La Grande Observer Daily Paper 04-04-14

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HIGH SCHOOLTRACKAND FIELD PREVIEW INSPORTS,8A

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DOWNTOWN LA GRANDE INTERSTATE 84

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• Final vote on tr500,000 request for downtown grocery store not expected this month Inside

By Kelly Ducote

The Observer

La Grande City Though a presentation Coun c ilor for a proposed downtown La K e lly McGee Grandegrocerystoreseemed will soon well-received, there is much a t t end her to bedone beforetheproject last meeting isapproved forfunding. as a local The Urban Renewal elected Agency heard a presentation o ff icial. from developer Al Adels- P a ge 2A berger Monday night. He is

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requesting $500,000 to help establish La Grande Family Foods with grocer Troy Berglund, owner and operator of Mt. Joseph Family Foods in Wallowa County. While public comments at the work session indicated there is support for funding the project, Urban Renewal SeeDetails / Page5A

p 'r, ' a t t ' Chris Baxter /The Observer

A sign is already up warning drivers that the westbound Interstate-84 on-ramp at exit 259 will close April 21 for the construction season. The closure is needed for Oregon Department ofTransportation to continue work on a three-year project to improve 1-84 from La Grande to the Kamela interchange at exit 246.

• Bicyclists prohibite d from ridingon interstate during construction By Kelly Ducote

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The Observer

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The westernmost on-ramp for Interstate 84 in La Grande will soon close for the construction season. Oregon Department of Transportation officials say the westbound on-ramp at exit259 isexpected toclose April 21 through the fall. The closure is due to the ongoing, multi-year freeway improvement project between the Second Street undercrossing inLa Grande and the Kamela interchange at exit

Chris Baxter /The Observer

Crews work on a median barrierThursday afternoon. Median work is one of several things being addressed in a $43 million, multi-year project along 1-84. 246.The projectbegan last year and includes resurfacing the left lane with new asphalt, placing concrete in the right lane, replacing median

barriers, repairing bridges, improving chain-up areas and constructing a westbound truck climbing lane along the Spring Creek grade.

"Because the freeways will be reducedto a single lane of travelto accommodate improvements to the westbound truck chain-up area near the Union County Fairgrounds, there won't be enough room for trafllc to safely merge from the exit 259 westbound on-ramp," said Ken Patterson, ODOT project leader.aWe'll need to close this on-ramp during the 2014 and 2015 construction seasons." Because of the construction, bicyclists will not be permitted on the freeway between milepost 252, near Hilgard State Park, and exit 261. Cyclists should ride an alternate route via Highway 204 or Highway 82, or ridethe freetransitshuttle SeeODOT / Page 5A

LA GRANDE

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AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

WASHINGTON — Here's more fallout from the health care law: Until now, customers could walk into an insurance office or go online to buy standard health care coverage any time of year. Not anymore. Many people who didn't sign up duringthe government'sopen enrollment period that ended Monday will soon find it difficult or impossibletogetinsured thisyear, even if they go directly to a private

company and money is no object. For someit'salready toolate. With limited exceptions, insurers are refusing to sell to individualsaftertheenrollment period for HealthCare.gov and the state marketplaces. They will lock out the young and healthy as well as the sick or injured. Those who want to switch plans also are affected. The next wide-open chance to enroll

INDEX

WE A T H E R

Calendar........7A Health ............1B Opinion..........4A Classified.......4B Horoscope.....5B Outdoors .......1C Comics...........sa Lottery............2A Spiritual Life..BA Crossword..... 5B Record ...........3A Sports ............BA Dear Abby .....BB Obituaries......3A Television ......3C

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comes in November for coverage in 2015. It's a little-noted consequence of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, which requires nearly all Americans to be insured or pay a fine and requires insurers to accept people with health problems. "I have people that can buy insurance, but the companies shut them down.They won'ttaketheapplications," insurance broker Steve SeeHealth / Page5A

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A congressional committee is looking into whether Oregon's troubled healthinsurance exchange had done enough to protect sensitive personal information before trying to launch the Cover Oregon portal in October. Page 10A

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541-963-3161 Issue 41 3 sections, 24 pages La Grande, Oregon

BLI ND COVE HUNTER WANTS TOBEABLE TO HUNTAGAIN •000

EOU graduate nominated for top acting honor • Emily Nash is a finalist for the Irene Ryan Award By Dick Mason The Observer

Emily Nash, an actress with deep La Grande roots, is six minutes from an acting pinnacle. A graduate student at the University of Idaho, Nash is one of 16 finalists for the Irene Ryan Award, named for the actress who portrayed "Granny" on the CBS TV show "The Beverly Hillbillies." Few if any collegiate See Nash / Page5A

CONTACT US

Fu l l forecast on the back of B section

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Emily Nash, left, appears with actor Sean Cook in a production of "Almost Maine" in Bellingham, Wash., last summer.

iiealthinsuranceisn'tavear-roundthing The Associated Press

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Email story ideas to newsC~/agrande observer.com. More contact info on Page 4A.

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La Grande Observer Daily Paper 04-04-14 by NorthEast Oregon News - Issuu