Andrew Clark looks out his living room window to see his wife, Barbara Clark, on March 23, 2024, at their home in Pendleton. Andrew is undergoing a clinical medical trial which may help with early stages of dementia. Barbara helps take care of her husband and is learning more about dementia.

Pendleton man joins Alzheimer’s clinical trials

East Oregonian

THE STORY: In April, the East Oregonian introduced readers to Andrew Clark, a retired state veterinarian living in Pendleton with his wife, Barbara. He also has Alzheimer’s disease.

Andrew was in four clinical trials to help researchers find treatment or even a cure for the mind- and personality-altering disease. He enrolled in trials mostly through Oregon Health & Science University’s Brain Institute. At the time, he was a participant in two interventions to evaluate his memory and functioning.

The couple also was dealing with the emotional fallout of Andrew’s diagnosis. Barbara was grappling with being a caretaker to someone who no longer functions at full capacity. Andrew worried about how hard it would be for him to waste away mentally while carrying on physically, leaving his wife to spend significant amounts of money on his eventual care.

Andrew talked about his interest in death with dignity, and Barbara told the EO about a caregiver support group she’s part of.

THE LATEST: Since April, Andrew has been declining, though it’s been steady and expected. His executive functioning is deteriorating, he said, describing a chart he uses to evaluate it.

“It helps me measure how the deterioration is happening,” he said in December. “The prioritizing and activating for tasks is degenerating. Shifting attention to the task, too — I get stuff started and then don’t get it done.”

In October, one of their sons visited from Portland and rebuilt their deck, adding a ramp and raising the height so it matches that of the entryway door. The adjustment was made so if Andrew — or Barbara, for that matter — is ever in a wheelchair, it still may be possible to live in their single-story home near the McKay Creek National Wildlife Refuge.

Barbara still attends support groups for caregivers, including one at CHI St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton, and Andrew is trying to live as happily as he can with the time he has left with his wife. Andrew and Barbara even attended the Red Kettle Kickoff Dinner for the Salvation Army Pendleton Corps in November, taking home a few homemade pies from the auction.

Wallowa County’s Cornerstone Farms has rock-solid succession plan

Wallowa County Chieftain

THE STORY: You spend the bulk of your life building a successful business — in this case a farm — with the hope that one day you’ll retire and pass it to children and grandchildren.

That day draws near, and then what?

One Wallowa County family farm has plans in place to bring in at least a third generation to join with the first two who have been farming a wide variety of crops since the 1970s.

THE LATEST: Tim and Audry Melville operate one of the largest farms in the county, Cornerstone Farms Joint Venture, along with sons Kevin and Kurt and their wives, all of whom take an active role in the organization.

Kevin and Kurt Melville have seven children between them, some of whom have expressed an interest in someday joining the family business. But the elders in the Melville family insist on the younger ones gaining some real-world experience first.

Cornerstone’s operating agreement includes specific details on how a family member can bring a new enterprise into the operation. The agreement has built-in incentives and requires business proposals to show how they will generate enough income to cover the new partner’s wages.

Friends of the Children looks to provide mentorship for youth

The Observer

THE STORY: Locals gathered in April at Tap That Growlers in La Grande to learn about Friends of the Children and the work to bring the program to Union County.

The national nonprofit organization works to end generational poverty by providing professional mentors to children, particularly those who face multiple systemic obstacles, from the time they are in kindergarten through high school graduation.

The program garnered local support with advocates such as Union County Sheriff Cody Bowen, Union County Commissioner Paul Anderes and La Grande School District Superintendent George Mendoza.

THE LATEST: The organization hit the $1 million goal for seed funding necessary to establish a new chapter in Union County and is in the process of hiring an executive director to oversee the location.

Queens of the diamond

Blue Mountain Eagle

THE STORY: The Grant Union/Prairie City Lady Prospector softball team captured their second straight 2A state crown on May 31 at Jane Saunders Stadium in Eugene, downing their conference rivals Weston-McEwen 11-0.

The Lady Pros finished 25-4 with 13 shutouts, defeated their playoff opponents by a combined score of 51-0 and landed six players on the all-state first and second teams. Drew Williams was named the 1A/2A Pitcher of the Year and catcher Addy Northway was selected as the 1A/2A Player of the Year.

THE LATEST: Zach Williams resigned after seven seasons as head coach of the Lady Prospector softball team to focus on being a dad.

Williams compiled a stellar 135-18 record from 2017-2024, with 22 of those wins coming against 3A opponents. Under Williams, the Lady Pros won five conference titles and notched at least 20 victories in every season save the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign, in which the team finished 14-3.

Williams also led his team to a 15-4 overall record in the state tournament, including four straight appearances in the title game, with two second-place finishes before winning the state 2A/1A championship in each of the last two seasons. To cap his career, Williams was selected the 2023-24 2A/1A Softball Coach of the Year.

Baker High School students hurt in bus crash in Redmond

Baker City Herald

THE STORY: A Central Oregon woman was charged with more than two dozen misdemeanors for allegedly driving while intoxicated when the car she was driving crashed into a Baker School District bus carrying 14 students in Redmond on March 22.

Katrina Nicole Dacus, 34, of Culver, was charged with multiple counts of recklessly endangering another person and fourth-degree assault.

The students were members of Baker’s Future Farmers of America program attending the state FFA convention in Redmond.

Four of the 14 students were treated for injuries at a hospital.

Baker FFA advisor Bibiana Gifft was driving the bus.

On May 29 the crumpled bus was parked at Baker High School to remind students and others about the dangers of driving while intoxicated.

Throughout the day, District Attorney Greg Baxter and Baker City Police Chief Ty Duby spoke to senior government classes about the dangers, and Gifft shared her story with the students before they walked outside to peer into the crushed bus.

THE LATEST: As of late December, the charges against Dacus were still pending in Deschutes County.

Newspapers often wrap up the the year with a list of their top reporting of the previous 12 months.

The East Oregonian did that, but this review of the year is different because we’re now a regional paper with newsrooms representing the EO and the Baker City Herald, Blue Mountain Eagle in John Day, the Hermiston Herald, The Observer in La Grande and the Wallowa County Chieftain.

From Dec. 28 through Dec. 31, we’re showcasing recaps and brief updates of some of the biggest news and more interesting people and events our newsrooms covered in 2024.

Any kind of list such as this is up for debate, and we also only have so much space in print, of course. You always can find much more of our reporting on our websites.

From all of us to all of you, happy New Year.

— East Oregonian