FROM PAGE ONE
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
THE OBSERVER — A7
B2H
Continued from Page A1
don’t have the time nor the
resources or anything else
to seek the relief I’ve sought
of the little bit of tranquility
to deal with this issue.”
B2H not yet approved
Throughout the end of
2021 and the start of 2022,
Idaho Power fi led a slew
of petitions to gain access
to private property across
Eastern Oregon via court
orders. More than 10 peti-
tions were placed in Union
County, including against
Larkin and his property.
Each petition is worded
similarly, requesting access to
the land in order to perform a
number of surveys and exam-
inations ahead of the proj-
ect’s potential approval. Most
of the work would be done
throughout the early spring
and into the start of summer
— crew size varies from
two people to upward of 20
workers on site per day.
According to Jim
Kreider, one of the founders
of the Stop B2H Coalition,
the Oregon Department of
Energy has a set of proce-
dures for conducting “over-
the-fence” surveys for land-
owners who choose not to
allow access to their prop-
erty. However, Idaho Power
is seeking access to the
properties through Oregon
Revised Statute 772.210, in
order “to acquire real prop-
erty necessary and conve-
nient for constructing and
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Greg Larkin and Killie, his blue heeler, make their way toward his
property near Morgan Lake on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022.
iency in the transmission
system.”
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Greg Larkin on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, points out where the proposed Boardman to Hemingway power
line transmission towers would be placed on his property near Morgan Lake.
maintaining power lines.”
The surveys vary per
location, but consist of
largely the same tests.
According to the petition,
Idaho Power wants to con-
duct the following surveys
at the Larkin location in
2022 or 2023:
• Three-toed wood-
pecker and northern
goshawk
• Rare plant inspection
• Wetlands inspection
• Terrestrial visual
encounter survey
• Raptor survey
• Noxious weed survey
• Cultural, Archeolog-
ical, and historic prop-
erties management plan
inspection
• Land survey
• Appraisal fi eld visit
“It’s kind of a bully
tactic,” said JoAnn Harris
Rode, Larkin’s partner.
Harris Rode has worked
fi re watches in Eastern
Oregon for 34 years, which
led to her having additional
concerns related to the
potential power lines. The
lines will aff ect ground tac-
tics as well as access by air
in the case of a wildfi re —
she noted that the ridge is
prone to lightning and that
a tree on Larkin’s prop-
erty was struck by light-
ning last September. Larkin
has plans to build a small
fi re tower on his property,
but the potential B2H tower
would be constructed at
the same spot on the plot
of land.
“A lot of this is coming
down to cost,” Kreider
said. “With these individual
landowners, we’re talking
through the processes. For
those that want to fi ght it,
we’re working with them to
fi nd attorneys.”
Kreider stated that the
bigger picture needs to be
considered in the B2H pro-
posal, noting the value of
the scenery to landowners
in Eastern Oregon.
“For the Grande Ronde
Valley, one of the routes is
putting (the transmission
towers) right in the view-
shed. What is the loss of
tourism value? They don’t
really look at that,” he said.
“They look at the utilities
point of view and the public
convenience of having this
addition energy or resil-
Long-term eff ects
Those opposed to B2H
voice numerous concerns
about the long-term impacts
of the lines. Idaho Power
and its partner, Pacifi Corp,
would make a one-time
payment to landowners
in order to provide com-
pensation. For Larkin, this
money would be used fully
in fi nding a new residence
after having no other option
but to abandon the land he
has worked on for years.
Larkin and other B2H
opposers also are con-
cerned about the loss of
tourism at Morgan Lake.
Living just a stone’s throw
away from the lake, Larkin
witnesses a plethora of
visitors on a daily basis
walking dogs, watching
the sunset and enjoying the
views.
“Even if I take myself
out of the equation up
there, the amount of people
that just come up to pass
the lake and watch the sun-
sets is substantial,” Larkin
said.
Kreider expressed oppo-
sition to Idaho Power
moving forward with land
surveys before the project
is offi cially approved and
underway. In the current
pre-condemnation process,
the Stop B2H Coalition is
looking to work toward
legal representation for
local landowners impacted
by the lines.
As Idaho Power heads to
court in order to move for-
ward with its plans, local
landowners like Larkin are
left looking for answers to
protect their properties and
their way of life.
“Everything you read
from Idaho Power is that
it’s all ice cream and cake
for everybody,” Larkin
said. “It’s not.”
MORE INFORMATION
Registration is now open to teachers for the 10-week online EOU Reading
Clinic. The deadline to enroll in the 2022 summer cohort is May 31.
Teachers should contact their school principals or other Regional Educa-
tion Network leadership for information about stipends.
The EOU Reading Clinic accepts donations through the EOU Foundation
to support its ongoing work. Visit eou.edu/foundation/general-dona-
tion-form and include “EOU Reading Clinic” as a memo, or contact Ronda
Fritz at rfritz@eou.edu for additional information.
LITERACY
Continued from Page A1
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Marjorie Waite, left, climbs the rock wall at Eastern Oregon University’s Quinn Coliseum on Friday, Feb. 11, 2022.
CLIMBING
Continued from Page A1
Jose de Jesus Melendez,
the school district’s
director of student success.
Hatch is struck by the
quick impact the program
has on students.
“We see a dramatic
increase in self-confi dence
just in the hour they are
here,” Hatch said in a video
about the Team 5C on the
La Grande School Dis-
trict’s website.
Climbers use gear
similar to that used out-
doors, including har-
nesses around their waists.
Climbers thread a rope
tied to the harness through
anchors in the wall. A sta-
tionary partner, known as
a belayer, holds the other
end of the rope to break
any falls. The belayers are
EOU students and staff
members who have been
trained by Hatch and are
certifi ed.
Davenport said climbers
quickly develop a rapport
with their belayers.
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Central Elementary student Briley Riley-Heisinger makes her way
up the rock wall at Eastern Oregon University’s Quinn Coliseum on
Friday, Feb. 11, 2022.
“There is an instant
feeling of trust,” she said.
Much of the instruction
Davenport and Hatch pro-
vide to students is focused
on safety.
“Safety is always our
top priority,” Davenport
said.
Climbing tips include
encouraging the students to
look to their lower extrem-
ities when moving up the
walls.
“Push with your legs,
not your arms. That is
where your strength is,”
Davenport told students on
Feb. 11.
Davenport said that
the challenges posed by
wall climbing are as much
mental as physical.
“Climbing is creative
problem solving while you
are moving,” she said.
A total of 482 students
in 21 classes are partic-
ipating in the Team 5C
program.
Davenport tells chil-
dren EOU’s climbing
Charles & Eileen
Stewart
10304 A 1st St.
Island City, OR
cstewartpc@gmail.com
541.910.5435
Pay cash or
Rent to own
Authorized Dealer
wall is open for families
each Monday through
Thursday from 4-9 p.m.
She said the children
are very excited when
they hear this.
“Their eyes light up.
They say, ‘You meant we
can come back?’” Daven-
port said.
Davenport said she and
Hatch try to inspire stu-
dents by using the word
“yet.” She said that if a
student comes down and
is discouraged after not
making it to the top, she
will try to make the boy
or girl realize that they
will have many opportu-
nities to reach the top in
the future.
“We’ll tell them, ‘You
know what, you didn’t
get there yet.’ This gives
them an open door to
come back another day
and try again. We want
the kids to walk away
from this feeling great,”
Davenport said.
— but it jumps to 70-80%
when you just look at chil-
dren of color.”
Addressing this systemic
problem earned Fritz and
the EOU Reading Clinic
an $80,000 grant from the
Meyer Memorial Trust over
the next two years. Fritz’s
peers in higher education
are also taking notice.
EOU, originally a
teachers’ college, has a
long history of graduating
top-notch teachers, and
the College of Education is
already working to incor-
porate Fritz’s fi ndings into
its wider curriculum for
undergraduate and graduate
students.
“It became a larger con-
versation about how we’re
training teachers at EOU,”
Fritz said. “We need to
shift to include scientifi c
evidence about how chil-
dren learn to read and the
best methods for teaching
literacy.”
Fritz said structured lit-
eracy intervention involves
explicitly teaching children
the code of language, rather
than passively exposing
students to literature and
hoping they pick it up on
their own.
“In the last couple of
decades evidence has
started to converge from
neuroscience, cognitive sci-
ence and psychology all
coming to the same conclu-
sions,” she said. “Modern
brain research is confi rming
what educators had found
eff ective for a while. We’re
fi nding that brain struc-
ture and transformation
requires explicit teaching of
that code, not leaving it to
chance.”
Teacher prep programs
had taught that reading
was as natural as speaking,
but Fritz said modern
data doesn’t support that
approach. She pointed to
growing evidence that uni-
versities should adjust
the methods pre-service
teachers learn for teaching
reading.
“It’s a call to action
for higher education to
acknowledge that, and EOU
is answering the call and
leading the way in the state
of Oregon,” Fritz said.
Structured literacy inter-
vention has already shown
positive results in states like
Mississippi, where literacy
rates shot from the bottom
to among the best in the
country after just six years.
“Other states have made
incredible gains by ensuring
teachers are trained in the
science of reading,” Fritz
said. “Science tells us that
using the right instruction,
95% of students should be
at grade level by the end of
third grade.”
That increase has a
lasting impact because third
grade reading scores can
predict high school dropout
rates, college attendance
and even incarceration.
Fritz said those foundational
years ensure students can
access curriculum later on
because they’ve mastered
reading.
“Teachers are hungry for
these methods to make a
diff erence for kids that are
struggling in their class-
rooms,” Fritz said.