REGION
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
JOSEPH
ECHO
Chief Joseph Days gets
nod from Western magazine
School tries to solve
math teacher shortage
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
Chief Joseph Days was
included in the Top 10
Must See Rodeos of 2016
by Gavin Ehringer in the
January issue of Western
Horse & Gun magazine.
Harley
Tucker,
a
Wallowa County stock
contractor, started the local
event. It initially attracted
area ranchers who came to
show their skills in riding,
roping, and other contests
that relected the life of a
working cowboy.
Now 71 years later, Chief
Joseph Days draws top
cowboys from across the
country, competing in hopes
of winning their way to the
National Finals Rodeo.
“Chief Joseph Days may
not be the biggest, but it’s
one of my favorite rodeos,”
said Ehringer. “It’s in a
beautiful, intimate setting,
and the people of Joseph are
just really cool.”
For the full Chief Joseph
Days experience, plan on
arriving Tuesday, July 26
for the 1:30 p.m. Bucking
Horse Stampede down
Joseph’s Main Street. The
event kicks off the week’s
festivities.
During rodeo perfor-
mances, visitors sitting on
the north side of Harley
Tucker Memorial Arena
are treated to a breathtaking
view of the Wallowa Moun-
tains. Rodeo action runs
nightly Wednesday, July 27
through Saturday, July 30 at
7 p.m. Nightly tickets range
EO Media Group ile photo
Don Lamb and his mini-horse team pull a covered wagon during a past Chief Jo-
seph Days Grand Parade. Chief Joseph Days runs July 26-31 in Joseph.
from $14 to $20.
The Tuckerettes, a team
of six fast lying cowgirls,
explode into the arena at the
start of each rodeo. Also,
John Harrison, named the
2015 Comedy Act of the
Year, will provide entertain-
ment with his antics in the
barrel.
The Chief Joseph Days
Little Buckaroo Rodeo for
Special Needs Children
& Adults is Wednesday
at 9 a.m. Participants will
engage in rodeo activities.
(For more information,
contact Debbie Scudder at
scudderdebra@gmail.com).
Following Wednesday’s
family night, people are
invited to a family dance,
which also features free
mechanical bull rides for the
kids.
Thursday
is
Tough
Enough to Wear Pink Day,
so don pink duds and help
support cancer screenings.
A Miles for Mammograms
Walk begins with registra-
tion at 8 a.m.
During the day, visitors
are encouraged to stroll
down Main Street’s shops
and boutiques. In addition,
vendors ill the streets with
specialty western gear,
American Indian jewelry
and crafts, as well as corn
dogs, curly fries and kettle
corn.
On Friday morning, Main
Street comes alive at 10 a.m.
with the Kiddie Parade, for
entrants age 12 and younger.
The Chief Joseph Days
Grand Parade is Saturday
at 10 a.m. Also, Friday and
Saturday nights feature a
teen dance at 9 p.m. at the
Joseph Community Center
with Full Tilt Audio. The
cover charge is $5.
The annual Friendship
Feast, which is Saturday at
noon in the Encampment
Pavilion, has a new covered
arbor structure. The upgrade
replaces the use of a tarp
secured to a log frame. The
Encampment Pavilion also
will host an American Indian
dance contest Saturday at 3
p.m.
A cowboy church service
inishes out the week on
Sunday at 8 a.m. in the
rodeo arena.
For more information, a
full schedule of events or to
purchase rodeo tickets, visit
www.chiefjosephdays.com.
———
Contact
Community
Editor Tammy Malgesini at
tmalgesini@eastoregonian.
com or 541-564-4539
BRIEFLY
Bloomz Coffee Bar
opens downtown
HERMISTON — A
quick latte or cinnamon roll
is now within easy walking
distance of downtown
businesses after Bloomz
Coffee Bar opened Tuesday.
The coffee shop, located
at 140 N.E. Second St., is
leasing space from Simmons
Insurance Group on the
former RoeMark’s property
next to Scrubs Life. It offers
a variety of food and drinks,
including coffee, lemonade,
chocolates, bagels, breakfast
sandwiches, scones and
other pastries.
Rod Zumwalt, one of the
shop’s co-owners said they
hope to build a relationship
with regular customers from
the downtown area who
will stop in for a coffee and
maybe some breakfast too
on the way to work.
The shop is not
completely furnished
yet (more seating will be
forthcoming in the next
few days), but is open for
business. Zumwalt said
after the soft opening they
will continue to adjust the
hours and other components
according to demand.
“We will start 8 a.m. to
5 p.m. Monday through
Friday, but we’re going
to play it by ear what the
customer base wants,” he
said.
Library offers
language-learning
service free
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston Public Library is
offering its patrons access
to a computer program that
can teach them a second
language or prepare them
for citizenship.
Pronunciator.com, which
bills itself as “the world’s
largest language-learning
service,” is an online
program that includes
30-minute classes with live
teachers, videos, interactive
quizzes and other tools
to learn a new language.
It offers 80 languages,
including English as a
second language for 50
different non-English
languages.
Hermiston residents can
register for free using their
library card number and
access the program from
anywhere, including their
home computer or via an
app on their smartphone.
Pronunciator also offers
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
A selection of pastries and candies are on display
at Bloomz Coffee Bar, which opened in downtown
Hermiston this week.
a service called Procitizen,
which offers videos, drills
and other tools to help
prepare people to take the
naturalization test to become
a U.S. citizen.
To create an account for
either service, or to check
out the other subscription-
only online services that
Hermiston residents can
access for free using their
library card number, visit
www.hermistonlibrary.us/os
and click on the icon of the
program you want to use.
Parks department
sets movie nights
HERMISTON — An
oversized inlatable movie
screen will be erected
for Movies in the Park in
Hermiston.
The public is invited to
view “Norm of the North”
for free Friday at dusk at
McKenzie Park, 320 S. First
St. People are encouraged
to bring blankets, chairs and
snacks and enjoy the show.
An animated adventure
comedy, the ilm is about
a polar bear whose Arctic
home is invaded by real
estate development.
The July 29 show
features “The Good
Dinosaur” and the Aug. 5
movie is ‘Star Wars: The
Force Awakens.”
For more information,
call Hermiston Parks &
Recreation at 541-667-5018.
Listening sessions
planned for female
veterans
A pair of listening
sessions are set for women
who have served in the
military.
Elizabeth Estabrooks,
the women’s veterans
In Loving Memory of Mary Cole
The Joe Cole family would like to extend their sincere gratitude
to all of our friends in the Pendleton and the surrounding area for
their generosity and kindness to Mary during her last year.
Thank you to Ron, Valori and Pam at Pendleton Pioneer Chapel
for their guidance through a diffi cult time. Also thank you to Rev.
Harwerth, his staff at the Presbyterian Church and Kathy Nooy.
A very special thank you to all the employees at Juniper House
and to Dr. Dan Marier for their outstanding care.
coordinator from Oregon
Department of Veterans
Affairs, is interested
in feedback regarding
improvement of services,
problems with iling claims
and how the ofice can
provide assistance. She will
be available:
•Tuesday, July 26
from 2:30-4 p.m. at the
Bartholomew Building, 110
N. Court St., Heppner.
•Wednesday, July 27
from 3-4:30 p.m. at the Port
of Morrow, 2 Marine Drive,
Boardman.
For more information
or to share your story if
unable to attend, contact
Estabrooks at 971-720-9116
or elizabeth.estabrooks@
state.or.us.
———
Briefs are compiled
from staff and wire reports,
and press releases. Email
press releases to news@
eastoregonian.com
By ALEXA LOUGEE
East Oregonian
The
Echo
School
District is facing a problem
that’s becoming common
across rural Oregon schools
— inding a qualiied high
school math teacher.
Superintendent Raymon
Smith spoke about the issue
at Monday’s school board
meeting after no candidates
were found to ill an open
position. The board brain-
stormed some ideas on how
to keep students up to state
standards.
The subject of math is
an admitted weakness in
the district. Recent state-
wide testing indicated the
district was falling short.
Preliminary test results
showed only 10 percent of
Echo High School students
passed state math tests last
year, compared with the
state average of 34 percent.
“The issue is not the
kids, the issue is us,” Smith
said.
Oficials at the Oregon
Department of Education
have told Smith that many
small, rural schools have
a hard time securing math
teachers.
The board discussed
the possibility of busing
students to Stanield, or
using curriculum the ODE
has established for small
schools where an adult
supervises
classroom
learning but does not have
to be a licensed math
teacher.
“It’s not a lot different
than home school,” board
member Brandy McCarty
said.
Smith expressed support
for supervised learning of
the state’s curriculum.
“I’d rather do that than
have a trainwreck (of a
teacher) in a classroom for
a year,” he said.
The district is looking
for other ways to increase
the dismal math test scores.
It has invested in a new
assessment program called
iReady and will be using it
for all K-12 students.
“There’s not many
mandates I set down, but
this is one of them,” Smith
said. “We have to ix this.”
School testing results
for 2015-16 are set to be
released to the public on
September 15.
The school board also
learned some good news at
its meeting.
Smith shared that the
school bond had sold for
higher than anticipated,
generating an additional
$225,146 in revenue for the
district.
He said right now bond
rates are good and that Stan-
dard & Poor’s had given the
Echo School District a AA
credit rating. This rating
made the school’s bond
an attractive investment to
buyers and thus the bond
sold at a premium.
Some of that revenue
has already gone toward
paying the bonding fees.
After paying those fees
the school district still has
a $116,000 surplus in the
school project budget.
Echo residents voted for
a $4 million school bond
in May to match a capital
improvement grant it
received from ODE.
The bond will be used
to build new classrooms
and a new air-conditioned
gymnasium, as well as
update existing infrastruc-
ture and increase security.
The district is on schedule
to send out for bids on
some of the construction
projects in January.
The school board also
discussed new staff hires.
Teddi Fisher has moved
from the Hermiston School
District to teach elementary
school for Echo. Rachel
Hulett has been hired as
the new school counselor
and Makenna Ramos will
be the new assistant high
school girls basketball
coach.
Lightning sparks small
wildires in northeast Oregon
East Oregonian
Recent lightning storms
have kept ireighters on
their toes in northeast
Oregon, sparking several
small wildires on both
public and private forests.
Three ires were reported
in the Oregon Department
of Forestry’s Northeast
Oregon District, and ive
more in the Wallowa-
Whitman National Forest.
The largest ire reached
18 acres, burning 16 miles
southwest of La Grande
near Spool Cart Camp-
ground. It was contained on
Monday.
All other ires were held
at less than half an acre.
More ires could be on the
horizon with isolated thun-
derstorms and increasing
winds expected over the
next few days.
The ODF Northeast
Oregon District oficially
entered ire season June
28. More information on
incidents and weather
conditions can be found at
www.bmidc.org, or www.
bluemountainireinfo.blog-
spot.com.