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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 2020)
NEWS MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, April 22, 2020 A7 John Day plans proactive approach to economic recovery Unemployment claims have spiked during pandemic By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle Eagle file photo The Seneca School was built by the Edward Hines Lumber Co. in the 1930s to educate the children of its workers. Humbolt, Seneca elementary schools employ different distance learning tactics By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle The second week of dis- tance learning continues for many schools in Grant County, with each school implementing the program the best way possible for their area. While Seneca School and Hum- bolt Elementary are two schools within the same school district and about a 30-minute drive from each other, the schools have taken differ- ent approaches to distance learning. Connectivity has been the big- gest difference with Seneca. Dana McLean, the Seneca head teacher, said much of the work has had to be done through packets, rather than online. “We are doing the same as (Humbolt Elementary), and most of our stuff is done through pack- ets,” McLean said. “We don’t have the internet capacity to do anything online right now since it is very slow up here.” Packets are being delivered to students each week, and parents are doing a great job adjusting to the changes, according to McLean. At Hum- bolt Elementary, a current prior- ity is to provide devices to stu- dents with inter- net access, said Eagle file photo Humbolt Princi- Darbie Denni- pal Darbie Den- son, Humbolt nison. Dennison Elementary said a challenge School prin- they noticed is cipal that they didn’t have many por- table devices that were compatible with the programs needed for dis- tance learning. “We’re still doing a blended approach of online as well as send- ing packets to pretty much every student,” Dennison said. “I have to say the staff at Humbolt have just been phenomenal in this whole pro- cess. Our instructional assistants have come in and are putting pack- ets together and getting them deliv- ered, and our teachers have spent many additional hours contacting parents and getting kids online and setting up Google Classroom.” A common challenge between Humbolt and Seneca has been with parents feeling overwhelmed with the changes. “Parents have been very willing to do (the extra work), and I have heard a few parents that are pretty overwhelmed with all the work, but they are willing to step it up and have a schedule for their kid,” McLean said. Staff at Seneca have made con- ference calls with parents to follow up and see how things are going. Dennison said another chal- lenge for parents is coming up with a system that focuses on each child, not just those in high school. “A little concern for us at the elementary is that parents that have kids in high school are really focused on getting those kids to do what needs to be done — I think because they’re con- cerned about credits — and put- ting us elementary kids a little behind,” Dennison said. “I think maybe it’s just a matter of meet- ing them where they are, and as we move along they’ll come up with a good system at home, and it’ll work out.” Being proactive is an important goal for John Day as the city council dis- cussed the sobering statistics and data regarding economic recovery amid the coronavirus pandemic. The city of John Day looked at how COVID-19 affected the economy and unemployment in the city and county. City Manager Nick Green shared data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency regarding busi- ness closures during a disaster, which was dismal, according to John Day Mayor Ron Lundbom. “The number that stood out to me were 40% of businesses do not reopen after a disaster, 25% fail within one year and over 90% fail within two years. That was a sobering statistic,” Lundbom said. “Let’s see if we can- not let that happen.” Green said these statistics are for a typical disaster but added that the current situation may not be typical based on when restrictions are lifted and businesses can reopen. Unemployment insurance claims in Grant County increased approxi- mately 50% each week since March 14, according to data Green received from Chris Rich, the state regional economist. Thirty-two percent of the claims processed were from accom- modation and food services. The amount of claims gradually increased in March with 14 claims made for the week ending on March 14, 40 claims for the week ending on March 21 and 52 claims for the week ending on March 28. “If we come back to thinking about the severity of the shock, this one, as an effect on employment, has been far worse than the Great Depression in the depth of the shock, and the ques- tion becomes how quickly do you recover?” Green said. Statewide during the week of April 5 to April 11, the Oregon Employ- ment Department received 53,800 ini- tial claims for unemployment ben- efits. That’s in addition to a revised total of 243,000 initial claims filed during the prior three weeks. The department said in their press release that, with the first CARES Act payments on April 10, Oregon is among the early states getting an extra $600 per week to those out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with the current pandemic, John Day has faced multiple disasters the city is still recovering from. “This recovery is coming on the heels of the 2019 spring flooding, and we’re still recovering from that... which has come on the heels of the 2015 wildfires... and that’s coming on the heels of 2011 flooding and on and on and on,” Green said. “We need to be prepared for these waves, and we need to pay attention to the data that are meaningful.” The city has been working with EcoNorthwest and the Economic Development Administration to get a framework on economic recovery, resiliency and how to emerge stronger for future disasters. In recovering from the disaster, Green said it was important for public officials to not give into fear and con- tinue to work forward. “Within the paper by EcoNorth- west, they talked about short-term and long-term strategies, and if you go through that, we are already doing a lot of these things,” Green said. “We’ve had Oregon RAIN stood up to help support local small businesses. We’re doing some things for small business assistance, we’ve done a lot of economic development planning, we’re doing things to create adapted workforce housing and we’re heav- ily invested in infrastructure. I think we’re positioned to take advantage of low interest rates and federal stimulus when it’s made available to cities.” P rairie B aptist C hurch 238 N. McHaley St., Prairie City 541-820-3696 www.prairie-baptist-church.com Pastor David Hoeffner Pastor Keith Sunday School (all ages) .......9:00 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship .10:30 a.m. Awana (Oct.-Apr.) ................3:00 p.m. Youth Group .........................5:30 p.m. John Day Valley Mennonite Church Meeting every Sunday at Mt. Vernon Grange Hall Sunday School ...............................9:30 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship ............10:50 a.m. Pastor Leland Smucker Everyone Welcome • 541-932-2861 JOHN DAY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Sunday Worship • 9AM (541) 575-1326 johndayUMC@gmail.com 126 NW Canton, John Day Food Pantry Friday 3-4PM Like us on Facebook! St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church Corner of S Canyon Blvd and SW 2 nd Mon. - Fri. Mass - 12:05 pm Saturday Mass - 5:00 pm Sunday Mass - 9:00 am Holy Days Mass: Noon & 6 pm Confession: Saturday 4:00-4:45 pm Anytime by appointment 541-974-8638 St. Anne Redeemer Lutheran Church Come Worship with us at 24/7 Inspirational Christian Broadcasting Tune into KSPL 98.1 FM For more information, call 541 620-0340 CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE Sunday School .......................... 9:30 am Sunday Worship Service......... 10:45 am Sunday Evening Service ...........6:00 pm Children & Teen Activities SMALL GROUPS CALL FOR MORE INFO 627 SE Hillcrest, John Day 1 st Sunday Worship/Communion ..................10am 3 rd Sunday Worship/Communion/Potluck ...4:30pm 2 nd , 4 th & 5 th Sunday Worship .........................10am Wednesday Evening Bible Study .....................6pm For information: 541-575-2348 FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH Sunday School ..................... 9:45 am Sunday Worship ...................... 11 am Fox Community Church ............. 3 pm Sunday Evening Bible Talk ......... 6 pm Saturday Men’s Study ............... 6 pm Weekdays: Sonshine Christian School Full Gospel- Come Grow With Us Pastor Randy Johnson 521 E. Main • John Day • 541-575-1895 www.johndaynazarene.com 541-575-1202 Church 311 NE Dayton St, John Day Pastor Al Altnow MT. VERNON PRESBYTERIAN Monument - 2nd & 4th Sundays at 12:30 pm SUNDAY SERVICE..............9 am 541-932-4800 EVERYONE WELCOME Cornerstone Christian Fellowship 139 N.E. D AYTON S TREET , J OHN D AY 541-575-2180 Sunday Worship Service 10 am Sunday Youth Group 3 pm Thursday Celebrate Recovery 6 pm Pastor Levi Manitsas cornerstonejohnday@gmail.com ccfjd.org Join us on Facebook live Sunday 10am Like us on Facebook! 2 Corinthians 5:17 Every Sunday in the L.C. Community Center (Corner of Second & Allen) Contact Paster Ed Studtmann at 541-421-3888 • Begins at 4:00pm FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH Sunday School ...................... 9:30 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship .. 10:50 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship .. 10:50 a.m. No Mid-week Services Pastor Jesse Grosnell 300 W. Main, John Day 541-575-1355 Office Hours Monday - Friday 9 am - 12 Noon Community Church SUNDAY SERVICE ...........9 am St. Thomas Episocopal Church Hwy 26 Mt. Vernon Seventh-Day Adventist Church SATURDAY SERVICES Celebration of Worship JOHN DAY 110 Valley View Dr. 541-575-1216 Head Elder ..........................541-575-2914 Bible Classes (all ages) .................9:30 am Worship ...........................................11 am LONG CREEK E. Main Street 541-421-3033 Head Elder .................................421-3468 Bible Classes (all ages) ......................2 pm Worship .............................................3 pm Jr./Sr. High Youth Connection Sundays 5:30pm Youth: 0-6th Grade Midweek Service Thursdays 6:30pm Youth: 0-6th Grade Contact the office for current schedule Overcomer’s Outreach Fridays 6:30pm House on the Lawn A Christ-Centered, 12-Step Recovery Support Group Pastor Sharon Miller 541-932-4910 www.livingwordcc.com S181034-1
