Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 2006)
Heppner Gazette-Times. Heppner. Oregon Wednesday. October 18.2006 - THREE lone School Board hears weight room proposal Plans were to locate the weight room as near as possible to the gym and locker rooms and have the facility open to the public. One site suggested was over the district’s wading pool (which was officially closed at the m eeting, due to deterioration) with storage included and b leach ers attached. Board member Joe M cE lligott stressed that because o f fin an cial constraints, district funding of the weight room was not possible and academics will take p re c ed e n ce , but indicated board support of the idea. Board m em ber John Rietinann said that the club should present a plan to the buildings and grounds com m ittee, which would ultim ately be subject to board approval. In other business, at a board workshop prior to the re g u la r m eeting, S u p erin ten d en t Bryn Browning gave the board a “heads up” concerning a possible lawsuit by a Eugene man, which would prohibit funding of extracurricular a c tiv itie s th ro u g h the M orrow C ounty U nified R ecreatio n D istrict. B row ning said that the possible suit was primarily directed against the Morrow C ounty School D istrict, which has a much more ex p an siv e c o -c u rric u la r program and did not believe the lone School D istrict w ould be targ eted . Browning said that the man th reaten in g the law suit m aintained that extracurricular activities should be funded through the school district. Browning said that the school may have to keep more extensive data concerning participation and attendance at those events. Also at the meeting the board: -le a rn e d that the s c h o o l’s rep o rt card indicated an overall "strong” rating and the district was up “a few points from last year.” “ I ’m very sa tisfie d and happy,” said Browning. “1 think w e ’re m aking a difference all around for all kids.” Browning said she expects the district to do even better next year. -le a rn e d that enrollment as of Oct. 16 was 149 stu d e n ts-1 6 in kindergarten through grade five; 38 in grades six through eight; and 51 in grades nine through 12. -le a rn e d that the school’s walkie-talkie radios were insufficient and four to five new h ig h er q u ality radios will be purchased which can be incorporated into the school’s “lockdown” procedures and used in the event the office does not have a phone or personnel to initiate a lockdown event. -new double doors have arrived to replace those damaged earlier and will be installed by Mark Bruno; the k itch en w alk -in co o ler co n tro l unit has been replaced with a cost estimate of $1,500; a new popcorn machine has been purchased and wired in the cafeteria; and a new sander has been installed in the shop. -the shop class has received a joint grant from the lone E d ucation F o u n d atio n and Jordan E lev a to r C om pany to purchase shop tools. -the lone Education Foundation has awarded a grant to the school for $3500 to fund the C A M P 5 program on Fridays. The program o ffers “ fun, educational and interesting” activities for students in kindergarten through 12'h grade on F rid ay s w hen ' H Ì school is not in session. -receiv ed O regon Department of Education approval for the district’s Title I-A budget as follows: $9261 for an instructional aide to provide targeted in stru ctio n to targ eted stu d en ts; $4200 fo r a sum m er school te a c h e r’s salary for targeted students; $350 as a set-asid e for hom eless stu d en ts as required by state; and $2621 for an instructional aide for targeted instruction. -heard a report from teacher Jim Raible on the dire situation concerning the state's student assessment req u irem en ts versus the federal requirements. Raible said the federal officials say that the O regon testin g standards are not sufficient and the system m ust be overhauled immediately to be b rought in line w ith federal re q u ire m e n ts. According to Raible, federal officials told the Oregon Department of Education that there will be no more targ etin g dow n, w hich w ould affect special e d u catio n stu d en ts who were previously tested at a low er lev el; no m ore targeting up for advanced students, who must now be tested at their own grade levels; other modifications do not count and there will be no m ore ju rie d assessments. Currently, most Oregon schools that receive acceptable scores by Oregon stan d ard s do not m eet stric te r fed eral c rite ria . However, the state has not yet determined new testing c rite ria and it may take m onths to do so. In the m ean tim e, sch o o ls and students are in limbo until new stan d a rd s can be established and standards will be retroactive. He also said that previous passing JNUtti \ Real Solutions for Today’s Problems Greg has returned to Oregon over 280 limes to stay in close touch with residents and work on their concerns. As Chair of the Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee, he authored bipartisan legislation to allow forest managers to remove burned dead trees more quickly after a for est lire. This will get new trees and vegetation growing sooner to stop erosion and restore habitat faster Thanks to Greg's leadership, the bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year. A Small business owner working to create jobs: After 20 years as a small business owner, Greg knows the challenges rural communities face in creating jobs. That’s why he's supported incentives to revitalize the economy, stood up for Oregon resource-based jobs, and strongly advocated for fanners and ranchers throughout eastern, central, and southern Oregon. A father and husband who cares about quality education: As the parents of a 16-year-old in an Oregon public school. Greg and his wife understand the importance of providing our children the best education possible. “Returning borne to Oregon test results cannot be used. -ap p ro v ed jo in t a th le tic p ro g ram s w ith Heppner High School for golf, baseball and softball and with A rlington High School for tennis. -ap p ro v ed the second reading and adopted a policy on personnel. -ap p ro v ed the second reading and adopted p o lic ie s on w e lln ess, nutrition and food services and h ealth e d u catio n to enable the district to receive free and red u ced lunch funding. -passed resolutions opposing upcoming ballot m easures 48 and 41 and urging parents, students, s ta ff and co m m u n ity members to actively oppose these measures. A cco rd in g to an estimated impact statement, if Ballot Measure 48 (which institutes a population-plus- in flatio n c o n stitu tio n a l sp en d in g cap on m ost services funded by the state general fund) passes, the lone School District could lose up to $219,022 for the 2005-07 biennium and from $192,739-$438,044 for the 20 0 7 -0 9 biennium . According to the estimates, the state could lose up to $2.5 billion for 05-07 and between $2.2 billion to $4.9 billion for 07-09; the general fund would lose up to $1 billion for 05-07 and $880 million to $2 billion for 07- 09; the state school fund could lose $460 million for 05 -0 7 and from $404.8 million to $920 million for 07-09. A cco rd in g to the impact statement, if Ballot M easure 41 (a state tax break for most individuals by reducing the amount of gross incom e used to calculate taxes) passes, ISD could lose $178,503 for 07-09. The state general fund could lose $815 million and the state school fund could lose $374.9 million. -learn ed that h a n d ra ils for the gym bleachers were built by Dick Allen and Ron Haguewood, which brings the bleachers up to code. -h o n o red Joe McElligott with a plaque for his service as board chair from 2003-06. -toured the school shop, led by teacher Tom Shear, and viewed a garden shed built entirely by his students, including planter boxes, shelves, doors and even hinges. -heard a power-point presentation on a field trip by wildlife management and natural resources classes. At the work session held prior to the meeting, the board- -h eard from R obinson and Brow ning about reducing the amount of instructional time lost during basketball season for Tuesday contests. They said they will look into acquiring two additional referees for the five home contests so that both JV games can run at the same time and begin at the end of the school day. The Tuesday away contests will be only for the varsity teams, allowing the students to finish the school day before leaving. -looked at a proposal from Jim Swanson and Joel B arnett to replace aging valves in the pool chamber. The building committee of Joe McElligott and Gregg Rietmann will assist Barnett in replacing the valves which will be paid by the lone Pool a cc o u n t, m o n ito red by Swanson. -postponed action on the 2006-07 goals and bring revised detailed goals to the next meeting on Nov. 20 . -heard the following an n o u n cem en t: O regon School Board Association annual conference Nov. JO- 12, Portland; next board meeting, Monday, Nov. 20. County hands out $132,839 to local groups The Morrow County Court earlier this month aw arded over $132,000 of “tippage fee” money to local groups, organizations and governments. The money comes each year from fees received by the county for every ton of garbage dumped at the Finley Buttes Landfill. The county uses much of the money in the county budget, but awards a certain amount for projects throughout the county. Various groups submit applications each year for the money and a citizen’s group prioritizes the projects for the county court. Follow ing is a list of the projects and amounts selected this year. City of Lexington Alarm System for Current Well City of lone Sidewalk for Flood Control City of Irrigon SE Thirteenth Street and SE Idaho Ave City of Boardnian Four Basketball Courts at City Park Heppner Little League Softball Field Concessions Building Heppner Day Care & Preschool Curriculum Expansion & Program Improvements Including Supplies and Equipment Irrigon Community Park and Recreation District Irrigon Youth Sports Complex Boardman Community Development Association City Entrance Beautification Project Morrow County Sheriff's Office Dive/Rescue Team Inland Development Corporation Morrow County Telemedicine/Distance Learning Creative Care Preschool Equipment Willow Creek Valley Assisted Living Required Extension of Fore Protection Sprinklers Heppner Little League Minor Field Concessions Building City of Irrigon Relocation of Recycle Bins lone Community Agricultural and Business Organization lone Park Project North Morrow Community Foundation Boardman Historic Relocation Documentary Project Expansion Holly Rebekah/IOOF Upkeep and Remodel of IOOF Hall/Community Hall City of Irrigon High Way 730 Green Way Project City of Heppner Radios B u sin e ss o r P e rso n a l I IcppiKT Gazette-Times ii7G-f>22S nation's capital. I see fir s t WHEATLAND INSURANCE and u vrk closely with local INVITES YOU TO OUR OPEN HOUSE people to deliver results. With to u r support. I will continue to u vrk hard to protide real solutions fo r October 20, 2006 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. today's problems. Together u<e u ill m ake our state and our nation stronger and more secure ” Widhen FOR C O N G R E S S " " A Trusted and Proven Leader Real Solutions for Today 's Problems PAID FOR BY WALDEN FOR CONGRESS • PO BOX 1091 • HOOD RIVER, OR 97031 I V 14,000 16,000 12,500 5,000 4,911 13,000 8,500 6,500 8,800 1,000 2,100 5,000 7,200 2,800 1,528 5,000 10,000 2,000 W e Print LETTERHEAD nearly a e ry week fro m rmr hand the dxtllenges we fa ce $7,000 £ o in ub f o t t*ft*bhm *ntb a n d a to u t o f o u t now office. W * hop* to b** yo u th a t* / 294 N. Main Street • Heppner
