The wind turbine blades were assembled by Doug from cedar fence posts in the shop at his home in Enterprise. - Submitted photos

Now Terry lives in a peaceful neighborhood in a small town, but he is still designing and creating. He recently built a wind turbine to generate electricity. The tower is erected in his backyard.

interchange clean-up: Monette Wendt and Kate Edwards were among volunteers who turned out recently to help with clean-up efforts at the North Powder freeway exchange. Powder Valley Lions plan to do major landscaping at the site in October. Submitted photo

The Lions are the prime movers behind a plan to beautify the freeway ramps. A major “Adopt a Landscape” project, which will include laying fabric and spreading rock, is slated to begin in October.

On July 18, eight volunteers, along with a work crew provided by the Union County Sheriff’s Office, showed up to cut down weeds and do some general clean-up.

Denise Brown, sister of Nicole Brown Simpson, will be a keynote speaker at the first Rural Institute on Child Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence Monday at the Blue Mountain Conference Center in La Grande.

Brown’s presentation, “There’s No Excuse for Abuse,’’ will be open to the public. Tickets for the 7 p.m. event are $20 and are available at Sunflower Books. All proceeds benefit the Mount Emily Safe Center.

The conference, which runs Monday and Tuesday, is sponsored by Mount Emily Safe Center, which provides child abuse assessments and victim support services in the nine counties in Northeast Oregon. Organizers hope to make the event an annual one.

ILLUSTRATOR AND AUTHOR: Nancy Attebury, right, of La Grande and Joan Madsen of Enterprise hold their new book “ ‘Twas the Night Before Round-Up.’’ Photo/ROB MADSEN

Attebury of La Grande and Madsen of Enterprise are the author and illustrator of “ ‘Twas the Night Before Round-Up,’’ a new children’s fiction book about the Round-Up. The book is an adaptation of Clarke’s 1823 classic “ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.’’

To date the new children’s book is proving as popular as the Round-Up’s Happy Canyon show. At least 550 copies have been sold since its Aug. 20 release. It appears that the first printing of 1,000 copies will soon sell out and that a second printing will be needed.

With money tight and the forecast calling for continued hard times, the La Grande City Council met Monday night to explore ways to beef up the budget.

In a work session at City Hall, the governing body kicked around more than a dozen revenue-enhancing ideas ranging from installation of parking meters downtown to a local option tax levy.

Some suggestions were rejected outright, others were embraced as “no-brainers” and still more were set aside for further study and review.

EOU students, left to right, Suzette Soalablai, Courtney Parsons and Deneil Hill walk out of Hunt Hall last week. A portion of Hunt Hall is being reopened primarily because of an increase in freshman enrollment at EOU. EOU/LAURA HANCOCK

The residence hall is being reopened due to a jump in freshman enrollment. The spike has filled the Alikut, Daugherty and North residence halls for fall term, which starts Sept. 27. Hunt Hall had been closed since spring 2007.

“This is a great sign. We are rebuilding our on-campus enrollment,’’ said EOU President Bob Davies.

Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown, left, meets with area residents including Mary Helen Garoutte, right, at a lunch in La Grande Thursday. The Observer/CHRIS BAXTER

In an interview with The Observer Thursday morning, Brown, a former state legislator, talked about adjustments she’s made as she switches to the administrative side of government.

“I knew very little in terms of the inner workings of government,” she said. “There’s certainly been a transition period, but I think I’ve done a good job of it.”

A Caldwell, Idaho, man was arraigned Friday on charges connected to an alleged scheme to murder La Grande resident Marcus Coby Ryder.

Alvaro Luna-Paredes, 24, faces charges of solicitation to commit aggravated murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder. All the charges are Class A felonies and carry maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and $375,000 fines.

Union County Circuit Judge Phillip Mendiguren ordered Luna-Paredes held on $500,000 bail and at the request of Union County District Attorney Tim Thompson disallowed release on 10 percent of the amount.

A motor vehicle crash on Peach Road near Booth Lane in rural La Grande claimed the life of a La Grande woman Friday.

Sugar M. Brownson, 40, died after she lost control of her vehicle and rolled it, Union County Sheriff Boyd Rasmussen said this morning. The crash happened about 7:40 p.m. Brownson was the vehicle’s lone occupant.

The crash is still under investigation, but Rasmussen said speed and alcohol likely were involved.

Alvaro Luna-Paredes

Alvaro Luna-Paredes, 24, faces charges of solicitation to commit aggravated murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder. All the charges are Class A felonies and carry maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and $375,000 fines.