Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2006)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 15,2006 - SEVEN School board reinstates Heppner High School vo-ag continued from page one students who receive free and reduced lunches, are non-English speakers, are p h y sica lly or m entally h a n d ica p p e d and o th e r factors. U nder the new program , the vo-ag position would be only half time initially, which would enable the teacher to teach other needed subjects. One such subject mentioned was co lle g e and c a re e r counseling, although those additional subjects have not yet been d e term in e d . Students have been surveyed as to th e ir in te re st in leadership classes, beginning and advanced shop classes, veterinary medicine classes, ag I, horticulture, natural resources, international ag, wildlife management and ag business. According to data released by Daye Stone, HHS principal, of 151 high school students polled, 84 indicated their interest in one or more classes; of 76 junior high students 29 expressed interest. Board members said that additional offerings could only benefit HHS stu d en ts and m ay help reduce the large number of work-study classes the kids are o p tin g to take over electives. A lthough the vote w as un an im o u s, board member Nancy Vander Does at first spoke against the program and her husband, V ictor V ander D oes, M orrow C ounty H ealth District CEO and a member of the audience, advised the board against funding a vo- ag program, stating that he felt district monies would be far better spent for science and technology. “Is this truly any more an agricultural community,” asked Vander D oes. He added that ev ery th in g in the vo-ag classes can be taught in the science classes. “It's about science,” he said. “It’s all about science. T his is a w orld o f scien ce and technology.” Board Chair Craig Miles, a farmer, later responded by pointing out that science and technology are c o rn e rsto n e to the m odern vo-ag program . “I ’m trying to understand l^ ' s c o n c e Pt if we a^d a n o th er p ro g ram , we re go in g to hurt k id s ,” commented Miles. Area rancher Mike M ahoney, w hose wife is chief financial officer for M C H D , also opposed reinstating the ag program, saying that he felt the program was not beneficial to him whatsoever in college or in his career. He said however, that he approved of the FFA program. Board member Barney Lindsay, a local farmer and former ag teacher, countered Mahoney, saying that he was involved in the same program and it benefited him greatly. M arcia K em p, a former sch<x>l board member whose daughters were active in vo-ag at HHS, said that public speaking and other aspects of the HHS program and FFA benefited them throughout college and into their careers. She said that asp e c ts o f the program inspired one daughter to build a career in ag and the other to become a teacher. Heppner Elementary School teacher Sue Gibbs said that she supports the vo- ag program. “1 went through four years of FFA and it was the turning point in my life,” she said, adding that the parliam entary procedure asp ect o f the club was especially beneficial. Stone, who has been researching the issue and polling students, told the board that the success of the program depended greatly on the teacher recruited for the position. The board gave its approval with the stipulation that the new program be strictly supervised. Also at the meeting, the board, voting against a re q u e st by the superintendent to delay the opening of school until after Labor Day, approved option C for the 2006-07 school calendar. This option calls for a pre-Labor Day start with teachers beginning on A ugust 21, stu d en ts beginning on August 28, two-plus weeks at Christmas with school resum ing on January 8, students ending on June 6 and te ac h e rs ending on June 8. Burrow's asked for a post-Labor Day start so the district would have sufficient time for new teacher training and staff in- serv ice , w hile still accommodating the Morrow C ounty F a ir w hich is scheduled to be held in mid- August. The option favored by Burrows called for a post- L abor Day sta rt, w ith teachers beginning August 28, stu d en ts b eg in n in g S ep tem b er 5, tw o -p lu s weeks at C hristm as with school resuming January 8, students ending on June 13 and teachers ending on June 15. The board generally maintained that a mid-June ending date was too late for families. A majority of staff also favored option C. The district strives to have as long a Christmas break as p o ssib le in o rd e r to acco m m o d ate many Hispanic families who leave the area during this time for an ex ten d ed vacation to Mexico or to southern U.S. destinations. In other business, the board: -approved meeting d ate ch an g es fo r the C om m u n ity E d u catio n C o m m ittees. Each committee will meet once a m onth in O ctober, N ovem ber, D ecem ber, February, March and May. The September, January and April meetings will be joint meetings of all the CECs. The September meeting will be an organizational and training meeting. The board may request additional joint meetings. - a p p r o v e d re sig n a tio n s for: Sara Burroughs from her position as an Irrigon High School sp ecial ed o n e-o n -o n e assistant; Jake Lem m on, R iv ersid e H igh School h ealth te ac h e r; G igi Lemmon, Sam Boardman Elementary School fourth- grade te ac h e r; B ritn ie W inters, W indy R iver Elementary School sixth- grade te ac h e r; W illiam Coltrin, Irrigon High School vo-ag teacher; James Keyes, Irrigon Elementary School AIR LIFE OF O R E G O N MEMBERSHIP He's the backbone of your business. You know what a good worker is worth. And that's worth a lot. Take care of him and his family with an Air Life of Oregon Business Membership. For only $45 per worker annually, a Business Membership p ro tects a g a in st o u t-o f-p o cket expenses in the event of emergent air transport. With flight charges ranging from $6,000 to $16,000, the savings can be significant. Illn ess. In ju ry. Accident. A ir Life o f Oregon is there when you need us. Be there for your employees. Sign up today. 1-800-353-0497 or www.airlife.org six th -grad e teach er; and Bobby Rice, Heppner High School/Heppner Elementary School music teacher. - a p p r o v e d em ploym ent for: M elissa Coiner, Heppner Elementary School special ed teacher for the 2006-07 school year. -approved an extra duty contract for Michelle Kinley, Irrigon Junior High School head track coach. -ap p ro v ed the second reading and adopted the d istric t w elln ess program. -ap p ro v ed the adoption of the district’s fine art textbooks. -heard the following a n n o u n cem en ts: Irrigon CEC meeting, IES, March 15, 7 p.m.; Heppner CEC meeting, March 20, 7 p.m.; Boardman CEC m eeting, WRE, March 2 1 .7 p.m .; B oard w ork sessio n , if needed, March 23; spring break, March 27-31; next board meeting, Irrigon High School, April 10, 7 p.m.; O regon School B oards Regional meeting, BMCC Student Union. May I, 6 p.m. Ballard announces for DA continued from page one St. Patrick’s Day Grand Marshal continued from page I Teresa Monahan Hoffman, is an Oregon City resident. w ith the victims of domestic D orn’s early violence. "W e’re trying to years w ere spent on the provide additional support to Monahan ranch which has provide all the help we can long since been submerged for the victim s. It’s very under the Willow Lake. His difficult for victims to come family moved to Heppner in in and face their abusers in the summer of 1949 into the court,” she said. house lo cated at 420 S. Ballard says she had Chase. That house remains enjoyed developing a good in the Monahan family. re la tio n sh ip w ith the After graduating Morrow County Sheriff’s from Heppner High School Office, the Boardman Police in 1956, Dom attended and Department, the Department graduated cum laude from o f H um an S erv ices and the University of Portland Morrow County Behavioral with an ROTC commission Health. in the U nited S tates A ir O f Irish d escen t, Force. His first assignment B allard adds that she is was as squadron commander looking forward to the St. o f the U SA F F ig h ter P a tric k 's C eleb ratio n in Weapons School at Ellis Air Heppner this weekend. F orce Base. He freely B allard w ill face adm its his title vastly Valerie Doherty, Lexington, exceeded his responsibilities. and John B allard, After all. he was only a 2'ul Hermiston, in a three-way lieutenant. After his military race in the primary election serv ice he m oved to May 16. If one o f the Washington. D.C., to attend candidates w ins by a clear 50 law school. He graduated in percent-plus-one vote, he or 1968 from Georgetown Law she will win the election. If School and spent a year as a there is no 50 percent-plus clerk for a federal judge. He win. the top two candidates We Print then joined the law firm of will go on to the general Dow, Lohnes & Albertson Computer Forms e lec tio n sch ed u led for and began a career as a Heppner Gazette November 7. corporate/communications attorney. Dom attributes his long stay in W ashington, D .C ., to a m ild case o f “Potom ac fev er", w hich took a long tim e to overcome. W'hile in Washington, D.C., Dom met and married Judith Baron. Judy was a math major from Buffalo, New York, and an early entrant into the field of c o m p u ter technology. Together they raised five ch ild ren : M ich ael, an atto rn ey liv in g in New Orleans (and soon to move to Chicago); Patricia Amy Monahan Reischauer, also an attorney who resides in S e a ttle , W ashington; Christopher, a recent Peace Corps graduate and now a law stu d en t in S ea ttle ; Matthew, a legal assistant in ri fs n i \ /: \ t v r v u y '. u t c d S e a ttle ; and M elissa Suzanne, a senior at the » •O p en Ami Honr«<lv Wrôw* .louriul U n iv ersity o f O regon, Abou« « W oèun* Scrufglr To majoring in Political Science, and in danger of enrolling in tin t Pimi Ht netfind At» It« law school. In the summer o f 1993. Dom and Judy CHERYLE A N N RIETMANN returned to Oregon locating to Eugene where he joined Cheryle ‘Shelly* Kictmann and her daughter Ola the firm of Luvaas Cobb. One of Morrow County's own has written a book Dorn’s wife Judy passed about the international adoption of her daughter, which away in April, 2004. He evolved into a story about life's journeys. continues to practice law Cheryle Ann “Shelly” Rietmann, who grew upon a with the firm in Eugene, ranch near Heppner and now lives on a ranch near lone sp ec ia liz in g in with her husband, Gregg, sons. Tanner, 12. Evan. 11. and communications law. adopted daughter. Ola. almost three, wrote “Finding Myself. Over the years Finding My Daughter,” which has been published. Dom has remained in regular Rietmann said that the book began as journal of touch with his hometown, her experiences with the adoption process. “That journal w ith freq u en t v isits to expanded into something more,” said Rietmann. “It became Heppner. Even while living more of a memoir. I had always wanted to adopt and I in W ashington. D .C., he found parallels in my search to find her and my search to made it a point to regularly find myself. It's a story about our trip to the Ukraine and attend St. P a tric k 's Day going through an international adoption, finding each other, celebrations after his cousin. love and family, all interconnected.” Jimmy Farley, restarted the Her book is now available for $14.95 at Murray celebration in the 1980’s. Drugs in Heppner. Sunflower Junction in lone and on Dom has a deep interest in Amazon.com. Rietmann w ill be available for a book signing histo ry , p a rtic u la rly the during the St. Patrick's celebration this Friday, March 17. h isto ry o f H eppner and during the wine tasting at Murray s from 5-7 p.m. Morrow County. He takes a special pride in his Irish ancestry, having made three trips to the old country in the last six years and expects to make several more. Dom is activ e in a v ariety o f interests, serving on the \r> * boards of the Oregon Bach Festival; St. John Bosco 11-month H ouse; the Chi Rho Certificate o f Deposit Symposium, and the Oregon Association of Broadcaster's F o u n d atio n . He co o k s, Bank of reads, collects a little art. and Eastern Oregon spends entirely too much M em b er EPIC time in his role as a part-time * \ P \ I \n n u a l P ercentage $ ielHi. M inim um o p e ning deposit a n d balance to re c e b e disclosed stone mason, an interest he AP\ h O ffer good J a n tia rs 1?. 200«. th ro u g h Xpril I. 2006 P r n a h \ for earfx claims to have inherited from withdrawal. ( anno! lie com bined with an» o th er offer his g ra n d fa th e r, Frank Book on adoption, life’s journeys written by local woman FIN DIN G MYSELF, 4 . 00 %
