OREGON
A6 — THE OBSERVER
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022
SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS
Bill would off er protections to superintendents
The Associated Press
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, Pendleton, houses
approximately 1,700 adults in custody, according to data from
the Oregon Department of Corrections. An offi cer at the prison is
under investigation for supplying drugs to inmates.
BENT investigating offi cer
at EOCI for supplying
drugs to prison inmates
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — An
offi cer at Eastern Oregon
Correctional Institution,
Pendleton, is under investi-
gation for supplying drugs
to inmates.
Jesse Myer, Milton-
Freewater police offi cer and
a detective with the Blue
Mountain Enforcement
Narcotics Team, or BENT,
fi led a search warrant affi -
davit Jan. 28 in Uma-
tilla County Circuit Court
explaining what set off the
investigation.
EOCI in late 2021 and
early 2022 saw an increase
in the number of adults in
custody who tested posi-
tive for drugs, specifi cally
methamphetamine and
marijuana, according to
the affi davit. The medium-
security prison from
June to November had 20
inmates test positive for
various narcotics. But in
December, seven men in
custody tested positive, and
fi ve were for marijuana.
In January, the number
jumped to 25 inmates who
tested positive, most for
meth and marijuana.
The prison had shut-
down visitation with
inmates on Jan. 4 due to
coronavirus restrictions,
according to the affi davit,
leaving EOCI staff as the
only way for drugs to get
inside.
One adult in custody,
according to Myer’s affi -
davit, provided information
that one corrections offi cer
was supplying meth and
marijuana products. Then
a second inmate came for-
ward and named the same
offi cer. In early January, a
third inmate also named
the same offi cer as the drug
supplier, saying he saw
the offi cer exchange “bal-
loons” containing meth,
cocaine and marijuana with
inmates.
A review of surveillance
video, the affi davit stated,
confi rmed the transaction
with the inmates.
SALEM — A bill under
consideration in the Oregon
Senate in the wake of three
high-profi le dismissals
would off er school superin-
tendents some protections
from nocause terminations
in the future.
Senate Bill 1521 would
require school boards to
provide 12 months of notice
before the termination
of a superintendent with
no cause, Oregon Public
Broadcasting reported
Friday, Feb. 4. They could
still fi re superintendents
with cause.
The bill text also states
that a district cannot direct
a superintendent to ignore
or violate state or federal
law or take action against a
superintendent who follows
state or federal law.
The bill comes after
three controversial super-
intendent fi rings in Oregon
last year in the cities
of Albany, Adrian and
Newberg.
In testimony before the
Senate Education Com-
mittee, Coquille Superin-
tendent Tim Sweeney ref-
erenced what he called
“skyrocketing” levels of
superintendent turnover in
the state.
“For the current school
year, there were 43 super-
intendent vacancies. And
so far, there are already 35
vacancies — with more
expected — heading into
the 2022-23 school year,” he
said. “This is out of a total
of 216 positions in Oregon.”
Austin Johnson/Malheur Enterprise, File
Kevin Purnell gives an emotional farewell to the Adrian community after he was fi red by the Adrian School
Board on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021.
Opponents of the bill,
including the superintendent
of a district that is fl outing
a K-12 mask mandate in its
schools, say it would take
away local control from
the community members
who know their districts the
best. The bill “is a very con-
troversial infringement of
school board authority and
autonomy,” Marc Thielman,
superintendent of the Alsea
School District, said at
public hearing Thursday,
Feb. 3.
Thielman is running for
governor and has crossed
swords more than once with
the state health authorities
over mask mandates in his
schools.
Other than Thielman,
superintendents who sub-
mitted testimony have been
overwhelmingly supportive
of the legislation.
One of the recently dis-
missed superintendents,
former Greater Albany
Public Schools Superinten-
dent Melissa Goff , shared
written testimony in sup-
port of the bill. Goff shared
how newly elected school
board members changed the
board’s majority and dis-
missed her a few months
after renewing her contract.
“The chaos that ensued
disrupted the beginning
of the school year for staff
and students, caused anx-
iety and concern for many
of our families, particularly
families of color with whom
I had worked closely, and
cost Greater Albany Public
Schools the equivalent of at
least four full-time teaching
positions,” Goff wrote.
“We are seeing even
more dramatic negative
impact in Newberg schools
right now, thus emphasizing
the need for Senate Bill
1521.”
In Newberg, several
administrators have left
the district in the wake of
Superintendent Joe More-
lock’s fi ring in November.
Two school board mem-
bers who voted to fi re
Morelock appear to have
recently survived a recall
election, although fi nal
results will not be certifi ed
for several more weeks.
Rescuers return bald eagle to Yakima Valley after treatment for lead poisoning
there (in the tree) and get-
ting his bearings.”
For the group, the release
was a happy ending to the
eagle’s story, as well as a
reminder of the danger that
lead fi shing weights and
shot pose to wildlife, espe-
cially raptors.
By DONALD W. MEYERS
Yakima Herald-Republic
PARKER, Washington
— The bald eagle didn’t
waste much time once the
cardboard box that held him
on a trip from Pendleton to
the Sunnyside Canal near
Parker, Washington, was
opened.
The raptor took a couple
steps out of the box and,
with a fl ap of the wings,
was airborne, fl ying across
the rest area along the
Yakima Valley Highway,
alighting on a nearby tree
and surveying the area, to
the delight of the volunteers
from the bird rescue group
that had released him.
“It’s perfect,” said
Donald W. Meyers-Yakima Herald-Republic
A bald eagle Blue Mountain
Rescue recently released near
Sunnyside Dam in Parker, Wash-
ington, surveys the area from
the top of a tree Jan. 29, 2022.
Shelly LaPierre-
McAllister, one of the
eagle’s rescuers. “He is
The bird was found the
morning of Jan. 9 near
Zillah, suff ering from lead
poisoning. But, thanks to
volunteers from Pendle-
ton-based Blue Mountain
Wildlife, he was able to
recover and return to the
Yakima Valley.
La GRANDE AUTO REPAIR
975-2000
www.lagrandeautorepair.com
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Joe Horst
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Blue Mountain works with
orphaned, sick and injured
wildlife, treating them so they
can be safely released back
into the wild, as well as edu-
cating the public on how their
actions aff ect the environ-
ment and wildlife.
LaPierre-McAllister
said she and her hus-
band received a call from
Yakima County dispatchers
about a sick eagle found
near Zillah.
“He was really, really
sick,” LaPierre-McAllister
said. “He was laying on his
chest with his wings out.”
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