A14
NEWS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Graduation
Continued from Page A1
email to the newspaper. “I think there
is a way to fi gure this out, but I think it
needs to be a collaborative eff ort at each
school district.”
Robert Waltenburg, superintendent
of the Grant County Education Ser-
vice District, said asking how to make
essential skills requirements tests
more equitable is a “loaded question.”
Essential skills, Waltenburg said,
demand a diff erent level of commit-
ment from every student.
Waltenburg said the conversation
“skirted around” the level of com-
mitment necessary for students when
it comes to how well they test. But,
he said, regardless of the graduation
requirements, barriers to education
need to be part of the discussion.
Waltenburg rattled off several
common barriers such as food inse-
curity, lack of access to broadband
internet service and limited access to
preschool.
For those reasons, Waltenburg
said, asking how to make require-
ments more equitable for all students
can lead the conversation down a “rab-
bit hole.”
“The challenge for the Legisla-
ture and ODE is to fi nd that sweet spot
of where we can say (essential skills
requirements) fi t 90% of our kids,”
Waltenburg said. “And oh, by the way,
the other 10%? This is how we’re
going to address you.”
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant Union High School teacher Andy Lusco walks his students through the
judicial branch of the U.S. government on Wednesday, March 2, 2022.
Measuring profi ciency
Waltenburg said whatever ave-
nue works best for the student is how
schools could get better at making sure
students can read, write and do math.
“Some kids perform well on tests
where others are able to show knowl-
edge and skills in other, less traditional
ways,” Waltenburg said.
With the diff erences among students
in the Monument district, Thomas said,
educators are expected to — and need
to — teach in a variety of ways to meet
varying needs.
“Those students need to have the
same opportunities to show us what
they’ve learned in varying ways,”
Thomas said.
Chris Carlin, a parent of students in
the Monument School District, said one
student might struggle to turn in home-
Masks
Continued from Page A1
Grant School District Superintendent
Bret Uptmor says standard mitigation
practices will remain in place despite the
mask requirement being lifted.
“Temperature checks, maintaining dis-
tance, air purifi ers in classrooms and san-
itation practices are among the mitigation
practices that will remain,” he said.
Uptmor also says the school will test
kids who show indications of having con-
tracting COVID, with the permission of a
parent.
“The Grant School District is still
encouraging parents to keep their children
home if they are sick,” Uptmor added.
The Oregon Heath Authority recom-
mends that unvaccinated and high-risk
individuals continue to wear masks, but
local school districts aren’t suggesting any
actions for unvaccinated staff and faculty,
again stressing that COVID checks and
precautions would remain in place.
work assignments and might not partic-
ipate in class very much, but then turn
around and pass a standardized test.
However, another student that “aces
everything” in the classroom could
freeze up when put in front of the same
assessment.
“You have diff erent personalities,”
he said. “And you can’t judge every-
body on a one-and-done test and call it
good,” Carlin said.
What skills are essential?
The group homed in on what skills
a student should have on board in order
to be a productive member of society.
In recent years, “service learning”
has become part of the curriculum in
Oregon schools, and academic studies
seem to support its value.
Researchers from the University of
Prairie City School District Superin-
tendent Casey Hallgarth said he is glad
to have decisions regarding masking in
schools made at the local level.
“Masks are optional, and nobody is
gong to be shamed for wearing or not
wearing their mask,” Hallgarth stated.
Like Uptmor, Hallgarth says the same
COVID precautions that existed before the
end of the mandate will still apply.
“All of the little things we do (to com-
bat COVID) make a big diff erence,” said
Hallgarth.
Like schools in the Grant district, Prai-
rie City schools will work with local heath
authorities in the event of COVID spikes
or outbreaks to determine the best course
of action in those scenarios.
“They’re the experts,” Hallgarth noted.
Long Creek School District School
Board Chair Marsie Watson echoed what
Grant County superintendents have said,
saying the Long Creek district will fol-
low the guidance of local health authorities
regarding masking and COVID protocols.
Monument School District Superin-
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Texas’ Population Research Center, for
instance, warn about the social cost that
comes with a collective lack of civic
engagement in a study on the decline in
civic groups.
“There is a lot of evidence that our
democracy is based on having citi-
zens connected with one another,” said
Pamela Paxton, a sociology professor
with the university. “When we con-
nect with one another in associations
we learn that our self interest is actu-
ally connected to the interests of others.
That gives us a conception of the pub-
lic good, common identity, and sense of
common responsibility as a nation and
as citizens. Any decline in that schol-
ars see as potentially detrimental to
democracy.”
But not everyone agrees what role
schools should play in addressing that
issue.
For his part, Waltenburg expressed
some concern about a shift away from
a basic “in-the-box” education about
what it means to be a good and pro-
ductive member of a community.
While students must do a senior
project or perform community ser-
vice activities to earn credits toward
a diploma, he said, the data does not
bear out that graduates are using those
skills out in the world. For instance, he
noted, membership in service organi-
zations such as the Elks and Kiwanis
clubs is down nationally.
“The statistics don’t support that
what we’re doing translates into a life-
long service attitude,” Waltenburg
said.
tendent Laura Thomas says she received
the Oregon Department of Educa-
tion’s updated guidance, which leaves
masking up to local offi cials and health
professionals.
“I will continue to work with the Grant
County Health Department to do what is
best for our students, staff , families and
community,” Thomas said.
The lifting of the mask mandate has
also sparked discussion about contingency
plans in the event of a spike in cases.
“A spike in cases will trigger conversa-
tions between health experts and schools
regarding mitigation eff orts,” Uptmor said.
Those eff orts could include temporarily
requiring masks again and closing build-
ings if need be.
As of Wednesday, March 2, there were
424 people hospitalized with COVID in
Oregon, with 71 of those in intensive care,
and two Grant County residents were hos-
pitalized due to COVID. COVID-19 has
claimed more than 6,000 lives in Oregon,
including 18 in Grant County, since the
start of the pandemic in early 2020.
While he said he could not pinpoint
why that was the case, he said it was
important to focus on basic academic
skills, including reading, writing and
math, along with an emphasis on civics
centered around teaching students how
to be a contributing, productive mem-
ber of society.
Like Hallgarth, Grant School Dis-
trict Superintendent Bret Uptmor did
not take part in the listening session
but spoke to the Eagle in an inter-
view. He said getting kids in situa-
tions where they are out in the com-
munity working with others to gain
experiences that would likely occur
in a workplace is critical to their over-
all success in the real world.
“Just because you have the apti-
tude for reading, writing and math
and so forth does not mean that when
you get out on the job you have the
personal skills to work with people in
the community.”
Uptmor said that those learning
opportunities are a critical piece of a
student’s education.
For Hallgarth, educators need to
fi rst build relationships with their stu-
dents. The relationship, he continued,
teaches the students that teachers,
school staff and the community want
them to succeed.
“I know school is to teach them
about reading, writing and arithmetic,
but the school off ers so much more
for the students to learn, i.e., perse-
verance, how to deal with winning
and losing, manners, and what a pro-
ductive citizen looks like.”
Vodka
Continued from Page A1
Russia and aren’t subject to the ban, according to the
OLCC press release. Stoli Group, the distillery that
makes Stolichnaya in Latvia, off ered up a statement on
its website that said “Stoli Group has had a long his-
tory of fi ghting oppression from the Russian regime,”
and condemned the Russian military actions in Ukraine.
Stoli is produced in Latvia, while Smirnoff is produced
in Illinois.
The move to ban Russian vodkas can be seen as
largely symbolic as very few Russian vodkas are
imported to the United States. A small number of bars
have gone viral online for pouring out Stoli brand vod-
kas, despite the vodka being produced in Latvia, a
NATO member country.
A list of the vodka brands that have been pulled from
the shelves can be found on the OLCC website.
But even if the OLCC didn’t outright ban the sale
of Russian vodka, O’Dell said it would be something
he personally would have liked to see pulled from store
shelves.
“I would be advocating to do it,” O’Dell said. “Me,
the person, would be advocating to do it.”
American Standard
Sinks & Toilets,
Delta Faucets
Brandford White,
Water Heaters
245 N. Canyon Blvd., Canyon City
541-575-2144 • Mon.-Fri. 8am-4:30pm
• etc •
A uniquie boutique featuring local arti-
sans from Grant County
Hello Grant County,
Well, Sunday we set our clocks forward one hour. Spring is on the way! I’m
ready for it, how about you?
133 W. Main, John Day, OR
541-620-2638 • etc.handmade@yahoo.com
There are some fun and exciting things happening around Grant County in
the next few weeks.
The Snowmobile race scheduled for Sumpter this coming Saturday, March
12th has been moved to Bear Valley at the Haberly Ranch. Follow Hwy 395
out of John Day south and look for the signs. For more information con-
tact Bill Sproul. This will be a Saturday race only.
The Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site and the Ranch and Rodeo Muse-
um will be open for Spring Break Monday – Friday, March 21-25. They will
open for the main season May 1st along with the Grant County Historical
Museum! It’s wonderful to have our museums opening again. They are
some of our most precious treasures!
The John Day Spring Fling will be held on Friday, March 25th in John Day.
This will be a street fair with vendors. For more information contact Zach
Denney, the Oregon Rain Venture Catalyst – 541-589-5565.
The annual Spring Genealogy Workshop will be Thursday, March 31st at
the OSU Grant County Extension Conference Room. Call 541-575-1431 or
541-620-4053 for more information.
www.dukewarnerrealtyofeasternoregon.com
Lori Hickerson
Sally Knowles
Babette Larson
Principal Broker, GRI
Office: 541-575-2617
Broker, GRI
Office: 541-932-4493
Broker, GRI
Office: 541-987-2363
The Lake Creek Camp Gala will be held at the Grant County Fairgrounds
on April 2nd.
The Seventh Annual Bunny Hop 5K will be held April 16th in Dayville.
PIONEER FEED &
FARM SUPPLY
60561 HWY 26,
John Day, Oregon 97845
541-575-0023
Plans are coming together nicely for the Grape & Grain event we are plan-
ning for May 13th. We plan to have craft beer and wine vendors as well as
some food, art and specialty items. We will also have entertainment so, save
the date! It will be a fun evening!
It’s hard to believe that some people say there is nothing to do here!
The March meeting of the Chamber Board of Directors will be Thursday,
March 17th at 10:30 am at the Chamber office.
Take care and stay well!
Tammy Bremner
Executive Director
S278181-1