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Blue Mountain Eagle
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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
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to Europe and Asia, the snail
gets its name from its ear-shaped
shell.
Eisenbraun said the “inva-
sive” tag means the snail, while
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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,
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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
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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
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tensively Monitored Watershed,
a working group supported by
the Oregon Watershed Enhance-
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and other funders. That work
draws participants from univer-
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who are collecting information
about the health of the Middle
Fork and its response to resto-
ration activities.
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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
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that allege county employ-
ees used derogatory, vulgar
language to describe a job
applicant in a hiring meeting.
The county’s lawyers have
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by Terry Hanson, while a
U.S. District Court judge has
referred the whistle-blower
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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-
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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
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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
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over the years and currently
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we’re not going to lose any
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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
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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-
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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,
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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