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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 2023)
EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 23, 2023 MCSD Covid setbacks -Continued from PAGE ONE current practices regarding graduation. Goal 2: Develop and foster strong communica- tion and safety practices that support the district’s mission and goals with all stakeholder populations. MCSD will strive to build trust and improve partner- ships with communities, including parents, busi- ness, civic and cultural groups. MCSD will con- tinue to work with families and community partners to emphasize the effect attendance has on student learning. Goal 3: Collaboration with county and regional partners to further provide innovative learning oppor- tunities for students. Goal 4: Maintain a strong financial manage- ment plan that supports staying current with state and federal funding trends. Continue to strengthen cul- ture and climate in build- ings to further support staff retention. Continue to improve upon current infrastructure and address future needs through bond planning process. Combe also reported that the school district was able to complete sever- al facility improvements over the summer, including carpet in eight spaces at Heppner, Windy River and Sam Boardman elementary schools and Heppner High School, as well as updated locker room lighting at Irrigon and Heppner high schools. Drinking fountains and water bottle fill stations were completed at Heppner High, A.C. Houghton, Irri- gon High, Windy River and Riverside. Stryker Construction and Weatherproofing Tech- nologies finished the three- month roof replacement at Windy River Elementary in Boardman. The project ran on schedule and was a smooth process, Combe said. “If you drive by there, take a look. It’s got a nice new metal roof,” he said, adding that the roof had come in around the $2 mil- lion mark. “So, you can see what $2 million will buy you in new roof.” These funds are coming from the capital account using an Amazon donation. He said staff would be moving forward soon with planning for a new roof for Irrigon Elementary School. The last roof on the IES building had a 20-year life and is now in its 22 nd or 23 rd year, Combe said. The A.C. Houghton Elementary kitchen also received an upgrade with federal food service funds. Knerr Construction re- moved the wood cabinets and laminate countertops and replaced them with stainless steel worktables and installed hot wells. The district also worked on HVAC projects over the summer, some of which Combe said were still in progress but hoped to be finished by Sept. 4. He added that the McKinstry team did a great job with communication, staying on schedule and taking care of issues as they arose. “We appreciate the pa- tience of our staff as their work spaces have been a construction zone, but it will be worth it,” said Combe. “It’s nice to have working HVAC systems, especially to keep it cool on the warmer days like today, and heat in the colder months which we experi- ence every winter.” Also top of mind for school district staff was new legislation that could affect the school district, specifically Senate Bills 819 and 283. SB 819 would require school districts to change abbreviated school days for students. Although not common, some students with Indi- vidualized Education Pro- grams (IEPs) have short- ened school days as part of their instruction plan. In the past, use of abbreviated days has been decided by school district teams with input from parents. SB 819 would give parents the sole determination over whether their children would have abbreviated school days. It would also have an impact on a variety of pro- grams, including online learning, due to changes in what is considered mean- ingful access for students. For instance, online time without a live teacher might not be considered meaning- ful classroom time, and so could be considered part of an abbreviated day. Senate Bill 283 centers on the desire to strengthen employee recruiting and retention efforts. It would affect licensing flexibility, employee working condi- tions and certain compen- sation, among others. Also at the meeting, the board approved joint sports agreements with Umatilla and Ione school districts. The collective agree- ment with Umatilla School district allows Irrigon girls to participate in the cross country program with Uma- tilla High School. “There was some inter- est from Irrigon girls to par- ticipate in girls’ cross coun- try with Umatilla, same as we did with their collective in wrestling last year,” said Combe. “This gives them an opportunity to recipro- cate that opportunity.” The cooperative agree- ment with Ione School District will be for Ione students to play football at Riverside High School in Boardman. “We did that a few years back with Ione. It worked well for the year,” said Combe, adding that Ione then cooperated with Arlington for several years, but numbers were too low this year. “They weren’t going to be able to field enough players between the two schools for even six-man, so they reached out and asked if Morrow County would be willing to do a cooperative again.” Combe said Ione would be sending three or four players to Riverside. It will also benefit the Riverside football program, which sometimes has low num- bers due to the fall soccer season. “I think it’s a win-win for both schools,” said Combe. In other business, the school board re-elected Becky Kindle as board chair and Richard Cole as vice chair. Board member Jacob Cain announced his res- ignation from the school board. He informed the board that his family would be moving an hour west and commuting to work, which would put him outside Mor- row County School District. The school district will soon begin advertising for the position to find a re- placement for Cain. The board also accepted unanticipated revenue for the Riverside High School capital project fund in the amount of $7,500 from Umatilla Electric Cooper- ative and $330,321 from Boardman Community De- velopment Association. The first day of school will be Aug. 28. There will be no school Monday, Sept. 4, due to the Labor Day holiday. The next MCSD Board meeting will be Monday, Sept. 11, at Irrigon Jr/Sr High School. Deschutes, Umatilla to remain open to steelhead fishing this fall John Day, Grand Ronde, Im- naha also likely to be open One of the most popu- lar rivers to fish in the West, the Deschutes River will remain open for steelhead fishing this fall, as enough unmarked steelhead have passed Bonneville Dam. As of Aug. 15, 24,151 unmarked summer steel- head have passed Bonne- ville Dam since July 1. At least 23,100 needed to pass between July 1-Aug. 31 to keep the Deschutes River open past Sept. 14. The John Day River is likely to be open for hatch- ery summer steelhead this fall as fishery managers predict the river will meet its threshold of 26,000 un- marked steelhead passing Bonneville between July 1-Aug. 31. Most returns to the John Day are natural origin steelhead and rec- reational fishing is meant to target hatchery strays before they spawn. Check the permanent regulations for season dates. Historic data shows a strong statistical cor- relation between passage at Bonneville Dam and abundance in tributaries like the Deschutes and John Day. Above these thresh- old numbers, populations are abundant enough to not be at risk from fishing pressure. (Anglers must release unmarked steelhead but there is some mortali- ty from catch-and-release fishing.) The Umatilla River also remains open to hatch- ery steelhead fishing this fall, and the fishery also targets hatchery strays. However, the Walla Walla steelhead fishing closure will continue as the river has been below the Critical Abundance Threshold for the past 4-5 years. Begin- ning in 2024, the Walla Walla will be closed under permanent regulations. Portions of the Imnaha and Grande Ronde will also be open to hatchery steelhead Sept. 1-Dec. 31 per permanent regulations. WCCC Sunday men’s play Fourteen participated in men’s play on Sunday, Aug. 20, at Willow Creek Country Club. Results are as follows: KP #4-13, Dennis Peck, 13’10”. Long Putt #5-14, Rick Britt, 18’5”. Net—1 st , Rick Britt, 61; nd 2 , Roger Ehrmantraut, 62; and 3 rd , John Edmundson, 63. Gross—1 st , Charlie Ferguson, 67; 2 nd , Tim Wright, 69; and 3 rd , Dennis Peck, 73. There will not be any men’s play the next two Sundays. The women are having their club champi- onship this coming week- end, and Labor Day week- end will be the following Sunday. The next play will be the men’s club champi- onship starting on Satur- day, Sept. 9, at 4 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 10, at 8 a.m. Lunch will be provided on Sunday. Dumpster provided for Ione public use The City of Ione has announced that the Ione Community Agri-Business Organization (ICABO) has provided the citizens of Ione with two Dumpsters for their use. The Dump- sters are for Ione residents only. The No Dumping sign is for the city’s dump pile only. The Dumpsters are lo- cated at Green Street and Highway 74. Ione residents are encouraged to take ad- vantage of the receptacles to dispose of debris, as the nuisance ordinance will be enforced in October 2023. Over the Tee Cup Only four women braved the rain on Tuesday, Aug. 22, for the weekly ladies play day at Willow Creek Country Club. Virginia Grant took low gross of the field. Sharon Harrison had low net. Pat Dougherty and Jackie Allstott had least putts of the field. 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