A14
NEWS
Blue Mountain Eagle
School
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those kinds of criteria.”
Uptmor said parents also
have that option of comprehen-
sive distance learning.
“Your only option isn’t
on-site. You can come talk to us
about our two online options,”
Uptmor said.
The online options are
through Edgenuity, a stand
alone program at home, or
Baker Web Academy, a vir-
tual school program in partner-
ship with Baker School District.
Online Programs will start on
Aug. 31, while on-site teaching
will start on Sept. 8 to accom-
modate for the updates in the
recent guidelines from the state.
At Prairie City High School,
Superinten-
dent Casey
Hallgarth
said school
will be in ses-
sion on-site
and online
Laura
on
Aug. 31. He
Thomas
said the Prairie
City School District will be pur-
chasing all the school supplies
for students for the upcoming
school year.
“These are tough times, and
we don’t want our parents to
worry because school supplies
can cost quite a bit,” Hallgarth
said. “Our biggest concern is
the students coming back, and
they don’t need to worry about
having a notebook, pencil,
paper. We want parents to have
a sense of relief.”
Prairie City will have two
cohorts in the grade school,
which will be kindergarten
through second grade and third
grade through sixth grade. The
next cohort will be seventh and
eighth grade, and the last will be
ninth through 12th grade.
He said another big differ-
ence will be social distanc-
ing and making sure kids have
masks on.
“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,”
Hallgarth said.
Prairie City is pairing with
Pearson Online and Blended
Learning Program to provide
their online courses.
Dayville
Superintendent
Kathryn Hedrick said, because
of Dayville’s small enrollment
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
of less than 75 students in kin-
dergarten through 12th grade,
they are allowed to open for
on-site instruction Sept. 8.
Hedrick said the school dis-
trict is mindful that some fam-
ilies are reluctant to send their
students because of the face
covering mandate or possible
exposure, but those families
can work with the district for an
alternative education program
that works for them and fulfills
ODE guidelines.
“Part of the willingness
for us to run two platforms,
in-school and distance learning,
(is) if we did experience an out-
break we would have to pivot to
distance learning on a moment’s
notice,” Hedrick said.
Hedrick said Dayville will
have all the appropriate preven-
tion measures needed, such as
face coverings, hand washing
stations, cohorts, protocols for
screening and appropriate pro-
tocols for response.
Long Creek plans to pro-
vide an online option for stu-
dents and will announce final
plans Aug. 19. School begins
Aug. 24.
Monument Superintendent
Laura Thomas said they will
have on-site and online options
for school, which starts Aug. 24.
“While this school year will
look like one we have never
seen, it will be great,” Thomas
said. “Students and staff are
able to be on-site for instruc-
tion, and that is something to be
excited about.”
If an outbreak does occur
during the school year, educa-
tors in Grant County are train-
ing with the online programs
their school district uses to
make the transition smoother
than when distance learning
first occurred in March.
“This has been a very try-
ing time for our community,
and the things we are starting
our schools out with are going
to be successful,” Uptmor said
about his district. “Things that
we’re going to be missing that
are traditionally there are going
to be disappointing ... but we
hope that at some time we can
find a way to reconnect families
to our school in a more personal
manner.”
Hallgarth said he hopes
parents can be understanding
because it will take time to get
used to these adjustments. He
said the school district is doing
its best to be in compliance
with state rules.
The Eagle/Rudy Diaz
Rodeo court members prepare for the parade at Grant Union High school.
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
Ellie Justice bumps fists with FFA adviser and ag shop teacher Wayne Suchorski Saturday at the Youth
Livestock Auction. Justice won the Delly Officer Memorial Award for courtesy and sportsmanship.
Parade
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Fair
“I was so excited when
we got to come because we
didn’t have any parade on
our schedule, and when we
found out about this we said,
‘We have to go,’” Grove said.
“We got to go all out, and the
horses looked great.”
Grove and the two other
girls who rode with her,
princess Kadence Parsons,
16, and princess Brook Par-
sons, 13, said they were
pleased with how the event
turned out and were appre-
ciative of the kindness
shown from the people in
the community.
Aaliyah Marciel, 13, and
Shayna Marciel, 12, who
also participated in the parade
Continued from Page A1
Rule
Continued from Page A1
King Williams, a consul-
tant with Iron Triangle Log-
ging, said forest managers
should use the best avail-
able science when work-
ing toward the goal of main-
taining old and large trees
that have visual character-
istics that suggest an age
of 150 years. He said the
The Eagle/Rudy Diaz
Members of the Chester’s Thriftway float toss out Frisbees to
spectators.
on horseback, were happy to
be a part of the event to show
people that, even with a pan-
demic, a parade can still hap-
pen and people can have fun.
“My favorite part was
going around town and show-
ing people that Grant County
is so great,” Aaliyah Mar-
ciel said. “Even with the pan-
demic going on and it affect-
ing the fair, it’s nice that we
can still have a parade and
have fun.”
Malheur National Forest
has been doing so through
project-specific forest plan
amendments.
“I would support chang-
ing from a standard to a
guideline,” he said, but added
the proposal in his opinion
appears to be “ambiguous”
and could be contentious.
He said a big problem in
the past has been a lack of
trust in forest managers. He
said the Blue Mountains For-
est Partners forest collabo-
rative — comprised of log-
gers, environmentalists and
Forest Service personnel —
has been working to build
that trust.
“I think they need to be
more bold,” he said.
Grant County Commis-
sioner Sam Palmer said
many of the trees that log-
gers are prohibited from cut-
ting are diseased, and he
supports the proposal.
every year.
“It was always the high-
light of the year for me,” she
said.
She said the social set-
ting, with kids in 4-H and FFA
showing their livestock and
static projects and the support
from the community, make the
fair and those involved in its
planning each year a second
family for many.
Montague, who has two
kids, 4 and 5 years old, said
after moving to Grant County
a little over two years ago, she
started attending fair board
meetings and “threw her name
in the hat” when a seat on the
board opened up.
Montague, who kept track
of the number of people com-
ing in to make sure the outdoor
arena did not exceed Gov.
Kate Brown’s cap of 250 peo-
ple at large outdoor venues,
said people were grateful the
county had something for the
community.
Throughout fair week, fair
organizers were able to host
a series of safe and socially
distanced events for 4-H and
FFA youth, which culmi-
nated Saturday with the Grant
County Youth Livestock
Auction.
The socially distanced
event kicked off with a tri-
tip dinner and, because alco-
hol was served, was closed to
youth.
Grant County Auction
Committee Treasurer Shan-
non Springer said buyers par-
ticipated both virtually and in
person.
“A lot of new stuff came
“IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO
MAKE SURE THE KIDS HAD AN OUTLET
FOR THESE ANIMALS THAT THEY’VE
WORKED WITH AND SPENT SO MUCH
MONEY ON THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.”
—Shannon Springer, Grant County Auction Committee treasurer
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
Carson McKay of Prairie City calls out a bid Saturday at the Youth
Livestock Auction at the Grant County Fair.
up that we are not accustomed
to dealing with,” she said.
However, she said, the
auction raised more money
than it did in previous years.
While Springer said she did
not know the exact amount,
she said the auction took in
more than it sold.
“We raised a lot of money,”
she said. “I mean we brought
in a lot of money for the kids.”
She said the auction net-
ted upwards of $300,000, sur-
passing last year’s amount by
roughly $25,000.
It is a given, she said, that
the county shows up to sup-
port 4H and FFA youth.
“This community is
always phenomenally gener-
ous,” she said.
She said the auction com-
mittee was concerned there
would not be enough avail-
able buyers because of the
number of businesses that
closed down and that those
buyers who typically turn out
to purchase livestock at the
auction would not be able to
this year.
“We’re pretty happy with
this, but everybody was wor-
ried about this on the auc-
tion committee,” she said.
“It’s really important for us
to make sure the kids had
an outlet for these animals
that they’ve worked with
and spent so much money on
throughout the year.”
SILVIES SUNDAY SLAM
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Fun Golf Every Sunday Afternoon
Starts at Noon w/Free Hot Dogs
Everyone Welcome- Limited to first 30 Teams
Free Green Fees with Your 1st Slam
- 20% off fees for County Residents thereafter
Two-Person Teams
Payouts to the Top 3 Teams each week
Optional Skins Buy-In
Optional Stay for Dinner at $45.
Begins Sunday, August 23rd at 12:00PM
Call to Reserve your Spot!
Phone: (541) 413-2216
For more information contact:
Lacy Avera
Email: lacy.avera@silvies.us
S165194-1
S203630-1