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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 2018)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 11, 2018 School board reviews emergency drill plan Morrow County School Superintendent Dirk Dirk- sen reviewed the scheduled emergency drill plans with the school board at their Monday night meeting at Irrigon Elementary. The emergency drill, planned for Friday, Apr. 13, at Riverside High School in Boardman, will use a mock emergency to assess the district’s emergency preparedness plans. Dirk- sen said the drill will help the district prepare in the event of a real emergency in the schools and will also involve the Boardman Police Department, Ambu- lance and Fire, the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police, among other agencies. (See MCSD plans emergency drill story, page 1.) In other business at the meeting, Dirksen said that the school district will add 12 online classes through InterMountain ESD. He said that plans are to recruit online teachers for those classes. He also noted an an- ticipated increase, possibly by 80 students, in the three- four-year-old preschool program in all communi- ties, especially in Board- man and Irrigon. He said the program is “running out of slots”, especially with construction of a 120-unit apartment complex under- way in Boardman. “We want to prepare for that,” he noted. He also said the dis- trict is trying to get a price to purchase two modular buildings, currently emp- ty and federally owned through Head Start. Dirksen said until purchase of the buildings can be negotiated, the district is working to rent the facilities. Dirksen also told the board a triangular piece of property on Elder Street in Heppner the district re- cently planned to sell was actually gifted to the city of Heppner in 1980-81. However, since the transac- tion had not been recorded properly, the district agreed to re-gift the property to the city. Dirksen said the prop- erty had a “good deal of infrastructure on it.” “It’s so small, there’s nothing you can do with it,” added board member Brian Kollman. In other business, the board: -viewed a presentation “Teaching with Intention- How Irrigon Elementary School made the shift to standards-based instruc- tion,” by Irrigon Elemen- tary teachers. -voted to accept an audit proposal from the accounting firm Dickey and Tremper, LLP, based in Pendleton, with board member Barney Lindsay dissenting. Lindsay said that he felt the district should continue to stay with their previous auditing firm, the Oster Professional Group, CPAs, based in John Day. The contract with Dickey and Tremper is for a three- year term with an option to renew for three additional years. Dickey and Tremper are currently auditors for InterMountain ESD. -adopted a resolution accepting and appropriating unanticipated revenues as follows: $1,000 from Fam- ily Health Associates to the Irrigon Jr./Sr. High School football program. -approved the first reading of rescinded, new or revised policies as fol- lows: CM-Compliance and reporting on standards; GBH-JECAC-Staff-stu- dent-parent relations; GBK-KGC-Prohibited use, distribution or sale of tobacco products and inhalant delivery systems; IBDJA-Relations with home-schooled students; IGAC-Teaching about reli- gion-rescind; IGAC-Reli- gion and schools; IGACA- Recognition of religious beliefs and customs-re- scind; IGDJ-Interscholastic and co-curricular activities program-rescind; IGDJ- Interscholastic activities; IIA-Instructional resources; IIAC-Instructional media selection-rescind; IKF- Graduation requirements; JHHB-Trauma informed schools. -adopted new, revised or rescinded administrative rules as follows: BDDH- AR-Public comment at board meetings; GBEB- AR-Communicable diseas- es-staff; GCDA-GDDA- AR-criminal records checks-fingerprinting; JHCD-JHCDA-AR-Pre- scription-non-prescription medication-rescind; JHCD- JHCDA-AR-Medications; KBA-AR-public records; KBA-FORM 4-9-18-re- scind. -approved travel re- quests from Riverside Jr./ Sr. High School teacher Rhonda Fox-Brennan and Heppner Jr./Sr. High School teacher Jason Palmer for students to travel to the re- gional Kidwind Challenge event in Seattle and for some students to attend the national event in Chicago. The Kidwind Challenge events are mock turbine building contests. -approved changing the May board meeting and budget meeting from May 15 to May 14. -received the following enrollment report for April: A.C. Houghton Elemen- tary, Irrigon, grades K- three-284; Sam Boardman Elementary, Boardman, grades K-three-352; Hep- pner Elementary, grades K-six-170; Irrigon Elemen- tary, grades four-six-210; Windy River Elementary, Boardman, grades four- six-259; Heppner Jr./Sr. High School, grades sev- en-12-167; Irrigon Jr./Sr. High School, grades sev- en-12-352; Riverside High School, Boardman, grades seven-12-414; Morrow Ed- ucation Center, Irrigon-79; total-2,287. -approved the follow- ing employment action for April: resignations/non- renewals-Tristan Holechek, RJSHS math teacher, Vir- ginia Kernal, SBE ed assis- tant, Kevin Payne, HJSHS half-time assistant football coach, Steve Sheller, IJSHS science teacher, head foot- ball and assistant softball coach, yearbook advisor to the end of the school year, Eric Solis, IJSHS junior high assistant boys’ bas- ketball coach; non-renewal/ termination-Robert Weems, WRE sixth grade teacher; retirement-Kim Carlson, HJSHS head cook until the end of the school year; employment/promotions/ transfers-Katelyn Adams, SBE elementary life skills/ Superintendent Dirk Dirksen special education teacher, 2018-19, Melissa Dunn, WRE food program coor- dinator, 8 hours per week, Tammy Ellis, SBE sec- ond grade teacher, 2018- 19, Kaylee Hunter, IJSHS special education teacher, 2018-19, Crystal Marquez Lemus, SBE ed assistant, Joselyn Piper, HES special ed/foundational math/lan- guage arts teacher, 2018-19, Caitlin Shimer, SBE first grade teacher, 2018-19, Stephanie Simpson, RJSHS advanced math teacher, 2018-19. -heard the following announcements: emergency drill, RJSHS, Friday, April 13; teacher appreciation week, May 7-11; budget committee meeting, Mon- day, May 14, RJSHS, 6 p.m.; next regular board meeting, Monday, May 14, RJSHS, 7 p.m. Chamber announcements and Students compete in Oregon upcoming events Battle of the Books Friday, Mar. 9 – Friday, Apr. 13, Willow Creek Val- ley Economic Development Group offers a grant for Community and Public En- hancements for south Mor- row County communities. The applicant organization must be a local organiza- tion, club, special district or a governmental entity who resides in the south Morrow County service area; must have at least a 50 percent match (may include in-kind and cash contributions from local and regional sources) for the total project budget committed before apply- ing. Contact the Heppner Chamber to receive a grant application and eligibility and exclusions information sheet at 541-676-5536 or via email at heppnercham- ber@centurytel.net. All grants must be received by the Chamber office, no later than Friday, Apr. 13. Thursday, Apr. 19 from noon to 1 p.m., candidates forum for Umatilla-Morrow County Circuit Court Judge at the Heppner Chamber lunch meeting in the Hep- pner City Hall conference room. Candidates Michael Breiling and Rob Collins will participate in the fo- rum, with Bill Kuhn as the moderator. Lunch is avail- able for $10 and an RSVP is required to attend to allow enough meals and seating. Tacos Hometown will be catering the lunch, offering a choice of a small chicken or beef burrito with bever- age and dessert. RSVP’s are required no later than Tuesday, April 17th, by contacting the Heppner Chamber at 541-676-5536 or email at heppnercham- ber@centurytel.net. Saturday, Apr. 28 from 9 a.m. to12 p.m., 5 th Annual Walk In Her Shoes at the Riverfront Park in Herm- iston. Walk in the shoes of a victim of domestic or sexual violence. Register online at dvs-or.org or call 541-676-3322 for more information. Registration is $15 per person and raffle Help Repeal Oregon's defacto Sanctuary Law Go to: www.StopOregonSanctuaries.org Sign the petition to give Oregon voters the opportunity to vote NO on dangerous sanctuary policies shielding criminal illegal aliens from Federal Immigration Authorities. Simply PRINT, SIGN and MAIL - it's that easy! Do it today! 503.435.0141 tickets are available for $1 each or six for $5. Wednesday, May 2 through Wednesday, May 23, Crisis Line training through Domestic Violence Services, Inc. When train- ing is completed, partici- pants will be able to answer calls on the 24-Hour Crisis Line and have the opportu- nity to advocate for victims of domestic and sexual violence. Contact 541-276- 3322 or volunteer@dvs-or. org to become a volunteer and/or to get more infor- mation. Saturday, May 5 at 1 p.m. at the county road department in Lexington on Hwy 74 and 4 p.m. at Riverside High School in Boardman, the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office will be hosting a safety event and a BMX show featur- ing Robert Castillo’s BMX Freestyle Team. This event is free to the public and there will be hotdogs and beverages for everyone. There will also be a bike raffle, free helmets and fit- tings, a bike safety course and boating, 4-wheeler and fire safety information. Thursday, May 17, Mustang Mop Up Day. If you have a project you would like to have the stu- dents help with during the Mustang Mop Up Day, please contact Greg Grant at Heppner High to get on the list. Battle of the Books team members were (L-R): Delilah Sauceda, Sophie Qualls, Journey Cavan, Rebecca Ellsworth and Aden Lathrop. -Contributed photo. Heppner Elementary students competed in the regional Oregon Battle of the Books competition in Hermiston on Saturday, Mar. 17. The team made it to the bracket round before losing to the eventual champion. MS Join the Movement walk scheduled Pictured are participants in the 2017 Walk MS event. -Contributed photo. The MS Walk to raise funds for multiple sclero- sis will be held on Apr. 21 at the Roy Raley Park in Pendleton this year, instead of in Heppner. Registration is at 9 a.m. with the walk beginning at 10. Sign-up online at www. walkms.org, register the day of the event or plan a virtual walk wherever you are. Donations will be ac- cepted at Murray’s Drug in Heppner throughout the months of April and May. A bus will be available for rides to Pendleton for those interested in par- ticipating. The bus will leave All Saints Episcopal Church in Heppner at 7:30 a.m. on Apr. 21. For more information, contact Merilee McDowell at meri0120@gmail.com or 541-571-5853. Participating in Walk MS is designed to help cre- ate a world free of multiple sclerosis. LES SCHWAB WOULD LIKE TO APPLAUD THE HEPPNER HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA CLUB AND THEIR UPCOMING PRODUCTION- Tuesday, April 17th @7pm Wednesday, April 18th @ 7pm Thursday, April 19th @ 7pm @ HJSHS Cafe/Stage
