OFF PAGE ONE
Thursday, January 23, 2020
East Oregonian
A7
Session: Legislators to address guns, wildfires and homelessness
and 2018 set new records.
Such costs are expected to
grow if the state does not
spend more to prevent and
mitigate fires, placing con-
tinuing strains on state
budgets.
Key players: Jason
Miner, the governor’s natu-
ral resources policy advisor;
Matt Donegan, chair of the
state Council on Wildfire;
Sen. Herman Baertschiger
Jr., R-Grants Pass; and Sen.
Jeff Golden, D-Ashland; the
state Forestry Department.
Continued from Page A1
and to provide roughly $120
million in funding to help
create more shelters, build
affordable housing and pre-
serve existing affordable
housing stock.
What’s at stake: The liv-
ing arrangements for thou-
sands of Oregonians who are
confronted by rising rents
and a thin supply of hous-
ing they can afford. Moving
people off the streets and
out of cars makes it easier
to provide social services to
homeless people who have
mental health, addiction and
other challenges.
Key players: Kotek,
state Rep. Alissa Keny-
Guyer, chair of the House
Human Services and Hous-
ing Committee, and state
Sen. Shemia Fagan, chair
of the Senate Housing and
Development Committee.
Mental health
The Issue: The Oregon
State Hospital is struggling
to accommodate an influx
of patients from counties.
Judges send defendants for
treatment so they can partic-
ipate in their own defense. In
December, the hospital for
three weeks stopped admit-
ting other people needing
treatment to make room for
defendants.
The Oregon Health
Authority wants $20 million
to add 50 beds to the hos-
pital’s Junction City cam-
pus. The move would add
94 workers and shift some
patients to the new beds,
freeing up space in Salem.
Lawmakers may consider
Guns
EO Media Group file photo
Built in 1883, the Oregon State Hospital has a 147-acre campus facing Center Street in north-
east Salem. The facility is struggling to accommodate an influx of patients from counties.
providing more money for
mental health services in
communities across the
state. Rep. Andrea Salinas,
D-Lake Oswego, is propos-
ing the state evaluate the
need for more behavioral
health professionals.
What’s at stake: The
National Alliance on Men-
tal Illness ranks Oregon
as one of the states with a
high prevalence of mental
illness, and the state hospi-
tal has struggled to keep up
with demand for its special-
ized services. Without more
money, the state hospital
could fall out of compliance
with a court order, and then
face new lawsuits or penal-
ties over inadequate care.
Meanwhile, judges strug-
gle to find places for those
not requiring hospital-level
care within their own com-
munities, resulting in the
release of people who need
treatment.
Key players: Oregon
Health Authority Direc-
tor Patrick Allen; Oregon
State Hospital Superinten-
dent Dolly Matteucci; OHA
Behavioral Health Direc-
tor Steve Allen; Rep. Mitch
Greenlick, D-Portland; Sen.
Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay;
and Rep. Andrea Salinas,
D-Lake Oswego.
Wildfire
The Issue: Oregon could
change the way it prevents
and suppresses wildfire. The
governor’s Council on Wild-
fire is proposing better ways
to plan fire suppression,
assess risk and prevent fires.
Gov. Kate Brown intends to
ask for up to $200 million
over two years for the work.
Sen. Herman Baertsch-
iger, R-Grants Pass, wants
to modernize the state For-
estry Department and
expand its ability to use air-
craft on wildfires.
What’s at stake: Despite
an average fire season last
year, where about 16,867
acres burned, the growing
threat of climate change has
lawmakers and forestry offi-
cials feeling like they got
lucky. Wildfire costs in 2017
The
issue:
Demo-
cratic lawmakers are mak-
ing another attempt at a
“safe storage” gun con-
trol bill. Another bill would
allow local governments to
ban firearms from public
buildings.
What’s at stake: Advo-
cates say their proposal is
intended to reduce deaths
and injuries in Oregon
caused by guns. The legisla-
tion could also broaden the
public buildings where guns
could be banned.
Key players: State Reps.
Rachel Prusak, D-West
Linn; Janeen Sollman,
D-Hillsboro; Oregon Fire-
arms Federation; the NRA;
Oregonians for Safe Gun
Storage and Reporting Lost/
Stolen Firearms; and Moms
Demand Action.
Environment
The issue: Democrats are
pursuing limits on green-
house emissions by indus-
try in their latest version of
a cap-and-trade program.
What’s at stake: Scien-
tists say the impact of cli-
mate change grows more
distinct each year and envi-
ronmentalists contend Ore-
gon needs to be a leader at
taming damaging emis-
sions. But opponents in
industry and agriculture
say new costs would harm
employers and consumers.
Sen.
Key
players:
Michael Dembrow, D-Port-
land; Sen. Arnie Roblan,
D-Coos Bay; Senate Presi-
dent Peter Courtney, D-Sa-
lem; and Sen. Herman
Baertschiger Jr., R-Grants
Pass.
Campaign finance
The issue: Oregon is
one of a handful of states
that don’t limit donations to
political campaigns. Sup-
porters say major donors
have an outsized influence
on Oregon politics while
opponents say campaign
donations are a form of free
speech that shouldn’t be
restricted. New limits could
change Oregon campaigns
because candidates would
have less money to market
themselves.
What’s at stake: Vot-
ers will consider a con-
stitutional amendment in
November that would free
the Legislature to regulate
campaign finance. Legisla-
tion could be considered that
would script new campaign
limits if that ballot mea-
sure passes. Key leaders,
including the governor, have
backed away from pushing
such legislation for now.
Key players: Sen. Jeff
Golden, D-Ashland; and
Honest Elections Oregon.
Apartments: Building was condemned, vacant and inactive since 2011
Continued from Page A1
them again,” he said.
Wood said the property
has been a problem since
he moved to Pendleton 20
years ago. Built in 1909, the
Edwards Apartments was
condemned in 2011 amid
frequent calls for service
and public health and safety
hazards. It’s been vacant and
inactive ever since.
Councilor Paul Chalm-
ers, the chairman of the
commission, wanted to
hold off on making a deci-
sion until members could
consult with City Attor-
ney Nancy Kerns about the
city’s options.
“I don’t want this
Edwards Apartments dis-
cussion to fall by the way-
side, and six months down
the road we’re having this
discussion again,” he said.
“I want to keep this in the
foreground.”
Councilors
eventually
decided to hold a workshop
ahead of the commission’s
next meeting on Feb. 24.
After
the
commis-
sion meeting ended, mem-
COUNCIL SETS TIMELINE FOR
APPOINTMENT TO VACANT SEAT
PENDLETON — The Pendleton City Council officially de-
clared the late Scott Fairley’s seat vacant and set a timeline
for appointment at a meeting Tuesday.
Applicants interested in the Ward 2 seat must submit
a letter of interest by Jan. 31. The council plans to hold
candidate interviews prior to its regularly scheduled Feb.
4 meeting. In the past, the council has typically made the
appointment immediately following the interview.
The appointee must reside in Ward 2, which includes the
North Hill, Westgate, and the airport.
— Antonio Sierra, East Oregonian
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
The Pendleton City Council requested additional time to mull over a proposal to acquire the
vacant Edwards Apartments complex at the corner of Southeast Dorion Avenue and South-
east Sixth Street in Pendleton. The complex, which was constructed in 1909, has sat vacant
since it was condemned by the city in 2011.
bers met as the city coun-
cil to take action on another
empty structure.
The council voted to
give developer Justin Pratt
a property tax refund for
his project to turn 2601 S.W.
Hailey from an old U.S.
Forest Service office into
a 33-unit apartment com-
plex, forgoing an estimated
$15,766 in property taxes
over five years.
Councilor
McKennon
McDonald was the only
councilor to vote against
the tax refund, saying she
would prefer the city insti-
tute a standardized housing
incentive program.
The council also took
action on several other
agenda items.
• The council unani-
mously approved a sewer
facility plan update, which
includes a multimillion-dol-
lar list of suggested repairs
and improvements to the
system over the next 20
years.
Public Works Director
Bob Patterson said staff’s
main concern is the city’s
compliance with the state’s
water temperature stan-
dards for the sewer plant’s
discharge. He added that
there’s a “99.9%” chance the
city will have to pull out of
discharging into the Uma-
tilla River in the future.
• The council also
approved an update to the
city’s fee schedule, including
new or higher fees for nui-
sance abatement, the Pend-
leton Convention Center, the
Pendleton Aquatic Center,
park rentals, the Vert Audi-
torium, and dog licenses.
Grad rates: Umatilla County’s biggest districts are still behind the state average
Continued from Page A1
Pendleton School
District
The Pendleton School Dis-
trict was one of the only dis-
tricts in Umatilla and Morrow
counties to post a graduation
decrease last year, but Matt
Yoshioka, the district’s direc-
tor of curriculum, instruction
and assessment, didn’t seem
too worried about the slight
drop.
“For us, it’s not concern-
ing because it’s just 1%,” he
said.
Yoshioka highlighted the
Latino and American Indian
graduation rates, which were
both above the state average.
The homeless student
graduation rate was also far
higher than the state’s rate, a
fact Yoshioka contributes to
staff’s awareness of the issue
and a foster system rule that
allows students to stay in the
district they started school
regardless of where they
move.
Pendleton’s 3.8% drop-
out rate is higher than both
the state and county average,
but Yoshioka said it dropped
compared to the previous
year and is trending in the
right direction.
Yoshioka said Pendle-
ton would still like to be well
above the state average, and
it will need to address the
performance of Hawthorne
Alternative High School,
where only about 1 in 5 stu-
dents graduated last year.
He said the school has put
together a plan of improve-
ment for Hawthorne, and
staff recently visited a suc-
cessful alternative school
in Ashland to study their
practices.
Pendleton closed the gap
between American Indian
students and the overall senior
class to under 10 points, but
the success of tribal students
relies heavily on Nixyaawii
Community School, a charter
school that largely operates
independently from the rest
of the school district.
Nixyaawii Principal Ryan
Heinrich said the school’s
75% graduation rate exceeded
staff’s goal of increasing the
graduation rate by 7% each
year.
Nixyaawii’s
gradua-
tion rate has fluctuated dra-
matically in recent years,
but Heinrich is hopeful the
growth is sustainable due to
EO file photo
Graduates meet with their friends and family outside of the
Pendleton Round-Up Arena after the 2019 Pendleton High
School graduation ceremony in Pendleton.
higher attendance and a new
facility.
Morrow County
School District
At just over 88%, Mor-
row County School District’s
overall graduation rate for
last school year is just shy of
the administration’s eventual
90% goal.
“Once we get to 90%,
we’ll try to get to 95%,”
said Superintendent Dirk
Dirksen. “We’re cautiously
optimistic.”
Dirksen acknowledged the
district’s slow and steady race
past the state average began
after the 2011-12 school year,
when the district graduated
just more than 70% of its
senior class on time.
“We didn’t have any type
of GED program then,”
Dirsksen said.
Since the implementation
of that program around five
years ago, he said the district
was seeing higher graduation
and completion rates. The
2018-19 completer rate sits at
more than 90%.
Economically disadvan-
taged students and homeless
students saw marked per-
centage increases in their
cohort rates from the year
before, which Dirksen cred-
its to the district’s one-on-one
approach.
“We have a pretty robust
wraparound program that
helps support those kids,
helps them get ready for
school. Whether they need
an alarm clock, a phone call,
nursing support,” Dirksen
said.
But while the number of
diplomas is on an upward
trend for some groups, stu-
dents with disabilities and
migrant students saw signifi-
cant drops, by about 11% and
5%, respectively.
Dirksen is hoping an
increase in state funding
through the Student Suc-
cess Act could help the dis-
trict invest in more spe-
cific programming for those
populations.
“We’re working diligently
to meet student specific
needs,” he said.
Pilot Rock School
District
Pilot Rock’s 11-point
drop was the most precipi-
tous graduation rate decrease
of any school district in
the county.
Pilot Rock’s small senior
classes can mean a small
shift in student performance
can throw off the gradua-
tion rate: State data shows
only eight of Pilot Rock’s 32
seniors failed to graduate.
Annie Tester, the principal
at Pilot Rock High School,
said the rate drop was just a
case of a rough year rather
than a systemic issue.
Tester said the class of
2019 included transfer stu-
dents who were significantly
credit-deficient and couldn’t
make up the credits by the
end of the year. Some stu-
dents quit school entirely.
Tester said Pilot Rock’s
size means staff knows all
students by name and their
parents, so it hurts when
some students don’t succeed.
“It hurts because we see
them in our community and
we couldn’t save them from
themselves,” she said.
Tester also serves as the
high school’s senior advisor,
and based on what she’s seen
so far from the class of 2020,
she’s confident the gradua-
tion rate will rebound.