BAKER CITY HERALD • SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2022 A3
LOCAL & STATE
How?: A new occasional feature Lawmakers propose
BY MARK BOGART
For the Baker City Herald
Sex education, literature,
grammar, algebra, phonics,
evolution, climate change, art,
history, civil rights — each of
these parts of school curricu-
lum, and many others, have, at
times, brought controversy to
American classrooms.
The current debate over crit-
ical race theory (CRT) is only
the most recent in a long line
of topics that have resulted in
angry letters, vocal outbursts in
school board meetings, protests
and, in some cases, threats to
school officials.
What is curriculum and how is
it established and
implemented in our schools?
Greg Mitchell, Baker School
District 5J director of federal
programs and curriculum,
describes curriculum as a set
of “content standards” or “in-
structional outcomes.” The Or-
egon Department of Education,
which sets those standards, de-
fines them as “...what students
should know and be able to do
within content areas at specific
stages in their education.”
There are hundreds of con-
tent standards adopted for
Oregon schools. Here are two
examples of standards adopted
for sixth grade language arts:
• Analyze what the text says
explicitly as well as inferen-
tially; cite textual evidence to
support the analysis.
• Demonstrate command
of the conventions of standard
English capitalization, punctua-
tion, and spelling when writing.
Where do the standards
come from?
The Oregon State Board of
Education adopts standards for
various subject areas. School
districts then adopt their cur-
riculum in compliance with the
state standards. Although the
local Board of Education must
adopt the curriculum, there
is usually very little change at
the district level because of the
large number of standards al-
ready required by the state.
For math and English lan-
guage arts, Oregon and most
In more recent years, ac-
countability became a driv-
ing force. The public wanted
How do grocery stores keep such a wide va-
schools, and teachers, to be ac-
riety of products on their shelves (or not)?
countable for covering the stan-
How do schools select the curricula and
dards, especially as state and
textbooks used in local classrooms?
federal money was being used
How are votes counted in Baker County
to improve results. A core cur-
elections?
riculum, along with increased
The Baker City Herald has given me the op-
testing, was established as a tool
portunity to explore a unique approach in writ-
Bogart
for making schools accountable
ing a column to answer questions like those
for children’s progress. With
above. My submissions will center around the
question, “How?”
standard assessments, school
That’s how, not how to, so you won’t read about how to make
funding could also be more
a better burger or how to clear your computer’s browser. You will
easily tied to performance. Or-
find out how all kinds of things work. The column will include top-
egon also began issuing report
ics ranging from science to public services and from sports and en-
cards for schools (based on as-
tertainment to those random head-scratchers that you never have
sessments) so the public could,
time to look up. You might also find some answers to the questions
theoretically, see which schools
who, what, when, where and why, but they’ll be the supporting
achieve better results.
cast, with how in the lead role.
Mitchell sees more local
Make no mistake. I don’t pretend to be an expert on the wide
control
in the selection of
range of topics I’ll cover. My goal will be to learn a lot through inter-
“power
standards” for empha-
views and research, and then to share that information with you.
sis
in
local
schools. In addition
Some topics will be painfully serious (how children are placed in
to this process, groups called
foster care) and some much lighter (how language changes in our
Professional Learning Com-
media-driven world). But the goal will always be to share informa-
munities focus on teaching and
tion that is relevant to local readers, accurate, and enlightening.
ongoing (formative) assess-
Please watch for the column in the weeks ahead and join me as I
ment methods in District 5J
look for answers to the “How?” questions that are all around us.
schools. The selection of text-
About the writer:
books and other instructional
After graduating from Baker High School, I attended Eastern Or-
materials also allows local in-
egon University then earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees
in secondary education from Western Oregon University. While
volvement by teachers and the
in college, I took journalism classes and worked on the student
public, although materials are
newspapers at both schools. Later I completed my school admin-
first evaluated at the state level
istration program at the University of Oregon. I taught language
for their alignment with the
arts and social studies at Baker Middle School then served as prin-
state standards.
cipal at Churchill, Haines, Keating, and North Baker schools. After
When asked about the big-
retiring from Baker School District, I worked part time at the YMCA
gest challenges in the cur-
and at MayDay and wrote news and feature stories for the Record
riculum arena today, Mitch-
Courier and the Baker City Herald.
ell focused on politics and
communication. He said that
“conversation about education
other states use the Common
This leads us to a pair of
is a good thing,” but the con-
Core State Standards (CCSS) the opposing forces pull-
versations are becoming “less
in order to promote consis-
ing at curriculum: universal
tactful.”
tency throughout most of
standards versus local con-
In today’s polarized political
the country’s school districts. trol. While local control has
climate, there isn’t a willingness
They were developed through the appeal of reflecting local
to “communicate with positive
a process involving educa-
values and culture, the trend
intentions,” he explained. This
tors and leaders from over
in education has been in the
is especially true in social me-
40 states with a goal of better other direction through most dia, he added, because, “People
preparing students for careers of our nation’s history.
can say whatever they want.”
and college, and to compete
The standards encourage
As a principal he saw “a
with high performing schools consistency so that a child
huge uproar” over health
in other countries.
who moves from Baker to
curriculum, and in his new
Other content areas are de- Salem, for example, is more
position he’s fielded emo-
veloped mostly at the state
likely to get a similar educa-
tional calls about critical race
level by teams of educators
tion. If every school taught
theory, which he says is not
with background in the rele-
its own curriculum, students being taught here. He’s con-
vant subject areas. The state
who move might face exces-
cerned because he believes,
legislature has also established sive repetition of some con-
“Kids need to be engaged in
some requirements through
tent while missing out entirely their education and see other
state statute.
on other elements.
points of view.”
New Herald Feature to Focus on How Things Work
Center
Continued from Page A1
The Interpretive Center,
which has been closed since
November 2020 due to the pan-
demic — work started in Octo-
ber 2021 to remove exhibits and
other items in preparation for
the project — will remain closed
during the remodeling.
The work is slated to be fin-
ished in the spring of 2023,
but the Center will stay closed
for several more months while
exhibits and fixtures are rein-
stalled.
That’s a shorter duration
than BLM originally expected,
said Larisa Bogardus, public
affairs officer for the BLM’s
Vale District.
Initially the agency expected
the remodeling would take
more than 2 years.
The impetus for the project
was a nationwide survey com-
paring the energy efficiency of
BLM buildings, Bogardus said
in 2021.
That survey, which included
an inspection of the Interpretive
Center in May 2018, earned the
Center the “dubious distinction”
of being the agency’s least effi-
cient building, Bogardus said.
Among the findings is that
the Center’s “Energy Use Inten-
sity” — a measure of its ineffi-
ciency — was 170 kilo-British
Thermal Units per square foot.
The average for BLM facilities is
84, according to the survey.
The Center when operating
had a monthly power bill aver-
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald, File
The Oregon Trail Interpretive Center has had more than 2 million
visitors since it opened May 23, 1992.
More About The Center
The Oregon Trail Interpretive Center has been one of Baker County’s
top tourist attractions since it opened during Memorial Day weekend
in 1992.
The Center was especially popular during its first six years; its annual
attendance hasn’t reached 100,000 since 1997.
After welcoming 201,545 people in 1992 (despite being open for
slightly more than seven months), the Center has its biggest year in
1993, with 347,981 visitors. That surge was no coincidence, as 1993 was
the 150th anniversary of the first large migration on the Oregon Trail.
There were multiple special events in Baker County that year, includ-
ing the annual convention for the Oregon-California Trails Association.
Attendance dipped to 197,307 in 1994, and to 170,405 and 140,281
the next two years.
Annual visitor numbers haven’t fluctuated as much in the past dozen
years, ranging between 60,231 in 2010 and 32,764 in 2013.
The yearly average between 2008-19 was 43,745.
aging about $10,000.
The remodel is estimated to
reduce the Center’s energy use
by 73%, according to a press re-
lease from the Vale District.
“We want to be good stewards
of our natural resources,” said
Vale District Manager Wayne
Monger, whose office oversees
the center. “This design utilizes
high thermal insulation value
materials and high efficiency
heating and cooling technology
to counter summer and winter
energy demands of the site.”
Approximately 16% of the
project is funded through the
Great American Outdoors
Act, which allocates up to $1.9
billion annually for mainte-
nance and improvements to
critical facilities and infra-
structure in national parks,
forests, wildlife refuges, recre-
COME MEET
DAN!
Please join us for a Meet & Greet
Thursday March 3, 2022
6:30 p.m.- Event Center
Baker County Fairgrounds
During this informational evening
you will hear from Dan and also
have the opportunity to ask
questions and support him
Email: dangarrickjr@msn.com
throughout his campaign. If you
Phone or Text: 541-519-6462
are unable to make this event, you
Website: dg4commissioner.com
may support Dan now!
ation areas and Tribal schools.
During the extended clo-
sure, a new exhibit at the
Baker Heritage Museum in
Baker City, scheduled to open
in May 2022, will serve as an
Oregon Trail Experience, with
BLM park rangers on site to
provide interpretive programs.
A series of living history
demonstrations and other
events will take place across
Grove Street from the Heri-
tage Museum at Geiser-Poll-
man Park.
“We recognize the import-
ant role the center plays in
telling the history of Eastern
Oregon and the settlement of
the Pacific Northwest,” Mon-
ger said.
Although the Center itself
will remain closed, the access
road will be open to allow vis-
itors to get to the network of
paved and unpaved trails on
Flagstaff Hill, which lead to
Oregon Trail ruts.
For more information and
to learn more about the Or-
egon Trail, visit oregontrail.
blm.gov or call 541-523-1843.
$400M for housing
and homelessness
BY SARA CLINE
Associated Press/Report for
America
PORTLAND — Law-
makers in Oregon’s Leg-
islature on Thursday, Feb.
24, proposed a $400 mil-
lion package to urgently
address affordable housing
and homelessness in a state
that has one of the highest
rates of unhoused people in
the country.
A 2020 federal review
found that 35 people in Ore-
gon are experiencing home-
lessness per 10,000. Only
three states had a higher
rate: New York (47 people
per 10,000), Hawaii (46 peo-
ple per 10,000) and Califor-
nia (41 people per 10,000).
The plan from major-
ity Democrats, which is
being offered during Ore-
gon’s current short legisla-
tive session, would allocate
$165 million to address
immediate homelessness
needs statewide — includ-
ing increasing shelter ca-
pacity and outreach to the
vulnerable population —
$215 million to build and
preserve affordable housing
and $20 million to support
home ownership.
“We have heard from Ore-
gonians that they want to see
action to address homeless-
ness and housing affordabil-
ity and solutions that work,”
House Majority Leader Julie
Fahey said.
With the proposed pack-
age, officials are hoping to
not only provide relief to
people currently experi-
encing homelessness, but
to also address some of the
root causes.
As part of the $165 mil-
lion in homelessness spend-
ing, $50 million would be
allocated to Project Turnkey,
which buys and repurposes
hotels and other buildings to
convert into shelter.
In addition $80 million
would be used for imme-
diate statewide needs, such
as rapid rehousing, and $25
million would go to local
governments to respond to
the specific needs in their
communities — including
shelter, outreach, hygiene
and clean-ups.
Portland Mayor Ted
Wheeler is leading a lob-
bying effort to pressure the
state to immediately fund
temporary homeless shelters.
Currently, Multnomah
County, which includes
Portland, has the capacity
to shelter roughly 1,400 to
1,500 people year-round.
There were about 4,000 peo-
ple experiencing homeless-
ness in Multnomah County
in 2019, the last time there
was a finalized count of the
area’s homeless population
— although local advocates
predict that the homeless
population has increased
significantly since then.
Wheeler has blamed the
lack of beds on state leaders,
who he said have underin-
vested in temporary shelters
compared with neighbor-
ing states.
“We need the state govern-
ment to step up and match
the funding levels to expand
temporary shelter space now
and save lives,” Wheeler said.
“This is an Oregon issue, not
just a Portland issue.”
Rep. David Gomberg, a
Democrat representing Or-
egon’s Central Coast, said:
“Our rural and coastal com-
munities suffer the high-
est child homelessness in
the state.”
One of the root causes
that advocates in Oregon
say leads to homelessness
is a lack of affordable hous-
ing, an issue that the state
has long faced but has been
exacerbated during the pan-
demic.
According to a study
published by the state, Or-
egon must build more than
140,000 affordable homes
over the next 20 years and
not lose any existing homes.
Billie Rae Bigley
April 28, 1929 – February 19, 2022
Billie Rae Bigley passed into
the arms of her Savior, Jesus Christ,
in the early morning hours of
February 19, 2022, due to dementia
complicated by kidney failure.
Billie was born on April 28,
1929, to Raymond and Hazel
Sievers in Blackfoot, Idaho, the
third of five children. Billie and
her family moved to Baker in 1940
and she subsequently met and married her husband of
56 years, William Clive Bigley. Bill and Billie raised
six kids, three boys and three girls, and were together
until Bill’s passing in 2002. Their home was always a
welcoming place for family and friends, stop by for a
minute or stay for days - both options were available.
Billie was preceded in death by her husband, her
siblings and three of her children and more friends
than you can shake a stick at. Billie is survived by her
son, Clyde Bigley, daughters, Bunny Bigley and Beth
(David) Yeaton and grandchildren, great-grandchildren
and great-great-grandchildren too numerous to list.
Mom had a full and blessed life and in lieu of flowers or
donations mom would appreciate you go tell someone
you love them.
Norma Fay Goertzen
February 13, 1934 - February 13, 2022
Norma Fay Goertzen, 88, of Baker
City, OR died February 13, 2022, at Saint
Alphonsus Medical Center with family at
her side.
Norma
was
born
February 13, 1934, in Med-
ford, OR. She was raised
mostly in Butte Falls, OR
with some time spent in
San Francisco, CA during
WWII. She also lived in Do-
minion City and Altona MB,
Canada.
Norma
met
John
Goertzen on July 9, 1961, in
Vancouver, B.C., on the last
day of a Bible convention.
Norma and her sister boarded a bus where
John and his brother struck up a conversa-
tion. John got Norma’s address and wrote
to her for a year. They were married on
August 23, 1962, at the Kingdom Hall of
Jehovah’s Witnesses in Gold Hill, OR and
the rest is history.
Norma loved to draw and paint, espe-
cially horses. She enjoyed working on
crossword puzzles, reading, writing and
receiving letters from friends and family.
Her special pet was her first dog, Captain
Jenks. Norma’s favorite color was blue and
she adored calypso orchids.
Memorable dates in her life included
her Baptism as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses
April 16, 1960, her marriage and the births
of her 4 children.
Norma loved to give gifts, especially
if she learned someone really wanted or
needed something specific. She was a kind
and thoughtful person who had a wonder-
ful sense of humor.
Norma had a deep love
for her Heavenly Father,
Jehovah and His word the
Bible. She enjoyed sharing
her faith with others, espe-
cially the hope of a resurrec-
tion to a paradise earth.
She was preceded in
death by her husband, John
Goertzen; parents, Francis
and Essie Poole; son-in-law,
Alexander Robertson; sib-
lings, Elizabeth Albert, Audrey Mitchell,
Glenne Albert, Francis Poole Jr, Priscilla
Hedgpeth and Dale Poole.
Norma is survived by her daughters,
Sara Kristine Goertzen of Baker City,
Geneva Gaye (Rod) Easttum of Clarkston,
WA, Tracy Dawn Robertson of Altona,
MB; son, Jared Zane (Jani) Goertzen of
Baker City, OR; 7 grandchildren and 2
great-grandchildren.
For those who would like to make
a memorial donation in honor of
Norma the family suggests Kingdom Hall of
Jehovah’s Witnesses through Tami’s Pine
Valley Funeral Home and Cremation Ser-
vices, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, Oregon,
97834. Online condolences can be shared at
www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com