REGION
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
IMESD adds facility support
to growing list of services
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Unlike many school
districts it provides
services to, the Inter-
Mountain
Education
Service District is
expanding.
In July, the IMESD
Glaze
hired former La Grande Mulvihill
School District Superin-
Mulvihill has continued
tendent Larry Glaze to lead the trend of stocking his
its new facilities program.
departments with former
Acting as the district’s superintendents.
director of operations,
Mulvihill brought in
Glaze will not only manage former
Athena-Weston
the IMESD’s facilities Superintendent Jerry Cope-
but provide assistance for land to serve as the head
fi ve-year
maintenance of human resources, and
plans, safety reports, bond after being hired to work
and grant support, water as the director of strategic
and radon testing and pest services, former Pendleton
management certifi cation.
superintendent Jon Peterson
Glaze said his experience is now the IMESD’s assis-
passing a $32 million bond tant superintendent.
for the La Grande School
But bolstering its staff
District in 2014 motivated isn’t the only way the
him to take the job.
IMESD is growing.
Budget
and
time
In addition to its usual
constraints can make it special education and
diffi cult for school districts technical support services,
to keep up with facility the IMESD has created
maintenance, Glaze said, and developed several new
especially in small districts programs over the past
where a superintendent decade, including Eastern
might be managing curric- Promise, IMESD Online,
ulum, special education, the Blue Mountain Early
Title I, athletics, the budget Learning Hub, the Wellness
and other duties.
Hubs initiative and others.
“That’s a big part of
Hiring staff like Glaze
being stewards of taxpayer and Peterson to lead this
money,” Glaze said about initiatives is made easier
facility
management, by making them part-time
which ensures that schools employees, gaining their
are passed down to future experience for a fraction of
generations.
the cost.
IMESD Superintendent
But what makes these
Mark Mulvihill echoed new programs possible for
Glaze’s
comments, the IMESD is something
saying that some facilities other school districts don’t
like Helix School and have — an entrepreneurial
McLoughlin High School division.
in Milton-Freewater are
While local school
community landmarks.
districts are heavily reliant
With the hiring of Glaze, on property taxes and state
funding to provide
the lion’s share of the
revenue, the IMESD
sells services like
technology support and
communications
for
additional revenue.
For the 2017-2018
fi scal year, the IMESD
is anticipating nearly
$7.8 million in reve-
nues, more than a $1
million more than they
received in 2013-2014.
Mulvihill said the key
to the entrepreneurial divi-
sion’s growth is the district’s
ability to fi nd niche services
that don’t compete with
existing businesses.
The Morrow County
School District is one of
the benefi ciaries of the
IMESD’s programs.
With help from IMESD
Online, the district launched
the Morrow Academy this
year, an attempt to regain
some of the students its lost
to statewide online charter
schools.
Morrow County Super-
intendent Dirk Dirksen
said the district hasn’t yet
determined how much
new enrollment is due to
Morrow Academy, there
is express interest in the
program, especially the
blended learning option
where students combine
in-person classes with
online school.
Dirksen also plans to
utilize the facilities program.
With a bond expiring off
the books, Morrow County
will need to take another
look at their facilities with a
focus on capacity issues in
Boardman and aging facili-
ties in Heppner and Irrigon.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra
at asierra@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0836.
BRIEFLY
Restoration projects
slated for Wallowa-
Whitman forest
The Wallowa-Whitman
National Forest has signed
off on a pair of restoration
projects to thin overly
dense and beetle-killed tree
stands.
The Split Rail Project,
located adjacent to last
year’s Rail Fire fi ve miles
west of Unity, will target
mostly lodgepole pine
within a 250-acre area.
Dead and beetle-infested
trees will be removed and
replaced with ponderosa
pine and Western larch
seedlings.
The Sparta Vegetation
Management Project,
meanwhile, will encompass
17,951 acres in the
Whitman Ranger District
near Eagle Creek. It
includes 4,196 acres of
commercial thinning and
1,362 acres of noncom-
mercial treatment, such as
prescribed burning.
“Thinning allows
healthier, larger trees to
thrive with decreased
competition from younger
saplings,” said Jeff Tomac,
Whitman District Ranger.
“Our goal with Sparta is
to help the landscape to
become more resilient
in these times of severe
weather and fi re.”
Tomac said he is
confi dent both projects will
contribute to a healthier,
more vibrant forest.
First Thursday
highlights Main
Street
HERMISTON —
Refreshments, specials
and a bonus drawing
are featured during the
Hermiston Downtown
District First Thursday.
The event is Thursday
from 4:30-7 p.m. in more
than a dozen Main Street
businesses. People are
encouraged to come down
and take a stroll, visit with
friends and shop local.
For more information,
visit www.facebook.com/
hermistondowntown.
AAUW hosts
potluck, meeting
PENDLETON — The
public is invited to a
gathering to learn more
Photo contributed by U.S. Forest Service.
The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest has signed
off on two projects to thin overly dense and bee-
tle-killed tree stands.
garlic bread and dessert.
For more information,
call 541-567-5812.
about the American
Association of University
Women.
The group is hosting a
potluck and membership
meeting Thursday, Sept.
7 at 5:30 p.m. in the Vert
Clubroom, 345 S.W. Fourth
St., Pendleton. People are
encouraged to bring a dish
to share. Beverages and
tableware will be provided.
The AAUW works to
advance equity for women
and girls through advocacy,
education, philanthropy and
research. The Pendleton
affi liate is the closest group
in the region.
For more information,
contact Kathy Chaney at
cecil296@aol.com.
Sun Terrace hosts
Grandparents Day
event
HERMISTON — In
celebration of National
Grandparents Day, the
Old-Time Fiddlers will
perform at Sun Terrace.
The public is invited to
stop by and visit, tap your
toes to the music and enjoy
a tasty treat. The event is
Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at 1550
N.W. 11th St., Hermiston.
For more information,
call 541-564-2595.
Class of ‘52
celebrates 65 years
Knights of
Columbus host
spaghetti dinner
HERMISTON — A
fundraiser for the Knights
of Columbus Scholarship
Program features a
spaghetti dinner.
The event is Friday
from 6-9 p.m. in the
parish hall at Our Lady of
Angels Catholic Church,
565 W. Hermiston Ave.
The meal, which costs $10
for adults, $5 for children
10 and under or $30 for
a family of six, includes
spaghetti, soup, salad,
In celebration of 65
years since graduating, the
Hermiston High School
class of 1952 recently
announced reunion
activities.
The event includes a
potluck Friday, Sept 15
and a no-host gathering
Saturday, Sept. 16 at 3
p.m. at Midway Bar &
Grill, 1750 N. First St.,
Hermiston.
For more information,
including directions to the
Friday evening event, call
Louise at 541-567-2105.
SCHOOL IS IN SESSION!
• Homecoming • Sports
We have something for everyone!
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
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Pow wow traditions
pass to next generation
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
Saturday’s Kidz Pow
Wow at Tamástslikt Cultural
Institute was a celebration of
both the past and future. In its
seventh year, the event honors
the continued passing down
of American Indian traditions
by showcasing the talents of
children 12 and under.
About 20 children spent
the afternoon dancing and
listening to tribal members
talk about the importance of
their history.
As several men sat and
beat on a drum while singing,
children joined the circle and
danced, some fully dressed in
traditional outfi ts, and some
in their Kidz Pow Wow shirts.
Randy Minthorn, one of the
men, had his young grandson
on his lap as he played the
drum. The toddler sat calmly,
absorbing the music and
dance around him.
Minthorn was also the
event’s emcee, and talked
about the importance of
preserving their culture amid
contemporary lifestyles.
“Thank you to everyone
for making time to support
your young people here,” he
said. “The heartfelt feeling
to see young people putting
forth effort for you and I —
each of us can feel really
good that this is our future.”
Children were eager
to dance despite the heat.
Eleven-year-old
Sunhawk
Thomas was new to the event
this year, but the Pendleton
resident was one of the most
enthusiastic participants. Clad
in a breastplate, beaded cuffs,
a bustle made of red-tail hawk
feathers, beaded and fringed
sidedrops, bells, and an eagle-
feather headdress, Thomas
stood out for his regalia and
for his dance skills.
“I like dancing,” Thomas
said. “I’m not dancing for a
prize. I just like it.”
Thomas’ mother, Wynema
Thurman, said her son is
also currently in competition
for the Little Warrior role
for National Indian Days in
Toppenish, Washington.
Thomas, a member of the
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla, has been dancing
since he was fi ve years old.
The event was broken
up into several segments
— dances open to everyone
were interspersed with
comments from Minthorn
and tribal elders, as well as
dances specifi c to certain
age groups. There were also
“prize dances,” where chil-
dren were given gifts at the
end. Prizes included school
supplies such as notebooks,
crayons and scissors.
“It’s a non-formal way
to introduce people to the
pow wow,” said Cassandra
Franklin, the event’s orga-
nizer and the outreach and
events coordinator at Tamást-
slikt. “It’s open to the public,
and is meant to bring in kids
from the community.”
Franklin said the event
usually marks the end of
TWO
HOURS
every
morning
paid off
my credit
card debt.
Staff photo by Jayati Ramakrishnan
A boy gets ready to dance at the Kidz Pow Wow on
Saturday at Tamastslikt Cultural Institute.
the cultural center’s Living
Culture Village.
Katie Blackwolf Bevis
was one of a few adults
dancing. Dressed in full
regalia, she led children into
the circle for the fi rst few
dances.
“I’m a Yakama,” Bevis
said. “I married into the tribe
(Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla).”
She and her husband have
been coming to the event
every year. She said she likes
how the children seem to be
impacted by the event.
“We have pow wows
whenever we can,” she said.
The dance welcomed all
those who wanted to partici-
pate, from tiny children barely
able to walk, to 12-year-olds
who had been coming to the
event for several years.
The children also partic-
ipated in a fl ag ceremony,
where they sang a song
composed to honor a fl ag
recently designed to repre-
sent the Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian Reser-
vation.
“We adopted a new tribal
fl ag that’s been sanctioned
and offi cially recognized,”
Minthorn said. “It represents
the contemporary way of life
we enjoy today.”
The children lined up near
the fl ag, and those who knew
the song sang along.
“We want to teach young
people,” Minthorn told the
audience. “So they can pass
that on, and share with one
another. We’re proud to show
there is a bright, vibrant and
very strong future.”
–——
Contact
Jayati
Ramakrishnan at 541-564-
4534 or jramakrishnan@
eastoregonian.com.
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