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LA GRANDE — Bowling is officially back in La Grande.
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LA GRANDE — The La Grande High School volleyball team has postponed several games and withdrawn from two upcoming tournaments due to COVID-19 cases within the team.
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NORTH POWDER — The North Powder City Council will soon be selecting a new mayor.
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LA GRANDE — College students are on their way back to La Grande.
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PORTLAND — One in five Oregon adults say they are not planning to get vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a new survey of Oregonians by the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center.
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Oregon's record wave of COVID-19 cases appears to have crested, but the long recovery will likely stretch into the winter holiday season.
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LA GRANDE — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is confirming wolves from the Five Points Pack is responsible for a recent attack.
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A "bid-rigging" scheme dreamed up by a New York money manager bilked millions out of Oregon's pension program, state officials allege.
THREE RIVERS, Calif. — Firefighters wrapped the base of the world’s largest tree in a fire-resistant blanket as they tried to save a famous grove of gigantic old-growth sequoias from wildfires…
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SALEM — The newest COVID-19 modeling shows Oregon hospitals may be full with COVID-19 patients for another six weeks.
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BAKER CITY — A 32-year-old Baker City man who pleaded guilty in June to receiving a $145,200 federal COVID-19 relief loan on behalf of a fictitious company and then using the money for persona…
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SALEM — The Oregon Health Authority on Thursday, Sept. 16, reported four new COVID-19 deaths in Wallowa County, bringing the total during the pandemic to 10. Three of the deaths were from case…
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COVE — The sound of soap box cars flying down the road will soon be heard again in Cove.
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LA GRANDE — The Union County Board of Commissioners, in an effort to better position itself to deal with a looming crisis, passed a resolution declaring an emergency due to the likelihood the …
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LA GRANDE — National Guard members have arrived at many Eastern Oregon hospitals as the COVID-19 pandemic reaches its apex in recent cases caused by the virulent delta variant.
SALEM — The Oregon Health Authority announced 40 new cases of COVID-19 in Union County, according to a Wednesday, Sept. 15, press release.
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LA GRANDE — A weather system from the north will bring rainy and windy conditions to Union and Wallowa counties over portions of the next four days.
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LA GRANDE — The Union County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution stating concern for the foreseeable future regarding an insufficient amount of qualified local staff to co…
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JOSEPH — Kellee Sheehy, who has been development director at the Josephy Center for Arts and Culture for the past two years, is stepping down as of Friday, Sept. 17, she announced last week.
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SALEM — State Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale, was the second Senate Republican targeted for recall because he showed up to oppose a gun-control bill. Detractors wanted Findley to walk away from the…
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SALEM — Leaders of the Oregon School Boards Association recently admonished school board members across the state to uphold their oaths of office and follow all laws, even those they disagree with.
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BAKER CITY — A 78-year-old man from Ashland died Monday, Sept. 13, when he failed to negotiate a curve while riding his motorcycle on Highway 7 south of Sumpter.
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UNION COUNTY — La Grande Fire Chief Emmitt Cornford, like many people, isn’t looking forward to Monday, Oct. 18.
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UNION COUNTY — The firing of Adrian School District Superintendent Kevin Purnell by his school board on Monday, Aug. 30, dismayed area school leaders.
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LA GRANDE — Dorothy Trice does not know exactly when she first heard the song “Near the Cross” played on a piano, but she does know this — the experience ignited a passion that has yet to dim …
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SALEM — Union County recorded 70 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
MATHER, Calif. — President Joe Biden on Monday used his first Western swing in office to hold out the wildfires burning across the region as an argument for his $3.5 trillion rebuilding plans,…
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LA GRADE — The Union County Board of Commissioners will meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15, and the agenda includes discussions about public health and safety resource shortages.
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LA GRANDE — Mild and cooling weather is in the forecast for Union and Wallowa counties the next three days.
JOSEPH — Everyone loves the thrill of watching or participating in rodeo, but not everyone realizes the value of the unsung heroes of the most dangerous event — bull riding.
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BAKER CITY — Motorists should expect nighttime delays of up to 20 minutes on Oregon Highway 86 — the Baker-Copperfield Highway — this week, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 15.
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LA GRANDE — The Observer was recognized with 11 awards in the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association’s annual Better Newspapers Contest, including third place for overall general excellence i…
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PORTLAND — With COVID cases surging in Idaho's panhandle and hospitals there exceeding capacity, the state of Idaho recently activated its crisis standards of care.
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WALLA WALLA — A months-long investigation wrapped up with a massive law enforcement operation Thursday, Sept. 9, as two Milton-Freewater men were arrested for allegedly being involved in viole…
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SALEM — With a deadline to approve new political maps fast approaching, Oregon lawmakers will convene in Salem on Monday, Sept. 20, to try to find agreement on new legislative and congressiona…
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Punishing heat waves have plagued the West all summer and, even at the brink of fall, another sweltering blast has moved over the region. The heat has brought record-setting temperatures in th…
A wildfire spreading rapidly in the Fremont-Winema National Forest has more than quadrupled its size in two days.
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Private forest owners in Baker County are reviving an organization that helps members better manage their timber ground, and this version has expanded its geographic boundaries considerably.
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LA GRANDE — The COVID-19 pandemic has La Grande School District officials worried about the possibility of needing significantly more substitute staff later this school year.
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LA GRANDE — On a day that is difficult for first responders across the country, two local businesses gave back to those that risk their lives.
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ADRIAN — The Adrian School District will pay former superintendent Kevin Purnell more than $100,000 as part of the settlement he signed when being terminated last week.
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PORTLAND — More than 7.5 million Americans no longer have access to supplemental unemployment benefits from the federal government, and in Oregon, tens of thousands of people stand to lose money.
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LA GRANDE — Enterprise isn’t the largest town in Eastern Oregon, with a population of 2,052. But it’s just a few miles from the ever-popular town of Joseph and its vistas across Wallowa Lake t…
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LA GRANDE — La Grande police are investigating the death of a man whose body was inside a burning pickup.
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LA GRANDE — Steve Ruth remembers the horrors of 9/11 all too well.
Multiple resources from the Malheur National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Silver Creek Rural Fire Protection Association (RFPA) responded to a reported wildfire on Thur…
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LA GRANDE — The Union County Board of Commissioners is a step closer to submitting a short major project list to state Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo.
SALEM — The official political opening day in Oregon was Thursday, Sept. 9.
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EUGENE — A federal judge in Eugene has sentenced a Colorado man to 16 years in prison for a hate crime that left one person critically wounded at a truck-stop in Eastern Oregon.
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LA GRANDE — Two first-term members of the Union County Board of Commissioners, Paul Anderes and Matt Scarfo, filed for reelection Thursday, Sept. 9.
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LA GRANDE — Union and Wallowa counties, after being hit by rain showers and thunderstorm activity on Thursday, Sept. 9, and Friday, Sept. 10, can expect mild weather this weekend.
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LA GRANDE — Union County District Attorney Kelsie McDaniel has announced her intent to run for reelection on the 2022 May primary ballot.
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