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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 2015)
A8 News Blue Mountain Eagle SCHOOLS Continued from Page A1 SNAIL Continued from Page A1 SRVLWLYH LGHQWL¿FDWLRQ RI WKH snail. Elaine Eisenbraun, execu- tive director of the Long Creek- based watershed council, said the snail is an invasive species that has not been recorded in the -RKQ'D\5LYHUV\VWHP1DWLYH to Europe and Asia, the snail gets its name from its ear-shaped shell. Eisenbraun said the “inva- sive” tag means the snail, while H[RWLFWR1RUWK$PHULFDLVLQ- creasing in population density on the continent. However, it is not considered a “noxious” species, as it is not outcompeting or having any known detrimental impact on native species in the lakes and rivers where it is found. The nearest prior discoveries of the snail were in Lake Billy Chinook, in Central Oregon, and The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Rep. Cliff Bentz speaks to the Education Forum audience at Grant Union with Senator Ted Ferrioli to the left. said, adding that rural schools are often the major employer in small communities. Speaking about the state school fund, Chris Cronin, *UDQW 6FKRRO 'LVWULFW 1R Snail facts European ear snails – Radix auricularia – are in the family of lymnaeid snails, which are scrapers and gatherers. • They are native to Europe and Asia. • Size: They grow to about 15 mm in height and 13 mm in width. • The mantle has dark spots along its edge and 4 to 5 whorls in the shell. • Habitat: They prefer fresh water lakes and slow-moving rivers, where they feed on detritus, algae, and sand. Idaho’s Snake and Owyhee riv- er drainages. In addition, signif- icant populations have emerged in southwestern Oregon. The Watershed Council will seek additional funding to search areas near the capture site to determine the level of preva- lence of the population. Plans o s s e r p s E n i b Log Ca 821 W. Hwy. , John Day school board chair, described what her district went through to be on budget for the current biennium. Drastic measures included the closure of Mt. Vernon Mid- also call for the Oregon Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon Marine Board to look into ways the snail might have entered the basin. “Rivers are such a dynamic element of our environment. It is important to keep an eye on the changes that take place nat- urally and as a result of human activity,” said Eisenbraun. She credited the council monitoring staff for its “metic- ulous work” leading to the dis- covery of this change in the river system. The council’s monitoring program, coordinated by Justin 5RZHOOLVDI¿OLDWHGZLWKWKH,Q- tensively Monitored Watershed, a working group supported by the Oregon Watershed Enhance- PHQW %RDUG 12$$ )LVKHULHV and other funders. That work draws participants from univer- VLWLHV DJHQFLHV DQG QRQSUR¿WV who are collecting information about the health of the Middle Fork and its response to resto- ration activities. JOB Continued from Page A1 Commissioner Chris Labhart said he felt the scope of the position should be de- cided in the budget deliber- ations, but he also worried about the county’s exposure to liability without an HR person. “We’re hanging so far out there, guys,” he said. The unspoken backdrop for the discussion includes two pending federal lawsuits DJDLQVW WKH FRXQW\ ¿OLQJV that allege county employ- ees used derogatory, vulgar language to describe a job applicant in a hiring meeting. The county’s lawyers have QRW\HW¿OHGDUHVSRQVHWRWKH GLVFULPLQDWLRQ ODZVXLW ¿OHG by Terry Hanson, while a U.S. District Court judge has referred the whistle-blower FRPSODLQW ¿OHG E\ -DPHV 1 He said a requirement that a teacher would need a bachelor’s degree to instruct students in how to drive a tractor doesn’t make sense, while local control does. “We need highly effective teachers more than highly quali- ¿HGWHDFKHUV´KHVDLG He added that students of his school district are receiving thou- sands of college credits. “We educate our kids to live and be successful with us,” he said. Other topics of discussion in- cluded Senate Bill 447 to support facilities improvement, Small School Correction, Education Service District funding request and Career Technical Education access. Addressing the state man- date to implement full-day kindergarten, Chris Panike, La Grande School District busi- ness manager, said having that requirement without added funds ends up penalizing other school programs. Grant ESD board member Dana Brooks said the education service districts need funding that is tied to the state school funding amount. She noted ESD funding “has EHHQVWDJQDQWVLQFH´DGG- ing the Grant County ESD has had to cut services to schools, and those costs are passed on to the local school districts. Legislators asked for feed- back, with Bentz recommending WKDW SHRSOH EH VSHFL¿F LQ WKHLU emails to him about how lower funding is affecting the students. Ferrioli said argument for ru- ral schools is an “equity issue and a fairness issue.” He mentioned Long Creek School District, which has lost a VLJQL¿FDQWSRSXODWLRQRIVWXGHQWV over the years and currently VHUYHVDERXWVWXGHQWV ,¶OO³GLJLQDQG¿JKWEHFDXVH we’re not going to lose any VFKRRO´KHVDLG³,ZLOO¿OOVDQG- bags.” Witty said the meeting was positive and an opportunity for those who serve rural students to be heard by their Salem represen- tatives. “I was very pleased with the commitment from our legislators who represent Eastern Oregon,” he said. “They were willing to take the time and commit to un- derstanding critical issues that directly impact students in our region.” Gravley to mediation. While not mentioning the OLWLJDWLRQVSHFL¿FDOO\%ULWWRQ noted a couple of problems have come up recently, but he contended a full-time HR person wouldn’t be the solu- tion. “All the HR persons in the world aren’t going to prevent someone from saying some- thing inappropriate in some setting,” Britton said. The Court discussed, but backed off from, an alternate scenario proposed by the treasurer to craft a position at less than full time. Smith suggested the coun- ty budget consider a future merging of the HR duties with the court secretary’s job. That would create one full- time position after the cur- rent secretary, Mary Ferrioli, retires, which is not expected until sometime in 2016-17. If the Court opted for that plan, County Clerk Brenda Percy said she would take back some of the HR duties until the new job goes into ef- IHFW,IVKH¿OOHGLQLWZRXOG not include union negotia- tions or grievances. Percy had the HR duties until last October when she resigned that assignment, saying the personnel work was starting to interfere with her elected duties. Justice of the Peace Kathy Stinnett questioned how many of the HR duties Percy could be expected to do on top of her elected full-time job, and she asked the Court if there would be a solution in between full time and the partial approach using the FOHUNWR¿OOLQ The Court’s split vote leaves the future of the HR job up to the full budget pan- el, a choice Britton criticized as abdicating their responsi- bility. Pending a solution, Myers LV WKH GHIDXOW +5 RI¿FHU IRU the county. 4 the audience of about 80 includ- ed school administrators, board members, teachers and interest- ed citizens from as far away as Ontario, Halfway, Mitchell and Lakeview. Equitable funding for ru- ral schools was the focus, but the bottom line – the students served by the schools – was not forgotten. “We’re putting our heart and soul into our students,” said Superintendent Mark Witty of *UDQW6FKRRO'LVWULFW1RLQ his opening remarks. “We care about this area, and we repre- sent kids that matter.” Morgan Allen, a legislative specialist for Oregon School Boards Association, captured the frustrations and challenges for rural school districts, noting that no matter the size of the school, they still are required to IXO¿OO DOO WKH VWDWH¶V HGXFDWLRQ mandates. “Our small schools are ex- pected to do what the large schools are expected to do,” he dle School, which merged into Grant Union; reductions equal to 19 full-time employees; and the closure of the district’s al- ternative school. In a PowerPoint, Cronin showed that to meet targets to close achievement gaps for all students, including the state’s 40-40-20 goal, the state school budget would need to be $7.85 billion. The 40-40-20 is the state’s push to have 40 percent of all students go on to earn a bach- elor’s degree or higher degree, SHUFHQW ¿QLVK FRPPXQLW\ college and the other 20 per- cent at least graduate from high school. Cronin said $7.55 billion would maintain current pro- grams, while $7.45 billion would result in 4.56 percent budget cuts at their district. Baker School District Su- perintendent Walt Wegener dis- played pictures to illustrate the increasing layers of bureaucracy he’s seen in his district – a pre- sentation that drew laughs. “It’s hard to focus on 40- 40-20,” he said. “I don’t dis- agree – it’s a great idea – but for us, it’s 15-80-5.” Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at Polaris Gourmet Blends • Flavored Coffees Espresso • Cappuccino Lattes • Biscotti Mon. - Fri., 6:30 am - 5 pm Sat., 8 am - 2 pm Sun. Closed