Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2016)
A8 News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Stakes are high for education reform Supreme Court Oregon, other states, will get unprecedented leverage under new law By Edward Stratton EO Media Group A change in federal education law will give Oregon and other states unprecedented leverage to decide on student assess- ments, accountability mea- sures, school improvement and educator effectiveness. The No Child Left Be- hind Act of 2001, a reautho- rization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act covering federal over- sight of K-12 education, is being replaced by the Ev- ery Student Succeeds Act, taking full effect in the 2017-18 school year. The stakes are high in Oregon, which persistent- ly faces some of the low- est graduation and highest chronic absenteeism rates Danny Miller/EO Media Group State Department of Education Deputy Superintendent Salam Noor asked Astoria High School students Thursday for feedback about their education experience. in the nation. As Oregon creates an education plan to turn in to the U.S. Department of Education in the fall, state Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction Salam Noor, the highest educa- tional official under Gov. Kate Brown, has been crisscrossing the state and asking locals to reimagine education. Noor has been to 11 fo- rums so far in Oregon and ended his tour Monday in Coos Bay. So far, he said, he has heard a consistent focus on the need for student and teacher engagement, a variety of high-interest, hands-on programs and close relationships be- tween students and faculty. “We’re hearing consis- tencies about the ... mental health needs of students, unanimously backs landowners in Clean Water Act case and the social/emotional needs that have to be ad- dressed,” he said. After the tour, Noor said the state will try to synthesize the informa- tion into themes to in- form the education plan that education officials are drafting in July and August. The state receives fed- eral guidelines for its ed- ucation plan in October, he said, and will turn in a final draft by November. While not all feedback will be reflected in the plan, he said, the information he’s gathered at the fo- rums will continually in- form the state’s work on education. “It gives us a bigger picture and a broader per- spective on what’s actually needed and what’s happen- ing in schools and commu- nities across the state,” he said. For more information or to suggest ideas, visit http://tinyurl.com/j2r3xe2 or email ESSA.Oregon@ state.or.us. By Mateusz Perkowski EO Media Group The U.S. Supreme Court Monday ruled unanimously that landowners can chal- lenge a federal government determination that their property is subject to Clean Water Act restrictions. With federal officials facing a new source of law- suits, they must now do a better job justifying their conclusions, legal experts say. “The cavalier attitude to- ward asserting authority un- der the Clean Water Act we hope will change,” said Reed Hopper, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Founda- tion, a public interest legal organization. The nation’s highest court rejected arguments by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that its “jurisdic- tional determinations” can’t be challenged in court be- cause they’re merely advi- sory opinions that property is subject to the Clean Water Act. The ruling is a victory for farmers and other land- owners who would rather sue to prove their proper- ty doesn’t fall under the agency’s jurisdiction than seek costly Clean Water Act permits or abandon their projects. The federal government argued that landowners are free to ignore a jurisdic- 14 stock dogs poisoned with strychnine By Sean Ellis EO Media Group CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — Four- teen stock and guard dogs have been poi- soned with strychnine in southwestern Ida- ho since early April and 12 have died. The poisoning of the dogs, which are used to guard and shepherd sheep and goats, has occurred over several weeks. “We lost another dog today. The poi- soning is still going on,” the dogs’ owner, Casey Echevarria, told EO Media Group May 30. The dogs were intentionally poisoned with strychnine, said Dr. Brent Varriale, a Fruitland veterinarian who examined three of them. He said they had large amounts of green dyed grain in their stomachs, which is consistent with gopher bait that contains strychnine. The gopher bait was mixed with a signiicant amount of raw ground meat and the amount of bait found in each dog would have required mixing it with food to encourage the dogs to eat as much of it as they did, he said. Varriale said he examines dogs that have consumed gopher bait and suffered strychnine poisoning about once every few years and they never have that much of the bait in their stomachs. The large number of Echevarria’s dogs that have suffered strychnine poisoning this spring, coupled with the large amount of bait found in their stomachs, “tells me it was done intentionally,” Varriale said. Varriale saved and froze stomach content samples from each dog and contacted the Canyon County Sheriff’s Department, which investigated the in- cidents but has not identiied any sus- pects. tional determination and then fight the U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency when defending against an enforcement action. Chief Justice John Rob- erts, in his opinion for the court, dismissed the claim that landowners must ex- pose themselves to sanc- tions to question the gov- ernment’s conclusions. “Respondents need not assume such risks while waiting for EPA to ‘drop the hammer’ in order to have their day in court,” Roberts said. The practical effect is that federal agencies will need a solid scientific ba- sis that private property has a “significant nexus” with waterways protected by the Clean Water Act, said Hopper, who argued the Su- preme Court case on behalf of the Hawkes Co., which was blocked from extract- ing peat moss from its wet- lands. “The Corps is going to have to get its ducks in a row. It’s going to have to provide data to sup- port its decision that this is a water of the U.S.,” he said. In the Hawkes case, the government required the company to obtain a Clean Water Act permit be- cause the wetland alleged- ly had a “significant nex- us” with a river 120 miles away. O n l y 11 11 more days June 19, 2016 to find Dad the perfect gift! Check out these local businesses for great Dad’s Day Deals! D AD ’ S D E PA RT M E N T Gifts Dad would love Make Dad’s day with a coffee gift card!? UNDER DeWalt 20V MAX Lithium-Ion Drill/Driver Kit $34.99 $124 DeWalt 80-Pc. Professional Drilling/Driving Set Log Cabin Espresso John Day Video Shoppe 821 W Main John Day Polaris 541-575-5778 3 12 N . C a ny o on n Ci ty Blvd d. . 5 4 1 - 5 7 5 - 20 5 0 MILLS BUILDING SUPPLY 751 W. Main • John Day 541- 575-1021 Gift s Certificate Wra n g l e r J e a n s an d S h i rt s Felt & Straw Hats Caps • Colognes Money Clips • Boots Belts & Wallets LOG CABIN ESPRESSO DP HOME ENTERTAINMENT 139 E. Main St., John Day 541.575.1637 GIBCO AG & INDUSTRIAL Danner footwear makes high quality boots & shoes for all walks of life. Men’s Shirts Forget the tie, William has the gifts Dad really wants for • Tack Father’s • Weed Sprayers Day! • Proto Tools • Fencing Tools Great Gifts for Mr. Fix It. • Tool Sets • Lawn Mowers • Lawn Chairs 721 W. Main St., John Day 541-575-1850 Blowers, Starting at Earth 99 Augers, Pruners & more 5 yr. warranty Front St., Prairie City 541-820-3675 Premium Propane Gas Grill 249 Great selection of Hunting and Fishing supplies ATV gun mounts & so much more s 417 W Main St. 541-575-1387 Tues - Sat 11am - 9pm 20% off! Ny da m’ • Surround Sound Systems • TVs • Cameras • Solar Panel Chargers • Game Systems 55” LG Smart TV Hardware Downtown John Day 541-575-0632 Open 7 days a week The helpful place. 821 W. Hwy, John Day 541-575-0828 652 W. Main, John Day 541-575-0549
