OFF PAGE ONE
WOLVES: Cattlemen’s association supports the kill
Page 8A
East Oregonian
Continued from 1A
In March alone, the group
led by OR-4 has struck
multiple times on private
pastures in the Upper Swamp
Creek area of Wallowa
County. A calf was killed
March 9; a sheep on March
25; two calves were attacked
on March 26, with one dead
and the other euthanized
due to bite injuries; another
calf was found dead March
28; and a sheep was found
injured March 30, according
to ODFW depredation
reports.
Morgan said Imnaha
Pack members commonly
visit the area of the attacks
but it’s unusual for them to
remain there, as the four
have this time. That suggests
there’s been some change in
the pack dynamics, he said.
Morgan said the agency
is following guidelines of
the state’s wolf management
plan, which is up for review
this year.
He called the decision
unfortunate, but said it is a
necessary response to the
pack’s chronic livestock
attacks.
“The (wolf) plan is
about conservation, but it’s
also about management,”
Morgan said.
ODFW had not killed
any wolves since May 2011,
when two Imnaha Pack
members were dispatched
for livestock attacks. The
agency sought to kill two
more pack members in
September 2011, but conser-
vation groups won a stay of
the order from the Oregon
Court of Appeals.
Oregon Wild, a Portland
based conservation group
with long involvement in
wolf issues, opposes lethal
control.
“ODFW should not be
killing members of the
Imnaha Pack, or any wolves
for that matter, while the wolf
plan remains under review
and out of date,” executive
director Sean Stevens said in
a prepared statement.
“Given ambiguity in the
current wolf plan, increased
poaching,
premature
(state endangered species)
delisting and renewed calls
from special interest groups
for aggressive killing, the
public has every reason to
be concerned for Oregon’s
recovering wolf population.”
Oregon Wild questioned
whether
the
livestock
producers involved have
taken suf¿cient defensive
measures against wolves.
Morgan said the sheep
producer had three protec-
tion dogs with the sheep,
checked the livestock three
times a day, employed
a range rider to haze the
wolves and used midnight
spotlighting. The cattle
producer delayed pasture
rotation to keep cattle closer
to a public road, pastured
yearlings
with
cows,
frequently checked calving
cattle and used range rider
patrols as well, Morgan said
in a news release.
The onset of lambing and
calving season made more
attacks a possibility, he said.
“Even more cattle and
sheep will be on these private
lands soon as calving and
lambing season continues,
increasing the risk for even
more losses from this group
of depredating wolves,” he
said.
Cascadia Wildlands, a
Eugene-based conservation
group, said it was “deeply
saddened” by the ODFW
action but said it appears
the state agency “has mean-
ingfully deliberated over its
decision.”
The group said it doesn’t
condone
using
public
taxpayer money to “kill
wolves on behalf of private
interests” but acknowledged
the “situation appears to
be escalating in Wallow
County.” The group said
lethal control is allowed
under the state’s wolf plan.
The inclusion of OR-4 in
the kill order is particularly
dif¿cult because he has
sired many wolf pups over
the years and “fueled wolf
recovery across the state,”
said Josh Laughlin, exec-
utive director of Cascadia
Wildlands. “His role and
that of the other three wolves
should be celebrated and
remembered.”
The Oregon Cattlemen’s
Association supports the kill
order, acknowledging it is a
“dif¿cult” decision.
“It’s an unfair situation
for the livestock owners
and the wolves themselves,”
said OCA wolf committee
chair Todd Nash, a Wallowa
County rancher.
“Wolves are doing what
they naturally do, but have
been put in a situation in
Oregon where they are
going to be in constant
conÀict with livestock and
hunter’s game,” Nash said in
a prepared statement.
Eliminating
speci¿c,
problem animals so that
multiple species can live
together is sometimes neces-
sary, Nash said.
The ODFW Commission
this spring began review of
the state’s wolf management
plan, an effort that may take
nine months.
SOLAR: Cost to generate power about 7.8 cents per kilowatt-hour
Continued from 1A
across from McNary.
Moyer-Martin said she always felt
there should be something dedicated to
her mom’s memory, but this was more
than she could have imagined.
“The next thing I know, the solar
station was named.
I was just over the
moon,”
Moyer-
Martin said. “It’s
very humbling.”
Plans for the
solar farm started
last year, when
UEC
optioned
to buy 80 acres
of industrial land
from the Port of Ince
Umatilla. Once the
design was complete, construction came
together quickly. All together, the panels
take up about 6.5 acres of space.
.evin Ince, UEC’s ¿nance manager,
said this project is the ¿rst step toward
securing more renewable resources in
order to meet the state’s standard for
large utilities. Oregon de¿nes a “large”
utility as those that supply at least 3
percent of all electric sales statewide.
UEC forecasts it will exceed that bench-
mark by this year.
“We continue to see rapid and
aggressive load development. That
really keeps us moving,” Ince said.
As a “large” utility, UEC will need to
procure at least 25 percent of its power
from qualifying renewable sources —
namely, new wind and solar projects
— by 2038, according to Ince. If the
transition happened today, that would
mean 45 megawatts of power from
renewables.
The Moyer-Tolles Solar Station
represents just a tiny portion of what the
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The new Umatilla Electric Cooperative solar array is made up of 3,952
panels covering 6.5 acres east of Umatilla.
co-op will eventually need, but Ince said
it provides a glimpse of what’s to come.
“This is the ¿rst step toward a planned,
calculated and strategic approach to
meet the (renewable energy) mandate
without burdening our membership
with drastic and sudden increases in
their energy rates,” Ince said.
Solar energy is still comparatively
expensive to produce. Estimates show
the cost of generating power at the
Moyer-Tolles Solar Station will be
7.8 cents per kilowatt-hour based on
a 30-year lifespan for the facility. The
total cost of producing all power at
UEC is currently about 3.5 cents per
kilowatt-hour. UEC purchases the bulk
of its power wholesale from Bonneville
Power Administration.
But the price of solar is coming
down. In 2009, UEC built a 57.75-kilo-
watt demonstration solar array at its
of¿ces in Hermiston for just a little over
$400,000. That works out to about $6.92
per watt installed.
Compare that to a 1.3-megawatt
facility at $2.5 million today, which
works out to about $1.92 per watt —
just about a 72 percent price reduction.
In addition to meeting the state’s
mandate, Ince said some co-op members
want to see more of an investment in
green energy. This project shows UEC
is ready and willing to make that invest-
ment, he said.
“We want to be good stewards to the
environment, and we want to provide
value to our members,” he said.
UEC serves 10,000 customers in
northeast Oregon, including Umatilla,
Morrow and Union counties.
———
Contact George Plaven at gplaven@
eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0825.
PENDLETON: District had
3,215 students as of Oct. 1
Oregon woman to testify
against man who shot deputy
enrollment, Peterson said
Pendleton
schools
are
generally understaffed and
lack some of the programs
students need.
Although the ups and
downs of Pendleton’s youth
population are largely out
of the hands of the district,
Peterson said others with
declining enrollment have
taken steps to boost their
numbers.
Peterson referenced the
Baker Web Academy, a Baker
School
District-sponsored
online charter school that
serves students across the
state. While the agreement
nets Baker some extra
money, Peterson said district
of¿cials have not had serious
conversations about starting
an online program.
Because the Pendleton
district has substantially fewer
students than it did 20 years
ago, the $55 million school
bond passed by voters in 2013
didn’t add new schools but
rebuilt and repurposed build-
ings already in the district.
That included turning
Hawthorne into an Early
Learning Center where all
the district’s kindergartners
attend,
building
newer
Sherwood Heights and Wash-
ington elementary schools
and converting Lincoln and
West Hills into the district
of¿ce and a career technical
center.
KLAMATH FALLS (AP) — An Oregon court has
dismissed charges against a Klamath Falls woman in
exchange for her testimony against an acquaintance accused
of shooting a sheriff’s deputy.
Karey Pascoe, 35, had originally been charged with
attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and assault,
The Herald and News reported. She has been subpoenaed
to testify at the May trial of William Parkerson, 31, who
is accused of shooting former Klamath County Sheriff’s
Deputy Jason Weber in 2014.
Weber survived the incident and has since accepted a
different job.
Pascoe said in an af¿davit ¿led March 22 that she was
driving Parkerson and another man to purchase drugs in
Klamath Falls when she was pulled over. She said she had
only known Parkerson for four days and had not met the
other passenger until that day.
According to Pascoe’s account, Weber pulled her over
and the other passenger left the car and started running
away. Parkerson then “jumped out of my car and shot Jason
Weber,” she wrote.
He returned to the car and told Pascoe to drive away, she
said. When the vehicle ran out of gas about 15 miles outside
Klamath Falls, the pair began walking on foot, Pascoe said.
“Mr. Parkerson told me to walk with him and we walked
all over the place,” she said. The af¿davit goes on to say that
Parkerson disposed of the weapon, and they were picked up
by a passing driver the next morning.
Continued from 1A
and special education.
But an more straightfor-
ward head counts show a
decline in enrollment.
The district’s internal
enrollment report for Oct.
1 — the day the department
of education uses for its report
— shows the district had
3,215 students, a 70-student
decline from the same date
¿ve years prior.
Pendleton’s place in the
state’s funding formula is
important.
Superintendent
Jon Peterson said the state
pays the district about $7,000
per student.
If the district loses 20
students from one school year
to the next, the district takes
a loss of $140,000 in state
funding. Peterson said that
kind of ¿nancial hit might
force the district to lay off two
teachers.
Peterson said districts
that gain students have
more discretion over how
to spend additional money.
For instance, a district that
gains 20 students could use
the resulting windfall to hire
more teachers or funnel the
money to a different program.
“It’s kind of a double
whammy when you have a
declining enrollment district,”
he said.
As the district has trended
downward in its student
Tonia Mulcare
Friday, April 1, 2016
HERMISTON: District had
24 classrooms in 12 modular
buildings as of Thursday
Continued from 1A
In October 2015, the
Hermiston School District
had
5,501
students,
compared to 5,297 the year
prior.
To cope with the
growing enrollment, Smith
said the district has four
options:
• Increase school spaces
using construction
• Add modular build-
ings
• “Double shift” schools
to provide instruction for
one group of students in
the morning and one in the
evening.
• Provide year-round
education
and
serve
students in shifts.
Each of the last options
limit the need for new
school
buildings
but
increase staf¿ng and main-
tenance costs. And adding
modular buildings paints a
picture Smith shudders at.
“The scary thing is
if you do nothing at all
and say we’re going to
use modulars to handle
the growth, by 2023 we
would have 56 modulars
and 1,100 kids in modulars
if the community slows
down growth,” Smith
said. “At our current
growth, we’re looking at
80 modular classrooms
and 1,400 kids who calls a
modular home. That’s 1 in
4 students.”
With a few short-term
exceptions, the district has
consistently sought bonds
and built new schools as
overcrowding dictated.
In 1941 and 1947,
students attended classes
in church basements after
population booms for the
Umatilla Ordnance Depot
and the McNary Dam,
respectively.
In 1949, the district
turned to double shifting
its schools, where half of
the students would attend
classes in the morning and
half in the afternoon or
evening.
“To relieve this situ-
ation, the people of the
district voted in 1949 to
build new elementary
schools. West Park was
completed in time for the
opening of school in the
fall of 1950,” then-super-
intendent Armand Larive
wrote in a pamphlet in
1952. “Even that year,
however, it was necessary
to use the library basement
for one classroom.”
By 1951, enrollment
had increased and church
basements were used again.
Soon new elementary
schools were built. The
trend continues through
the decades. In 1980, the
un¿nished Highland Hills
opened its doors early to
help the district handle an
unprecedented increase of
239 students more than the
previous year. At the time,
the district had a record-
breaking enrollment of
3,100 students.
Sandstone
Middle
School was constructed
with a bond passed in
1994. A bond in 1999 built
Desert View Elementary
School and rebuilt the 1952
Hermiston High School,
expanding its capacity to
1,600. A 2008 bond rebuilt
Armand Larive Middle
School — doubling its
capacity from 450 to 900
students — as well as
each West Park and Sunset
Elementary, each with a
capacity of 600 students.
Now,
eight
years
later, the district plans to
approach voters in 2017
for another bond to ¿nance
an expansion of Hermiston
High School, construction
of a new elementary school
on Theater Lane and the
replacement of Rocky
Heights Elementary. An
expanded proposal also
includes the replacement of
Hermiston/Pendleton • stratton-insurance.com
— Wade Smith,
Hermiston School District
deputy superintendent
Highland Hills Elementary.
Each
proposal
addressed enrollment as
well as the needs of aging
facilities. Rocky Heights,
for example, was designed
for 350 students and
currently has 500, many
of them in modular class-
rooms. Although Rocky
Heights has 10 modular
classrooms, it still has only
one combination gymna-
sium and cafeteria that
must serve all 500 students
with breakfast, lunch and
physical education classes.
“Obviously, the bond
would have a tax increase,
but we’ve been very smart
about how we’ve handled
it, so it should be only a
very small increase,” Smith
said. “The challenge is we
already have a pretty high
tax rate. My fear is if we
don’t look at this small
price now and we do this
10 years down the road, it’s
going to be a much higher
rate.”
If voters approve the
$84 million proposal, that
increase could be around
50 cents per $100,000 of
assessed property value.
As of Thursday, the
Hermiston School District
had 24 classrooms in 12
modular buildings across
the district. The ¿gure does
not include three modular
buildings being installed
at Hermiston High School
or the modular that will
be installed at each Desert
View Elementary and
Sunset Elementary schools
this summer. With an
average class size of 22,
those modular represent
748 students — more
than 150 students above
the population of a new
elementary school.
“Even if we build a
brand new school for 600
students, you’ll still have
students in modulars,”
Smith said. “People say,
µDidn’t we just ¿x the
schools a few years ago?’
Well, it’s been a few years,
and this is one of the chal-
lenges of having a growing
district.”
Growth is not always
a
negative,
however.
Smith pointed to increased
opportunities for students
as enrollment grows,
especially at the secondary
level where students can
participate in classes like
Advanced
Placement
chemistry, which are only
offered when enough
students enroll in them.
“There are some very
cool things you can do
with increasing enrollment
and provide a plethora of
opportunities for kids,”
Smith said. “We have a
lot of great opportunities
because of our growth.”
———
Contact Jennifer Colton
at jcolton@eastoregonian.
com or 541-564-4534.
9:00
PM
FRIDAY, APRIL 1
Murray Dunlap
Tonia Mulcare
The Stratton Agency
“Even if we build
a brand new
school for 600
students, you’ll
still have students
in modulars.”
Live Music
Auto
Health
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Life
541/289-3300 • 800/225-2521
Smith
SATURDAY, APRIL 2
Family Insurance Agent
8 S.E. COURT, PENDLETON
541.278.1100
Dan Faller