THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020
DISTANCE
Continued from Page 1A
is getting the best of me at
times,” Mendoza said.
About two weeks ago,
the superintendent said, it
appeared the school dis-
trict was close to being able
to provide onsite instruc-
tion for all students due to
low COVID-19 rates. He
noted that in October Union
County had 49 COVID-19
cases, an average of 1.38
per day.
“We were excited about
the possibility,” Mendoza
said.
This sense of opti-
mism evaporated, when
COVID-19 rates spiked
this month. As of Nov.
9, he said, Union County
already has had 67 cases in
November, an average of
7.4 per day.
Mendoza said many of
the new cases can be traced
to direct exposure with
people who have COVID-
THE OBSERVER — 5A
19. Direct exposure is
defi ned as being less than 6
feet from someone with the
virus for a total of at least
15 minutes in a one day.
The superintendent urged
everyone in the community
to always practice social
distancing.
“Parents
need to help
students stay
engaged.”
George Mendoza, La
Grande superintendent
“We have to improve
in this area, it is so
important,” Mendoza said.
Statistics that the super-
intendent presented indi-
cate that through Tuesday,
four staff members and
three students in the
La Grande School Dis-
trict tested positive for
COVID-19 during the pre-
ceding two weeks. In addi-
tion, two people with orga-
nizations contracted to
provide services to the
school district have tested
positive, Mendoza said.
The superintendent said
he still is hopeful all stu-
dents will be able to return
to school sometime in the
near future. He ardently
wants this because he said
CDL is not bringing out the
best in students. He noted
student attendance is down
3% from a year ago.
Mendoza also shared
statistics indicating that at
La Grande High School,
which is on a semester
grading system, 42% of
its freshmen are on track
to get at least one F, along
with 27.3% of sophomores,
28.5% of juniors and 16.9%
of seniors. The good news
for LHS students is that it
is not uncommon for stu-
dents to make big improve-
ments the second half of a
semester.
At La Grande Middle
WARMING
REVIEW
Continued from Page 1A
Registration system.
“It’s the primary weak
point of our current election
system, and is in desperate
need of replacement,”
Bovett wrote.
The secretary of state’s
offi ce was going to take
bids — known as a request
for proposal, or RFP — in
October for a new system.
But Trout said Clarno
paused it without consulting
with him or the county
clerks.
Chiapella said the project
management team raised
red fl ags that required the
agency to slow down. She
Sabrina Thompson/The Observer, File
Willow Elementary School in La Grande also serves as the
offi ces for the La Grande School District. The district is
returning all of its students to Comprehensive Distance
Learning Monday, Nov. 16, 2020.
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Continued from Page 1A
around 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. and
close between 7 a.m. and
8 a.m.
Guests at the warming
station will have access to
computers to assist them
with job searches and get-
ting identifi cation cards,
which can help them land
employment. Smith said the
station’s staff is in a good
position to help their guests
get moving in the right
direction because they see
them so often.
“We develop good rela-
tionships with our clients.
We work with them and
help them accomplish their
goals,” Smith said.
The warming station’s
new home is its third in
four winter seasons in La
Grande. The station was
fi rst at the Zion Lutheran
Church in 2017-18 and in
a Willow Street building
in 2018-19. The warming
station did not operate in
2019-20 because of issues
related to the move to its
Third Street location.
The La Grande Planning
Commission in October
2019 granted a conditional
use permit for the shelter,
but La Grande developer Al
Adelsberger appealed that
decision based on the shel-
ter’s location near down-
town. The city council in
December denied Adels-
berger’s appeal.
The Union County
School, the number of stu-
dents on its fall term honor
roll is 173, which is nearly
50 students less than last
year.
Mendoza said he
believes student perfor-
mance and attendance
could be improved with
help from parents.
“Parents need to help stu-
dents stay engaged,” the La
Grande superintendent said.
Mendoza said he would
like nothing better than
to have all students return
to campus, noting he is
intensely focused on this
objective.
“We need to bring them
back,” he said.
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Dick Mason/The Observer
Jill Boyd puts out sanitizers Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, at the
Union County Warming Station, La Grande. Boyd and oth-
er members of the board are preparing the shelter’s new
location on Third Street for its reopening.
Warming Station’s new site
will offer much more space
than it had at its previous
locations. This will allow it
to provide feature such as
separate rooms for families.
Renovations at the
warming station to bring it
in compliance with city of
La Grande codes include
the installation of a fi rewall
separating Suite B from
Suite A and a sprinkler
system for fi re suppression.
Accessibility also was
a major part of the renova-
tion project. The warming
station’s restroom now
meets Americans with Dis-
abilities Act standards and
expanding portions of the
shelter made the facility
wheelchair accessible.
Warming station guests
not only will receive a place
to sleep but also warm
meals, coffee and hot choc-
olate. Boyd said coffee and
hot chocolate often are the
fi rst items guests want after
being out in the cold all day.
Smith said she does not
believe the warming sta-
tion is drawing more home-
less to Union County, which
is an assertion some locals
make. Smith has worked
with the homeless in Union
County for six years and
said it was a problem
before the warming station
opened, but people did not
see it.
“In rural communi-
ties the homeless tend to
be invisible. Folks tend to
hide, they sleep in the forest
or in an RV with no heat,”
Smith said. “Just because
you cannot see them every-
where does not mean it is
not an issue.”
did not specify what the
issues were.
Harney County Clerk
Derrin “Dag” Robinson,
who was from one of fi ve
counties that helped develop
the RFP process, said
Clarno should have kept the
county clerks updated.
“We had a goal set to
where if we got a new
system, we would imple-
ment that in an off year
so that we’re not imple-
menting a new system in an
even year, which would be
a primary or a general elec-
tion,” Robinson said in an
interview. “So that really
has set us back another year
if we didn’t get started on
it now.”
Trout said the delay was
apparently caused because
the purchasing team could
not meet a timeline even
though the team had been
provided with funds for a
full-time employee to work
exclusively on the request
for proposal.
“Federal funds were
inappropriately used and
may need to be returned
after an audit,” Trout said.
Fagan said she had a
budget briefi ng from the
business services team and
will be meeting with Clarno
later this week.
“Oregonians put their
trust in me to protect the
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