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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 17, 2010)
1111 • 11 ■■1111••I II•••1111 • I • • • 11 Bessie Wetzel I Newspaper l ibrar) University of Oregon Eugene. OR 97403 lone School superintendent resigns By April Sykes lone School Super intendent Karl Ostheller an nounced his resignation at the district’s Monday night meeting. Ostheller said that his resignation, received by the board on March 8 and effective June 30, would allow him to “look for a better fit.” He said he felt good about the accomplish- Ostheller resigns as lone superintendent/principal lone School Dis ward to pursuing positions trict Superintendent and closer to family,” Ostheller P rin c ip a l K arl said. “I appreciate Ostheller has an the time, friend nounced that he ships and memo- will resign his po ries I ’ve made sition, effective during my time June 30, 2010. in lone. I wish O sth ell- the District and e r ’s an n o u n ce its wonderful staff V,S ment will allow and students the the lone School best o f luck in Board to begin a Karl Ostheller their future en- new superinten deavors.” dent search imme Ostheller diately in hopes of having a has served as superinten new administrator hired by dent/principal of the lone July 1,2010. School District since July “I’m looking for 1,2008. “Mr. Ostheller has contributed to many suc cesses in our District dur ing his time in lone,” said School Board Chairman Joe McElligott. “These success es included balancing the budget during the economic crisis in education this past year and implementing a school-wide student behav ior program.” The School Board accepted Ostheller’s resig nation at its regular meeting on March 15, and is pre paring to begin the search process. Sunday program to discuss protecting agricultural water rights in Oregon A group dedicated to protecting agricultural water rights in Oregon will be holding a public meet ing Sunday, March 21, at 2 p.m. at Hep- pner H igh School. The program will be put on by Water for Life and is free and open to the public. The Helen Moore program will cover, among other things, what can be done to protect agriculture water rights in Oregon. The pro gram is being sponsored by the Willow Creek Tea Party Patriots. According to Water for Life’s web site “Water for Life was founded in 1990 by farmers and ranch ers in Oregon’s Klamath Basin to represent agricul tural water users’ concerns in legislative, legal and agency proceedings. As water issues and concerns began gaining more at tention, the organization undertook the creation of a pro-agriculture group with the single-m inded purpose of defending and prom oting ag ricu ltu ral water rights. Their vision was of an organization de voted specifically to agri cultural water issues and to approaching them from a producer perspective.” Helen Moore, executive director of Water for Life will put on the program on Oregon water law, the Integrated Water Resources Strategy, and potential leg islative issues for water users. The following prin cipals are also posted on \ the groups web site www. waterforlive.net: 1. Promote the pub lic interest through good stewardship of water resources for the production of food and fiber. 2. Support American irrigated agricul ture as beneficial to national security. 3. Protect agricultural water rights. 4. Protect and value w ater rig h ts as private property rights. 5. Oppose the taking of private property without just com pensation. 6. U phold the doc trine o f Prior Ap propriation. 7. Prom ote respon sible management of watersheds. 8. A c h ie v e q u a l ity results through consistent, honest forthrightness. 9. Respectfully listen to divergent opin io n s, but nev er com prom ise our principles. A lso from th e groups web site: “Water for Life fulfills our mission to prom ote agricultural water rights in a variety o f ways. Specifically, we conduct our work through: Advocacy: Water for Life acts as a watchdog for ag ricultural water users. We work closely with agricul tural producers and repre sent their interests during various agency meetings, hearings and workshops. We defend the public in terest in legal proceedings and lobby in opposition to policies or legislation that would adversely affect agri cultural water-right holders. Promotion: Water for Life sponsors and is integral in drafting legislation, admin istrative rules and policies that benefit and protect the interests o f agricul tural water right holders. Education: Water for Life seeks to educate the public and particularly the agri cultural community on the development of adminis trative rules, legislation and policy affecting water right holders. Our staff and directors participate in various meetings, proceed ings and events to inform people of the important role irrigated agriculture plays in the community and our economy as a whole. “Water for Life, Inc. is a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization that is funded by dedicated membership o f charitable corporate, individual and associate donations. Many, but not all, of our members hold ag ricultural water rights, and represent a w ide spectrum of commodity groups, includ ing beef cattle, dairy cattle, hay, nurseries, potatoes, cranberries, onions, wheat, sheep and others. Members receive our quarterly news letter and inform ational updates in addition to effec tive representation on water issues. Most importantly, our members are playing an active, integral role in pro tecting their water rights.” The Willow Creek Tea Par ty Patriots is a local non partisan group promoting freedom o f opportunity, fiscal responsibility, lim ited government and free enterprise. his tenure. (See additional story, page 1.) Board chair Joe M cElligott thanked O s theller for his service to the district and said that the dis trict would begin the search for a new administrator im mediately with the goal of having a new administrator on board on July 1. During the meet ing, the board agreed to base their budget on a con servative statewide school budget estimate o f $5.8 billion, which would net around $ 1,483,883 in 2011 state basic school support with an estimated student population o f 170 ADM (average daily member ship). Based on a conserva tive $5.8 billion state bud get, the district anticipates $6,559 per ADM, weighted with other factors. The district also set their 2009- 10 ending fund balance at $375,000. The board also ap proved receipt of an ARRA grant for more than $60,000 in federal stimulus money, to be used to provide new lighting for the school. The district had originally planned to retrofit the old school lighting as a part of their bond project, but the grant will enable the school to install new lighting in the classrooms and hallways. Also at the meeting the board reviewed a draft policy of a telecommuni- cations/electronic devices policy in anticipation of cell phone service possibly being established in lone by this summer. The policy spells out what is allowed during school hours and what is not in terms of cell phone and personal elec tronic devices. The district would prohibit the use o f such devices in the elementary school and require elemen tary students to remain in the students’ backpacks and be turned off during school hours or the student will face confiscation of the device. In that event, the device would be available for pickup at the office by the parent or guardian. In the middle and high school, students may have and use these devices, however, the devices may not be in sight or be oper ated during the students’ scheduled school hours. The devices may only be used before and after the regular school day and dur ing lunch period unless an emergency situation exists or an administrator autho rizes the student to use the device. However, a teacher may grant exceptions to the policy in his own class room “if use contributes to instructional and/or educa tional efforts.” Students who vio late the policy will be sub ject to “progressive disci plinary action.” In other business, the board: -heard a bond proj ect update from project manager Randy Hinrichsen of Willamette ESD. -re c e iv e d a f i nancial update from Beth O ’Hanlon, chief fiscal of ficer, who reported that in February the district collected the follow ing revenue: $121,609 in basic school support, $1,959 in property taxes, $4,549 in federal forest fees, $2,724 in the food service fund, prim arily in food sales, $5,000 from Willow Creek Park District for the pool fund, $3,250 for Read N Play, the Cardinal Booster Club, $977 in property taxes for the bond fund and $80,000 in insurance pro ceeds from the roof, which leaked during a storm and caused damage to the new gym floor. -accepted the res ignation o f janitor Craig Rea. -held an executive session to discuss the appeal of a student’s suspensions, negotiations and superin tendent’s evaluation. -scheduled a meet ing with the E ducation Foundation for April 8 at 6 a.m. in the school library. -received the fol lowing administrative re port: "“M arch’s student enrollment increased to 181 (174 average daily mem bership) with 82 students in kindergarten through grade five, 34 students in grades six-eight and 65 students in grades nine-12, an increase of one student in the high school from the previous month. *K-five students were allowed to put their handprints in the cement as it was poured for the front walk of the new elementary addition. The students’ ini tials were also placed above the handprint. *The horticulture class is on a field trip to the coast and the Spanish Club is to leave this weekend for their trip to Spain. * A science fair and elementary carnival were “a big success.” Snow not a damper for St. Pat’s Weekend Despite the snow,Vickie Lansford (right) and her daughter, Raelyn Lansford, take in St. Patrick's Celebration activities last Friday afternoon. More pictures from the St. Patrick's Celebration weekend can be found on Page FIVE. - Photo by April Sykes Felda enters justice of the peace race Terry Felda, 47, of government including: Mel lone has thrown her hat in vin Laird fellow for the U.S. the ring to run for Morrow Department of Transporta County Justice of tion in Washington, D.C.; assistant to the Peace. B orn and the aviation direc raised in Wisconsin, tor in Philadelphia, Felda spent around PA; and assistant to 20 years in Phila the township man ager in Abington, delphia, PA before moving to Oregon PA. She currently is serving as coun four years ago to Terrv Felda start a sheep dairy cil member for the farm. Her farm, Tin lone City Council. Willows Dairy is the second Felda says she is dairy to be licensed as a used to working multiple Grade A dairy in the state. full-time jobs. “I'm young," When she started the dairy said Felda. “I haven't even Felda had 40 ewes. She now begun to think about retire has 135 ewes. ment yet. I have years to Felda has an MA continue making a valuable degree in government ad contribution to this county ministration from the Uni as a justice, a farmer, and versity of Pennsylvania. She a taxpayer. Hard work and has worked in all levels of a lot of work don't scare me. “Interestingly, the law, by not requiring a law degree, upholds the tradi tion of common sense, not legalese for justices,” stated Felda. “Judge Gray did an excellent job combining common sense with statu tory requirements. I intend to follow in her footsteps.” “ 1 may not have been here a long time, but I moved here specifically to start a dairy,” said Felda. “Just because someone has lived in one area for a long time doesn’t mean they’ll make a great justice. 1 have chosen to be here. Wouldn't you rather vote for some one w ho chose to stay here and shares your common values, work ethic, and ideals?” Public education specialist to speak at chamber lunch meeting This week’s chamber lunch meeting will be held at City Hall on Thursday, March 18, from 12-1 p.m. The guest speaker will be Allen Freauff, public education specialist from Oregon OSHA. The cost for lunch is $9 per person. Murray Drugs will be catering this week’s meal. Anyone planning to attend the weekly chamber lunch meetings is asked to RSVP by noon on the Wednesday before the meeting. GREEN FEED & SEED IN HEPPNER: ïHh Spring is coming! Taste of the Wild Dog Food Pacific Stream Canine Formula 30 ib bag Hirsen Stiel Now Arriving Regular.S39.9S • On Sale ONI y $29.95 tasteofthewildpetfood.com • P an n es 'Primroses •Soil Amenities •Rototi||er & Thatcher rentals Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed 242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main office) 1
