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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 22, 2020)
A16 NEWS Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, July 22, 2020 Eagle file photos The main building at Dayville School. Schools Continued from Page A1 days and Tuesday and Thurs- day being B days,” Uptmor said. “One day they will take four classes and the next day they will take four different classes, and that would alter- nate back and forth throughout the week.” The purpose behind this schedule is to reduce the amount of transitions that stu- dents have for classes. “Because the amount of active cases in Grant County is 0, we would start our day reg- ular start time and end regular end time,” Uptmor said before Prairie City School. a second case was announced Monday. Uptmor said they have received comments from par- ents asking if it would be pos- sible for their kids to be edu- cated from home, and he said yes. Administrators are look- ing at options. Uptmor said he submitted a plan to the Grant County Health Department, which suggested changes, and he will post an updated plan to the school website when completed. For Prairie City, Superin- tendent Casey Hallgarth said they also plan to have in-per- son teaching, but will have an alternative option for students who do not want to attend school in person. Monument School. “When we reopen, we are going to be an on-site school, but our goal is to bring back as many normalcy and routines as we can and do it in the saf- est manner,” Hallgarth said. “We’re hiring extra staff to clean, and our goal is to work with the community.” A more finalized plan will be ready on Aug. 4, as soon as it is approved by the school board. Details will then be posted on pcsd4.com. Hallgarth anticipates having seven periods a day for high school and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for elementary school. In Monument, Superinten- dent Laura Thomas said they are lucky enough to have large classrooms that provide them Grant Union High School. with the ability to plan for all students to return for in-per- son instruction in the fall while making plans for compre- hensive distance learning if there are any families who are unable to return for in-person instruction. “While the school year will not look the same as the past, desks will be spaced 6 feet apart, less physical contact, and lots and lots of handwash- ing, to name a few; the hustle and bustle of the students will fill our buildings once again and students will have the abil- ity to be in the same room as their teacher to receive instruc- tion, and that is a great thing,” Thomas said. They are also in the process of finalizing their plan, and there have been many hours of reading guidance, attend- ing webinars and meeting with staff to plan for the upcoming school year. Thomas added that plans have to be submitted for approval to the Grant County Health Department, shared with the school board and submitted to Oregon Department of Edu- cation no later than Aug. 15, but they plan to have it finalized in the next couple of weeks. Dayville Superintendent Kathryn Hedrick said they plan to open on-site but need to be ready to spring into dis- tance learning in case of a rise in cases. While Dayville will have more details closer to the start of the new school year, Hed- rick would like parents to com- municate their concerns and ideas for the next school year. She added that she began telephone conversations with parents last week and is work- ing through the list. Families can call her if they have not been contacted by her. Each administrator stated, if a parent has a concern, com- ment or question, they should call the school administrators and let them know. “We are working to make sure each kid will be safe,” Uptmor said. The Eagle has reached out to Long Creek School District but has not heard back. Contributed photo/Grant County Assessor’s Office Tim Jewell’s property near Kimberly after a fire devas- tated his home July 1. Fire Continued from Page A1 and the help he received after the incident. “Dennis and Linda (Abraham) took me up to their house, insisted that I stay in their nice camp trailer and Linda fed me good food,” Jewell said. “The whole thing has been overwhelming.” While Jewell was saved and from the fire, all of his possessions were lost except the shoes and clothes on his back. “The history that I had... my God, I had diaries of the Oregon Trail that were in my family, photos from way back and I had an uncle that was with Napo- leon written up and and now they’re all gone,” Jew- ell said. “I can’t replace it. Your life is gone when that happens.” Despite what was lost in the fire, Jewell has been taken aback by the abun- dance of support provided by the community mem- bers around him. He said, while Osbourne and Abraham saved his life, it’s hard for him not to thank and acknowledge everybody who helped out and continues to help. Jewell also said he was glad for the quick response from neighbors, ODF and Monument Fire. Ed Falls, a neighbor, said thanks to the quick action, the neighboring ranches were saved, pre- venting a devastating wildfire. Eagle file photo Britnee Kellogg was the opening act for the Grant County Fair concert last year. Funding Continued from Page A1 However, lawmakers stalled and did not take any legislative action on the pro- posal by walking out to kill a proposed climate change bill. Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale, said Friday that he has not seen the final draft of the Ways and Means Sen. Lynn Subcommit- Findley tee budget, but he did hear about the proposed cut. “I’ve heard the million dollar number for the county fairs more than once,” he said. “I’ve not seen it in writ- ing yet.” He said $50 million was allocated to venues, includ- ing county fairgrounds, ear- lier this week in an emergency board meeting to offset losses and operational costs. Findley said fairs cannot www.MyEagleNews.com Eagle file photo Reitta Wyllie, who was the 2015 Grant County Fair and Rodeo Queen, rides in last year’s parade down Main Street in John Day. replace a budget shortfalls, but if they spent money for a COVID-19-related cost, they can apply for reimbursement of that cost. Findley said the state has to balance the budget amid the economic downturn during the pandemic, and that there are tough times ahead. “We’ve got to find $3 bil- lion,” he said. He said he hopes the state makes budget decisions “stra- tegically and carefully” with- out raising taxes. “We have to maintain the economic development com- ponent, and we have to keep businesses operational and viable,” Findley said. He said it would be “dev- astating” for the state should county fairs not be able to return in 2021. “It’s an incredible com- munity event,” he said. “Whether you’re in Eugene and Linn County, or in Grant County, it brings family fam- ilies together. It’s a gathering point in rural counties.” Fair lic, kick off Aug. 9 with lamb weigh-in and showman- ship. Lamb market and goat weigh-in will be Aug. 10, small animal, beef weigh-in and showmanship will be Aug. 11, swine weigh-in and show- manship will be Aug. 12 and swine market will be Aug. 13, Booth said. Keerins Hall will be limited to one-way foot traffic, and contact information for contact tracing will be taken. 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