The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current, August 18, 2020, Image 5

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The Observer., August 18, 2020, Page 5, Image 5

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Newspaper Page TextTUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2020 THE OBSERVER — 5A BROTHERS Continued from Page 1A who are from families that cannot afford school sup- plies. Greif said being able to give children their own school supplies, ones they will value as personal pos- sessions, will mean an enor- mous amount to them at the start of the school year. Chris Kurtz, a 1985 Elgin High School grad- uate, and Damon Kurtz, a 1989 EHS graduate, both attended Stella Mayﬁ eld more than three decades ago. “This school was part of our family. It is a way to give back,” Chris Kurtz said. The school supplies were delivered by Elves on a Mission, a commu- nity service organization Chris Kurtz created three years ago that focuses on foster children in Northeast Oregon. Damon Kurtz’s company, Allegiance Logistic, donated the sup- plies Elves on a Mission delivered. Greif and Lowann Van- Leuven, a friend, assisted the Kurtz brothers. Greif and VanLeuven also are SCHOOLS Continued from Page 1A Grande Learning Academy, the district’s online school. Robin Maille, chair- woman of the La Grande School Board, said she hoped most students in grades four to 12 take the Comprehensive Dis- tance Learning option. She explained that stu- dents in Comprehensive Distance Learning will be able to come back to school for on-site classes immediately when metrics allow it. Students in the La Grande Learning Academy would have to wait until the semester break before returning to the classroom. La Grande students in kindergarten through third grade are scheduled to attend classes on-site under a “stable cohort model,” meaning the same group of students will be together all day. The district’s three ele- mentary schools — Central, Greenwood and Island City — will release more infor- mation about hours of opera- tion as the ﬁ rst day of school nears. Because the other school districts in Union County have 250 or fewer students, they have the option of pro- viding on-site instruction for all students, providing the county continues to meet state requirements. The Cove School District will offer classes on site to all grades starting Aug. 31. In addition, online courses will be available to all stu- BANKERS Continued from Page 1A tacked on to the end of their mortgage repayment period. “The moratoriums on evictions and foreclo- sure will go a long way to ensuring working fami- lies can stay in their homes and small businesses can continue operating amidst the pandemic,” Gov. Kate Brown said at the time. The law applies through September but authorizes the governor to extend its provisions until a later date. The bankers’ lawsuit, ﬁ led in U.S. District Court in Eugene, argues that Ore- gon’s new law unconsti- tutionally pre-empts fed- eral law and said it unfairly seeks to establish retroac- tive protections beginning March 8 — more than three Staff photo by Dick Mason Damon Kurtz of Canby and Elgin School District Superintendent Dianne Greif carry $5,000 worth of donated school supplies Saturday, Aug. 15, into Stella Mayﬁ eld School, Elgin. Stella Mayﬁ eld and Elgin High School alums. Chris Kurtz said the pri- mary focus of Elves on a Mission is to help foster children in Union, Wallowa and Baker counties. Each year it provides Christmas presents and school sup- plies to all foster chil- dren in the three counties. Helping these children is dents, said Cove Superin- tendent Earl Pettit, to help students and families who feel uncomfortable about returning to on-site classes because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cove students will be part of seven cohorts: kin- dergarten students, grades one and two, grades three and four, grades ﬁ ve and six, grades seven and eight, freshmen and sophomores, and junior and seniors. During school, students will only be around students in their cohort, Pettit said. And to maintain distances between cohorts, each will have its own lunch period. “We will have seven lunch periods,” Pettit said. The superintendent said elementary school teaching will remain fairly tradi- tional. However, students in grades seven to 12 will rarely use classrooms that members of other cohorts have already been in. Before students in a cohort uses a classroom another cohort has used, the room will have to undergo extensive saniti- zation, Pettit said. Teachers will have to wear masks if they are instructing students from more than one cohort during a school day, Pettit said, but students will not have to wear masks as long as social distancing standards are met and they are with fellow members of their cohort. Students, however, will be required to wear masks while riding school buses. “You can’t social distance on a school bus,” Pettit said. close to the hearts of Chris and Damon Kurtz because they also were foster children. The donation of back- to-school supplies to Stella Mayﬁ eld was outside the normal scope of work Elves on a Mission take on. The school supplies will be presented to stu- dents during the ﬁ rst week The North Powder School District is set to open Sept. 8 with a hybrid model. Students in kinder- garten through eighth grade will be taught on site each day of the district’s four-day week. High school students will be taught on site and online on an alternating day basis. High school students will be assigned to one of two cohorts — one will be taught on site Mondays and Wednesdays, and online on Tuesdays and Thurs- days. Students in the second cohort will have an onsite and online schedule oppo- site of the ﬁ rst cohort’s, said North Powder School Dis- trict Superintendent Lance Dixon. He said the district is in a good position to offer on-site learning because its classrooms are large enough to meet social distancing standards. The Union School Dis- trict is preparing to make on-site instruction available to all students when it opens Aug 31. Union School Dis- trict Superintendent Carter Wells said if there is a spike in COVID-19 cases in the county, it is likely state rules would force his district to stop its on-site program for students in grades four to 12 and instead provide them online instruction. The school district, how- ever, likely would be able to continue providing onsite instruction for students in kindergarten through third grade under the state’s met- rics, Wells said. The superintendent of classes, which are set to start on Aug. 31. “Each student will have their own individual bag (of supplies),” Greif said. Students will be urged to use only their own school supplies as a precaution against COVID-19. Greif said the Kurtz brothers’ donation not only will help children of fami- stressed Union’s return to on-site instruction is depen- dent upon the number of new COVID-19 cases remaining low. “We are relying on the people of Union County to limit the number of COVID-19 cases,” Wells said. Plans are in place for the Imbler School District to open Aug. 31, also with on-site instruction avail- able to all students. Imbler School District Superinten- dent Angie Lakey-Camp- bell said students will be in cohorts of 25-30 people, and the cohorts will be kept separated. This will involve not allowing students in dif- ferent cohorts to be on the elementary school play- ground at the same time, assigning cohorts speciﬁ c entries and exit doors and more. The Elgin School Dis- trict also opens Aug. 31 by offering on-site classes to students. Students whose family does not want to risk coming to school will be able to take classes online via eDynamic Learning, a new program the district is offering. On-site classes will not vary dramatically at Stella Mayﬁ eld Elementary School from its traditional model, in which students stay in their classrooms with the same classmates for most of the day. At Elgin High School, which serves grades seven to 12, students will be in cohorts that will make a minimum of classroom transitions each school day. Staff photo by Dick Mason Brothers Chris Kurtz, left, and Damon Kurtz on Saturday, Aug. 15, examine the school supplies they donated and helped bring into Stella Mayﬁ eld School, Elgin. lies who are hurting ﬁ nan- cially but also will help the school district meet state COVID-19 standards. She explained that school dis- tricts are being encour- aged to provide supplies to students this fall rather than have them bring in their own to help pro- tect against spreading the virus. Blazing Fast Internet! ADD TO YOUR PACKAGE FOR ONLY 19 . 99 $ /mo. where available 2-YEAR TV PRICE GUARANTEE America’s Top 120 Package MO. 190 CHANNELS Including Local Channels! CALL TODAY - For $100 Gift Card Promo Code: DISH100 for 12 Mos. 1-866-373-9175 Oﬀer ends 7/15/20. All oﬀers require credit qualiﬁcation, 24-month commitment with early termination fee and eAutoPay. Prices include Hopper Duo for qualifying customers. Hopper, Hopper w/Sling or Hopper 3 $5/mo. more. 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The suit also seeks to reverse provisions of the new Oregon law that pre- vent banks from enacting fees, higher interest rates or other charges for non- payment during the pandemic. “It would allow lenders to pursue whatever recourse they have under their agree- ments, absent the foreclo- sure remedies that are out- lined in” the legislation, Cunningham said. The lenders’ suit argues the absence of penalties could hurt banks’ liquidity and affect them for decades in the case of long-term loans. The bankers are taking no position on whether the foreclosure ban itself is unconstitutional, according to Cunningham. He said that even if the court rules in favor of the bankers on other provisions, he expects the court would allow the foreclosure ban to stand. “My position is the court would only rule on the pro- visions that the plaintiff presents,” Cunningham said. Democratic House Speaker Tina Kotek believes the suit has “no merit,” according to her spokesman, Danny Moran. “At a time when a declining number of Orego- nians are able to make rent or mortgage payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we should be focused on extending housing protec- tions, not weakening them, particularly in the midst of a public health crisis,” Moran said. 1601 6th Street, La Grande corner of 6th and Penn FAMILY OWNED BAKER CITY (541) 524-7688 LA GRANDE (541) 624-5800 GoHOSPICE.com Get support for the mind, body, and spirit with hospice. 215 Elm Street La Grande (541) 963-5440 northwestfurnitureandmattress.com