NEWS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Hamsher
Continued from Page A1
Local officials addressed the
need for better cooperation
in the objections they sub-
mitted to the Blue Moun-
tains Forest Plan Revision,
which has been scrapped by
Survey
Continued from Page A1
reported consuming alcohol
in the past 30 days, while
13 percent said they binge
drank over the past 30 days.
While self-reported cig-
arette use by 11th grad-
ers over the past 30 days
trended downward for both
the state and county since
2012, use reported by Grant
County students in 2018
was double the state at 11.6
percent.
The perceived risk of
marijuana use by older
Grant County students fell
significantly from 2016
to 2018, in contrast to the
state. The perceived risk by
eighth graders in 2018 fell
from 83.7 percent to 69, and
the perceived risk by 11th
graders fell from 53.6 per-
cent to 33.3 percent.
Students who perceive
cigarette, alcohol or mar-
ijuana use as risky are less
likely to engage in use, the
survey states.
Self-reporting by eighth
and 11th graders on the
availability of marijuana
hasn’t changed signifi-
cantly from 2014 to 2018,
but while 16.7 percent of
Grant County eighth grad-
ers reported marijuana was
easy to get in 2018, nearly
twice as many students
statewide reported mari-
juana was easy to obtain.
The number of Grant
County 11th graders report-
ing marijuana was easy to
get in 2018, however, was
60 percent, closer to the
statewide 65.1 percent.
Self-reporting by Grant
County eighth graders
about harassment on social
media sites increased at a
faster pace than by eighth
graders statewide, doubling
from 17 percent in 2012 to
35 percent in 2018.
The number of eighth
graders reporting harass-
ment on social media sites
was significantly higher
than by 11th graders for
both the county and the
the Forest Service.
“That was one reason
why they want to reset this
whole thing,” Hamsher said.
Hamsher noted that in
French’s March 14 letter
to Region 6 Forester Glenn
Casamassa, French said that
“I expect you to engage with
local, state and tribal gov-
state in 2018.
The percentage of Grant
County 11th graders say-
ing they received unwanted
sexual comments has been
lower than the state figures
for three of the past four
reporting years and was 6.7
percent in 2018 compared
to 11.3 percent statewide.
In other school board
news:
• The board gave its
consensus to include new
bleachers in the bid pack-
age for this year’s seismic
upgrade project at the Grant
Union gymnasium.
Superintendent
Bret
Uptmor said the district had
set aside about $120,000
for replacing the bleach-
ers, which could cost about
$180,000.
The wood and metal roll-
out bleachers pose safety
hazards for people moving
up and down the narrow
steps and have reached the
end of their useful life, with
higher preventative main-
tenance costs, Uptmor told
the Eagle.
The new plastic and
metal bleachers would be
ready to use by next fall, he
said. The complete seismic
upgrade bid package will
be presented to the board in
April.
• More than 200 students
in grades K-6 at Humbolt
Elementary School received
free dental screenings, and
73 received sealant treat-
ment Oct. 8-10.
• Thanks to the efforts
of Marci Judd and Shanna
Northway, special educa-
tion teachers at Humbolt
Elementary School, a cof-
fee cart staffed by special ed
students was scheduled to
begin in March.
Special ed students will
employ their social, work
and math skills to produce
lattes, smoothies and other
drinks for Humbolt staff
and students. The coffee
cart received funding from
the Primary Practice grant
program of the Oregon Edu-
cation Association, North-
way said.
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
With about 12 percent of Grant County workers employed
by the federal government, including the Forest Service,
the partial government shutdown in December and
January increased the unemployment rate.
Shutdown
Continued from Page A1
employees were classi-
fied as employed, however,
under establishment survey
definitions used to calculate
total nonfarm and industry
level employment.”
Grant County was at the
high end among five East-
ern Oregon counties over
the past year for an increase
in the raw unemployment
rate at 3.6 percent and for
an increase in the season-
ally adjusted unemploy-
ment rate at 1.7 percent.
The number of nonfarm
workers in Grant County
fell from 2,180 in Janu-
ary 2018 to 2,140 in Jan-
uary 2019. Declines were
seen in the financial, infor-
mation,
manufacturing,
education and health ser-
vice sectors, and in local
and federal governments.
There was an increase
of 10 workers in state
government.
ernments, elected officials,
the public and other inter-
ested stakeholders.”
“People are hopeful,”
Hamsher said. “The public’s
voices are being heard.”
The
Eastern
Ore-
gon Counties Association
responded right away to
French’s instructions to the
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
regional forester about with-
drawing the record of deci-
sion for the forest plan.
“It had become clear for
our association that the pro-
posed plans were not work-
able for our communities,”
the EOCA said in a press
release. “In the develop-
ment of the plan revisions,
the Forest Service had not
heard or understood how
the custom and culture and
economies of our communi-
ties are intertwined with our
forests.”
The EOCA credited
French for hearing their
objections and taking action.
The EOCA also said it sup-
ported leadership changes
from the regional office on
down.
“With the rebuilding of
trust, we can work together
for our common goal of for-
ests that support our local
communities’ social, eco-
nomic and ecological val-
ues,” the EOCA said.
Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union science student Cade Blood looks over Jacob Smith’s research project during Thursday’s science fair, pointing
out the results of Smith’s statistical analysis. From left: Blood, Smith, Donavan Smith and Cody Combs at the Grant Union
Junior-Senior High School library.
Fair
Continued from Page A1
piano students and one uku-
lele student learn and retain
knowledge of music theory.
A helpful part of her con-
clusion was that with more
knowledge comes less vari-
ation between perceived
and actual results. She also
discovered that “images of
items did not trigger mem-
ories as was thought.”
Blood’s question was
“How Does Armarilla
Fungi
Impact
Forest
Vegetation Growth and
Composition?”
He said the project gave
him a better understand-
ing of statistical analysis,
and he found “the fungi
impedes the growth of
coniferous trees and basal
area per hectare.”
“I thought it was pretty
interesting that we live
adjacent to one of the larg-
est living organisms in
the world,” he said of the
Armarilla Fungi which
is located in the Blue
Mountains.
Silver winners were
Ellie Justice and Cody
Combs, and bronze win-
ners were Drew Lusco and
Jacob Smith.
Judges for the event
were Amy Stiner of the
South Fork Watershed
Council; Dr. Anthony Tol-
var, an Eastern Oregon
University physics pro-
fessor; Brent Smith, assis-
tant John Day District fish
biologist with the Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife; and Neil Bauer,
a retired Grant School Dis-
trict 3 science teacher.
Hennen, who has taught
at Grant Union since 1998,
said he noticed more stu-
dents interacting and shar-
ing their projects this year.
“The key to a good proj-
ect is having a good ques-
tion,” he said.
Grant Union science fair participants, including Taylor Allen, center, chat while judges tally
their marks.
Science fair judges and Grant Union science teacher Randy Hennen sit together during the
event. Hennen is in the red shirt, and clockwise are Neil Bauer, Brent Smith, Amy Stiner and
Dr. Anthony Torval.
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Attention Grant County Veterans:
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Services Officer is available to assist
YOU in applying for all VA benefits
you may be entitled to?
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97688