25 years ago this week — 1999Gordon Smith wasn’t the only Pendleton native to spend time in the Senate Chambers last week contemplating the future of President Clinton.

Pendleton High School junior Erin Harral was able to observe the impeachment brouhaha in Washington, D.C., as part of a weeklong national leadership conference that had her rubbing elbows with some of today’s movers and shakers, as well as some of tomorrow’s.

“We got to watch the trial for about two hours,” Harral said. “We observed the senators and got to watch Chief Justice Rehnquist come in. Later we all did the Pledge of Allegiance in front of the flag in the House Chamber, in front of which President Clinton gave his State of the Union Address.”

Harral and her high school compatriots also got a private tour of the White House and visited the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. But most the week they were engaged in absorbing and debating issues of the day.

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Teacher, student, parent, homework: it’s a quartet in search of harmony in the new world of the state’s schools. The degree of synergy achieved in coming years will depend as much on what happens at the dining room table and the home computer as what goes on in the classroom.

“With the new state standard, parents are going to play an important role,” said Roger Stueckle, director of elementary services for the Pendleton School District and principal of West Hills Elementary School. “We can’t get it all done within the instructional day.

Teachers and administrators agree that in order for students to meet benchmarks established by the state in its goals for the 21st Century, students and parents have to be clear on what it will take to adapt to the new definition of Oregon schools.

As might be expected, higher level classes mean more homework, and the basic curriculum areas of math, English, social studies and government all require homework outside the classroom. But according to Jerry Copeland, an assistant principal at Pendleton High School, that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

“As we work toward the assessment levels, we’ll see a lot more project-based stuff that requires out-of-school homework,” Copeland said.

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Unsure when they might get it off the beach, salvage crews prepared to secure cables to a grounded cargo ship as the first step toward hauling it off the beach where it has been leaking oil from ruptured fuel tanks for three days.

The 200-foot tug Salvage Chief, a veteran of the 1989 salvage of the tanker Exxon Valdez in Alaska, was scheduled to leave Coos Bay today and make its way to the side of the 639-foot New Carissa just north of the bay entrance, where it has been stuck in the sand and pounded by surf since running aground Thursday.

“We have a saying in the salvage industry. The ship will come when it wants to come, and stay as long as it wants to lay there,” Bill Milwee, a Portland salvage consultant representing the Japanese ship owners, said Tuesday. “We hope it doesn’t want to stay there too long.” A helicopter delivered heavy cables to the New Carissa as a crew of 13 inspected the hull for damage and prepared to tie onto the salvage chief.

50 years ago this week — 1974Many youngsters look forward to next week because of Valentine’s Day. For 9-year-old Michaele Boylen of Pendleton, next Wednesday will be much more important.

On that day, Michaele, who has a disease which afflicts one in 10,000 people, will receive a bone marrow transplant.

The girl, daughter of Mike and Tricia Boylen, has been ill with aplastic anemia since Sept. 4. Aplastic anemia is a destruction of bone marrow. She has been in Providence Hospital at Seattle since Nov. 8.

Michaele’s donor will be her sister, Beth, 17, a senior at Pendleton High School.

Several Pendleton residents have started a fund drive. Donations may be sent to the Michaele Boylen Fund, Epsicopal Church of the Redeemer or St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Box 431, Pendleton. For the donation to be tax deductible, it must be made out to both the fund and one of the churches.

The transplant will involve at least three more months in the hospital for Michaele.

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Should teachers be paid for attending night meetings on school matters?

That was one suggestion that came from a meeting of school administrators from Umatilla and Morrow counties in Pendleton Thursday.

Supt. Ed Miller of Milton-Freewater said teachers had been required to attend so many meetings that his districts allow a number of days for teachers to attend workshops and similar meetings, but the number of those meetings has increased considerably.

This year, for instance, many teachers are serving on committees writing graduation goals under the Oregon Department of Education’s new graduation requirements.

Hermiston Supt. Richard Scott said another problem when it was necessary to use substitutes was that the continuity of the classroom program suffered.

Adding to the problem is that many of the workshops and similar meetings which teachers are required to attend are in the Willamette Valley, requiring travel time by Eastern Oregon teachers.

A possible solution was offered by Charles McCullough, director of the instructional media center for the Umatilla County Intermediate District.

McCullough suggested that the IED’s closed-circuit television system, which is linked to all the schools, be used to present workshops. The speaker’s presentation could be made from the IED TV studio and be received in the schools. A room in each school could be equipped with a telephone so questions could be phoned to the speaker.

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The response to a drive begun last week for Michaele Boylen of Pendleton has been overwhelming, those who started the drive reported today.

Michaele, 9, daughter of Mike and Tricia Boylen, will receive a bone marrow transplant Wednesday at the Seattle hospital where she has been a patient since early November.

Michaele has aplastic anemia, a destruction of the bone marrow.

A prayer vigil for her will be from 7 p.m. Tuesday to 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Pendleton.

Cards, letters and telephone calls have poured in.

One of those who called her was Doc Severinsen, band leader for Johnny Carsons’s “Tonight Show.” Severinsen’s wife, who is from Heppner, attended school in Pendleton and has followed Michaele’s case closely.

Severinsen not only visited over the telephone with Michaele, but played his trumpet for her from Los Angeles. “Do you think I’m good enough to play with the Pendleton High School band?” Severinsen asked. “Gee, I don’t know,” the girl replied.

More than $4,000 has been contributed to the Michaele Boylen Fund.

100 years ago this week — 1924Paying profound tribute to Woodrow Wilson and classing him with the great martyrs of the ages, Rev. John Secor, pastor of the Methodist church, was the eloquent speaker at the Rotary club luncheon today. In his address Mr. Secor spoke informally as he has done at a previous meeting at the high school yet seldom has a local luncheon club listened to such a scholarly and forcible address. He pictured the ex-president as a man of convictions with a program for putting them into action. Without going into the merits of the peace issue the speaker also predicted the gradual movement of the nation and of the world in the direction Wilson pointed.

Other distinguished guests at the Rotary club today were Senator Ike Patterson, chairman of the Oregon Coolidge campaign, and E. F. Carlton, of the University of Oregon. They were introduced, along with other guests, but neither man spoke.

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Seven nominations for officers and members of the board of managers had been made at the office of the Pendleton Commercial association today at noon to serve this year, according to a statement by George C. Baer, secretary.

The nominations so far presented are as follows: For president, E. B. Aldrich; to serve on the board of directors, Roy Alexander, Carl Hopf, L. C. Sharpf, G. A. Hartman, L. H. Hamley, and J. J. Hamley.

Mr. Aldrich, who is just completing a term a vice-president of the association, has declined to accept the invitation. He gave as his reason the fact that he has been a member of the board for a number of years and expressed the belief that the honor and responsibility should be passed around, both as individuals and that the association may have the benefit of securing the services of men who have not previously held office.

Nominations may be made until Saturday afternoon at 5 o’clock by simply calling the offices of the association telephone number 114, and by a written statement.

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James Callihan, who gave his home as Illinois, and M. Walters, a transient, are in the county jail here as suspects in the robbery case at Pilot Rock when the Casteel & Stanley store was robbed January 29 and the property was valued at between $1,200 and $1,500.

No specific charges have been brought against the men, according to Deputy Sheriff Buffington, but they probably will be held under a charge of having stolen property in their possession. The pair was arrested at Pasco Saturday afternoon, were then taken to Walla Walla, and Saturday evening Sheriff Houser went to Walla Walla and got them.

The men had two watches, some suit cases and a part of the clothing that is said to have been taken from the Pilot Rock store when arrested.

First trace of the men was secured at Wallula where they are claimed to have disposed of some of the loot taken from the store. They were next heard from at Pasco, and their arrest was requested by the sheriff’s office.