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THURSDAY EDITION
COVID-19
test program
for schools
less restrictive
Most local
superintendents like
test-to-stay progam
launched by state
By DICK MASON
The Observer
UNION COUNTY — The
days of mandatory quarantines
for Oregon students with close
COVID-19 contacts are ending.
The reason?
The Oregon Department
of Education recently imple-
mented a “test-to-stay” program
in which schools can provide
COVID-19 tests to unvaccinated
students who have been exposed
to the virus and are asymptom-
atic. Students who test negative
two times in a seven-day period
will be allowed to remain in
school rather than required to
quarantine at home.
“We know the critical impor-
tance that school attendance
has on student success,” said
Oregon Department of Edu-
cation’s director, Colt Gill, in
a statement when the program
was announced in November
2021. “Using test-to-stay as part
of a layered set of protocols in
schools will keep students and
educators in classrooms, max-
imizing days spent in school
learning, growing and thriving.”
La Grande School District
Superintendent George Men-
doza believes the program is a
plus.
“It will provide more oppor-
tunities for students to be in
school,” he said.
Less restrictions
Students who have been
exposed to COVID-19 in a
school setting will take two
COVID-19 tests: The fi rst “soon
after exposure” will usually
occur at school, and the student
will be tested again fi ve to seven
days later.
“Doing tests twice during
that weeklong period should
pick up the vast majority of stu-
dents who are exposed who may
come down with COVID-19,”
said Oregon Health Authority
state epidemiologist Dean
Sidelinger, “and allow them to
safety participate, not just in
classroom settings, but in other
structured educational settings
while they’re wearing a mask,
without missing out on that
in-school, in-person experience
that they’re having this year.”
See, COVID/Page A5
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Snow accumulates on the nearly fi nished frame of the Eastern Oregon University fi eldhouse on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. The new facility is expected to be ready for use
by fall 2022. School offi cials say that once the fi eldhouse is completed it will be the largest building of its kind at any college or university in Oregon, Washington and
Idaho that is not a NCAA Division I school.
‘It will be transformational’
EOU’s $9M fieldhouse
set to be completed
before fall term starts
in late September
By DICK MASON
The Observer
L
A GRANDE — A major
step will soon be taken
in the construction of
Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity’s $9 million fi eldhouse.
Crews are expected to begin
working on the interior of the
building after its exterior is com-
pleted in about three weeks,
according to John Garlitz, East-
ern’s director of planning and
facilities. Once the exterior is
completed crews will be able to
start work on the interior since
they will be protected from the
elements by the exterior panels
being installed.
“The shell of the fi eldhouse is
almost fi nished,” Garlitz said.
The installation of electrical
wiring and a heating, ventilation
and air conditioning system are
among the fi rst things that will be
done once the interior work starts.
Garlitz anticipates the fi eldhouse
will be ready for team practices
and use by Eastern students by
the time the fall term begins in
late September. The fi eldhouse’s
features will include expansive
practice space for athletic teams,
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Equipment sits inside the main building of the nearly fi nished Eastern Oregon
University fi eldhouse on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022.
three health and human perfor-
mance program classrooms with
lab space, and space for the EOU
Outdoor Adventure Program.
Work started on the fi eld-
house in the summer of 2020.
Once completed, the fi eldhouse
will be the largest building of its
kind at any college or university
in Oregon, Washington and Idaho
that is not a NCAA Division I
school, according to Ben Welch,
EOU’s head men’s and women’s
track and fi eld coach.
Welch said the fi eldhouse will
provide his teams with a much
more spacious place to practice
in the winter. The Mountaineers’
track team presently conducts its
winter practices in Quinn Colise-
um’s west gym, which has 4,545
square feet. But in the fi eldhouse,
he said, his team will have access
to about 48,000 square feet for
practices. The fi eldhouse’s track
and fi eld facilities will include a
long jump runway and pit as well
as high jump and pole vaulting
sites.
“It will be a great recruiting
tool. Not everyone has a facility
like this. It will make Eastern
a little more special,” said
EOU assistant track coach Joe
Brogdon, who specializes in
coaching javelin throwers.
Eastern’s track and fi eld teams
will be among the most frequent
users of the fi eldhouse, but it will
be available to all of the school’s
athletic teams. Jacob Plocher,
EOU’s women’s soccer coach,
said he will welcome the avail-
ability of the extra practice space
the fi eldhouse will provide his
team, especially when weather
conditions are less than ideal.
“We need more open space
because our numbers are larger,”
he said. “I am very excited.”
Plocher said the fi eldhouse
will also be a plus even in late
summer because it will give his
team a place to practice when
outdoor air quality is sometimes
poor due to wildfi res.
Anji Weissenfl uh, EOU’s ath-
letic director and women’s bas-
ketball coach, said the fi eld-
house’s extra space is badly
needed since a number of sports
have been added at the univer-
sity in recent years, including
baseball, women’s lacrosse,
men’s soccer and men’s and
women’s wrestling.
See, Fieldhouse/Page A5
EDUCATION
Schools urged to drop extracurricular activities
Oregon education, health officials
warn of ‘rapid’ COVID-19
transmission in school activities
By MEERAH POWELL
Oregon Public Broadcasting
SALEM — Oregon’s
education and health
leaders say if schools con-
tinue to host extracurric-
ular activities, “they should
expect rapid transmission
of COVID-19” that could
prevent students from
being able to attend class
in-person due to isolation
and quarantine periods.
WEATHER
INDEX
Business ........B1
Classified ......B3
Comics ...........B5
Crossword ....B3
Oregon’s education and
health leaders put out that
warning in an advisory
Monday, Jan. 3. The agen-
cies say schools and orga-
nizations must either pause
extracurricular activities
or ensure they follow spe-
cifi c COVID-19 safety
protocols.
If schools choose to con-
tinue extracurriculars, the
agencies said they need to
clearly communicate the
Dear Abby ....B6
Horoscope ....B4
Lottery ...........A2
Obituaries .....A3
SATURDAY
Opinion .........A4
Spiritual Life A6
Sports ............A7
Sudoku ..........B5
potential risks to families.
The message from the
Oregon Department of
Education and Oregon
Health Authority comes
as schools around the state
begin their new terms and
the omicron variant of the
coronavirus continues to
spread.
“It’s all about trying to
continue to ensure that our
students can attend school
in-person every day,” ODE
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Friday
39 LOW
42/33
Cloudy, showers
A little snow
SUNSHINE, BUT DARK DAYS FOR DEER
Director Colt Gill told
OPB.
Gill said that includes
schools continuing to
enforce the mitigation
eff orts they have already
been using — including
wearing appropriate face
coverings, following phys-
ical distancing guidelines,
frequent hand washing and
use of ventilation systems.
See, Schools/Page A5
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 2
3 sections, 30 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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observer.com.
More contact info
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Online at lagrandeobserver.com