SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2015
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
COMMUNITY
SCHOOL:
continued from page A1
ting, the district is allowing
students to get a head start
on learning they might not
otherwise have had, Lis-
com said. Currently, the
6tan¿eld Sreschool has
students who are work-
ing to learn their numbers,
letters, sounds and colors,
while also familiarizing
them with the classroom
environment.
7he same is haSSening
in Umatilla and Echo with
RESCUE:
continued from page A1
has years of e[Serience with
roSe rescues from his for-
mer job as an emergency
SreSaredness manager at the
Umatilla Chemical 'eSot,
had trained Marcum in roSe
rescues when he served on
a rescue team at the deSot
in the Sast. Although neither
of the men had Serformed a
roSe rescue to save a Set, both
knew they were caSable of
the task.
“When we got out there,
we made contact with the
dog owner, and you could tell
that he really loved his dog,”
Stewart said. “We were all of
the same imSression that it
was that man¶s best friend. I
called in on the radio and said
this isn¶t going to be a very
dif¿cult rescue at all. With all
the training that Cody (Mar-
cum) and I have done in the
Sast, it really wasn¶t a big
deal. )rom my Soint of view,
it was kind of two-fold: It was
good Sractice, and we got to
save a man¶s best friend.”
Stewart set uS the rig-
ging and roSes and secured
Marcum in a harness before
lowering him over the side
of the cliff. Stan¿eld volun-
teers assisted in the roSe res-
cue: Chandi Walker oSerated
a seSarate safety line, and
Tristan Walker relayed com-
munications between Mar-
cum and Stewart.
Marcum raSSelled about
30 feet down to the ledge and
said the dog welcomed him
when he arrived. He secured
Suzy, and Stewart Sulled the
Sair back uS by hand, using
a ¿ve-to-one mechanical ad-
vantage Sulley system.
“The dog was in good
sSirits,” Marcum said. “It
had an eye injury, but, other
SeoSle to reSlicate what is
successful.”
their Sreschool Srograms,
as well as the once-a-month
Sreschool Srogram that
Hermiston offers to its fam-
ilies.
Since Umatilla started its
Sreschool Srogram last year
and instituted a SartnershiS
Srogram with the rest of the
Sreschools in the region,
the district saw increases in
student Serformance across
the board, based on data
Sresented from its .inder-
garten Readiness Assess-
ment this year, SuSerinten-
dent Heidi SiSe said.
“One of the things that
we noticed is that in each
and every category mea-
sured this year, we had
higher growth than the
state average growth,” she
said. “We know that our
Sreschool SartnershiSs are
de¿nitely having an im-
Sact.”
All numbers in Umatilla
were also higher than those
reSorted from last year¶s
kindergarten class. SiSe
said she hoSes to continue
to see numbers increase as
the district maintains the
Sreschool oStions and Sart-
nershiSs available.
“We are always trying to
close the gaS between our
students and the rest of the
state,” she said. “If we are
still trying to catch uS to a
higher rate, we know we
will have work to do.”
Liscom said that Elgin,
which has had a Sreschool
Srogram for a few years
now, has .RA data that is
well above the state aver-
age.
“We are wanting to share
the success in the region
and then helS other districts
or other community agen-
cies,” she said. “It¶s helSing
Liscom said one way
districts can share their suc-
cesses is through the Blue
Mountain Early Learn-
ing hub, which Srovides
training oSSortunities for
teachers and resources for
families. Liscom is the cur-
rent chairman of the hub¶s
governance board and helSs
Srovide direction and Soli-
cy for the overall Srogram.
“One of our kindergar-
ten teachers, one of our sec-
ond-grade teachers and our
Sreschool teacher meet with
Echo¶s kindergarten teacher
and Sreschool teacher once
a month to talk about what
is working in their class-
room and what they need
helS with,” she said.
7hen every couSle of
months, inservice training
oSSortunities are e[tended
to districts across the region
so teachers can meet and
talk about what is working
and isn¶t working overall,
she said.
than that, the dog was in good
shaSe. It was fairly simSle,
a fairly easy rescue for us. It
took longer to set uS and take
down than it did to go over
the edge and Sull it uS. That¶s
what we¶re trained to do, and
it¶s nice to be able to Sut it to
good use and show SeoSle
that we¶re actually able to do
it safely.”
Bryan was relieved and
e[cited to see his dog, but
Suzy was even more e[ited to
be back on Àat land.
“When they hauled her
uS, she was Srobably the
haSSiest dog in the county,”
Bryan said. “She was haSSy
to see anybody at all. She
tried to jumS right in this
guy¶s arms, but she was kind
of in shock from the fall and
hitting her head.”
The UCSO deSuty car-
ried Suzy to his Satrol car
and tried to warm her in
front of the heater as he
drove the dog and Bryan
back to the lot where his
vehicle was Sarked. Bryan
transSorted Suzy to Hermis-
ton Veterinary Clinic, where
a veterinarian was standing
by to treat her.
Suzy¶s right eye was in-
jured during the fall, and
although she may lose vi-
sion in that eye, she was
otherwise unharmed. Bryan
said he was grateful SeoSle
came together to helS save
his dog.
“It was e[cellent,” he
said. “<ou couldn¶t ask for
any better service. Every-
body was just great.”
Marcum and several oth-
ers who SarticiSated in the
rescue said they were haSSy
to helS.
“I think it went real
smooth, and I¶m glad that
we were able to be the ones
to helS them,” Marcum said.
“With all of our knowledge
and e[Serience, I don¶t
think it could have went any
smoother. I¶m a dog lover
myself, too, and I¶d want
the same thing for my ani-
mal. It¶s always nice to see
someone willing to helS you
out in a time of need.”
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