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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2020)
18 Wednesday, May 20, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon SPRD: District makes changes to maintain stability Continued from page 1 PHOTO BY JODI SCHNEIDER MCNAMEE Raising your puppy to enjoy hiking with you takes some early work. PAW PRINTS: Make sure puppy is ready before heading off to the trail Continued from page 15 them attached. It9s handy, because you can work on recall but don9t have the worry if they choose to ignore you. When training your pup make sure you teach him the <stop= command. It9s also important on hikes in the wilderness. This means that when you say the word, he9ll immediately pause and turn stone still. This command is useful in dangerous situations when your dog9s movement could mean the difference between getting home safely and taking a snake bite to the face, among other things. However, you can9t teach a dog to love the outdoors without ever letting him step off the front porch. Practice the real thing by bringing your puppy with you on short trips to the outdoors after he has had all his shots. Introduce him to strange sights and sounds, if he is a small breed you can even carry him. As your puppy approaches a year of age, you can begin taking them on shorter <real hikes.= The general time limit still applies, but the older your puppy, the farther you can go. A 12-month-old puppy can hike around 60 minutes at a time, which is usually enough to cover 2-3 miles. Remember to take fre- quent breaks and bring water, even if your dog doesn9t seem tired, and look for signs that they9ve hiked too far. Aim to stop long before that point. reflects reductions in over- head and anticipates a drop in program revenue and col- lected property taxes. <A conservative approach is how the district will remain stable in these uncertain times,= Executive Director Jennifer Holland told The Nugget. SPRD stopped all pro- grams and in-person service on March 16 in compliance with Governor Kate Brown9s <Stay Home, Save Lives= executive order. Staff was laid off . <We weren9t sure if it was going to be a few weeks or a few months,= Holland said. <We quickly realized that this wasn9t going to be a short- turnaround situation.= SPRD had been gearing up for an expansion of pro- grams and now is looking at reductions. That meant that SPRD had to restructure staff- ing and reduce overhead over the long-term. Two positions, the program director position held by Chad Rush and the events coordinator position held by Shannon Rackowski have been eliminated. Other positions have been restruc- tured to focus less on admin- istrative tasks and program development and more on front-line delivery of services. Because SPRD is a public agency, those who hold posi- tions that have fundamentally changed must reapply for the revised position in an open hiring process. Holland said she expects that positions will begin to be posted in June. Holland expressed gratitude for the response of the community and every- body involved in a very tough situation. <Everybody has been very respectful of the decisions SPRD has had to make,= she said. <There9s been a lot of compassion and grace from the community. All the folks that were affected by this 4 they all understand.= Core programming focuses will be on childcare, day camps and after-school programming. Recreation coordinator Jason Huber has been working half-time to develop a framework for recovery. Holland said that she expects SPRD to have some- thing to offer in the way of kid-care programs by June 22. She said that parents 4 many of whom have been trying to juggle work and homeschooling with restless kids 4 <were all very excited when we opened summer camp registration.= Everyone recognizes that what summer camps may look like is still an evolving question 4 and there are sure to be limitations created by restrictions on the numbers of students. State guidance requires stable groups of 10 for summer camp activities, with social distancing pro- tocols in place, which may limit what can be done where. Transportation of small groups may become an issue. <My feeling is that we will have to not offer any field trips this season,= Holland said. <We have to comply with that (state guidance),= Holland emphasized. <If we can9t meet protocols, we can9t do programs. We9ll have all that protocol laid out prior to the camp.= Holland noted that pre- school teachers9 positions did not fundamentally change and they don9t have to reapply. <Those people will be recalled when the District is in a position to need their ser- vices again, or their employ- ment,= Holland said. Holland noted that the District will continue to deliver on commitments made to voters who recently approved local option fund- ing for the District, including providing after-school pro- grams and maintenance of the physical plant. The coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing effort to quell the spread of COVID- 19 have forced SPRD, like virtually every other entity in Sisters, to adapt and make hard choices. Fundamentally, Holland said, the SPRD is forced to take <a conservative approach so that there is a District to come back to.= Black Butte Ranch Rural Fire Protection District Notice of Budget Hearing The Nugget Newspaper continues to serve customers by email and phone. If an in-person meeting is required, call 541-549-9941 to schedule an appointment. For the well-being of our staff and clients we are heeding CDC guidelines for social distancing and masks. The Nugget Office: 541-549-9941 News & Letters to the Editor: Jim Cornelius, 541-390-6973 (cell) editor@nuggetnews.com Classifi eds, Subscriptions, Announcements, Events: Lisa May, lisa@nuggetnews.com Display Advertising: Vicki Curlett, 541-699-7530 (cell) vicki@nuggetnews.com Offi ce hours are Monday & Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tuesday & Thursday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. The Nugget Newspaper