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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 2019)
STATE CHAMPS! HEPPNER INSIDE » DOUBLE-SIDED SPORTS SECTION FEATURING STORIES, PHOTOS AND STATS FROM STATE TOURNAMENT WINS NIXYAAWII 2A GIRLS WINNERS » B1 1A BOYS WINNERS » B6 E O AST 143rd Year, No. 99 REGONIAN TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2019 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD SHORN SUPPORT Friends and family sport shaved heads for teen with cancer College board picks new president By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Hair stylist Tricia Marquez uses clippers to shave the head of Jim Gordanier, grandfather of Brayden Locey, on Monday at A.C. Houghton Elementary School in Irrigon. Family and friends of Locey came together to shave their heads to show support for the Irrigon youth in his fi ght against leukemia. By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian The gym at AC Houghton Elemen- tary School turned into a hair salon Monday night. Everyone walked away with the same haircut: a shaved head. The look matches the one Brayden Locey, 13, is sporting as he goes through chemotherapy. The Irrigon seventh-grader was diagnosed with leukemia in January, sending him up to the Seattle Chil- dren’s Hospital for the next six to eight months. Randy Akers, a family friend, was talking with Brayden’s grandfa- ther, Jim Gordanier, when Gordanier told him he planned to shave his head to show his support for his grandson. “I said, you know what? Let’s make this an event,” Akers said. Hairstylists from Trimmers and Bronze Expressions of Hermiston vol- unteered their time, the elementary school where Gordanier works as a custodian volunteered the venue, and Akers issued an open invitation on Facebook for anyone who wanted to get their head shaved in solidarity. Gordanier was fi rst in the hot seat as the live-streamed event started. He took the loss of his hair stoically, and afterward joked it had been a bad See Support, Page A8 Blue Mountain Community College board members voted unanimously Mon- day to hire Dennis Bailey-Fougnier as the college’s next president. Bailey-Fougnier, the seventh person to hold the position, emerged from a pool of 44 appli- cants and four fi nalists. The veteran adminis- trator comes to BMCC from Colorado where Bailey- he grew up on a farm, a Fougnier cow-calf and sugar beet operation owned by his family. He most recently worked at Colo- rado Mesa University in Grand Junction as vice president of community college affairs and chief executive at Western Colorado Community College. He led efforts to reverse declining enrollment at Western Colorado by rebuilding, adding and expanding programs. “Dennis brings a strong background in community colleges, and the ability to develop and foster relationships with the community,” said board chair Chris Brown. “We are excited to bring his expertise and leadership to BMCC as we enter this new chapter.” Bailey-Fougnier (pronounced four- near) himself attended a community col- lege. Later he earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Oregon, a master’s in education from Wichita State University and a doctorate in community college leadership from Oregon State University. During his time at the UO, he got to know Pendleton during frequent trips there with his two best friends, who lived there. At a public forum last month at the college, Bailey-Fougnier shared his lead- ership philosophy and vision for the See President, Page A8 Snow days means mo’ days for some schools By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Despite a full week of instruction on the schedule, all Pendleton School Dis- trict students spent more time at home last week than they did in the classroom. Heavy snow and ice forced the district to cancel school four days last week, capped off by a two-hour delay on Friday. While some districts have been hit harder than others by a historically cold and wet February, all schools are trying to fi gure out how to make up for all the lost time. Matt Yoshioka, the Pend- leton School District’s direc- tor of curriculum, instruc- tion, and assessment, said the district is still waiting to see how the rest of the win- ter affects the schedule. But as of Monday, the district will not extend the school calendar beyond the June 6 end date to compen- sate for Pendleton’s seven snow days and two late starts. Although most students won’t see the rest of the school year change, high school seniors will see a few of their scheduled days off turn into instructional days. Since seniors typically end the school year ahead of their peers due to their impending graduation, Yoshioka said snow days leave them more vulnerable to dipping below the min- imum number of instruc- tional hours mandated by the state. As a result, the district is converting the March 15 parent-teacher conference day into a instructional day for seniors. And the two days off seniors were slated to get ahead of their June 1 graduation will also now become school days. Although teachers are making adjustments to their schedules, Yoshioka said some of their plans will have See Schools, Page A8 Staff photo by E.J. Harris Biology teacher Schelle Bixler reviews some notes on the hy- dra during a sophomore biology class Monday at Pendleton High School.
