News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
A3
O H , WHAT A VIEW
The Eagle/Rylan Boggs
A column of smoke from the Rail fire near Unity and High Lake are seen Saturday, Aug. 27, from a ridgetop in the Strawberry Wilderness Area.
John Day council looks to future
Blue Mountain Eagle
The John Day City Council dis-
cussed plans to update the city web-
site at the regular meeting Aug. 13.
Aha Consulting will provide the
update, and the new website would
be “substantially different than
what we currently have,” City Man-
ager Nick Green said.
Green said the update to the site
cost approximately $5,000 and is
planned to go live on Jan. 1, 201.
In other council news:
• The council declined to rezone
the downtown district per a request
from Dan Graikowski, a citizen
who wished to build a residence
within the district.
• The council received an en-
dorsement request from the Save
Outdoor School for All campaign.
The campaign is dedicated to pro-
viding every Oregon ¿fth- and
sixth-graders a week of hands-on,
science-based, outdoor learning.
The council made the decision to
acquire more information before
providing an endorsement.
The council also reviewed goals
for the 2016-1 ¿scal year, includ-
ing:
• Encouraging the state Legis-
lature to increase the state 911 tax
revenue or ¿nd another revenue
source to keep local emergency dis-
patch centers open.
• Begin plans on a sidewalk im-
provement project from Southwest
Sixth Avenue to Grant Union High
School.
• Move forward on the Main
Street Beauti¿cation Project if the
city’s grant application is approved.
• Continue to market the indus-
trial park and the city of John Day.
• Continue to build ¿nancial
reserves for the new Wastewater
SCHOOL
sociated course in public speak-
ing, a relatively new offering at
the school.
“I am most looking for-
ward to increased participation
in co-curricular activities,” he
said, “especially FFA, music
and speech where the participa-
tion rates are growing signi¿-
cantly.”
Continued from Page A1
Student enrollment, as of
last week, was 145, which she
said is about the same as last
year.
This is Gurczynski’s sec-
ond year leading the school.
“Last year was a wonderful
year, and I can’t wait for this
year to begin,” she said. “We
have a great town, great kids
and a great staff.”
Dayville School District
Also in her second year
as
superintendent/principal,
Kathryn Hedrick of Dayville
School said two new teachers
have joined them, including
Shilo Fretwell, for grades kin-
dergarten through 2, and Kerri
Latshaw, who teaches grades 6
through 8 and is the school’s art
teacher.
Enrollment is 48-50, similar
to last year, she said.
New at the school this year
are elective classes for junior
high students, such as shop and
career technical.
They’ve also separated the
junior high students from the
younger and older grades.
Hedrick said the reason for
the change is to help them, so-
cially as well as academically,
as they transition from grade
school to high school.
Grades 6 through 12 had
a ¿eld trip the ¿rst week of
school to the North Fork John
Day River to see staff from
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife perform a salmon
sampling count.
“We’re calling ourselves an
experiential school, giving our
kids giving more experiences
and using the campus as a labo-
ratory ... so classroom learning
Treatment Plant Replacement Proj-
ect by raising sewer rates each year
as well as research other options
for new facilities and continue to
research upgrades for the current
plant.
• Continue to support Secure Ru-
ral Schools funding.
• Promote city volunteer-
ism through city newsletters,
the local paper and community
outreach.
Fifth-graders arriving
at Humbolt Elementary
School in Canyon City
gather to walk together to
class, including, from left,
Bailey McCracken, Sydnie
Brandon, Abbie Justice
and Morganne Wyllie.
Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter
Rhys Nehl, front right, is ready for his first day of
first grade at Humbolt Elementary School, as his
teacher, Mandy Ipson, shows Angie Stansbury to
her desk.
has a relevancy to how it ap-
plies,” Hedrick said.
She added they’re focusing
on STEM — science, technolo-
gy, engineering and mathemat-
ics — as well as art.
“I feel like we got a shot in
the arm in our energy level, and
we just want to keep that go-
ing,” she said.
“It’s a new area, a new chal-
lenge, and I’m looking forward
to it,” he said of his new po-
sition at Long Creek School.
“It’s the ¿rst day with kids —
the kids are the best part of the
job.”
Enrollment at the school is
expected to be down slightly;
last year, there were 36 stu-
dents, and this year there are 34.
Monument School District
Monument School has a
new school secretary, Shawnah
Schafer.
The enrollment was 60 as of
last week; last year ended with
62.
After a week and a half of
school in session, Superinten-
dent/Principal Earl Pettit said
he was happy to see the speech
team in full swing with an as-
Grant School District No. 3
Grant School District No.
3 Superintendent Curt Shel-
ley said they were projecting
610 students attending Grant
Union Junior-Senior High
School grades -12, Humbolt
Elementary School (kindergar-
ten-6 and Seneca School (kin-
dergarten-6.
Grant Union Principal
Ryan Gerry is welcoming two
new teachers, Derek Lamson,
who will teach eighth-grade
English and English I, IA and
communications; and Kather-
ine Sherwood, who is teaching
Spanish I and II, as well as sev-
enth-grade English.
Gerry said they’re thankful
to have Mary Ann Vidourek,
who retired as head of the mu-
sic department for Grant Union
and Humbolt, returning to the
district on a temporary basis
until the position is ¿lled.
Humbolt Principal Kim
Smith said Amy Hittle, who
has worked in the special edu-
cation department for the dis-
trict, is now teaching ¿fth grade
at Humbolt.
Andrea Combs is adding to
her duties in the district as the
head teacher of Seneca School.
She will also teach special
education at both Humbolt and
Grant Union.
New teachers at Seneca
School include Andrea Ash-
ley for grades 4 through 6 and
Dana McLean for grades kin-
dergarten through third.
Shelley said he and the dis-
trict staff are excited to wel-
come back the students. He said
they strive to “engage all stu-
dents in meaningful programs
which meet the highest edu-
cational and ethical standards
with a caring and collaborative
learning community.”
He added they work to en-
sure each student excels per-
sonally and academically, be-
comes a lifelong learner and is
a responsible citizen.
Long Creek School District
Del Dykstra was getting his
feet wet as the new superinten-
dent/principal of Long Creek
School District when school
started Monday.
He’s been in the education
¿eld for 2 years, including
the past 1 years in Sunnyside,
Washington, working for both
private and public schools.
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