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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 2021)
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021 RATES Continued from Page 1A graduation rates. Charter school districts must accept all students who transfer in from other districts if it has room for them. This means, for example, Cove may be more likely to get a student transferring in his or her junior year who has earned limited credits, greatly reducing their chance of graduating their senior year. Pettit said when this happens students may be put on a program LOOSE Continued from Page 1A of the Moderna and Pfi zer vaccines that have been approved for use on adults. The vaccines require two shots space about a month apart. Oregon is currently on pace to get more than 12,000 shots administered per day. Allen said that OHA estimates 3.2 million adults are eligible for vac- cination, meaning that the state will need 6.4 million doses of vaccine to fi nish the job. Allen said the state had enough centers for inocula- tion and qualifi ed workers to give the shots. It just didn’t have vaccine to put to work. There is hope that new vaccines from Astra Zeneca, Johnson & Johnson and others will be approved and increase the fl ow of available doses across the country. Allen said with only the two approved vaccines and the current projected rate of supply coming to the state each week, some Ore- gonians will not be inocu- lated until the end of 2021 or beyond. The state is currently working through the highest priority group: GYMS Continued from Page 1A Under the four-tier risk ratings, counties are assigned a level based on COVID-19 spread: lower, moderate, high or extreme. As the levels go up, more health and safety mea- sures, along with business and activity restrictions, are required. Tillamook County was the big mover, dropping from extreme risk all the way to lower risk. Curry County went from mod- erate to lower. Grant rose from lower to moderate risk. All other counties remained in the current status. The levels will be in place from Friday through Feb. 11, with the next revi- sion announced Feb. 9. Brown’s new guidelines allow for indoor activi- ties that were previously banned in extreme risk counties. Beginning Friday, a maximum of six people can be indoors at facili- ties such as gyms that are larger than 500 square feet. The new rules do not per- tain to indoor dining. THE OBSERVER — 5A allowing them to graduate as fi fth-year seniors. “We put them on a dif- ferent track,” he said. Statewide graduation rates at Oregon’s public high schools rose 2.6% from 2018-19, according to an InterMountain Edu- cation Service District press release. A factor that may have increased graduation rates in 2020 was the state’s waiver of its requirement that stu- dents pass essential skills tests for math, reading and writing. The state waived the requirement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Baxter said his school has never had students not graduate because they could not pass the essential skills tests. However, he said the need to pass these tests has made it harder for students to graduate in pre- vious years because they were often concentrating more on the exams than on completing classes needed to earn a diploma. “The waiver took pres- sure off students,” Baxter said, “and allowed them to focus on their school work.” Health care workers, plus residents and staff of nursing homes that have accounted for over half of the deaths in Oregon. Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, a member of the committee, said he’d heard from constituents upset with Brown’s decision to vaccinate about 150,000 educators and school workers next as a step to getting schools reopened this spring. Those over 65 are the most likely to suffer severe illness or die from COVID- 19, with fatality rates rising as people get into their 70s, 80s, or 90s. After waiting nearly a year in fear and isolation, the word that they will have to wait longer because of a desire to reopen schools is diffi cult to accept. “They are very, very unhappy about it,” Knopp said. Allen said that the fed- eral guidelines calling for seniors living outside of nursing homes as the next priority are “advisory” with each state being able to make its own decisions. “We had to ask, what are our priorities going to be?” Allen said. Moving the schools group ahead of seniors meant the start date for inoculation of older Orego- nians living independently was pushed back from Monday to Feb. 8. Even then, only those over 80 can apply at fi rst. The eli- gibility age will drop fi ve years each week, until those 65 and over are eligible March 1. Oregon is the only state that has placed educators above seniors in priority for the vaccine. Allen defended the deci- sion, saying that Brown and OHA are trying to balance a variety of health needs. Getting educators vacci- nated could return chil- dren to in-class instruc- tion, which state education experts say will improve their learning, as well as emotional and physical health. “We are trying to accommodate a lot of dif- ferent health objectives,” Allen said. “We are making progress.” Opponents of Brown’s decision to prioritize teachers and school workers say that there is no guar- antee that teachers will return to the classroom if children aren’t vacci- nated. Some educators have expressed concern that chil- dren could infect each other and while they are unlikely to become severely ill, they could infect parents and grandparents at home. Facilities smaller than 500 square feet allow for one-to-one customer expe- riences, such as personal training. All facilities must follow guidelines on social distancing, face coverings, hygiene and cleaning of surfaces. The full updated guidance will be posted to www.coronavirus.oregon. gov by Jan. 29. Cory Sudbrock, gen- eral manager of Grande Ronde Fitness Club, 2214 Adams Ave., La Grande, said he and his staff are in the process of deter- mining what they will do. He said Brown’s six- person limit will make it diffi cult to operate the fi tness center. He said having only six people in at a time while having an employee working there does not make sense fi nancially. “It does not pencil out,” Sudbrock said. The general manager said he hopes to get more clarifi cation on what the governor’s announcement means. Sudbrock said many club members have been calling since Tuesday but that is nothing new. “About a dozen people (club members) have been calling me every day since we closed,” Sudbrock said. The news could be better but Sudbrock is encouraged by Brown’s step. “It is better than staying closed,” he said. “At least it is progress.” Brown encouraged people to exercise outdoors whenever possible. “The science has shown us that outdoor activities are safer than indoor activ- ities when it comes to the spread of COVID 19,” she said. But a recent drop in infection rates and the lack of a major spike in COVID-19 cases over the winter holidays allowed for some limited indoor activity during the colder winter months. “We have seen over the last several weeks that Oregonians have largely complied with risk levels to the point that we have not seen a surge in hos- pitalizations that would have jeopardized hospital capacity,” Brown said. — Observer reporter Dick Mason contributed to this article. RETREAT Continued from Page 1A takeout only — we don’t want to lose any more of those businesses.” Clements voiced similar sentiments, saying he pre- ferred not to commit addi- tional resources so long as state and federal programs were available to help busi- nesses, but he supported keeping some funds in reserve as a safety net. Coun- cilor Mary Ann Meisner added her support for that course of action as well. Kaleb Lay/The Observer, File The La Grande City Council met for is annual work retreat on Monday, Jan. 25, and Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, to set out priorities for the coming year. Topics included COVID-19 recovery, city development and wildfi re emergency pre- paredness. City development One major topic of dis- cussion during the Monday night half of the council’s retreat was the city’s busi- ness park, which La Grande has used in recent years in an attempt to attract out-of- area businesses to develop a local presence and boost economic activity. Councilors voiced their displeasure with the park’s lackluster perfor- mance and expressed con- cerns about dedicating large chunks of funding toward it, especially given the pan- demic largely has halted efforts to recruit incoming businesses. “So we have $400,000 dedicated to the business park, and we’ve just talked about how we’re not going to be actively recruiting people because of COVID- 19,” said Councilor John Bozarth. “Why in the hell are we doing that?” Councilor Nicole Howard shared Bozarth’s concerns, referring to the business park as an “alba- tross” and suggesting the city’s efforts may be better focused elsewhere. “Light industry is not fl ocking to La Grande,” Howard said. “The couple of bites we had didn’t take for all kinds of reasons, some of them unfortunate. I wouldn’t want to spend any more energy than we’re spending to get somebody out there because I don’t think that dog can hunt.” Christine Jarski, eco- nomic development director for the city, said one reason businesses have been reluc- tant to invest in the park was because it is in a fl oodplain. Clements fl oated the possibility of reallocating funds from the business park instead to be eligible for calls for projects in the downtown area. Housing, poverty and homelessness Since the completion of La Grande’s housing needs analysis in June 2019, which confi rmed the city was in dire need of addi- Bozarth Clements Howard Glabe tional housing, the city council has been working toward the adoption of a housing production strategy. That strategy has been in production for several months, Community Devel- opment Director Mike Boquist told the council on Tuesday, and could be ready for review in the coming months. “We’ll get the public’s input on what they see as our needs for the commu- nity and challenges that may need to be overcome,” Boquist said. Clements said he believed the issues of housing and homelessness in La Grande were closely linked. He also raised the possibility of developing a homeless shelter in La Grande, saying he did not support the city itself doing so but the concept needed to remain on the council’s radar. “The city is unable, I believe, to bring any resources to (addressing homelessness) in any mean- ingful way,” said Clem- ents, suggesting the council should fi nd ways to be involved and keep informed on the efforts of local orga- nizations such as Housing Matters Union County. Howard pointed to the efforts of the Cook Memo- rial Library, which has implemented free Wi-Fi hotspots and technical help with matters such as printing, as an example of measures that help take on the issue of poverty. Kip Roberson, director of the library, suggested the council follow a national trend in doing away with late fees for overdue library materials, saying the fees disproportionately burden those unable to afford them — often, those who rely on library services the most. “The American Library Association recommends Strope that libraries not charge overdue fi nes on at least the basic library materials,” Roberson said. “I would like to eliminate those. Studies have shown that doesn’t affect the return of library items, that overdue fi nes are not punitive to those who can afford them and they only hurt those who can’t really afford to pay them.” The council appeared widely supportive of the idea, with many nodding in agreement as Strope enter- tained the idea of moving forward with a vote in the near future. Wildfi re preparedness As the western United States has burned with more and more intensity during recent fi re seasons, the destruction of towns such as Paradise, Cali- fornia, and Phoenix, here in Oregon, have illustrated in no uncertain terms the risk many communi- ties, including La Grande, carry during the summer months. While it was one of the last points the council discussed Tuesday eve- ning, the council struck an urgent tone on the subject of wildfi re preparedness. Howard minced no words on the issue. “I think that we are not prepared. I think we do not have a clear evacua- tion plan or communica- tion plan,” Howard said. “When you look at what’s happening in the West, you’ve got your head in the sand if you don’t think it’s going to happen to us this July, or this August.” Howard went on to say La Grande needed a “clear community plan” on what to do in the event of a wildfi re emergency, and development of that plan needed to happen quickly. Growing Generations Together STORAGE BUILDINGS OUR BANK WAS FOUNDED BY FARMERS & RANCHERS IN 1945 www.CountrysideSheds.com Start Growing Season in your NEW Greenhouse (541) 663-0246 Locally owned and operated for over 25 years 10505 N. McAlister Road (Corner of Hwy 82 & N. McAlister Rd.) who saw a need for banking services in Rural areas. We remain Independent and are Committed to the success of Our Rural communities. We are deeply rooted in Agriculture and we love being a part of Growing Your Generations Together. 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