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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2015)
A2 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015 LOCAL WEATHER DISTRICT Head Start has experience in early education programs for children whose families continued from page A1 live in poverty, partnering was ranked 14th lowest in with Head Start to run the the state for students know- program made sense. ing letter names and 15th Smith said the school lowest for letter sounds. district will pay Head Start Smith said 60 percent of to run the program. He said students in the state enter the district has budgeted school without any formal $180,000 — $90,000 com- preschool education, and ing from the general fund he expects that number is and the rest from federal higher in Hermiston, with 7LWOHJUDQWV²IRUWKH¿UVW well over half, and closer to year, which includes hiring three-quarters of Hermiston two teachers and a coordi- students, not having access nator, as well as paying for to early education opportu- supplies, remodeling costs nities. and transportation services. “We’ve been exploring Smith estimates continued this for a number of years,” FRVWV DIWHU WKH ¿UVW \HDU Smith said of expanding ser- will be about $130,000 to vices to target 4-year-olds. $140,000 annually. While the school district The current plan is for has offered Little Steps — two Head Start teachers to a preschool option offered teach four, half-day classes once or twice a month for of 20 children — serving many years — it has been approximately 80 students unable to expand that pro- from Sept. 1 through June gram because of space 10, 2016. The curriculum DQG ¿QDQFLDO FRQVWUDLQWV taught will correspond with Smith said. By moving the Oregon early learning stan- district’s administration dards as well as Hermiston and support services to School District Essential another facility in the city, Standards. one of the three adminis- Smith said Head Start trative buildings next to administration has indicat- Rocky Heights Elementary ed the program has 80 chil- School — the one where dren from Hermiston on a the School Board meetings waiting list, and they will currently take place — will WDUJHW WKRVH VWXGHQWV ¿UVW be used for the preschool. for the preschool program. Head Start is leasing the Smith said Head Start staff other two buildings for its will also determine eli- own programs. gibility based on poverty Smith said the school level because the school GLVWULFW LV QRZ LQ EHWWHU ¿- district wants to target chil- nancial position to start dren who do not qualify for such a program. Because Head Start or whose fam- CODE continued from page A1 pilot program focusing on a team approach to code enforcement. Fetter said 1,221 code violations were reported in 2014, which were handled solely by the police depart- ment’s one half-time code HQIRUFHPHQW RI¿FHU :LWK WKH QHZ SURJUDP RI¿FLDOV from other city departments will assist with certain is- sues within their areas of expertise. “Code enforcement will still be an activity of the po- lice department, and we will still have our primary code HQIRUFHPHQW RI¿FHU 0LNH Marcum, ... (but) we will be reaching out to other depart- ments as is necessary to put emphasis on those things City Council has deter- mined are a priority,” Fetter said. “For example, if there is an illegal construction going on ... we would then coordinate that effort with the Building Department to make sure that it came into compliance.” Fetter said different de- partments would contribute based on each individual situation. He said he plans to pri- oritize several issues to pro- DFWLYHO\ IRFXV RQ ¿UVW7KH next step, he said, would be informing people about the codes in an effort to gain voluntary compliance from offenders. ³7KH ¿UVW VWUDWHJ\ LV WR educate, so it’s educating our staff and educating the public as to what the code is because, quite honestly, most people don’t know,” Fetter said. “... When that fails, you just keep moving down the spectrum to cita- tion and, eventually, some kind of abatement.” The city currently has the ability to hire contrac- tors to clean up code vio- lations and place a lien on the offenders’ property to cover the cost, Fetter said. Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston, who sup- ports the new team code enforcement approach, said the city has claimed about $26,000 in code enforce- ment liens during the last two years. )HWWHU VDLG WKH EHQH¿WV of code compliance are extensive and range from HOLPLQDWLQJ ¿UH KD]DUGV WR reducing health risks from rodent infestations, as well as enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the city. He said he has previous experience with code en- forcement from other jobs, and he is highly motivated to make this program suc- cessful. “I look at it like it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” he said. “There will be some VKRUWWHUP EHQH¿WV EXW really, it’s any city’s ability to be committed to these values over the long term because these are ongo- ing issues. The health of a community is dependent on a community’s interest in taking care of itself. Our council has recognized that by giving code enforcement a very high priority.” ilies cannot pay for other area preschool options. “We’re trying to reach those kids in most need of formal training and formal instruction,” he said. According to a press release, in addition to ac- ademic skills, the center will provide other care to students and families, including screenings, re- ferrals and resources for parent education classes in both English and Spanish. Smith said, while the center will be a small step in the right direction, he wouldn’t be surprised if there are re- quests to expand the pro- gram to accommodate more students in future years. “I’m expecting it’s going to be a program that’s going to grow in popularity and interest among our fami- lies,” he said. Smith said, despite the cost of the program, the district expects the pre- school will be a worthwhile investment because studies show every $1 spent on pre-kindergarten educa- tion pays off eight-fold. In that regard, Smith said the district hopes, by offering preschool, it will recoup some its costs on the back end by not having to spend so much money on reme- diation for students later in their education. “That’ll be our test and our journey as we dip our toe in the water with pre-kindergarten learning in the Hermiston School District,” he said. TAXIS continued from page A1 has grown from 4,500 to 17,345 during that time, the exclusive franchise was no longer necessary and that competition would provide better service to patrons. Hermiston Transit em- ployee Sean Robinson said, however, the business was “barely surviving” now and that the employees are ded- icated to serving their cus- tomers. Mayor Dave Drotzmann said he has used Hermiston Transit on several occasions and had received satisfactory service. He said most other businesses compete in the free market, and Hermiston Transit should not be afraid of competition. Councilman John Kirwan agreed. “Free market society is the society we live in,” he said. Morgan said the licensing program would set annu- al fees of $50 per company and $25 per driver. He said background checks would be required. The companies must provide service for 18 hours per day, which is also required in the current exclu- sive agreement, he said. Morgan said no changes will be made to the Senior and Disabled Transit Pro- gram, for which qualifying riders can purchase $2 tick- ets at City Hall for one-way taxi trips. He said riders will now be able to choose which licensed taxi provider in the city to use for the service, Today's Weather Local 5-Day Forecast Wed Thu 5/13 Fri 5/14 69/43 Sat 5/15 75/50 Sun 5/16 5/17 75/49 76/48 75/48 Rain early. A mix of sun and clouds in the afternoon. High 69F. Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the low 50s. Showers possible. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the up- per 40s. Clouds giving way to sun . Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the upper 40s. A few morning show- ers. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the upper 40s. Sunrise Sunset 5:27 AM 8:19 PM Sunrise Sunset 5:26 AM 8:20 PM Sunrise Sunset 5:25 AM 8:22 PM Sunrise Sunset 5:24 AM 8:23 PM Sunrise Sunset 5:23 AM 8:24 PM Oregon At A Glance Portland 65/47 Salem 66/46 La Grande 64/39 Bend 54/31 Eugene 65/47 Medford 66/42 Pendleton 64/42 Hermiston 69/43 Ontario 69/44 Burns 61/42 Klamath Falls 57/32 Area Cities City Albany Ashland Astoria Baker City Bend Brookings Burns Coos Bay Corvallis Eugene Hi 67 64 57 64 54 57 61 58 66 65 Lo 47 40 43 36 31 45 42 46 45 47 Cond. rain rain rain pt sunny rain cloudy cloudy pt sunny rain pt sunny City Florence Grants Pass Hermiston John Day Klamath Falls La Grande Lakeview Lincoln City Mcminnville Medford Hi 60 68 69 61 57 64 58 58 65 66 Lo 44 44 43 39 32 39 30 47 45 42 Cond. cloudy rain rain pt sunny rain pt sunny cloudy rain rain rain City Newport Pendleton Portland Redmond Roseburg Salem Springfield The Dalles Tillamook Vale Hi 56 64 65 62 68 66 65 67 59 69 Lo 45 42 47 37 48 46 45 48 43 45 Cond. rain rain rain mst sunny pt sunny rain pt sunny pt sunny cloudy mst sunny Cond. pt sunny windy sunny rain cloudy City Houston Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis New York Hi 83 68 86 66 68 Lo 73 54 76 51 51 Cond. cloudy pt sunny pt sunny cloudy windy City Phoenix San Francisco Seattle St. Louis Washington, DC Hi 87 62 60 76 72 Lo 60 52 48 59 52 Cond. mst sunny pt sunny rain mst sunny pt sunny National Cities City Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Hi 87 62 55 76 68 Lo 60 48 43 69 45 Moon Phases UV Index Wed Last New First Full May 11 May 18 May 25 Jun 2 ©2010 American Profile Hometown Content Service and the city will pay those companies $6.15 per ticket redeemed. In other City Council news: • The council opted to move forward with the city- owned natural gas utility that would service Herm- iston’s southern industrial area. City Manager Byron 6PLWK VDLG FLW\ RI¿FLDOV will consult with experts to better determine the oper- ating costs for the project. He said the initial estimate to construct a transmission line is $3.2 million and that Thu Fri Sat 5/14 5/15 5/16 5/17 6 High 7 High 6 High 7 High 6 High The UV Index is measured on a 0 - 11 number scale, with a higher UV Index showing the need for greater skin protection. RI¿FLDOV DUH UHVHDUFKLQJ funding options, including money from the state. The city would also recover costs cost by charging trans- mission fees to the industrial customers. Morgan said the gas service to the area is cur- rently “maxed out,” and any new development that uses even minimal amounts gas would require an investment of about $2 million to up- grade the capacity with the current provide, Cascade Natural Gas. Smith said the city should take “more of a leadership role” to ensure 0 Don’t miss out on today’s great Home Loan rates! newsletter at hermistonherald.com Hermiston Herald delivered to your email Monday - Friday. for more information 1-800-522-0255 Whether you’re buying a new home or looking to refinance, our friendly loan specialists are here to help with all your home loan needs. ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Quick & Easy Loan Process Local Loan Servicing Competitive Interest Rates Caring Loan Experts CHECKING • SAVINGS • LOANS • INSURANCE • IN YOUR BEST INTEREST myfirstccu.org 11 the industrial area has the gas capacity to attract new investment and jobs. • In the consent agenda, FRXQFLOPHPEHUV¿OOHGPXO- tiple committee positions: Carleen Flaiz, Margaret Saylor and Derek Caplinger, Planning Commission; Joan- na Hayden and Fred Allen, Budget Committee; Mike Botti, Recreation Projects Fund Advisory Committee; Hector Ramirez, Hispanic Advisory Committee; and David Bothum, Eastern Ore- gon Trade and Event Center Authority Board. sign up for our email Get news from the Sun 5/13 705 SW Emigrant Ave • Pendleton • 541.276.4876 925 SE 4th St • Hermiston • 541.567.8077 Federally insured by NCUA. 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