FROM PAGE ONE
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2021
SCHOOLS
EMERSON
Continued from Page A1
Continued from Page A1
School had one. La Grande
High School had two staff
members test positive and
the La Grande School Dis-
trict’s district offi ce had
one person test positive.
Athletic squads at LHS
that have hit speed bumps
because of the pandemic
include its volleyball team,
which is sidelined because
a number of its players
have had to quarantine due
to COVID-19 exposure.
Some of the team’s games
have been rescheduled as
a result. LHS will resume
action Sept. 29 with a
rescheduled road match
against Ontario.
LHS Athletic Director
Darren Goodman said he
wants to help his school’s
athletic teams take part in
as many competitions as
possible without putting
them at risk.
“We err on the side
of safety. We are trying
to give as many oppor-
tunities to participate in
sports as we can but do
it as safely as we can,”
Goodman said.
The 20 students the
Imbler School District
has out due to COVID
are all members of its
middle school football
team. These players in
grades six through eight
were self-isolated or quar-
antined Sept. 17 after it
was determined that one
of the team’s players was
COVID-19 positive and
had had close contact with
his teammates. About two
weeks earlier the Imbler
High School football team
also had a player test pos-
itive, forcing many of the
squad to be quarantined
through Wednesday, Sept.
15.
Of the Imbler School
District’s 19 teachers,
four were out on Sept.
17 because of COVID-19
or exposure to someone
who has tested positive
for it. The loss of 21% of
Imbler’s teaching staff
puts a strain on the dis-
trict since it is having
a diffi cult time fi nding
substitutes. This forced
the school district’s two
administrators, Hislop
and high school principal
Mike Mills, to add substi-
tute teaching to their list
of responsibilities.
Hislop said the Imbler
School District is over-
coming the challenges of
COVID-19 because of help
from its staff .
“I’m fortunate to have
a great staff to deal with
issues. The staff at Imbler
is No. 1,” Hislop said.
He noted that when an
elementary school teacher
was recently out, one of
the needs created was for
someone to monitor at
recess. An email was sent
out requesting volunteers
and six teachers off ered
their help.
Mendoza, like Hislop,
said teamwork is key to
overcoming the hurdles
posed by the pandemic.
“It is hard but we will
work through it together,”
Mendoza said.
He said his major objec-
tive is to be able to keep
schools open so they
can continue to provide
in-person instruction and
meet the social and mental
health needs of the students.
diff erent approaches have
to be taken for each indi-
vidual student.
“I’ve done all levels,
preschool through col-
lege,” he said. “When
you’re doing K through 12,
you have to fi nd the spark
in the glitter with each age
group and work with it,
not against it, because it
can be challenging.”
Covering the entire
school district, he will be
working with students who
are picking up an instru-
ment for the fi rst time all
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Mark Emerson, an accomplished musician, teaches a music class
Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021, in the Imbler School District. As the new
music teacher, he will bring his musical skills and experience to all
students in the district.
the way to experienced
high school musicians.
“When you’re working
with younger kids, you
THE OBSERVER — A5
really have to work with
their strengths, and as
they get older you bring
more challenges in,”
Emerson said. “It’s kind
of an age-appropriate
challenge.”
Emerson has high
expectations for the older
age groups, knowing that
they have the capability to
become strong musicians.
He noted that the high
school level musicians
can put together pleasing
musical renditions.
“With the older groups,
you can reach some pretty
superb level of playing for
students,” he said. “That’s
exciting when they present
something and do it really
well.”
Emerson teaches kinder-
garten through sixth grade
in one building and oper-
ates in the Imbler music
room for seventh through
12th grade classes. He said
he is excited to help create
new musicians out of the
younger age ranges and to
hone the talent of the older
groups at Imbler.
“It can be really exciting
to see them get really good
at it,” Emerson said. “You
can get a lot of satisfaction
and gratifi cation because
they can be quite talented
at a young age, which is
really cool.”
MANDATE
ever short of substitute
teachers,” Wells said.
He encourages anyone
interested in working as
a substitute to contact the
Union School District.
Cove School District
Superintendent Earl Pettit
said the vaccine man-
date is a non-issue at the
moment in his district.
Pettit said he believes,
based on anecdotal infor-
mation, including from
staff members who have
voluntarily told him of
their status, that close to
100% of his employees are
vaccinated.
The superintendent also
said neither of the unions
representing his district’s
teachers and classifi ed
staff have voiced oppo-
sition to the vaccination
mandate.
“We have received no
pushback from either of
the unions,” Pettit said.
Scott Carpenter, the La
Grande School District’s
assistant superintendent,
said the vaccine man-
date’s rules have been pre-
sented to all of the school
district’s employees. Car-
penter said the school dis-
trict is off ering assistance
to employees who are con-
cerned the mandate could
aff ect their employment
status.
Imbler School Dis-
trict Superintendent Doug
Hislop also said he hopes
the mandate does not cost
his district any of its staff .
Hislop noted if an
employee does not meet
the mandate’s require-
ments by the deadline, a
third option could be to
provide the staff member
an opportunity to work
from home. He said, how-
ever, that he knows of only
one position in the Imbler
School District for which
it might be possible for the
individual to work from
home.
“We have a great staff ,”
Hisplop said. “I am not
interested in losing any of
them.”
Continued from Page A1
and one fi re chief. Corn-
ford and the fi re depart-
ment have been looking to
fi ll an open position since
December and even mod-
ifi ed the application pro-
cess to allow students in
paramedic programs to
apply as long as they can
fi nish the program within
90 days of hiring.
The vaccine man-
date no longer allows for
unvaccinated employees
to receive regular
testing if they choose
not to receive a vaccine.
Employees in the depart-
ment will either have to
be fully vaccinated by
Oct. 18, or fi le a reli-
gious or medical exemp-
tion. If any unvaccinated
employees choose to get
vaccinated before the
deadline, Cornford still is
concerned with the time
frame to get both shots
before the deadline.
“Even if we have indi-
viduals that choose to get
vaccinated, we’re getting
into a real time crunch
depending on what vac-
cine you use,” he said.
The impact could loom
large. Cornford empha-
sized his apprehension of
potentially losing fi re and
emergency services staff
and health care workers at
the same time.
“They’re educated in
health care,” he said of
the employees facing the
mandate. “They’re intel-
ligent, healthy people that
are making decisions that
are best for them. ... It’s a
real tough spot to be in.”
Jerid Ployhar, vice pres-
ident of the La Grande
Professional Firefi ghters
Local 924 Union, stated
the vaccine mandate could
greatly impact staffi ng
and that unvaccinated
employees are processing
the personal choice and
deciding on the next steps
moving forward. For
those who decide to fi le
an exemption, he recom-
mended doing so as soon
Alex Wittwer/The Observer, File
Firefi ghters with the La Grande Fire Department respond to a structure fi re in the Oregon Department
of Transportation sign shop the morning of Monday, March 29, 2021. Employees in the fi re depart-
ment will either have to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18, or fi le a religious or medical exemption.
as possible to avoid any
loss of staff .
“We don’t want to see
the city of La Grande lose
that service,” Ployhar
said.
Police Chief Gary Bell
said the vaccine man-
date will not impact local
police offi cers unless they
are a state employee. In
that case, the vaccine
mandate will apply.
La Grande City Man-
ager Robert Strope noted
city employees are not
directly impacted by the
mandates, but the poten-
tial loss of fi refi ghters
impacts the city. If there
were to be a number of
fi refi ghters who resign
or are let go because of
the mandate rules, the
city would look to fi ll
the vacant positions as
quickly as possible.
School districts could
rely on substitutes
North Powder School
District Superinten-
dent Lance Dixon is not
extremely worried about
the possibility of not
having enough teachers
and staff when the man-
date takes eff ect.
“A large percentage of
our staff is vaccinated,”
Dixon said.
The superintendent is
holding off on making
fi rm plans regarding what
the school district will
have in place for Oct. 18
because of the uncertainty
of the moment. Dixon
explained there are many
unknowns about the vac-
cine mandate, including
its legality, whether the
unions the school dis-
trict’s teachers and staff
belong to will recognize
it and how people will
qualify for medical and
religious exemptions.
He also said it is
important to remember if
COVID-19 rates drop sig-
nifi cantly, school districts
could regain local control
and the state vaccination
mandate possibly would
no longer be in eff ect.
Dixon said he hopes
if the mandate does take
eff ect, it will not cost his
district any staff members.
“We value all of our
staff tremendously,”
Dixon said.
InterMountain Edu-
cation Service District
Superintendent Mark Mul-
vihill said all members
of his staff who receive
vaccination exemp-
tions will be required to
be tested for COVID-19
on a weekly basis. This
could involve educators in
Union County since it is
served by the InterMoun-
tain ESD.
Union School District
Superintendent Carter
Wells said he is asking
all members of his staff
to submit their vaccina-
tion status to him by Oct.
18. They will report on if
they are vaccinated and,
if not, whether they have
received exemption status
for religious or health
reasons.
Should some staff
members not meet the
vaccine mandate by
the deadline, the Union
School District will have
to bring in substitute
teachers.
“That is a big con-
cern because we are for-
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