Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 2019)
REGION Thursday, August 29, 2019 East Oregonian A3 Building character with social emotional learning By JESSICA POLLARD East Oregonian HERMISTON — At Armand Larive Middle School, the eighth-grad- ers in science teacher Katie Corral’s class are sure to know each other’s names. After all, they spent 30 minutes discussing them on Wednesday morning. “How many of you have been in a class and felt that a teacher didn’t know your name?” Corral asked the group. Several students raised their hands. “It made me feel like a ghost,” one student said. “It made me feel like I wasn’t actually there,” chimed another. Their conversation was sparked by the Character- Strong curriculum, which was introduced to Armand Larive this year. The CharacterStrong website describes the pro- gram as providing curric- ula and training that teach character development and social emotional learning. Different versions of the program can be purchased by schools online. They range in price anywhere from $249 to $3,999. Wednesday’s lesson was all about the importance of knowing one another’s names. Corral went around the class, naming her stu- dents one by one. Kids designed dance moves to go with their names in order to help each other remember who’s who. “If you know someone’s name, you can work with them. The point is to make people feel welcome,” Cor- ral told her class. The in-class lessons like Wednesday’s are sup- plemented with videos, activities, and “Charac- ter Dares,” which encour- age students to break out of their comfort zones by complimenting their peers or holding doors open for people. Staff are encour- aged to participate as well. Principal Stacie Rob- erts said that Armand Lar- ive introduced some of the CharacterStrong con- Fire ruins bathroom after resident moved in two months ago By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian PENDLETON — Fire ruined a bathroom in a Pendleton home, but pets and the lone occupant were unharmed. Pendleton Fire & Ambu- lance Services responded to 911 calls Wednesday around 9:30 a.m. about smoke bil- lowing from the attic of the home at 15 S.E. Isaac Ave. Firefighters forced open the front door and found no one inside except pets. One fire- fighter emerged with a York- shire terrier in his arms, while a slim, medium-sized white dog bolted from the home. Reports indicated a kitten also escaped. The emergency respond- ers also used a chain saw to cut through another portion of the attic and get a better idea of what was going on inside. Diana Taylor said she was not home when flames broke out. She said she only moved in two months ago. She and her grandson were nearby at May Park trying to catch the white dog. Tay- lor said the fire made the pet skittish. Taylor’s daughter, Mandy Bosworth, hustled over and nabbed the dog’s collar. “They came and got me at work,” Bosworth told her mom. “My heart is pounding.” Bosworth said her in-laws rent the place to her mother. Taylor said the neighbors complimented her for making the yard look good. Pendleton Assistant Fire Chief Shawn Penninger said the fire was in a bathroom and electrical in nature, either a light fixture or a ceiling fan. The fire did not spread much beyond the bathroom, he said, so most of the home did not sustain damage. Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Armand Larive Middle School teacher Katie Corral, left, leads a CharacterStrong workshop involving the importance of re- membering names Wednesday morning in Hermiston. cepts toward the end of last school year. “It wasn’t immature. There’s all kinds of things you can find for elemen- tary, and it was great that (CharacterStrong) adhered to our secondary students,” she said. Parts of Character- Strong are being taught in Hermiston High School’s leadership classes as well. Roberts said Sandstone is using a similar program called Second Step. Second Step and Char- acterStrong are two of By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian PENDLETON — The Pendleton Development Commission continues to cycle through blighted housing plans, the lat- est proposal coming at a workshop Tuesday. Meeting as the devel- opment commission, the members of the Pendle- ton City Council heard from Associate Direc- tor Charles Denight, who shared the latest forgiv- able loan concept from the commission’s advisory committee. Under the newest pro- posal, the urban renewal district would create a housing blight reduction program that provides loans to residents who want to fix up homes that have fallen into disrepair. Over the course of the five-year loan, up to 60% can be forgiven by the city contingent on pass- ing inspections. The other 40% wouldn’t need to be paid until the house sells or changes hands. The draft plan would initially allocate $300,000 for the pro- gram, with Greater East- ern Oregon Development Corp. and Community Action Program of East Central Oregon providing the bulk of the adminis- trative work. For its first year, the blight reduction program would apply only to own- er-occupied homes, which excludes landlords and their tenants from access- ing the loan. Although the loan pro- gram would be available across the urban renewal district, Denight said the advisory committee wants to start its focus on the downtown area from Southeast Sixth Street to Southwest Sixth Street. According to a survey of homes in the downtown area, 10 owner-occupied blighted homes are in that six-by-six block area. Denight said the hous- East Oregonian experienced phone outage 8/29 Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie Showing Wednesday Popeye at 12p Angel Has Fallen (R) 4:30p 7:10p 9:50p The Angry Birds Movie 2 (PG) 4:40p 7:00p 9:20p Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (PG13) 4:50p 7:20p 10:00p Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (PG13) 3:40p* 6:40p 9:40p The Lion King (PG) 4:10p 6:50p 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (PG13) 9:30p * Matinee Pricing wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 principals expressed more worry over student assess- ment and institutional practices. Also in 2018, the Aspen Institute’s National Com- mission on Social, Emo- tional and Academic Development released a research report that found that nine in 10 parents thought schools had a role in helping children develop “life skills.” The same study revealed four in five teachers who were sur- veyed wanted more sup- port to address social and emotional development in classrooms. For Roberts, the social emotional learning taking place at Armand Larive this year is part of a much bigger picture. “In middle school, it’s a hormone explosion,” she said. “If we can help accli- mate and adjust a student to everything going on in their life, that’s the ulti- mate goal. We found some- thing that has fun activi- ties, and hopefully we’re creating better people.” Commission mulls $300,000 home loan program BRIEFLY PENDLETON — The East Oregonian offices in Pendleton experienced an out- age in its phone system Tues- day evening and Wednesday morning, but the phones were back up and running before noon. Callers who were unable to get through or leave a mes- sage during that time frame can now call the paper again toll free at 800-522-0255. The East Oregonian receives its service through CenturyLink, but Kerry Zim- mer, lead communications manager for CenturyLink, said in an email Wednesday afternoon that technicians in Hermiston and Pendleton reported there was not a Cen- turyLink outage in the area that day. — East Oregonian staff many social emotional learning — or SEL — development programs available for schools to purchase online. According to The Col- laborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, SEL is “the pro- cess through which chil- dren and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and main- tain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.” And it’s something that’s been on the forefront of many administrators’ minds over the past few years. In 2018, growing emo- tional problems among students was the top con- cern for a sample of K-8 principals in the United States, according to a 10-year study released by the National Associa- tion of Elementary School Principals. It’s something that didn’t even make the top three back in 2008, when ing blight reduction pro- gram idea is based off of a similar program offered by the North Clackamas Revitalization Area in Clackamas County, which issues four to 10 loans per year with minimal advertising. Based on her own experiences with housing improvement grant and loan programs, GEODC Community and Eco- nomic Development Offi- cer Judy Moore said the commission shouldn’t be overwhelmed with loan requests. While commissioners have discussed multiple options to fix up rundown housing, the forgivable loan concept is starting to win over at least one for- mer skeptic. “I’ve kind of changed my thinking about this over the last couple of months that we’ve dis- cussed it,” Mayor John Turner said. “I wasn’t real hot on it when we first started, but I’m starting to warm up to it quite a bit.” Despite a detailed draft plan, there are still some details the commit- tee needs to hammer out. For instance, Moore said the GEODC and the com- mission haven’t yet dis- cussed how the nonprofit would be compensated under the loan program for providing administrative services. Denight said he would like the commission to approve the plan soon. The commission’s next meet- ing is set for Sept. 17. Mom & Baby Support Group 3234 S.W. Nye Pendleton, OR Join us at 5 August 29th for our Annual ROUND-UP BBQ! We meet every Friday 9AM -11AM at St Anthony Hospital in Conference Rooms 3 & 4 • Round-Up Queen & Court • Happy Canyon Princesses • Main Street Cowboys • Side Saddlers • Good Food • Great Entertainment With We provide Free snacks, support, breastfeeding help and baby weigh ins. VENUES INSIDE AND OUT. This support group is Free and specifically geared toward Moms and Caregivers. St. Anthony Clinic 3001 St. Anthony Way Pendleton, Oregon www.sahpendleton.org