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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2010)
1 1 1 1 1 111 1 1 1 1 1 ■1 1 1 < 11 • 1 1 lone School Board changes meeting date, time Agri N.W. 11 1 11 1 1 Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 HEPPNER imes VOL. 129 NO. 29 8 Pages Wednesday, July 2 1,2010 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon O r e g o n n e e d s 1 5 0 .0 0 0 jo b s to p u t p e o p le to w o r k State Labor Commissioner says work force getting older By David Sykes ranks to fill jobs,” Avakian The Oregon La said. He said part of the rea bor C om m issioner told son is that schools no longer the Heppner Chamber of offer shop classes to begin C om m erce ____ teaching stu la st w eek dents the skills that younger needed to fill apprentice th e s e j o u r workers are neyman jobs. not moving Later he said up the ranks the state is not to be able to lacking work fill the jobs ers, but instead o f an a g is lacking jobs. ing Oregon “We are lack work force. ing jobs. We At the same need 150,000 t i m e he new jo b s to says there put people to are plenty work in this o f w o rk e rs Brad Avakian, Commis- state,” he said. but the state sioner ° reSon Bureau of . . . . , is “ s h o r t Labor & Industries Avakian said 150,000 jobs. his department Commissioner would go to the next ses- Brad Avakian from Portland sion of the legislature and told the weekly chamber ask for $25 million so 10 luncheon that the average middle schools around the age of construction workers state could reinstate wood in Oregon is now a person and metal shop. in their late 40s. Also as an Heppner resi example of an aging work dent and Chamber member force, he said the aver Cliff Green, who was at the age age of a Pacific Corp. luncheon, told Avakian he electrical lineman is 53 didn’t think schools without years old. “The people are shop classes should get all not coming up through the the new money. “We have shop classes here and we don’t think a new program should get all the resources and money over those who already have a program and will get nothing,” Green said. Avakian also told the Chamber that his de partment fields over 25,000 calls per year with civil rights complaints. He said they have prosecuted 2,800 cases. The Labor Depart ment covers state and fed eral housing discrimination, discrim ination in public places, and investigates civil rights complaints. New legislation dictates that an employer cannot use credit history or information when making a decision on hiring people. He said the law also ex panded the discrimination laws to cover v eteran s’ status, and made veterans a new protected class of workers. Avakian said the new law says an employer must provide the spouse of veteran with a reasonable amount o f time off from the job when their spouse is being deployed. Recovery Act funds Morrow County Public Works courthouse window project The Oregon Department o f Energy announced that Morrow County Public Works Department will receive $117,800.00 in federal funds foran energy project. The project is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act awarded through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant. These funds are designated for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in public buildings. The U.S. Department of Energy administers the funds, approves the projects and reviews the state’s progress. MCPWD will use the funds to replace windows in the Morrow County Courthouse. Bergerson Cedar Windows, Inc. was awarded the contract for the project. “We are pleased to make this award to the Morrow County Public Works Department,” said Shelli Floneywell, manager o f the Oregon Department o f Energy ARRA team. “Not only will this project save energy, but the funds will be used to put local contractors to work.” The Oregon De partm ent o f Energy re ceived more than 1,100 letters o f interest, repre senting a request o f over $2 billion in Recovery Act funding. AT MCGG GREEN FEED & SEER IN HEPPNER: OFF 3 II Nursery Stock.! Trees, Shrubs, Perennials A L L M17ST G O ! Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed I The lone School B o ard m e m b er Board, at its regular meet Lisa Rietmann later told ing Monday night, unani the Gazette that the board mously voted to change is not able to accommodate its regular meeting date to everyone’s requests con the fourth Tuesday of the cerning meeting times and month from 3 to 5 p.m. that the UMESD staff had Starting with the August conflicts with the previous meeting, the board’s work meeting date and time. session will be held from 3 Also at the meet to 4 p.m., with the meeting ing, the board re-elected from 4 to 5 p.m. Joe M cElligott as board The board had met chair and Anne Morter as on the third Monday of the vice-chair. month starting at 7 p.m. The board also vot since the district ed to dism iss was formed fol a $15,000 late lowing its split completion pen from the Morrow alty for Knerr County School C o n stru c tio n District in 2004 concerning the a fte r a gro u p district’s capital sought to shut im provem ent down the lone project because schools as a cost of extenuating saving measure. circumstances At that time, the Dr. Mark Mulvihill as presented by lo n e C o m m u project manager nity charter school was John Eckhardt and owner formed. David Knerr. The board is mov In other business ing its meeting date and the board: time to accommodate the -approved the Mid Umatilla Morrow Educa- Columbia Bus Company tion Service District staff pupil transportation bid, and Dr. Mark Mulvihill, which was not divulged UMESD superintendent, during the regular meet who has just been hired as ing. Mulvihill said that Mid the lone School District’s Co’s bid had not increased superintendent. ISD had over the previous year. previously contracted with - a p p r o v e d th e UMESD to provide admin 2010-2011 board meeting istrative and educational schedule “as discussed in services for the district, but the work session” which following the resignation was held prior to the regular of former principal/super- meeting. intendent Karl Ostheiler, -recognized Joe opted to hire M ulvihill and Darla Vandever for as the superintendent and their service to the district. Jerry Archer as the on-site -approved the fol principal only, rather than lowing annual designations: as a principal/superinten- Mulvihill as the superinten dent. dent clerk and executive When the Gazette- officer, custodian of funds Times asked about working and budget officer; Beth parents who may not be O ’Hanlon, UMESD, as the able to attend the daytime chief financial office/busi- meetings. Vice Chair Anne ness manager; Mulvihill Morter waved toward the and O’Hanlon as authorized Monday night crowd, indi signers for the district’s cating that the meeting was checks; authorized facsim not well attended by parents. ile signatures; approved the The crowd consisted of one short-term borrowing limit teacher, one UMESD staff for the custodian of funds member and the reporter at $200,000; approved fi from the Gazette-Times, delity bond am ounts o f .although meetings during $ 100,000 each for Mulvihill the regular school year are and O’Hanlon; named Fife generally well attended. and Cockbum, LLP, as of Four out o f five ficial auditor; named Corey, o f the board m em bers, Byler, Rew, Lorenzen and Joe McElligott, Lisa Ri Hojem as legal counsel; etmann, Anne Morter and named the Bank of Eastern Bill Jepsen, operate family Oregon and a government farms. Board member Bink investment pool as depos Ramos is employed with itories o f funds; named the East Oregonian and Gazette-Times as official newspapers; established the per diem lodging employee reimbursement for lodging at $35 per day and the per mile amount at .505 cents per mile as per IRS recom mendations; established the substitute teacher rate at $159.47 per day or $19.^3 per hour for up to 10 days and $ 187 per day or $23.38 per hour for more than 10 days, as mandated by the state; designated M arla Royal, Michael Lasher and Collette Blakely with UM ESD as confidential em ployees. -authorized inter fund loans. -authorized Mor row County investments. -estab lish ed the lone School Board as the lo cal contract review board. -ap p o in ted Bill Jepsen and Joe McElligott as members of the Build ings and Grounds Com mittee. -reappointed Anne Morter and Lisa Rietmann as members of the Negotia tions Committee. -discussed setting a date for a barbecue and celebration of completion of the construction project. -discussed what to do with some student body accounts that still contain various amounts of money that have not been used in some time. Mulvihill said the accounts will be exam ined and he will report back to the board. -voted to offer the long-term substitute teacher position to Diana McEl ligott. -heard a report on a drain that had not been operating correctly. Archer told the board that the drain had been examined and found to be com pletely blocked. He said the situ ation will be exam ined further. -learned from Mul vihill that the district made a mandatory payment of $8,000 to a consortium concerning the education o f special education stu dents. He told the board that $4,000 is still remaining to be paid. -announced that the August board meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 24, with the regular meeting set to begin at 4 p.m. Oregon Public Health issues advisory for Willow Creek Reservoir High algae levels found in Morrow County Willow Creek Reservoir A health advisory prompted by high algae lev els found in Willow Creek Reservoir located near Hep pner has been issued by Oregon Public Health. Water monitoring confirmed the presence of blue-green algae that can produce toxins harmful to humans and animals. These algae levels are likely to be associated with danger ous toxin concentrations in the water, according to World Health Organization guidelines. S w a llo w in g or inhaling w ater droplets should be avoided, as well as skin contact with water by humans or animals. D rin k in g w ater from Willow Creek Res ervoir is especially danger ous. Oregon Public Health officials advise campers and other Willow Creek Reservoir visitors that tox ins cannot be removed by boiling, filtering or treating the water with camping style filters. People who draw in-home water directly from Willow Creek Reservoir are advised to use an altema- weakness, diarrhea, nausea, cramps and fainting should also receive medical atten tion if they persist or wors en. Children and pets are particularly susceptible. The public will be advised when the concern no longer exists. With proper pre cautions to avoid water contact, people are encour aged to visit Willow Creek Reservoir and enjoy ac tivities such as camping, hiking, biking, picnicking, catch and release fishing and bird watching, said the Oregon Public Health news release. Boating is safe as long as speeds do not create excessive water spray, which could lead to inhalation risk. For local in fo r mation contact the Corps’ Willow Creek Natural Re source Management Office at 541-676-9009. For health informa tion, contact the Harmful Algae Bloom Surveillance program at 971-673-0400 or www.healthoregon.org/ hab; also contact the Or egon Public Health toll-free information line at 1-877- 290-6767. tive water source because private treatment systems are not proven effective in removing algae toxins. However, public drinking water systems can reduce algae toxins through proper filtration and disinfection. If people on public water sys tems have questions about treatment and testing, they should contact their water supplier. O reg o n P u b lic Health recommends that people who choose to eat fish from w aters where algae blooms are present should remove all fat, skin and organs before cooking since toxins are more likely to collect in these tissues. Additionally, pub lic health officials advise that people should not eat crayfish or freshwater shell fish harvested from Willow Creek Reservoir while this advisory is in effect. Exposure to toxins can produce symptoms of num bness, tingling and dizziness that can lead to difficulty breathing or heart problems and require im mediate medical attention. Symptoms of skin irritation. I
