REGION
Saturday, August 18, 2018
East Oregonian
HEPPNER
Page 3A
HERMISTON
Deans of students added
to elementary schools
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Showtime in Morrow County
Madison Orem, 13, of Heppner leads her black Angus market steer in front of an open door in the large animal
barn before showing the animal at the Morrow County Fair on Friday in Heppner.
Washington motorcyclist dies in Harney County crash
BURNS — Another crash
on an Eastern Oregon high-
way in Harney County has
claimed a life.
The Oregon State Police
reported the collision occurred
Tuesday at about 3:25 p.m. on
the northbound side of High-
way 205 a couple of miles out
of Burns.
Randolph Pointere, 67, of
Hines, operated a semi-trac-
tor hauling two trailers. He
was turning left onto Hotch-
kiss Lane when motorcyclist
David McNeill of Bellingham,
Washington, tried to pass. The
motorcycle slid under the first
trailer before coming to a stop,
according to state police, and
both trailers stopped without
running over McNeill.
An
ambulance
took
McNeill to Harney District
Hospital, Burns, then an air
ambulance flew him to Saint
Alphonsus Regional Medi-
cal Center, Boise. State police
reported McNeill, 74, died
Wednesday from his injuries
suffered in the crash.
Pointere was not injured
and drove the semi from the
scene.
McNeill is the 13th person
state police confirmed died
since Aug. 15 on state roads
in Eastern Oregon. The spike
in deaths promoted the La
Grande office of the Oregon
Department of Transportation
to issue an alert urging drivers
to “Always think safety on the
road.”
The Hermiston School
District is introducing a
new position to all five of
its elementary schools —
the dean of students.
According to dis-
trict representative Maria
Duron, the position was
created to give principals
and teachers more support
due to increasing enroll-
ment in the district.
Four of the five deans
were hired from within the
district, and Becky Bacon,
the new dean of students
for Rocky Heights Ele-
mentary School, used to
work as a teacher on spe-
cial assignment for the
Echo School District,
where her duties included
coordinating testing for the
district.
Bacon said the roles of
the deans of students will
vary a bit based on the
needs of each school.
“With increasing stu-
dent enrollment, we’re
looking at focusing the
deans’ role on student sup-
port, so the principals can
focus on teacher support,”
she said.
The deans will also
coordinate Talented and
Gifted
programming,
behavior
interventions,
and focus on improving
student attendance.
“The district goal is
to improve student atten-
dance by five percent,”
Bacon said.
Jolene Davis, a long-
time teacher in the district,
will serve as the new dean
of students for Highland
Hills Elementary School.
She described the role
as a “bridge between stu-
dents and teachers.”
While all the deans
have their administrative
license, or are working
toward it, the dean of stu-
dents position is not offi-
cially listed as an adminis-
trative role, but falls under
the category of a teacher
on special assignment. But
Bacon likened her role to
that of a vice principal.
Duron said the posi-
tions are permanent, and
the deans were hired spe-
cifically for their build-
ings. She said the deans
will get paid in the same
salary range as an ele-
mentary school teacher,
but will spend 10 addi-
tional days at the begin-
ning and end of the school
year. Duron said the salary
range is between $37,354
and $74,560 annually,
depending on experience.
There is also an existing
dean of students position
at Hermiston High School.
That position was vacated
this year by David Mel-
ville and will be filled by
Blaine Braithwaite, who
previously taught in the
Stanfield School District.
Morrow County launching housing analysis
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Photo courtesy Tom Roberts, Umatilla County Emergency Management
A farm implement that was struck by a semi-truck
on Interstate 84 is surrounded by debris.
I-84 wreck injures one
East Oregonian
A crash between a farm
tractor and a semi-trac-
tor and trailer on Inter-
state 84 sent one person
to the hospital and closed
down the eastbound lanes
in the freeway near the
Echo-Stanfield exit.
The accident was at
milepost 187, just west
of the Pilot Truck Stop in
Stanfield.
Crews were still on
scene into the evening
working to clean up
spilled diesel fuel and
debris. As of 6:15 p.m.,
the Oregon Department
of Transportation lifted
the freeway closure, but
one lane of the freeway
was still expected to be
closed for a while.
Around 2:30 p.m., a
farm tractor towing an
implement was travel-
ing in the right lane at an
unknown speed, when it
was struck from behind
by a semi truck, accord-
ing to Battalion Chief
Jimmy Davis of Umatilla
County Fire District.
The driver of the farm
tractor, a man in his mid-
20s, was taken to the hos-
pital. Davis said both the
drivers were male. He
did not release names or
where they were from.
“It’s a mess out there,”
Davis said. He said traf-
fic was being rerouted
at Highway 207 through
Echo, back onto the high-
way at exit 193.
Morrow
County
is
launching a major housing
analysis and buildable lands
survey in September.
The county and its five
cities, along with con-
sultants Angelo Planning
Group and Johnson Eco-
nomics, are partnering for
the study. County planning
director Carla McLane said
everyone knows anecdot-
ally that the county is short
on housing, but an in-depth
analysis that is “truly coun-
ty-wide” should help point
the way toward fixes that
the county and cities can
implement.
“Hopefully it begins to
help answer some questions
about where we’re at and
what we need,” she said.
The buildable lands
inventory part of the proj-
ect will also include com-
mercial and industrial lands,
while the housing analy-
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during the process.
———
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at jmcdowell@eastorego-
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One reason for that, she
said, is that people who
are retiring from jobs in
that part of the county are
staying put, meaning their
homes aren’t opening up for
new employees coming in to
replace them. Other housing
is empty but not available,
such as homes in foreclosure
or houses that children are
keeping empty while their
parents are in assisted living
facilities.
The analysis project is
kicking off on Sept. 6, and
McLane said they antici-
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sis will look at components
such as demand in each city,
barriers to development and
the makeup of the current
housing market.
Boardman’s
housing
shortage tends to get most
of the attention, because the
Port of Morrow is creating
jobs far faster than develop-
ers are adding housing. But
McLane said it’s a coun-
ty-wide issue. In Heppner,
the county, the health district
and Community Counseling
Solutions are all employers
that have seen new employ-
ees have issues getting into a
house or apartment.
“Folks have struggled to
find housing in Heppner,”
she said. “It’s the same
when you look at Ione and
Lexington.”
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