LA GRANDE â A little dust and dirt showed on the black polo shirt Union County s new sheriff wore, a reflection of the work he s been helping with just feet from his cramped office.
Sheriff Cody Bowen took time late Friday afternoon, Feb. 19, for an interview with The Observer. Three days earlier the lanky Bowen kicked a hole through a wall in a nearby room, signaling the start of some demolition and renovation. The move was as much symbolic as literal.
That wall divided the break areas for the patrol deputies and their supervisors, creating small spaces for both. Removing it and adding some other upgrades, he said, makes the space more useful and roomy. It also shows he wants the sheriff s office to function as a team.
LA GRANDE â Snow is proving to be a friend and foe this winter for Jesse Reed of Union as he helps reduce the odds of a catastrophic wildfire someday striking the Grande Ronde Valley.
Reed is the co-owner of ReedCo Forestry, a company Union County contracted with to help build one of two major firebreaks in the Mount Emily Recreation Area north of La Grande. The firebreak Reedâs company is creating is about 6 miles long on MERAâs Mainline Trail, which runs north-south starting from the recreation siteâs parking lot off of Fox Hill Road.
ReedCo is creating the firebreaks through a tree thinning process that involves the use of heavy equipment. Winter is the best time to do this work because much of the area is on rocky terrain, which is hard on equipment, such as blades. The snow and ice now in MERA are covering the rocks, providing a buffer for the equipment, Reed said.
PENDLETON â One month beyond the winter solstice, Oregonâs mountain ranges are all below normal for annual snowpack averages.
A look at USDA Natural Resource Conservation District Snotel sites that track snowfall and snow water equivalent from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 each year show more detailed reports of regional precipitation and snowpack.
The Umatilla, Walla Walla and Willow river basins are currently measuring 85% of the annual snowpack average, as of Wednesday, Jan. 27.
The Emigrant Springs Snotel on Mount Emily, at an elevation of 3,800 feet, started recording the first measurable precipitation of the water year Nov. 8, 2020. As of Jan. 27, 13.6 total inches have fallen, the snow depth is currently 6 inches and the snow water equivalent is 1.3 inches, 23% of the average.