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