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Shelter supporters hopeful for coexistence • Group planning rally Sunday afternoon By Kelly Ducote The Observer
The money for a new courthouse is in the bank. Contracts are signed. But some Union County residents remain hopeful they can still save the 16-year-old Shelter From the Storm Advocacy Center from demolition.
"There's still time," said Maxine Hines. oThe designs are still on paper." Also on paper are a few ideas Hines and other shelter supporters came up with that would allow the SFS building to remain intact while a new courthouse is built. "I want a new courthouse. I want our community to have that. I want the community to have that SeeShelter / Page 5A
Shelterrrse rhs Sts,e COMMUNITYADVOC ACY CBtTER 111'I Fifth Street 963-722 -7226
Tim Mustoe/The Observer
Supporters of Shelter From the Storm will gather Sunday afternoon for a "Coexist Rally" to show their support for finding a way to have a new courthouse and the nonprofit on the county campus.
• Governor's proposed budget doesn't take into account a possible tl800 million refund
LA GRANDE
Looking back
By Taylor W. Anderson VVesCom News Setvlce
SALEM — While unveiling a budget Monday that he says shows the state is on good long-term footing, Gov. John Kitzhaber painted a rosy picture of state finances that included a few caveats. First, current and future lawmakers would have to see things his way. Next, the state and national economies can't recede, but they also can't grow so much that the state is forced to give money back to residents under Oregon's personal income tax rebate law. The state is teetering on the edge of refunding about
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Gov. Ted Kulongoski was forced in 2007 to give $1 billion in kicker rebates that otherwise could have helped smooth cuts as the nation slid into the Great Recession, which pummeled Oregon.
$300 million, a possibility the governor's budget didn'ttake into account. So the governor, SeeKicker / Page7A
EDUCATION
Tim Mustoe/TheObserver
La Grande city councilors and guests listen as Brent Smith explains the layout of the LibertyTheatre, which is in the midst of a major restoration. Once completed, the theater will be a place for residents to watch shows, listen to live music, view dance performances and listen to lectures, among many other possible uses.
• City councilors get a chance to see where Urban Renewal money is going in theater tour By Kelly Ducote The Observer
W hat do you think?
The La Grande City Council got a glimpse into the past — and the future — on a tour of the Liberty Theatre Wednesday night. The downtown theater located next door to City Hall is undergoing a major renovationto restore ittoits 1920s-era heyday. Some of the project's funding — upward
We want to hear your thoughts. Email letters to the editor to news@ lagrandeobserver. com and join the conversation on The Observer Opinion
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of$100,000— hascome from the city's Urban Renewal program. Dale Mammen, chairman ofthe board ofdirectorsfor the theater foundation, said what's happened so far is the culmination of a lot ofhard work.
Tim Mustoe/TheObserver
Though the theater closed in 1959 and served as a retail space for decades, the LibertyTheatre retains its original chandelier. ''What I'm trying to do isconsolidate fouryearsof enthusiasm in a few minutes
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tonight," he said Wednesday. Mammen was set to retire when he toured the old the-
ater building six years ago. ''What I saw was exciting," he said. Through La Grande Main Street, the Liberty Theatre project was launched. Project leaders laterformed a SeeTour / Page 5A
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HIGH-TECHWAYS TO SAY'HI' TO SANTA •000
ProgralTL breaks down barriers By Dick Mason The Observer
Eighty La Grande High School freshmen and sophomores learned how to break down interpersonal barriers while taking a break from the classroom Thursday. The students participated in a 5-V2 hour ChallengeDay program at Eastern Oregon University. The program, led by inspirational speakers Michelle Arias and Christopher Foster of California, is designed to teach young people how to take the lead in reaching out andembracing othersregardless oftheir differences. SeeProgram / Page7A
CONTACT US
Fu l l forecast on the back of B section
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Tim Mustoe/The Observer
La Grande High School students share high fives with adult volunteers at the start of a Challenge Day program at the Gilbert Activity Center Thursday.
541-963-3161 Issue 146 3 sections, 28 pages La Grande, Oregon
Email story ideas to newsC~/agrande observer.com. More contact info on Page 4A.
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