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EASTERN OREGON
DOWNTOWN LA GRANDE
• Grocery store developer Al Adelsberger says initial design ofdowntown development was preferred but process not over
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By Kelly Ducote The Observer
Believed to have been built around 1915, the building on the corner of Adams Avenue and Fourth Street for a long time housed Perkins Motor Co. That look was the inspiration to draft a second rendering for the proposed Market Place Family
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• Executive decision kept La Grande out of running for Oregon State Police crime lab
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Foods, the company seeking $500,000 in help
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from the La Grande Urban Renewal Agency. ewe had some parties that came forward and shared black and white photos from the building'searly days, "said developer AlAdelsberger. cWe wanted to try to accommodate for them." After Adelsberger and grocer Troy Berglund gave their pitch to the Urban Renewal Agency in March, they draftedasecond rendering for the building, one thatincorporated trellises and curved windows to mimic the historic building. Those who supported the historic Atlelsberger rendering were inspired by the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, which suggests that historic building storefronts be preserved. Prior to becoming Blockbuster, the building served as a grocery store, according to La Grande City Planner Mike Boquist. 'The sidewalk that exists along the alley frontage was part of the building's main entry. I don't have any records to confirm this layout, but this information is consistent amongst people I have spoken with," Boquist said."Originally, the grocery property also included the Community Bank property, which was improved and utilized as thegrocery store parking lot." Because a rendering had already been dispersed through the community, Adelsberger decided to put a survey online asking people which rendering they preferred. "Nearly79 percent votefor No.1,"he said. "I'm not going to say that decision is 100 percent made yet." The developer emphasized that he would build the project either way — if the Urban Renewal Agency opts to allocate the $500,000 loan forthe project. "I'm really interested in commerce,"Adelsberger said."For me, the look is secondary to the purpose of it." The $500,000 request from the city would come in the form of a loan, which could be convertedto agrantifcertain criteria aremet .La Grande Community and Economic Development Director Charlie Mitchell said last week that the agreement is in the planning stages, but they are looking at a requirement of 10 full-time jobs and SeeDesign / PageGA
By Kelly Ducote The Observer
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THE WEST
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TheAssociated Press
An aircraft drops fire retardant on the Colby Fire in January near Azusa, Calif
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La Grande teacher ready to call it a career REAL PEOPLE
By Josh Benham The Observer
After a busy few decades of devoting his life to his extended family — the youth of La Grande — Tom Kenny is looking forward to spending time with his actual family. Kenny, currently the algebra
teacher at La Grande High School, is retiring this month after29 years ofguiding teenagers through numbers and equations. First on the docket? Hanging out with his own supportive figure.
INDEX Classified.......4B Comics...........3B Community...7A Crossword..... 5B Dear Abby .....SB
WE A T H E R Home.............1B Obituaries......3A
Horoscope.....ee Opinion..........4A Letters......4A-5A Sports ............SA Lottery............2A State............. 11A Record ...........3A Sudoku ..........3B
EDNESDAY •000
Many in La Grande thought a plan to place a bigger Oregon State Police Forensics Labpossibly in La Grande — had simply been put on hold. A February Request for Information from the Oregon Department of Administrative Servicessuggestsotherwise. The state has moved to site a new forensics lab in the Pendleton area, according to the RFI. A plan to locate a lab in La Grande by consolidating labs in Pendleton and Ontario was shelved in July 2012. Rep. Greg Smith intervened at the request of Umatilla County commissioners to keep the lab in Pendleton, the East Oregonian reported at the time. That announcement came following the retirement of OSPSuperintendentChris Brown, who had advocated for siting the lab in La Grande. In December 2012, La Grande officials were still under the impression that the forensic lab was in limbo but not that SeeLab / PageGA
"My dad, who is 88 years old, recently moved ') here," Kenny said. "So I will definitely Kenny be spending more time with him. And my brother is here now, so it will be nice to be around them more."
Fu l l forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Tuesday
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Showers/ thunderstorms
Stray afternoon showers
In the coming months, Kenny, 64, an avid outdoorsman, will also reconnect with nature. "My wife and I are going to travel to Yellowstone during a nice two-week tour of Idaho and Montana," he said.ewe'll do some fishing and check out the SeeKenny / PageGA
LOS ANGELES — With a vast swath of the Westprimed forwildfi res,federalforestersarepreparing fortheworstwith a budget that might run dry and a fleet of air tankers that in some cases aren't ready for takeoff. A combination of extended drought, warming weatherand an abundance ofwithered treesand grasses have created idealconditions for fire — more than 22 million acres were blackened by wildfires from 2011 to 2013,primarily acrosstheWest. SeeWildfires / PageGA
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Issue 54 2 sections, 20 pages La Grande, Oregon
FE RANCHERS FACENEW ISSUESWITH FDA •000
The Associated Press
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