Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 10, 2011)
New Morrow County School superintendent swears in newly-elected board members u e :; ä ° ä HEPPNER in new ly-elected school By April Sykes N e w M o r r o w board members at the meet County School Superin ing held Monday night in tendent Dirk Dirksen swore Lexington. D irksen is a long-time educator with the district, having been River side High School principal for many years. This meeting marked the first for Dirksen as superintendent and the first for new board members Becky Kindle and Brian Kollman, both of Heppner. Superintendent Dirk Dirksen swears in newly-elected board Long-tim e board m em members (L-R) Brian Kollman, Bill Kuhn and Becky Kindle. ber Bill Kuhn, a nine-year -Photo by April Sykes board veteran, was also sworn in. District is very well po 76 from HHS, 42 from Riv P r e vi ous board sitioned for participation erside and 27 from Irrigon chai r Bar ney Li nds a y in the program. Michael High School; six students at turned the gavel over to Lasher, IMESD assistant RHS and three at IHS took Thad Killingbeck, elected superintendent, told the credits through expanded chair at the meeting, while board that all school dis options at BMCC. Lindsay took over as board tricts in Morrow County -heard from Dirk vice-chair. will be invited to partici sen concerning several ex At the meeting, pate in the Eastern Promise penditures: a $4,000 expen Assistant Superintendent program. However, details diture at Irrigon Elementary George Mendoza outlined concerning MCSD high fire panel and $5,000 for two new web-based pro schools’ participation in dishwasher replacement grams that were designed the program are still be and repair following a leak to help special education ing determined. Eastern at A.C. Houghton, which and low per Promise plans to begin the got into the asbestos floor Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon forming stu program with speech and ing. biology classes. Currently -heard an atten dents realize Riverside High School in dance variance report from improve Boardman and Irrigon High Dirksen that 12 students ment. School are dual-credit cer from out of district opted The tified in math, and HHS is in and five programs in its third year of being in district we r e pur- Becky able to offer dual credits in opted out. c h a s e d Kindle New Oregon career-technical areas. through a $442,500 federal stimulus In other business, legislation mandates grant, ARRA (American the board: -heard a report from open enroll S u p erin ten Recovery and Reinvestment dent Dirk Act). Mendoza stressed that Lasher that the ESD has sus ment. Dirksen - t a tained $435,000 in budget if MCSD had not used the tunately, is among families funds, the monies would cuts, but emphasized that bled action where a father is absent, he have reverted back to the the costs will not be passed on the d istrict’s human added in his report. on to school districts using sexuality policy and cur federal government. DeMayo also said One aspect o f the IMESD services. Instead, riculum until after meet that in the past two months program, Read 180, pur he said, cuts were made ings with Morrow County “the c itie s o f M orrow chased at a cost of $ 109,000, primarily through elimina Health Department, local County have been discuss is a reading program de tion o f ad ministers, Oregon Depart ing the possibility of doing signed for secondary stu ministrative ment of Education repre a joint marketing plan that dents. The other, Success p o s i t i o n s sentatives and community/ would involve all five of Maker, purchased at a cost f o l l o w i n g parent meetings. The board the cities.” He said Pendle of $79,000, is a math and U m a t i l l a - plans to take action in Oc ton based ARTIFX Media reading intervention pro M o r r o w tober. is interested is being the gram for elementary-level E S D ’s r e -learned that new agency that would develop students. M endoza said cent merger Brian teacher orientation is Au Kollman the plan. gust 15-16 and in-service that the district purchased with Union- DeMayo said the 120 licenses for the high Baker ESD will be held August 22. larger cities— Boardman, school program and 60 for to form IMESD. -learned that Mid- Irrigon and H eppner— the elementary program. -learned from Dirk Co Bus Company, which would do a three-way split M endoza said that once sen that four schools in provides district transporta of the cost (estimated to be the licenses are purchased, the district have met AYP tion, will not change their $4,000 each). they belong to the district (Average Yearly Progress): rates this year. “ L ex in g to n and and may be reused. He said A.C. Houghton Elementary -approved the sec lone would join us at no that it would cost the district in Irrigon, Heppner Elemen ond reading and adopted cost. This is an opportunity around $ 10,000 per year to tary School, Heppner High policy on district nutrition, for all five cities to work keep the programs main School and Sam Board- food services, reimburs together. It is exciting, and tained and up to date. man Elementary. “ They able school meals and milk 1 think this is a step in the He added that the keep raising the bar,” said programs. right direction,” he added. district purchased English Dirksen. “It’s harder and -approved the fol ARTIFX owners programs only, rather than harder to make it.” Dirksen lowing employment action: were scheduled to talk to bilingual, and plans to use said that it is particularly resignations-Michelle Gae- the council Monday night the programs right from difficult in sub-groups such de. Windy River Elemen about the plan. However, the start of the school year. as special education. tary fourth-grade teacher, they did not show up, so School begins August 29. - l e a r n e d f r o m Jessica Lehmann, Irrigon the council took no action The board also re Dirksen that the district Junior/Senior High School on the proposal. ceived a brief update on has purchased three vans, Spanish teacher, Anne Os- A lso as p art o f the Eastern Promise pro two cars and two pickups terland, Irrigon Elemen his report to the council, gram, the brainchild o f because it was discovered tary School sixth-grade DeMayo said he had met InterMountain Education that it would be cheaper for teacher, Randy McKimmy, -See CITY COUNCIL/PAGE Service District superin the district to purchase new Sam Boardman Elementary SIX tendent Mark Mulvihill, vehicles rather than repair education assistant, Sarah Harris, Morrow Education which would allow high the old ones. -heard an update Center ed assistant; extra school students to take col lege courses while still in on the distance learning duty resignations-Stelanie high school. The program, program betw een H ep Sweeney, Heppner Junior involving area high schools, pner High School and the High assistant track coach, Blue Mountain Community Morrow Education Center Melissa Coiner, HHS head College, Treasure Valley in Irrigon, whereby MEC track coach, Kelly Doherty, Community College and students will earn credits RHS head volleyball coach; Eastern Oregon University, for classes taught by an employment-Eric Lougee, MEC, English as a Second would exponentially expand HHS teacher. -learned that 145 Language ed assistant, re- students’options. Mulvihill -See NEW BOARD MEM- told the Gazette-Times that district students took ad BERS/PAGE TWO the Morrow County School vanced placement classes, 5<K zette im es VOL. 130 NO. 31 8 Pages Wednesday, August 10, 2011 City seeks $50,000 in state funds for Quaid Street improvements Project would put sidewalks on both sides of street up to Elder and the grade school By David Sykes If the city of Hep pner receives $50,000 in funding from the State of Oregon, Quaid St. from M ain to E lder near the grade school might have two new sidew alks, the city council was informed Monday night. City Manager Dave DeMayo said a special street fund set up by the state for cities with populations of fewer than 5,000 has made the funds available for city street improvements. He outlined the proposed Quaid Street project, which will include curbs, gutters and 500 feet o f sidewalk up both sides of the street. The improvements would improve safety for children walking to school along Quaid, DeMayo said. Council member Cody High asked if the project design was a done deal, and wondered if the residents on Quaid would have any input into how the project was constructed. DeMayo said if the city did receive the funds, the pub lic would have input. He said the earliest the project would get underway would be 2012. In other business, the city accepted an offer o f $20,000 on the former HUD house at 160 S. Court St. The city had purchased the house for $1 under a special HUD (Housing and Urban Development) program that lets cities buy repossessed homes once they have been on the market and not sold for a minimum o f six months. Theodore and Theda Phelps of Kimberly made the cash offer. There was one other offer on the property from a local person, which was substantially less than the accepted price. The city also heard a report from DeMayo, who said that recently-released 2010 Census data showed that H ep p n er’s p o p u la tion dropped 119 since the last census in 2000, from 1,410 to 1,291. DeMayo also displayed figures that showed the labor force in the city dropped from 635 to 565, or 70 em ployed people. Management and service jobs fell, but this was compensated for by increases in manufacturing, public administration and self-employment, DeMayo said. Median income has re mained about the same. The worst of the poverty, unfor Old and new methods unite for modern farmers Loren Heideman and son, Deacon, have been combining old farm equipment with new to solve the problem of erosion control. After the 50-acre field fire in the Sand Hollow area two weeks ago, the father-son duo is using an old buck rake pulled behind a utility tractor to spread straw on the bum area for erosion control. -Photo by Della Heideman I
