Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 2021)
REGION Thursday, January 7, 2021 East Oregonian A3 School districts prepare to welcome back students Some students could return in Milton-Freewater as soon as Jan. 11 By JEREMY BURNHAM Walla Walla Union-Bulletin MILTON-FREEWATER — The Milton-Freewater and Athena-Weston school super- intendents each sent letters to their students’ families on Monday, Jan. 4, in anticipa- tion of an upcoming return to the classroom for students. Under Gov. Kate Brown’s new policy, which she announced on Dec. 23, met- rics saying when districts may reopen are now guide- lines instead of mandates. That means the fi nal deci- sion is now made by the local school district in con- junction with its local health department. Brown also stated she hopes students, especially elementary students, can begin returning to the class- room by Feb. 15. Duff Quaresma In Milton-Freewater, some changes could occur as soon as Monday, Jan. 11. Superintendent Aaron Duff said in his letter the dis- trict hopes to return to lim- ited in-person instruction on that date. Limited in-person instruc- tion allows small groups of students to attend classes for no more than two hours a day. It is meant for stu- dents who have special needs or who cannot access their online education. The Milton-Freewater dis- trict used limited in-person instruction this fall until an increased rate of COVID-19 cases in the county required the district to revert to dis- tance learning. Duff also said in his let- ter that — pending a school ArchitectsWest/Contributed Photo, File Gib Olinger Elementary School and others in the Milton-Freewater and Athena-Weston districts might soon return for in-per- son learning. board meeting on Jan. 11 — all K-12 students could tran- sition to a hybrid schedule by Feb. 16. “The District will do its best to communicate with staff and families in a timely manner,” Duff wrote, “but please keep in mind that we are making decisions with the most current information we have, which can and has changed on a dime.” Athena-Weston Super- intendent Laure Quaresma said in her letter that her dis- ‘Stop the steal’ rally at Roy Raley Park Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian About half a dozen protesters gathered on the sidewalk at Roy Raley Park in Pendleton on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, for a “stop the steal” rally in support of President Donald Trump. The group said they came out to protest in support of protesters in Washington, D.C., and in opposition of alleged voter fraud. New UCFD1 fi re station operational By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian HERMISTON — Uma- tilla County Fire District No. 1 has opened up a new fi re station east of Hat Rock State Park. Known as Station 25, or the Hawman station, it holds three fi re trucks and will assist in the fi re district’s cov- erage of the Hat Rock com- munity, which was annexed into the district in May 2020, and surrounding areas. Fire Chief Scott Stanton said the new station will put about 95% of UCFD’s district within fi ve miles of a station. He said it will not only be of benefi t for a quicker response during fi res, but property owners in Hat Rock and sur- rounding areas should save “a lot of money” on home insurance premiums with Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian The new Umatilla County Fire District #1 Station 25 is at High- way 37 and Walls Road east of Hat Rock State Park. a much lower ISO rating, which insurers use to deter- mine a fi re district’s ability to prevent or suppress fi res on a property. Usually fi re districts ask voters to pass a bond for a new fi re station, but in this case, the district partnered with Hawman Farms. Stanton said Mike Haw- man, who is a director on the fi re district’s board, offered to lease ground on his farm to the district for $1 per year and to pay for the building of the new station up front. The district will then purchase the building — which Stan- ton said was about $460,000 — from Hawman, allow- ing it to make payments over time. The station is located at the intersection of Highway 37 and Walls Road. Stanton said after the district’s 2019 purchase of two new engines, that freed up other engines for Station 25. The station won’t be regularly staffed by paid UCFD personnel, but Stanton said they are recruit- ing volunteers for it. He said the district always needs new volunteer fi re- fi ghters, wherever those vol- unteers may live within the district. “Our volunteers are down and calls continue to go up, so we’re always looking for help,” he said. City delays vote on sidewalk stamps Technical mistake with draft ordinance forces Pendleton to push decision back By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian PENDLETON — A tech- nical mistake meant the Pendleton City Council had to postpone a decision on an ordinance that would pro- hibit further preservation of historical sidewalk stamps. Shortly after the Jan. 6 meeting began, City Manager Robb Corbett said the draft ordinance failed to make an important distinction. Corbett said the ordi- nance is meant to alter the rules around the preservation of historical monuments, but the proposal needed to dis- tinguish between historical monuments and survey mon- uments, a marker set by a surveyor to mark a property or land line. The sidewalk stamps — a series of historical etchings in the sidewalk that spell out the city’s old street names — rose to prominence after the Pendleton Historic Preserva- tion Commission decided to reinstall or restamp a series of stamps that featured the names of four Confeder- ate fi gures: Jefferson Davis, P.G.T. Beauregard, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. In November 2020, res- ident Joshua Walker broke the Davis stamp in half and nailed a pro-Black Lives Matter sign to it as an act of protest. He was later cited for criminal mischief, and his arraignment in Pendleton Municipal Court is slated for Feb. 24. Mayor John Turner soon ordered city staff halt rein- stallation of the stamps, say- ing the city had been incon- sistent in preserving previous sidewalk stamps. The ordi- nance was an attempt to pre- vent future sidewalk stamp preservation, although the four stamps that were along Southeast Byers Avenue are the only known stamps that reference the Confederacy. Briana Spencer was among a group of residents who encouraged the coun- cil to remove the stamps at a previous meeting, and she was in the audience in the Jan. 6 meeting. Mayor John Turner apologized to her, adding that staff hadn’t dis- covered the error until a few hours before the meeting, too late to revise the draft ahead of the vote. The council’s next meet- ing is scheduled for Jan. 19. trict will continue offering a distance-learning option for families who wish it. She said the district is currently fi gur- ing out how many families want their students to return to the classroom so a plan can be made. Quaresma told the Union-Bulletin on Tuesday, Jan. 5, that a target date has yet been set for in-person instruction to resume, but that more will be known after the school board meeting on Jan. 7. LOCAL BRIEFING Pendleton School Board announces retirements PENDLETON — Come this summer, nearly half of the Pendleton School Dis- trict Board will consist of new faces. At a Jan. 6 school board meeting, Chair Debbie McBee announced that she and board members Gary George and Steve Umbarger intended to retire from the board at the end of their terms expiring in June. The retirements will open three seats on the sev- en-person school board, and McBee encouraged her colleagues to solicit inter- est among district residents in running for the seats. The school board is los- ing its most experienced members: McBee was fi rst elected in 2009 while Umbarger was appointed in 2010 before he was elected to fi ll the rest of the term in 2011. George was appointed in 2016 and went on to win his single term unopposed the following year. George, the CEO of Wildhorse Resort & Casino, is the only school board mem- ber who is also an enrolled member of the Confeder- ated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. McBee said she’s already spoken with some people who are interested in running for one of the seats. Although each seat is designated a numbered “position,” all the seats are elected on an at-large basis, meaning anyone who lives in the Pendleton School District can run for the seat regardless of where they live. The deadline for school board candidates to fi le for the May 18 election is March 18. Port of Morrow announces internships BOARDMAN — The Port of Morrow, in part- nership with regional industries, is announc- ing more than 50 summer internships available for the summer 2021 season. Prospective interns can choose from a diverse set of opportunities that include farming, food processing, education, business, infor- mation technology, work- force development and more. Columbia Works was established to link regional employers with high school and college stu- dents who are looking to gain experience in their prospective career fi eld. Columbia Works is part of the Oregon Works net- work that has seen success in different regions across the state. Initially designed by the McMinville Eco- nomic Development Part- nership, the model has been adapted to fi t Morrow County business needs. “We are excited to see continued growth of our summer internship pro- gram,” said Kalie Davis, workforce training man- ager at the Port of Morrow, in a press release. “We are fortunate to have so many businesses that see the value in providing intern- ship opportunities.” Columbia Works is pro- moting internship oppor- tunities from 13 employ- ers this year. The positions are listed online at www. columbiaworks.org. The application period is open through April 1. Umatilla County reports 58th COVID-19 death PENDLETON — The Umatilla County Health Department announced the county’s 58th COVID-19 death in a Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021, press release. The victim is a 94-year- old male who tested posi- tive Nov. 29 and died Dec. 29 at Sun Ridge Retire- ment Community in Pend- leton. This individual had underlying medical condi- tions, according to the press release. The announcement comes as the health depart- ment reported 50 new cases on Wednesday, Jan. 6, and 75 new cases on Jan. 5, bringing the county’s total to 5,988 total cases reported in the county, according to the Umatilla County COVID-19 dashboard. Morrow County reported one new case on Jan. 6 and seven new cases on Jan. 5, bringing its total to 8501 cases, accord- ing to the Morrow County COVID-19 dashboard. Morrow County has had eight deaths since the pan- demic started early in 2020. — EO Media Group VISIT US ON THE WEB EastOregonian.com