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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 2016)
REGION Saturday, April 23, 2016 East Oregonian Page 3A HERMISTON Wagons Ho: Oregon Trail runs through Highland Hills East Oregonian Staff Photo by Jennifer Colton Highland Hills Elementary School students watch a covered wagon move through the playground Friday. The Meyers family brought the wagon as part of the fourth grade’s Oregon Trail unit. A piece of the Oregon Trail rolled to Highland Hills Elementary School on Friday as the Meyers family brought a covered wagon to help students visualize their lessons. The fourth-grade classes at High- land Hills are currently studying the Oregon Trail, and one Highland Hills family brought down a Conesto- ga-esque, custom built covered wagon pulled by two Belgian draft horses, Gus and Call. Students were able to see the wagon up close and ask ques- tions of the Meyers family. The wagon belongs to Bill and Lorre Meyers, but three generations of the family were on hand to help with the demon- stration. Both students in the family — second-grader Daniel Meyers and fourth-grader Laura Plum — dressed in pioneer clothing during the activity. As part of the Oregon Trail unit, students have also made butter, participated in Oregon Trail scenarios and will be hand-washing clothes with washboards. “This is something fun we do during testing, so they will test in the mornings and then have something fun to do in the afternoons,” fourth-grade teacher Deanna Plum said Friday. “The kids love it.” PENDLETON Morrow County candidates talk economic School district preps development, government reorganization for changes at top Four candidates “There are certain vying for two commissioner seats Peterson, Mooney leaving district “The strength of a district is a leadership team. It’s not any one or two people,” Peterson said. “We have By JENNIFER COLTON a very strong leadership East Oregonian team, and we have followed a very collaborative lead- The Pendleton School ership model, which I am 'LVWULFW RI¿FH ZLOO KDYH sure they will continue. different faces at the top this This gives the leadership VXPPHU EXW RI¿FLDOV KRSH WHDPWKDWÀH[LELOLW\LIWKH\ for a smooth transition. want to promote someone Both Superintendent from within (to) assistant Jon Peterson and Assistant superintendent.” Superintendent Tricia Locally, each change Mooney will be leaving the had a domino effect. district on June 30. Hermiston Deputy Super- A longtime educator, intendent Wade Smith Peterson became the accepted a position as the Pendleton superintendent superintendent of Walla in 2009 and will retire June Walla Public Schools, 30. Ontario High School which led Mooney to apply Principal Andy Kovach for his position, leaving the has been hired to replace opening with the Pendleton Peterson on July 1. School District. Mooney has taken the In another example, assistant superintendent for Hermiston currently has an human resources position opening for a principal at across the county in the Sandstone Middle School Hermiston School District. after Larry Usher accepted Pendleton has posted a position at the Herm- an opening for human iston School District. The resources director to replace 6WDQ¿HOG6FKRRO'LVWULFWLV Mooney, and Peterson said also currently looking for a the district should have principal for its secondary enough time to bring out a school. quality replacement before And prime hiring season July. for school administrators is The district has opted to quickly drawing to a close. post the opening as human “I think that a critical resources director instead step in any leadership of as assistant superinten- change is that the new lead- dent to give the leadership ership has the opportunity team the opportunity to to develop relationships make that decision once and trust,” Peterson said. replacements are estab- ³,¶PFRQ¿GHQWWKDWZLOOEH lished. the case now in Pendleton.” By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Candidates for the soon- to-be restructured Morrow County Court were asked if they agreed with axing the local judge position at a forum Thursday in Heppner, along with a bevy of ques- tions about how they would address economic develop- ment. Melissa Lindsay and Greg Sweek are running for what is now county judge, which will transition to a third part- time commissioner seat after Jan. 1, 2017. Juvenile court cases will be absorbed into circuit court, and the county hired a full-time administra- WLYHRI¿FHUDWWKHHQGRIODVW year. Lindsay told the crowd of about 50 people at Heppner City Hall that she felt it was the right move to make, having one administrator to communicate daily with department heads. Sweek, a longtime former assessor and tax collector for the county, was unable to attend the forum due to illness. The event was hosted by the Heppner Chamber of Commerce. Incumbent Commissioner Leann Rea is also up for reelection, facing challenger Jim Doherty of Boardman. Rea, who voted in favor of reorganizing the county court, said she thinks it was an “excellent decision,” and was concerned with a having a layperson preside over juvenile hearings. “We have juveniles committing horrendous crimes,” Rea said. “I think it needs to be handled at a higher level.” Doherty expressed skep- ticism about the changeover, saying the new administrator will not have the freedom to do what needs to be done. It is the administrator’s job to serve the commissioners, and put their ideas and policies into place. In years past, the Morrow County judge acted as both an administrator and presided over juvenile court. That is set to change as Bank of Eastern Oregon reports ¿rstTuarter earnings East Oregonian First-quarter earnings for Bank of Eastern Oregon are higher in 2016 than they were in 2015, according to an announcement from parent company BEO Bancorp on Tuesday. Net income was $782,000, or 64 cents per share, for the quarter. That tops $470,000, or 39 cents per share, over the same period last year. Total assets were also up 3.7 percent at $352.3 million; net loans up 3.8 percent to $284 million; and deposits up 3.4 percent at $312.3 million. President and CEO Jeff Bailey said 2016 is off to a strong year, with shareholder equity up 5.26 percent year over year. Chief Financial 2I¿FHU0DUN/HPPRQVDLG earnings should only get stronger as the year goes on, DV WKH ¿UVW TXDUWHU KLVWRUL- cally marks the low point in the cycle. “As lines of credit get utilized with the 2016 people who need to die in prison. I have no qualms about sending someone to prison for the rest of their life.” growing season, we should see our loan volume increase accordingly,” Lemmon said. Bailey said they are cautiously optimistic about the prospects for farmers this year as better rains and higher snowpack could translate to better growing conditions. However, he said they recognize there’s still a ways to go before harvest. “Even with the drought of the past couple of years, our loan portfolio has performed relatively well,” Bailey said. — John Ballard, circuit court judge candidate Staff photo by George Plaven John Ballard, left, speaks to the audience as Jon Lieual- len looks on at the Heppner Chamber of Commerce candidate’s forum on Thursday in Heppner. current Judge Terry Tallman heads into retirement. Juve- nile cases will instead be handled by the Sixth District Circuit Court, which handles both Morrow and Umatilla counties. Tying into that discussion, attorneys Jon Lieuallen and John Ballard are vying for circuit court judge and also appeared at Thursday’s forum. They were asked about what they will bring to the bench, and what factors will play a role in their sentencing of criminals. Lieuallen said there are few people who serve life sentences. Thus, rehabilita- tion needs to be considered so offenders are ready to reenter society. Ballard took a harder, tough-on-crime stance, saying criminals are being coddled and questioning whether rehabilitation works. “There are certain people who need to die in prison,” Ballard said. “I have no qualms about sending someone to prison for the rest of their life.” The candidates for commissioner also responded to questions about wind energy and luring industry to both the north and south ends of the county. Lindsay, who serves on the county planning commission and has 25 years of experience in the banking business, said she would lean on her energy and ability to forge relation- ships. As for wind turbines, Need Shade or Outdoor Living Space? FREE estimates! 541-720-0772 Visit our showroom: 102 E Columbia Dr. Kennewick, WA 99336 /LFHQVH www.mybackyardbydesign.com PRESBYTERIAN PRESCHOOL Fall Registration May 2, 2016 at 6:30 pm $50.00 non-refundable registration fee 3 year olds T-TH 4 & 5 year olds M-W-F ronment “a child centered m en os vi phere.” in a Christian at 201 SW Dorion Ave. Pendleton For more information call First Presbyterian Church at 541-276-7681 May 8th W e’ve Got YOU covered! WĂƟŽ ŽǀĞƌƐ WĞƌŐŽůĂƐ ͼ ^ƵŶƌŽŽŵƐ Z ƚ ƚ ďů ǁŶŝŶŐƐ ŝ ZĞƚƌĂĐƚĂďůĞ ^ĐƌĞĞŶ ZŽŽŵƐ ,ĂŶĚƌĂŝů ͼ ^ƵŶͬ^ŽůĂƌ ^ŚĂĚĞƐ Θ DŽƌĞ͊ VKH VDLG RI¿FLDOV QHHG WR consider the impacts of any new development. “Continued development on our end of the county is VRPHWKLQJZHGH¿QLWHO\KDYH to focus on,” Lindsay said. Rea, who is seeking a third term as commissioner, said she has already seen WKH EHQH¿W RI ZLQG HQHUJ\ GROODUV ÀRZLQJ LQWR WKH county, and they are better RII ¿QDQFLDOO\ WKDQ WKH\¶YH ever been. She admitted she doesn’t like the looks of the turbines, but “man, do I like that money.” Doherty, who runs O’Doherty Cattle Co. in Boardman, said he would not advocate for more wind farms, and said the region already has a dependable source of renewable hydro power on the Columbia River. He said the county can do more to think outside the box on economic develop- ment — such as bike paths DQG FRPPXQLW\ EHDXWL¿FD- tion projects that can lure in new residents and Main Street businesses. “Economic development doesn’t have to be wind towers and coal,” Doherty said. )RUWKH¿UVWWLPH0RUURZ County commission seats will be nonpartisan, lumping all candidates into one primary. Normally, the top two vote-getters would advance to the general election. But since both seats only have two candidates, the winner of both primary races will win the election, barring a successful write-in campaign. The primary will be held May 17. ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0825. 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