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.
The women are planning their club championship
for Aug. 29-30, with tee times at 5:30 p.m. and 8 a.m.
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