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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 2020)
ATKINSON Continued from Page 1A “You are only as popular as the day before you an- nounce (your candidacy),” Atkinson said. The congressional can- didate said he is a fi scal conservative and not op- posing tax increases would be inconsistent with this philosophy. Atkinson said he also has strong conservative stances on abortion and the Second Amendment. “I am 100% pro life and have an A+ rating from the NRA (National Rifl e Associa- tion). These are easy topics for me, my mind is made up,” he said. He is seeking to suc- ceed Rep. Greg Walden, the Republican from Hood River who is not running for reelection after serving for two decades. Atkinson credits Walden with having an exemplary constituent service record and said he will try to emulate it. “Eighty percent of the job is constituent service,” Atkinson said. He said it is critical to reach out to constituents because those who contact their Congressman often do so as a last resort. “If someone calls with a problem, it is because their lawyer and their pastor could not fi x it,” Atkinson said. The candidate said he would pull out all the stops to help constituents. “I would manipulate things at the federal level to get stuff done,” Atkinson said. While Atkinson lives in Central Point, he said he has strong ties to Northeast Oregon because he has spent CLIMATE Continued from Page 1A and Eric Richardson, Eugene-Springfi eld NAACP president. Following speeches, the demonstrators marched around the Capitol chanting and waving signs baring messages supporting the climate legislation. The event, organized by the environmental group Re- new Oregon, was a counterpart to a protest in Salem last week organized by Timber Unity. Activists made the trek to Salem from all parts of the state Tuesday, including Dean Myerson who was part of a carload of demonstrators who drove three hours from The Dalles. Myerson said he believes Oregon needs to lead the way on climate action. “We can’t just wait for everybody else to do something fi rst, which seems to be one of the arguments; ‘we can’t do this alone,’ which is true, but somebody has to start,” Myerson said. “In Wasco County we had a series of really bad fi res a couple years ago. A lot of historic homes were destroyed, a farmer died… There’s always been fi res, but climate change is making them worse.” Maia Stout, a 15-year-old from coastal Yachats, explained to the crowd what climate action means to her. For the past several months, Stout — like 17-year-old much time here fl y-fi shing on the Grande Ronde River and hunting. “I’ve spent more time on the Grande Ronde than I should have,” Atkinson said with a smile. Atkinson, who has a num- ber of friends in Union and Wallowa counties, said he has long been interested in Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, partly because its administration building is almost identical to the one at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, which he lives near. The candidate said it would mean very much for him to carry Union and Wal- lowa counties in the upcom- ing election because of his ties to the region. “It will be a point of pride for me. I will be here (cam- paigning) a lot,” Atkinson said. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg — has participated in the global youth climate strike, standing outside her high school in Newport every day Friday to bring atten- tion to the issue. “I advocate for climate action because I un- derstand that the mistakes we’ve made don’t fi x themselves,” Stout said. “I raised my voice because I can’t vote for three more years and time is running out.” Coral Avery, 22, a student at Oregon State University, is an enrolled member of the Shawnee tribe of Oklahoma. “Climate and natural resource use really goes back to indigenous people,” Avery said. “That’s the main reason why I’m here today, is to represent, the best I can, represent my com- munity and other indigenous communities who have overall been left out of the conversation or at least haven’t been centered in it before.” Avery, who is involved in student govern- ment at OSU, said that she has lobbied for climate legislation for four years, since mov- ing to Oregon. She said she was “most hope- ful” for the bill that was proposed last year but that it didn’t protect rural communities. “And I’ve heard that, through reading it, that it’s been revised in some ways to better support them and look out for when things change when polluters are held accountable for their emissions,” Avery said. Oregon Kindergarten Assessment 2019-2020 District Early Math Approaches to Learning Early Literacy Early Literacy Early Literacy (out of 16) (rating 1-5) (uppercase) (lowercase) (sound recog) State 11.0 3.6 14.3 11.6 7.7 La Grande 12.1 3.6 15.7 12.4 9.9 Union 10.9 3.8 15.9 14.6 15.8 North Powder 13.1 3.8 20.2 17.5 14.9 Imbler 10.6 2.9 19.5 15.4 12.4 Cove 12.3 4.2 15.8 13.2 8.4 Elgin 11.8 3.4 15.2 11.8 9.8 Source: Oregon Department of Education SCHOOLS Continued from Page 1A kindergarten students at the school are focused on giving them an educational foundation. “Kindergarten is the baseline,” Dunlap said. “First through second grade is where they really turn things up.” Dunlap and Westenskow said the focus in kindergar- ten is acclimating children to a structured environment. Oregon now has full-day kindergarten classes, and Westenskow said getting through the seven-hour day is sometimes the biggest challenge. Mixing students with different maturity and knowledge levels also can add hurdles. Teacher aides and maintaining small class sizes that can break up into even smaller groups, the principals said, have helped Greenwood achieve success in teaching kindergartners. “If we can get a kid to make it through the day, without falling asleep, who can act (in) socially accept- able (ways) and who has the basics of reading, writing and math, then that student is on track,” Westenskow said. According to Dalton, results can vary from school to school or district to district based upon a variety of factors, including socio- economic status, access to quality early childhood pro- THE OBSERVER — 5A LOCAL THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2020 grams and experiences and students who speak English as a second language. “They might vary from year to year because the as- sessment measures different cohorts of students,” Dalton said of the changes in rates. “In addition, students could do better if more supports are provided each year.” La Grande School District has a kindergarten jump- start program for students who demonstrate a need for additional help and atten- tion. Those young students can come into the school during the summer before classes begin to get used to the new environment. Dunlap noted having good preschools in the area such as Heidi Ho in La Grande and Head Start can be ben- efi cial to setting up a child for success. Westenskow said he has seen evidence that students are more successful when they have a supportive environment that encour- ages learning. The NEA Big Read 2020 Schedule of Events Wednesday, February 19, 7pm KICKOFF: A Day of Remembrance with Chisao Hata Enterprise Christian Church - Enterprise, Free Admission Sunday, February 23 - 2 pm Japanese Tea Ceremony with Kiyomi Oliver Josephy Center for Arts and Culture, Free Admission Tuesday, February 25 - 6pm Oregon's Japanese Americans - OPB Documentary Screening and Discussion Fishtrap, Free Admission Saturday, February 29 - 9-10:30am Haiku Poetry Workshop with Whitney Chandler Fishtrap, Registration: Free - Limited to 12 Tuesday, March 3 - 12pm How Do We Deal With Difference? Brownbag with David Bruce Josephy Center for Arts and Culture, Free Admission Wednesday, March 4 – 10:30am Book Discussion The Blythe Cricket, Joseph, Free Admission Friday, March 7, 2-4pm Big Read Youth Day Art Center East, La Grande, Free Admission Tuesday, March 10 - 7pm How Do We Deal With Difference? with David Bruce Wallowa City Hall, Free Admission Wednesday, March 11 - 10:30am Book Discussion Fishtrap, Free Admission Sunday, March 15, 1-3pm Tea in the Gallery: Japanese Teas Art Center East Gallery, La Grande, Registration $20/$25 Thursday, March 19 - 7pm FINALE: Portland Taiko OK Theatre, Enterprise Adults: $10 - Seniors: $5 - Students: Free Admission Friday, March 20 - 6:30-8:30pm Snow Dye Shibori & Sake Art Center East Gallery, La Grande, Registration $20/$25 541-786-8984 Alliance Self Storage 2105 E L Ave., La Grande • allianceselfstorage123@gmail.com FAMILY OWNED Friday, March 20 - 9am Portland Taiko Drum Workshop Location TBD Registration: $15 limited to 12 February 22, 29, March 7, 14 - 4-6pm Union County Book Discussions JaxDog Cafe & Books, La Grande, Free Admission For the full BIG READ schedule of events visit FISHTRAP.ORG 215 Elm Street La Grande (541) 963-5440 northwestfurnitureandmattress.com
