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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 24, 2015)
Blue Mountain EAGLE The FARMERS MARKET Great turnout for market’s opening day – PAGE A9 Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 W EDNESDAY , J UNE 24, 2015 New PC super joining school By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle PRAIRIE CITY – The Prairie City School Board has hired Julie Gurczynski as the new superintendent/principal. Meeting June 17, the board – including president Marge Walton and members Doug Emmel, Andrea Ennis, Mike Wall and Nancy Hitz – voted unanimously to hire Gurczyns- ki. “We felt like she wants every student in our school to learn in a positive environment,” Wal- ton said. “She’s very knowl- edgeable in budget and policy enforcement. These are the qualities we were looking for – someone who could take over the leadership of our school DQGSXWWKHVWXGHQWV¿UVW´ Gurczynski has been the K-12 principal at North Pow- der Charter School for the past year. She worked previously in Gamble, Alaska, for two years where she was an assistant prin- cipal, and she was a Family And Consumer Sciences and health teacher for 18 years at Kennedy High School in Mt. Angel. Gurczynski was in Prai- rie City last Thursday to train with outgoing Superintendent/ Principal Ryan Gerry. She said she’s looking forward to start- ing the job. “I appreciate the warm wel- come that I’ve received, and I’m excited to get to know the students and staff and continue the work that Mr. Gerry and the staff and school board have al- ready done,” she said. Gerry is leaving the district to begin his new post as prin- cipal at Grant Union Junior-Se- nior High School on July 1. Walton said Gurczynski was also one of the candidates for Dayville School’s superinten- dent/principal position. “We took one of them,” Walton said. “We had a strong pool of candidates, but she ¿OOHGWKHQLFKH´ 7KH RWKHU ¿QDOLVWV LQWHU viewing for the Prairie City School position were Jen- nifer Johnson of the Jordan Valley School District; Brad Dunten, athletic director/PE/ health teacher at Baker High School; and Angela Campbell of the Cambridge Middle-High School in Cambridge, Idaho. The Prairie City school board is down two members, with write-in winners Lind- say Rausch and Ryan Wil- liams due to be sworn in at the next meeting, at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 15. They also “whole-heartedly” supported the board’s decision, Walton said, adding the two served on the community committee that made the selection. Walton said the board will set a date for a community potluck so the public can meet Gurczynski and the new school board members as well as the new 5-6-grade teacher, history teacher, two educational as- sistants, head of maintenance, boys varsity basketball coach and three junior high coaches. • N O . 25 Blue Mountain Eagle JOHN DAY — Lightning from Sunday’s thunderstorms VSDUNHG D IHZ ¿UHV DQG OHIW WKHVSHFWHURIKROGRYHU¿UHVWR keep crews busy during hot, dry conditions in the forecast for the rest of the week. The Malheur National Forest reported three small OLJKWQLQJ ¿UHV RQ WKH %OXH Mountain Ranger District on Monday, with crews respond- ing to each. • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com A DAY FOR FAMILY FUN Popular event draws another big crowd /LJKWQLQJ¿UHVÀDUH up on MNF district Forecast: Hot weather ahead as ODF tightens restrictions • 18 P AGES Fire open house The Malheur National Forest fire management staff will hold an informational open house on wildland fire suppression and seasonal outlooks from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, July 9, at the supervisor’s office in John Day. The public is invited. 2I¿FLDOVVDLGFUHZVZRXOG continue to monitor for hold- RYHU ¿UHV IURP WKH OLJKWQLQJ as forest fuels continue to dry out. The weather fore- cast calls for temperatures to rise toward 100 degrees this weekend. See FIRE, Page A8 By Angel Carpenter J Blue Mountain Eagle OHN DAY – They came, they played, they had a blast. Judging by the 625 sno-cones giv- en away last Saturday – and all the smiling children and other family members – Family Fun Day was a hit. There were also 158 kids enjoying the in- ÀDWDEOHZDWHUVOLGHDQGERXQFHKRXVHZKLOH 80 swam at Gleason Pool. “We had more booths this year with more activities for the kids,” said organizer Teresa Aasness, executive director of Families First Resource Center. This was the eighth year for the event, which Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter Aasness said began when several groups holding separate activities decided to pool their resources. Isaiah Evans, right, and his sister Paisley Smith of John “We wanted to create an affordable family Day enjoy the Warm Spring Tribes’ miniature golf course during Family Fun Day. Top photo: Six-year-old Brooklynn event for Grant County,” she said. Mumpfield of Prairie City splashes at the water slides at See FUN, Page A8 Family Fun Day. BLAST OFF! Hundreds attend Grant County Health Fair GU experiment set for space teamed up last fall to com- pete for a spot on the space JOHN DAY – T-minus 3 shot. days. The competition is an As of Wednesday, that’s ongoing promotion by the the countdown to launch for QDWLRQDO6WXGHQW6SDFHÀLJKW a spacecraft that will carry a Experiments Program, an ef- Grant County science proj- fort to encourage real-world ect into space. science and engineering ed- The SpaceX-7 mission ucation. is scheduled to lift off this In all, 33 teams from Friday from Cape Canaveral across the county entered Air Force Station in Florida, the local contest, organized bound for the International by Grant Union science Space Station. teacher Sonna Smith. The The unmanned craft top three advanced to a re- will carry 27 student ex- view by a national science periments in all. The local panel, with just one winning SURMHFWZDVGHVLJQHGE\¿YH DEHUWKRQWKHVSDFHÀLJKW Grant Union Junior/Senior The team’s entry focused High students — Zack Di- on how microgravity might eter, Elijah Humbird, Duane affect variation of protein Stokes, Dante Valentine and structures. The experiment Cauy Weaver. They were See SPACE, Page A8 ninth-graders when they Blue Mountain Eagle By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Dental hygienist Sue Philo of John Day Advantage Dental checks over Devrie Delaney’s teeth as Kaylee Huffman, 6, Cadence Delaney, 6, Cody Huffman, 9, and dental assistant Kaylee Lemcke look on at the health fair. JOHN DAY – The 21st Annual Grant County Health Fair featured the traditional low-cost blood testing and an array of informational booths. In all, 475 people took ad- vantage of the blood draws, including a test that checks cholesterol and triglyceride levels as well as blood glu- cose, calcium, potassium, blood urea nitrogen and more. Other blood checks avail- able included thyroid, A1C and PSA for men. Even more visitors streamed through the doors of the Grant Union Junior-Se- nior High School gym to see 56 booths available this year, up by 17 from last year. Burns resident Wayne Bush, who was checking out the booths, said he and his wife have attended the health fair the last 16 years. “It’s well organized, and it gets better every year,” he said. Among the free offerings were a hearing test, skin can- cer screening, oral cancer screening, checks for iron lev- els, blood pressure and lean body mass. There were also free smoothies and massages – and plenty of giveaways such as pens, pencils, water bottles and key chains. Advantage Dental staff members gave out free tooth- brushes and toothpaste. They See FAIR, Page A8
