La Grande High School student Morgan Craddock races across the Quinn Coliseum floor during the math-relay, the culminating event of Tuesday’s Math competition activities at Eastern Oregon University. Chris Baxter/The Observer

by Dick Mason/The Observer

The best and brightest of La Grande High School’s math students combined foot speed with a knowledge of algebra, calculus and geometry to race past the local competition Tuesday at the annual Eastern Oregon Regional Math Contest.  

by Dick Mason/The Observer

Heraclitus of Ephesus, the ancient Greek philosopher, once said, “The only constant thing in life is change.’’

Change likely will be a constant in the Union School District in the near future.  

Eastern Oregon University Mountaineer football players wear high-heeled shoes at Thursday’s “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event. Chris Baxter/The Observer

Wearing red high heels to honor victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, EOU gridders, others  ‘Walk a Mile in Her Shoes’ 

by Dick Mason/The Observer

Close to 40 people took a stand against sexual assault while standing and walking in red high-heeled shoes Thursday afternoon in La Grande. 

The walkers were among 50 people who walked close to half a mile as part of “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes,’’ an event conducted by Shelter From the Storm to raise awareness of sexual assault.

Sandy Sorrels stands in front of Ten Depot Street, a restaurant she opened 25 years ago. Sorrels acquired the restaurant and bar in 1987, a place then known as Chris’s Woodshed. Following an extensive remodel, the place re-opened in April 1988 as Ten Depot Street. Bill Rautenstrauch photo

Ten Depot Street owner Sandy Sorrels and her employees are gearing up for a

25-year anniversary celebration set to unfold Saturday from 5 p.m. to closing time 

by Bill Rautenstrauch/For The Observer

Ten Depot Street in downtown La Grande is marking its 25th year in business this month, with its owner saying she’s pleasantly surprised by her long and successful run.

“I can’t believe how fast it went. When I first started, if somebody had told me I’d still be here 25 years later, I’d say it was impossible,” said Sandy Sorrels, a woman who started out waiting tables during college, and wound up as one of La Grande’ best-known restaurateurs.

Zumwalt Prairie is the last remaining, largest undisturbed plateau grassland and bunchgrass ecosystem in the Pacific Northwest. Jen Newlin photo

A portion of Zumwalt Prairie Preserve is designated as a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department of Interior  

The Department of the Interior has designated 4,400 acres of The Nature Conservancy’s Zumwalt Prairie as a National Natural Landmark. 

Established in 1962, the National Natural Landmark Program features areas that best illustrate the biological and geological character of the United States, enhance scientific and educational values of preserved areas and strengthens public appreciation of our natural heritage.

John DeNault and Carmel Bourhill fill meal trays with the day’s menu before heading out on their Meals-on-Wheels delivery routes Tuesday. Meals on Wheels will receive $1,000 from Impact 100. Chris Baxter/The Observer

Women of Impact 100 hand out $14,520 to individuals, families and service organizations  

by Dick Mason/The Observer

The upright piano in the meeting room of the Northeast Oregon Transit Building stood silent early Monday night during a meeting of Impact 100.  

 Still, unforgettable high notes were hit at the gathering — high notes for humanity and compassion.

Staff reports

Four people from Union, Wallowa and Baker counties who earlier ran in the Boston Marathon are expressing disbelief at the bomb explosions that killed three people and injured more than 170 at the historic race Monday.

 Kim Sorensen of La Grande, who ran the Boston Marathon in 1995, was as stunned as anyone when she learned about the bomb explosions Monday afternoon.

Bob and Betsy Nelson, with their faithful service dog Violet, pose for their portrait in the backyard of their home in Cove. Betsy is now breathing much easier after having received a double-lung transplant. Chris Baxter/The Observer

Betsy and Bob Nelson of Cove mark anniversary of Betsy’s double-lung transplant 

by Kelly Black/Observer correspondent

At 6 a.m., Bob Nelson heard an ambulance siren. He walked out of the surgery waiting area at the University of Washington Medical Center and looked down toward ER. Medics in scrubs were wheeling an ice chest on a gurney from an ambulance toward the surgery wing where his wife and a team of surgeons were waiting. Betsy Nelson was in desperate need of a double lung transplant.

Bill Hansell, R-Pendleton, checks out a radio-activated guard box a few yards from a calving pasture that emits loud sounds like helicopters and gunfire when triggered by a collared wolf. Katy Nesbitt/The Observer

Wallowa County ranchers want more leeway to kill problem wolves 

by Katy Nesbitt/The Observer

Wolves were on the itinerary when representatives from the governor’s office and the state Legislature visited Wallowa County this weekend. 

The first stop on the tour was the Patton Ranch in the Wallowa Valley, which sits on what is known as “the wolf highway,” a path between the mountainous Divide Country in the eastern part of the county to the Zumwalt Prairie and its healthy elk population.

If House Bill 3194 is approved by the Legislature and becomes law, police enforcement officers like Ryan Miller of the La Grande Police Department could be spending more of their time dealing with convicted felons released early from prison. (CHRIS BAXTER/The Observer)

Union County district attorney questions Legislature’s quest to reform successful Measure 11 

by DICK MASON / The Observer 

“Everything works now. Why tinker with what works?” Thompson said.

Measure 11 is credited with reversing what had been a surging violent crime rate two decades ago.