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
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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 %