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PENDLETON â A growing consensus among local officials that mental health services in the Umatilla County are in need of change sparked a recent meeting with Sen. Ron Wyden.
âAs you listened to the speakers, you heard in their voices this tremendous compassion and desire to mobilize a fresh strategy,â Wyden said. âAnd the big challenge is there havenât been the dollars.â
The group that met with Wyden at the Umatilla County Courthouse Saturday, May 29, in Pendleton included county, city, law enforcement, education, mental health and tribal officials. They discussed student counseling, establishing a team of professionals to support law enforcementâs response to mental health-related calls, helping American Indian and Hispanic residents, finding housing for those experiencing homelessness and the countyâs meager supply of mental health and addiction treatment facilities.
With a return to in-person, indoor learning dominating education news amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Weston Middle School welcomed the return of Outdoor School May 24-27.
SALEM â The Oregon Senate voted unanimously on Monday, April 12, to pass Baileyâs Bill.
The bill, named for Weston-McEwen High School student Bailey Munck, increases penalties for criminal sexual contact with an underage victim if the offender was the victimâs teacher. If approved by the House and signed by Gov. Kate Brown, the legislation fixes a discrepancy. Currently, a coach convicted of sexual abuse in the third degree receives harsher penalties than a teacher who commits the exact same crime.
Munck, now 17, testified on March 25 to the Oregon Senateâs judiciary committee, telling of sexual abuse in 2019 during a volleyball road trip by Andrew DeYoe, an English teacher and also a scorekeeper for the volleyball team. DeYoe, 31, after pleading guilty to harassment that included sexual touching, spent a night in the Umatilla County Jail and will serve five years probation. He wasnât required to register as a sex offender.
ATHENA â The Athena-Weston School District will have a new leader this fall, but her name will be familiar to students and families.
Middle school Principal Ann Vescio will be taking over the superintendent position from retiring Laure Quaresma, the two women announced last week.
Quaresma will remain with the district part time for a year to serve as a mentor to Vescio.
Vescio takes over after being with the district since 2005.
A satisfying career
Quaresma is retiring after 42 years in education
Quaresma came to the Athena-Weston School District five years ago after a long career in Walla Walla, Washington. Quaresma had leadership roles at all levels â elementary, middle school and high school â in Walla Walla.