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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2016)
REGION Tuesday, April 26, 2016 East Oregonian Page 3A Foundation awards more than Plute recall $260K to Morrow Co. schools dies on the vine PENDLETON By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian The Morrow Education Foundation has awarded more than $260,000 to all Morrow County schools, which the districts say will be used to invest in class- room technology. Ione Community Charter School received $22,604, which Principal Henry Ramirez said will go toward replacing three touchscreen panels and adding 20 Chromebooks for incoming freshman. Anything left over will be used for the school’s QHZ VFLHQFH FOXE ¿HOG WULS and early learning. “We’re very fortunate and grateful for this funding,” Ramirez said. Morrow County School District received the bulk of funding with $242,395. Superintendent Dirk Dirksen said the goal is to have tech- nology available for students at a one-on-one level. A little more than half the money will be made available as technology grants that indi- vidual teachers can apply for. “We also want to get the teachers trained on using the technology, and when teachers put in for a grant there is a professional devel- opment requirement that goes with it. It’s a win-win situation,” Dirksen said. Ed Rollins, board member with the education foundation, said the amount awarded to each district was determined on a per-student basis. In addition to tech- nology, the Morrow County School District also received $50,000 for Eastern Promise credits, covering 1,613 Pendleton City Coun- cilor Al Plute will leave the council, but by his own accord and not because of a recall election. City Recorder Andrea Denton said the signature sheets needed to recall Plute were not submitted by the Monday deadline, meaning WKH UHFDOO FDPSDLJQ LV RI¿- cially over. Larry Anderson, the treasurer of Pendleton Citi- zens United, the group that organized to recall Plute, said the group suspended its campaign when Plute announced he would resign in May. “There’s wasn’t any sense to it (anymore),” Anderson said. “It would just make people mad.” The recall’s failure to advance to the next stage of the process wasn’t for lack of effort, according to Anderson. He said Pend- leton Citizens United had collected around 800 signa- tures before suspending the campaign, more than the 705 needed to trigger a recall election. Plute said the recall failed because it was without merit and thanked everyone who supported him and refused to sign the petition. Plute said he wasn’t departing for Eugene because of the recall campaign but because of his impending retirement and his wife’s desire to live in a new city and escape the crit- icism that’s been mounted against her husband in recent years. He has been unsparing in his assessment ABOVE: Rick Stokoe, left, Port of Morrow com- missioner and Morrow Education Foundation board member, presents Morrow County School Board President Becky Kindle and Morrow County School District Superintendent Dirk Dirksen with a check for $242,395. LEFT: Morrow Educa- tion Foundation board members Marv Padberg, left and Ed Rollins, right, present Ione Community School Principal Henry Ramirez, center, with a check for $22,604. Photos contributed by Lisa Mittelsdorf credit hours. The remainder of the grant will be used for ¿HOG WULSV VFKRRO UHVRXUFH RI¿FHUV WKUHH FRPPXQLW\ counselors, one nurse and other support specialists. The Morrow Education Foundation was formed LQ DQG LV D QRQSUR¿W group independent from the school districts. Its board is made up of nine members from Boardman, Irrigon, Heppner and Ione, and LQFOXGHV WKH ¿YH 3RUW RI Morrow commissioners. Gary Neal, the port’s general manager, said More questions than answers when it comes to modern privacy BRIEFLY Crash on Highland Extension kills Hermiston man 8PDWLOOD)RUHVW¿UHZRRG permits available May 1 HERMISTON — A Hermiston man was killed early Saturday morning after his vehicle struck a utility pole on East Highland Extension Road. Cesar Alvarado, 20, was found deceased inside a 2010 Nissan Sentra at 2:08 a.m. on April 23 by Umatilla County Sheriff’s 2I¿FH'HSXW\-DVRQ3RVWZKRZDV responding to a report of a single-vehicle crash. According to a news release by the VKHULII¶VRI¿FHLWDSSHDUV$OYDUDGRZDV traveling east on East Highland Extension near Canal Road when his vehicle crossed into the other lane for an unknown reason and began sliding sideways before hitting a power pole, fence and eventually a tree. There was no indication at the scene that alcohol was involved. PENDLETON — Firewood permits for the Umatilla National Forest will go on sale Sunday, May 1 at participating local vendors DQG0RQGD\0D\DW)RUHVW6HUYLFHRI¿FHV Vendors will sell permits in four-cord packs for $20, with an additional $2 vendor fee. The $2 fee is not charged when buying permits directly from the Forest Service. Firewood cutters must carry an ax, shovel, ¿UHH[WLQJXLVKHUZLWKDWOHDVWRXQFHFDSDFLW\ and have their chainsaw equipped with an approved spark arrester when cutting wood. As the weather becomes hotter and drier, WKH\VKRXOGDOVRFKHFNWRPDNHVXUH¿UHZRRG cutting is allowed on certain days. Public use restrictions are updated on the Forest Service website or by calling 1-877-958-9663. Mountain travel can be treacherous, so woodcutters should take care to avoid getting stuck or causing damage to the land. Many roads are still inaccessible due to snow. Avoid driving off roads onto unstable ground, and be prepared — pack additional food, water, clothing and other emergency supplies. Firewood season ends Nov. 30. Permits are available at Southgate Mini-Mart in Pendleton and Smitty’s Ace Hardware in Hermiston. For a complete list, check www. eastoregonian.com. Farmers reminded to follow burning regulations 3(1'/(721²:LWK¿UHVHDVRQRQWKH horizon, farmers are reminded to check in every day with the Umatilla County Smoke Management Committee before doing any agricultural burns. A burn permit is required for all unincor- porated parts of the county, except for lands under state, federal or tribal jurisdiction RUWKRVHFRYHUHGE\DUXUDO¿UHSURWHFWLRQ district. This includes burn barrels, yard debris and fence lines. Farmers can check for burn days by calling 541-278-6397, or by visiting the county website at www.umatillacounty.net. The smoke management committee also has a Facebook page posting up-to-the-minute XSGDWHVRQWKLQJVOLNHUHGÀDJZDUQLQJV RU¿UHKD]DUGZHDWKHUWKDWZRXOGUHVWULFW burning. Permit holders must log their permit number, location and acreage or amount burned when calling the burn line. In addition, burning is not allowed on haze reduction days to protect air quality during community events. Haze reduction days for 2016 include: Umatilla County Fair, Aug. 9-13; Milton-Freewater Rocks, Aug. 19-21; Walla Walla County Fair, Aug. 6HSW&DOHGRQLDQ'D\V-XO\ Memorial Day Weekend, May 28-30; Fourth RI-XO\/DERU'D\:HHNHQG6HSWDQG the Pendleton Round-Up, Sept. 10-17. The county smoke management program was established to lessen the impacts of burning on air quality. For more informa- tion, call the Umatilla County Planning Department at 541-278-6252. Library friends seek books IRRIGON — The Friends of Irrigon Library are planning a book sale fundraiser May 13-14 and are seeking donations of good used books for the sale. Donations may be dropped of at the Irrigon Public Library, 490 N.E. Main Ave., or the Boardman Public Library, 200 S. Main St., by May 11. Friends of Irrigon Library also are welcoming new members. The group will meet Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Irrigon Library for its regular monthly meeting. For more information, call 541-922-0138. Planning meeting set for Boardman 4th of July BOARDMAN — Planning has begun IRU%RDUGPDQ¶V-XO\WKFHOHEUDWLRQ$Q\RQH interested in helping plan the event is invited to a meeting Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Macario’s Restaurant, 302 Olson Road, Boardman. If you want to help, but can’t attend the meeting, call the Boardman Chamber of Commerce at 541-481-3014 and your name will be added to the planning committee roster for updates on upcoming meetings. MOTHER’S DAY MAY 7TH Put a IS smile on the ~ORDER E EARLY~ A power R L Y heart with the of flowers. said, but the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 delivered a unanimous decision that Your government is police need a warrant to watching you and what you search your cellphone do, and so is your internet because of how much of service provider and any our private lives we keep number of businesses in those devices. That with security cameras and case was striking, Willis said, because liberals and tracking software. Writer and attorney conservatives on the court Wendy Willis said the agreed, and it was a new notion of Big Brother and way of looking at digital corporate surveillance often privacy. Yet the U.S. Consti- prompts people to say they do not care because they tution does not express a have nothing to hide, when right to privacy. Rather, what they really mean is Willis explained, the 1965 they feel helpless to do Supreme Court in Griswold v. Connecticut, a case about anything about it. Willis is leading the the legality of birth control, Oregon Humanities determined portions of Conversation Project “A several the Amendments World without Secrets: combine to form a Privacy and Expectations “penumbra of privacy.” But that did not stop the in the United States.” She brought the discussion last government from gathering week to Pendleton as part of information about U.S. the annual Arts and Culture citizens, as former CIA Festival at Blue Mountain computer network security Community College. expert Edward Snowden Students from Blue Moun- revealed in 2013. Willis pointed out Amer- WDLQDQGORFDOVFKRROV¿OOHG plenty of seats in the Bob icans have a low tolerance Clapp Theatre to dig into for risk, which makes us FRQÀLFWLQJYLHZVRISULYDF\ PRUH OLNHO\ WR VDFUL¿FH our privacy for safety. She in the digital age. Willis told the audience asked participants if they she thinks we are all are OK with surveillance learning together what because they have nothing to hide, or if they believe privacy looks like now. Facebook founder privacy is an important part Mark Zuckerberg in 2010 of being autonomous, even asserted privacy was no if they do nothing wrong. Hands went up for both longer a social norm, she By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS Submit information to: community@eastorego- nian.com or drop off to the attention of Tammy Malgesini at 333 E. Main St., Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541- 966-0818 with questions. Fully Digital Enya 3 Series Hearing Aid Spring $ Special Put a smile on the heart with the power of flowers. funds are mostly from the Columbia River Enterprise =RQH SD\PHQWV VSHFL¿FDOO\ for improving education in Morrow County. ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-564-4547. of the recall campaign, calling out its backers. The two-term city councilor said the recall campaign’s silver lining is that it helped inspire people to run for city council seats. Twelve candidates DUHFXUUHQWO\Y\LQJIRU¿YH seats on the council. “(Pendleton Citizens United) advertised the need for people to step up,” he said. Although the committee was organized to recall Plute, Anderson said Pend- leton Citizens United plans to continue to monitor the council and city politics. Anderson said if Plute reverses his decision to step GRZQ KLV JURXS ZLOO ¿OH another petition and use the information they gathered from the original petition to quickly collect the signa- tures they need to initiate a recall election. The Facebook page for Pendleton Citizens United, which Anderson said has a core membership of 15 people and another 30 to 40 people sympathetic to its cause, recently featured endorsements for Ward 2 city council candidate Rex Morehouse and Ward 3 candidate Dale Primmer. Ironically, Plute also supported Primmer, calling him an “excellent” candi- date. Plute plans to submit his resignation letter this week and will stay on through the budget process. His last council meeting is scheduled for May 17. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0836. 995 • Enhances Speech • Reduces Noise Call 541-276-3155 Ruud’s Hearing Aid Service Sale price valid on the Resound Enya 3 series. Limit two at the promotional price. No other offers or discounts apply. Discount does not apply to prior sales. groups. Willis said she is ¿UPO\LQWKHVHFRQG She also asked the audience to consider what type of information should be protected as private and what are the limits of privacy. And she dismissed the notion security cameras keep us safe. Those cameras, she said, are to help prosecute offenders. One woman said video footage helped Pendleton police catch Lukah Chang, who killed one woman in Pendleton and severely injured another. While true, they did nothing to stop either crime, Willis contended. Another audience member argued your privacy ends when you do something illegal or uneth- ical, which Willis said is the action that becomes a basis for a warrant. But police in the U.S., she said, have used cameras to watch protesters without a warrant. One young man said if the government demands this level of transparency from its people, the govern- ment should be equally transparent. Willis said that key point comes up at every one of these presentations she gives. ——— Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0833. First Aid, Choking Adult, Child & Infant CPR/AED Classes Given Monthly When: Thursday, May 5, 2016 Where: St. Anthony Hospital Rooms 3 & 4 • 1pm-5pm $60-per session: Includes Manual Registration Required Call Emily • 541-278-2627 2801 St. Anthony Way Pendleton, OR www.sahpendleton.com
