REGION
Saturday, May 27, 2017
East Oregonian
HERMISTON
Bulldogs carry on flag tradition
Football team lays
out 800 flags for
Memorial Day
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Hermiston High School
football players did their
part Friday afternoon to help
remember the veterans who
sacrificed for their freedoms.
The team — plus some
alumni
and
incoming
players — put up almost 800
flags around the Hermiston
Cemetery to mark the start of
Memorial Day weekend.
“We preach family and
brotherhood, and this is in
remembrance of the guys
who paid the ultimate price
for them to go out and play
on Friday nights and attend
safe schools,” said David
Faaeteete, head coach of the
Bulldogs.
He said he appreciated
the tradition, which started
before he arrived in Herm-
iston, as an opportunity to
build a sense of citizenship
in his players and give
them perspective on their
lives. Each flag they put up
memorializes a different
veteran from the area who
died. Thinking about those
individuals’ sacrifices makes
the things asked of them, like
working hard in practice and
doing their schoolwork, seem
like less of a burden.
“Waking up early doesn’t
seem like much of a sacrifice
looking at these,” Faae-
teete said, gesturing at the
hundreds of full-sized flags
lining walkways and rows of
graves.
He said he appreciated
the veterans who help put
together the Avenue of Flags
project for taking the time
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Emilio Ortiz, left, and Jonathan Hinkle put together a flag pole for the Avenue of
Flags at the Hermiston Cemetery.
to talk to the team each year
about the values of teamwork
and trust.
On Friday two trailers
pulled by tractors circled the
cemetery slowly, piled high
with flags. Football players
and coaches ran back and
forth, grabbing a new flag pole
and then working in teams of
two or three to snap the poles
together, place them upright
in the holes in the ground
and unfurl the flag wrapped
around it. Late Monday
afternoon they will repeat the
entire process in reverse.
Emilio Ortiz, a junior,
said the small holes around
the main walkways were
marked in orange, but the
ones running through the
grassy parts of the were
harder to find. He didn’t
mind searching in the hot
sun, however.
“We’re just giving back
to the community for all the
stuff they’ve done for us, and
for our program,” he said.
Jonathan Hinkle, also a
junior, echoed Ortiz’s senti-
ments as the two worked
together to put a flag pole
in place. He said he liked
the opportunity to give back
to the community and pay
respect to veterans. He also
appreciated the symbolism
of all the flags.
“It represents America to
me,” he said.
Phil Jarmer of Hermis-
ton’s Veterans of Foreign
Wars Post 4750 said a lot
of the veterans who attend
the annual Memorial Day
ceremony are no longer
physically able to come out
and help drag flag poles off
trailers and put them up, so
the football team’s work is
something the VFW is very
grateful for.
By ERIC MORTENSON
EO Media Group
“They help us every year
and we really appreciate it,”
he said.
Jarmer said they also
appreciate the Boy Scouts
who came out ahead of time
to clear grass and mud out
of hundreds of small holes
in the ground so that the
football team could find them
and fit the poles in.
Jarmer and others from
VFW Post 4750 and Amer-
ican Legion Post 37 will
head up a Memorial Day
program at 10 a.m. Monday
at Hermiston Cemetery. The
event, which is free and open
to the public, will include a
short message, recognition of
all local veterans who died in
the past year, the playing of
“Taps” and a flag folding and
presentation ceremony for a
local veteran who recently
died and has yet to receive
military honors.
Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
In an April 14 photo taken by a remote trail camera in
the Southern Oregon Cascades, wolf OR-7 trots past
carrying what a wildlife biologist said is an elk leg.
OR-7 has shown up in trail
camera photos several times
this spring, most recently on
May 18.
“He
looks
good,”
Stephenson said.
OR-7 is now 8 years
old, which is somewhat
old for a wolf in the wild,
Stephenson said. It became
Oregon’s best known wolf
when it dispersed from the
Imnaha Pack in Northeast
Oregon in 2011 and cut a
diagonal across the state
and into California. Because
he was wearing a tracking
collar, wildlife agencies
and the public could follow
his travels, and for better or
worse he came to symbolize
the return of wolves to
Oregon’s landscape,
OR-7 was the first docu-
mented wolf in California
since 1924, but eventually
returned to Oregon and
established what ODFW
named the Rogue Pack in
the Rogue River-Siskiyou
National Forest. He and his
mate have produced several
litters of pups over the years.
His mate has never
been caught or collared
and is something of a
mystery. Analysis of her
scat, however, showed she
is related to wolves from
Northeast Oregon or Idaho.
Stephenson said he hopes
to fit a new tracking collar on
OR-7, his mate or one of the
other adults in the pack.
Morrow County launching online school
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Students will be able to
do more of their learning at
home next year as Morrow
County School District rolls
out a district-sponsored
online learning program.
“This is obviously the
wave of the future, and
we have to be proactive in
offering that opportunity,”
superintendent Dirk Dirksen
said.
Students will be able to
take all of their classes online,
add a single online class to
their school day or split their
time between taking core
classes online and electives
like band and weight-lifting
in a school building.
“All of those combina-
tions are very possible,”
Dirksen said.
Parents and students can
learn all about those options
at informational sessions at 6
p.m. at Heppner Jr./Sr. High
School on June 5, Irrigon
Jr./Sr. High School on June
7 and Riverside Jr./Sr. High
School on June 8.
In the past, students living
in Morrow County School
District have been able to
take a college course or credit
recovery course online,
but their only option for a
full day of online learning
has been to join charter
schools like Oregon Virtual
BRIEFLY
Hermiston and county commissioners
to hold joint EOTEC meeting
HERMISTON — The Hermiston City Council and
Umatilla County Commissioners will meet together
Thursday to discuss the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event
Center.
The meeting will be June 1 at 6 p.m. at EOTEC, 1705
E. Airport Road.
The EOTEC board had previously asked the council
and commission for approval of a management plan
comprised of a general manager supervising an adminis-
trative assistant and contract for maintenance and jani-
torial. The two entities asked the board to come back to
another joint meeting with budget and salary comparison
information before they made a final decision.
The meeting will include a chance for public comment.
Umatilla residents invited to hear
downtown revitalization plan
Oregon wandering wolf is alive and well
His tracking collar went
dead in 2015, but OR-7, the
wandering wolf, is alive and
well. This spring, a U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service trail
camera caught him trotting
along with what a wildlife
biologist said is an elk leg in
his mouth.
Federal wildlife biolo-
gist John Stephenson said
OR-7 was taking food back
to his den. For the fourth
consecutive year, OR-7
appears to be denned up
with the same unidentified
female who joined him
in the Southwest Oregon
Cascades in 2014.
The Rogue Pack, of
which he’s the alpha
male, numbered six over
the winter. This spring,
Stephenson saw tracks in the
snow of at least five wolves.
Page 3A
Academy, which directs state
funds for that student outside
the school district.
If students choose to
switch to Morrow County’s
Online
School-At-Home,
that state education money
will go to support a local
instructor the district has
hired to help teach and
mentor online students.
That instructor will
work in concert with online
learning companies and with
the InterMountain Education
Service District’s new online
school to offer a package
of options to students. The
education service district
officially launches their
IMESD Online program in
July as a way to staunch the
flow of students in Eastern
Oregon enrolling in online
schools sponsored by other
districts.
Although
re-capturing
the state money for those
students will be helpful
to districts, Dirksen said
Morrow County School
District is offering online
school to benefit students
by offering them more
choice and flexibility in
their learning. He said
some students work better
in an online environment
at their own pace, while
others respond better to the
in-person interactions of a
brick and mortar classroom.
“I really think it’s an
individual choice,” he said.
“It’s difficult to say which
is better or worse. I’ve seen
kids do really well in school,
and seen students do really
well online.”
For more information,
parents can attend the infor-
mational sessions in June or
call the Morrow Education
Center at 541-922-4004.
"Scram ble for
Scholarships"
Friday, June 9th
UMATILLA — The public is invited to the unveiling
of Umatilla’s downtown revitalization plan on June 6.
Graduate students from Portland State University,
working under the name Confluentis Planning, have
been working for the past six months on the plan as
their capstone project for graduation. They held several
public input sessions and focus groups and worked with
city officials to get feedback on Umatilla’s strengths and
needs.
The final plan will be presented at a Umatilla Together
event on Tuesday, June 6 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at city hall,
700 Sixth Street. Spanish translation and refreshments will
be provided.
Hermiston accepting applications
for open committee positions
HERMISTON — The city of Hermiston is accepting
applications for the Hispanic Advisory Committee and
Library Board.
The Hispanic Advisory Committee has two open seats
with terms running from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2020.
The Library Board has three vacancies with terms running
from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2020.
Applications are due May 30 by 5 p.m. They can be
submitted at city hall, 180 N.E. Second St., or by email
to lalarcon-strong@hermiston.or.us. Applications can be
found at city hall or on the city’s website.
Health district offers well care exams
HEPPNER — The Morrow County Health District will
provide adolescent well care exams at no charge.
Beginning Thursday, June 1 and continuing through
the summer, people need to make an appointment for the
evaluation at Pioneer Memorial Clinic, 130 Thompson
Ave., Heppner. The exams can include an evaluation for
OSAA sport and activity requirements for youths ages
11-21.
If the patient has insurance, it will be billed. However,
if there is a balance owed, it will not be charged to the
patient.
For more information or to schedule an appointment,
call Pioneer Memorial Clinic at 541-676-5504.
Free day camp reaches out to youths
A free summer day camp is designed to help youths
develop and practice positive skills and improve their
social skills.
Presented by Lifeways, the REACH Summer Program
is offered in Pendleton (June 26-29 and July 5-6 at the
First Christan Church), Umatilla (July 10-13, 17-20
and 24-27 at McNary Heights Elementary School) and
Milton-Freewater (July 31-Aug. 3, Aug. 7-10 and 14-17 at
Freewater Elementary School). It’s open to kids entering
first through sixth grades. In addition, older youths may
register as a mentor/helper.
The events also provide free dental screenings and
educational labs (June 26 in Pendleton, July 13 in
Umatilla and Aug. 3 in Milton-Freewater). Meals are also
available during the day camps.
For more information, visit any Lifeways office in
Umatilla County to pick up a registration or visit www.
lifeways.org/forms. For questions, call 541-276-6207.
T hank Y ou!
2017
Crystal Apple
Award
Sponsors For
Your Support
Club of Pendleton
1pm Shotgun Start
Big River Golf Course - Umatilla
Golfers of all skill levels are being invited to participate in the 24 th annual
"Scramble for Scholarships" golf tournament. Four person teams can sign
up together or individuals pairings can be made by the tournament
committee. Your $70 entry fee covers green fees, a box lunch at noon, and
BBQ at the end, plus makes a charitable donation to the foundation to use
in awarding scholarships for local health care students.
Join us for a fun afternoon of golf for a good cause by calling 541-667-3405.
Entry deadline is June 7th.
Great prize holes and Hole-in-one on #1 & #9 wins a new car sponsored by Tom Denchel Ford
and Hermiston Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram!
InterMountain
EDUCATION SERVICE DISTRICT
C ongratulations
To Our Winners!
www.imesd.k12.or.us/crystalapple/home