Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 13, 2016
HES announces Colt Character
winners
Heppner Elementary School Colt Character recipients recently were awarded certiicates for
being selected as the March character winners. The trait was Telling Yourself and Others the
Truth, and students needed to show positive action in truth, integrity, trust and forgiveness.
Bottom L-R: Kadie Henrichs, Makiyah Christian, Zachary Brown, Journey Cavan, Kayden
Piper, Zariah Martin, Logan Turner, Samantha DuBry, Emily Negrete and KC Anderson.
Top L-R: Miracle Holsinger, Tucker Kauffman, Perrin Furrer, Johnny Resch, Hayley Akers,
Irelynn Kollman and Kyler Wilson. Not pictured: Roen Waite. -Contributed photo
County wolf depredation
committee to meet April 19
Workshop on non-lethal predation
management planned at BMCC May 13
The Morrow County
Wolf Depredation Compen-
sation Committee will meet
April 19 at 7 p.m. at the
Bartholomew Building, 110
North Court St., Heppner.
The committee members
are Chair Dean Robinson,
Cam Sweeney, John Gould,
Bob Mahoney, Al Scott,
Paul Hisler and Commis-
sioner Leann Rea. These
are public meetings, and
committee members say
input would be welcome.
According to a state-
ment by Commissioner
Rea, the county was recent-
ly awarded $3,000 to assist
livestock producers with
wolf deterrent measures,
so the committee says there
are a lot of decisions that
need to be made.
Many livestock pro-
ducers have, or soon will
be, moving their animals
onto summer pastures,
and there have been more
wolf sightings in the area.
Committee members say
this makes it a good time
to remind people what to
do if there is a suspected
livestock loss by a wolf or
wolves.
If a dead animal is
found and there is cause to
suspect a wolf or wolves,
please:
1. Do not let dogs get
to the site.
2. Treat the area as a
potential crime scene; dis-
turb the scene as little as
possible. If it is going to be
some time before oficers
can arrive, attempt to cover
the animal with a tarp or
other similar item. Again,
keep the foot trafic around
the site to a minimum.
3. Contact Oregon De-
partment of Fish & Wildlife
as soon as possible: Steve
Cherry, office 541-676-
5230, cell 541-969-2072.
4. Contact USDA Wild-
life Services: Chris Lulay,
cell 541-509-9235.
5. Contact Morrow
County Sheriff Office at
541-676-5317 or 9-1-1.
Livestock owners are
also asked to remember
that, for any possibility of
receiving compensation for
an animal loss, ODFW must
conirm that the loss was in
fact the result of a wolf.
In addition to the local
meeting, a workshop on in-
tegrating non-lethal preda-
tion management tools and
methods with a focus on
wolf predation management
will be held at Blue Moun-
tain Community College in
Pendleton on May 13.
This workshop is being
coordinated by USDA-
APHIS-Wildlife Services
and the Oregon State Uni-
versity Extension Service.
Registration is limited to
the first 100 individuals
Wedding Tables
Derek Gunderson &
Meghan McCabe
May, 21, 2016
who pre-register for the
workshop, so interested
persons should register by
calling the Oregon State
University Extension Ser-
vice in Pendleton at 541-
278-5403. Workshop reg-
istration begins at 8 a.m.,
with opening remarks to
start at 8:30 a.m. The work-
shop will go until 5 p.m.
with a break for lunch. A
registration fee of $10 will
be taken at the door, and
will include a box lunch.
Cash or check will be ac-
cepted.
Presenters will include
Dr. Julie Young and Dr.
Stephanie Shwiff of the
USDA-APHIS-Wildlife
Services/ National Wildlife
Research Center (NWRC);
John Steuber, State Direc-
tor for the USDA-APHIS-
Wildlife Services program
in Montana; U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service Wolf Bi-
ologist John Stephenson;
ODFW Wolf Biologist Russ
Morgan; ODA Grants Pro-
gram Administrator Jason
Barber; Defenders Of Wild-
life Oregon Representative
Quinn Read; and county
wolf committee represen-
tatives from Umatilla and
Wallowa counties.
Information to be pro-
vided during the workshop
will include the science
behind non-lethal methods
and the practical applica-
tions of various non-lethal
methods integrated into
wolf predation manage-
ment strategies to protect
livestock; an overview of
the ongoing Wildlife Ser-
MILES &
School board hears about after-
school programs
By April Sykes
Heppner Elementary
students of teacher Melissa
Coiner made a presentation
on the Battle of the Books
after-school program at the
April 11 Morrow County
School Board meeting at
HES Monday night. Su-
perintendent Dirk Dirksen
noted the popularity of the
district’s after-school pro-
grams. He said the mindset
concerning the programs
has changed and the ac-
tivities have turned into fun
learning experiences.
Also at the meeting
Dirksen informed the board
that as a consequence of a
DEQ examination of the
age and explosive nature
of chemicals in local high
school labs, the Oregon
State Police went into Hep-
pner High School on a Fri-
day when students are not
in attendance and “safely
disposed of materials.”
In other business, the
board:
-heard from Dirksen
that the “No Child Left Be-
hind” act has been replaced
by the “Every Student Suc-
ceeds” act, which is sup-
posed to give states more
flexibility in educational
programs and hopefully
will result in more local
control.
-heard from Dirksen
concerning the district’s
wrap-around services,
which he hopes will meet
students and families’ needs
and ultimately result in in-
creased attendance.
-learned from Dirk-
sen that a presentation by
Umatilla-Morrow Head
Start will be held in May
concerning programs for
four-year-olds, now that
full-day kindergarten is in
place.
-learned about district
policies and procedures
concerning evacuation
drills, shelter-in-place drills
and “hold in place” drills.
Dirksen told the board that
a “lock down” situation
would be for a situation
within a school, while a
“lock out” would be a situa-
tion outside the school with
different policies in effect
for different situations.
-adopted math text-
books Engage NY for kin-
dergarten through grade
five, Oregon Focus for
grades six through eight
and algebra I, algebra II and
geometry for high school
students.
-approved the follow-
ing employment action:
resignations/non-renew-
als-Larry Anderson, Sam
Boardman Elementary as-
sistant custodian, Cheryl
Costello, Riverside Junior/
Senior High School as-
sistant cheerleading coach,
Jon Dompier, Heppner Ju-
nior/Senior High School
assistant girls’ basketball
coach, Richole Osborn,
A.C. Houghton Elementa-
ry/Irrigon Elementary phys-
ical education until the end
of the 2015-16 year, Matt
Summers-Johnson, RJSHS;
retirements-Virgil Haus-
inger, Irrigon Junior/Senior
High School assistant cus-
todian/PERS retiree July
1, 2016; employments/pro-
motions/transfers-Rhon-
da Fox-Brennan, RJSHS
science teacher 2016-17,
Pat King, RJSHS special
education teacher 2016-
17, Gina Patterson, RJSHS
education assistant, Theresa
Proctor-Reece, district ELD
instructional coach 2016-
17, Mike Royer, IJSHS
counselor 2016-17, Gann
Thomas, RJSHS language
arts teacher 2016-17; extra
duty contracts-Justin Lay,
IJSHS junior high assistant
track coach 2015-16, Re-
becca Renfro, RJSHS ju-
nior high head track coach
2015-16, Benjaman Tucker,
RJSHS head football coach
2016-17.
-received the follow-
ing enrollment report: A.C.
Houghton Elementary, Ir-
rigon-271, Sam Boardman
Elementary-333, Heppner
Elementary-179, Irrigon
Elementary-189, Windy
River Elementary, Board-
man-218, Heppner Junior/
Senior High School-160,
Irrigon Junior/Senior High
School-372, Riverside Ju-
nior/Senior High School,
Boardman-401, Morrow
Education Center, Irri-
gon-49, total-2,172.
-heard the following
announcements: teacher ap-
preciation week, May 2-6,
budget committee meeting,
May 10, Heppner Elemen-
tary School; Oregon School
Board Association summer
board conference, Bend,
July 15-17; board work ses-
sion/dinner/tour, RJSHS,
May 9; next board meeting,
RJSHS, May 9.
-approved the first
reading of rescinded, new
or revised policies on crimi-
nal records checks, inger-
printing and an assessment
program.
-adopted rescinded,
new or revised policies on
board member ethics and
conlicts of interest, board
member ethics and nepo-
tism, staff ethics, compulso-
ry attendance, use of school
facilities application, public
complaints.
-adopted new, revised
or rescinded administrative
rules on public complaint
procedures.
-adopted a resolution
accepting and appropriating
unanticipated revenues in
the amount of $1,000 from
Wildhorse for the Heppner
Elementary School Chess
Mates club for costs associ-
ated with the state Chess for
Success Tournament.
-adopted a resolution
for a surplus vehicle sale.
-ratiied contracts lan-
guage and salaries. Salaries
relect an increase of four
percent.
vices/NWRC’s research
on the efficacy of large
breed guard dogs and their
effectiveness in protecting
livestock from bears and
wolves; discussions on the
economics of predation and
predation management; col-
laborative efforts to manage
predation involving preda-
tor advocates, agencies and
producers; the role of the
non-lethal component of
managing wolf damage in
the implementation of the
Oregon Wolf Conservation
and Management Plan ad-
ministered by ODFW; and
the role that ODA and coun-
ty wolf committees have
in dispersing funding from
the Oregon Legislature for
assisting producers with the
cost of proactive non-lethal
methods and compensation
for livestock damage attrib-
uted to wolves.
The presentations will
be followed by a panel
Q&A session.
MILES OF SMILES
Emma Osmin &
Jordan Wright
May 7, 2016
217 North Main St., Heppner • Phone 676-9158 • Floral 676-9426
Serving Morrow, Wheeler & Gilliam counties Since 1959
Chamber plans
candidates’ forum
The next lunch meeting
of the Heppner Chamber of
Commerce will take place
on Thursday, April 21, from
11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the
Heppner City Hall confer-
ence room. The meeting
will be a candidates’ forum
for the contested county
commissioner positions on
the May primary ballot.
Attendees will be given
an opportunity to write
questions during the lun-
cheon, or can email them
to the chamber in advance
at heppnerchamber@cen-
turytel.net. Bill Kuhn will
present the questions to
each of the candidates with
a time allotment for each
question.
Attendees are asked
to note that lunch will be
served at 11:45 in order
to begin the forum around
noon.
Cost of lunch is $10;
Murray’s will cater. Cham-
ber lunch attendees are
asked to RSVP at 541-676-
5536 no later than the Tues-
day before to guarantee
enough lunch and seating.
VOTE
GREG SWEEK
Rick Worden &
Kelsie Fox
May 28, 2016
Lane Bailey &
Jessica Hughes
June 25, 2016
- FIVE
M orrow C ounty J udge
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