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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 2020)
INDIAN CREEK FIRE NEAR JUNTURA GROWS TO 9,000 ACRES | PAGE A5 Wednesday, August 19, 2020 152nd Year • No. 34 • 14 Pages • $1.50 MyEagleNews.com Cohorts, masks and social distancing at school Grant County schools are back on track for opening their doors but are prepared if COVID-19 cases rise By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle Grant County students coming back to school buildings this fall will experience an unorthodox year due to COVID-19, but school administrators and staff are committed to providing a safe space for education while adher- ing to state guidelines. The Oregon Department of Educa- tion announced on Aug. 11 new met- ric guidelines for schools in smaller populated areas, which will tenta- tively allow schools in Grant County to open their doors. “THERE’S GOING TO BE SOME DIFFERENCES, BUT THE GOOD THING IS THE KIDS GET TO COME BACK TO SCHOOL AND SEE THEIR FRIENDS ... AND GET A PROPER EDUCATION.” Grant School Casey District 3 Superin- tendent Bret Uptmor Hallgarth said they are open- ing onsite at Hum- bolt Elementary, Seneca Elementary and Grant Union Junior-Senior High School. Some of Bret the biggest changes Uptmor students will notice immediately on campus are the requirements for masks, the distance required between students, the emphasis on proper Grant County Court drafts letter in support of rolling back logging rule Comment period open on proposal to eliminate Eastside Screens By Steven Mitchell Blue Mountain Eagle Grant County Court voted to send a letter to the U.S. Forest Service in sup- port of rolling back its prohibition against cutting down trees larger than 21 inches in diameter as the agency opens up a 30-day comment period on a proposal to remove the provision known as the East- side Screens. The 25-year-old provision prevents the logging of trees that exceed 21 inches in diameter at breast height in six national forests in Eastern Oregon and Washing- ton, including the Malheur National For- est. It was adopted, at the time, as a tem- porary set of rules to protect streams, rivers and other wildlife habitat. The 21-inch rule is now being recon- sidered as overcrowding trees pose risks to wildlife habitat, according to a press release from the Forest Service. Shane Jefferies, forest supervisor with the Ochoco National Forest, said in a press release that priorities have shifted in the 25 years since the 21-inch rule was put in place. “Adjusting the 21-inch rule limitation to reflect the learning over the 25 years would help streamline restoration of for- ests in Eastern Oregon and make it eas- ier to create landscapes that withstand and recover more quickly from wildfire, drought and other disturbances,” he said. The proposed revision would make the rule into a guideline instead of the mandate that land managers and loggers must follow. See Rule, Page A14 —Casey Hallgarth, Prairie City School superintendent hygiene and the need for cohorts, or assigned groups. Uptmor said students are required to wear masks, which will be avail- able at each school building for stu- dents who do not have their own. “From the standpoint of the dis- trict, we will have masks available for those that aren’t able to come with a mask. We will have those on site at each school,” Uptmor said. When kids enter school buildings, they will need to use hand sanitizer provided by the school or wash their hands. “I think that’s a scary thing for some parents, which is using too much hand sanitizer,” Uptmor said. “We don’t have to use hand sanitizer. We can use soap and water.” Students arriving and depart- ing from school will also be done in cohorts of up to 50. “At the high school, they’re plan- ning on arriving with certain groups of students arriving at one door spread out and being able to monitor the stu- dents arriving and giving them direc- tion to the right place so we maintain our cohorts,” Uptmor said. “At Hum- bolt they were looking at doing some- thing similar, different entrances for different groups.” While the cohort plan is currently being reworked, the goal is to have students enter and exit buildings in a staggered way, which will help cre- ate and maintain the 6 feet distance between students. “You can’t just release 200 kids and expect them to be 6 feet apart,” Uptmor said. “We’ve got a lot of prac- ticing to do with our students to meet See School, Page A14 The parade must go on Grant County residents rally through John Day for Grant County Fair parade By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle H orses, candy being tossed, a person standing high on stilts, children cooling down spectators with water and more entertained the audience during this year’s Grant County Fair parade. Participants of the parade gathered at Grant Union High school where they were organized into different categories for the parade on Aug. 15. Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer led the parade as the United States flag flew on the right side of his vehicle and his lights flashed. Grant County Fair grand marshal John Aasness soon followed in his float that tossed candy to the audience. Throughout the parade, participants provided many items to spectators such as plastic Frisbees, pam- phlets and a chance to get soaked with water. Grant County Fair and Rodeo Queen NEXT WEEK Kelsei Kiser and Prin- cess Katelyn Barker See full fair re- waved and smiled at sults and more the spectators. coverage in Many organiza- next week’s tions in the county, The Eagle/Rudy Diaz edition. campaigns for elected Representatives from many organizations in Grant positions, representa- County gathered together to celebrate the annual tives from other rodeos and a wide variety Grant County Fair parade. of off road vehicles had the chance to enjoy a parade that other counties in the state had to cancel on due to COVID-19. Majestic Grove, 16, the Hells Canyon Junior Rodeo Queen, was excited at the chance to par- ticipate in a parade with her horse Tough. She was also excited because this was her first parade on horseback, and this was also a first-time experience for Tough as well. See Parade, Page A14 Livestock auction brings in $25,000 more than last year volunteers, and local officials, vowed to hold something for the community and especially 4-H and FFA youth, said the The Grant County Fairgrounds sat eerily fair is one of the few social events that silent during the fair this year, as the do not divide the residents along amusement park rides, food ven- political or any other socio- economic lines. dors, demolition derby and That sentiment, headline concert act long asso- ciated with the traditional ahead of the team expo were conspicuously branding competi- tion, was captured absent amid the COVID-19 by the event’s pandemic. emcee: “Today, The few activities the fair for the next cou- board and staff were able to sal- ple of hours, we are vage — the youth livestock The Eagle/Steven Mitchell going to forget about auction, team branding and dog trials — did what the lon- Tim and Laura Brown of everything else going gest-running fair has always Treavan Boer Goats bid on on in the world.” done: It brought the commu- an animal Saturday. Fair board member nity together. Courtney Montague, in her “The fair has always brought everyone second year, said as a kid growing up in Union together,” Grant County Fair Manager Mindy County, she looked forward to the county fair Winegar said. See Fair, Page A14 Winegar, who, along with the fair board, By Steven Mitchell Blue Mountain Eagle The Eagle/Rudy Diaz A Grant County Fair parade participant walks on stilts.