottery............2A Spiritual Life..BA Record ...........5A Sports ............BA Obituaries......5A Television ......C7
Another major part of the project involvestherepaving ofthe old black top on the playground's basketball court. McKinney said this was critical because the old pavement was crack ing, creating an unsafe situation. "It was falling apart," McKinney sard. A local asphalt consultant told him thatthe cracks were sobad thatifre paving work was not done, the entire courtwould have toreplaced. The La Grande School District coveredthe costofrepaving thebas ketball court. Students on the old blacktop previ ously played basketball, four-square and wall ball, often all at once. McKin ney said the area was too small for all these games to be played at one time and that often stray balls from one game would interfere with another, creating an unsafe situation. SeePaving / Page 3A
Clear and cool
awe should have a major
role in what happens," Haefer said. "There's nothing around here that doesn't in volve the Wallowa-Whitman. We' ve been fighting this, and we will be fighting it for 20 years. We know that when you take something away, we' ll be damned if it's ever coming back." Martin, who took the Wallowa-Whitman helm only a week ago, reminded people SeeChief / Page7A
Gunmankills1,wounds9
at EmpireState Building NEW YORK iAPl— A laid-off women's accesso riesdesigner shot aformer coworker to death in front of the Empire State Building, causing a chaotic show down with police Friday in front of one of the world' s best-known landmarks. Police killed the suspect and at least nine others were wounded, some possibly by police gunfire, city officials sard. Some of the wounded were grazedby bulletsand others hit directly, but all were expectedto survive,offi cials sard. The gunshots rang out on the Fifth Avenue side of the
building at around 9 a.mu a time of day when the side walks around the building arepacked with pedestrians and merchants were opening their shops. "People were yelling 'Get down! Get down!", said Mare Engel, an accountant who was on a bus in the area when he heard the shots. "Ittook about 15 seconds, a lot of'pop, pop, pop, pop, one shot after the other." Afterward, he saw the sidewalks littered with the wounded, including one per son "dripping enough blood toleavea stream." SeeShooting / Page 3A
CONTACT US
Fu l l forecast on the back of B section
Friday I 44 bow
The new supervisor for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest met a sometimes confrontational crowd and was greeted with a barrage of questions and concerns about travel management during a meeting Wednesday at La Grande Ranger District headquarters. The late-afternoon gather ing was the second of three "meet and greet" sessions in the region for Kevin Mar tin, who steps in as WWNF acting supervisor with the departure of Monica Schwal bach. More than 40 people
transparent in the travel management plan process, and said the agency doesn' t pay attention to the public's desires when it comes to use of the Wallowa-Whitman.
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ONDAYRSFQRTS WERST RACERESULTS; EOUGRID PREVIEW • 0 • • 0 •
541-963-3161 Issue 146 3 sections, 32 pages La Grande, Oregon
Email story ideas to newsC~/agrande observer.corn. More contact info on Page 4A.
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