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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 28, 2016)
REGION Saturday, May 28, 2016 East Oregonian PENDLETON IMESD gives ‘Crystal Apples’ to top teachers East Oregonian Staff photo by George Plaven Staff photo by George Plaven PHS junior Jon Diehl demonstrates welding Friday during FFA Farm Day in Pendleton. Eighth-grader Chauncey Sams lies a drone with help from PHS sophomore Walker Paullus. Farm Day introduces students to FFA Highlights diversity of the organization By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian There’s more to FFA than just showing animals. The organization features a broad and diverse range of activities, from diesel mechanics to gardening to cooking. Members of the Pendleton FFA Chapter presented just a few of the possibilities Friday morning to eighth-graders from Sunridge Middle School, giving them an up close and personal look at all FFA has to offer. Students cycled through each of ive stations at the chapter’s lamb lab, where they had the chance to plant pumpkins, pet a horse, watch a welding demonstration and even try their hand at lying an agriculture drone. Jake Szumski, a junior at Pendleton High School and FFA chapter president, said the goal was not only to show what opportunities are avail- able, but how FFA can help students develop new skills for college and careers. “It really is a learning opportunity for the rest of your life,” Szumski said. “There’s a lot of career development where you can experience things you wouldn’t otherwise do.” The Pendleton FFA Chapter Staff photo by George Plaven PHS senior Tyler Ruth shows off her horse, Porsha, to a group of eighth-graders Friday as part of FFA Farm Day. has approximately 50 active and 80 non-active members, said Hallie Porter, sophomore and chapter secretary. “To be in FFA, you don’t have to show animals. There’s so many options,” Porter said. “You can really do any competition, and still feel welcome in FFA.” More than 20 chapter members participated at the State FFA Convention in Corvallis, and Seely Daniels, PHS agriculture teacher and FFA advisor, said she hopes to take their oficers to the National Convention and Expo next October in India- napolis. Daniels said they welcomed about 200 eighth- graders on Friday. “The kids just loved it,” she said. “They are so much fun to work with.” ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0825. “You don’t have to show animals. There’s so many options. You can really do any com- petition, and still feel welcome in FFA.” — Hallie Porter, PHS sophomore and Pendleton FFA Chapter secretary Expect delays during summer road construction East Oregonian As road construction season enters full swing, the Oregon Department of Transportation is reminding drivers to use caution in order to avoid tragedy. This year ODOT crews and contractors will repair and resurface hundreds of miles of pavement, including the following projects in Umatilla and Morrow coun- ties: • The Exit 209 interchange of Interstate 84 and Highway 395 in Pendleton will be under repairs resulting in lane closures of the bridge and the temporary closure of the westbound freeway off-ramp from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 16, and again on June 22 and 23. • Interstate 84 will experience lane closures, reduced speeds and minor delays for concrete repairs between exit 188 (Stanield/ Pilot truck stop) and milepost 203 (Pendleton/Wood- pecker truck stop). Work is expected to start in August or September and be completed in October. • Interstate 84 will be reduced to a single lane in work zones between mile- post 203 (Woodpecker truck stop) and milepost 217 (the bottom of Cabbage Hill) for pavement grinding and inlay. Work is expected to start in July or August and be completed in September. • Work continues on Highway 395 between north Hermiston and Umatilla, including lane restrictions, sidewalk closures and minor delays during a paving grind/ inlay. The majority of the project is expected to wrap up partway through June, with all aspects complete by July 4. • Highway 730 between Southshore Drive and the Washington border will experience lane closures, reduced speeds, pilot cars and up to 20-minute delays in order to complete a pave- ment overlay. The work is expected to begin sometime in late fall and be completed in August 2017. • Highway 206 between Gilliam County and Heppner will experience lane closures, reduced speeds, laggers, pilot cars, delays of up to 20 minutes and parking restric- tions in Heppner during a chip seal operation. Work is expected to start in late July and take about two weeks to complete. • Highway 244 will expe- rience lane closures, reduced speeds, pilot cars and delays of up to 20 minutes for a pavement chip seal between its intersection with U.S. 395 near Ukiah and Interstate 84 near Hilgard. Work is expected to start Aug. 8 and take about three weeks to complete. • Highway 74 between Gilliam County and Heppner will experience lane closures, reduced speeds, pilot cars and delays of up to 20 minutes for a chip seal project. Work is expected to start July 11 and take two to three weeks to complete. “ODOT reminds motor- ists to slow down, pay extra attention and be prepared for laggers and trafic pattern changes when they see orange cones and construc- tion signs,” the department wrote in a news release. Trafic ines are doubled in work zones, regardless of whether there are construc- Graduation Gifts Memorial Day Flowers Page 3A tion workers on site. ODOT emphasized that obeying the reduced speed limit and avoiding distractions like cell phones can prevent an expensive ticket and save lives. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. The InterMountain Education Service District awarded 45 educators from its 18 school districts with Crystal Apple “Excellence in Education” awards this month. Umatilla and Morrow county winners were honored on May 17 at the Red Lion Hotel in Pendleton and Union County winners were honored on May 9 at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande. Nominations were submitted over a two-month period by administrators, coworkers, parents, students and community members. Winners are selected from these nominations by school district administration. At the Pendleton ceremony, Darrick Cope, superintendent of the Helix School District, was honored as the 2016 Doug Flatt Memorial Leadership Award winner. The award is named for the late chief executive oficer of Mid Columbia Bus Company who died in a plane crash while on business. It is to recognize an administrator from a school district served by the Mid Columbia Bus Company in Umatilla, Morrow or Union county who exempliies the qualities of leadership, atten- tion to detail and community service for which Flatt was known. “Darrick’s adept manage- ment of bond funds have resulted in innovative, state- of-the-art facilities for Helix that will beneit learners for decades to come,” said IMESD Superintendent Mark Mulvihill in a press release. Blue Mountain Commu- nity College was also honored at the ceremony with the Community Partner Award. BMCC and IMESD are the two largest providers of regional P-20 services. The two entities share staff and resources for a variety of collaborative programs and facilities. This cooperation provides improved access to educational opportunities for families and increased student achievement, according to a press release. “BMCC is known for its top-level staff and instruc- tional programs,” Mulvihill said. “They are always eager and willing to problem solve, share staff and think outside the box to serve more effectively.” Below are the educators from Umatilla and Morrow counties awarded with indi- vidual Crystal Apple awards: Athena-Weston School District: Jacque Fox (third grade), Sara Tucker (secre- tary, Athena Elementary). Echo School District: Jessica Rist (counselor, Echo High), Brandi Russell (math/P.E. teacher, Echo High). Helix School District: Victoria Fox (kindergarten), Don Rydrych (Reading Buddies volunteer). Ione School District: Tara Proudfoot (student support), Betty Rietmann (reading volunteer). Milton-Freewater Uniied School District: Sarah Ensunsa (reading intervention, Ferndale Elementary), Jose Garcia (lead custodian, Freewater Elementary), Caryn Houchin (secretary, Fern- dale Elementary), Brenda Thomas (language arts, Central Middle School). Morrow County School District: Pat King (special education, Riverside Jr/ Sr High), Brenda Kittelson (irst grade, A.C. Houghton Elementary), Jody Marston (registrar, Riverside Jr/ Sr High), Barbara Phillips (head secretary, Irrigon Elementary). Pendleton School District: Alex Arroyo (custodian, Pendleton Early Learning Center), Erin Donnelly (P.E./health teacher, Sunridge Middle School), Laurie Hummell (media assistant, Sherwood Heights Elementary), Liz Nirschl (irst grade, Lincoln Primary). Pilot Rock School District: Laura Byrnes (sixth grade), Gary Tester (head custodian, Pilot Rock Jr/Sr High). Stanield School District: Marilyn Durbin (language arts, Stanield Secondary), Katie Johnson (social studies, Stanield Secondary). Umatilla School District: Keith Gebers (busi- ness education, Umatilla High), Erin Iveson (ofice manager, McNary Heights Elementary). Ukiah School District: Laura Orr (science teacher). InterMountain ESD: Kari Baybado (autism consultant, Regional Programs & Related Services), Obdulia (Abby) Munoz (lead recruiter/ parent liaison, Instructional Services), Heidi Paullus (instructional strategies specialist, Instructional Services), Casey Seeger (E-Rate specialist, Inter- Mountain Technology). Thanking Our Sponsors The Umatilla County Historical Society extends a special thank you to the sponsors of our 2016 Agricultural Heritage Tour. Lead Sponsors: • Columbia State Bank • The McGregor Company Major Sponsors: • D. A. Davidson & Co. • Northwest Farm Credit Services • St. Anthony Hospital • Wheatland Insurance Center Supporting Sponsors: • Whitney Land Company Put a smile on the heart with the power of flowers HWY 395, HERMISTON 541-567-4305 Mon-Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 12pm-5am www.cottagefl owersonline.com Thank You to the Community of Pendleton The Pioneer Relief Nursery of Pendle- ton, it's Executive Director, Staff, board Members and Volunteers would like to thank all who sponsored the "Dancing with Your Star" event held recently at the Vert Auditorium. We received a great deal of support monetarily and emotionally from many patrons in this community. All the dancers and their sponsors deserve to be commended for their efforts. Our person- al dancer was Megan Furstenberg who did a wonderful job representing our nurs- ery. This community and the efforts of so many people have helped us to continue to serve our nearly seven-hundred families in need of support. We have the distinc- tion of being the fi rst Rural Relief Nursery in Oregon. Thankfully, there are others who now have taken up the cause. Again, Thank You for keeping our mission ALIVE! Sincerely, Pioneer Relief Nursery of Pendleton A HUGE thank you to everyone that gave their time, energy and dollars to the Kick'n Cancer New Beginnings (KCNB) Third Annual Golf Tournament. All pro- ceeds stay here in the Pendleton area and will benefi t the KCNB Spirit Pro- gram. Because of your generous support and participation, we are able to offer a program where survivors of cancer can heal both physically and mentally and begin to resume their normal lives. Thank you to all the generous sponsors, donors, the Pendleton Country Club, golf participants, volunteers and media. Silver Sponsors: Terry Atchison • 92.1 Party FM DA Davidson • Justin & Tamara Voelker Walla Walla Country Club • East Oregonian