OFF PAGE ONE
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Review: Volunteers
must live or work
in either Umatilla or
Morrow counties
Continued from Page A1
reappointed by the court
every two years. That
gives an out for them if
they wanna step away, and
it also gives an out to the
agency and to us, if we feel
like our board member is
not doing an adequate job.”
Nichols said ever y
child in the state’s foster
care system has their case
reviewed every six months
by a judge or by the citizen
review board to ensure the
foster child is receiving
adequate care.
“We’re really review-
ing the cases to see if the
agency is following what
they need to be following,”
he said. “And the CRB as a
whole, including our local
agency, has called atten-
tion to certain issues that
are coming up that could be
affecting the safety of kids.
We had several cases of
kids from Umatilla County
who were in some of these
out-of-state foster care
placements that had safety
issues going on there. We
made recommendations
along those lines.”
The Pendleton board
meets on the second Thurs-
day of the month to review
the cases of children in
foster care primarily in east
Umatilla County, while the
Hermiston board meets
on the fourth Tuesday of
the month and handles
the cases of children in
foster care primarily in
west Umatilla County and
Morrow County.
To serve on one of the
citizen review boards,
volunteers must be a
resident or employed in
either Umatilla County or
Morrow County.
Ni c h ol s s a i d h i s
Umatilla County boards
are made up of between
two and seven volunteers.
“I like to have the
numbers on the higher side
because it allows for a little
more freedom if somebody
has to be gone or somebody
gets sick or something of
that issue,” he said.
Members of the CRB
are given case files —
ranging between 500 to
800 pages per month —
between 10 to 14 days in
advance of the monthly
meeting. They then serve
on a board for one day a
month and review foster
care cases with everyone
MORE
INFORMATION
For more information,
contact John Nichols
at 541-233-8142 or
john.a.nichols@ojd.
state.or.us.
More information on
the foster care citizen
review board is avail-
able online at www.
courts.oregon.gov/
programs/crb/
TO APPLY
An application to serve
as a volunteer on a
foster care citizen re-
view board is available
online at www.courts.
oregon.gov/programs/
crb/volunteer/Pages/
Volunteer.aspx
involved in the case, which
could include Oregon
Department of Human
Services caseworker, tribal
representative, parents,
attorneys, Court Appointed
Special Advocates (CASA),
foster parents, and often the
children themselves.
“They need to be able
to read all that and process
that information, and then
come to our board days
when we meet with all
of the parties of the case
and ask questions of the
parties about how things
are going,” Nichols said.
“The board (has to look
over all the information
they received ahead of
time, then come to our
board day, and then) goes
through a series of find-
ings that they’re required
to make and ask questions
on each of those findings.”
Nichols said an import-
ant attribute for a board
member is objectivity.
“The board needs to be
somewhat judicious. They
can’t let their passions or
their biases towards the
agency run them up,” he
said. “They need to be
listening to the facts, then
making findings based on
those facts. In many ways,
the citizen review board is
a court hearing. The board
is really acting as the judge
on a case, but we don’t
make decisions for the
case. We make recommen-
dations back to the court or
other parties.”
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
A sign encourages mask wearing and hand sanitization
outside of a classroom at Sherwood Heights Elementary
School in Pendleton on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021.
Students:
Continued from Page A1
Superintendent Chris
Fritsch was on hand at
the elementary schools to
ensure the first day back
ran smoothly.
Fritsch said each school
had masks and face shields
on hand and would have
COVID-19 tests available
in March should students
or staff start to show symp-
toms, although he was
unsure how many students
would opt into the testing
program.
G ive n Pe nd let on’s
recent track record with
new COVID-19 cases,
Fritsch said it was a good
possibility that middle-
and high-schoolers would
return to in-person classes
on March 8 as district
administrators finalize how
they will divide up classes.
Fritsch said the district’s
goal is to still have all
students back all day, but
it will be difficult unless
the state relaxes its social
distancing restrictions.
But at least for now,
students seemed to be
happy to be back in class.
When first grade teacher
Deanna Mendel asked how
many students were happy
to be back in-person, her
entire class’ hands shot up
before she admitted that
she too was excited, and
was almost too excited to
sleep the night before.
“It was like Christmas
Eve,” she said.
East Oregonian
A9
Certificate offers teachers
trauma-invested education
Program is part of
Eastern Oregon
University’s
Bridge Academy
East Oregonian
LA GRANDE — A new
Trauma in Educational
Communities Certificate
offered at Eastern Oregon
University responds to
increased isolation, illness
and financial hardship many
families face.
The certificate opened
for enrollment in fall 2020,
and is only one of its kind
recognized by the Oregon
Teacher Standards and Prac-
tices Commission. Teachers
who complete the certificate
program can add a special-
ization to their teaching
license. With 18 credits,
spread over six courses,
students can earn the certif-
icate in just less than a year,
fully online.
“The program is intended
to continue the professional
development of educa-
tors who seek the skills
and knowledge needed to
work effectively in their
classrooms and in their
larger school communities
to support students who
have experienced trauma,”
Education Professor Karyn
Gomez said. “Classroom
and school-wide practices
Eastern Oregon University/Contributed Photo
A new Trauma in Educational Communities Certificate opened for enrollment in fall 2020,
and is only one of its kind recognized by the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Com-
mission. Teachers who complete the certificate program can add a specialization to their
teaching license. With 18 credits, spread over six courses, students can earn the certificate in
just less than a year, fully online.
that support students and
provide trauma-informed
learning environments will
ultimately provide a more
equitable education for all
students.”
According to Gomez,
decreases in disciplinary
actions, more on-task learn-
ing time, reductions in
school absenteeism, and
stronger academic achieve-
ment can be signs of effec-
t i ve t r a u m a - i n ve s t e d
practices within a school.
The certificate is part of
EOU’s Bridge Academy,
which bundles courses into
applicable “bridges” that
assist working adults look-
ing to advance or change
their careers. EOU also
offers a Trauma in Educa-
tional Communities concen-
tration in the Master of
Science in Education degree
program.
“The Trauma in Educa-
tional Communities Certif-
icate is one of the ways that
EOU can serve place-bound
students due to its fully
online format,” Gomez
said. “With this program,
the College of Education is
able to make a high-quality
professional development
program accessible to teach-
ers in rural communities.”
In addition to the Trauma
in Educational Communities
Certificate, EOU’s Bridge
Academy offers a Health
Care Administration bridge
and a Physical Education
bridge. Learn more about
these programs at eou.edu/
bridge-academy.
Heppner: ‘That’s the kind of stuff we don’t need’
Continued from Page A1
complacent. But when Dollar
General comes in, that compe-
tition element changes. We’re
not just competing with one
store, we’re competing with
all the Dollar General stores.”
When that happens, he
said, communities some-
times lose out on options
previously available to them.
He pointed to media reports
in recent years spotlighting
communities where Dollar
Generals that sold mostly
processed foods replaced
grocery stores with health-
ier options. If Dollar General
put the Heppner Market out
of business, Brannon said, he
worries residents will have
to start driving 50 miles into
Hermiston if they want fresh
produce or meat.
For its part, Dollar General
argues the company helps
families and individuals on
a tight budget stretch their
money further, providing an
affordable, convenient source
of necessities ranging from
socks to toilet paper, often in
areas with limited shopping
options. In May 2020, the
company announced plans to
add fresh produce to at least
1,000 of its approximately
17,000 stores by the end of
2020.
When the East Orego-
nian reached out to Dollar
General in December 2020
to ask about its work with
the city of Umatilla’s plan-
ning commission on another
possible Dollar General loca-
tion, about an hour’s drive
from Heppner, spokesper-
son Angela Petkovic said in
an email that the company
strives to provide affordable
options to customers who may
not have affordable shopping
nearby.
She also pointed to char-
itable efforts the company
undertakes in the communi-
ties it serves, including grants
to local libraries and schools.
“Our customers are at the
center of all that we do, and
meeting customers’ needs is
Dollar General’s top priority
when choosing store loca-
tions,” she wrote at the time.
“In selecting store sites, we
take a number of factors
into consideration, carefully
evaluating each potential
new store location to ensure
we can continue to meet our
customers’ price, value and
selection needs.”
Some Heppner residents
have their doubts about such
promises, however. John
Murray, who owns Murray
Drug, said he feels a store
run by a big corporation isn’t
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
John Murray, left, and Drew Brannon pose for a portrait in front of Murray’s Drug in Heppner
on Friday, Feb. 19, 2021. The pair is opposing a potential Dollar General store in Heppner.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Aileen Wilson helps customers at Murray’s Drug in Heppner on Friday, Feb. 19, 2021.
right for Heppner because it
could edge out businesses
selling higher quality prod-
ucts. He gave an example of
a class action lawsuit against
Dollar General that involved
the company selling motor
oil that consumers purchased
without realizing the instruc-
tions on the back of the bottle
stated it was not suitable for
engines built after 1988.
“That’s the kind of stuff we
don’t need,” he said.
He said if a Dollar General
opened in Heppner, there
would likely be some over-
lap between products sold
there and at Murray’s Drug,
and while he believes most
customers would stay loyal to
the drug store, he would likely
need to adjust the business
somewhat in response.
Both Brannon and Murray
said they would like to see the
Heppner City Council pass
an ordinance requiring that
discount stores coming in to
Heppner would have to devote
a certain percentage of floor
space to fresh produce and
meat.
Kraig Cutsforth, Heppner’s
city manager, said that at
the most recent city council
meeting, eight community
members attended in person
with about two dozen more
over Zoom, and four people
spoke up to ask the council to
consider what it might do to
restrict discount chains from
coming to town.
In response, Cutsforth put
together a written statement
welcoming input, but also
stating that the city does not
have a business license system
and therefore does not regu-
late which businesses operate
in city limits. The city does
follow zoning codes and work
with those who have questions
about what is allowed in vari-
ous zones, he said, but so far
no discount store has submit-
ted an application asking the
city to change any zoning.
“In regards of what infor-
mation has been asked of the
city, so far it has only been on
permitted uses of the subject
property and what utilities are
available,” he wrote.
Dollar General has
been expanding in Oregon
recently. The Walla Walla
Union-Bulletin reported in
January that the company
had broken ground on a new
store in Milton-Freewater,
and quoted City Manager
Linda Hall saying the city
always welcomes new busi-
ness. Dollar General has
been working with Umatil-
la’s planning commission on
a possible location there. Each
store would employ six to 10
people, the company said.
In Heppner, however,
some residents are hoping the
chain passes them by.
“I want to see growth, but
I don’t see (Dollar General)
putting into the community
what I put into the commu-
nity, and what my neighbors
put into it,” Brannon said.