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THE
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SERVING UNION AND WALLOWA COUNTIES SINCE 1891
Elgin
Union School District budget
Up to three school days to be cut in Union By Dick Mason The Observer
UNION - The Union School District will not be reducing its Spanish teacher position in 2012-13 and will cut at least one less school day than originally anticipated. This was the good budget news annmmced at Wednesday
night's Union School Board meeting, news that brightened an otherwise somber budget picture. The board voted to adopt a 2012-13 budget of$4.513 million, which calls for about $240,000 in cuts. Up to three school days and three teaching and non-teaching positions will be cut to make these reductions.
Timber oavments extended
The cuts are less than what the district budget committee had recommended on June 5 in part because of additional funds that have become available. The budget picture is brighter for the following reasons: • The district's ending fund balance is about $12,000 higher than anticipated because of con-
servative budget estimates. • Afull-time high school teacher recently resigned. The district will hire a half-time teacher to replace the person in this position. The additional funding will allow the district to reduce the number of school days it See Union I Page lOA
Tall order
• Temporary contract that has deputies providing police coverage to Elgin on interim basis becomes three-year pact
• If president signs bill, Union County will receive about $645,000 from Securing Rural Schools act, $900,000 from Payments-in-Lieu ofTaxes
By Bill Rautenstrauch The Observer
The Union County Board of Commissioners Wednesday approved a law enforcement contract between the county sheriff's department and the City of Elgin, making official an agreement months in the making. After hearing a briefreport from She1i:ff Boyd Rasmussen, the board voted unanimously in favor of the contract. Rasmussen told the commissioners he expects the arrangement to work well. "We had several conversations and I'm satisfied with what we have here," he said. Elgin's police department disintegrated in the wake oflast August's shooting of city resident Richard Shafer by Officer Erik Kilpatrick in a domestic disturbance call. Though a grand jury ruled the shooting justified, public outrage over the incident and a host ofother law enfOrcement-related issues continued. Kilpatrick and Chief Kevin Lynch resigned in October, leaving the city without any officers. The city council and a hiring committee mounted a months-long search for a new chie~ but was unable come up v.ith a suitable candidate. In the interim, Union County sheriff's reserves provided coverage under a temporary contract. See Elgin I Page 9A
By Don ller Observer Intern
Early Thursday morning, Congress announced payments frum the Secure Rural Schools act and Payment-in-Lieu ofTaxes would continue for another year after being added in a conference committee for the Surface Transportation Bill. The payments have "If it hadn't been made since 2000 been extended to counties to make up the loss oftimber we would have for receipts from diminished been making harvests on National cuts. We will be Forest lands. Many rural able to rnaintain Oregon counties, including Union and Wallowa, . " servzces. have been dependent on - Steve McClure, the payments in order to Union County fund roads, schools and comm1ss1oner other projects. The payments have continued to be renewed year after year as counties have been unable to find other revenue sources to make up for the loss of timber payments, and the federal government has been unable to come up v.ith a permanent solution to smaller payments from smaller timber harvests. The bill calls for about $346 million to be paid to rural counties throughout the nation, with about $100 million going to Oregon counties. Union County will receive around $645,000 from the Securing Rural Schools act and $900,000 from Payments-in-Lieu of Taxes. "Ifit hadn't been extended, we would have been making cuts," said Steve McClure, Union County commissioner. "We will be able to maintain services." McClure said that the funds are a very important source offunding for the county; being discretionary they can be spent where the county needs to. Mike Hayward, Wallowa County Board of (';Qmmissioners chairman, said he was told that there would be a slight reduction from 2011 appropriations and at best guess expects between $700,000 and $900,000 if the bill is approved. That roughly estimated sum will go to the county roads department; the school funding portion goes to the state before being distributed, Hayward said. Hayward said the county budgeted $990,851; without the federal money it would have about $65,000 to run its road department. See Payments I Page 2A
INDEX Calendar ........ 6A Classifi ed ....... 48 Comics ...... ..... 38 Crossw ord ..... 78 Dear Abby ... 108
Opi nion ......... .4A Outdoors ....... 1C Spiritual Life 5A Sports ............ 7A Tel evision ...... 7C
MONDAY IN HOME
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u.s. Suprema Court Health care law
ruling means Oregon's reforms can press ahead By Betsy 0. Cliff and Lauren Dake W esCom New s Service
Katy Nesbitt /TI-e Observer
Members of New Old Time Chautauqua display their juggling and balancing prowess at the Wallowa County Courthouse lawnThursday ev ening. The Seattle-based troupe will bring its fun-filled brand of entertainment to today's Watershed Festival that unfolds at the Wallow a County Fairgrounds in Enterprise.
WEATHER Health ............ 18 Ho roscope ..... 78 Lottery............ 2A Record ........... 2A Obituaries...... 3A
Sheriffs onice assumes police duties
The landmark Supreme Court decision on the health care law will allow Oregon to continue pressing forward with reforms. The state has been aggressively implementing many of the provisions in the 2010 federal law, some of which were already written into state law before the passage of President Barack. Obama's signature legislation. With the decision, the court preserved the largest expansion of the nation's social safety net in more than 45 years, including the hotly debated core requirement that nearly everyone have health insurance or pay a penalty. State leaders primarily expressed pleasure at the result Thursday. "This is very good news for Oregon. See Ruling IPage 6A
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"FROM THEIR FARM TO YOUR FORK"- A LOOK AT LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS
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