2A — THE OBSERVER
Daily
Planner
TODAY
Today is Thursday, April 2,
the 93rd day of 2020. There
are 273 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On April 2, 1865, Confed-
erate President Jefferson Da-
vis and most of his Cabinet
fled the Confederate capital
of Richmond, Virginia, be-
cause of advancing Union
forces.
ON THIS DATE
In 1513, Spanish explorer
Juan Ponce de Leon and
his expedition landed in
present-day Florida.
In 1912, the just-complet-
ed RMS Titanic left Belfast to
begin its sea trials eight days
before the start of its ill-fated
maiden voyage.
In 1917, President Wood-
row Wilson asked Congress
to declare war against
Germany, saying, “The
world must be made safe for
democracy.”
In 1956, the soap operas
“As the World Turns” and
“The Edge of Night” pre-
miered on CBS-TV.
In 1982, several thousand
troops from Argentina
seized the disputed Falkland
Islands, located in the south
Atlantic, from Britain. (Brit-
ain seized the islands back
the following June.)
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TODAY’S QUOTE
“Living is a form of not
being sure, not knowing
what next or how. The
moment you know how, you
begin to die a little.”
— Agnes de Mille, Amer-
ican dancer-choreographer
(1905-1993)
THuRSday, apRil 2, 2020
LOCAL
SCHOOLS
Continued from Page 1A
not be able to concentrate
on helping their sons and
daughters focus on the dis-
tance learning classes.
“I wonder how high this
will be on the priority list
for a family that doesn’t
know where its next meal
is coming from and how it
will make its next rent pay-
ment,” Dixon said.
SENIORS IN LIMBO
The North Powder
superintendent was disap-
pointed that state educa-
tion department’s directive
did not provide information
on changes to graduation
requirements because of the
school closure. Dixon said
this is making it difficult
to advise seniors on what
classes they need to take
this spring.
“That piece of guidance
would be huge,” Dixon said.
Dixon said he feels for
his school district’s seniors
not only because of the
graduation challenges
the COVID 19 closure is
causing. He noted they have
lost complete sports seasons
and could lose their prom,
trips and their graduation
ceremony.
“I have complete
empathy for our seniors,”
Dixon said.
viding distance learning
classes.
“Our educators will
figure out a way to get it
done,” Dixon said.
Teachers will have
many options for delivering
instruction and curriculum
to their students, and not all
will involve the internet.
“Keep in mind (the
state’s new requirement) is
not online learning — it is
distance learning,” Dixon
said.
This means teachers
have other options, such as
providing paper packet cur-
riculum to students. Union
School District Superin-
tendent Carter Wells noted
in the past one of his high
school teachers recorded
lessons for his students for
days he was gone. This is
TESTING CREATIVITY
AND FLEXIBILITY
Dixon said he believes
his teachers will respond
well to the challenge of pro-
CASES
TESTS
Continued from Page 1A
Continued from Page 1A
the center.
Union County Public
Health Administrator Carrie
Brogoitti said the number of
cases in Oregon and nation-
wide continue to trend up.
“We are likely to see
additional cases,” she said in
the news release, “which is
why we urge Union County
residents to take the steps
our federal and state govern-
ment has outlined to reduce
the spread and minimize the
risk of becoming ill with the
virus.”
plan to apply for coverage
online at healthcare.gov.
People also can contact a
local multi-line insurance
broker for other options,
she continued, if they do
not qualify for the financial
assistance and can’t afford
the high costs.
Sorensen encouraged
locals experiencing lay-
offs, reduction of income
or loss of any health
insurance to reach out
to Northeast Oregon
Network or an insur-
TREATMENT
Continued from Page 1A
COVID-19 there were as
many as six options for
meetings in a day, however
with the closure there are
only one or two in-person
meetings for members to
attend.
This lack of in person
meetings is concerning for
some members.
“We are all making lots
of phone calls, attending
online meetings and
staying as close to each
other electronically as
much as possible,” said
another anonymous AA
member. “As far as how
well it’s working, it is up to
each individual and their
choices. I guess we will all
find out who survived this
absence of physical meet-
ings when we get back
and find out how many are
missing, and/or God forbid
had passed from our dis-
ease (alcoholism).”
Addiction recovery
advocates, including mem-
bers of Oregon Recovers
and the Oregon Council for
Behavioral Health, issued a
request to the Joint Social
an option Wells said faculty
could consider.
Wells also said Union
High School’s distance
learning classes will be
taught with the help of
Google Classroom, a free
web service that aims to
simplify creating, distrib-
uting and grading assign-
ments. It also helps teachers
and students share files.
The superintendent also
anticipated his district’s dis-
tance learning program will
steadily progress.
“We will evolve. We
will get better and better at
delivering distance learning
opportunities,” Wells said.
La Grande High School
social studies teacher John
Lamoreau is optimistic
about Distance Learning for
All and believes students
insurance cover testing
for COVID-19, insurance
companies determine the
cost and scope of coverage
for treatment, Sorensen
said. And with the con-
stantly changing situation
around COVID-19, she
said it is possible a strain
on the insurance industry
is occurring as the result
of new client information
needing to be processed.
“The customer ser-
vice lines for insurance
programs are likely to be
longer, and application pro-
cessing may take longer
in some cases,” Sorensen
said.
For those without insur-
ance, the federal govern-
ment is waiving the cost of
the test, but Schwab said
those folks would have to
pay the hospital bill.
opment, La Grande, said
in this time of isolation to
help curb the spread of the
new coronavirus, finding
alternatives to support are
important.
“Recovery is about
reaching outside of yourself
and the social distancing
works in contradiction
with that goal of recovery,”
Grigg said.
In addition to online
meetings, the center offers
digital counseling through
appointments and an app
that helps create healthy
habits during a time of iso-
lation. The center recom-
mends downloading and
using the mystrength app,
which provides assistance
in mental, spiritual and
physical health. The app is
available for free to anyone
in Union County.
“We have great
resources on there,” Grigg
said. “It has been helpful to
people in recovery to have
something that they can do
with their time.”
Grigg said the most
important actions for
everyone during this time
are to continue to stay con-
nected and support one
another.
“The customer service lines for
insurance programs are likely
to be longer, and application
processing may take longer in
some cases.”
Holly Sorensen, an outreach programs coordinator for
the Northeast Oregon Network
ance agent for free help
applying for health insur-
ance or reporting changes
to the programs they are
enrolled in.
While all types of
Committee on Corona-
virus Response for changes
to be made to help those
in recovery and the people
who are helping them
through it. The request
included educating the
public about the impact of
alcohol and drugs on the
respiratory system, shifting
OHA payment structures
for treatment centers and
provide free Personal Pro-
tective Equipment and
COVID-19 testing to treat-
ment facilities.
Aaron Grigg, mental
health director for the
Center for Human Devel-
will benefit.
“They will learn a lot
of important online skills,”
Lamoreau said.
He noted his world his-
tory class was studying the
Spanish Flu Pandemic of
1918-20 before COVID-19
hit. Lamoreau plans to have
his students compare and
contrast the two pandemics
when he starts teaching
online.
Lamoreau said the
school district’s teachers
have worked hard to be
prepare distance learning
materials and will continue
to do so as long as needed.
He said a downside of dis-
tance learning will be the
lack of student contact.
“The worst part is not
getting to see our students
in person,” Lamoreau said.
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