LOCAL
Outdoors
Continued from Page A1
“You’re outside, no screens.
They’re actually interacting
with each other,” she said.
In 2020, as the coronavirus
prompted schools to close, she
said some outdoor schools
went online and livestreamed
programs.
“We didn’t go online,” Gus-
tafson said.
In response to the hardship
faced by outdoor school pro-
viders, OSU developed grant
programs in December 2020
to help improve accessibility
and inclusivity.
Gustafson said the grants
they received are funding two
new accessible restroom facili-
ties, and will revamp two cabins.
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Sixth graders at Camp Elkanah’s outdoor school sort through puzzle
pieces to build models of dinosaurs.
Students study multiple
subjects
The spring of 2021 brought
This spring, they’ve wel-
day camps back to Camp El-
comed two schools every week
kanah, with schools coming
for overnight experiences.
from La Grande, Union, Uma-
“We provide the structure,
tilla and Irrigon.
content, food and lodging,”
Threat
ferring to a separate threat
at BMS, but were related to
Continued from Page A1
the earlier threat at the high
school, Duby said.
During a lockout, all en-
Because police had con-
trance doors are locked, and
cluded the BHS threat wasn’t
students and staff remain in- credible, the school district
side the school. Classes and
ended the lockout around
other indoor activities con-
1 p.m.
tinue as usual.
With many high school stu-
A lockdown is a different
dents off campus during lunch
procedure, intended for an
when the lockout started, and
active threat. In a lockdown,
with many worried parents
students are told to stay out
arriving at schools to pick up
of sight and be quiet, and in- their children, students at all
terior doors are locked and
schools were allowed to leave
lights turned off.
early if their parents chose
During Thursday’s incident, that option.
Duby said the recent Texas
which lasted about an hour,
school shooting undoubtedly
police officers were posted
affected reactions to Thursday’s
outside the front entrance to
incident in Baker City. How-
each school.
At about 1 p.m., the school ever, the actions by police and
school officials were “standard
district sent automated no-
procedure” given the circum-
tices to parents stating that
stances, and he believes the situ-
the lockout had ended.
ation would have been handled
essentially the same had the
Details about the threat
The situation started late the Texas tragedy not happened.
previous afternoon, Wednes-
day, May 25, about the time
A second, unrelated threat
schools let out for the day,
leads to a citation
Baker City Police Chief Ty
Late Thursday afternoon,
Duby said.
after students had gone home,
A Baker High School male
Woodward, the school re-
student had been expelled,
source officer, learned of an-
Duby said. A teacher over-
other alleged threat, this one
heard a student who allegedly made by a 12-year-old BMS
had heard the expelled student male student about a shooting
threatening something similar at the middle school.
to what had happened in Texas,
Duby said this threat was
Duby said.
“totally unrelated” to the
School officials reported the threat the expelled BHS stu-
threat to Lance Woodward, the dent had made.
Baker City Police school re-
Duby said Woodward
source officer.
quickly identified the BMS
Duby said he decided, rather student who made the threat-
than unnecessarily alarm stu-
ening post, and talked to him
dents at the start of classes on
both at the school and, later, at
Thursday, to have unmarked
his home.
police cars parked near the ex-
Police cited the student for
pelled student’s home before
first-degree disorderly con-
school started that morning.
duct, a Class A misdemeanor.
Police also interviewed
Duby said police decided
the student and his parents,
not to take the student to a
Duby said.
juvenile detention facility
He said the student denied
in part because the student
making the threat.
didn’t have a prior disci-
Duby said he concluded
plinary record.
that police couldn’t charge the
student with a crime because
BHS students describe their
the teacher who overheard the experiences
other student talking about
Anthony Christopher, a
the alleged threat wasn’t sure
junior, said he usually leaves
who that student was, so police campus during lunch, but
didn’t have a student to inter-
on Thursday he “didn’t feel
like driving.”
view about the threat the ex-
When the lockout was an-
pelled student allegedly made.
Duby said police were famil- nounced, and students who
were eating lunch outside told
iar with the expelled student
to return to the school, Chris-
before this week, and that he
topher said “in the moment
has made inappropriate com-
it was kind of scary, but they
ments before.
handled it really well.”
After interviewing the ex-
He said the Texas shooting
pelled student, Duby said po-
“probably went through my
lice determined the alleged
head like twice.”
threat was not substantiated.
Freshman Jayden Whitford
However, late Thursday
said she was also thinking
morning Woodward learned
about social media posts from about what happened in Texas
Baker Middle School students when the lockout started.
referring to a threat of a shoot-
“I was outside at lunch with
ing, Duby said.
a bunch of my friends when
Initially, police believed
we saw cop cars and police en-
those posts were not related to ter and (Skye) Flanagan (BHS
the earlier alleged threat from principal) told everyone to go
the BHS student, Duby said.
inside,” Whitford said. “Then
The posts by BMS students
we just were told to stay in our
prompted Mark Witty, Baker
next class until further no-
School District superintendent, tice and we weren’t allowed
to institute the lockout at all
to leave the class. It was scary
district schools.
since I didn’t know what was
“We chose to err on the side going on. I made sure I told
of caution, for sure,” Witty
my loved ones about it cause
said on Thursday. “A lockout I was just scared. I did think
is a fairly easy thing for us to
it was a real threat but I tried
deploy fairly quickly, which
not thinking about it cause it
we did, and it certainly locks would probably freak me out
everything so somebody can’t even more.”
get into the school at that
point in time and then again, School superintendent talks
law enforcement went to
about response
each facility and were present
Witty said school district
right away and of course we’re officials will have a debriefing
grateful for that, to have that with police about Thursday’s
collaboration.”
incident, and talk about what
As police investigated the
worked and whether improve-
social media posts from BMS ments can be made.
students, officers determined
“There’s always things that
that the posts were not re-
I think we can learn and so I
Gustafson said. “The sched-
ule changes based on group
size and when presenters are
available.”
School staff members are
responsible for managing the
students.
For the Baker School Dis-
trict students, day one in-
volved challenges — a zip line,
climbing tower, swing and
team-building ropes course.
On day two, small groups ro-
tated through six stations: ento-
mology, fishing, weather, dino-
saurs, botany and DEQ.
“We piece together who’s
available,” Gustafson said.
As people return to more
normal work schedules, she
said calendars are filling up
quickly for those who usually
teach at outdoor school.
The weather has been
tough, too.
“This spring has been es-
pecially challenging with the
weather,” she said. “We had
everyone inside at times — we
had to get out of the snow.”
But Tuesday, May 24, was a
sunny day that found every-
one outside, looking at trees
and plants and inspecting wa-
ter samples collected from the
creek.
At the DEQ station, Phil
BAKER CITY HERALD • SATuRDAY, MAY 28, 2022 A3
Richerson and John Dadoly
taught about surface water and
groundwater.
“How we make a mess, and
how can we minimize that
mess?” Richerson said. “How
can we live our lives but leave
as small a mess as possible?”
These two have been fre-
quent presenters at Camp El-
kanah.
“We’re probably going to
talk to 900 or a thousand kids
this year,” Richerson said.
Staff from their Pendleton
office rotate turns at outdoor
school.
“We’ve done this for 20
years. This is our biggest year
yet,” Dadoly said.
This station heard frequent
giggles and groans as Richer-
son demonstrated surface wa-
ter sources with his three-di-
mensional model.
On the fake landscape, he
sprinkled excess dirt (the kids
suspected it was actually co-
coa powder), too much fertil-
izer and pesticide (it looked
like salt), and dripped simu-
lated oil on the roadways.
And then the sewage treat-
ment plant overflowed into the
stream.
“Ewwwww!” came the re-
sponse to the brown sludge
flowing across the model.
Richerson simulated a rain-
storm — with a spray bottle
— to show how all the con-
taminants washed into the lake
where the town sourced its
drinking water.
When he finished, the lake
was brown with chunks from
the cattle pasture.
But then he cleaned it
up, and showed how a few
changes could minimize
the mess, such as hay bales
around the construction site,
a fence around the cows, up-
graded equipment at the treat-
ment plant, and recycling mo-
tor oil instead of dumping it
down the drain.
This time, when it rained,
the lake wasn’t nearly as
murky.
“Can it be perfectly clean?
No, we’re always going to make
a mess. But we can minimize
it,” he said.
ers approved in May 2021
includes money for secu-
rity improvements at all dis-
trict schools.
That will include building
new entry vestibules at Brook-
lyn Primary and South Baker
Intermediate schools. The ves-
tibules will make it easier for
school staff to identify peo-
ple before they are allowed to
enter the schools, Witty said.
The new vestibule at Brook-
lyn will be built this summer,
with the South Baker project
planned for the summer of
2023, he said.
Installing similar vestibules
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
at Baker High School and
Students play during recess at South Baker Intermediate School after a lockout, prompted by an unsub-
Baker Middle School would be
stantiated threat of a shooting at Baker High School, ended on Thursday afternoon, May 26, 2022.
much more expensive, Witty
grandfather myself. But the sys- said, due to the design of the
want to pull the team together selors to students who had
tems are in place to keep your entrances and the higher
and just kind of walk through questions or concerns about
children safe and adding to the number of students and staff
those things from the multiple the Texas shooting, and that
number of things that we’re
lenses of people that are in-
service will continue to be
entering the buildings.
volved,” he said. “From a build- available in the wake of Thurs- trying to manage by coming to
In addition to the vesti-
the site is not necessarily help- bules at Brooklyn and South
ing level lens, a district office
day’s episode in Baker City.
ful to law enforcement or staff Baker, all schools will have
lens, a communication lens,
He said he understands
in being able to actually secure new security cameras and a
a law enforcement lens, and
that parents were worried
the area and keep it safe.”
hopefully take any learning
during the lockout, prompt-
communication system that
He said he appreciated the
that we can and move them
ing many to come to schools.
allows employees to summon
cooperation and patience from police in the event of a threat,
forward as we proceed.”
The district sent out a noti-
parents during the situation.
Witty said he was pleased
fication during the lockout
Witty said.
with how quickly the school
asking parents to not come to
New public address systems
district was able to get infor-
schools at that point, since the School district planning
will cover the whole school
mation to parents and others,
doors were locked until po-
grounds, allowing staff to
security upgrades
The $4 million bond mea-
lice had determined the threat
through automated phone
communicate with students
sure that school district vot-
was not credible.
calls, emails and other on-
wherever they are.
“I recognize how challeng-
line platforms.
ing that is for families, I do,”
He said the district was al-
Witty said. “I’m a father and
ready making available coun-
Larry Vernon Haney
April 1, 1947 - May 10, 2022
Robert “Bob” Pollock
May 17, 1934 - May 17, 2022
Robert “Bob” Pollock,
88, died at his home in
Halfway on May 17, 2022. A
celebration of Bob’s life will
be held June 11 at Pine Valley
Fairgrounds in Halfway,
Oregon, at 11 a.m. Please
come and join us as we share
good food and stories.
Robert L. Pollock was
born in Shelton, Washington,
on May 17, 1934, to Milton
and Ellen Pollock. Raised in
Pierce, Idaho, he spent a lot of his time with Albert and
Mabel Frazier and his lifelong friends Bob Richel, Jim
Dundas and Darrol Frazier. He graduated from Pierce
High School in 1952. After serving a tour as a medic in
the Army in the Korean War, he returned home to the
woods.
Logging was the bond of all. He started his logging
years at the age of 6, assisting his father in skidding
logs with horses. His childhood friendship turned to a
business partnership with Bob Richel and family. The
company flourished and operated in the Pierce area
until 1969 then they relocated to Cambridge, Idaho.
Bob went his own way In the 1980s and then took up
a forestry contracting business for the Forest Service
for a number of years. He finally settled in as a timber
manager for Widows Creek Ranch in the Mount Vernon
area.
His fondest memories included a time of outfitting
guided hunts and flying for Moose Creek in the
Bitterroot Mountains. There was never any place to be
but in the woods for Bob. Hunting, fishing and work all
happened in the same place. If he was working, he was
watching big game. If he was fishing, he was studying
the trees. If he was hunting, he was spotting fishing
holes.
One of his favorite sayings was “Anything over 24
hours is too far to plan!”
After 70-plus years in the woods he finally retired
to Halfway, Oregon, where he enjoyed his family and
friends.
He married his soul mate, Sharon Carpenter, in 2005,
and they shared many wonderful adventures traveling
throughout the country.
Bob is survived by his loving wife, Sharon; daughters,
Susan and Peggy; son, Dan; stepchildren, Ron, Damon,
Stuart and Carrie; and a long list of grandchildren,
great-grandchildren, in-laws and outlaws. His list of
“family” and friends is too long for print but one of his
most prized possessions.
A long full life ended quietly at his home in Halfway,
Oregon, on his 88th birthday. He was preceded in death
by his parents and a sister, Jean Fisher.
Those who would like to make a memorial donation
in memory of Bob may do so to the charity of your
choice through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home &
Cremation Services, PO Box 543, Halfway, Oregon
97834. Online condolences may be shared at www.
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.
Larry Haney, 75, of Halfway,
OR, died Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at
Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical
Center in Boise, ID. A graveside
military service and celebration of
Larry’s life will be held on June
25, 2022, at 1 p.m. at the Wallowa
Cemetery in Wallowa, Oregon.
Larry Vernon Haney was born
on April 1, 1947, in Enterprise,
OR. He was raised and educated in Wallowa, OR. He
graduated from Wallowa High School in 1965.
Fresh out of high school, Larry entered the Navy on
June 8, 1965. He served 4 years active duty as a radio
operator on the USS Franklin D Roosevelt (CVA42).
He was released from active duty June 6, 1969, and
transferred to the Reserves where he served 2 more
years. He was honorably discharged April 25, 1971.
Larry was awarded the National Defenses Service
Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal and the Republic of
Vietnam Campaign Medal.
In 1968, Larry married Mary D. Gornto in
Jacksonville, FL. Together they had 3 children. They
later divorced in 1989. Larry found love once again
when he married Judith Miller in 1995 after a 2-year
courtship.
Larry worked various jobs throughout his life
including being a mechanic at a trailer factory, logging,
and working as a farm machinery manager and as a
licensed gun dealer. He had his own business selling
farm equipment and he sold real estate.
Larry was a member of the NRA, trapshooting clubs,
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the VFW.
Hobbies he enjoyed were trapshooting, reloading
ammo and working on the property. His favorite season
was fall, because, you guessed it, “hunting season!”
Larry loved the song “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,”
and he especially enjoyed spending time with his dogs,
Amber and Pippen.
Memorable dates in Larry’s life included serving
in the Navy, getting married, and having children and
grandchildren. He was also proud to have made it into
the Boone and Crockett for antlers. He was a proud
Navy veteran, a hard worker, and was very handy at all
things; there wasn’t much he couldn’t do. Larry lived
by the philosophy that you should work hard, nothing
should be handed to you. He loved his family, hunting
and fishing. He loved to say, “Gone Fishing!” He will be
greatly missed by his family and close friends.
Larry was preceded in death by his parents. Stanley
and Gladys Haney; and his brother, Vernon Haney.
He is survived by his wife, Judith Miller of Halfway,
OR; children Amanda Haney of La Grande, OR, April
Haney of Salem, OR and William Haney of Welches, OR;
brother Charlie Haney; sister Patricia Hamann; stepsons
Kelly Brennan and Brian Miller; grandchildren Tiffani
Heitz and Kalysta Majerak; 2 great-grandchildren,
Eleanor and Stetson Heitz and another on the way.
For those who would like to make a memorial
contribution in memory of Larry the family suggests
Hunt of a Lifetime through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral
Home and Cremation Services, P.O. BOX 543, Halfway,
Oregon 97834. Online condolences can be shared at
www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.