FROM PAGE ONE
Saturday, april 24, 2021
LIBRARY
Continued from Page 1A
Roberson said, so they
receive the full slate of what
the library has to offer.
That covers basic
library services — bor-
rowing books, magazines
and DVDs, attending pro-
grams and events, using the
public access computers
and borrowing e-books
and e-audiobooks through
Library2Go — as well as
enhanced services. Those
include access to platforms
to stream movies and TV
shows, expanded access to
e-books and e-audiobooks,
online career assistance and
borrowing museum passes,
Wi-Fi hotspots and Chrome-
Kits. Roberson said those
streaming services cost the
library quite a bit of money
each year.
Roberson said some
people think of Cook
Memorial as the county
library, but it is not.
Libraries in Baker and Uma-
tilla counties, for example,
receive their funding
through a library district,
and anyone living within the
district can receive all the
benefits of those libraries.
But the Cook Memorial
Library is a function of the
city of La Grande.
Basic services have been
available to library mem-
bers who live outside the
city limits because Union
County pays $40,000 a year
to La Grande so county resi-
dents can enjoy basic library
services.
“They give us that
funding to offset the cost of
those services,” Roberson
said. “No matter where you
live, you can come to a story
time, you can come to use a
computer.”
The more extensive ser-
vices have not been avail-
able to nonresidents of La
Grande because they don’t
pay the taxes that support
those services. Starting May
1, however, nonresidents
can purchase memberships
to gain the full array of ser-
vices. All-access, nonres-
ident memberships break
WOLVES
Continued from Page 1A
including at least four pups
born in the spring of 2020
that survived through the
end of the year. This pack’s
area includes parts of Union
and Umatilla counties,
north of Interstate 84.
• Clark Creek Pack, 10
wolves, including at least
four pups born in the spring
of 2020 that were still with
the pack at the end of the
year. The pack’s range
includes parts of Union and
Wallowa counties, mainly
east of the Grande Ronde
Valley.
Wolf attacks on livestock
Both reported and con-
firmed wolf attacks on live-
stock increased during
2020.
ODFW investigated 73
cases of suspect wolf attacks
that ranchers reported, a
46% increase from 2019. A
majority of those investiga-
tions — 51 of 73, or 70% —
were in Eastern Oregon.
The number of con-
firmed wolf attacks rose by
94% in 2020, from 16 to
31. Slightly more than half
of the confirmed depreda-
tions — 52% — were from
the Rogue Pack in South-
west Oregon, which was
responsible for 16 confirmed
attacks.
Statewide, 42% of
reported wolf attacks were
confirmed, which 21%
were deemed possible or
unknown, and 34% were
attributed to other predators
or causes. Another 3% were
designed as probable wolf
attacks.
The percentage of con-
firmed attacks was lower in
Eastern Oregon than state-
wide, however, with 15 of
51 investigations — 29% —
deemed confirmed.
In 2019, there were seven
confirmed wolf attacks on
livestock in Eastern Oregon.
The comparatively
low percentage of con-
firmed attacks is one con-
cern ranchers have about
Oregon’s approach to
tHE OBSErVEr — 5A
COOK MEMORIAL LIBRARY’S NEW MEMBERSHIPS
la Grande’s Cook Memorial library has offered basic library services, including
borrowing items and some access to ebooks, to locals living outside la Grande.
Starting May 1, nonresidents can purchase memberships that provide the full
array of library services, including access to streaming platforms and borrowing
ChromeKits.
All-access memberships for nonresidents break down as follows:
• $20 for one month and a limit of borrowing 12 items at a time.
• $30 for six months
• $50 for 12 months
• $100 for 12 months for two or more household members at the same address.
down as follows:
• $20 for one month and a
limit of borrowing 12 items
at a time
• $30 for six months
• $50 for 12 months
• $100 for 12 months
for two or more house-
hold members at the same
address
Implementing the change
means the library had to
clean up its patron database.
Union County’s popu-
lation is about 27,000, but
the database at the Cook
Memorial Library said
there were about 21,000
members with library cards.
Roberson said there is no
way the library was pro-
viding service to such a
large chunk of the county’s
population.
“We have had the system
for over 10 years and they
brought over all the records
from the previous system.
We have records that are old
in there,” he said.
The database contains
names of people who no
longer live in the county,
he said. Keeping all those
records also costs the library
money.
Roberson said initially it
looked like cleaning up the
files would mean canceling
every membership Cook
Memorial had and asking
everyone to rejoin. But Cook
Memorial is among the 77
libraries in 15 counties of
Eastern and Central Oregon
that make up the Sage
Library System, which also
tracks library patrons. Data
in the Sage system, he said,
showed Cook Memorial had
9,532 active patrons as of the
end of June 2020.
The number of local res-
idents with a library card
is an important statistic for
libraries, Roberson said,
because that number can
affect funding, especially
when seeking grants. Out
of the library’s patrons, he
said, almost 2,300 were not
residents of La Grande. And
those are the memberships
that people have to renew.
“We spared our local
patrons any pain,” he said.
“Unfortunately, there’s some
pain for the others.”
La Grande residents who
are library members will not
see changes to their library
membership, but they will
have to verify contact infor-
mation. And some could
have to renew their card
sooner than the three-year
expiration date.
Cook Memorial Library
card holders living within
the city limits of Elgin,
North Powder or Union
will have to apply for a new
library card from their home
library because their old
La Grande library card no
longer will be valid. They
will be able to use the new
card at Cook Memorial for
basic services there.
The most notable mem-
bership change will be
for residents of Union
County who live in com-
munities without a public
library: Island City, Cove,
Imbler, Summerville and
all the unincorporated
areas. Anyone there with an
existing account will need to
convert the membership to a
nonresident account, which
includes a new library card
and barcode number and
will give them access to the
library’s basic services at
no cost to themselves.
Roberson, though, rec-
ommends upgrading. He
said he knows of other
libraries that charge more
for what Cook Memorial
Library provides.
wolf management, said
Rodger Huffman, a North-
east Oregon rancher
and co-chairman of the
Oregon Cattlemen’s Asso-
ciation’s Wolf Task Force
Committee.
Huffman said he and
other ranchers believe
ODFW’s criteria for deter-
mining whether wolves
attacked livestock are too
heavily weighted toward
a finding other than con-
firmation that wolves are
responsible.
He said he understands,
however, that ODFW
officials are under pres-
sure from what Huffman
calls the “pro-wolf side,”
to not blame wolves for
livestock attacks without
overwhelming physical
evidence.
Huffman said he’s not
suggesting that agency biol-
ogists assume wolves are
the culprits in all depre-
dations, but he contends a
lower standard would be
more reasonable, and better
reflect the actual prevalence
of wolf attacks on livestock.
He said he knows a
rancher in Union County
who reported six possible
depredations last year, but
ODFW confirmed only one.
Huffman said the rancher
has “lost confidence in the
system” as a result.
Although Huffman said
he believes wolf populations
are increasing faster than
ODFW’s figures show, an
official from Defenders of
Wildlife, a group that advo-
cates for the state to pro-
tect wolves and encourage
their distribution in Oregon,
said wolves still are in a rel-
atively tenuous situation in
the state.
“This past year has seen
a multitude of challenges
for wolves in Oregon,” said
Sristi Kamal, senior Oregon
representative for Defenders
of Wildlife. “While
increasing wolf numbers
are encouraging, long-term
recovery is still depen-
dent on addressing multiple
threats, including poaching
and a push for predator con-
trol measures. We have an
opportunity in Oregon to
ensure habitat connectivity
and establish a landscape
where wolves and people
are both able to flourish.
Defenders of Wildlife is
committed to working with
agency staff, landowners
and ranchers to make this
happen.”
According to the ODFW
annual report, four wolves
were killed illegally in
Oregon in 2020. Oregon
State Police is investigating
three of those cases. The
breeding male of the Ruckel
Ridge Pack was shot in
Umatilla County in May
2020. The breeding male of
the Cornucopia Pack was
shot in September 2020 in
Baker County, and a sub-
adult wolf, believed to be
from the Pine Creek Pack,
was shot in October 2020 in
Baker County.
Five other wolves died
from different causes during
2020, according to ODFW.
One pup from the
Wenaha Pack and a yearling
from the Indigo Pack died
of natural causes.
A livestock owner shot a
wolf that was attacking live-
stock, one was hit by a car
on Interstate 84 in Baker
County, and another appar-
ently was killed when it was
hit by a boat while swim-
ming across the Snake
River.
alex Wittwer/The Observer
Jesse Cimon (from left), ryan Edvalson and Chris Jennings pause for a portrait Friday, april 23, 2021, at the
performing arts venue HQ in la Grande. the trio are the organizers behind the Eastern Oregon Film Festival,
which is set to take place in October at the newly renovated liberty theatre.
EOFF
Continued from Page 1A
year, so he created a new
film residency program
with the goal of having
filmmakers write their
screenplays and produce
their works in the Grande
Ronde Valley, which in
turn would promote the
region on a grander scale.
In a sense, Jennings is
looking for the Eastern
Oregon equivalent of “The
Goonies” — a way to put
La Grande on the map the
way the 1985 adventure
comedy film raised the
profile of Astoria.
The inaugural group
of EOFF residents con-
sists of four festival alumni
— Alexander Craven,
H. Nelson Tracy, Natalie
Metzger and Parker Win-
TESTING
Continued from Page 1A
concern, especially this
year after students missed
so much instructional
time over the past year
because of the COVID-19
pandemic.
“After all of the
(in-person) school stu-
dents have missed we
value every minute of
(traditional) instruc-
tion,” said North Powder
School District Superin-
tendent Lance Dixon.
La Grande High
School is conducting all
assessment tests during
advisory periods to
address the situation, said
Principal Brett Baxter.
Advisory periods are
akin to study labs where
students do homework
and receive academic
help.
“We are not pulling
them from an academic
class (to take assessment
tests),” Baxter said.
The assessment
tests this year in Union
County and throughout
Oregon are fewer in
number and shorter than
in the past. The U.S.
Department of Educa-
tion allowed the Oregon
Department of Education
to scale back the testing.
The state education
ship — as well as two
attendees who are new to
Eastern Oregon — Karina
Lomelin Ripper and
Samantha Crainich.
“They’re here,” Jen-
nings said, “with the goal
of them coming back in
a year to produce those
films.”
The filmmakers will
stay one month in La
Grande at The Lodge at
Hot Springs Lake. There,
they will spend their time
writing their screenplays
— hopefully inspired by
the region, Jennings said.
“They’re going to
be touring around.
They’re here to do loca-
tion scouting,” Jennings
said. “The major stipula-
tion of the residency pro-
gram was we want to have
the screenplay to be the
focus. (We want) their time
here to be very thoughtful
and creative about how
the nuance and the cul-
ture and the landscape of
the Grande Ronde Valley
as a whole can play a role
within that story.”
The residents also pro-
vide a more tangible boon
to the local economy. Jen-
nings said the cohorts will
actively engage with the
community through small
events and visiting restau-
rants and stores.
“They’re willing to
come here and invest in the
character of La Grande,”
he said.
The 2021 Eastern
Oregon Film Festival will
run Oct. 21-23. For more
information, including
how to purchase tickets,
visit www.eofilmfest.com.
Passes for the festival will
be available in July.
department first sought
permission to waive its
requirement for assess-
ment testing this spring.
The federal agency
rejected that, and ODE
amended its request,
asking for a testing roll-
back. The federal educa-
tion department approved
that.
Dixon noted all par-
ents again have the
option to have their sons
and daughters exempted
from taking assessment
tests. The superintendent
said many parents will be
pulling their children out
of testing this spring so
they will not miss class
time.
“I see a lot of kids
opting out,” he said.
The number of 11th
graders who end up not
taking tests may be espe-
cially high because there
is no longer an incen-
tive for them to take the
assessment tests, which
are for English and math.
Previously the stakes for
the 11th grade assess-
ment tests for the two
subjects were enor-
mous because students
not passing both were
suddenly at risk of not
graduating.
State rules stipulate
students cannot grad-
uate unless they passed
the grade 11 math and
English tests or later
provide work samples
proving comprehension
of the subjects, consid-
ered “essential skills.”
La Grande School Dis-
trict Director of Educa-
tion Scott Carpenter said
the state has waived its
essential skills gradua-
tion requirement for the
classes of 2021 and 2022.
This means this year’s
sophomores may have to
later pass essential skills
tests to graduate but
not current juniors and
seniors.
Assessment test results
have been reported in
a manner that makes it
easy to compare them
with other districts
across the state. Dixon
said he does not think
state assessment test
results this year will have
much comparative value
because of the COVID-19
pandemic.
“The test results will
be skewed,” Dixon said.
He explained this
likely will be because
in-person instructional
time students have been
receiving in 2020-21
varies greatly across the
state. Dixon said some
districts have been pro-
viding in-person instruc-
tion for much of the
school year while others
just started.
Monitoring wolves
ODFW captured and
fitted tracking collars to 21
wolves during 2020, seven
more than in the previous
year.
During 2020, the agency
tracked 47 wolves, and by
the end of the year biolo-
gists were still monitoring
34 wolves.
With tracking collar data
and information from aerial
and ground surveys and
remote camera surveillance,
ODFW plotted 17,279 sep-
arate location points for
wolves statewide in 2020.
The breakdown by land
ownership of those points:
• 57% public lands.
• 38% private lands.
• 5% tribal lands.